Disney on Ice ~ Princess Wishes

We took Emily to see Disney on Ice ~ Princess Wishes.

She had such a good time. She got to see ALL the Princesses...Ariel, Belle, Jasmin, Mulan, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty & Cinderella. Even Mickey, Minnie, Goofy & Tinkerbell were there!

Everytime a new Princess came out Emily got all excited and started calling their name! What a fun time we all had!

On Thanksgiving Day, all over America, families sit down to dinner at the same moment - halftime.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Today, we all went up to Michelle & Tony's to celebrate Thanksgiving. As usual, Michelle had a full house! In addition to Michelle, Tony, Laura, Jim, Emily & I, there was my parents, Jim's parents, Tony's brother Gary and his daughter Leigh.

There was great food and conversation.

We all had such a wonderful time...despite an ice storm that snuck up on us!

But, thankfully, we all made it home safely.

Fountains of Wayne Caverns

Today we took Emily to see the Christmas Caverns. Jim & I love going and it was special to take Emily too. It was nice to see all the beautiful decorations and displays. We all had a nice time!

The Christmas Caverns are animated displays decorated for Christmas. I had been going since I was a kid. When Jim & I started dating, we kept going. I can't think of too many years that I missed seeing the beautiful decorations.

There used to be two of them, but unfortuntely one flooded and never recovered. They are actually trying to sell the building that it was in.

One of the stores is Fountains of Wayne. It is "the" store that the group Fountains of Wayne, known for the song Stacy's Mom, named themselves after.

There was also a scene in an episode of the HBO hit series, The Soprano's shot here.

Open Up your heart and let the FunShine in!

Today we took Emily to the mall to meet a Care Bear, Cheer Bear!

Emily just loves the Care Bears and did so good. Actually, she was petting the Care Bear. She sat like a good girl and had the picture taken!

Hold on, man. We don't go anywhere with "scary," "spooky," "haunted," or "forbidden" in the title. ~ Scooby Doo

Every Halloween a local mall offers Trick or Treating. Its nice because most of the stores participate and its indoor, so weather doesn't apply.


This year we took Emily. Again, she got a lot of candy. It was funny, she tried to steal a bucket of candy from Snow White. We did not like that!

Then went to show Emily to both sets of parents so they could see my cute costume. We all had so much fun!

Trick or Treat!

Today we took our little kitty to Lafayette Village to go Trick or Treating!


She was a little shy at first, but she liked it when people gave her things! Hmm...I wonder where she gets that from!


She was so tired when we left, probably from all the excitement!

A snip here and a snip there...

I decided to finally cut Emily's bangs! They were almost down to her mouth. As I was cutting, she turned and I cut the bangs way too high! Now I'm referring to her as Frankenstein or Frankie! Oh well, they'll grow back and she still looks adorable!

We then went to The Black Forest to celebrate my birthday with my parents. Again, we all had a great time!

Lights, Camera, Action....

Today we took Emily to see the Strawberry Shortcake Sweet Dreams Movie!




She just *LOVES* Strawberry Shortcake and had so much fun! The movie was an hour & a half and she was so good. She sat there watching the whole movie! She did get a little tired at the end, but was able to keep awake until it was over!

After the movie, we met Jim's parents to celebrate my birthday! We went to The Olive Garden and Emily ate all her macaroni & cheese! Yum! I got such nice gifts and we all had a great time!

Emily's 2nd Boo Boo....

Okay, this better not become a habit!

Today while playing, she fell AGAIN and cut her gum AGAIN. You know the story...more crying & more blood. We were really *NOT* happy and debated going to the hospital.

But, like last time, she recovered quick and went back to playing!

Pumpkin Picking...Take 2!

Today we all went down to Fairfield Garden center to look at the decorations.

While we were took a lot of pictures of Emily!! We only stayed a little while, but it was a nice day and we had fun!

Emily's First Boo Boo...

