Updates -

This is a special page for our family and friends (aka Alyssa and Lauren Fan Club!)....

First Day of School 2023

Monday, March 11, 2024:  Again, another year goes by - time passes so quickly.  These young ladies keep us hopping, for sure!!
Miss Alyssa is heading to high school in September!  She has just been admitted to an elite private school - she's a dynamo!  She just received a Scholar award from her school, she has a lead in the play ("Matilda"), playing and coaching basketball, just sang with two Honors Choirs, received High Honors last term, plus taking two dance classes!  Alyssa is super busy and loves it.  She's got a bunch of close friends, and she enjoys hanging out with her family, too!
Miss Lauren is getting so big (3rd grade!), and she makes her First Communion next month!  Her artistic ability is flourishing, and she's also a creative writer.  She's looking forward to playing tennis again this spring, and can't wait for horseback riding camp this summer!
I'll be heading to Italy in June to scope out some performance locations for my choirs, and Alyssa will join us next March for a performance tour of Italy.  Sven's steady with his job, and we're all doing just fine.  Looking forward to heading to Cape Cod for a week this summer!!

Tuesday, February 14, 2023: How can it be almost a year since I updated our website!?  How time passes, it's kind of unfair! :)  Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day!

Everyone is just fine. Thankfully the pandemic is pretty much behind us, and things are back to normal.  Alyssa is in 7th grade, and is blossoming so beautifully!  She has straight A's, she plays basketball and soccer (trying tennis this spring), and is doing great with singing and piano  she made the Northern Region Choir again, two years in a row. She's on the student council, too!  Alyssa got a phone for her 12th birthday (which we're very careful about), and has fun texting with friends from school.  She'll be "Mama Ogre" in Shrek Jr this spring.

Lauren is getting so tall, we can't believe it!  She's a busy 2nd grader, and enjoys her new dance class.  She's doing great in school, too, and has a few really close chums.  Her art is getting more complex, and she's never happier than when she is "creating!"  One of her favorite things to do is eat in at Chik Fila!

We're heading to Florida next month for some fun in the sun, and have a few trips planned for the summer.  Can't wait!

Tuesday, March 1, 2022: Today is the first day the girls don't have to wear a mask to school, hooray! Hopefully this crazy COVID time is ending.  Luckily we all stayed healthy and happy this past fall and winter, and we're really looking forward to getting outside and having fun in the warmer weather to come.

Alyssa played soccer in the fall, and basketball in the winter - she loves sports.  She also has a lead in the school musical - she is Cinderella's stepmother in "Into the Woods." Alyssa loves singing and acting (just like her mom), and she's doing great at it.  Alyssa made the CT Northern Region Choir, and also made the CT Elementary Honors Chorus.  She's got some big concerts coming up in March!  She has a busy social life, too, and she is doing great in school (as always).

Lauren also played soccer in the fall - she loved it, especially when she got to play goalie! She's been busy with her artwork and school, and building forts in the playroom is one of her favorite activities.  She's reading like a champ, and even tried karate this winter.  Both girls are going to try swimming this coming spring.

Sven and Barbara are plugging right along, doing our best to keep a step ahead of these active young ladies! :)

Wednesday, July 14, 2021:  Summertime!  It's been a rainy one so far, but we're still having fun.  We took a short trip to Amish Country and our old home in PA, and brought back lots of farm-fresh fruits and veggies.  We'll be heading to Maine for a week in August, too.  Alyssa and Lauren are going to day camp for the first time this week and next week - and they are having a blast!  Swimming, games, sports, music - lots of fun.
Alyssa did an AWESOME job in 5th grade - she made High Honors every term, her final term with all A's.  Lauren also did awesome in Kindergarten - she is really reading and spelling, and doing math.  Her teacher said she is ready to "soar into 1st grade!"  Both girls really enjoy school, and we are so lucky that they were able to be in-person all year (though they wore masks and 6 ft distanced).  Hopefully this fall we'll be able to be mask-free.  Hard to believe they'll be in 6th and 1st grades.....

Luckily everyone in our family has been healthy and happy.  We're having a busy summer, but not too busy, and we're enjoying every fleeting summer day.  Hoping for more sun soon, though!

Tuesday, January 5, 2021:  Happy New Year!  We're all healthy and safe, thank goodness.  Alyssa and Lauren are both in school, in-person - and doing SO well.  Alyssa is doing great in 5th grade - she achieved High Honors during her first term - we're so proud of her.  Lauren is loving Kindergarten - we're so happy that she is able to be an in-person learner during this important socialization time.  They both wear masks and keep social distance protocols, of course - but their school is so small that there is only a very minimal risk.

We've had a good year, in spite of everything going on.  Summer was spent swimming in our little pool, doing crafts, swinging in the backyard, etc.  We did get to go on vacation for a week to Lake Ontario - it was actually really beautiful!  Not much travel otherwise.

Barbara and Sven are both working in-person, as well, so our lives haven't changed ALL that much (except for the mask-wearing).  Alyssa just got two guinea pigs, Hazelnut and Oreo, and she is super-excited about it!  Lauren has her very own fish, named Peppermint, and she get to feed him herself (with Mom supervising!).

Hope this year will be a great one for all of us!!

Friday, May 1, 2020: Things are certainly different for everyone in this time of pandemic....  We're all happy and healthy, thank goodness, and everyone is in our thoughts and prayers. 

Alyssa is now earning remotely, and has been for seven weeks.  She is doing really well, actually, and she gets to "see" her buddies online.  Lauren does, too - she has "Zoom" meetings several times a week with her Pre-K class.  Barbara is teaching remotely, and trying to keep two young ladies busy at home.  Sven is actually out working, since he is an "essential worker" - got to keep those airplanes flying!

We're doing lots of crafting, cooking and baking, fort-building, watercolors, gardening - and watching too much TV. :(  T he weather really hasn't been great, but now that it's May, I'm sure we'll be able to spend lots more time outside in the backyard!  All in all, we are enjoying this time together, and Alyssa and Lauren are having lots of fun together.  Molly is certainly happy to have everybody home all day!!!

Friday, January 10, 2020:  Wow, time really flies!  Can't believe it's almost six months since I last updated this site!  Unbelievable! 

