Morgan turns 1!

I know, she doesn't look a day over 11 months!
We met Morgan on December 27, 2010 and once again, our lives forever changed. Morgan has brought nothing but joy to our family and watching Rowan become the great big brother he has makes us so happy. When I look in the rear view mirror to see them quietly holding hands it makes my heart just smile! Morgan is calm, quiet, gentle and happy. She loves bananas, apples, pasta, meatballs and yogurt. Her favorite toys include a bouncy zebra, her walker and baby stroller. God gifted her with a TON of smile muscles and spikey hair! I'm excited to share in tea parties with her, paint her nails/toenails, go for runs together, and share in special experiences as she grows up. Cheers to our precious Morgan and many more happy Birthdays to come!

Some people like Gin and Juice...

But I like Bling and boots! Give me 20 years and I may change my mind.

Remember these favorites?

It's this time of year that I like to look back on some great Christmas commercials from growing up.

Like this one - a Pittsburgh favorite:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3NhDtfZmd0


And this one....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xi-kKMBNe0


And last but not least  - Jason's absolute favorite:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4kNl7cQdcU

UPDATE: Jason informed me that "Peter" also played on the Young and the Restless as Traci Abbott's husband, Steve. He was totally right - and he's cute too!

Steve Connelly

Steve Connelly
The Young and the Restless
Portrayed by	Greg Wrangler (1992, 1993-1996, 2001, 2009)
First appearance	June 1992
Last appearance	October 9, 2009
Cause/reason	Moved back to New York City
Created by	William J. Bell
Profile
Gender	Male
Occupation	Book Publisher
Residence	New York City
[show]Relationships Spouse(s) Traci Abbott Children Colleen Carlton (step-daughter)

Character History
Steve Connelly was the publisher of Traci Abbott's book. He moved to Genoa City to help Traci out with writing. The two bonded and soon started a relationship, which caused her ex-husband, Brad Carlton, to become jealous. Traci eventually decided to leave town and go to New York with Steve and her daughter with Brad, Colleen. Steve and Traci got married off-screen. In 2001, Traci revealed that Steve was cheating on her, and she moved back to Genoa City. Colleen was hurt by the fighting between Traci and Steve, while Ashley Abbott, who feared that Traci's return might threaten her current marriage to Brad, encouraged Traci to try and work on her marriage with Steve. Steve and Traci eventually reconciled and returned to New York with Colleen. A rebellious streak in Colleen forced Traci and Steve to send her to live in Genoa City, where she wound up having all kinds of adventures of her own. Steve returned to Genoa City in 2009 to support Traci after Colleen tragically died.

Welcome baby Mia!

Mia Alyssa Hoffmann came into the world on December 9th at 3:53pm. It sounds like Kara had a rather easy labor and delivery and is now at home enjoying her new bundle of joy:) A belated Happy Anniversary to her and Scot too as they celebrated their 1st anniversary yesterday!

When the Cat's away....

I'll take his credit card and go shopping! Jason's been out of town all week so Morgan and I did some Christmas shopping while Rowan was at school. Most if the damage was done at Macy's and there sure was some good deals to be had! Morgan loves clothes, in fact, she now claps when I open her closet in the morning to pick her out an outfit. How is this girl becoming such a girly girl when I'm so not one? It must be Aunt Sara and Michelle's influence!

A friend sent me this article and I thought it was definitely something worthwhile to pass along.
12 Things Happy People do Differently:
http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/08/30/12-things-happy-people-do-differently/

Happy Weekend:)

WINNING!

We had a busy weekend decorating our house and tree. Today I also finished unpacking the house. Yes, we moved in in May but I found a ton of boxes hiding behind our Christmas decorations. I was wondering where some of our things were, ultimately, writing them off as just getting lost in the move.

Rowan asked to have a little tree in his room this year and we said sure. Look at how proud he is! Some may even notice that he has inherited my crooked smile!

The tree is a WINNER and our house may have a shot in the decorating contest too! Our theme is 'Keepin it Klassy'...Love it:) Thanks to Jason and Rowan who really worked hard on the outside decorations. Who ever invented the net lights is a genius...now if I could just find a great way to store them.

