Lovely Ladies

Evelina has so many wonderful ladies in her life that love her to pieces.  She is so lucky (as am I).  

Favorite Auntie KK

Great Auntie Elaine

Cousin Heather - all the way from Utah!!

Ain't Life Grand?

Evelina and her grandparents, she is the apple of their eyes.

Evelina and Grandpa during his most recent visit a couple of weeks ago

Evelina with Mimi and Poppy

Simple Pleasures

Dear Evelina,
You are still too little to realize that Mommy is always coming after you with the camera.  I lovingly call myself the Mamarazzi.  You are just too cute for words and I don't want to miss one second of you growing up, revealing your personality, or doing something new and fun.

These are two of my favorite photos from August.  Neither of them were taken in the best lighting and they are both blurry or fuzzy but they are still my favorites.

In this picture (taken by Papa), we were napping in the living room on a warm Sunday afternoon.  You were very cranky due to the arrival of your 1st year molars, and I was attempting to rest my back, which I had hurt on our vacation in Pittsburg, NH.  You very rarely will sit still these days when we hold you and napping with us hasn't occurred since you were itty bity so this was such a treat for me.  I'm looking forward to more of these moments to come (minus teething and back pain).  

In this picture you are pushing Mimi and Poppy's doggy, Lilly, around in your wagon.  Your expression is priceless.  I'm not sure what you love more, doggies or walking around with your wagon.  Put them together and you have pure excitement, complete with your tongue sticking out and eyes crossed. 

You continue to teach me that the simple pleasures in life are what makes life worth living.  I love you sweet pea.  

You are the sunshine of my life,

Mommy

12 Months of Evelina :: In Pictures

You know I couldn't let Evelina's 1st Birthday milestone pass by without a video in pictures, so without further ado, 12 Months of Evelina, in pictures (and yes, I know she isn't a boy, I just fell in love with the song). 

PS: Sorry it is so long. I honestly think I took more photos of her in the past year then have been taken of me in my entire life. I need to get better about using the Flip video camera.

Oh, Happy Day

One year ago today 2 little lines appeared that would change the course of our lives.  This most wonderful year has been full of anticipation, excitement and fear with the arrival of our precious, sweet and beautiful daughter. We can't wait for the next year, and the next, and the next.....

Fun Day!!

Yesterday my mom came down for a visit to tag along to my 28-week appointment. She was excited to meet one of the midwives I’ve been seeing, ask questions and check-in on Cashina with me (I was excited to have her there too). It was a fun day filled with yummy lunch and a positive appointment all capped off with baby girl clothes shopping…I think we could have bought the entire store but we tried to restrain ourselves.

I can’t believe it is already that time when I need to start going in every 2 weeks instead of once a month. This is really happening!! In less then 3 months I am going to be a “mommy” and Chris a papa.

I gained 5 more pounds since my last appointment which puts me up 18 pounds. If I were to take a guess, I would think by delivery day, I will have gained about 30 pounds. A little more then I had planned but still in healthy range. We will have to see.

Cashina had a nice heartbeat in the 140-150 range and she was head down (let’s hope she stays that way!!) and facing right. My mom got to feel for her as well and she thinks she is an average size baby which is good news. I just think it is amazing that they (my midwife and my mom) were able to tell her position just by feeling my belly externally. That is a talent.

It was a great day and I was glad to spend it with my “mommy” and baby. I think it will be even more fun once Cashina is here in the flesh…..not much longer now!!

Inaugural BBQ

Summer arrived for a few brief days last weekend so Chris and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to, as I like to call it, “grill and chill”. Our new grill was just screaming to be fired up and just waiting for steaks to sizzle on its virgin grates. We also got to enjoy our new patio set with the company of great friends!! Thanks Ang, Jeff, Aimee and Sean for joining us for our inaugural BBQ. Hopefully we can do it again soon….with a patio umbrella the next time so we don’t sizzle.

Photo courtesy of Angela Malone

Slackin'

With Christmas, New Year’s, birthdays, family time, house “stuff” and making the transition to working a full work week again consuming most of our time in the past few weeks, I have been slacking on the blog front.

