Get Together at Aunt Cathy's House

This weekend, we all got together at Aunt Cathy's house to (finally!) have some quality time together. All the girls were there - Aunt Cathy, Cindy, Carly, me, Tracy, and Jena - and of course all of the babies too. Brody, Emma, and Elliott together made for a rowdy bunch! Daddy even hung out for a while and Uncle Joe too when he got home.

Cindy met Emma and Elliott for the first time. We had a delicious meal and lots of fun just getting to see each other. Definitely something we should do more often!

Steeler Playoffs

We hosted everyone for the Steeler playoff games at our house. Emma was pretty shocked at the level of intensity that everyone displayed for the game. She kept staring at all the people in their black & gold. And then when everyone would cheer, she would jump and start crying. I was sad that we were scaring her, but kind of amused at the same time because it was so cute and funny.

Paul made some absolutely delicious white chili that everyone loved and Kimmy made her awesome chicken tenders. We also had hot dogs & saurkraut, focaccia pizza, brownies, and a big cookie! We definitely watched the playoffs in true Pittsburgh style.

By the second weekend, she was much more relaxed and handled the cheering like a pro. We won both games! Steelers are AFC Champs and headed to the Super Bowl!

A Wonderful Surprise

For quite some time, I've been really stressed out with worry over Emma's childcare situation. Tracy had volunteered to watch Emma and Elliott, but I knew that it would be extremely difficult for her to watch both infants at the same time. At the beginning of the year, she came to a similar conclusion and so I needed to look for other options for Emma. I started to get really upset because I realized how much time I'm missing with her during the day while I'm at work and I really wanted her to be with someone I know and trust - someone who will take good care of her even if she cries like her little colicky self!

Just when I needed help the most, Aunt Cathy volunteered to watch Emma during the days for us. Her amazing offer couldn't have come at a better time, and after I hung up the phone with her talking about it, I sat on the floor and cried because I was so relieved. I know how long of a day it is watching an infant, and I appreciate Aunt Cathy doing this from the bottom of my heart.

Love you, Aunt Cath!

Winter Classic

Here's a pic of Emma watching the Penguins play in the Winter Classic with her Daddy. She has her Penguins gear on and she actually loves watching hockey on TV! I think it must be something about the contrast of the ice and players - something really catches her attention. Of course, maybe she's just a hockey lover like Paul and she's starting early.

It's a New Year

We rung in the New Year with all of our friends at the Ricci New Year's Eve party. Grandma and Granddad kindly babysat Emma for us so Paul and I could enjoy ourselves with a night out, baby-free! It was great to keep up the New Year's tradition and have a chance to relax and hang out with everyone.

You could definitely tell that we're new parents, though, because we turned in around 1:00 am instead of making it late into the night. It seems like we're always tired, but it's definitely worth it.