MLB Opening Day 2009!

Every year we celebrate Opening Day. This year Ellie and I made Cracker Jacks and had BallPark franks for dinner. Ellie and Bill wore their new Yankee attire as well. Although Ellie was eager to color Easter eggs this weekend, we put that off for the baseball festivities!

April Fool's Day 2009

Ellie has a balloon hat that she loves to wear. As you can see she has lots of fun with it. It just appears as though her birthday continues to go on and on! And here's a couple of pictures of her new sweater that Aunt Maureen made for her birthday. It fits wonderfully! And such a great color too!

Ellie's First Bike Ride!

Ellie's 3rd Birthday party

We had a pizza party for Ellie's birthday with family and friends. Aunt Lisa, Uncle Brian, Josh, Grammy, Aunt Maureen, Uncle Tony, Milissa, Craig, Madeline, Sydney, and Ellie's best friend Raiden, her parents Paula and Joe. What a terrific afternoon of chasing around the two of them we had! Ellie's big treat was her tricycle - she couldn't wait to ride, including her helmet and knee pads! On Sunday morning, we rode all the way over to Papa's house!

Florida Vacation 2009

Here's our Top 10 Best of Vacation List

10) Dinner at Down the Hatch - watching Ellie dance to the live music
9) Grits for Breakfast at the diner by the river
8) Laughing so much our sides ached ....
7) Ellie swimming in the pool for hours ('all by myself')
6) Papa not bring Uncle Pat's reading glasses down to the pool (WHAT?)
5) Celebrating St. Patrick's Day with friends, Dick & Bonnie
4) Ellie and Papa feeding the birds every morning on the beach
3) Everyone having a crush on someone... c'mon Uncle Pat, it's ok to talk about
2) Not having to eat Sauerbraten for a second time (its all yours Lisa!)
1) Spending a week with Papa & Uncle Pat - it was the 'BEST vacation ever'!

I'm posting a few shots of the trip here. To view the complete vacation album of photos - please go to our Shutterfly site: http://fricano.shutterfly.com/action

Its easiest to click on the Vacation album and then slideshow .. enjoy!

It was a wonderful trip - we can't wait until next year!

It's the BIG GIRL Bed ...

She loves her new bedding, and her new room!

Looking like she's all grown up ..

Who'd have thought she was only going on 3 .. sometimes she looks at least 5, and sounds like she's 13! Yikes! She was very excited to get dressed up for church last night, her favorite part is the tights ... GRRRR ... I won't burst her bubble that she may have a lifetime of stockings, I'll enjoy this while I can. She was an 'angel' in church belting out the Our Father with a huge "AMEN" at the end, even though we don't say it then. Dinner at Friendly's was a whole other story - maybe it was too many snacks in church, maybe she really just wanted the Happy Ending sundae! In any event, we were happy to get out of there, home and settled into a quiet Saturday evening!

Open That Bottle Night

This is the one Bill & I are enjoying this year for Open That Bottle Night! It's really my favorite .. a red zin from Paso Robles. I buy one and then wait for that big thing .. but I'm tired of waiting for the something special to happen to open it. And Bill said just go ahead and open it .. when we want to celebrate we'll buy MORE! He's such a smart man!

Every year since 2000, on a special Saturday night in February, friends, couples and groups around the world get together to enjoy particular bottles of wine, champagne and spirits. The bottle that you enjoy, traditionally, is one that you have been saving for some special event that, so far, has never quite happened. Open That Bottle Night (OTBN) is the event you have been waiting for...the time when you are entitled to uncork that cherished bottle and enjoy the contents. It doesn't matter if the wine is expensive or low cost, white or red, or even if it is still good. What matters are the memories.

www.openthatbottlenight.com

Girls on the run ....

Play Date at the Children's Museum

Ellie and Francesca were born just over a month apart - and although her mom and I talk about it A LOT, this is our first official playdate in nearly 3 years! When they were both infants and Denise and I were both on maternity leave, we had coffee at our house but not since! How could it be? As you can see from the photos the girls had a blast! Francesca's big sister, Sophia, also joined us! Although they spent time in the diner, post office, store, fire house, bank and trolley - Ellie's favorite part was the fire truck. She was so tired on the way home she said, "Mommy, can I just get into my bed when I get home?"

Bill's Birthday Party

Valentine Dance

Happy Valentine's Day

Ellie had lots of fun making her Valentine cards this year for Daddy, Mommy, Grammy and Papa. She's very creative with her markers! She also had fun opening her Valentine present. She got a Diego jibitz, strawberry dipped in chocolate magnet, hearts socks, Thomas the Train engine named Lady and a card that sings 'Down at the Twist and Shout'. She's thrilled to be spending her Valentine's day with Grammy for a sleepover as Bill & I are having a Valentine dinner with friends at their house.

Being Silly at the Dinner Table!

Ellie makes her dinner an event! Saturday night we had Papa for dinner - slow cooked pot roast with mushroom gravy - talk about comfort food. Ellie had hot dogs, chips, green beans and strawberries. She prefers her hot dog without a roll so she can 'dip' in ketchup!

Fun, Fun, Fun @ SF Winter Carnival