Well, fortunately all is well at our house.  Alyssa started a new school this year (much closer to Barbara's work), and she really loves it.  She's doing well in fourth grade, and has made a whole bunch of new friends, while still keeping in touch with friends from her old school.  Lauren is in Pre-K 4, and heads to kindergarten in the fall, at the same school Alyssa is in.

Alyssa is trying basketball this season (which she loves); she also tried being a hermit-crab owner (which she did NOT like).  She'll be doing some dance as well - she tried cheerleading for our local team, but it was WAY too time-consuming.  We'll try that again at a later date!  Lauren loves her ballet, and has lots of fun playing with her big sister and friends.

Our little dog, Molly, has really become a part of the family - almost like a "third sister!" Both the girls have lots of fun with her.  We're all looking forward to warmer weather and some fun trips this year! 

Sunday, June 23, 2019: We are enjoying some relaxation time now that it's summer!  It was a busy school year for all of us, and it's great to be able to stay home, play in the yard, go for walks, ride bikes - all the great summertime stuff.  Our big news is the addition of our new puppy, Molly!  She is the cutest little lady.  She is a "Havachon" - half Havanese, half Bichon Frise, and the girls (and Daddy) just love her.  Alyssa has been asking and asking for a puppy, and so we surprised her and Lauren in March.  They were over the moon!!

Alyssa had a great year during 3rd grade - she is really doing awesome in school.  She had a big dance recital in June, and loved being on the big stage!  She's also doing well in her piano and singing, and she was a member of the Kindness Club in school.  Lauren just finished Pre-K 3 and knows how to write all her letters, her name, and is even doing some spelling and math!  She did princess ballet during the spring and she loved it. Both girls are smart cookies.

We have some fun plans for the summer, a couple of camps for the girls - ballet for Lauren, basketball, acting and dance for Alyssa.  We have a couple of trips planned, too, but we really are happy to hang out at home and enjoy the summer!

Monday, February 4, 2019:  Yay - Punxatawney Phil predicted an early spring on Groundhog Day!  We are all very excited in our house.  As much as we enjoy winter, we're all ready for warm weather. 

Alyssa is busy with cheerleading, piano and voice lessons, ice skating, dance, plus clubs at school - her schedule is amazing, but we have to keep her from doing any more!  She loves it!  Lauren also loves school and is enjoying her Ballet Princess lessons!

Hoping to make some fun plans for the summer!

Wednesday, November 14, 2018: Spring and summer came and went - snow is supposed to be heading our way tomorrow!  We had lots of fun over the summer, heading to Cape Cod for a week and down to our old homestead in PA. 

Alyssa is in 3rd grade, and busy with cheerleading, dance, piano lessons, and now wants to start ice skating!  She has always loved being busy, and enjoys her friends at school.  She's learning all about science and writing, doing great in her spelling homework! 

Lauren is in Pre-K 3, and is the leader of the pack at school!  She talks a mile a minute, seems to be 3 going on 30.  She loves being a big kid and is always trying to keep up with big sister.  Lauren is already starting to draw letters and pictures, knows her ABC's, number, colors too!

Looking forward to a fun holiday season this year!

Tuesday, April 3, 2018: Spring is coming....we think....that's what the calendar says, anyway!  We had fun this winter, but are really looking forward to the warm weather. 

Alyssa was busy with her cheerleading, and cheered at a big Expo with other teams in early March.  She did great and she really loves it!  She just started a cooking and baking class, she really enjoys that too.  She is still learning the piano, and really is an amazing student.  Her personality is blossoming, and she is becoming very responsible, organized and mature.  At least, for 7 1/2!  She loves dancing and gymnastics - hoping to do a couple of campus this summer.

Lauren is chatting up a storm, learning letters, numbers and colors already at 2 1/2.  She too is blossoming into a sweet little tornado (though I sometimes refer to her as Conan the Barbarian...!).  Alyssa is such a beautiful big sister - watching her care for Lauren, seeing her patience and love - it brings tears to our eyes sometimes. Lauren is becoming a loving and empathetic little girl too - Alyssa is a such wonderful example for her.

We went to an indoor water park in March - fearless young ladies going down the slides and they both had a great time!  Starting to make plans for the summer - can't wait!

Friday, December 29, 2018: So, the busier we get, the more time in between my website updates!  SORRYYYY! It's truly hard to keep up with everything.

We had a great summer and fall - we drove to Florida over the summer, which was lots of fun (for the most part!).  We enjoyed time at the beach and visiting with family and friends.  Alyssa started 2nd grade in September, and Lauren started "baby school" (three mornings a week, she loves it!). 

Alyssa is doing GREAT in school, we're so proud of her.  She loves math, and is enjoying learning the piano, and is on the cheerleading squad at school - right up her alley, since it's got gymnastics, dance, fun cheers, pompoms, a cool outfit, and her buddies!  Lauren is really a little girl now - not a baby anymore.  She loves circle time and music, and both sisters love playing together.

We had a fun and busy Christmas season, and we're hoping for a settled and predictable 2018! If there are any surprises, we're hoping they are all good for everyone!  Many blessings to all our family and friends.

Monday, May 1, 2017:  We're all looking forward to a fun summer! 

Alyssa has been super active (as usual) - running track and playing soccer, learning the piano and the violin, and doing GREAT in school.  She has a bunch of buddies she likes to play with, and is growing like crazy.  She can't wait till her birthday - 7 years old, coming up! She is a wonderful singer and musician, and did a great job at the talent show at school, singing and dancing with some of the other girls. She's been having fun riding her bike and exploring around our yard - she likes to check out nature, and especially catch frogs and make "habitats" for them.

We're looking forward to visiting with family and friends this summer - we'll be traveling to Florida (by car...!!!) to visit Sven's mom and other family.  It's a family road trip adventure!  We plan to make stops on the way down and back, hoping to see folks up and down the east coast.

Lauren is walking and talking up a storm, and already learning her letters, shapes and numbers.  She a lot like her big sis - she too is a social butterfly, and likes to have a lot going on.  Sometimes it's hard for Mom and Dad to keep up with these two little dynamos!  Both girls love to play together (though they have their squabbles) and are growing into truly amazing young ladies..... :)

Saturday, January 7, 2017: I just cannot believe it's five months since I updated this site.  It's true, though, that life is busier than ever with two little ones, a good-size home, and full-time jobs.  These two little ladies keep me super busy - they're both smart little girls, and like to keep active!

