Spring Break 2015

Although we brought a cold front with us (some record low temps for this area even...) we are so happy to smell spring in the air and to have some sunshine!  Stella and Claire are absolutely loving to play with their cousins all day long, and we are anticipating some warm days ahead.  Randy's made one trip to the golf club down the street, but it sure won't be his last!

Pre-K, Dentist, & BFF's!

This week we took Claire to pre-k information night so she could meet her teacher and see the classroom.  While she really didn't want to go at first she had so much fun playing with all of the toys in the room and didn't want to leave!  Stella will go next month for her kindergarten screening.  We can't believe the girls will be off to school in the fall!

We also finally had the chance to catch up with our friends James and Madelyn.  We haven't seem them in months because the children have taken turns being sick and well, our schedules just haven't matched up!  The girls had fun having a mid-week pizza party with them!

We also brought Stella to her first dentist appointment this week.  She. Did. Awesome.  We were so proud of her!  It turns out I misunderstood our dental hygienist and our office really does want toddlers to go for their first visit at age 3, so we booked Claire an appointment right away and daddy will take her this coming week.  I don't expect she'll be quite as agreeable as Stella was but hopefully this first visit will help her become familiar with the concept of visiting the dentist.

While Stella was at dance class
Claire wrote her name for the first time!

Daddy worked at a basketball tournament nearly the entire weekend so us girls filled our schedules.  We had dance and gymnastics Saturday morning, and then had a really fun play date with Gianna and Cambria.  On Sunday they spent  a few hours with papa while Mommy went to an auxiliary tea with Grammie and Aunt MJ.  Afterward we stopped  by MJ's to see her new baby ducks!


On a side note, Friday I offered Claire a jelly sandwich for dinner because I didn't feel like cooking.  She promptly informed me that 'A jelly sandwich isn't for dinner mommy!  We need to have chicken and noodles!'










Friday afternoon we spent some time playing outside and here are a few pics!

Singing and Dancing Outside

Playground Fun!

Silly Face!

Cold and Flu Season

The  before and after of a rough few days!

We've had some sick kiddos this week and have taken turns staying home to try coaxing them to drink fluids and eat something, anything...  Stella was sick for 3 days, with no appetite or energy.  Claire-Bear seemed to fend whatever bug they caught off a little bit easier but certainly wasn't herself either.  She just found some bursts of energy to keep us on our toes!

Snuggling my girls at different points during the few days we weren't feeling well.  Poor things!  We are so glad Stella woke up Saturday and asked for food (for the first time in 3 days).  It was great to have them both back to themselves!





Some other random pics:

Tucked underneath our computer desk, watching the ipad

Making Silly Face Selfies with Daddy

A shot at RMHouse - Stella loves taking pictures!

Our Coach of the Year!

Joey's not just a fellow coach, he's our neighbor,
he's our friend, and he's Claire's God-Father!

This week we planned a school night date night so Mommy could go to the gym with Daddy.   I can assure you, I'm never really all that excited to go to the gym, but this week I wanted to be there and was grateful Randy helped make that happen.  It was really nice to have some time together and the girls had such a fun time playing with Micaela too!

We went to the gym for the Section X Boys Basketball Awards Ceremony because Randy was nominated as Co-Coach of the Year for the Central Division.  It was also a surprise that both he and Justin were recognized for reaching the 100th career wins milestone.  While this happened for Randy during last year's season, some folks thought Randy and Justin were brothers so it was a neat way of highlighting this uniqueness of the Section X Boys Basketball Coaching Staff.  Since they are cousins not brothers it was a little humorous, but worth celebrating all the same!

Fellow Coaches and Friends of ours Adam and Tim

It has been a strange season this year so here's a little shout out to all of our family and friends who have lent us support.  We are so appreciate for all of you, and since there are simply too many to name, we'll just say thank you everyone!

I also want to mention that Randy's not Coach of the Year to us for his W/L record, for helping instill in his athletes both a love for the game and compassion for human kind, or even for tolerating what I'll just call a season that won't soon be forgotten.  He's Coach of the Year to us because through this season, through those before and those yet to come, he's balancing being a daddy, a husband, a working professional, and a coach.  Anyone who says that it's easy, well frankly, they must not have tried it yet.  I observe that at times it's exhausting, it's challenging, and it's rewarding but it's not easy.  We love you for giving so much of yourself and for taking care of us through it all!  Congratulations Daddy/Randy - you deserve this accolade more than you know!

This week we took the tickets to Frozen on Ice Santa gave us and headed out on a road trip to Montreal.  The girls had such a fun time (and so did we)!  We had a fabulous dinner and stayed at a hotel with a splash pad the night before.  Then afterward, we headed to Burlington to spend a weekend volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House.  We met an Amish family who live nearby and ended up giving some of their family a ride back to NY.  The girls really didn't think much of our vanmates but hopefully as the years go by they will begin to understand the importance of this special organization and the value of paying it forward.

Arcade Fun

Using her jacket as a 'red carpet'

The girls absolutely love to play dress-up and to have dance shows.  Here are just a few different days we've been blessed with their beauty and talents!

Using Mommy's clothes
for dress up!

Papa's Hat!