Once Upon A Dream

We had cousins from Boston over for a Labor Day BBQ. Gabby and Gilli had a lot of fun playing with Audrianna and Antonio. Good times...I can't believe that it is September. AHHHH

Gabriella made a trip to Albany to see the allergist just in time for school to start. Once again she tested negative for peanut allergy even though she has had two reactions. She has only had peanut butter two times. The allergist said that Gabby is part of the 1% of the population that tests negative while having a true allergy. The poor thing has been tested so many times. She had to get an epi-pen Jr for the school nurses office. She did not enjoy the scratch test at all as you can see by her face.

Grammy, Aunt Lena, Uncle Tony, and Isabella came up to visit just before Gabby started Kindergarten. They came bearing back to school gifts and lots of laughs and fun. There were so many pictures taken, that I just chose a bunch of group shots. The girls always have so much fun when they play together.

PS - Thanks so much for the back to school gifts Grammy and Aunt Lena! That was so thoughtful! xoxo

Gabriella had to go for Kindergarten orientation yesterday. She got to spend time with her teacher in a small playgroup setting while mom's and dad's filled out endless packets of information. It was awesome. Mrs. Bacchia was fun, friendly, and very helpful to us....with all of our questions. Mrs. Bacchia was really good at getting the students quiet and listening. At one point she told them to take their quiet dust and sprinkle it all around....(right up Gabby's alley). Today will be our first day taking the school bus alone.....so this entry will be continued...

We waited for the bus this morning. Gabby said her goodbyes. The bus came to pick her up and drove her to school. Gillian and I had to deliver medication to the nurses office for Gabby's peanut allergy. Just as we were driving away we saw Gabby get off the bus. She didn't see us. It was really cute to see her with her little bus partners. We can't wait to hear about her first solo day at kindergarten.

Gabby came home from school with a lot of exciting stories to tell and one wardrobe malfunction. See the note below and the picture that Gabby drew during art.

Gabriella received an early Christmas gift. Her drum set came in the mail yesterday, and Dave put it together for her first day of kindergarten. She loves it.

We decided to go to the playground and the rose garden again today....to see the flowers before the peak is over. The roses are just amazing over in Central Park - Schenectady. There won't be too many warm days like this left in 2008. The leaves are starting to change...and it is getting cooler.

Here is Gabriella on the second day of school. She wore better shoes...and they didn't hurt.
These pictures are for Sara........

We celebrated Gabby turning 5 1/2 by having the traditional Half Birthday Brownies. You wouldn't think that such a small thing would be such a big deal, but our girls LOVE this tradition.....the brownies, the singing, and the blowing out of the candle.

The dance and Gymnastics year has officially begun....and why would it start smoothly? Gabby started her tap and ballet class. That went very well. She has Ms. Char for ballet and Miss Morgan for tap. Gillian has been begging to go back to dance and gymnastics all summer. She loves to wear the tutu, but she would much rather be in gymnastics. The girls had some soup before we left for our fun filled evening. We took the back road to try to get to the studio/gym faster which was a huge mistake. Gillian got very car sick, and we didn't realize it until we got to the studio and she puked all over herself and her car seat. We didn't have a change of clothes for her, so we had to purchase a new tutu at the studio store. Gillian was much happier with the new tutu....it was very frilly and not stinky. While we were getting her cleaned up and changed....her pony tail elastic decided to give out and she had Willie Wonka/Gene Wilder hair. We had to slick that down with some water. The poor girl had a rough start but a fun night anyway. Gabby loved her gymnastics class, and the teacher told us that we had to reschedule her for a higher level class. We will see how that goes. We will give it a trial, but the girls are much older in that class, and we are not sure that is the best route for her.

These are pictures for Daddy...
We love you!
xoxoxoxoxo

Gabby had an ice cream social at her elementary school tonight. It was an event held by the PTO. She had a great time taking us on a tour of her school and introducing us to a few of the new friends that she has made in her class this past week. Here are a few shots of the girls sitting in the windows by the courtyard, and we took a picture of Gabby with the other Gabby that is in her class.

Today was the beginning of the 8 week soccer league in our area. Gabby really wanted to play soccer. This is her first experience with it. She had so much fun. There are a few kids in her kindergarten class that are also on her team...and there are a few new faces, as well. Gabby scored a goal (into the wrong goal) and almost a second one (into the correct goal), but the ball just missed the net. Good thing they don't keep score. Gillian was trying to get out on the playing field, too....but instead she was the cutest little cheerleader. She kept yelling, "Go Gabby, Do it!" Gabby's coach is Scott, who used to live in Manhattan. Gabby enjoyed getting extra muddy. Thankfully...no injuries!!

Gabby came home from school a few days ago with the news that she had been chosen (randomly) to be the class helper of the day. The most exciting thing about this prestigious position is that the helper gets to bring a bag of goodies home. When I say goodies...I mean...class journal, books to read and pages to color. One of the themes that Gabby has been doing in her class this month is the stages of the monarch butterfly. She also has a new class pet....Silly Sally Sue the baby hedgehog. This is what she chose to write a journal entry about (the hedgehog).

The girls in our house love to play with these Dolls. I don't know how this happened. We have not spent a dollar on anything like this....somehow they stock pile. Eventually we end up with a picture like this. Gabby and especially Gillian would like to say, "Thanks for the Barbies, people".

Gillian was so excited today because she had her first day of school like Gabby. Our girls have been going to Gymboree since they were very small. When we moved to our new house, we were sad to find out that there are no Gymboree- Play and Music centers around. We decided after a few recomendations to try out Tumbling Tykes. It is a privately owned education program for smaller children. I was pleasantly surprised by the whole program. Of course, we will miss Gymboree (mostly because of Ms. Fran), but this program is going to be great. We love Ms. Stacey (Gillian's teacher) already. Gillian enjoyed the huge playroom full of fun things to climb. Then she got to go into her separate classroom where she danced, used instruments, pom poms, hula hoops, little balls and big balls. Of course there were bubbles like Gymboree. There was even a craft time. The parents were kindly warned not to help the children with their little project. I did have to help Gillian get the cap off the glue, but she did pretty well making her own face...using glue, and she even added a nose. Her absolute favorite part of the day was bouncing on the exercise ball while singing "Humpty Dumpty". You can imagine what happened when Humpty had a great fall. All the kids laughed and wanted to do it again.

We recently went to Bowman's orchard to pick apples and raspberries. It was a lot of fun. There was so much to do there. The fresh apple cider and doughnuts were also delicious. The girls didn't want to leave. We came home and made a fresh apple-raspberry pie.

One of the homework exercises that Gabby had this week was leaf rubbing. Gillian had a great time helping her collect leaves. Gillian tried a few rubs also.

This never gets old for our kids.....
Cheap entertainment....

....for the bus while leaves are falling.

YYYYYUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMY

It was a bit muddy on Saturday...

Our neighbors, Barry and Carol, babysat for us on Saturday. The girls always have a great time with them. They brought Halloween headbands and other goodies, but Barry and Carol ended up wearing the headbands in this picture. The girls also recieved a package in the mail from Aunt Mandy and Uncle Steve. They loved the movie that Aunt Mandy sent, and we took this picture of them waving at the end of the show. Thanks so much!

We had the Maddalone's over for a bbq after church today. The girls all painted pumpkins, ate lots of food, and played outside. It was a fun and fast weekend.