Alyssa is doing great in first grade - she got ALL A's on her very first report card!  She's now reading chapter books, and especially likes the School Days Fairy books she got for her birthday in August! She tried gymnastics during the fall, but we didn't like the gym too much, unfortunately.  We'll try again soon - in the meantime, she has been loving ice skating.  Mommy has ice skates, too, so we've been having fun learning how to skate.  Alyssa helped a lot with the baking for Christmas, too! She is so lovely and smart, and so tender and loving with her baby sister.

Lauren is following in her big sister's footsteps as far as being a walking, talking dynamic tornado. She wants to do whatever "Syssa" is doing (combo of "sister" and "Alyssa") and loves coloring, banging, stomping, and making a big mess.  She loves to go to library storytime, and had lots of fun during Christmas.  She did NOT like meeting Santa Claus though - she wanted "Mamaaaaa!!!!!"

Can't wait for spring - hoping to make some fun plans for the summer soon!

Saturday, August 6:  Busy summer! We traveled to a "dude ranch" and Alyssa took riding lessons, even rode barrel racing in the kid's rodeo!  We also got back to Chincoteague, VA and had a great time seeing the ponies and the dolphins - beautiful beach at Assateague!  Fun seeing friends in PA too.

Alyssa has learned to ride a two-wheeler - no more training wheels!  She's gone to several camps and is looking forward to gymnastics camp in a couple of weeks!  Her birthday is coming up - a Shopkins party - and she cannot wait to be 6!

Miss Lauren is thriving - already saying some words like Hi, ball, dada, baba, uh-oh!, cracker, and sometimes mama!  She loves to wave at people and say "HI! HI!" She's creeping around, almost like she swimming on the floor!  No crawling or walking yet though.  She loves to eat!

Wednesday, April 27: As always, time flies by too fast!  Hard to believe we haven't updated our website since New Year's Day.....

We're enjoying the blossoming spring, Lauren's first!  Alyssa is also blossoming as a big sister - she just LOVES her baby sister.  She's really a big help, too - she loves to play with Lauren, help get her bibs and toys, and "babysit" and play!  She also just got a new pet fish, "Flounder," a pretty blue betta.  Alyssa can't wait for summer, and she's looking forward to her dance recital in May, as well as continuing with her gymnastics.  She's even doing Track and Field in school, and has lots of fun running and jumping!

Alyssa has become a true reader.  She is doing so well in Kindergarten - she has some great buddies, and is actually reading books, and doing well in math, too.  We're so proud of her.  She is growing and growing, and every day shows what a wonderful, thoughtful, and good person she is.  Lauren is growing too - she's now six months old, and has almost tripled her birth weight!!  We call her Little Miss Sunshine - she is mellow and easygoing, and watches her big sister all the time. 

Both girls are happy, sweet, smart, and we love them so very, very much....How lucky we are to have these two precious children in our family.

Sunday, January 3, 2016: Happy New Year to all!  2015 was a very busy year for us - we welcomed Alyssa's new baby sister, Lauren Stephanie.  We're so happy to have her as part of our family, and Alyssa is so, so happy to be a big sister!  She's been waiting for such a long time for a little sister, and now finally Miss Lauren has made her arrival.  Our whole family is overjoyed to have little Lauren, she is such a sweet and happy little baby.

Alyssa is doing great in Kindergarten - she's got lots of new BFF's and she really enjoys her teachers.  She's grown up so much since she started in September.  She got to be an angel in the Christmas play, and did a great job!  She's been continuing with dance and also took a "Little Chefs" class this fall, which she loved!  Nothing compares to being a big sister, though.  She loves "her baby" and is such a great mommy's helper.  Lauren is growing super fast, and is starting to babble and coo. She's such a cutie!

We're all looking forward to a wonderful 2016!

Wednesday, September 2, 2015:  What a busy time for Miss Alyssa!  She is now an official Kindergartener, and she is having a great time!  She was pretty nervous the first day, but she went right into her classroom and was very brave.  Mom was the one bawling her eyes out (after Alyssa was out of sight)!  Now she loves it, thought she is super tired at the end of the day.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015:  What a busy and fun summer we're having.  Lots of traveling and visiting with family and friends - Alyssa had her first plane ride this summer!  She did great and loved the travel.  Seeing new people and places, having new experiences and learning new things - right up her alley.  She got to Downtown Disney and Marineland in Florida (among lots of other places), got to Amish country in PA and the Philly Zoo.  She's also getting some fun time to look at bugs with a magnifying glass, camp out in the backyard, and swing.  Plus, she learned to really swim this summer - she loves to play mermaid.

This young lady starts Kindergarten next month!  She's really looking forward to it, making new friends and having a busy schedule.  As nice as it is to relax during the summer, she (and Mom and Dad!) are looking forward to getting back to a routine in the fall. 

She did Little Ninjas and gymnastics this spring, which she enjoyed.  We're deciding on gymnastics again, or possibly ballet - or both!  She'll be having her birthday party soon - five years old!  Of course she wants a "Frozen" party and SHE wants to be Elsa!

Tuesday, March 10, 2015: Spring's on its way!  Alyssa can't wait to get outside and be able to run in the grass and warm weather.  She made a chain of paper links, and we're counting down to the first day of spring!

Alyssa has been enjoying school.  She is REALLY reading and spelling words, adding and subtracting, learning about geography, learning words in other languages, and is a pro at the computer.  She loves getting together with her friends, going to the library, seeing family.  She just got a "Brave" bow and arrow archery set and she loves it!  She's been practicing a lot.

Though we took a break during the winter, she'd like to take gymnastics, ballet, and Little Ninjas karate this spring.  She wants to do volley ball too, plus swimming and nature camp this summer!  It takes a lot of energy to stay a step ahead of this little dynamo.  Every since she was little, she's always liked to be on the move, doing stuff and enjoying being a little girl!

Monday, January 19, 2015:  Happy New Year!  We had a great holiday season, very busy with lots of fun.  Santa was VERY generous to Alyssa this year - as he is every year!  We had lots of parties, holiday music and concerts,time with family and friends, visits with Santa, holiday day trips - so much fun.  Alyssa has always loved being with friends and family, and has a great time when there's lots of people to chat with.

