Saturday, December 24, 2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALISSA!!!

Christmas Eve is a special day for many people, but is extra-special for our family, as that is when our second baby came into the world.  Alissa Noel didn't want to miss Christmas in 1980...and it's absolutely her favorite time of year, each and EVERY year!!  We celebrated her birthday this year on Dec. 22 with a special dinner of fettucine alfredo and chicken cutlets which is a family favorite.
Her sister Jennifer arrived from Florida late the night before, so we enjoyed seeing all of our children together again at one table!  Niece Cailyn made her aunt a special bookmark, wrapped it with very special stickers, and helped her aunt unwrap it too!



Alissa received a funny card and button from Jennifer...

                                   
We enjoyed alot of laughs that evening, and Jennifer enjoyed seeing her new nephew Landon for the first time!  He's such an easy-going baby, very smiley, and says "hi" to everyone he sees!


  This morning, we ALL met at 8:15 a.m. at Joe's Farm Grill for a Birthday Breakfast for Alissa!  The food is delicious, and it was fun to celebrate again on the actual "day"!
After breakfast, coincidentally we were all headed to the Riparian Preserve in Gilbert to enjoy a brisk walk in the 40 degree "winter" climate!! 

Cailyn requested Aunt Jennifer push the stroller....the kids were all bundled up warm in blankets too!




It was a beautiful morning...and a beautiful day for Alissa! Thanks for letting us ALL share in your special day!  Happy Birthday, dear Alissa!!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Time to Celebrate

A couple weekends ago, the Ruggiero family gathered at Dianne & Arthur's home for an early Christmas celebration!  We started the festivities at 4:00, and enjoyed seeing our loved ones again, and sharing dinner together.  Here is Art busily cooking the "shrimps on the barbie" (using a fryer), and below Kim is playing with Effie, niece Natalie's prized pooch!

We are continuing the tradition of having fish on Christmas Eve, so Martin & Kim made a delicious lobster-based tomato sauce for the capellini pasta.  Dianne and Arthur breaded and fried LOTS of shrimp.  Vince and I made traditional fishcakes using Mom Ruggiero's recipe. 

All the younger generation contributed to the dinner as well.  Austin and his girlfriend Giana are pictured here.  Giana made home-made frosted sugar cookies with names on them...the cookies were our "placecards" for the beautiful table settings.

Natalie made delicious ricotta cookies, her Nana's recipe, and they looked so pretty on the cookie trays.
Josh and Beth brought over two delicious appetizers, and Beth made "S" cookies, a traditional italian cookie!  Yummy!

Here you can see Dianne & Art's beautiful tree...decorated with a very special collection of ornaments.
Alissa & Alan brought a delcious salad; Mike and Corissa brought healthy veggies to munch on!


Cailyn and Landon enjoyed getting acquainted with their extended family...

Cousin Troy brought in two HUGE teddy bears...what a surprise for the little ones!! Thanks to Uncle Martin & Aunt Kim too!

Aunt Dianne and Uncle Arthur gave Landon a book and truck; Cailyn received a new doll and feeding set!  You can see how pleased she is; Cailyn LOVES her dollies!!


And by the end of the evening, Cailyn and Effie were best pals....she wanted to be sure Effie was nearby!
(Did you know that "red-eye" correction will not work on animal photographs, only on humans??! I did try to remove the red-eye on Effie with no luck!) 

 Dianne's mother, Betty, gave everyone home-made pomegranate jelly. Delicious!! We missed seeing John this year as he was ill that night. 
Thanks again to our hosts, Dianne & Art, for making the evening so special for everyone!

Our Christmas celebrations will continue this weekend, after we celebrate Alissa's birthday tomorrow evening.  In addition, we will celebrate our oldest daughter's homecoming...Jennifer arrives in Arizona tonight at 11:00 pm. for 8 days. We can't wait to see her again! It's been a long 16 months!!

Friday, December 16, 2011

December moments

Half the month has flown by, but I want to share a few recent moments...
Landon is 10 months old!
Aunt Alissa with sweet Cailyn at DQ....the night we saw "Santa Claus" at San Tan Village!!
We also saw a horse-drawn carriage, "dancing trees" set to the music of Mannheim Steamroller, a HUGE Christmas wreath, snow-blowing machines and beautiful twinkling lights!! 
Landon patiently waiting at the DQ while we get to eat ice cream...it won't be long until you get your "first taste" of vanilla, Landon!


