Once Upon A Dream

So sorry that we haven't been updating. We have been so busy planting and painting outside. We had to repair a really old deck, and finish landscaping the yard. There was still time for sprinklers....and the girls helped to plant their first garden....only tomato plants this year. We are starting very small.

We had an old sliding door removed from our house this week and replaced it with French doors. Gabby and Gillian really enjoyed the part when there was no door at all. Dave and I enjoyed the part when it was all finished. Gillian wore her new Dora dress from Aunt Lena. She twirled in it all day long!

A car went into our moat in front of our house before leaving for the girls' dance recital yesterday. No one was hurt, and the car was removed promptly. At the recital, Gillian performed "Cuddly Duck" with Dave....she did really well at first, but then she froze up and just waved and blew kisses. Gabby was funny and did a great job. She was also a big ham. We will try to post videos later, but the quality is really poor. So sorry! We hope the moving and shaking doesn't make you sick.

Gillian's "Cuddly Duck" performance (Daddy and Me Ballet)

Gabriella's "Showbiz Kid" performance (tap)-She is right in the center.

Gabriella's "Little Stars" performance (ballet)- She is the smallest one.

Grammy sent a package in the mail with some goodies and congratulations for doing so well at the recital. The girls loved all the craft supplies...and the musical cards. They were a big hit. Even dave got to share in the fun....on his lunch break. Thanks Grammy!

We had a playdate with some new friends today. Gabby has been going to Missionettes with Giavanna and Michaelah (twins). They also have a little sister, Valentina. They live on top of a gorgeous mountain/with a gorgeous view....and a petting zoo. It was really funny to put our two girls in with the totally friendly and tame animals. The girls were outside their element. The goats kept trying to check out Gillian's shiny shoes and all she wanted to do was see the llama (Bahama). Gabby liked the huge Turkey...and there were two calves. I believe that their names were Big Mac and Whopper.....(can you believe that?) Anyhow...we got home just in time for a nap. I thought that Gillian would have zonked out during the 40 minute ride home. She tried to come outside while I was unloading the car. I told her that she didn't have any shoes on and to stay inside the house. She listened a little....check her out in Dave's shoes on the way to the van.

Gabby has a new drum teacher. Her first teacher, Dave...took a two month leave to work in a school. Gabby got a new super cool teacher (Sheray?sp). We just found out that Dave is moving and not returning, so we are going to stick with the new teacher. She is just as fun...if not more fun. Gabby has really clicked with her. Also...included is a picture of exhausted Gillian.

The children in Gabby's Missionette class put on a short play for us the other night in the church gymnasium. They acted out the story of Zacchaeus. (Gabby was a beautiful lady in the crowd)....They sang some songs after that, and it was really cute.

We celebrated Gillian's 2nd birthday yesterday (a Dora party). We had so much fun with friends and relatives! We love you all! Thanks for coming! xoxo

We spent the last week in Western PA....There was a lot going on. Here is a re-cap of the events that took place. The girls spent a lot of time outside. They got a chance to help Papa mow the lawn (lawn the mow...as Gabby puts it) and pick daisies. There are fields of them at Meme and Papa's house.

The girls searched for bugs, found some and some baby birds. They played in the pool and sprinkler...and had picnics.

We took a little trip to the small town of Benezette while in PA. We were on the lookout for some Pennsylvania Elk. We ate at a little restaurant that served Elk burgers, but had no luck finding any in the fields. There was a huge thunder storm before we went, so we think they may have been undercover in the forest. We still searched. Gabby and Gillian watched out the windows, Meme searched the fields, and Uncle Lou even got out the binoculars.

The middle picture = Mary on the Prairie

One of the reasons that we were in PA was to have a huge yard sale. We have so many girls clothes that Gabby, Gillian, and Kailey have grown out of that it took us more than a week to get all the clothes out of boxes, hung, and tagged. It was definitely an accomplishment....but sad to say goodbye to all the cute baby clothes. The girls walked down to the end of the lane to post this sign.

Kailey had a recital on the last day of the yard sale. Dave took the three girls out for lunch while we were selling old stuff. They were being very silly. That night...we all went to Kailey's recital. It was a spectacular show. Everyone loved it and Kailey was a star!

We officially celebrated Father's Day on Saturday before Kailey's recital, but on Sunday morning, we gave Dave his cards and gifts. The girls helped Meme make a big breakfast complete with "Big Daddy" pancakes. They girls waited to surprise Papa. Then it was time to pack up and go back to NY. The girls were so exhausted from the whole week that they slept most of the way home.

