Once Upon A Dream

We took the opportunity to take the girls to the playground yesterday, and we ran into some friends. Here is Gabby, Gillian, Dave, and Sara! Gabby and Sara start pre-K in two days! Before we went to the playground, Dave shot a picture of the girls creating fairies on the Disney Website. They love it!

Bungee swings, Street entertainment, Sun, Fun......

Early this morning, we woke up for a nature walk at Mount Loretto. Later after nap time, we had a fun afternoon in the back yard with the whole gang. The three little girls had fun swimming, jumping, dancing, playing and eating.....One last summer party before school starts tomorrow!

We had such an exciting day! Gabriella had her first day of school! She was so excited to go, and she got to meet her new teacher, Mrs. Schettina (sket-teena)! She was very nice, and Gabby was so happy to see her new classroom. There are about 12 students in her class, and she will be going to play and learn with them every day for 2 and 1/2 hours in the afternoon. We are looking forward to a great year!

After school today, Gabriella went to sleep over at Aunt Mandy's and Uncle Steve's house. She was so excited. Gillian stayed home....and had a bubble bath. She spent the whole time washing Dora. It was adorable!

There was fun to be had at the Jersey Garden Mall today. Aunt Mandy and Uncle Steve came along. After awhile, the girls just wanted to go home.

Daddy had the flu today, so we went out to church...had fun in the nursery... and tried to lay low for the rest of the day so that he could feel better. Some faces that you may not recognize in the pictures....Alex...a great friend of the girls (she dressed up like a princess for Gabby's 4th b-day), and Michael....a friend (Gabby's age) in the nursery at church.

When good aunts get silly.....

Gabby had a very merry 1/2 birthday today....4 1/2 to be exact. Here is a picture of her before she left for school and also waiting to blow the candles out on her birthday brownies!

Yesterday was the 6th anniversary of 9/11. Gabby had a lot of remembrance activities going on at school. The students had to dress in red, white, and blue. They had to bring in a special toy that was red, and they had to do something for someone in remembrance of 9/11. Gabby decided to make a special dinner for her dad. She decided that she wanted to make pancakes...so we did something along that line. She is a great cook. Gillian had her first day of school (Gymboree). Isabella and Ben are in the class, too. They had a blast. It is always great to see friends and play with Ms. Fran.

Gillian had a fun day going to Gymboree and playing at the playground by herself. Gabriella had no pre-K today because of the Jewish holiday, so she went to Coney Island with Aunt Mandy and Uncle Steve. Gabby brought home a paint by number kit that she worked on until it was finished. It turned out great, and we hung it in one of the art frames in her bedroom. Later, the two girls were reading books to each other, and it was so adorable....I couldn't resist.

Isabella stopped over to play for a little bit....It was fun...as always!

The children's museum hosted a Fancy Nancy party today. The girls got fancy, and we all went to the book reading/meet the author before the fancy party. Jane O'connor was very nice and the girls loved hearing Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy.

In case you are not familiar with Fancy Nancy, she is a little girl who tries to teach her plain family how to be fancy. After the reading, the girls got to balance bananas on their heads instead of books because bananas are fancy. Then they learned to eat cookies in a fancy way....pinky up!

The girls were then taken to another room where they decorated tiaras and posh puppies. When it was our turn to have our Fancy Nancy books signed, Jane noticed that Gabriella was a big sister. She told Gabby that she was a big sister, too! When Jane found out that Gabby's baby sister was Gillian, she laughed because her baby sister is named, Jill.

After decorating posh puppies and tiaras, there was ice cream! It was fancy, too (whipped cream, sprinkles and cherries galore)!

The girls said Au Revoir...because that is fancier than just saying goodbye... and we went home. Being fancy made us tired!

We ran around in the fields next to our house yesterday, and Gabby went to dance class after school. This was her second practice of the year. She wanted to take a picture with her very good friend, Ally.

Gillian and Gabby were playing with their sidewalk chalk in the front of the house yesterday. Gabby decided to make chalk people across the steps, and she was horrified when Gillian decided to sit on them and smear them. Gillian got a big chalky bum of which she was extremely proud. Gillian gave her contribution to the chalk display, and then we walked down to the beach!

The three G's (Gabriella, Gillian, and Gianna) played at Tysen's playground....
They were soaking up the sun...there won't be too many more days like these this year!

We had a very busy day today. Here is a first look of Gabriella with her friend, Dominick (who has a crush on her). Some of you know the story and have been waiting for the pic....For those of you who don't, Dominick went home the first week of school and told his whole family that there was a "princess" in his class. He calls her "my princess"....It is cute, and he is a really funny boy. After school, we went down to the boardwalk and played at one of the playgrounds. Gabby was really excited to show Gillian everything down at the beach. When we got home, they went under the chairs in the kitchen to make tents while they were waiting for dinner to be ready. Gillian went to bed around 7pm. Uncle Steve came over to babysit while Gabby went to her first "Family Night" at school. She had fun doing crafts, playing with friends, and eating soft pretzels!

The girls set up a picnic in the house yesterday. It was going great until the tea got dumped on purpose....by Gillian who wanted to get rowdy and start a food fight. It was funny!

Gabriella graduated this morning from toddler nursery into kids church. It was a great thing for her because now she can go downstairs during church with all the big kids. Here is a picture of her with two of her fellow graduates, Michael and Sara!

We went to the seaport today to see Dan Zanes in an intimate gathering. He sang all songs about the sea..... and there were many special guests. The highlights for the girls were the tap dancing, seeing Barbara, and meeting Dan at the end of the concert! David Jones was also there.....He is one of the most knowledgable maritime singers in the world (according to Dan).

We had to do a lot of shopping today. Gillian and Gabby were my helpers. Gabby got a new coat that Gillian thought was her own. She wore it all afternoon. We also took a little time out this morning to meet up with Isabella and Milena at Gymboree.

When we picked Gabriella up from school today, her teacher whispered that Gabby had something exciting in her folder. When we opened her folder, we found out that she got Student of the Month! We are so proud of her. She didn't really know what the award was about, but we explained it to her. Here are some shots from the day. Isabella came over to play in the morning....along with Grammy, Aunt Lena, and Aunt Mandy. In the afternoon, Gianna came over to play.

Dave and I have memories from childhood like the ones we created today with our girls. We both remember getting together with cousins, playing, laughing, and having fun. Meanwhile, the parents and aunts and uncles are laughing even harder in the next room. When I think about those times, I feel safe and happy. Take a look at these faces...I think they are feeling the same.

Here are a couple of Milena's pictures that she sent. These are hilarious. Here are the three girls playing dress up. Also, here is a picture of Gillian hugging Isabella's head.