Once Upon A Dream

Today was our pastor's last sunday at church. We had a lot of old friends come back to say goodbye. The girls got palms and had a blast with them all day long....especially when daddy used them as tickling devices. We also had our first trip of the season to Ralph's ices...and Gillian had her first taste....Red Raspberry Ice!

The Ryan girls, and Gabby's boyfriend, Timothy

We will be going away for Easter, and we won't be back until next Monday. Here are some Easter pictures that were taken. We will post all about our Easter adventures when we get back next week!

Happy Easter to everyone!

It feels like we have been gone forever. We got back from our trip to Pa today, and so much has happened. We will take you through our trip day by day. This is extremely condensed...

We arrived at Meme and Papa's brand new house on April 4th. It was snowing like a blizzard the entire time that we were there. It was beautiful, though. We stayed indoors and baked for Easter on the 5th, and the girls got to meet their new baby cousin, Connor....who is about to turn three months in these pictures.

On Good Friday, we went to visit Great Gram at Pinecrest, and Kailey, Melinda, and Uncle Tim came to Meme's to color eggs....

Little did we know that there was a nasty virus spreading among the family. Members started dropping like flies...we continued to have fun. The highlight of Gabby's trip to Meme and Papa's new house was the big bathtub! She swam everynight!

On Easter, Kailey and Aunt Becky stayed home sick...others were starting to come down with something...Before the next morning...even Gillian took a trip to the ER. You would never know it by these pictures. She had a great time doing an indoor egg hunt with Gabby and playing with everyone all day. She woke up in the middle of the night with a nasty case of croup. Poor thing...at least the doctor and nurse at the emergency room fixed her up quickly and nicely.

Here are our two little bunnies....a little late. Gillian wouldn't wear her headband with ears, but we found gabby's elastic ears from her first easter. Gillian seemed to like those much better. The girls also got a package in the mail from Grandma Cathy, Grandpa Mike, and Aunt Lauren. It was a big hit....especially the silly putty and princess pez! Thanks....for all the Easter gifts that the girls recieved from everyone....we are so spoiled. XOXOXO

Gabby had her first school picture taken last month. She also had a class picture that was taken. They turned out great. The students in Gabriella's class from left to right are:
Steven, Christian, Rocco, Nicholas, Vincent, Gabriella, Marie, and Kevin....and Ms. Roe is their wonderful teacher!

We can't believe that we are posting this. How can Gillian be 11 months already? Her infancy went way too fast. She is so independent. You can tell by these pictures that she is almost 1 going on 18. She even posed on her beach towel in her bathing suit. Her aunt Amanda was laughing so hard while she was taking the picture. She got this new bike from Aunt Lena, Uncle Tony, and Isabella....it was an early birthday gift, and we are getting a lot of use out of it! The tulip dress is a resurrected oldy/but goody from Gabby's wardrobe. Gabby went to her first concert in that dress (Laurie Berkner). Speaking of Gabby....she had to get in on this photo shoot. Gillian didn't mind...to her, Gabby is the coolest!

We attempted to get out some of Gabriella's old baby puzzles. Gillian loved taking out the pieces, but she did not care very much for putting them all back together. It was pretty funny.

We finally had a day without rain in Staten Island. We started the day off by getting in a little Gymboree. It was the last day for Gillian and Isabella to have Gymboree together. It was special having cousins in class together...making memories. Unfortunately no one wanted to cooperate for a picture at the same time. Meanwhile Gabby was at the park with Daddy. She took her old tricycle. They came back covered in dirt...or so we thought. It turned out to be chocolate because the ice cream truck was at the park (busted). After Gillian's nap, we went to the boardwalk. It was a beautiful outside day!

We went to visit Nana Nuzza, Grand Daddy, and Nana Karen in Brooklyn today. Grand Daddy and Nana Karen flew in from South Carolina. We had a great time. The girls don't see them often, so it was an exciting trip for them. After Brooklyn, we took a bike ride to the park. Gillian got to try out her brand new big girl bike (an early gift from the Policarpo trio)....Now she matches Gabby.

Central Park had a few concerts going on for Earth Day. We took the girls and had a picnic. The celebration included Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could, Laurie Berkner, and Baby Loves Disco. There were so many activities/people. It was very exciting. Of course....we couldn't pass up a chance to swing when we got home.

We went to the playground after lunch today to meet Gianna, and we unexpectedly ran into some other friends. We saw Ava and Lauren from dance class....and Ava's baby brother, Michael. They all played hard, had ice cream (except for the babies), drank juice, and came home tired. Now....we are off to dance class!

We got together with some friends and family at the zoo today. The zoo reopened the reptile exhibit. It was really cool.... and everyone was amazed! We ran into some friends from Gabby's time at Gymboree. Gabby was in Gymboree with Maria since she was as small as Gillian. Now Gillian and Maria's baby brother are so big. The last time we saw him he was only six weeks old. Gabby really enjoyed seeing Maria again. Aunt Lena was there with Isabella. Grammy met us there, also. Our friend, Kirsten, was there with her little boy, Ben. Ben is about six weeks younger than Gillian and Isabella. Gabby got to ride a pony, and even Gillian gave it a try. She loved sitting on the pony and petting him.

The girls won a CD of Dan Zanes music from http://mumsthewurd.blogspot.com....
Here they are after they recieved the CD in the mail! Thanks mumsthewurd!

Nothing really out of the ordinary today....Here are a few stand-out moments....
Gabby got her first booster car seat for Grammy's car. It was a real big moment for her, because she has been working toward weighing 30 pounds. She was very impressed with herself. Gillian started a new Gymboree class. She is going solo at a Gymboree location closer to our house. Gymboree was great as always, but she missed her cousin, Isabella, today! Before bed, two of the "Pirates who don't do anything" showed up at our house. Pretty convenient when it is time to clean up the toys. If you aren't familiar with this old Veggie Tale song, you should be. It is hilarious!

Gillian and Isabella took pictures together at JCPenney. It was not planned. We met up at the mall, and Gillian happened to have a similar outfit to Isabella in the diaper bag. It was Isabella's 11 month b-day, so we could not resist. Yesterday, Gabby used a gift card that she received for her birthday at Build A Bear. She impressed us with her choices. There was nothing pink. She chose the American Black Bear with a green fairy costume. She named her bear....Tinker Bear. She really liked stuffing, washing, and giving her bear a heart, wish, and voice. This was our first time at Build A Bear.

Gabby's friend, Ally, had her fourth birthday today! All the girls went to her house for a Cinderella party! It was fabulous. There was pin the slipper on Cinderella, jewelry making, find the glass slilpper, and a princess piniata.....plus much more. Here are some highlights.....

Gabby danced with some of the older girls at church yesterday. They did a worship dance/human video for two songs. Here they are in action....and Gillian playing with Michael in the nursery. We will try to put one of the videos on later....sorry for the delay!

We went over to Aunt Lena's house today to play with Isabella. She got a new sand and water table for her birthday, and she invited us over to try it. The girls had a great time. Gabby totally mixed all the water and sand together. Gillian and Isabella were maniacs with the sand and water. They were splashing, grabbing for toys, and getting sand all over the place. So much fun.....We also got some cute pictures sitting in the "dandelion bed"....(Gabby's name for weeds).