Grandpa enjoying his grandson....it was a very memorable evening to enjoy being together! 

Corissa and Mike went with their children to sit on Santa's lap...and that was a smart plan!  Cailyn asked Santa for Donald and Daisy (as in "Duck")...and when we passed by the Disney Store, Mimi was able to LOOK at the wished-for toys as Cailyn knew exactly where they were in the store! ;-)
Thanks to Corissa and Michael for including us in this special evening....these "moments" will become very special memories in the years to come!

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Thankful for Family

The last few weeks have been filled with family events, and I am thankful to have family nearby with whom we can celebrate!  Besides birthday celebrations and Sunday evening dinners with our children and grandchildren, we also are blessed to enjoy extended family times around the holidays.  Here are some miscellaneous snapshots of Cailyn and Landon in recent weeks!
Here Grandpa is helping Cailyn dress the old cabbage patch dolls...undressing is the most fun, but Cailyn is pretty adept at the shoes and socks already!

Landon is a charmer, and has "graduated" from his doc-band!  He's cut two little teeth on the bottom in the past month, and must hold the record for the "fastest crawler" in the 9-month age category!

Mimi bought Landon a "first hat" since the doc-band, and Cailyn is trying to help Landon with the correct hat placement.  Cailyn LOVES hats, and hopefully Landon will like them too!

Cailyn in her purple leggings and pink boots....stylin'!!  She loves playing with the "gel" stickers on the windows...and Landon is loving the swing time now!!

Vince cooked a delicious turkey on the grill for our Thanksgiving dinner this year...
                                     We are thankful for God's many blessings, but the blessing of
a loving family is the most precious of all!

Friday, November 18, 2011

NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS @ THE ZOO!!

Our family enjoyed a wonderful opportunity to go to the Phoenix Zoo together!  Mike and Corissa had visitor passes for all of us with their zoo membership, and the predicted rain for Nov. 12th held off, so we were able to celebrate our November birthdays with a picnic lunch near the giraffe exhibit at the Zoo.  It had been years since Vince and I were at the zoo, so there were many new additions, including the new koi pond near the entrance. It was beautiful! Plus, we enjoyed the new orangutan and komodo dragon exhibits.

We especially liked observing Cailyn "in action" as she watched the animals and helped lead the way.  Landon was a good sport and was content in the stroller most of the time.
Alan's birthday is Nov. 8, Mike's is the 12th, and mine is the 16th!  Every year, we usually share a celebration together...
After our picnic lunch, we wandered over to see the sleepy lions and the baboons.  I don't think this guy really wanted his photo taken!!

In this photo, it looks like Landon's sunglasses are a bit troublesome for him...he is so good natured about the doc-band, but hasn't quite become accustomed to the sunglasses yet!









We had a wonderful time together and we appreciate so much the opportunity to go to the zoo as a family! Thankyou Mike & Corissa!!
Landon fell asleep towards the end of our visit, and Cailyn said a special goodbye to one of her zoo friends, "until we meet again"!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Grandchildren's visit

Last weekend, we were lucky enough to have Cailyn AND Landon stay over at our house for 24 hours!! We had lots of fun, and were busy every minute!  Here Grandpa's watching the activities while I was fixing lunch.  Landon loves all things that are round or that make noise!  Cailyn is borrowing my sudoku book, pretending to write...or maybe she's solving my puzzle??!
There was plenty of time for playdough after lunch, and again, before supper.  Cailyn brought along her "signing time" DVD collection, so we enjoyed a couple of those with her during their stay.  Grandpa and Mimi are way behind on learning the "signs"!  We better catch up!

Cuddle time with Grandpa is always fun, especially when he makes those funny sounds and faces!  The weather was beautiful so swinging, sandplay, and chalkboard drawing were all FUN.  Cailyn was good at sharing the swing with her brother, and also likes to push Landon in the swing!
Mimi found new jammies to keep at her house, so they were worn for bedtime on Saturday!  Landon gets a one-hour break in the evenings from his doc-band, so Grandpa and Mimi washed his hair in the kitchen sink before dressing him for bedtime.  He was ready for bed at 7:00...and Mimi and Grandpa were almost ready by that time too! ;-) 

Grandpa made us waffles for breakfast! Both children eat very well. Cailyn enjoyed sandplay again on Sunday morning, followed by a bath.  We were so happy to be able to help Mike & Corissa so they could enjoy a weekend away!  The smiles on Landon's and Cailyn's faces when mommy and daddy walked through our door on Sunday morning were priceless!