Now we're back to life as usual - preschool, storytimes at the library, playdates, etc.  Though this winter hasn't been too bad, we're already thinking about spring and being able to have fun outside.  Alyssa has lots of energy and she loves to get outside and explore.  She's doing great with letters and numbers, is starting to spell and read words.  She's a wonderful artist, too!  Alyssa took some ballet and gymnastics in the fall, and wants to try karate in the spring.  She'll be 4 1/2 on Valentine's Day!!

Sunday, October 5, 2014:  What a busy summer!  It's so hard to believe it's fall already.  Alyssa had lots of fun this summer - lots of swimming at the beach and at Grandma's house, a crafty camp for pre-K girls, and "princess" ballet lessons.  Plus we had trips to the zoo and the aquarium, and the ocean too.  Alyssa loves being outside, and spent lots of quality time looking at bugs with her little magnifying glass, playing with leaves and sticks, going for walks in the woods, riding bikes and playing in the playground.

She had a SUPER 4th birthday party in August - a Fairy Princess Tea Party!  Lots of little ladies came over for the party, and they all dressed as their favorite fairy or princess.  We had some boys who dressed up like royalty - we even had one pirate king!  We had crafts and a big cookout and a huge cake.  A great time was had by all!

Now Alyssa is loving her Pre-K class - can't believe she'll be going to Kindergarten next year!  She's made some new friends, and they do all kinds of cool things in her little school in the woods - music, dance, crafts, science and math, reading and letters, and fun play.  Alyssa is growing so fast, and she's started reading some words on her own!  Her teacher always says what a kind and helpful little girl Alyssa is - she's also got lots of spirit and energy!  She's going to be starting gymnastics lessons too, which she is going to be great at.  Plus, Alyssa REALLY wants to be either Elsa or Anna from the movie "Frozen" for Halloween!

Monday, June 16, 2014:  Alyssa is enjoying the almost summer weather!  She just got a purple Sophia the first two-wheeler bike (with training wheels) and she loves it!  She's doing great on it and feels like a real "big girl"- no more tricycle for her! 

Alyssa has been enjoying all things Princess, especially the movie "Frozen" - she loves Cinderella and the Little Mermaid too.  She loves to dress up - in pretend clothes and her own real dresses - and have her hair done up in pretty 'dos.  Mom just gave her her first pedicure, too - super awesome!  As much as she likes princess stuff, she also likes to do pretend karate and play ninja.  She is a fighter princess, and loves to pretend that we are all fighting bad guys.

She is super-smart and doing so well on the piano!  Alyssa also has been enjoying all the parties that have come with the end of school.  She really has had a wonderful time at nursery school and is such a social butterfly!

Thursday, May 1, 2014: Days are flying by!  May 1st already, wow.  So happy that spring is here and all the snow has finally melted.

Alyssa is now a "big girl" - she's doing so many things for herself now.  (No more diapers, even at night!) She's made so many friends at school, and still loves to have lots going on!  She's become more social now that she's 3 1/2, and enjoys playing with other kids a lot more now.  School has really helped her to grow socially, and it has made her so much more mature - strange to say about a 3 year old, but there it is!  Sometimes it's like she's 3 going on 13!  Such a little conversationalist, and so observant and creative.

She continues to blossom in so many ways - physically, she's getting tall and growing into size 4 clothes.  Alyssa is like a sponge when it comes to learning - reading, letters and numbers, patterns, shapes, how to cook (with a grown-up!), picking out her own clothes, making her bed.  She's also learning how to empathize with others, be thoughtful and considerate, and she's learning such nice manners too.  Plus she's having lots of fun being 3 - playing with mud outside, coloring, painting and doing crafts, gardening, building with blocks.  She just got "The Little Mermaid" for Easter and she's been enjoying watching that and her other favorite, "Mary Poppins!" 

Monday, February 3, 2014: Snow, snow, snow!  We celebrated Groundhog's Day yesterday by planting some herbs and bulbs in pots - they should be blooming right around the first day of spring.  Alyssa loves to be involved with everything, especially something creative.  She wanted to plant the seeds and water the pots herself, with a just little help from Mom.  She'll be celebrating her "half-birthday" on Valentine's Day - three and a half!!  She's so excited to be such a big girl.

We've been missing playing outside in this super-cold weather, and happy that the days are getting longer little by little.  Alyssa's been doing lots of crafts and creative play indoors - plus her grandmother got her a toddler trampoline for Christmas, so she gets a lot of energy out jumping on that!  We've done a lot of baking too, she's gotten to be a real Mommy's helper.

We've been practicing drawing letters and shapes, and Alyssa is amazing at writing and drawing!  She's even reading some small words, and likes to "read" books by herself by reciting them from memory after we've read them.  Smart cookie...

Can't wait for spring!!!!!

Friday, November 8, 2013:  One year ago today we moved into our new home in CT.  What a fast year it's been.  We're pretty settled, now, into our new routines and our new house.  Alyssa is enjoying everything she does!  Her nursery school and her teachers and friends there, her family, her ballet, arts and crafts - she's always liked to be busy.  She's a true wonder at her letters and numbers, and she's already writing letters and even starting to spell words!  She loves to draw stick figures of everyone, too.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013:  Happy Fall!  Alyssa is now 3 years old, and what a wonderful little girl!  She had lots of fun at her birthday party - she had a Dora-themed party, and even had a magic show courtesy of her "cousins" (our long-time friends' kids).  We had lots of people here at our home to celebrate Alyssa's big day, and she had a GREAT time playing hostess to all her family and friends.

She now goes to "Nursery School" three mornings a week, and LOVES it!  She's making new friends, and she really enjoys her teachers too.  Alyssa gets to play, and do music, and learn all about animals, and letters and numbers too.  She's back at dance class too this year, doing ballet and tap.

Alyssa is (I have to say it) SUPER smart, amazingly versatile with languages (we're working on French and Spanish), she's even reading some short words on her own.  And she's a pro with point and click on the computer, wow!  She can count up to 50.  We're doing our best to keep one step ahead of her, and it's going to get more difficult (but fun!) as she gets older....

As she grows, she becomes more and more lovely - inside and out!

