Halloween Happenings

Although Halloween has always been a favorite time of year for me, this year was filled with other wonderful distractions. We did however make it out to Vala's Pumpkin Patch, on the coldest day of October. :) Cambry had a blast! It was unfortunately too cold to unwrap Baby Boston and take his picture with the pumpkins. One of our favorite things at Vala's has always been to ride the hay rack out to the pumpkin patch and pick our very own pumpkin right off the vine. Cambry has to select just the right size of pumpkin for each family member. I snap photos of the 'search for the perfect pumpkin,' and carefully carry her prize gourds back to the farm.




In the spirit of the season, I normally dress up in some clever homemade costume and insist that the rest of my family do the same. (One of the many reasons they love me - lol.) This year we were to be Smurfs - Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Sassette Smurf, and Baby Smurf. I just could bring my self away from the chocolate and 'Soaps' to finish making the costumes. (Kidding - I have been so swamped with the house, the new baby, closing business, and the move that I just didn't get it done. Although, many of the ladies I know joke about me not getting things done because I must have nothing to do now that I don't work.)

Grandma thoughtfully purchased these darling costumes for my little ones. They arrived in costume to Uncle Matt's Groom's Dinner on Halloween night. My Little Sweat Pea (yes Papa Joe, next year he will be dressed as something manly).

And Spiderman, yes, that is Spider Man, not just an ordinary spider. She made certain everyone was clear on that. Totally hilarious as always.

Both little ones are zonked out on the way home Monday morning.

Baby Boston has arrived!

Boston Micheal Gerardi was born on Saturday, Oct. 11th at 3:38AM. He was a healthy 7lbs 10oz, 19 1/2 inches long. It took just 40 weeks, less 3 days, to create our second miracle. He is beautiful! The labor was an incrible experience. I had a great time - yes seriously, lol. We are both tired, yet doing very well. Boston is quite a bit jaundice and is being treated at home over the next week. He looks just like a little pumpkin. The family jokes that at least he is in season. I worry, of course, but he should be an alert little guy in no time. I truely can not express the joy, fulfillment, love, and glory that comes with being a mother. I am truely blessed!

Cambry is very proud to be the "Big Sister." She is super sweet with him. She came to visit first thing Saturday morning. She was not in the room more than 2 minutes before she said "Okay, I am ready to take him home." She loves on him constantly. He is the first person she asks for in the morning and the last person she sees before bed. "Good Night Baby Boston Michael. Have sweet dreams," she says. She has learned that he can not share "Newies" (noodles) with her until he has teeth. She makes sure that everyone else is aware of this as well. She is excited to teach him all about life.


The light inside Papa Joe shines brighter when he looks at his son. He truely is a proud father - a super one at that. He is completely dedicated to his children and his family. It is such a beautiful thing. Like the comedian he is, when I say how cute the little guy is, Joe responds with "Yes, and he comes with big, deadly gas too." In case you have forgotten, the bowel smells of young children are quite incredible.

Tremendous Two!

Family Fun at the Gifford Farm on Saturday, Oct. 4th. Cambry LOVES the animals. She had the best time feeding the "Honkeys" (donkeys) grass with Papa Joe. In the top picture she had just stuck her fingers into the chicken coop to let them have a nibble. This apparently tickles. :)




Cambry is Papa's girl! They have the best time together. It is such a joy to watch them be together.

Anticipation!

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new baby boy. Mom is exhausted and uncomfortable. :) Here are a couple of fun pictures of Cambry and the 'belly bump.'

Joe has been asked to open a new restaurant in Houston, TX. This is a great opportunity for both he and our family. We will let the hurricanes pass and then we will be on our way. We are currently working our tails off to get the house ready to be put on the market next Saturday, Sept. 20. YIKES! That is only 8 days away. Today is my last day with the childcare children. I will be dedicating all of my time to painting, cleaning, packing, and bonding with my little girl before the new baby arrives. I am thrilled to be able to have some unplanned time at home with baby Boston and Cambry after he arrives. We should be on our way to Houston around January 5th. We are very excited to be so close to the ocean and surrounded by new adventures and opportunities. Our door will always be open to all of you who want to venture down south. No snow I hear. :) I for one love the snow and cold winters. I don't think Joe will miss it one bit. Once in Texas, I will be thankful for the heat of Nebraska. It has only taken me what, seven or eight years to quit complaining so much about the heat here. So you figure by the time my kids go to Junior High I should be okay. lol. We will make sure to share the highs and lows along the way. It will be incredible. I hope you are all doing wonderful as fall approaches. Take care! Talk to you soon.