Lastly, some of you with small children may want to check out the link below. It's a personalized message from Santa to your child(ren). We did this last year and Rowan loved it. Super fun and cute!

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

"Peace and love, peace and love." - George Harrison

25 days until Christmas!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! We watched the Rockefeller Christmas Tree lighting last night as we usually do. I'm really not a fan of Justin Beiber but I really enjoyed his songs. Jason, on the other hand, totally has 'Beiber Fever' as they say! Watching Neil Diamond reminded Jason and I about this character....anyone else remember him (Kara/Mimi)?
http://chrisdenem.com/index.html

Saw this funny link on Facebook yesterday. I am so guilty of misspelling 'Definitely'...won't happen again though!
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling

2 great coupons: 1 from Hallmark the other from Target. FB users can access the Hallmark one from their webpage on FB. Target one is only good through Saturday.

tp://www.frugalcouponliving.com/2011/11/21/hallmark-coupon-5-off-10-on-facebook/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+frugalcouponliving+%28Frugal+Coupon+Living%29


http://www.mamacheaps.com/category/printable-coupons/page/2

Printed the Target one yesterday. Spending $50 in Target is easy to do!

And thank you to the 2 people who voted 'Don't hassle the Hoff'' on the poll. I really got a good giggle from seeing those votes:)

Welcome baby Berkowitz!

Leah, Bethany, Shiloh and Nate

Bethany gave birth to Shiloh on Tuesday evening! Shiloh joins big sister Leah and big brother Nate. Look how amazing Bethany looks. Motherhood agrees with her!

Hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving! We enjoyed our trip to Pittsburgh but are glad to be back to our life here in Fairfax:)

Jason and Rowan started decorating the outside of the house yesterday. We're gonna go for the Griswold look this year so that means ANOTHER trip to home depot for more lights today! Fingers crossed that Jason accomplishes the look he's envisioning!

Some good Tuesday Deals

Love Tuesdays on 'Today'! Here is the link for today's specials:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45391470/ns/today-holiday_guide/t/steals-deals-jewelry-jackets-more/

Who doesn't love a yankee candle? Good deal for $10 off!
http://www.mamacheaps.com/2011/11/10-off-25-yankee-candle-coupon-4.html


'Today' show roadtrip to Martha's house. It seems that she really is that perfect! Would have loved to have seen her kitchen and could do without her Chow Chow.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/45399936#45399936

Praying for Carla and Mark's baby Andrew today as he goes through surgery this morning. We love you guys!

And one thought to ponder: What will they call 'Sid the kid' when he's not a kid anymore? He's 24 afterall......Great game last night!

Go Seadogs!

Our friends Mimi and Lauren are competing in the Arizona Ironman today!
Here is the link to track their progress:

http://ironman.com/events/ironman/arizona?show=tracker#axzz1eFlGiIVY
Mimi's bib     #316
Lauren's bib  #450

UPDATE:

Lauren finished  with a time of 10:11
Mimi finished with a time of 10:33

I think this may be a PR fo both of them!!
Simply amazing and inspiring!!

GO GIRLS!!!!

Happy Friday!

For someone who was afraid of Pippa at first, Rowan cannot seem to get enough of her now! The Pippanator is exhausted by the end of breakfast!

Looks like the Starbucks BOGO goes through the weekend from 2-5pm! Enjoy!
http://merry.starbucks.com/en-us/#/bogo/

I found 2 good deals yesterday. The first one is a free photo book! Great idea for alittle Christmas gift for the Grandparents! I used it yesterday and made a book of Morgan's first year as a keepsake for her. It was super easy to do! Just pay the shipping, which came to @$9 for me. Enter your email and they'll give you a free code. Here is the link:http://www.mypublisher.com/affiliate/affreepocket?si=s.1jU7Ngr40-BFx4EGjDEs844kRFtGyWlA

The 2nd deal was a FREE one night Redbox rental with the promo code NVMCDBR. Jason used it and had a no problems!

