Mommy night out - Pre-Christmas!

Since it is really hard to get together during the holidays, we decided (Leigh Ann, Barb, Tiffiney, Sarah, and me) to get together last week and enjoy a pre-Christmas event. I know it is a bit early, but we had lots of fun.
We got together at Leona's restaurant and the food and service were good. We also exchange a grab bag and everyone got really nice gifts (You will see Arianna playing with the bag, the candle I put it away so she will not break it or try to eat it!)


So, thank you and enjoy all the holidays and we will see each other soon :)

Recently...

We had a few events recently! On November 1, we went to see the Thomas Jefferson show with John Williams from WGN 720 and Clay Jenkinson. It was the second time that we had gone to see the show (last year was the first time), but each show is different. If you are interested to know more about it, here is the link ... http://www.jeffersonhour.org/
While away in our show, Arianna's grandparents babysat for us. Thank you, we were able to stop and had dinner at Baker Square (yummy for pies). When we got home, our bundle of joy was asleep and they told us that she behaved, so that is always a relief for us. She is getting better with people :)
On November 2, my mom came by and we went to the cemetery to visit my grandma ( I cannot believe it will be 3 yrs since she passed away). In this date, a lot of people celebrate the "day of death". Basically is a special day to remember those that are gone and you can do a few things such as: Make an altar where you decorate with different things that people that passed away used to like (food and drink), put pictures, sugar skeletons, etc... and two, go to the cemetery for a bit.
We had gone to the cemetery before, but unless is mother's or father's day or other important holiday, we don't see that many people so I was surprised to see a lot of them visiting. I guess I did not think others celebrated this day or it may be just coincidental..

After the cemetery, we went to IKEA and Arianna found a new friend to take home!


On November 4, we went to vote early because Mike had a bunch of meetings. Arianna was in the sling so she went to the booth with me (we used the paper style, it was faster and I guess I am a bit old fashion). It was quite challenging keeping her for taking the pen. She wanted to vote to, but we managed! (See how tired and happy she looks after doing her civic duty) :)


But no, she was not ready to take a nap yet. So, I put one of the shows that she is starting to like...Barney! I never thought I will be listening to that dinosaur, but she likes the songs... and at the same time a bomb went off (all toys just exploded in my living floor)! [She was dancing in this picture]


See, even my poor Misty jumped to the top of the recliner to protect herself!

Then, Arianna decided it was time to read a book. Lately, this book has become one of her favorites. I think I read this book about 15 times a day.

And after too much excitement, she decided to take a break in her favorite chair!
(In this picture she looks a lot like Mike and Ann, don't you think?)


And finally, I went out to get a few things that we needed, she felt asleep and I was able to take a picture of this tree (If you go back in the posts, you will see how it used to look a few weeks ago).

(On a final note for this post) No matter who would have been the President, I cannot think of a harder job right now. Everyone is hoping and expecting so much. I heard this phrase over and over : " With change, there is hope!", so I hope that the new President Barack Obama can start that process... Here is to a positive beginning.

Change time...

Well, dear Arianna used to get up at 6:45 am like a clock! Now, thanks to the wonderful daylight saving time, she wakes up at 5:45 am. I guess she still needs to learn that... I am not sure we need this, maybe is a nice tradition somewhere but I could definitely use my hour back :)

Happy Halloween!

So, this is Arianna's second Halloween. The first time she dressed as a chili pepper and slept through most of the time. This time, she was a giraffe and walked by herself (about 40% of the time) and was able to hold her pumpkin. We tried to take the pumpkin to help her carry and she would not let go. So, she carried her pumpkin most of the time.

This time she went trick or treating with her cousin Glenn. He was a very cute crab! He was able to say trick or treat, and thank you!


In this picture I was trying to help her with her pumpkin...no, mommy I can do it!


Here we were almost done after circling back from a 2-block distance. They were happy because their pupmkins (and some in their tummies) had yummy chocolate :)


When we got home we took her costume off, but she would not let go of the pumpkin. I think that was the part she liked the most. I also noticed that she gave huge smiles to the people that gave her the two favorite chocolates: Hershey's bar and M&M the brown bag!


Mike was showing Arianna's pumpkin. She had quite a feast for 2 blocks! Can you see her little hand as well?
And this picture was taken the next day after Halloween (She ate some chocolate, but we are making sure she does not eat a lot!)

