Florida Fun

Last week Isabella, Gianna and I went to Florida with Gammy, Aunt Jill and Jackson to visit Aunt Debbie, John and the GG's!  It was so much fun and we had such wonderful hosts!  We can't thank them enough!  :)  The kids had so much fun riding the ATV and golf cart!  I think they took rides at least once a day.  The weather wasn't too warm, but one day was pretty good and so we got to swim for a little bit.  We also went to a really neat park so the kids could run off some energy! 

Getting ready to ride the ATV

Jill, the pregnant girl driving us around the park!

Little Gianna

GG and Gianna

Playing at the park

Isabella loved to swing

One of the many times Isabella jumped into the pool!

Relaxing...

Looking at the pictures/videos on Gammy's phone

Every morning they watched Mickey while eating breakfast.

Me and the girls

Everyday Things....

Isabella decided to join Gianna in the swing one morning.  Gianna loves the attention she gets from her older sister.

Then one evening, while I was busy changing Gianna, this is what I found. :)  Sorry it's a bit blurry.

Sledding Fun

We finally received a significant amount of snow over the weekend.  We have been talking to Isabella about sledding since winter started.  So, today I told her I would take her out to our backyard and we could sled down our little hill.  It was her first time and she loved it!  Now, to us adults, the hill was pretty tiny, but to a 2 1/2 year old, it seems huge!  I put her on the sled by herself for the 1st run.  I think it scared her a bit, so the rest of the rides we rode down together.  I think we went down about 50 times before she said that she was done.  Oh, and she looked like the little boy from "A Christmas Story" all bundled up!

Getting ready to go!

Isabella's first ride on the sled.

Christmas 2010....Gianna's 1st Christmas

We had a good Christmas holiday this year.  It was nice not to have to travel with the 2 kids, but we sure did miss our Illinois family!  We had a very relaxing day today.  We started by opening Santa's presents at home.  Then we went to Gammy and Gampy's house for dinner and some more gift giving.  On Christmas Eve, we had Gammy and Gampy and cousin Natalie over to our house for dinner.  It was nice to be able to spend time together.

Isabella had a great Christmas!  She is still not quite old enough to understand the concept of Santa and that he brings presents while we are asleep and only if we are good and obey our parents.  But, she loves seeing Santa at the mall, on TV, around town, etc.  Next year will be even more exciting to watch how she reacts to Christmas. 

Gianna had a good 1st Christmas too!  She slept in a bit this morning before we helped her open her gifts.  She doesn't know to be too excited to get up early to see what is underneath the tree!  I can't wait until she is old enough to understand and get excited along with her big sister!

We are just so thankful for the birth of Jesus and feel so blessed with the love shown from our families and friends.  We keep those that are less fortunate in our thoughts and prayers during this time of joy.

Enjoy our photos below....





Puzzle from Santa

Gianna so excited for her 1st Christmas  ;)

Happy sisters!

Enjoying Christmas!

A successful Santa visit without tears!

My gift from Anthony....for our Anniversary next year!

A Meeting, Wedding & Family Time

Last weekend we all made a trip back to Peoria for a long weekend.  My good friend Carlene got married and I was a bridesmaid in the wedding.  It was a beautiful wedding with snow falling most of the day!  Congrats to Carlene and Nathan!! 

It was also a time for Grandpa H. to meet Gianna and see Isabella again.  Of course, Grandpa got a big smile on his face when he saw Gianna and Isabella standing in front of him.  He also got a chance to hold Gianna a couple of times.  I think he really enjoyed that.  There was even a time when Isabella was sitting on my lap and she decided to slide off to get down and Grandpa saw that out of the corner of his eye, and he reacted pretty quickly, thinking she was falling.  It was amazing to see his reflex to help and react so quickly!  I know he loves his little baby granddaughters. 

We had a great time spending those days with Grandma H. and seeing the rest of the family!  Grandma did a lot of babysitting, but I know she loved every minute of it!!  She even witnessed Gianna rolling from her back to stomach for the first time!!  Anthony and I missed it, as we were at the wedding.  Oh well, I'm glad she got to see it first.  I hope that Isabella and Gianna always remember their trips to Peoria.  Spending time with their aunts, uncles, and many cousins.  We are glad we got a chance to visit, even during this hectic time of year! 



Gianna and Grandpa Hohulin




Me with Carlene, the beautiful bride



Grandma Hohulin & Gianna

Grandma and her last 2 grandchildren

Pasta Night & Happy Thanksgiving!

Last Sunday was pasta making day at the Martini's!  Grandpa Martini, who is 90 years old, is here visiting and so that means we get homemade pasta!  It takes a lot of muscle to make the spaghetti and gnocchi, so everyone pitches in to help.  We also wanted to take notes and learn as much as we could so in years to come, we can carry on the pasta making tradition with our kids and grand kids. Grandpa likes making pasta here in Colorado because it drys so quickly.  In Michigan, with the humidity, it might take a couple of days to dry.  Once again, we had a very tasty meal the next day with homemade sauce too!!  Thank you Grandpa Martini!!

Just starting to roll the dough

3 Generations of Martini's

Ron taking his turn

Jill learning the secret to rolling

Dried spaghetti waiting to be cooked.

Dried gnocchi waiting to be cooked!

Grandpa holding Gianna....his great-granddaughter

Yesterday was Thanksgiving....again at the Martini house!  We had a wonderful dinner with family and new friends.  We are so thankful for a loving family, great friends, good health and beautiful, healthy daughters.  We are also very thankful for having food to fill our stomachs and a roof over our heads keeping us safe and warm each night.  We hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Our best attempt at a family photo.

Heads Up

Gianna is 3 months old today and today I also captured her lifting her head up while on her tummy!  That is a huge deal ya know!  She is getting stronger each day.  I can't believe that in the near future, she will be crawling, then walking....and then we will look back and think....where did our little baby go?  It doesn't seem real, sometimes, that Isabella is an almost 2 1/2 year old.  I still look at her like she is a baby sometimes. That is until she opens her mouth to talk. :)

Look at me!!

I have also attached a little video of Isabella singing a little song she learned in music class.  I'll give you the words first, so you can tell what she is trying to sing.  Some of it is a little hard to understand.

"I had a little frog, his name was Tiny Tim.  I put him in the bathtub, to see if he could swim.  He drank up all the water, he ate up all the soap, and then he burped last night from a bubble in his throat."  (hiccup, excuse me)  (hiccup, excuse me)