Gratuitous Self-Promotion

Because life is crazy and I didn't get a chance to clip the newspapers this past week, and because maybe one of these years I'll get around to scrapbooking our lives, here are the links to the articles that I may be able to access in the future to use:

Airshow exhibit opening:

http://pressofatlanticcity.com/communities/atlantic-city_pleasantville_brigantine/article_7ff5a72a-8de0-11df-a8cf-001cc4c002e0.html#user-comment-area

http://www.atlanticcityweekly.com/arts-and-entertainment/features/2010-Atlantic-City-Air-Show-Schedule-Set-98260719.html

Time capsule opening:
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/communities/atlantic-city_pleasantville_brigantine/article_d479892c-8ea0-11df-9277-001cc4c002e0.html

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/98393139.html

http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/new_jersey/98341579.html

http://www.njcrda.com/pages/Time%20Capsule.aspx

Plus I was on the local nightly news both nights for the two events. :)

Catching Up...maybe

Yeah...it's been a while. Weeding the garden, cutting the grass, cleaning bathrooms, as well as working full-time and helping my husband work full-time and taking care of a very active baby and running the Young Women's program at church has pretty much filled up my life. Plus, Dora (the computer) was so horribly slow that doing anything took eons. But now we have Della and internet life is a little faster. :)

I will attempt now to summarize the last 4 months by selecting one picture to represent each month:

February - lots of snow...lots.









March - Baby suddenly has 2 teeth. (She hasn't gotten any since then.)









April - Lots of outside work: We put in a garden, Papi cuts the grass for the first time in his life. Papi also starts to work the graveyard shift at the local hardware megastore. He sleeps a few hours here and there and watches Baby during the day. She is sitting and trying to crawl.









May - Vacation in VA is all about yummy food...crabcakes from the Eastern Shore, Cheese Shop (bread ends and house dressing), Sno to Go, Captain George's seafood, Cornell Chicken, wedding cake, and devil dogs were all enjoyed. Baby crawls and pulls up to standing.










Now that it's June, we're working a lot outside and realizing just how big our yard is. We're also getting ready to do some home improvement - the chimney has to come down (it's unstable) this weekend and the siding and roof near that will have to be replaced. We're also excited for summer and the beach and summer visitors and the Airshow.

Roll Over, roll over!

Nina's new talent...she prefers her belly, but will go both ways now.

And speaking of bellies, a few laughs to boot.

The heir apparent

Apparently, I have a new title at work... ya'll enjoy my 2 seconds of fame.
"Atlantic City historians: A life that might die out?"

Don't you want to eat her up??

We are considering becoming cannibals. NinaBell's thighs and cheeks just invite you to gobble them up! She's 20 weeks old today, weighs at least 15 lbs, and measures in at 26 inches already. She's lots of fun, and has started screeching and "talking".

She was blessed by her papi on January 2, and her Gritty and Grampa and Aunt Amy and cousins visited. Gritty brought her a beautiful smocked dress with handmade tatting, and Nina was the belle of the of ball! We also had a nice Christmas at home...it was especially nice to have good news - 2 engagements (my sister-in-law, Vero and Henry, and my 82-year-old Papa and Ruth)! Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate these lovely milestones.

A Place for Us

We are homeowners! We closed on October 30 on a beautiful, two-story, five-bedroom, two-bathroom house near Atlantic City. The house is everything we wanted - we've got a yard and a porch and a fireplace and a kitchen with a double sink and disposal. (We don't ask for too much, do we?)

The only thing we aren't crazy about are the property taxes in the city where we live and the high school is crummy. But we are good for at least 13 years. And maybe they'll change the high school by then.

Here's a quick tour of the house...enjoy!

It was built somewhere between 1890-1930. This is the front. (Notice all of the bags of leaves that F gathered today!)


The kitchen, clean and almost organized.

The living room (looking toward the dining room)...we love the wood floors!

The dining room, looking toward the living room (with a fireplace!).

The library/office has built-in bookshelves and a reading nook.

Our bedroom is in dire need of a paint job. And a closet.

N's bedroom has purple walls and built-in shelves.

The view from the back - our porch.

How big are you? SO BIG!

On the busiest Friday EVER, Miss Nina Bell had her 2-month check-up. (More on the rest of the day in another post.) She is now 9 weeks old, and weighed in at 11.5 lbs. and measured 23.5 inches. So she's staying up there, at 90% for height and 70% for weight. In the last month, she's started smiling (not just for gas) and cooing. We're enjoying our little girl and think she's the cutest baby in the world; see for yourself:

I've started smiling...but I always stop when Mami pulls out the camera. ;)

For a Harry Potter-themed Halloween party, I went as Dobby and Papi was Lucius Malfoy.

On Halloween, my friend L visited us as a duck. (I'm the butterfly.) Papi and Mami decided not to take me out Trick-or-Treating, but we had fun anyways.

I met David Archuleta at church. He was singing in Atlantic City and came to our church. He was very nice and took pictures with us.