Sunday, July 28, 2013:  Happy Summer!  We've had a busy summer, traveling to Cape Cod, back to PA for visits, and the CT beach.  Lots of swimming in Grandma's pool too!  Alyssa also started what we call "summer school," two mornings a week she heads off to a little preschool, to get ready for her three mornings a week starting in the fall.  She loves it!  She's always loved playing with other kids, and just yesterday she saw a little friend in the store and said "Hi Friend!!"

Alyssa has been taking an arts and crafts class, and a fun tumbling class this summer, in between swimming, playing outside, going to the zoo - lots of fun this summer.  She'll be taking dance again in the fall too.

We're getting ready for our sweet little girl to turn 3 years old soon!  As she likes to say, she's getting to be a BIG girl!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013:  Alyssa has had a busy spring - her first dance recital was on May 19 and she LOVED it!  She couldn't wait to get on the big stage, and she keeps asking when it'll be her turn again to be up there.  She was a natural! 

We're all happy that summer is almost here, and Alyssa is really enjoying the outdoors - her sandbox, riding her trike, playing ball, going to the park, and she can't wait to go swimming.  She's been really learning to dress herself very well, and she has now become a little fashionista.  She loves to pick out her own clothes, look at herself in the mirror, and choose how she wants to wear her hair that day.  Such self-confidence in such a little person! 

She now has an excellent vocabulary, knows all her colors, letters, numbers, etc.  Alyssa will be starting school three mornings per week in September, and she can't wait.  She says that she has to learn to read words - she loves her books!  She still loves music, and keeps a great beat and sings in tune.  She knows tons of songs too! She enjoys helping Mommy with gardening and baking, and loves to decorate the house and the yard too.  Alyssa is a Renaissance kid!  She's even learning Spanish and French - she soaks it all up like a little sponge, our smart girl.

She is still very much a people-person, and loves social gatherings, playdates, and parties.  Alyssa is learning more and more to be a very empathetic, sharing, caring, and loving person.

Saturday, March 23, 2013:  Thank goodness spring is here (sort of)!  It's been a loooong winter.  We still have snow on the ground, with more to come on Monday - ugh!  Alyssa is getting cabin fever - so are Mom and Dad!  We're looking forward to being able to play outside and enjoy some warmer weather.  Alyssa has loved playing in the snow, and has the cutest purple snowsuit (see above).  She loves throwing snowballs and building snowmen, and sledding.  She's ready for summer though - she keeps talking about swimming and going to the beach!

Alyssa has started enjoying telling stories - her imagination is growing, and she likes to talk to her dollies and her stuffed animals.  We hear her telling stories and then saying "The End!!!!"  She's still enjoying our library time, and she has started doing tap as well as ballet at dance class!!  She has started using the computer, too - she's pointing and clicking like a pro on abcmouse.com.  We've been working on letters, colors, and numbers, and she knows how to spell her name.  She's like a sponge, picking up so much it's amazing!

She's getting more lovely every day, in every way!

Saturday, January 5, 2013:  Happy New Year!  We enjoyed the Christmas holidays in our new home, and we're happy to be settling into a new routine here in CT.  Alyssa loved Christmas, and especially loved making cookies with Mommy, decorating the tree (and decorating the whole house!), and visiting with friends and family.  She has gotten used to the new house quickly, and loves her new room.

She absorbs so much information!  Yesterday she got some paper plates and set the table before our dinner, all on her own.  Every day she does new things and really speaks very well now - she's so polite, too.  She now goes to the potty all by herself.  Alyssa loves doing crafts at home, playing with play-doh, and playing with her new toys from Santa.

We're looking forward to a wonderful (and hopefully quiet!) year in 2013!

Thursday, December 6:  Wow!  What a crazy couple of months it's been!  Finally getting to update the website after lots of adventures.  As you probably know, Sven got a great new job in June with a new airline in the Northeast.  We finally sold our house in PA in October, and found a beautiful new home in CT.  It was a long and busy summer and fall, and a LOT of work packing up our old house after 10 years in PA, finding a new home, and moving!  We moved out during Hurricane Sandy (on Halloween, so poor Alyssa didn't really get a Halloween) and moved in during a noreaster snowstorm!  But now we've been here several weeks, and we're starting to settle in nicely. 

Alyssa has done great during our big transition.  She'll miss her friends in PA very much, and mentions them often.  But she has already started a little gym class and a library time here in CT, plus she has started ballet as well!  It's SOOO cute!  She's happy to be closer to family and friends in CT, since she gets to see them more often.  She likes to keep busy, and every morning she asks me, "Where we goin' today, Mama?  Let's go bye-bye!  What are we doin' NOW???!"

Her language skills are amazing, and she seems to be 2 years old going on 12.  She likes to dress herself, brush her own teeth, she puts her own DVD into the blueray player, feeds herself, rides her tricycle, she loves to read books (she reads aloud from memory), she loves dancing, singing, and music, playing her guitar and piano (just like Mama), crafts and coloring, Play Doh, and especially going to parties!  Such a little social butterfly - she's especially amazing when she has an adoring audience.

New photos coming very soon, I promise! :)

Monday, September 10:  Almost another 2 months passed since our last update - this little lady keeps us busy!  She is now 2 years old, and had such a fun and eventful birthday week in August.  She had two parties up in CT, and another in PA.  Such the little social butterfly!  Alyssa had a wonderful time with her family and friends, celebrating her second birthday!

She is now in a big girl bed - no more baby crib!  She knows lots of song and loves to sing.  She knows all her ABC's and is getting good at colors and shapes too.  Alyssa is so thoughtful and caring, and is so good at sharing with others.  She loves to be Mommy's (and Daddy's) helper, and even likes to make her own bed!!!!!!  This little girl wants to know how to do everything, and wants to do it HERSELF.

She's gotten so good at running and dancing, and loves to be outdoors.  Alyssa also loves to color and draw with chalk, and has even starting learning the letters in her name and wants to learn how to write the letters.  Her communications skills are amazing, and loves to hug her little friends.  She loves to wave hello and give "hi fives" to everyone she meets, and even total strangers remark on what a sweet and lovely little girl she is!  She'll be starting 2-year-old school (one morning a week) this month, and will continue with her gymnastics and her library group.  Alyssa loves to learn and likes to have lots going on - especially when it means seeing friends, old and new!

Saturday, July 14:  Wow!  Time is flying by.  Can't believe it's 2 1/2 months since we updated our site!

