3!

Jacob turned three on the 21st! Wow does time fly! A few days before the big day he hit above his lip on a desk. He ended up getting Dermabond (kind of like super glue) instead of stitches.  He'll have a small scar.

                                                        

A Happy Birthday waffle!

 We celebrated by hosting an open-house party for his friends. (about 15 in all).  It was a little crazy, but a lot of fun!

 William, Joey, Jacob and Charlotte (the lone girl and quite a trooper to put up with all the trains and trucks).

 Daddy came home and made Jacob his favorite dinner, homemade pizza! Thanks Dad!

 Jacob and Baby Rosanna, the youngest in the crowd.

 Chocolate on chocolate cupcakes!

 The next day, at school, Jacob had a Birthday/Christmas party.  Above they are singing "The itsy bitsy snowman," too cute!

He wore his birthday crown all day at school and even slept with it on! Happy birthday to our wonderful Jacob. We can't wait to see how much you'll grow and learn in the next year.

p.s. He weighs 30 lbs and is 36 inches tall. The doctor predicted he's going to be 5'8 when he grows up. At the last visit it was 5'10. I asked the doctor if he's shrinking. We'll see how it all pans out!

Merry Christmas elves!

All things Advent

This Advent has been full of joy and new discoveries for the boys! Jay has been busy gearing up for Part I of the Medical Boards (which I convinced him to take on the 23rd instead of the 30th, yeah!), but we have still managed to have some fun.  This year, our church has really been emphasizing the importance of celebrating Advent prior to Christmas. This is no easy feat, but how else can we properly prepare our hearts for Christ's birth? Jacob and I visited a local church, where over 300 nativities from around the world were on display! It was awesome. They even had a children's corner where the children could play with a nativity set. 

This set was made in Tanzania, Maria, you'll have to bring us one back someday!

 German nutcrackers! I love it!

 Isn't this a gorgeous nativity? I'm partial to purple!

So simple, yet beautiful.

This was Jacob's favorite nativity! It made music and moved.

Jacob loves the tree wise men!

Baking/eating sugar cookies! Yum!

I've been baking up a storm so that I can give away lots of yummy treats to neighbors, friends and family! I love doing this every year. I make some of my standbys and try out some new recipes every year. Jay gave me two new cookie cookbooks for my birthday, so I have tons of recipes to choose from. Here's what I've made this year:

-Grasshopper squares (the best chocolate/mint bars of all time)

-Chocolate chai snickerdoodles

-Sugar cookie cutouts

-Linzer bars

-Lemon bars

-Peanut butter thumbprints

-Chocolate peppermint balls

-Gingerbread

-Spicy pecans

Today (Dec. 13), on the feast of St. Lucy we planted some wheat. This wheat will be ready on Christmas, when we will cut it and place it in the manger with baby Jesus. We've been reading a lot of Christmas stories, talking about Jesus' birth and our Advent wreath and candles have really intrigued Jacob this year.

This weekend we put up our tree for YOU. It was a lot of fun to decorate!

 This is our mini tree in the dining room.

I'm still in search of the perfect angel for the top of our tree!

Our nativity (minus baby Jesus, who will make His appearance on Christmas)! It was given to us by one of my Grandmother's friends. I love it. It's made in Italy and quite old. This is our first real nativity and will be a family treasure for years to come.



May the joy of Advent be in your heart always.

Santa Claus

Jacob and Raphael met Mr. and Mrs. Claus at Jacob's school's pancake breakfast!

Thanksgiving

This post is a little delayed! We celebrated a family Thanksgiving on the Sunday before the real Thanksgiving since Jay was on-call and unable to make the trip home to Ithaca.  We made Poppy's stuffing (or at least attempted to), a 20 lb turkey with Barefoot Contessa's awesome rub, mashed potatoes, rolls, green beans and homemade cranberry sauce (the best kind if you ask me). 

 Maria flew in from NYC to help me drive to Ithaca.  We had a wonderful next couple of days with Rebecca, Jim, Maria, Mom and Dad and the Ford/O'Connell families.  Omi and Opa came up from Delhi a day early to bring Uncle Greg's 30 lb turkey! Fresh is always the best!

 Jacob is chilling in Aunt Kristen's chair. He's wearing a turkey hat he made at school.  Before we left, Aunt Kristen gave us this same chair, only in blue. The kids have been loving it!

 The three sisters home again together! We had some wonderful evenings together playing games, talking, arguing and laughing! Thanks for putting up with us Jim.

 Opa once again followed our Thanksgiving meal with his wine and cheese course. I love this new tradition.  It was during this time that some spirited debate ensued.

 Uncle Greg teaching Jacob the old "slap me high, slap me low, you're too slow."  Aunt Vicky and Sean could not make it this year, we missed them. At one point Jacob said "I miss Vicky!"

 For some reason I didn't take any good Thanksgiving pictures of Raphael! Here is a blurry picture of Poppy and Raphael at one of the Immaculate Conception basketball games.   He actually stayed still in his arms for a good 15 minutes and watched the game.

