This was a VERY steep hill!

Fantastic day sledding with Melanie and Kenny

SNOW

A compilation of A and her friends enjoying the snow in Cheshire Meadows, 2010

Lucked out!

So Chesapeake is NOT know for its snow storms...in fact it hasn't snowed a foot here in probably a decade. We didn't get a foot, but might get 8" to 10" before the storm moves east. We had a perfect day playing in the snow with the neighbors, going to a friend's 2nd birthday party and having Chris pull Aria and her friend Will on the sled. Good times! We finished the day eating Chris' famous chili and reading "The Snowy Day" a gift from Kitty Ama and "Snow" a gift from Matthew, Luke and Will, Aria's cousins.

8+ inches of SNOW in Chesapeake!

Snow in Chesapeake!!

Trying on Daddy's ski mask
Yes, that is a bowl of plain snow that Aria is eating for breakfast! She loves to eat the stuff!

A few recent photos

Pop pop and Carolyn with "Shelly" Aria's turtle. Chris stayed with them on a recent trip to FL

Aria taking a nap on me at the Sweigart Christmas
Jumping on her new trampoline Christmas morning!

Christmas Pageant at Preschool

Under the guidance of Miss Cathy, Aria and her fellow 2 1/2 year old's sang Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas and other holiday favorites.

Aria and her gingerbread house

We had a great time doing this!

Aria Meets Santa at the Chesapeake Fire Station

Aria met Santa today and LOVED him! She asked him for "presents in stockings". I think all the Christmas books we are reading are paying off. She loves "The Night Before Christmas" "Curious George Christmas" and "The Little Drummer Boy". We are also opening the chocolate Advent calendar every morning and talking about baby Jesus and Mary. She got very confused today when she heard "Santa Baby" on the radio.

Family photos at Melanie's

Happy Halloween!

We had a great time trick or treating! Halloween was really fun this year. Enjoy the photos :)

We love fall!

October is nearly halfway over. I've been remiss in my postings. I just got off the phone with Aria's preschool teacher, Miss Faith. She was giving me the "monthly update". Apparently Aria is "very bright" :) mostly plays with other girls in her class and randomly initiates conversations with both Miss Faith and Miss C.J. She also "plays well with others". We're so proud!

Aria loves preschool and I love it too. I get a nice break to do some volunteer work. I'm currently helping the local police department do some inventory and hope to do some work with the local health department and the pandemic flu vaccinations. I need to post some pictures from the first day of school and other adventures.

Chris is finishing up his CFI license this week which is pretty exciting and our 4 year anniversary is tomorrow!! Here are some photos of the first day of school...

More summer 09 pics...

"15 Animals" Sandra Boynton book...our favorite!

Playing with Jonathan and Danny!

Play date with neighbor, Quinn

Having a snack in the gazebo

Viola!

Finished!

Pouty face

First Haircut Pictures

Very nervous...

Reassured by lovey and watching herself in the mirror.

This isn't so bad!

Photos!

Aria and her buddy, Will being silly, as usual! Will lives in our neighborhood and goes to Aria's preschool. They are very funny together, talking and laughing and chasing each other around.

End of Summer 09

We have been laying pretty low the last few weeks...but were finally able to take Aria swimming again Friday. Her collarbone has been healing well, but she has a big lump where the fracture is/was. We went "camping" (in a KOA cabin) at Hatteras on Sat and Sunday so Chris could surf some big Hurricane Bill generated waves. We had another beach day today (Monday) with a few neighbors and friends. We love summer and the great storms, but the 100+ degree days we will not miss!

Aria will be starting preschool in two weeks Tues/Thurs 9:30-1. We have been reading books about going to school and two of her playgroup friends, Katie and Will are in her class.

Broken collar bone...

So last Tues night around midnight, Chris and I were awakened to screams of pain from Aria's room. When we went in, Aria was lying on the floor, crying inconsolably. She's not much of a climber, so I suspect she was running across her room (she likes to turn the fan on and off with the wall switch) with fingers in mouth and tripped on her lovey...We took her in first thing the next morning to the pediatrician (I debated calling 911 when she couldn't comfortably turn her head) and he checked her out but somehow missed the collarbone (in his defense she also had some GI issues earlier in the week, and she had a rash). Wed and Thurs she wouldn't use her left arm, complaining of ouchies...so I took her in again Friday afternoon...He caught it immediately, there is a lump and a bruise over the fracture. We went to the Chesapeake Hospital for xray. I tried to prep Aria by telling her there was a big camera going to take pictures of her bones but she was terrified...the technician was NOT very helpful. Aria actually kept saying "cheese" through her sobs. She was literally shaking with terror. Poor little bug. Xray showed fracture and pediatrician told us we should try to restrict her activities (ha!) and get her to wear the sling (double ha!) She misses the pool and the beach and not running. Basically it SUCKS.

The good news is we've had a lot of visitors. Aria's cousins, Matthew Luke and Will were here. Earlier in the week we had a visit from Aria's godmother Kristen on her way to Hatteras and we currently have my friend Steff and my godson J and his brother D visiting.