Since I know my dad is an avid blog reader (when his PC isn’t infected with viruses), I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to mention that while he was visiting NH from Ohio for the Christmas holiday, he and Kerry got to spend a day at 19 BHL. My dad visiting officially completes my immediate family first-time visits…yay!! For some time he probably thought the house was just a figment of our imaginations or random pictures on the web…but it really does exist!! Now if only the Pats where in the playoff we would be all set.

Thanks Dada for visiting and we hope you visit again soon!!

Holiday Gathering - UNH Style

Click here for more photos

Between the hustle and bustle of the season, family time and just life in general, I have found that during the holidays it is difficult to get together with great friends. New children, new houses, house hunting, busy work schedules, distance and short trips to MA really don’t lend themselves to quality friend time. Well, not this time!! Thanks to the recommendation of Aimee and the perfect timing of Lisa and Bruce’s visit from AZ and Oz, we UNH gals got to celebrate while Chris and I got to entertain once again at 19 BHL. It was a very fun evening full of excellent potluck fare, lots of laughs, wine (no accident victims this time around!!), and Paul and Jeff even took a chance on the Diabolique. It also just happened to fall on the one month anniversary of our big move to the ‘burbs; Happy One Month Anniversary to us!!

We missed Kate, Delia and Wally but I have no doubt they will be dropping by soon…I hope anyway :-)

Thanks all for coming and we can’t wait to do more entertaining in 2009!!

Stone's Public House - Take 1 and 2

Before Chris and I moved to Ashland we had done some research on local restaurants and one of the first that came up was Stone’s Public House in the center of town. Now rumor has it that this house, built in 1834, is haunted by one or more spirits which is kind of eerie. As a kid, I couldn’t even watch shows about ghosts on Halloween (or any time of year) because I always thought our old farm house was haunted and that someone was watching me…especially when I was in the barn.

Even though I am older and wiser, the thought of ghosts still freaks me out but it wasn’t going to stop us from checking out Stone’s. What ghost would come out during the dinner hour? We went for dinner on Friday night and thought we would sit in the bar area but it was packed!! Who would have thought this would be an Ashland hotspot? The big fireplace was roaring, big and small parties dining on scrumptious fare and people were even standing. It was the place to be. We had a nice dinner in the quiet dining room while keeping our eye out for spirits of any kind.

On Sunday, Debi and Paul dropped by for a surprise visit so we decided to check out the bar again and chat/catch some football on TV. Still no sign off ghosts but there was a Ouija board in the corner which we all decided we would never play in this place!!

I guess this post would have been more interesting if we actually saw a ghost or evidence of one, but alas, we didn’t. We just saw some eerie looking pictures of John Stone himself and others. Stone’s Public House offered great meals and company and we will surely go back in the near future for grub, live music and maybe even Trivia Thursdays…that is only if Paul is on our team :-)

Debi and Paul chillin' on the new couch

Annual "Guys" Gathering

Every year during the Christmas season we have a get together with Chris's group of guy friends and their lovely wives. We usually go to one of their homes or we meet at a restaurant but this year we decided to take advantage of our new home and invite everyone over as long as they upheld the laws of the Ciano's sanitary environment (aka, no shoes in the house!!). It resulted in quite a stressful week putting up the tree, unpacking more boxes, hanging pictures, shopping for the house, food, etc. in an effort to prepare for more than 4 visitors but it went off without a hitch and we had a great time. Only one accident victim didn't survive the party but it wasn't due to black ice on Badger road, it was more because of Chris's brut strength.

I had to take a picture of Chris in the kitchen...it may never happen again :-) Just kidding, his antipasto platter turned out great!! Of course, for most of the night, everyone congregated in the kitchen per usual. But what about the new couch?? Pic of me with Maria and Christine; Steve and Larry; sanitary environment police on patrol, no tickets were issued; accident victim

Weekend of Fun

Chris was away on business this weekend so I got to spend time with some of my other favorite people and Lilly :-) Debi visited (I forgot to take pics!!) and we tried out a decent local pizza place and watched a movie while experimenting with the new home theater system. I don't think Forgetting Sarah Marshall qualifies as an optimal surround sound producing movie but it was still hysterical. Thanks for coming over Debi and I can't wait for future girl's nights!!

