Last day in Jersey

~Feeding time with nonnie

~Play time with Uncle Matt , ~Reading time with Aunt Beth , ~Shane hugs with mommy, Shane watches out for Gracie, ~ohhh little shane :) hands on the hip...thinkin what to do nxt???~Shane with daddy-sleepy time!, ~bye, bye's to Uncle Tom, Aunt Beth & Shane, "in daddy's

new truck"

meeting up with our loves ~tree lighting,santa on his fire truck....

I was so excited to see everyone!!! What a great night~ Gracie's first sight of shane was hugs and kisses with ooohh's & ahhh's it was priceless, tear jerking & so adorable! She really knew just who he was by all the pics of him we spend time with @ home! :) I hadn't seen Kelly & Blake in "too long!" so to see them was such a great moment, her sister Stacy came along as well as Ethan-it really was so great to see all of them together!~ Long time friend(sista) Toni came with her hubby Brian & son John.... How time flies cuz that lil man is growing up way too quick...it was so great to see the entire fam. (it's been a while Brian!! :) What a great surprise!!! this night too seemed to fly by.

Thanksgiving @ Nonnie & Poppi's! :)

After a nice flight up (thank goodness!) We arrived just in time for our thanksgiving hour! It was wonderful to walk in after a day of traveling with such a warm welcome with the family! That night flew by so fast! Gracie was a bit overwhelmed with all of the faces but adapted sooner than later. I was able to get a few pics from the night...
~Gracie & her Poppi~ Nonni with her sister Marthanne, niece Katie, brother inlaw Jim, and sister inlaw Mary ~what a great family!!(xo)~ Dad (Poppi)& (Uncle)Matt~ Aunt Marthanne & Uncle Jim~ Mark (daddy) checking out what's in the cookie jar, lol! ~ Dearest cousins Carly, Lauren & Katie! :)
It really was such a freat Thanksgiving night!!! :)

One cold soccer game in florida!

WOW~ can I say it's been a while....??? finding the time to keep up has been hard, I finally decided to brush away all the daily chores that never go away & take some time to share some pics with you all...I'll be brief with my "talking skills" to keep up with the pics, this was right before we went away for thx-giving. I will miss those soccer games~what fun! :)

Gracie's First Halloween

it's been a while since i've found the time to do some posting, but the pics are still coming so i figured I'd do some quick updates! Halloween was a lot of fun, it wasn't what we call the usual but sometimes plans run out for a reason...and you end up with more good times.

After playing phn tag with the whole bunch, trying to get gracie in something just a little more sparkly or glittery Aunt Sarah showed with her little princesses to try and make the madness at Dearborn street (this street is a historical strip that apparently many of the kids & families go to.)

Mark was still working late on his wrap with his job, Ryan, Russ & Sheryl were doing their tradition in Venice where all the parents meet up with their wagons and head up & down the quaint town... Just like old times!! nxt yr gracie will probably love that!

As usual it was last minute when we decided to head to Dearborn to find what we had just missed !? ....We had a moment in the car driving down the strip where we saw lots of costumes, people lights music....we made it to the end with no sign of Jen, the kids, or mom-mom :(

So basically by the time we got their they were all just getting home with pillow cases of candy, typical for Sarah & I, lol!

We were going to just head home but the girls were dressed so pretty & wanted at least one trick or treat so we thought for a moment to see the strip on the beach & opted for the tiki! The girls got a whole big bag of candy with one "trick or treat" & even got a little something extra for "best costume" So as for Gracie's 1st Hallo- we spent it dancing to music @ no other than the tiki on the beach :) ...gotta love Florida!! She was very content in her lil onsie with ghosts & her lil pumpkin feet from nonnie & poppi ! She & I dance all the time so for her to be outside with live music put her in a place she loves... we had fun!

chillen on the hammock....& Marley. :)

This pic of Uncle Oleg, Gracie & brody was right when we got home from the beach on their last night.

A day or so later the girls stopped by for a couple hours while Sarah had a buisness meeting down here. It was good to see them, it felt like it had been a while. The sweet lil loves they are! They just love marley so much... and are going to be wonderful cousins to our little gracie. They are so gentle, thoughtful and protective of her already! ...as are ALL of her cousins. Gracie is so lucky to have such a wonderful family(BIG TOO!)I just love my hammock, Mark got it for my birthday this year...even though I told him not to bother with getting me anything at all, it was the perfect gift!!! ...he knows me so well!

chelle & Oleg's last day for relaxation...

I was glad that we were able to get to the beach one last time with them, they are so humble & relaxing...it was a treat for me to have them here always helping out so much. It fills my heart everytime to see the love they have for Gracie, they are wonderful to her!!
So after a long day on the beach Sheryl & Russ...& Ryan too welcomed everyone over for dinner...it was such a nice atmosphere~ they had a lil fire going on the linai (inside one of those chimney things??? don't know what it's called but i like em!!! the pool was soothingly warm for a night time swim. I love get-to-gethers, they always bring so much joy to me!! (as mama always said "I am a social butterfly!" )

Gracie with Daddy on the beach..."dada"

We spent Saturday (Our last full day) on the beach ... we tried a different beach this time, that was our first time going as well... it was pleasant, another sunny day in Florida, but because there was a little less wind than usual it was a bit on the hot side. We prepared ourselves with the umbrella...which was good for some shade. The water was nice & refreshing.

Gracie is already a daddy's girl, she just lights up around him, it is the cutest thing. She's saying dada all the time now too! :) They were having some laughs here with daddy's hat & daddy's singing. hehehe! looks like he wore her out!

Perfect beach day!

On Michelle & Olegs first "full" day we decided to pack our bags & head to the beach.We got there around noon time which is Gracie's nap time...we wheeled her on the beach right in her big 'ole jogging stroller...it shades her so nicely and there was a steady & calming breeze that kept her fast asleep for a good 2 hrs! It was mommy time, hehehhe! The water was see through green, you could see right down to the bottom where your feet stood~ I love it like that!
We had a nice relaxing day, Sheryl was able to meet us there a little while later, soon after Gracie woke to spend our last hour or so with her enjoying the water and the sand. :) She loves it there....lil water baby!

More pics from pool time @ Sheryl's