Mamma's Birthday

Can't help it! I've always loved birthdays! George and Sammie went shopping for my gifts and Sammie was allowed to pick out a couple of things all on her own. She picked out a soft warm blanket, slippers, and a necklace and earing set. What a good gift giver, always thoughtful! They also stopped and picked up the traditional birthday ice cream cake. Sammie kept telling me I would faint when I saw. She was right about how excited I would be! My new saying is that I bleed brown and orange! Even though they didn't make the playoffs (Thanks for nothing Indy!), we had an amazing season! Now I just need to figure out what to do with my Sunday's until next season!

YMCA

We took the girls to the "Y" for the first time since Sammie's broken arm. The girls had a blast playing in the playroom and swimming. Sammie loves doing handstands and flips in the water and Erin is learning how to kick. They both love going so much! We're going to try to go every Friday night like we did before Sammie's break. The evening was so exhausting that Erin fell asleep on the car ride home without even sucking her thumb!

Erin and Elmo

Thanks to yia yia Rena for sending this video of Erin's first experiencing with her new Tickle Me Elmo doll. She loves the way his arm moves up and down!

Christmas Faves!

The wrapping paper and boxes have been cleared out and the girls have gotten a chance to play with all of their gifts, for the most part. They are having fun with everything but there are a few things that have stood out. Erin's new tickle me Elmo is a big hit, as well as her clap and laugh baby! The baby doll cries when you put it down and Erin hugs and kisses it for comfort. She also gives the baby a bottle and feeds it with the spoon and bowl. It is SO freaking cute! I'll have to get a video of it to share with all of you! Sammie loves her new guitar and sing along headset. She's my little rock star! Too cute! They both got toothbrushes which have ended up being a huge hit! Sammie, the rock star, got a tooth tunes so she can sing and dance while she brushes her teeth. Erin brushed her teeth for the first time and loved it!

Chritmas Day!

Before

During

After

What more is there to say!!

We spent the morning at home with an afternoon webcam with the Florida crew! These webcams are great! The evening was spent with George's family in Cleveland. It's always fun to visit up there because Sammie has a TON of cousins to play with. It was so crazy, we didn't get a chance to take any pictures!! Now we need to clean up after the tornado know as Christmas! Thank you to everyone!

Christmas Eve

As usual, we celebrated Christmas Eve at the Capocci home. The food was excellent and the company was even better! It was great to talk to Angie and Matt via the webcam! Sammie and Nicholas enjoyed being Rudolph and Erin loved hugging and kissing her cousin Giovanni! After the party, we drove through McKinley park to see the light display, which was much larger than we excepted! The evening ended with the girls opening their Christmas PJ's.

Ring Around the Rosie. . .

Glazed & Amused

After Sammie got her cast off, I took the girls to Glazed & Amused. Sammie painted a couple ornaments and they both helped to make me a hot chocolate mug for work by having their hands traced to the sides of the mug, and then Sammie added some decorations. Erin was Frustrated & Not Amused. She wanted to smear paint anywhere and tried to eat some! I was reassured that the paint was non-toxic. After throwing a sample to floor, I had to keep more at bay, which is where the fustrated comes in!

The Arm Update

After 7 long weeks, 3 casts, and lots of worries and prayers, Sammie's cast is finally off!! She is being very cautious with her arm, but is glad to be free!

BEFORE

AFTER

Watching TV

Bah Humbug!

Erin wasn't in the best of moods for this round of pictures and Sammie played along! Too cute!

Christmas Photo

Once we had the tree decorated, I dressed the girls in their Christmas dresses and attempted to take their Christmas picture. It's really cute, but I might have to try again to see if I can get everyone to look at the camera!

Christmas Tree Hunting

As per tradition, we took the girls out to the tree farm to find our version of the perfect Christmas tree Saturday afternoon. Luckily, it was a beautiful, sunny day! As you may notice, Erin is wearing regular tennis shoes for the first time. I put her down in the snow just for these pictures and she didn't want anything to do with it. Sammie kept trying to get her to touch the snow and Erin refused! They both helped me decorate the tree this afternoon. Erin helped by dumping the boxes of ornaments out on the floor and Sammie helped check the lights and hung the ornaments and candy canes. Both of their faces lit up when the tree was turned on for the first time. Now we are crossing our fingers that Erin won't tear everything off of it! (She's already tried a couple of times!)

The Beginning

With the family spreading out from sea to shinning sea, we wanted a way to keep everyone up to date on the every changing lives of our girls, Samantha and Erin. After learning about this website through Cassandra/Kristen, I decided this would be the best way. So, feel free to add comments, request pictures, but mostly enjoy!