Last Day of the Year.

And our last day with the fam.

The day before we need to go to the airport, I usually stress out A LOT! So, my mom suggested that we should get mani-pedi's. It was a great idea! We sat in massage chairs while we had someone work on our feet and we talked(oh and my uncle volunteered to pay for us! What a treat! Thanks Uncle!). We decided to make that a tradition: mani-pedi's on the day before departure.

(We're not doing gang symbols. We are just showing off our nails!)

And Ben was tugging on our legs and saying, "eeeeese" so, we decided to push up our cheeks against his chubby ones and squeeze him in.

Our last day also meant our last meal at the restaurant for a while so, off we went!

Will's wearing nana's cool sunglasses.

Squirrels are cool.

Uncle Morris and his fiance' were getting ready to eat, when we got there.

Uncle Morris and Auntie Pina. Auntie Pina took care of us when we came in to eat!

My parents had someone come in and paint this mural for them.

This pic is missing my mom. But, it's still cool.

"Massimo's Ristorante"

The view when looking across and to the right of my parents place. (i just thought the sky looked neat.)

(the inside)

Massimo and Vanessa joined us for a yummy meal.

The kids terrorized the decorations in the back room, one last time.

Matt ate some "Seafood alla Paul" with a spicy red sauce and lots of different seafood.

I had my "Chicken and Shrimp alla Patty". My fave dish. But, of course we didn't have just that. We had buffalo wings, bread and crab cake. Oh and dessert, too. We were stuffed.

We said our goodbyes to Massimo's Ristorante, for now. And to auntie Pina.

And back home to hang and be silly (hence, my mothers pic...she was trying to be like me with my hat...haha).

And chinese food for New Years Eve late-nite dinner.

And here's a short video clip of my dad in action.

"Order-Up"

Of course there's the countdown to the New Year, a toast(matt and I had soda!), lots of kisses(it's not a big deal if I kiss Will before Matt right?!) and putting Will to bed(again).

Happy New Year!

Bein' lazy!

Here's Will and my cousin Alex. Will couldn't wait until Alex came to hang out! He would ask, "Where's my friend?!" and I would say, "you mean, Alex? He's your cousin, too." And he would say, "Oh, my cousin. Where's my cousin?". And we probably had that same conversation about 3 times. It was cute that they cuddled together. So sweet.

Bernie. Such a good dog. He plays nice. He doesn't jump on you. He hardly ever barks. He's great with the kids. And he doesn't steal their toys and tear 'em apart! (like he did the last time we visited...) I wanted to take Bernie home with me. He's so sweet.

I love how Ben made himself all comfy and cozy on his uncle Massimo. My brother and his girlfriend Vanessa were keeping Ben entertained.

Another fun day.

I love this pic of my mother and I.

Me, Matt and the boys met up at the restaurant with one of my great friends, Maria(she was my best friend in middle school!) and her husband, Jose. She took some pics of all of us and I feel bad saying that I failed to do so. (Maria came to the rescue and sent me a few of the pics she took!)

And here's some pics of the kids being nutty with the wrapped up boxes my parents had around the restaurant for Christmas decor.

At least they had something to keep them entertained!

I'm so glad we were able to see you guys, Maria and Jose! You guys are awesome and so fun to be around. Lots of love to you always!

Video of Nana and Ben!

(This video is actually way longer but, I had to shorten it for blogger.)

It's cute for many reasons.

1. At first, neither my mom or Ben knew I was taping so, it was all just good fun between nana and grandbaby.

2. I love how Ben toddle/runs back and forth to help pick up the darts for the gun.

3. Ben kept thinking I was taking his pic so that's why he stopped a couple of times to say, "eeeeeese" with his silly smile.

4. Ben comes over to me and is hugging/kissing me(behind the camera).

5. Last, Right before nana says to go and get the dart(it's like a split second), his mouth is wide open and he's making his "awwww" noise for when he's ready to go in for a kiss. We didn't notice at the time but, he quickly gets distracted and goes for the dart instead.

Snow day!

It snowed...A LOT. There were 3 ft(maybe higher) snowdrifts on my parents walkway to their home!

We bundled up and ventured out with the boys.

Matt enjoyed himself.

However, Ben did NOT.

Will had a good time even though he was pretty much stuck in the same spot since it was too hard for his little legs to navigate around in the insane amount of snow!

Playing in the snow is so much fun but, I always like the feeling of "appreciation for a warm home", that comes after! I think Ben would have to agree as well. (oh and can you see that door in the background of the pic?! That's my bro's, "decorated with stickers door" from childhood.)

My dad even got a snow day since he deemed it unnecessary to keep the restaurant open. So, Will is weaving his way through Grandpa's legs with excitement.

Revere Beach and Pizza Night!

Revere Beach is down the street from my parents home. Matt decided to bundle Will up and take him for a walk there. The snow storm had just started up and we were in for A LOT of snow.

Will picked up rocks and threw them in the water. Or tried, since the water kept moving away from him...

Later, my Auntie Frani and her boyfriend Steven had us over their house to have some delicious brick oven pizza and crab cakes! Sooo good! Thanks, Guys!

Will hung out with his cousin Paulie. Paulie is an awesome kid. He loved hanging with Will and Will couldn't get enough his big cousin. It was soo cute to watch him admire Paulie.

Below is a pic I never knew existed of my nonni on her wedding day. It was amazing to see it. I'm glad I have a pic of it now(a pic of a pic but, still).

Christmas Gathering!

Every Christmas my parents host a big gathering for the family with lots of food! My dad needed to leave after "the opening of the presents" to go to the restaurant and cook so he could return later on Christmas Day with lots of food.

Of the yummy goodness was Homestyle Lasagna, Lobster pie, Eggplant rolitini, Chicken Sorrentina, Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo and that's just to name a few! My nonni brought some italian doughnuts(not the real name...its just what i called them) and stuffed artichokes. My auntie Pina brought homemade ravioli's. And the funny thing about those is that I have vivid memories from childhood of having Christmas over my nonni's house and watching the adults crank the machine that flattened out the pasta for the outside of the raviolis.

It was a great gathering. Will loved hanging with his cousins. He even helped Kaylee feed her doll. The family loved being around the kids and were constantly picking them up and hugging and kissing them. And since my kids mooch off of others plates(which is totally fine with family, right?!), they were fed by all!

Can you find what pics Will took for us?!

I knew my dad was working on dessert a few days in advance but, none of us were truly prepared for exactly what was in store for us. My dad needed help to bring in the desserts from the car(which is a normal request, right?!) but, it felt like a never-ending dessert parade! The tables were covered, entirely. Dad worked on cakes(you know, like, New York style cheesecake and chocolate cheesecake, Chocolate lovers cake(my fave), carrot cake muffins, tiramisu...) , cookies, pastries, pies but, you get the picture, right?!

(Can you spot Will's finger poking into one the cakes below?! I didn't notice until now!haha Check out the bottom right hand corner)

Everyone devoured the treats. We were all spoiled by my dad and all that he prepared for us. It's hard to imagine that day going as well as it did without the food being a huge contributing factor to our happiness. Dad, thanks for putting all that work and preparation into what you made us. We appreciate the time you took to do it and how talented you are. Your food is delicious and I'm proud to say that you're my dad. Mom, you open your home to our whole family, you always have a big smile on your face and you make others feel good when they are around you. Your laughter fills your home and proves to be infectious. And last but, not least, thanks for working hard to clean-up before and after everyone stampedes through your home (*wink wink).