Gillian said good bye to the crib recently! Time will tell what happens....
So far she is staying in the bed. Here is what happened when she first saw the bed.

We visited the public library today, and Gabriella got her first library card. It was so exciting. She wasn't old enough to get one in NYC, but you can get one when you are five here. How proud was she to sign her own name on a card? She took out three books, and we signed up for the summer pre-school and toddler programs. Our 1000 book club program is going well. We are getting close to 750 books, but we found out that we will not be able to get the books during the summer. The school will be closed and under construction. We are sooooooo sad! We have until first grade to finish, so there is no rush.

We had to play a lot of "Doctor" yesterday to get Gillian prepared for her cardiologist appointment today. The appointment went fine...she has a normal heart murmur and a normal heart. She doesn't have to see a pediatric cardiologist again. We were very happy about that, and she was fine with the x-rays and EKG.

Dave wanted to do something fun after the appointment, so we took the girls to see Kung Fu Panda. It was Gillian's first movie in the theater. It was cute. Gillian kept saying "no fighting" everytime the bad guy tried to fight the good guys. She loved the popcorn, and she wanted to go to the movies again when it was time to leave. I was shocked. I thought that she was a little young to go, but she sat there and loved the whole thing.

Gianna...turned....4!
Happy Birthday!

While we stayed in Staten Island this weekend, Gillian had the opportunity to sleep in a sleeping bag for the first time. It was interesting. She did pretty well, and slept all night....We had to keep putting her back in the bag because she would somehow roll or slide out while sleeping.

We saw some special friends that we haven't seen in a long time while we were away this weekend. Gabby saw her Pre-K(3) teacher, Ms. Roe. We ran into Bernard and his fiance, Camina, at the mall. Gabby's friend, Skylar, happened to be on the boardwalk so we snapped a pic. Everyone was doing well.

There was a summer celebration with fireworks at Midland Beach over the weekend. After going to a couple parks to play and cool off in the sprinklers, we went to check out the festivities and fireworks. It was a late night, but it was well worth it!

We had so much rain/hail today that the ditch....AKA "moat" in front of our house started to overflow. We also lost power for most of the evening.

We had a riverside picnic today. The weather was perfect. We brought sandwiches, bubbles and badmitton. The girls didn't want to leave. They were loving the view as much as me.

Gabriella hit her 750 book milestone today. It was just in time for the school to close its doors for the summer. Mrs. Sogoian presented her with a 1000 book kid t-shirt. We will start the completion of the program on September 5th (Gabby's first day of Kindergarten). We just found out the date for her first day of school, her teacher's name (Mrs. Bacchia), and that she will be attending afternoon kindergarten. How exciting!

We traveled back to good ole' Staten Island to see our friends from Dance Xpress in their 2008 recital. Gabby attended from September through December before we moved away. She was so happy for all of her friends. She was excited to see them all again and see how their performances turned out after all that practicing. She was especially happy to see Miss Alli! Gabby was called up onto the stage at the end of the show. Miss Alli recognized her as a former student and gave her a special present. Thank you Soooooo much! We love and miss you....Dance Xpress.

An exciting side note...Dance Xpress has been chosen to dance the final number at the lighting of the Rockefeller Tree this year. Congratulations!

Last weekend, we took a little trip to Great Adventure in New Jersey. They have an awesome Safari...with tons of animals. There were lots of rides for the girls to try, but they loved the animals the most. Gillian loved the mommy and baby zebras. Gabby had a good laugh at all the ostriches. There were also bears, tigers, lions, and monkeys etc...that didn't make it into the entry. Gabby got to play some drums with a group that performed percussion numbers using all materials that were recycled.

While at Great Adventure, the girls had a private Q&A with the Dolphin trainers. They were able to ask the ladies anything they wanted....play with the dolphins, feed them, and get their pictures taken with the group. The trainers were lots of fun, and the dolphins, Cody and Avalon, were so beautiful.

Happy Birthday to Uncle Tony this week. We celebrated with him last weekend. Aunt Lena made some chocolate covered pineapple with the girls, and she made this gorgeous cake that was completely edible. She even made each little flower. Isn't it gorgeous?

Gianna, her mom (Anita), and Auntie (Teresa) stayed over last night. The girls had a little bit of time to play together. They wanted to dress up and dance. We also broke out the moon sand. It is always messy and always fun!