January - Beauty (who got her hands on a makeup kit) and the Beast

During my blogging-hiatus Google turned my world upside down with a completely new interface. Yadda yadda yadda.... I'm sure it's better than the old... but that doesn't mean it's going to take me a bit of getting used to. Not sure why that's frying my brain.... but these days it doesn't take much. With that being said, after 7mos of waiting..... let our return to the www commence!

Actually, let's take a step back to December before we start down the 2012 road.....

While we were making gingerbread houses a few weeks back (quick review of impressive masterpieces here:)....

 ...Yiayia explained that the offical tradition is to take a hammer to them on New Years Day and gobble them up!

January 1, 2012 - DONE!

Moments before the smash and grab, everyone was trying to steal a bite!

Look at those faces:

I totally want that bite. Is anyone looking? Am I going to get in trouble? Doh!

Busted!

These things were ROCK SOLID! Bring on the Big Bad Wolf because there was NO way these would blow down!

After QUITE a few attempts he finally broke through the roof....

 

"Umm.... was that SUPPOSED to happen...?"

Adrienne had Tori helping her (being that Tori's parents are SLACKERS and didn't bring her gingerbread house down to the crack house fest - wait, that doesn't sound quite right...) with Nick scoffing in the background, "Well sure, it's a lot easier with TWO people... I had to do it on my own!"

Mmm, MMMM GOOD!

Tried to get a group shot. More of a tackle-Nick-while-eating-gingerbread - but hey, whatever gets them in the picture!

After the smash and grab gingerbread houses we headed inside... nothing like PRESENTS to warm the bones! (although the copious amounts of sugar was doing a pretty good job on its own...)
My father-in-law captured so many amazing expressions - I'll let them pictures speak for themselves... (also because it was so long ago that these were taken I have ZERO recollection of what gifts garnered which expressions...)

Ready for Star Wars home cookin'.....!?  A taste of crunchy Sith Lord in every bite!

Not sure what he's hugging ME for..... I didn't get him ANY of these fabulous gifts!

This one is just TOO precious....

Aunt Keri (and twin-contingent) wasn't able to join us.... but thanks to iCrap Nick had his very first Facetime with her!

Welcome to 2012!

My mom's birthday gift to Adrienne was a shopping spree! But unlike holidays / years past it wasn't just us going shopping to pick things out for her - Adrienne had her first piles-and-piles-of-clothes-in-the-fitting-room.

(of course we created a monster because now if I try to get her to whip something on real quick in the middle of the store she looks at me in horror, "But MOMMY... everyone's going to SEE me! Where is the fitting room!??!"

After our shopping she asked me to take her picture in the lighthouse (I have the picture of the 2 of them in the same playground on my laptop) so I had to oblige... CUTIE!

A few nights later John and Laurie called to see if we were available for dinner so we had everyone over and let the kids make pizzas!

I have to say.... for doing a reach-around OVER the stovetop these came out pretty fab!
Olivia took the cheese distribution VERY seriously.

No Olivia!  Like THIS! Just slam your hand down and wiggle your fingers through the gloop!

Oooo!  And some onions!!!!

Ummm, on second thought.  Yikes.

And it was to have more moments like this.... Olivia cuddled up, spending QT with her cousins... that John and Laurie told us they are moving back to NJ!

No one was left out in toasting the wonderful news!

While out shopping with Greg, Nick spotted flowers and asked if I would like them. Greg said he thought I would so Nick asked if he could get them for me.
C'mon. If he's just not a perfect little gentleman..... SUCH a mush!!!

I went in to give Adrienne one last kiss before I went to bed.

Not sure which amazed me more:
The precision of how her Barbies were laid out or the fact that she hadn't fallen out of bed.

Flashback to 2007:

Adrienne & Garet became fast friends when they met a Childtime!



He came down for a visit............ and where did our babies go!?!?

*tear*

The Disney store hosted a princess pagent so we attended, of course. And sure, it was a brilliant sales ploy to have a 'free' program because how are you going to get out of that store with a kid in tow without buying SOMETHING... Well. Let me tell you. Phooey on the conglomerate that is Disney. I bought NOTHING for the kids.

(but I got myself a sweet NBX t-shirt.... wait.... doh!)

Tinkersixchins

Adrienne was invited to a very special girly-girl-day with Aunt Linda, Aunt Tammy, Aunt Keri & Tori.... to go see Beauty and the Beast 3D!

I suggested to Adrienne that it would be nice to send a thank you note for taking her to the movie - she said she rather draw BatB pictures for them instead. She took such painstaking care to draw each character (insert obnoxious bragging-about-my-child-eye-roll-here) but was worried that they might not know what everything is.... so included are the pictures she used as her "artistic model".

Aunt Tammy's was done first - she used the BB DVD cover for Chip, Mrs. Potts, Maurcie & Gaston 

But she wanted to draw other characters and remembered she has the full BatB book....
For Aunt Keri..... Le Fou, Beast-turned-Prince, Rose, Lumiere, Dancing Fork, Sorceress

On the back Philippe & Dancing Napkin

And Aunt Linda got the Mona Lisa of toddler art.....
Cogsworth (my favorite of all the drawings), the Beast, Dancing Feather Duster, Wolf

On the back Gaston and the one and only Belle-in-a-Blue-Dress!

Now on to seeing BatB in 4D! Just a few days later we were invited to see Corinne's off-off-OFF-Broadway debut as a Silly Girl. I've seen some swooning in my days, but that was truly spectacular eyelash batting!  Congratulations, Corinne!

The kids were SO excited for................. SNOW!
We ate breakfast.... about to get dressed to head out to play only to have their poor little chilly spirits crushed when we realized it had turned to a miserable, sopping-wet sleet. Not about to let this ruin their day I brought the arctic in! Baking pans filled with snow! They played until their frostbite tipped fingers burned with cold.
Score: Mommy 1, Mother Nature 0

In keeping with the Beauty and the Beast theme o' the Month....
Clearly, Cassandra was the beauty this particular evening.

Oh. My.