Today, while Emily & I were playing, she fell and one of her two teeth went into her gum.

It looked like it hurt a lot and it was bleeding. We did not like this and felt very, very bad. Once it was over, she was back to playing and smiling again!

There is still no cure for the common birthday.

Today we went to see Sam for his 40th Birthday party! We had a lot of fun!

After the party we went to visit Michelle & Tony's and Emily played with Laura! She had so much fun! Jim's parents were there and they had a good time too!

Pumpkin Picking...Take 1!

Jim took off of work and we went Pumpkin Picking.


We went to the same place as we went last year! You remember the one...end of the Earth and make a left! (Check out THAT journal entry!)

Anyway, Emily got her own pumpkin that we are going to decorate for her! We all had so much fun! I just *love* this sign!

Tickle Me...

Emily just *loves* Elmo.

So, we surprised her with a brand new Tickle Me Elmo! She loves him! She's not too good at tickling him yet, but we can do it for her.

Of course, she tries to pick him up and hug him while he's laughing.

15 Month Doctor's Appointment

Today I went to pick up Jim at work and we went to Emily's doctor appointment. She had to get 2 shots...and did not like them!

The Doctor said that growth is right on target and everything looks good!

The Proof Is In The Pudding!

Emily tried chocolate pudding for the first time and....she didn't like it! Obviously, she doesn't get that from me.. Oh well...

The Emperor's New Shoes...

Since Emily is now officially walking, today we took her to Stride Rite to get her first pair of shoes.


Since she is still using crawling as her "quick" mode of transportation, we went with a pair of Stage 2 shoes. They are for walking and crawling. She looks so cute in them!

At first she wasn't sure what to do with them, but quickly caught on!

The Spaghetti Incident!

Today will go down in history and be forever known as The Spaghetti Incident! It was the MESSIEST that Emily has ever gotten while eating! (I know I'm lucky!) There are no other words to describe what took place. All we know is that Emily wore way more than she ate!

This is what happens when Jim feeds Emily!

She Walked! A visit with Michelle & Tony!

Today Emily, Jim's Mom & I went up to visit Michelle, Tony & Laura!



It was great because Aunt JoAnn was there too! We haven't seen her since Emily's Baptism.

Emily officially walked to Tony! She took a good number of steps and remained on her feet!


Anyway, we all had so much fun! It was nice for Emily to play with Laura! She was so excited, she didn't nap; but she sure did on the way home!

Emily is 14 Months!

Today Emily turned 14 months! We cannot believe how fast time went!

Today we went to Jason & Ellen's house for a housewarming picnic. We had a lot of fun and everyone commented on how beautiful Emily was!

She is also getting better with walking. She is taking more & more steps on her own. Sometimes she gets a little shaky and either falls, grabs onto something or sits down. Before we know it, she'll be running around the house driving Bonita nuts!

Adventure Aquarium

Today Jim took off and we all went to the Adventure Aquarium!

We had so much fun! There were seals, penguins, hippos, birds, fish, a sloth, crocodile, sharks, stingrays, sea turtles and so much more.

Emily's favorite was the PENGUINS!!! I swear I had nothing to do with this!

Hog & Hick Show....err....NJ State Fair!

Jim took off of work and we all went to the NJ State Fair! Emily had so much fun!

She saw a lot of animals including a water buffalo, ponies, goats, sheep, elephant, camel, llamas (or as Jim would say Bahamas!) and even a kangaroo! We bought Emily a Strawberry Shortcake mirror which has her name on it.

We didn't stay too long because it was as hot as Hades! Who would get the bright idea to have a fair in AUGUST?! Its about 100 degrees out. I've complained about this for years, but yet I still go and have a good time.

Two small baby steps...

Today while we were playing in Emily's play area, she let go of her Winnie the Pooh Tree and *walked* the two steps towards me!

She was a little shaky, but getting better and I caught her! Soon I will have to chase her around the house!