Looks like some people agreed with me on People's pick for the "Sexiest Man Alive"
http://www.people.com/people/package/article/0,,20315920_20546296,00.html

Finally, speaking of the Sexiest Man alive - this link is for you Jason and Sara and anyone else who loves Danny Romalotti! I know Cricket couldn't get enough!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOW8Y8XDE_M

It may not be a New Year yet...

but I'm gonna start trying some new things on my blog. In addition to updating our family and friends on all things Little, I will also be posting things that are interesting, useful, positive and most of all...fun! I seem to be finding some great deals, articles, and kid friendly projects lately. I'd love to share and make my blog more interactive. Please join me when you come across something you'd like to share!

Let's get started:

http://www.starbucks.com/menu/drinks

Today only from 2-5pm BOGO drinks at Starbucks! Treat yourself and a friend!

http://www.people.com/people/package/gallery/0,,20315920_20544431,00.html

Really People...Bradley Cooper? May I suggest Billy Abbott or Maurico from RHOBH. Maybe next year you'll get it right.

New things coming to my blog...Stay posted!~

A baptism, Vow Renewal and an Anniversary

What a weekend in Toonatown! We had Morgan baptized on Saturday...and yes, we were a bit late getting to this point but we are just happy that we got it done. My mom served as her Godmother and Uncle Bill served as her Godfather. Jason and I also renewed our vows as today is our anniversary and we never had our marriage blessed. This year was an especially poignant year as we welcomed Morgan into our family and experienced lots of other changes. Through it all I feel that we are closer than ever and am so blessed to have him as my husband. I get emotional when I think about all that we have together and wonder how I got so lucky. Next year will be another tough year but I know there's nothing we can't get through together. Plus we have the Pipinator to help us through it!!

Enjoying all that the day has to offer

This week has been unbelievably beautiful outside! We've been hitting the park and lake each day to take in the beauty of this time of year. Here are some pics from the last couple of days. Morgan loves the swing just as much as Rowan did as a baby!

This kid doesn't miss a thing...

I started wrapping Rowan and Morgan's Christmas gifts this week. I even picked up some fun "Frosty the Snowman" wrapping paper (not cheap) at Hallmark and got to work on it while Morgan slept and Rowan was at school. I even found the best place to stash them....so I thought:(

I must have wrapped about 8 gifts and put them in the spare bedroom downstairs. The room has a little built in bench in which its top lifts up so you can store blankets or whatever inside. I didn't even think Rowan knew that the bench lifts up! We never go in that room unless guests are coming to visit so I thought it would be a great spot to hide gifts for many years to come. So you can imagine my shock when Rowan came to me and asked what the presents in the "Frosty paper" were doing in Gramma and Pap's room. I almost spit my coffee out. I quickly explained that the gifts were for his cousins and Leah and Nate for Christmas. Then he said he thought the gifts on the dining room table were for his cousins and that Nate's is still in my car. I have no answers for this kind of interrogation first thing in the morning! Jason doesn't think he'll remember the wrapping paper come December but I disagree. I think I'll just re wrap them and be done with it...even if it means wasting good paper. Any other suggestions?

Halloween weekend

Here are some random pictures from the weekend. Morgan had a baby playdate with her friend Jack on Friday. Jack is my friend Adrienne's baby and he is exactly 1 month younger than Morgan. Isn't he a cutie! Look how strong the Little genes run. Darryl, Jason, and Rowan look so much alike.

Hoping that our friends in Connecticut get their power back on soon after the freakish winter weather they had last weekend. Thinking of you Carla and Mark!

Halloween 2011

Halloween is one on my favorite holidays and I love to make it special for the kids. We had our lighted carved pumpkins out front and some scary music playing for those who ventured to our house! Rowan started off the day with a bang when he woke up at 6am declaring that he just couldn't sleep any longer because he was too excited to Trick or Treat! I took Rowan out with his friend Megan and her mom while Jason and Morgan were on candy duty. Rowan would run to me afterwards shouting out what he got from each house while Megan kept telling us that her bag wasn't full yet! The highlight of Rowan's Night....holding Megan's hand! The highlight of Jason's night......when Jason asked a girl that was not dressed up what she was supposed to be she replied "a pothead" - he thought it was hilarious. Hope everyone had a fun safe night!

Happy 10 months Gigi!

