{random things}

First of all, I'd like to say CONGRATULATIONS to Laura and Derek on the birth of their daughter, Grace. She's beautiful! I can't wait to meet her in person. We all wish you well. I'm sure Christian and Noah will make great big brothers!

I also thought I'd share some stuff from our neck of the woods...

Morgan has developed such a cute personality. Or should I say personalities.... She always keeps us guessing and laughing...

She is much more of an "artist" than Gerard ever was. She loves to color and do any kind of craft. It's very cute, until she colors on the walls, tables, blinds, counters, her hands... You get the picture.

Morgan the scholar:



Morgan the cheeseball playdough artist:



Morgan the goofy Sabres fan:




Morgan the wrestler:



And of course, Morgan the sweetie. (At bedtime with Gerard reading to her):

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I thought I'd share what I made for Valentine's Day. My friend and neighbor made these for Christmas, using red and green m&m's, and they are just cute, delicious, and very easy to make. I used Valentine's m&m's:

To make, place round pretzels on a cookie sheet. Unwrap and place a Hershey kiss (the striped "Hugs" work best) in the center of each pretzel. Bake at 275 degrees for about 3 minutes, until the Hershey kiss melts but doesn't lose it's shape. Remove from the oven and place an m&m on each kiss. Let cool. I placed the whole cookie sheet in the fridge for about 20 minutes and they pop right off the cookie sheet. So easy!!! The hardest part is unwrapping all the kisses!

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Also, last weekend our friends came over for skating and dinner. Nathan and Nicholas had never skated before, but they did great! Nick preferred just to wear his boots after a while, but I think he still had fun. Gerard was thrilled to have some friends over to skate with him. Thanks Michele and Scott!

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And finally, I thought I'd share my new haircut. I wasn't happy with my last hairdresser and have been half-heartedly looking for a new girl since AUGUST, so this hair cut was WAY overdue. She even straightened it for me. What do you think?

{scrapbooking again, finally!}

After quite a long hiatus, I've started scrapbooking again. I'm almost finished with Gerard's 2007 album. (Yes, I wrote that right...2007...) I've got much more catching up to do for Morgan's first album. Baby steps, right? Anyway, here are some recent layouts...

{Superbowl Champs}

All I can say is thank goodness the Steelers won. I don't think I would have been able to handle Gerard if they had lost!

And, once again, Obama is correct. He said that "the Steelers are going to eke it out in a close one." If you missed the interview with Matt Lauer, you can see it here:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

And here is the video of Gerard's first hockey game, as promised. He is number 20.

{report card}

I only have a little while to post before Morgan wakes up from her nap and it's time to watch the Superbowl, so I thought I'd post Gerard's very first report card. We're so proud of him!

Click on the report card to get a closer look:



I also have some video of his first hockey game today which I'll try to post tonight or tomorrow.

{three videos}

Just thought I'd post a few little videos of the kiddos.

Video #1: Skating in the Backyard

Gerard has been enjoying our backyard ice rink. It was SO cold here (I'm talking HIGHS of ZERO degrees and windchills WAY below zero) so he didn't get to skate for a few days. Then one night it started to warm up so the boys decided to have a "night game".

Video #2: The Girls Inside

Wondering what Morgan and I do while they're out skating? Take a look...

Video #3: A Typical Day

More animal noises and eating. Gerard rolling his eyes (AKA looking for his hat). A very typical day.

{a recap}

I know I've been only posting sporadically, so here's a quick recap of what we've been up to:

Hanukkah....

Christmas at Nani and Poppy's....

Visiting Aldine and Jeff....

Much to our utter shock, the kids put everything Noah owns into Aldine's shower. At least it kept them busy and quiet for a while!

ready for bed....

goofy faces....

scary faces....

Back in Buffalo at Grandma and Grandpa's apartment...

Morgan, the diva, trying on all her jewelry...

At Dave and Busters...

Visiting Laura.... Gerard was sick so he stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's while Morgan and I got to see Laura, Christian and Noah. Soon the boys will have their own little sister to play with!

Poor Gerard, sick AGAIN. He had a rough 6 weeks....ear infections, antibiotic allergic reactions, etc, etc. He just couldn't stay awake with Grandpa....

{happy new year!}