Jacob sat on the bench next to Poppy the entire time.  He even wore an ICS jersey.  A future basketball player in the making.

We missed having Jay back home with us in Ithaca, but we're excited that he's off for Christmas for an entire week!

Thankful

This has truly been a beautiful fall here in Western New York. We have been blest with many warm and sunny days and the fall foliage is gorgeous. I've especially been enjoying the views out of our living and dining room windows, they are awesome big windows which bring in lots of sun.

Our family has a lot to be thankful for. We have two beautiful, active, healthy and curious little boys.  These boys keep me on my toes constantly and are active, active active.  At times Jacob's incessant questioning might make me loss my mind, but in reality I know that he's thinking and wondering.  He's learning about Jesus, nature, how to color, dinosaurs, cooking and family (to name a few).  I'm thankful for Raphael's beautiful smile and joy of climbing! He is a very happy and (at times) easy going little man.

I'm thankful for the gifts of our minds.  On a daily basis we're reading childrens' books, medical books (Jay not me), novels, books on prayer/faith, cookbooks, magazines, newspapers, blogs, the Internet, etc.  The amount of information that we can find on a daily basis is truly overwhelming at times.  However, I am grateful for the ability to read, educate myself and create my own opinions and point of view.  Reading is a gift that I cannot imagine my life without!

 I'm thankful for a hardworking and dedicated spouse.  We have been married for over 6 years and have known each other for 16 years! Jay is truly my best friend and I cannot believe the journey that we've embarked upon.  If you would have told me that the kid with the mustache, guitar and macho attitude in 7th grade would become my husband and a future oral surgeon I would have told you that you were crazy!

I'm thankful for family! At times I wish we lived closer so we could just pop over for a Sunday dinner or for some conversation and play, but considering where we could have ended up I'm grateful we're only a couple hours away! Our family supports us endlessly and is extremely caring and loving.  I have two wonderful sisters who I can rely on for anything.  Whenever I need a pick-me-up, I can call one of them for words of advice or just to chat! Love you Maria and Rebecca.  Jacob and Raphael have wonderful grandparents, aunts and uncles, great-grandparents, the list goes on and on.

I'm thankful for friendships! Since moving to Buffalo I have met some wonderful people! I also have great friends from Oneonta, ICS, Lansing, John Carroll, Summit and dental school.  I cherish all of my friendships and try my hardest to keep in touch with those who are near and far.  A girls' night out, every once in a while, keeps me rejuvenated. It is also reassuring to share stories, conversation and food with fellow moms.  Thank you all for being my friend, I hope I've been equally as great a friend to you! 

Sorry that this isn't the greatest picture girls!

Finally, I'm thankful to be Catholic.  This year I have been involved in our MOMS group and recently started attending a weekly prayer group with a bunch of wonderful and inspirational mothers.  Our parish is a vibrant and active community full of dedicatedl people.  Our faith is truly a gift which I pray each and every day that our children will appreciate and learn to love.  Without faith our world can be a dark and empty place.  Prayer is something that I have also really come to appreciate and delve into deeper on a daily basis.  Wonderful prayers such as the rosary are beautiful intercessions to our Holy Mother Mary and Jesus. I hope that more people will come to discover the beauty that these prayers hold and the inner peace that they can foster on a daily basis in a chaotic world.

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Jacob's school Halloween party

Jacob's school had a Halloween party on the Friday before Halloween.  The parents were invited to attend for the first half hour.  I dressed Raphael up and Jacob dressed like Bob the Builder (since he wouldn't have been able to move in his robot costume). 

 A happy duck!

 The boys waiting in the foyer of Jacob's school.

 Jacob and his friend Charlotte.

 Mrs. Messina and asking Jacob about his costume.

 Someone else is ready for school.

Circle time!

What I love about summer...

Babies in diapers

Play, play and more play!

Fresh fruit from Native Offerings Farm.

Our garden. The rose of sharon bushes are in full bloom and they are glorious. I really adore flowers

Oh Jacob

Jacob will proudly tell everyone that he is 2 1/2. He is quite the little guy. On a daily basis he reminds me of how young minds are constantly being shaped and molded. He is a living sponge. He listens to conversations, remembers peoples' names and recalls events that I sometimes forget. He learns from books, conversations and observation. He's memorized some of his favorite books (okay I know it sounds like I'm bragging, but this is our family blog) and will correct me if I mispronounce a word or a book's title. Unfortunately, however, this can mean that at times he gets himself into trouble since he often interjects in conversations and reminds me when to reprimand Raphael when he is doing something wrong. Oh Jacob! I hope he is able to maintain his zest for life and his innocence for as long as possible. He is a little snuggle bug and a real people person. He loves to sing songs that he makes up, play make believe and make sure I always notice what he's doing. I can't wait to see what God has in store for him.

p.s. This Hawaiian shirt is one of his favorites. I think he looks like an old man getting ready to go to Florida for a golf tournament.