Cambry's 2 Year Pictures

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Pose #5

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Our Trip to Half Moon Bay

We took a few days in the middle of July to travel out to California to visit Joe's sister, Deb.
We had an amazing time. This was Cambry's first trip to the ocean. The weather was cool, making the water even colder, so we did not actually get into the water. No the less, we enjoyed our time by the water very much. The sounds and smells of the ocean are soooo soothing to us.




Here's a picture of Cambry in Sausalito. We took the ferry from San Francisco to Sausalito one day. Cambry would tell you the best part of that trip (other than the boat ride) was when she and mom fed her snack to the birds. As you can tell, this was quite exciting.

Cambry loved every minute she spent with John. From the minute he came home, she was by his side - eating what he ate, and doing things just the way he did. He had this incredible calming effect on our typically wound up child. This was a whole new side of her for us to see. In the picture they are sharing a 10lb, "everything but the kitchen sink," pizza and a rootbeer. Now that we are back home, she pretend calls John often. "Hi John, this is Cambry. Cambry take an airplane to see Debbie and John in a few weeks." This is followed by a long silence. She will then say to me, "John's not home, he's at work. We'll call him later." (So sweet)

Aunt Deb's almost world famous garden.

Ohhh, one of my favorites. Wafting the food she just prepared with her Papa, the master chef. Sunday night in Half Moon Bay, Deb held a house party for us as well as her friends. Cambry and Papa Joe spent the day preparing food for the guests. I won't mention that Deb and John contributed to the cooking, this would take away from the Kitchen Masters. John and Joe went down to the bay and bought fresh fish of all kinds right off the boats. The meal as well as the presentation were stunning. (I of course expect nothing less from my man.) This picture is priceless to me. Cambry was so proud to be working in the kitchen with Papa Joe.

On the last night we were in town, we all went out to an elegant little place just off of the water. This is a picture of Cambry, displaying poise and dining etiquette, as she serves herself a slice of crayon. Not the first course the rest of us chose, but hey, the girl has taste.

Thanks for sharing our trip with us. I hope everyone is doing well. Drop us a line or give us a call when you have time. We would love to hear from you. Take care.

Mid Summer Thoughts

"Go see Debbie, How many days Mommy?" This is a phrase we hear frequently these days. Cambry (and the two of us) are very excited to be making a trip to see Joe's sister in California this weekend.

Here are a couple of photos from our June outing to the zoo. Feeding the birds was her favorite.

Playing outside in the $10 pool is priceless.

Two sweet little smiles to share with you!

These two pix are from the 4th of July. We ventured downtown for the fireworks. It was late, she enjoyed it...until... "Fall down and hurt the knee at the fire-yerks." Getting even the tiniest scrape if the end of the world. We of course had to leave right away. :) She is still taking about it, along with the scrape from Grandma's and the one from the zoo (both over 1 month old, completely healed, and invisible.)

On the bright side, her language skills are incredible. She has gone from using 3 words in a sentance at 18/19 months to creating whole stories, using verbs in the corrrect tense, and labeling objects with several adjectives. Amazing! (All mother's say that don't they?) I know that signing with her for the last 18 months can be thanked for much of her mind blowing language development.

Here are a couple of pictures of her first pony ride. We are at a little carnival the day after the 4th of July. She insisted that I stand back; she could do this on her own. Such an independent creature and still just as meticulous as ever. Some of her favorite things lately are: motorcycles, airplanes, swimming pools, tennis shoes, high heels, coats, and "Sfub - Bob" (Sponge Bob). The cutest thing she says, well one of the cutest, is "Mommy maked a mess." She says this everything I am bent down cleaning up one of the messes she made.

That's it for now. I hope everyone is staying cool. Look for us next week, pictures of the ocean and the beach! Take care.