Getting Ready for Santa!!!

OK! We have begun the countdown to Christmas and our most treasured trip to New York for it! The boys are beyond excited and are counting down the days. We got our advent calendar to help us. I will be surprised if the chocolate makes it 24 days!

We have been really excited to bring out the tree. We wanted to do it over the weekend but it never happened. The boys and Dad braved the attic to get it down. They couldn't stop smiling!
We even got the train in place! Now all we need to do is decorate! We plan on decorating the tree and the house over the weekend...cross your fingers! :)

Eli is starting to smile more now, but it is still hard to catch it. I got this one but it is a bad angle. Still, it is adorable!The boys with their christmas tree! (Yes, that is Sam holding Eli... we took the picture quick!!)
I never blogged about Thanksgiving! We went to our friends house again for a delicious dinner. I was nice and the kids had a great time. We still missed our family a ton though. It doesn't really feel like a holiday without them. We are very thankful for everyone in our lives!
The boys in their Thanksgiving best! :)

Playing outside at Kelli's house. Yes, it was 80 degrees that day!
JT at the dinner table. :) so cute.
Sam at the dinner table. :) so handsome
The kids table. :)
Eli Nicholas on his first Thanksgiving!
And the infamous... RICCI STUFFING.
Some more pics from the weekend before thanksgiving...
The boys and Daddy making meatballs.

Sammy and Eli... He is such a great big brother!
And Smores. If you feel like you have seen these pictures before, you have... only not these exact pictures. One of the boys favorite things to do is a fire and smores, so we do it a lot! The boys had their friends over a couple weekends ago and they did it again!!


Our friend Jim and Eli. He held him all night.

Eli's First Bath and Green Eggs and Ham

It has been a while, but we gave Eli his first bath a week ago now. At first he wasn't happy about it, but then he got used it and it looked like he enjoyed it. Of course we had some great helpers to get him through it...

Ready, Set....

First dunk.

Sam and JT the big brother helpers!

Eli after he got used to it!

All done!

Yeah!! Sam and JT the big brothers! :)So cold!!

Sammy putting lotion on Eli after his bath.He wore his Steelers outfit after his bath. Make sure you check out the video too.He even liked getting his hair combed.

The video of Matt putting the Steelers outfit on Eli for the first time

Green Eggs and Ham day at Sammy's school. Matt went in to help and cook. Sam was excited to have his dad there. This is Matt's 2nd time as a Green Eggs and Ham chef- he also helped at Sam's preschool last year!

This is Sammy with his class. (everyone at school calls him Sammy - when I talk to parents and call him Sam, they always say, "My son calls him Sammy!")

Green Eggs

and HamTasting...

The verdict:
This is Sam and his buddy, Brian

Sammy with his class and teacher, Mrs. Sanguini, on the playground.

Sammy and the girls.... now he will say, "AHHH, the girls always chase me!" But really, he loves it though he will NEVER admit it! ;) And Matt confirmed, that they do gravitate toward Sammy - he got this picture as proof! Of course they do!

Sam and his buddy, Brian

One of the girls getting Sam with the dodge ball.

The next few pictures are just extras that we have taken this week.

This is Sammy eating his Sonic Burger. First, let me start by saying that he must be going through a growth spurt because the kid has been eating like a champ! After his football game last week, we grabbed some food to take home. Sam wanted the "Sonic Burger" which consists of a double burger with cheese and all the extras... this is a picture of him eating it! And he did eat almost the WHOLE thing! Matt and I are seriously wondering how we will be able to afford feeding and clothing all 3 of our big boys!

JT is becoming a great little big brother. He always wants to hold Eli and he is really gentle (yes! I said gentle - well for JT). Everynight when he goes to bed, he always makes sure to kiss Eli too. He is learning from the best, Sammy is a great big bro too!

I took this pic after a 3 am feeding. After Eli eats, he is so content that he just passes out! He also loves to have his little hand up by his face. He did this even in my belly! So sweet!

Bright Eyes.
Brothers.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!!
Crazy times around here, but I finally got these up on the blog! Here was our halloween fun and the festivities leading up to it!!

Pumpkin Picking:



A big one for Sammy, a medium one for JT and a little one for Eli... a complete set! :)
Decorating the front of our house for halloween.
Carving Pumpkins...
Or as Sam called it, "Scarving Pumpkins!"




Happy Halloween...
The final verdict on our halloween costumes - 2 Rocky guys and 1 Robot!


Robot EliThe boys really got into Trick or Treating this year! Sam did not want to stop! They loved getting candy and going door to door!
Rocky Sammy.
Rocky JT
The gang out for trick or treating... We were lucky enough to share a halloween with Ya-Ya. The boys were really excited because we have never had family here for these kind of things. They had a great time.

Festivities leading up to Halloween:

JT's preschool has a fall carnival every year. We went last year for Sam. This was JT's turn. I was not able to make it so we got 2 pictures... This one Matt took there (yes, I gave him the camera, but he didnt use it!!)
And this one I took before they left! They had fun, though and came home ASLEEP!!
Sam's school Fall Festival Party.
Sammy playing candy corn bingo.
Pumpkin Face Paint
JT even got to come to Sam's school with me. He enjoyed making a halloween sprinkle cookie!
Pin the Face on the pumpkin. I still have not figured out if Sam could see through the blind-fold?!
My Boys...
I took this picture at 4 am. I had just fed Eli and both Sam and JT had trickled down into our bed sometime before then. This is why we decided to buy the KING bed!
JT's Picture Day.
So grown up!!! How did that happen? He really liked looking so cute, too! He didn't want to take off his jeans or daddy shirt!
Had to get a pic of this backside too! :)
Eli in his swing. He seems to like it. He usually naps in it at least once a day!
Sam and JT before JT went to his School Halloween Party. He decided to be Batman for the party (Thank God I have a costume bin! He had a hard time deciding on his costume this year!)
Playing with friends at school.
He got witches fingers from his teacher "Aunt Bridgett." (that is what he calls her) He really liked those!!
Ya-Ya took Sam on his school field trip to Schnepf Farms. She brought JT along too. Sam was super excited about bringing a lunch and going on a bus. Here is a pic of him before he left for school with his bag lunch. Such a big boy now! Again, how does this happen so fast??
Ya-Ya said that Sam was such a great big brother at the field trip. He always went on rides with JT and watched out for him, too. I am so proud of him as a big brother! I am a very lucky mom!

Sammy and his friends from school.
What a face.
They also got to pick a pumpkin out to bring home. Sam said to Ya-Ya after the field trip, "This is my best life, ever!" I am so thankful for my little boys!
A special Thank you to Ya-Ya for taking them to the field trip (and EVERYWHERE else) while she was here. The boys really enjoyed the time they spent with you! LOVE and MISS YOU!


That will catch you up on Halloween, but we are already into NOVEMBER! So, we have alot more to blog about.

We just said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa Ricci today. The boys had a great time with family over the past few weeks. It will be a hard adjustment for them now that everyone has gone back. Matt and I are so thankful for the help we got from both of our parents. We would not have been able to do it without you guys. It meant more to us than we can ever express! Thank you for helping us welcome Eli Nicholas into our family. We love and miss you guys already and counting down the days til we see everyone else at Christmas!