Once Upon A Dream

Uncle Steve took the gang crabbing yesterday at Gateway Park.....
Gillian stayed home for a nap....Gabby was afraid of the crabs, but wouldn't you be? They look so angry. They also found a ladybug and a jellyfish.

The girls saw their Pizzolo grandparents in Brooklyn on Saturday. Grand Daddy and Nana Karen traveled up for the weekend, and they saw Nana Nuzza, too. When we came home for dinner, Gillian had corn on the cob for the first time! She loved it! We couldn't pry her hands off of it.

We dragged out the ole' Bonzai Slide yesterday. It was a little chilly, but that didn't stop Gabby or aunt Mandy from going totally nuts. Take a look at these crazy ladies!

It is so different to celebrate 4th of July in a state where fire works are illegal. I never realized that it made a difference until the girls came. All of my years growing up in PA and OH....there were always lots of loud fun on the 4th. We hit a lot of sales yesterday morning....and returned to have a BBQ with the family, but there was not a single sad sparkler. The girls are still a little too little to watch the Macys fireworks on TV....they were fast asleep before they even came on the television. It was a relaxing day anyway. We tried to get some pictures of the girls together, but it was hard to get everyone to cooperate at the same time.....someone was trying to get away...someone else was crying. We got a cute picture at the window, and another of them trying to stick their fingers in uncle Tony's birthday cake......yum!

No one in our little family of four has ever been on a helicopter. We decided to take a tour of Manhattan and the statue of Liberty to experience something new. Gabby was so excited. We went into the city and didn't tell her what was happening until we got to the heliport. Gillian was interested in making friends with all the people who were working at the heliport. When the tour first started, Gillian was not very happy....It was loud, and she did not want to keep her earphones on her head. After awhile in the air, she was fine. We saw New Jersey, Ellis Island, Liberty Island, Governors Island, downtown and midtown. It was different from flying in a plane, and we all really enjoyed it. After the helicopter ride, we went over to the Empire State building. We took the girls up to the 86th floor observatory. They loved it, and Dave and I had not been there in a long time. What an adventure!

We like to try out different playgrounds around Staten Island. Today we found a great one right on the beach. The girls went in the sprinklers and ran around making new friends. Mom and Dad got hot and sweaty....We also tried a new way to ride the swing.

We took a trip over to New Jersey today. Our first stop was at Mark and Debra's house....The girls got to play with their cousins, Emma and Ian. Then we went to Ben and Kirsten's house to celebrate baby Ben's 1st birthday. The girls were outside playing all day. It was beautiful!

After church and a nap for Gillian, we went to a kids festival at Willowbrook park. It was hot, but that didn't keep anyone from playing games, going on the carousel, and eating ice cream!

We gave Grammy a workout at the Jersey Garden Mall this afternoon. After shopping a little bit, we played at the indoor play center.

brought to you by Aunt Amanda.....

We have a lot of anniversaries coming up this week. Today was Amanda and Steve's 2nd anniversary! Congratulations.... Gabriella was lucky enough to be the flower girl in their wedding. We can't believe two years have gone by since then....Here is a picture of Gabby and Kailey while everyone was getting ready to start the ceremony.

Dave and I are celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary today! We can't believe that 10 years has gone by so quickly. Our moms got married 21 years ago today....same date, time...Happy anniversary to our parents as well. Here we all were 10 years ago...

Gabriella was invited to Joseph Hegel's 4th birthday party. It was a bowling party. She had a great time. It has been awhile since she bowled, and she was able to handle the ball a lot better this time. She was happy that Joseph liked the Spiderman presents that she picked out for him.

Gillian turned 14 months today. We spent the day in New Jersey at the Johnson's house. Ashley graduated from high school and will be going to college to study nursing in the fall. The girls had so much fun playing on the new basketball court that Barry had made in his backyard.

We started off the day taking a ride in the Pizzolo Express....AKA - cardboard box. Then it was off to church, and home to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. We also got to meet some friends of Grammy's that were here from Dominica.

Gabby created a playdough place setting this morning while Gillian was taking a nap. Naptime is the only safe time Gabby has to play with Playdough. Gillian loves to play with playdough, but she still takes the occasional little lick or big old bite out of it. Later in the afternoon, the girls helped Grammy to wash cars, and they also played in the water from the hose. Here is a funny picture of Gillian telling us, "Hey guys, you missed a spot!......

The girls played at Gateway beach/park yesterday. Gabby calls it "Beyond the Sea". They had fun digging in the sand and climbing everything. We collected more rocks to paint, and mommy got a shovel full of sand in her hair...by accident. Gillian was navigating the playground on her own, and she was doing great...up and down stairs, slides, and all. We were impressed. She is Miss Independent....

Gillian and Gabby spent a lot of time looking out the windows today at all the beautiful rain that has been falling. They were also waiting for their cousin, Isabella. Aunt Amanda stopped over for some fun at dinner time, and she pointed out to us that Gillian's dress matched her dinner. So we colorized these pictures.

Grammy had a birthday today! The girls celebrated with her by making cookies, brownies, and having fun. Here are some shots of them together in shirts that Grammy got for them awhile ago. The first picture is a picture of the girls taken last year around this time. How much they have changed! Happy Birthday Grammy! We love you!

Well, we had a very busy weekend....There are too many pictures and events to post. Here are some of the highlights in a nutshell. We all took Grammy out to breakfast on Saturday morning for her birthday. We spent most of the day outside after that. Gillian took her first solo trip around the block without veering off into traffic or danger. She picked every flower/weed that she could stuff into her little chubby hands. Every time we would see a dog she would stop and point and say, "Ruff, Ruff, Ruff". We went down to the boardwalk later to see the fireworks. There was an amazing sunset.

We have been spending time having playdates...mostly outdoors and going on nature walks. Here are some pics of Gabby and Gillian at a playground not far from our house, and they are playing with Gianna. There is a huge climbing pyramid at this park. The girls climbed up it, and then they were afraid to come down. Anita (Gianna's mom) climbed up and saved the day! There are also a couple shots from Blue Heron Nature Center. Uncle Steve took us hiking.

So....here are some of the day's events. We had a fun day at the beach/playground. The girls were running around and acting as silly as ever. Grammy brought some pretzel rods... and this was Gillian's first experience. She saw it and grabbed it immediately, but she thought that it was one of her water flutes that she uses in the bath tub. It was really funny. Gabby collected a ton of rocks to take to Meme's next weekend. She painted them for the flower gardens.

The 28th was Dave's birthday, and we helped him celebrate all day long. There was a birthday breakfast, Cinnabons instead of cake (Dave's favorite), playing at the playground, and a night out. The girls stayed happily with Grammy! Gillian had her first Lollipop today!

Gillian had her first finger painting experience today. She loved it. It was very messy, and she couldn't get enough of it. Here are a couple shots of her in action and a shot of her masterpiece. The girls also went to their friend, Justin's, birthday party. His sister, Alyssa, is in a couple pictures, too.

Look what happened in our back yard yesterday!.....
so sorry Grammy.....
When you said, "yes", to being squirted, you didn't know you were getting the full-on hose....

Gabby had her friend, Ally, come over to play today. Ally brought her brother, Andrew, and everyone played outside on the Bonzai Slide and in the pool. Gillian and Gabby did more swimming later in the day. Gabby taught Gillian how to put her face in the water and blow bubbles. It was so cute!