Monday, December 29, 2008

Baby's First Tree

Riz and I were really excited to share Christmas with Manu this year. He's still too young to understand the craziness/joy of it all but, nonetheless, we had a great time including him in our little traditions.
Instead of shelling out big bucks at a nursery, we made the trek out to Reilly Farms in search of the perfect tree. We slowly navigated our way through the snowstorm (I'm speaking in PA terms here), avoided several accidents, and made it safely to Mt. Nebo, PA. There we found a gorgeous Fraser for half of what we had been paying in years past at the local nurseries. Lesson learned.


Every year Riz and I each buy a new ornament to add to the tree. This year, Arman picked out his very first ornament. As you can see, he was a fan of the jingle bells.


We tried to show him how to hang the bells on the tree


but he was far more interested in getting the entire thing in his mouth.

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119 photographs later, Manu's drool-covered jingle bells finally made it onto the tree.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Send Riz to Vegas!!!

Riz is a finalist in the"celebrate with Palm" contest. His entry and nine others are being judged on the Palm Facebook Page. Go to http://www.palm.com/celebrate and follow the directions to vote for him! You can vote once daily between 12/20 (today) and 12/29.
The winner receives a trip to Vegas in January! Thanks for your support!

Sunday, December 07, 2008

NJ

S, Jeff, and the Monkeys hosted Thanksgiving Dinner in NJ. If I had to describe S in one word I would have to say she's a "doer". While the rest of us are daydreaming about what we should be accomplishing, she's already completed it and on to the next thing. And she doesn't just get things done; the execution is perfection. Dinner was amazing. The menu was superb. Individually the dishes were scrumptious, but the real treat was how all the flavors worked together. Additionally, everything was on time and hot. That is no small feat. You really outdid yourself, S. I'm thankful for you!







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Saturday, December 06, 2008

CT

Ok, time to play the catch up game in a big way. Yes, I've missed a whole month of posts. How much longer can I blame it on a new baby? At least until he turns 1, I figure. The baby and the holidays. That's my excuse. In April I'll have to think of something else.

I love the holiday season for many reasons, but mostly because everyone makes an extra effort to get together. I only see my Connecticut family once a year, so visiting them is always a treat. This year was extra special because it was also an opportunity for everyone to meet the baby for the first time. Riz had to work, so Manu and his brave Mom drove from Jersey to Connecticut the Sunday before Thanksgiving (I'll explain why we were in Jersey in my next post). We spent several days visiting with family.


My Mom also joined us which was really sweet. She wasn't planning on coming until Thanksgiving, but was able to clear her schedule and arrive a couple of days earlier. I hope she doesn't regret it. Manu kept us up night after night while in Connecticut. My lamb who is currently sleeps from 6pm-10pm and from 10pm to 6am was waking every 2 hours and was absolutely inconsolable. I still can't figure out why but it was bad news. Sorry, Mom! Here are Grandma and Manu at my Aunt Phyllis' new and absolutely gorgeous home in Farmington. When I grow up, I'm going to live in Farmington. With its tree-lined streets, quaint storefronts, and all its New England-ness, it's right up my alley.


Here's Manu with my cousin, Erum. Some people are just "baby people". My siblings; all baby people. Me, not so much. I like babies well enough. Of course I'm head-over-heel in-love with my own and I do have more interest in babies since Manu's been born. But I'm never overcome with the desire to cuddle other people's babies for hours on end. I kinda just like to rock them a bit, sniff their baby head, kiss their cheek, and then return them to their parents. My cousin Erum on the other hand awoke one morning, ran downstairs to the living room where Manu and I were playing on the floor and announced:

"Oh my God! When I woke up this morning I thought 'It's been 14 whole hours since I last saw him!' I missed him so much! Come here!"

Really? That's so not the first thing I think of in the morning.


We did get to see the Aunts briefly as well (a short hour before bedtime on our last night there). Manu loves his Aunts and they love him right back. Again, baby people. It was wonderful to have so many eager babysitters around for a bit. We'll see you guys in a couple of weeks for a proper visit at Christmas!

Manu and I had a great little vacay in Connecticut (save for the night time fiasco) and really enjoyed our time spent with all of you. We're already looking forward to next Thanksgiving!
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