Christmas List

The Nicastro Family braved a nearly two hour wait time, crying babies, line jumpers, sleep deprived children, malnourished children, bathroom breaks, crowds, being over charged, wrong packages, peppermint lollipop drool, body soreness, and arm fatigue all to tell Santa Claus our Christmas Wish List.  

With a picture like this, Mommy thinks it was all worth it.  

Happy Holidays and Remember a little patience goes a long way (and can sometimes be worth it).

xoxox

Holiday Traditions

'Tis the season rich with holiday customs. In the Nicastro house, we are just begining to create our own family traditons.  Mommy started an activity advent calendar to get us all in the spirit of the holidays. First up, making and sending Christmas cards.

Which can sometimes be a challenge.

Thank goodness for big sisters.

According to Anthony, we also built a "spaceship". 

The rest of us know this as a gingerbread house and Elfie, who still visits the house regularly during the holiday season, decided to lend a helping hand.

Perhaps the favorite new tradition is trying warm "hot cocoa" complete with marshmellows.

And wearing our santa themed jammies.

Holiday cheers to all.

Remember little Nicastros always check your hot cocoa before you end up with a burnt tongue! (ouch)

Xoxox

25 Day 'Til Santa

It's December and the Nicastro kids are ready to celebrate! Not only do we begin our advent calendars but Elfie came back! Ysabella was very cautious about Elfie's arrival, pausing on the stairs and refusing to look for him by herself

Anthony was much less afraid and ran straight to Elfie's first hiding spot.

This year Santa sent a letter with Elfie telling the kids to be good and to write him a letter.

Luckily, our activity calendar had the kids writing wish lists to Santa today.

They quickly got to work picking out the perfect pencils and feverishly writing down their wants. (Mommy only helped a little bit with spelling)

When they were all done we folded them up and sealed them in an envelope to send to the North Pole.

And of course took some pictures (cuz Mommy loves to document everything)

Tis the season little Nicastros

And remember to always say Thank You (it helps keep you on the 'nice' list)

Birthdays and Basketballs

This weekend we threw a party for Anthony's birthday. This years cake? Basketball, of course!

After singing Happy Birthday to himself with the rest of the party, he jumped right to blowing out his candles.

All that was left to do? DIG IN!

Yum!

Like any birthday party, gift opening followed cake.  Anthony was a bit unsure of what to do with his wrapped presents.

Thankfully, his big sister, Ysabella, was nearby to show him what to do.

All in all the party was great and "Dunk" (as Grandma likes to affectionately call Anthony) thoroughly enjoyed everything basketball.

Happy Birthday, Anthony!

And many thanks to all those who helped celebrate and were more than generous!

Birthday Boy!

It's that time of year again, little Anthony is quickly growing into a very active and happy 2 year old. The family celebrated with dinner and cupcakes at home.

Blue frosting not only tastes great but looks even better!

 

 Anthony used his face more than teeth when attacking his cupcake in the daintiest manner.

All that was left to do was open gifts and ignore everyone else as he played with his new favorite toys.

 

All in all, it was a great day of celebration and love. 

 

Happy Birthday, Anthony Francis! May the years of happiness continue.

Thanks to all for the many birthday wishes and thoughtful gifts!

XoXoX

Hoop Dreams

We all know that Anthony is a sports lover, even though he hasn't seen many sports live.  This weekend Mommy brought the kids to watch Daddy "ball".  Ysabella spent her time running around with other kids while Anthony instantly became mesmorized.

Even with the other kids vying for his attention, Anthony could not be separated from the game.

He rested and watched Daddy run down the court...

...up the court...

 

And back down again.... and again.

Look out NBA, we think he is gonna be a tall one and we know he is definitely focused!

Remember little Nicastros, dream big because you can acheive anything!

Fall Festivities

Its time for a fresh start and a new season for the Nicastro Family. We all celebrated with the neighborhood festival designed specially for kids! Anthony and Ysabella saw their very first pony, which they learned is basically a tiny horse.

Anthony rode Buttercup...

And Ysabella rode Stormy.

After a pony ride, who can resist a large netted, bouncy house?

The kids also played halloween themed games including, "witch hat ring toss"

To all of our surprise, Ysabella actually got a ringer and won a prize (everyone gets a prize, but she did really toss the ring on the witches hat!)

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood and a great way to practice for 'trick or treat' ing.

Happy Fall and Families to all

And remember Nicastros, don't forget to stop and savor the donuts,... I mean moments.

XoXoX

Lake Anna: The Lost Footage

Our family trip to Lake Anna was so pleasant and enjoyed by all that more photos have to be shared.  Daddy was an active, yet secretive, photographer and so Mommy only recently found these "lost" pictures. Ysabella and Anthony's trepidation getting into the water was nicely captured here. As was Ysabella's ability to copy Mommy and drag Anthony in with her! 

They warmed up quickly but stayed close to Mommy or a safety line.

Mommy did everything she could to get Daddy in the water, even bribing him with these adorable faces... but no luck. We swam alone.

And so did Anthony.

But not Ysabella. She may have won the award for going the farthest out in the water, but always held tight to Mommy's hands. 

 Maybe next time the kids will be off on their own, but for now Mommy was pretty content having them stick close by.  

Lake Anna

It may have been overcast, but the Nicastro Family still had a wonderful day taking Ysabella and Anthony to Lake Anna.  This was the first time they have been to a beach or swam in open water.  After a few cries and awkward steps they made it to the waterfront to dip in their toes.

 

Immediately after testing the water, both Nicastro kids found the playground much more interesting.

 Especially the "swide"

After a lot of coaxing and a little bit of time the kids took to the water like fish.  When Nona and Poppy arrived Ysabella began doing her I went in the water dance or maybe its the I want to the go in the water again dance. Perhaps it's the fish out of water dance.... either way she was happy and her dancing skills need work.

 Soon it was time for a picnic lunch. Complete with boiled thermos hot dogs and pasta salad, lunch was delicious and filling.

 

And Nona would never forget dessert,  which Ysabella shared well.

 

Next it was back to the water.  With lots of help from Poppy, the kids had a fun lakeside "bathtub".

 

They also got some lessons from Daddy about fun, beachy sand activities.

 And saw how important it was to pack the wet sand in your bucket.

After trying again at building sand castles the kids could no longer resist the playground. 

 

 

And eventually we all had to say goodbye to the lake and what turned out to be a beautiful day.

 

Mommy and Daddy are thrilled that you loved the sand and water. 

Keep trying new things little Nicastros and remember you can still get sunburnt on an overcast day!

XoXoX