Thanksgiving Projects

Vinny loves projects, so this year we used Vinny's handprints to make some turkeys.

We also turned a gigantic pine cone from our Big Bear trip in October into a big turkey. Vinny loved how tracing his fingers tickled, and as you can see, he was so proud of his final product.

Mom and Dad's 1st Visit to California

Mom and Dad made their first flight from sea to shining sea this past October, and we kept them busy every day of their trip. We celebrated my mom's birthday, took the light rail and subway into Hollywood to see the stars on the Walk of Fame and Kodak Theater, toured the Santa Anita Race Track (just a couple miles down the street from our house), and drove up the Pacific Coast Highway to the Santa Monica Pier and Malibu.

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We spent the last two days of Mom and Dad's visit in Disneyland. This was the first time our family went to Disney, and Vinny was so excited about the rides and meeting his heroes, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto. Well, things didn't go quite as expected...Vinny was as shy as ever, and surprising not thrilled about the rides. Strange, after how much he loved Lego Land earlier this summer. Anyway, it took a while but he eventually warmed up a bit, and once we were back home, he couldn't stop talking about it. So another trip is in the works, and hopefully next time Vinny will show as much enthusiasm for all things Mickey there as he does at home!

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Happy Halloween!

Vinny had been hesitant about dressing up like anything for Halloween, though he liked the idea of Lightning McQueen. Well, given that my creativity comes to a screeching halt when it comes to costumes, I was bound and determined to warm Vinny up to the hand me down monkey suit hanging in his closet. So after a month of brainwashing him with the pomp and circumstance of all things Halloween, one afternoon, out the blue, he said, "I dress up like a monkey and get candy!" So we practiced, and boy am I glad I took pictures when I had the chance....as you will soon see, the monkey hood would not be part of the equation on the actual night.

I am pretty sure this is the cutest monkey I've ever seen!

I channeled my inner Martha and lit the walkway with luminaries.
See no hood. In fairness, it was really hot that afternoon, and Vinny had been running a fever earlier in the day. He complained it was too hot for the hood, and we were just happy he dressed up at all. He couldn't wait to get candy...even running out the door without shoes on. Good thing we only had 4 houses on our route. Oh and there's my jack o'lantern...I thought I'd carve something a little more creative for Vinny, but when I ever looked up some templates on line, I knew I'd have to simplify. And Vinny still reminds me, "Lightning too hard Mommy." He's so understanding.
First stop, Dotty's across the street.
Waiting to say Trick or Treat!
Let's go! More candy Daddy!


I got this Daddy, totally know what I'm doing now...

All done, time to go check out the loot.
Yummy candy!
Sadly, all through the night, I couldn't help but think of our friends and family back home in the cold and in the dark. Power is out all over Connecticut, including our entire hometown, after an early nor'easter that tore through this past weekend. And there doesn't seem to be any light (literally) at the end of the tunnel. Since the leaves were still on the trees, heavy branches snapped everywhere and took all the power lines down with them. My parents say it's so depressing. My brother says it's just awful. I feel so terrible for them all. But in the middle of it all, the world welcomed a new baby boy, Connor John Claffey! Congratulations to Sean, Kristy, and big sister Emma! They certainly have a story of their own to tell!