Alyssa is 23 months old today - one more month till she's 2 years old!  It's a true miracle to see her growing in every way.  She can sing "A-B-C" and lots of other songs - she knows the words well!  She really talks now, and can go "wee-wee and poop" in the potty!  She's learning letters and colors and shapes, and loves to be a part of the action as always.  She loves watching Barney and Elmo's world on TV.

Alyssa still really enjoys her time at the little gym, at the library, and playing with friends and family.  She loves going to the park, and riding in the car, especially when we drive by farms so she can say hi to the moo-cows and pigs and sheeps and horsies.  She LOVES music and singing, and knows high and low notes on the piano already.  She loves to play dress up and she MUST do things herself.  She knows her big girl name is Alyssa, but still likes to call herself "Gee;" - every other sentence you hear her say is:  "GEE DO IT SELF!!!"

We love our precious girl so much and thank heaven for her every day.

Friday, April 27:   This little girl's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds.  She loves to communicate - she is such a people person!  She is happy when there's lots of people around, lots going on, and other babies to play with.  She loves to "cook" outside with sand, rocks, and dirt - she makes a mean mud pie!

She had lots of fun at Easter - she went to church, and helped Mommy conduct the children's choir at the church service.  The Easter Bunny came, and we had a fun egg hunt with cousin Bobby.  Then a nice dinner in the afternoon!

Alyssa loves to blow bubbles, and draw on the driveway with chalk - outdoors is where she wants to be!  She still loves reading her books, playing with her Little People house, and talking on the phone to friends and family.

Friday, March 30:  Alyssa has now said her first sentence: "I Love You!"  It's so precious!

Her first word was "Gee" when she was teeny-tiny, so I started calling her Gee as a nickname - now she calls herself that, and when she wants to do something herself - which is most of the time - she says "Gee!!!"

Saturday, March 10:  So many new words every day!  Alyssa's been having some little friends come over to play, and she is such a little hostess.  She shows everyone her toys, and offers them for her guests to play with, even offers some of her Goldfish and juice in case someone might be hungry or thirsty!  Everywhere she goes, people comment on how adorable and sweet she is.....

Thursday, March 1:  Alyssa is 18 months old - 1 1/2 years!  It seems like we just barely catch up to where she is one day, then the next day she has grown so much and is such a little individual with her own mind and opinions, we have to catch up all over again!

Alyssa is speaking so well - she has so many words now, and she's trying out new ones every day.  She's learning some French too, it' so cute to hear her say "la tete."  We've been sticking pretty close to home during the cold winter weeks, and we all can't wait to get outside and play.  For now, she enjoys playing with her dollies, and sometimes we watch Barney or Baby Einstein.  She loves to stir her own little pot when Mommy's cooking dinner, and she just LOVES to help with whatever we're doing.  That way she's learning and she's a part of whatever action is happening!

We've had family and friends visit over the last few weeks, and we plan to do some visiting this weekend.  Alyssa loves to see family and friends, and in between visits, one of her favorite things to do is look at photos of everyone she knows.  Mama has made her some baby photo books, which she loves look at and name the faces.  She's doing so well with little puzzles and building blocks, knows so many animals and the sounds they make, and loves to look out the window at the squirrels and the birds.  We can't wait for Spring!!!

Friday, January 13, 2012:  Wow, it's been a while since Mommy was able to write an update!  It was a very busy Thanksgiving and Christmas season, with lots of visiting, traveling, and fun.  Alyssa loved Christmas, and her favorite part was the Christmas tree.  She hugged it and kissed it, and just loved looking at the ornaments and touching them very gently.  It was hard for her to resist the temptation to pull them all off and play with them, but she did her best!!  She got her picture taken with Santa (she didn't enjoy that too much) and got some fun presents (which she did enjoy).  She got a kitchen set, and some dolly toys, and lots of other fun stuff.  At church on Christmas Eve, Mommy had to sing and conduct the choir - Alyssa came to church with Daddy, Grandma and Bobby, but she wanted to be with Mommy.  So Mommy brought her up to the front where the choir was, and Alyssa helped her conduct the choir (literally!!).  She also sang and had lots of fun with all the music.

Alyssa has lots of new words, she learns more new words everyday.  She likes learning about animals, their names and the sounds they make.  She still likes playing the piano and singing (she got her own keyboard for Christmas), and she just LOVES reading all her books.  When we say "one, two, ....." she says "Freeeee!!!"  She also likes naming and pointing to people's eyes, ears, nose, etc...

She's very active, and loves playing outside, even though we can't go out for very long since it's so chilly.  We're looking forward to a wonderful new year, with lots of exciting and fun things to do and learn!  She gets cuter with every day, and has a way of scrunching up her nose when she smiles to show her pretty white teeth.  Such a precious love.

Monday, November 7: Our sweet Alyssa is GROWING!  She really looks like a little girl now, not really a baby anymore!! *sigh*  She's running, jumping, climbing, dancing, clapping, smiling and laughing - she is full of energy!  Every day she shows us how intelligent she is by her communication, and her comprehension of language and the world around her.  She's already eating with a fork and spoon by herself, and can snap herself into her high chair and carseat.  She has a fun sense of humor, too - it's so great to see something funny and to be able to share that humorous moment with her.

Our sweetheart will be 15 months old soon, and still enjoys her music class, her tumbling and her reading groups.  She loves to play the piano and sing, and loves listening to music too ("The Wheels on the Bus" is one of her favorites) - she actually grooves along with tunes.  It's so funny to see her in the rearview mirror in her carseat, grooving along with the CD and bopping her head and tapping her knee!  What a miracle.

She is such a good girl, and she loves to help Daddy and Mommy around the house.  She enjoys watching Barney and Baby Einstein, loves to play outside with her toys, and reading books.  She can now point to certain things in book and recognizes them - Alyssa's a pro at the sign language Barbara's been teaching her (Barb's also teaching her French!) and is a really wonderful communicator.

Our little family is just as happy as can be, and we are amazed and delighted by our beautiful girl every minute of every day.

