Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Doctor Doctor




Dr. Paoletti was doing the rounds and thought that Jude was looking a bit unwell so she brought him in for a check up. Her assistant checked his throat to be sure it wasn't strep. 12.30.09

Gathering of Friends





Our Friends Dianna & Scott had a small reunion of friends in honor of the Sienkiewicz family being back in town. It was a lot of fun having all the kids together. Surprisingly 14 kids all in one basement and not a single fight over a 3 hour period. That might be a miracle! 12.30.09

Best Friends United again



Isabella and Dominic were very excited about Christmas being just around the corner and were counting down the days. But there was something else that the kids were also counting down....the arrival of the Sienkiewicz family from Virginia. Isabella's best friend Mary and Dominic's best friend Jude moved away in July and they flew in on the 21st of December to spend a week in KC for Christmas. Needless to say the kids were thrilled to be reunited with their best pals. Time hadn't changed anything they played great together just like they did six months ago. It was one of the best "presents" the kids got this year. The gift of friendship! 12.30.09

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Let it snow, Let it snow







It started on Christmas Eve and it snowed for almost 3 days. The kids had a ball playing outside with Michael & Jeremy while Cathe and I stayed inside making hot chocolate and catching up on life. They stayed outside sledding and playing for over 2 hours! 12.26.09

Hanna Montana is in the house



Isabella and Mary had a big surprise for everyone when they came upstairs with Mary covered from head to toe with a blanket. When she was finally unveiled she was no longer Mary but her alter ego: Hanna Montana! She put on quite a show. Leo was so impressed he got to go back stage and dress up like Hanna himself. Quite the superstars. 12.26.09

My sweet little shepherd




What a happy and sweet little boy we have! 12.25.09

Friday, December 25, 2009

The newest member of the family


Last year we welcomed baby Sarah Elizabeth into the family and this year we welcomed baby "Dominic". We tried to persuade Isabella to name the baby something other than her brother's name but she insisted that the little boy looked like Dominic so he should be named Dominic. I will be working on making matching outfits for the little kids so they will look like twins. Right now she is a very proud mommy of two sweet babies. 12.25.09

Watch out Gotham Batman is here!




One of Dominic's favorite presents this year was a Batman costume. Luckily he didn't open it until the end of the presents because once it was opened he wanted to BE Batman. When we got the costume we had read that it was for ages 5-7 years. After Dominic put it on we decided it was most likely for ages 7-9 instead...since it was so enormous. But despite the baggy bulkiness of the costume he had a great time climbing and running around saving the day. He even age lunch in it. 12.25.09

Fashion Statement


Nothing goes better with a 3 piece suit than bug boots. He spent the rest of the present opening in the boots. Gotta love little boys. 12.25.09

Christmas morning 2009


One of my favorite pictures from Christmas is the first shot of the kids after they run out and look at their stockings -they always have sleep faces mingled with excitement. Here are some links from 2008 and 2009. 12.25.09

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Merry Christmas Everyone!


Wishing everyone a Christmas filled with the peace and love of Christ. Hope everyone can embrace the real meaning of Christmas and be grateful for the true gifts that God has given us. Love the Paoletti Family!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Christmas at the Bray's 2009








Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?


What do you get when you cross Batman with a red nosed reindeer? One tough sleigh leading creature that can not only help deliver presents but deliver justice as well. Enough said. 12.16.09

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Feast of St. Lucia








On December 13th every year we celebrate the feast day of St. Lucia of Italy. I learned about this wonderful saint when I lived in Sweden because that is where the feast day is greatly celebrated. Isabella gets the honor of dressing up as St. Lucia and making breakfast for the family. She made eggs and started the coffee pot. Both the kids got to help make the special Lucia buns the day before and Isabella got the table ready for our Lucia feast, which we always eat listening to Swedish Christmas music. It is a tradition that the kids really look forward to every year, especially Isabella since she loves the fact that she is "in charge" of so much on that morning. She takes her job very seriously! 12.13.09

The Gingerbread Village






This year instead of doing one gingerbread house we decided to do a gingerbread village of 5 little houses. It was a lot of fun for the whole family. Although after about an hour I was the only one left still working--which was fine since I like the tedious work. 12.13.09

Saturday, December 12, 2009

A sneak peak at the Christmas photo 2009


Nothing says Merry Christmas like these sweet faces!

It's a bird, it's a plane.....


It's a flying Dominic. Too bad he didn't have on his Superman pj's for this one. 11.21.09

The spectrum of emotion



This Thanksgiving at Grandma & Papa Paoletti's was a fun one. The kids had a great time chasing the kitty cats all around the house. Especially since there are now 6 cats to chase. Unfortunately not all the cats are that friendly. But the little black one, Mia is quite lovable and tolerated being held and loved a lot. Here is a picture of Dominic holding Mia in all his happiness. The second photo is when Mia ran away for some much needed alone time. Poor boy! 11.28.2009

1st Snowman of the Season


The kids had a great time making a snowman with Michael. They couldn't decide on whether the snowman was a boy or girl so we took pictures with both hats just in case. 12.12.09

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Rosey Red Cheeks


This winter has been one of the coldest winters that I can remember and one with a LOT of snow. I let the kids play out in the snow the other day for about 45 minutes and poor Dominic had red cheeks for about 4 hours after wards. This picture was taken on 12.10 so that was long before the -20 degree wind chill that we are facing today! It has been over 2 weeks since we have been above freezing and we have a mountain of snow in our driveway. The other night I had to walk two blocks home with groceries, uphill, in the snow with the kids because I couldn't drive up the hill to get to our house due to the icy roads. Luckily my husband with his mad-driving skills got the car home later when there was less traffic around. We tried unsuccessfully for 40 minutes going up and down the hill. The bad thing is that if you have to slow down for another car on the road you lose your momentum and there is no way to make it all the way up...which means you have to back all the way down. But hey at least I didn't end up in the ditch!