New Shoes!

Arianna is trying in new shoes. We bought two, a nice brown shoes with some flowers, and a white with pink tennis shoes. She is okay with them, but not too excited. She is learning to walk better and we knew she needed more support for that reason.





















After awhile, she was able to do some of her usual things. She loves her musical (when it was around the crib, she did not care) and of course, playing with her bear!

For the bear!

Last week my sister was looking for a hippy costume for a talent show that one of my nieces was going to participate and since she had gone to a few thrift stores, we ended up going to the one where I had the guitar incident. So, I am browsing and waiting for my sister when I saw a bear from the Gund collection. It looked new and had the original price, but no price given from the second hand store. I asked a lady that worked there if there is anything that they can do since they do not sell without a price, she said go in the back. I peeked through and there are about 5-6 ladies putting prices to "new stuff" coming into the store. I asked the lady closes to the door (and it turns out it was the manager, not the same from before, that lady was in the front of the store like before). She said we cannot put a price now. I said when, she said in 2 hours. (Mind you there are 5-6 girls putting prices at 3-4 feet away from us). I said how much is going to be ($2.95) then she takes it from my hand. Arianna was in the sling and she was playing with it so she started whimpering and the lady did not care, she turned around and dropped the bear in a counter nearby. I was angry. I told my sister this is strike 2! I was just waiting for her so we can go when I saw that the manager had gone in front of the store because a customer needed help wit some furniture. So, I go in the back and I asked one of the ladies if they can put a tag in that bear. I said the lady that was here said it will be $2.95 dls. She asked why she did not put a tag? I said, she told me it could take up to 2 hours. I guess she saw the baby and she said are you sure she said that price, and I said yes. So, she told me wait outside (I stepped out about a foot away) and she came with the bear and as she was leaving she said to me, just don't tell her that I did it. So, I waited until she went in the back again (the manager) before we paid and left the store. I did not want to get the girl in trouble. So, I guess the managers are the meanies with bad attitudes. But, I was glad to see that there are other people that are nice. It took her 30 seconds to put a tag in the bear by the way. So, thank you girl! [Arianna loves that bear]

Michigan City Weekend

We were practicing putting the new hat on her because we knew she was going to need it in our future Michigan City adventures!

I took this picture when we were leaving for Michigan City. I may not like the cold temperatures (winter in general), but the change of color in the leaves are just wonderful.


We decided to go to Michigan City last Saturday. It was a bit cold, but the day was still nice. My sister Alma went with us. We arrived around 12:30 - 1 pm, and started going through some of the stores. Here is a picture when we first arrived.
Arianna likes the sling more than the stroller and since it was a bit cold, that was our mode of transportation :) As I said above, we practiced a few times putting her Winnie the Pooh hat since she does not like things on her head, but I guess it was cold enough and the hat was warm enough that she did not mind. She looked adorable.

We went to different stores. Our main goal was to find a good winter coat for those freezing temperatures, but we stopped at the candy store and she loved the candy that she has in her hands, mostly because it made noise. But, we bought some M&M chocolate candies and she ate them with lots of gusto.

That was the coat that we found at Oshkosh (we were trying it on to see how it fit). It was 50% percent and when I was paying this guy gave me a coupon that gave us an extra $5 dls off. So, it was a pretty good deal. She was helping us find clothes for her as you can see in the picture. It is a 2 part coat - jumper and jacket - and it is very warm, so I think she is set for the cold weather.


Then we stopped at Target because my sister wanted to see a make-up collection that is sold there. We let Arianna walked in the aisles, and she loved the make-up section. Mike had to put back all the nail bottles back to where they belonged. Then, she started to wonder in the stickers section and pushing the Target cart. She had fun.





























And finally we went to Barne & Nobles. It was the first time that we let her wonder and that she was interested as well. She was playing with Mike and the train (cho-cho) as she calls it (sometimes). She started about a foot away from where Mike was seating then she kept coming closer to dad until she was on top of him and then in top of the table. She really wanted to touch the "cho-cho". After Mike brought her down, she decided to try her luck with some books and that is the video that you can see below.



Then when we got home we were so tired that we decided to follow the example of our two wonderful kitties, Betsy and Misty. Don't they look comfy?