Kerry then arrived from Pittsburgh and we spent the rest of the weekend cooking and shopping. If you haven't been to the Container Store, you should go. It is so incredibly fabulous and I am already planning another trip back this week. For an organizer like myself, it is perfection.

Mom and Jim arrived with Ms. Lil and we had a fantastic dinner. I have determined that we have used the dining room more in the last week then we did in our entire 4+ years in Charlestown. It is great!! Oh...and kudos to Lilly for being a very good dog and only doing her business in the backyard :-)

Kerry and me cooking....well, really Kerry cookingJim and Lilly watching football.

Cheers; we miss you Chris.

Getting Settled

I have found it difficult to get into a routine being in the new house. With so much unpacking to do, shopping for things we need (gotta keep the economy going!!), cleaning/feeding/playing with my pet on Facebook or just wanting to relax with friends and family in front of the fireplace and new LCD, it has been tough to get motivated to update the blog.

Over a week has passed since the big move and we are living comfortably. For the most part, the kitchen, office/den, master and guest bedrooms and bathrooms are all appointed with everything we need but they are screaming for decorations which will come with time. We can't wait for our new bed frame and sectional to be delivered in the next month...hopefully they will both make the house have less echo.

Here are some pictures of our biggest unpacking project in the house...the kitchen. It took about 2 days to pack it up but only 1 to unpack thanks to my mom and sister-in-law Joyce's help. It was like my bridal shower all over again since we finally unpacked all of our fabulous presents and actually put them away in cabinets. I am making a pledge to myself to use every single platter, pan, knife, gadget, etc.

First Family Dinner

After a long day of unpacking, installing mirrors and bathroom fixtures, and running errands, our first day in the new house ended with the first family dinner at 19 BHL. Mom, Paul, Jordan and Joyce were sooo incredibly helpful that the least we could do was share Jim's famous baked ziti with them in our new dining room. Now we just have to get a dining room table that can seat 8 and has 8 matching chairs...but for now, our existing table will do. Our family has been so great to us through this process and we thank them tremendously for all of their love and support. They are the best!!

Mom and Joyce chillin' in the living room.

More Visitors!!

Chris's co-worker/friend Skip came by the house with us last week to take a sneak peak of the kitchen cabinet installation. We had been given a last minute kitchen granite option to choose from so having his input was extremely helpful (in addition to all of other Chris's co-workers...thanks all!!). We have made our final decision and can't wait to see it in place next week.

Family Visit

While Chris and I were dropping off our light fixtures at the house on Saturday, we got a nice visit from Mom and Jim. The last time that Mom was at the house, it was still on a pile of rock and just a shell with 2x4s (??) framing each room. Now it is almost an inhabitable house!! It was Jim's first time at the lot so he got the detailed play by play from Chris and me, as well as a tour of Lot 17 which is very close to being completed. It was such a beautiful fall day and we got to check out some foliage views from the street too. It has been nice to see the transition from Summer to Autumn.

Our First Visitors

Chris and I had to go by the house yesterday to mark where we wanted phone and cable hookups installed by the electrician so we were able to have our first visitors!! Mom, Sis (in NH from Pittsburgh, PA for the weekend) and of course, the cuteness that is Lilly.

The ladies got a tour of the house and I think it was the first time that Lilly had the opportunity to walk through walls dragging Mom in tow. She was on sensory overload and didn't know what to think of the place. Little does she know that she will make lots of visits to the house :-) We then proceeded to walk through Lot 17 which is in the next stage of development and has walls, some paint, etc. Lot 18 was our last stop and is almost complete. The new owners are supposed to close on 9/15.

It was nice to see an almost exact replica of our house to get ideas for improvements (aka upgrades) we would like to make. Bouncing ideas off of Mom and Kerry was just what we needed. Our brains have started to hurt thinking about all of the options and making decision after decision. I just love waking up at 5:00am envisioning cabinet finishes, furniture placement options, paint colors..........

Thanks Mom, Sis and Lilly!!

Mom, Sis, Lilly and Sarah in what will be the kitchen.

Chris and Lilly chilling out in Lot 18.