Monday, September 26:  This amazing little girl does something new every day.  She is now running and climbing like crazy!  Alyssa is enjoying her little tumbling class once a week, where she gets to climb and play with other babies.  She also enjoys her music class - she's a pro already!  We go to the library, too, for reading time.  Alyssa just LOVES seeing other kids, and loves being busy.  She likes to be home, but gets a little bored after a while - she want to see other people, do new things, go new places (as long as Mommy or Daddy are there!).

She does little things now like turn on light switches, turn on the washer, clean up her toys, and help Mommy wipe the table.  We're spending as much time as we can outside while the weather is so nice - she is a nature girl just like Mommy! She can run and jump and climb, smell flowers, touch the bark on trees, experiment with dirt and rocks (sigh from Mom), swing, play ball - this baby is a bundle of energy!

She such a great communicator, and we just love being with her and talking to her.  We didn't think it was possible, but we just love her more every day!!!!

Monday, August 22:  Happy Birthday to our baby (last weekend)!  What a wonderful time we had at her party.  She wore a pretty yellow dress (courtesy of Grandma), and Mommy made a special birthday cake just for 1-year-olds (it came out pretty good!).  She had lots of people at her party, lots of decorations all in Little Mermaid, all kinds of special gifts and good food.  A great time was had by all.

This little dynamo has become a true little girl - walking, running, talking, feeding herself, communicating and listening, interacting with others.....It's such a miracle to think that just a year ago she was a tiny, helpless newborn, and now she's a feisty, independent, loving, sweet and smart toddler.  She has now entered into a new phase of her life - no longer eating baby food (much), not needing Mommy and Daddy to carry her around anymore (much!).  It's a bittersweet time for us - so wonderful to see her blossom, but it's happening so fast.  Alyssa's developing her skills earlier than many babies, so she seems even older than she really is.  But she still is our tiny sweetheart, our lovely baby.  Happy Birthday, honey!

Thursday, July 14:  11 months old today!  It's going by way too fast -  we keep saying that but it's so true.  Alyssa's been walking, climbing (she climbed the stairs by herself today! with Mommy right behind her), almost running.  Now that she's on the move, there's no stopping her!! :)  Her vocabulary is amazing - she understands almost everything we say to her, and she says certain words too:  "bowl," "Baba" (for bottle), "ba" for banana, "ball", "bear", "dee" for dolly", "Bo" for her cousing Bobby, "Bwoo" for broom, "Yay" and "Whee" and of course "Dada" and "Mama".  We talk to her in a simple vocabulary and she really understands so much.  It's like watching a miracle, seeing her blossom and grow.  She's pointing at things, and knows how to press buttons (she started pressing the garage door opener button to open the door - who knew?).  She's riding her little wagon, hopping off and on like it's a bicycle.  Alyssa is very physically strong, and we're sure she'll be an athlete and/or dancer, as well as a great student and talented musician.

She loves swimming in her pool, swinging in her little swing - plus she continues to wave and chat with everyone she sees, though she has a little element of shyness when someone actually stops to chat back.  She LOVES other kids and loves hugging other babies.  Alyssa is very into music, and dances and sings and plays percussion and piano.  She's taking a music class for babies and really enjoys it.  She's very good with helping Mommy with laundry (she loves taking the clothes out of the washer and dryer, and watching the laundry go around in our front-loading washer - so cool to see!), sweeping, emptying the dishwasher, and watering the flowers.  She has a way of scrunching up her face and sniffing to show she's smelling the flowers, it's sooooo cute.  What a very smart, lovely, personable, amazing baby she is!  Everyone we meet continues to remark on how alert, smart, lovely and friendly and sweet she is.

She is very secure, happy, and loved, and is very affectionate - and it shows in how she interacts with the world.  We clap and cheer whenever she does something new, and we can see how proud she is of herself - we couldn't be any happier.

Tuesday, June 21:  Happy first day of summer!  This young lady has started walking!  She started this past Friday, toddling from Sven to Barbara.  She's growing so fast it's just amazing.  She understands lots of words, and has now added "ball" to her vocabulary.  Alyssa continues to charm everyone she meets, smiling and waving to everyone.  She's blossoming so quickly, and it's hard to believe she's 10 months old. 

Wednesday, May 18:  Time is just FLYING by way too fast.  Our angel is 9 months old already, and it seems like we just updated the website last week.  She's getting better and better at standing and cruising, and she has now found the tupperware and the pots & pans in the kitchen - and loves them!  She's a very active, bright, and curious little girl, and loves exploring.  She has now really started waving hello and bye-bye with her little fingers.

Alyssa LOVES swinging in the baby swing, especially the one at the park - she laughs and looks up at the sky when she's swinging, it's so precious.  She loves going for walks in her stroller, crawling in the grass and exploring, and waving hello to flowers and people alike.  She loves music and dancing, and loves when Mommy and Daddy blow raspberries on her tummy - she gets this big belly laugh that is priceless!  Our only complaint is that the time is just going by too quickly, and before we know it she'll be walking and talking....That's the way it supposed to be, though!  And we thank heaven for our little girl!

Friday, April 15:  8 months old already!  It's hard to believe how fast it's gone.  Alyssa's 7th month was a busy one!  She has already cut one bottom tooth, and is starting on the second one.  She started really crawling, standing and cruising, saying "Ma-ma", and eating new foods (not just that "baby" stuff!).  We can tell she understands lots of words, and we're experimenting with a few signs, so she can better communicate before she actually talks.  We thinks she's going to be an early walker, too - we bet by 9 months old, we'll see!

Alyssa is such a little social butterfly, and she just loves other kids and babies.  When she smiles, it's with her whole face!  She's even started offering to share her bottle and her little crackers with mommy and daddy - what a little sweetheart.  We thank God every single day for the gift of Alyssa....

Sunday, March 27:  Alyssa started crawling last Saturday, and now she's already started pulling herself up to a standing position, grabbing onto anything she can to be up, up, up.  She's crawling all around the house, exploring everything she sees.  What an adventurer, and so curious about EVERYTHING!  She's so sweet, but not timid or fearful at all.  She's  growing into a very self-confident little girl, with a bit of a wacky sense of humor!  Alyssa loves to be surprised, and when Mommy and Daddy make extra-funny faces or sounds, she thinks it's hysterical!  She also thinks it's funny when she has her pacifier, and pretends to share it with Mommy or Daddy, or Grandma.  When we pretend to we want to chomp on that pacifier, she takes it back and laughs, like "my pacifier isn't for grownups, silly!!!"

