Another Addition

Say "hello" to Pinecone. This is Emily's latest addition to her menagerie of stuffed animals. Pinecone is Emily's idea of a test pet. He came with a little crate, brush and dog bone. On Sunday, she insisted on taking him to church because he would be alone and scared here at home. We compromised on Pinecone staying in the car; he did eat lunch with us at the restaurant. Monday she took Pinecone to school and Tuesday too - the last day we would let the dog go to school. Pinecone sleeps in his crate right by Emily's bed. So far she has taken excellent care of her doggie. Of course, we still have to get into her head that a real pet would be constantly wanting attention and have vet bills. Thank goodness we don't have to talk seriously about a pet until she is 10. In the meantime, I guess we will have to continue making room for the stuffed animal variety.

Revisiting The Past

Our tribute to the past takes us back to the first Christmas season of our first child. This photo was taken at the Garden State Plaza, our local mall. They had an area filled with huge wrapped packages and "snow". We decided to lay Emily in the snow as our own little present. I love how she is lifting up both her head and her feet in an attempt to get up. This seems like such a long time ago and yet just like yesterday. It is hard to believe we are about to spend our 7th Christmas with Emily and our 4th with Matt.

Art 101

Scooby Dooby Doo Where Are You?

Here they are, the Mystery Machine Gang. From left to right, we have Scooby wearing his SB dog tag, Daphne dressed in purple with her signature red hair and headband, Shaggy in his green shirt, Fred with his blond hair and of course, Velma with her eyeglasses and pleated skirt. Emily and Matt love watching Scooby Doo. We even bought a few of the season episodes on DVD.

Christmas Fire Truck Parade

Every year the town of Wallington hosts the largest fire truck parade. Trucks from all over NJ and parts of NY come to participate. The only requirement is that your truck be decorated for the Christmas season. The last few years we have all gone to this event but this year it was boys night only. Emily and I stayed home and did some girl things. Matt and, of course, Dave were in their glory. Because Dave was with the Carlstadt fire department, he has access to one of the local fire houses where you can get some food and warm up during the parade. The best part is that Matt gets to go on the fire trucks from that station when they return from the parade route - that is where the helmet picture came from. They had a great time as usual. After all, what boy doesn't like lights and sirens.

Emily's Turkeys

I thought I would share this drawing of Emily's turkeys with you. They are two very colorful birds. You have to love the little gobbler she placed on each of them. There is nothing like a child's hand print turkey.