One small baby step...

Yep! That's all Emily took! She realized what she was doing and promptly fell on her behind! Then, she laughed! She's going to be dangerous pretty soon!

I'm Still Standing....

I think Emily's finally figuring out what standing is. She has been able to stand for short periods of time unassisted, but today she was standing alone for a while.

If she doesn't think about it, she can stand a lot longer. When she does think about it, she has to grab onto her gate or something or she'll fall.

Pretty soon she'll be walking and driving Bonita crazy!

We're home....

Wow! Time flew. We all had a really good time at the shore!

Although, we are also a little glad to be home. Bonita was really happy to see us. When Jim picked her up at the Puppy Spa (kennel!) she had a pretty bandana on.

LBI...Day 6

Today, we all went to the beach for a couple of hours...but it was HOT!!!

Jim actually went into the water today. We all just relaxed on the beach and then went back to order dinner. After dinner, we all went to The Show Place for ice cream. I was super excited...I had been looking forward to this part of the vacation!

We all had a good time (Jim had never been there!) and my Mom got picked on! I was just glad it wasn't me!

When we got home, my parents watched Emily for a little bit while we walked down to the ocean. When we got home, we started packing.

I can't believe vacation is over already.

LBI...Day 5

Today it was rainy, so Jim, Emily & I just went to Bay Village. My parents went to Atlantic City for the day.

Even though it was raining we had a good time and then we picked up dinner at The Rack Shack and went home to relax.

Finally...the beach!

Today, we all went to the beach for Emily's 1st time! Jim put her in the sand and she didn't like it at first, then started smiling & clapping!

It was kinda chilly and windy so we only stayed a couple of hours. Before we left, Jim brought Emily to the water...she's still not too sure of it!

We went out for a nice dinner and then it started to rain. We went to Bay Village for a little shopping and then just went home to relax!

LBI...Day 4

Well...I was sick again, so Jim stayed home with Emily & I while my parents went to the beach. When they got home, Jim & Emily joined them to go out for dinner while I stayed home and rested.

Hopefully, I start to feel better soon! I'm missing my vacation!

Vacation...Day 3

Today, I just wanted to take it easy so Jim and my parents went to the beach. I was in a little bit of pain and my tetanus shot location was hurting. Emily stayed home with me to keep me company. But really, I wanted to be there at Emily's first day on the beach! After everyone got back, we all got ready to go out for dinner. Then, we just came home and relaxed.

My visit to the ER...

Today, I woke up not feeling well and decided to go to the Emergency Room. Ironically, I have been in this ER before, so I knew where it was. So, we left Emily with my parents and headed out.

When we got to the ER, it was pretty crowded and it took a while to be seen. When they took me back my fears were confirmed. I had an abscess. Now, its an easy fix, but its going to hurt! I'll leave the gory details out, but it was worse than childbirth!

Finally, it was done and they gave me percocet. Bad move. I went to stand up and everything got fuzzy. I got really nauseous and it seemed like I was under water. It was horrible! Jim went to get the nurse, but Jim came back and informed me it was normal.

When we were finally able to leave, I was feeling great but I was tired. So, I went to lay down and we just took it easy for the rest of the night.

Vacation is here...finally!

Today, we all got ready for our first vacation! We were meeting my parents in Long Beach Island. We all are very excited!

We had a long drive in traffic. After we got there and unpacked, we went up to look at the ocean. We were so excited to see Emily's first impression of it and...she was not impressed! We then went for dinner and came home to relax.

Blood Work....Round 2

Okay, since I'm stupid...Emily had to go get blood drawn AGAIN. I felt so bad for her. And we wanted to get it done since we were leaving for the shore soon.

Anyway, the pediatrician handed me 2 forms for blood work and I forgot to hand the person BOTH forms. So she had to get another vial of blood drawn. The good news is that she only got stuck in one arm. Again...all over...all smiles!