At 7 months old, she's eating lots of interesting foods, but apples are still her favorite.  She's enjoying her toys and her jumperoo more and more too.  We try to go outside when the weather's warmer, and we're all looking forward to spending lots more time in the great outdoors.

Saturday, February 12:  This baby is on the move!  Alyssa has been rolling all around the floor, from her back to her tummy and on her back again, so she's all over the place!  She just started doing the "inchworm" thing, too, so we think she'll be crawling anytime now.  She has blossomed into a very social little girl, and loves to meet people - she charms the socks off everyone she meets!  She smiles and coos and laughs, and is just a joy to be around. 

Alyssa loves riding in the car, she gets excited to just see her carseat - she knows we'll be having a new adventure that day!

She's really enjoying all the different kinds of foods she gets to eat now, especially apples and pears.  She been teething too, but we haven't seen any teeth quite yet.  We have a little net bag that we can put a piece of frozen apple or banana in, and she just loves chomping on it to help with teething pain.  Plus it tastes good and it's good for her, so what could be better?

Alyssa will be celebrating her half-birthday on Valentine's Day - 6 months old already!  Happy 1/2 birthday to our little Valentine!

Friday, January 21:  It's been a busy month for this little angel!  Alyssa had her first Christmas, and she loved it, especially the shining Christmas lights and the sparkly wrapping paper.  She is now eating solid foods - she started with cereal on Christmas Day (we had tried a little earlier but it didn't work out so well - she wasn't QUITE ready yet!), and now has carrots, sweet potatoes, pears and bananas too!  She loves the fruits, but makes a funny face with the carrots...We all got a BAD cold on New Year's Eve, and poor Alyssa was not feeling well at all for over a week.  But she was cozy and comfy warm in the house and got better soon. 

Our precious angel had her baptism this past Sunday, and lots of family and friends came to see her and celebrate with us.  She looked just like an angel princess in her beautiful christening gown bought by Grandma and Auntie Lynda.  She's already almost 16 lbs and is getting so long too!

Alyssa is so smart and sociable - she was a little social butterfly at her party.  Everyone remarks how intelligent and charming she is.  Our little darling!!!!

Friday, December 17:  Hard to believe this little darling is 4 months old already!  She just started on her first solid foods, rice cereal.  She really likes the taste of it - even though she's still learning that she's actually supposed to swallow it! 

Barbara had to bring her to a choral rehearsal this week, so she was holding Alyssa and conducting at the same time - Alyssa loved it!  She's so used to Barbara singing and dancing around with her, and there's always music on in the house.  Alyssa has actually played the piano AND the guitar already, and sang along with her playing!  She's been practicing playing the jingling bells to get ready for Christmas - she might even play them at the upcoming concert!

Tuesday, November 30:  It's so cool to see how Alyssa blossoms and grows in so many ways.  Over the Thanksgiving holiday (which we all enjoyed!) there were four sweet little boys from our family at dinner, all under 5.  Alyssa has recently found her voice, and that precious sound carried right over the mayhem of all those little guys!  She'll never be pushed around, this little lady!!!! 

She's chatting away and is so interested in everything.  She does love to be cuddled, but she also likes to be on the move seeing new things.  We've recently started reading books to her, and she concentrates on them so intently, we're just waiting for her to start reading them aloud to us!!!!

Monday, November 15:  We set up Alyssa's "exersaucer" over the weekend, and WOW!  She loves it!  She's such a smart little girl, and we can almost see her little brain working and figuring things out, discovering all sorts of wonderful new things.  She is a very strong little lady, too - she's sitting up (with a little bit of help) and can even stand a bit when someone is holding her!  She's really turning into a beautiful young lady, too.  We all really enjoyed our visit yesterday!

Wednesday, October 27:  Alyssa is really a fun person to hang out with!  She's so full of smiles and such a ray of sunshine every day.  She's always been curious and alert, but more and more she's noticing all kinds of things.  She's been looking at photographs on the walls and smiling at them - she loves looking at smiling faces.  Everywhere she goes people comment on how beautiful and sweet she is.  She has a HUGE fan club - here and over in Europe too!  She's talking more and starting to play with her toys, moving around and enjoying her world.  We thank heaven every day for this beautiful angel!

Tuesday, October 12:  This little lady is getting to be such a big girl!  What a beautiful smile she has.  Everyone who sees her remarks on how lovely and sweet she is.  She had a welcoming party up in Connecticut over the weekend, and she was a perfect guest of honor, with smiles for everyone.  The name "Alyssa" is supposed to mean that she'll be "gregarious" as she gets older, and it seems to be true already!

Wednesday, September 29:  Alyssa is starting to smile a lot more and even coo and gurgle a little bit!  Hard to believe she'll be seven weeks old this Saturday!  :)  She is growing so well and is really more and more becoming a little person.  We went for a nice hike at the park over the weekend - she's definitely an outdoor little girl.  She also loves having a bath - she's just starting to splash around a little and enjoy herself in the water.  We see the doc again next week for her 2-month checkup - time flies!!!  New pics coming soon for the website.....

Thursday, September 16:  Baby visited the pediatrician today for her 1-month checkup.  She now weighs 9lbs and 5oz., and is 21 1/2 inches long!  She is very healthy and growing perfectly.  Alyssa loves riding in the car - she looks everywhere and at everything, like she just can't get enough of this world!  Her birthmom is in Florida this week, we all hope she's having a wonderful time!

Wednesday, September 8:  Alyssa is doing great.  She loves to be outside and watch the trees waving in the breeze and listen to the birds.  She holding up her head better and better every day, and her hair seems to be becoming a beautiful shade of auburn.  Her muscles are getting stronger and her focus is better. and her sweet nature shows itself every day.....

Saturday, August 28, 2010:  Alyssa is now two weeks old, 7 lbs, 11 oz and 20 1/2 in long!!  She's eating really well, sleeping well, and already has a little laugh.  Her blue eyes are just beautiful and taking everything in.  She can hold her head up a little already, and always wants to see everythings that's going on!  She has a way of looking at things with wide open eyes that say, "Wow!  Everything is so cool! I can't wait to see more!"  She already had a little birthday party for her 1 week old day, and the pediatrician said she's a BEAUTIFUL baby!!!!