My Mother-in-law was right: once Morgan started motoring around I was going to be in big trouble! Well, that day has come and I'm exhausted by days end! This morning I was getting laundry out of the dryer and Rowan told me that she was crawling up the steps. 2 seconds later she was in the foyer knocking on the front door. She's in the kitchen with me one minute and the next minute I can't find her. She is quick and quiet when she sneaks away! Thank God for Rowan who has been giving me her play by play. He fills me in on everything, especially when she grabs one of HIS toys! I didn't expect that they would interact as much as they are this early one. He plays and wrestles with her and works with her when she uses her walker. Tonight he was feeding her potato at dinner - it was really sweet. At 10 months old Morgan loves all Rowan's toys, climbing up the steps, opening the wine cabinet in the dining room, and can finally rock her skinny girl jeans (that's right Alicia) - I posted the pic to prove it! The last pic is a deer I caught in our back yard this afternoon! She must have hopped the fence to get in and scared the crap out of me (and Pippa) but was fun to watch! Fall has arrived!

Cake Pop twins

Rowan was introduced to a cake pop today and will never be the same! We came across them at a fall festival and Jason couldn't believe they were only .50c - what a steal compared to the $3 price point at Starbucks! He and Rowan were in their glory. Looks like I need to get my hands on a kit! I was excited that Morgan can now fit into her brown leather boots! How cute they will look with her fall dresses and leggings! I threw in an updated picture of the pipster too. Her personality is coming out and she's proving to be pretty funny. I think she's finally settling in and is doing well with her routine and training. She's cute.....and fuzzy!

Time to hit the Hotub! Jason cleaned it out and filled it up last weekend. He's been in pretty much every night since. I invited my friend Jen over tonight as I thought she'd enjoy chilling, chatting, and enjoying a nice glass of wine in it! Never thought I'd consider myself a hot tubber but it does feel great after a good run or on a chilly night like tonight.....

Fall Fun

Today we spent the day with The Berkowitz family at a pumpkin farm. We were really impressed with the farm that we chose because it had so many different activities for the kids to do. There wasn't much of a crowd either - I guess most people were at home watching the Redskins lose. The 3 hours we spent there wore our kids out. Morgan and Rowan both ended up in bed an hour early which is great because tonight is the reunion show for RHONJ! When will Teresa learn not to mess with Caroline Manzo or her kids?

The weather this weekend was absolutely fantastic - low 70's and not one cloud in the sky. We got so much done outside yesterday and had a awesome dinner with Sara last night. Enjoying good weather, good friends and family, good food (and wine) - just a few reasons why I love this time of year:)

Hello Pippa!

Meet Pippa Von Middleton Little the 1st. She is the latest addition to Team Little. Pippa is a 4 month old Airedale Terrier originating from central Pa. Considering Jason's looming deployment we decided on getting a watchdog that would act as a positive distraction for Rowan while Jason's away. We were attracted to the Airedale breed for several reasons, one of which is their intimidating stature alone. They are also known to be great with children, protective of their family and property, intelligent, funny, and don't shed. The history on the breed is quite impressive. Airedales originate from England and served as police dogs pre WWI Europe and service dogs during the war. A little known fact about the breed is that 3 presidents called them pets. They are: Teddy Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge and Warren G. Harding.

Live long and Prosper Pippa - we think you'll be a fantastic dog!

Bff

This has got to be one of my favorite pictures of them. Rowan has been the sweetest big brother as of late. Morgan is now walking with her walker and he encourages her every step of the way. It shouldn't be too much longer before she's walking on her own...then I'll be in big trouble!

Before and After

Thank you Aunt Judy for bringing it to my attention that I never posted the "after" photo of our breakfast area! We are very pleased with the work Dave (our contractor) did. He was a fantastic guy to work with and he totally got the vision we had for the room. We did learn a few things along the way: 1.) When a contractor tells you it will take 2 weeks...double it. 2.) Next Day Blinds isn't really next day. It should be called 4 days later blinds. 3.) Regarding seat cushions - look into other options before ordering online. I purchased the material at Joann's and had a seamstress in the neighborhood make the cushion for 1/2 of what I would have paid online.

Since this photo was taken we added a table and chairs, a rocking chair, and some pillows for the bench. It has become our favorite room to hang out in just as we had envisioned it to be!