A trip to the snow

Last weekend, we packed up the kids and headed up to Lake Arrowhead to play in the snow. Once we got everything loaded up and in the car, it was a fun and relaxing weekend. Saturday we bundled up the kids and did some sledding down the hill right outside the house. Uncle Russell and Maddie headed full force down the hill...wee!

I don't know what it is about snow but we couldn't get Maddie and Wil to stop eating it! I told them that was kind of disgusting but they didn't seem to care a bit. Big surprise. Tell 'em not to do it and they just want to do it more!Wil and Maddie loved getting pulled around on this sled. Wil was a little unsure. His mittens kept falling off and he did NOT like getting his hands cold and wet in the snow.

It was a fun time to be had by all. I can't wait for Christmas in Minnesota next year... the kids are going to love it. This was just a small taste of the fun you can have in the snow. Right?

William turns 2!

So the photos didn't load in the order I had hoped they would. My sweet, little William is 2. I can hardly believe it. He's growing up oh so fast. Dad did some of the birthday shopping and he picked out some cool WWF style wrestlers. Wil thought they were pretty cool. Mom just noticed the ages 8+ note on the packaging. We celebrated with an ice cream cake and presents on the actual night of Wil's birthday...Monday February 16. Mike and I had to work and the rest of the Ciriza clan was out of town in Connecticut so it was a small family celebration... just the 4 of us!

Wil got a cool basketball hoop from Grandma Jeanne and Papa Mick. He loves it and it was so cute to watch him check out the picture on the box and than imitate throwing the ball into the hoop. He keeps calling it a football and insists when we correct him that it's a basketball that no, it's a football. He's so serious and quite adament.

Later in the week, we went to Lucille's BBQ for a joint birthday dinner for William and Aunt Soosa whose birthday was that day, Thursday February 19. Wil got lots of fun presents including a set of new cars from the CARS movie, a new little people truck that moves cars (not sure what it's called but he loves it!) , new CARS swim trunks and the cutest outfits from the GAP for summer.

It was a very fun night and Wil was sporting a nice new haircut to boot! He is getting to be such a big boy...very fun and a little sad for Mom at the same time. He's our baby. We still refer to him as "baby". I keep wondering how long that nickname will last.... Happy Birthday sweet boy! We love you more than you will ever know!

Life zipping along...

Where have the weeks gone by? Literally overnight my world was turned upside down and my stress levels rocketed. I am finally busy again at work. I mean, really, really busy and as a result, my days are long and I've been tired! Aside from work, we've been busy in our homelife as well. These are some pics of what we've been up to. Maddie started Soccer. I decided to take a break from dance for awhile and see how Maddie likes soccer. Being a former soccer star (ha-ha), I'm hoping she falls in love with it but from the looks of this picture on her first day, I might be dreaming! Actually, she's getting into it and she's really good too. Another parent commented to us last weekend that Maddie seemed like a "natural"! What a compliment.

Maddie and William are back in swimming lessons too. This is actually Wil's first time in taking lessons and he loves it. He gets so excited when we walk into the indoor pool. He squeals under his breath with excitement. Maddie loves it too. Even though she can pretty much swim now, she really enjoys the lessons so I couldn't resist signing her up to improve her technique.

I took Maddie to a really fun birthday party for her best friend from school Jordyn. It was on a Sunday afternoon at a place called the Freckled Frog Learning Center. It was a princess themed party and she got to have her makeup done by a princess and they had lots of gowns to dress up in and shoes and crowns too!

She had so much fun. There was a beautifully decorated table for lunch and Maddie was graciously seated next to the birthday girl Jordyn. It really was a very cool little party. They entertained the kids with fun games and dances, fed the kids a pizza lunch with "tea" and they got to decorate their own cookie to eat.

And of course, Maddie and Wil have done lots of playing. Maddie set up this little table for her and Wil in her room one day using her dress up truck and she had Baby sitting on a little wicker doll chair. Maddie is the best big sister and William is her biggest fan. He wants to do everything Maddie does. We just celebrated William's 2nd birthday yesterday. I'll be posting pics from our family celebration soon...