The Trarantula

 This was in our yard...thanks to Popi for spotting it.

 "Hey, guess what...we just caught a huge tarantula."

 Like father, like son.

 "Popi, what should we do with our tarantula? Maybe we should take it inside the house."

 Look at our new pet.

 Bug catchers!

 Right, so there is no way I'm letting a tarantula into my house, so I sent the boys off to set if free....far away from the house.

 Returning from setting the tarantula free.

Emma's Baptism

 Proud Grandparents

 Emma's godparents, Chris and Rebecca Wurtz.  They flew all the way from New York City for her baptism.

 This is my favorite picture of my sweetie pie.

 Emma loves her godparents.  They will be parents to a little boy in a few short months.

 Auntie Kristina and cousin Gracie.

Emma Marie

Farewell friend

Last week we said goodbye to Jackson, our 9 year old doberman pincher.  Although we knew this day would come, it came quickly and unexpectedly.  In fact Ethan, Emma,  Jackson and I would take our last walk together just a few hours before he died. 
He was our baby before we had our human babies.  He was loving and gentle.  I have to admit that I was a little nervous about getting a doberman when Bryan first suggested this breed.  However, one look at this cute little face and all my reservations went out the window.  We got Jackson a few months after we were married.  Although he looked mean to those who didn't know him he was a gentle giant who loved snuggling on the couch (and even in bed, when Bryan wasn't around).  As our family expanded Jackson happily welcomed Ethan and most recently Emma with curious sniffs and warm kisses.
For now we are left with a big empty spot on the living room floor and an even larger empty spot in our hearts.

Christmas 2010

We are so fortunate to be able to spend Christmas together with my parents and sister this year.  With a 2 year old and a 3 year old, it was really all about the kids this year.  It is refreshing and magical to view Christmas through the eyes of a child, where Santa really brings you goodies in the morning and each present is their new favorite toy.

  I'm not sure who enjoyed their new presents more, Ethan or Bryan.  The pictures below were taken with Bryan's new Canon T2i digital camera.  Bryan also got a Kinect for his XBox. Little did I know it would be so much fun to watch someone play a video game.  Meanwhile, Ethan loves all things dinosaur, car or dragon related.  We now have more dinosaurs and cars than we know what to do with.  And I love my new MacBook, which is actually for Ethan also.  He like to watch videos and play games on Nick Jr and Disney.com.
But most importantly we all stopped, took our time and enjoyed a few together as a family.  

Ethan watching videos on "his computer"

Gracie and Ethan playing Connect 4

Ethan loves Dinosaurs

Emma's First Christmas

Best friends!

Emma Marie Chagoly

We are so excited to announce the birth of our daughter, Emma Marie, on November 29th at 12:10pm. She weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.

Disney World 2010

One of the great thing about Bryan's job is that he occasionally gets to travel to some really nice places.  This year we decided to incorporate our first family vacation out of a conference Bryan was attending in Orlando.  I have to admit I was a little nervous about flying with a 2 year old, but we lucked out and got a direct flight on JetBlue.  I definitely recommend them for anyone traveling with kids or husbands with short attention spans.  We all survived the flight and make it to our hotel right in the heart of Disney World.  Our second challenge would be making it around the parks without losing our little one who doesn't like to hold your hand for more than a few seconds and thinks it is quite funny to run from his parents.  I even resorted to buying a wrist leash, I know, I know, I can hear my sister now saying how awful those things are, but at Disney we needed some back up.  We started day 1 at Magic Kingdom, then Ethan at I visited Typhoon Lagoon and Hollywood Studios on day 2.  Day 3 was a relaxing day back at Typhoon Lagoon followed up by a return trip to Magic Kingdom on day 4.  Ethan really enjoyed meeting Buzz Lightyear, Lightning McQueen and Mater.  Ethan and Bryan rode in the race cars which was great until they had to get out of the car.  Of all the rides I think he enjoyed riding the escalators at the Contemporary Resort before our dinner with Mickey.

Day 4 at Magic Kingdom...and we still look pretty happy

First Ride of the park...The Tea Cups

Meeting Buzz Lightyear

Dinner with Mickey...more interested in food than Mickey here

Ethan wasn't too happy about meeting Pluto

Driving race cars with daddy

Ethan turns 2

Yes, it doesn't seem that long ago that I was writing about his first birthday. This year we were so lucky to have great friends, great weather and no melt downs. The kids and dads had fun getting in the pool and thanks to little Elliot, Ethan now knows how to jump in the pool.

Ethan picked out a Toy Story theme this year, it was a tough choice between that and Cars.  I'm not sure where he learned to blow out candles, but he did a great job.

Later, after a good nap we took his new bike out for a spin around the neighborhood...I think it was a hit.