New Excavator

Uncle Sam bought this for Gus for Christmas.  Obviously, we had to ship it home.  When it arrived, it was like Christmas all over again.  He couldn't wait to put it to the test in his sand box.  It didn't take him long to to figure out how to move the sand around.

New Year's Day Hike

He woke up to beautiful weather here and so happy to be in our own beds!  It was about 65 and sunny, so we went for a family hike.  This trail is literally right out our back door.

Gus likes cutting pine needles with Daddy's leatherman.  So Mommy held the needles while Gus cut.

Futura was happy to see us too.

New Year's Eve

We flew into San Diego from New York on New Year's Eve.   We arrived in around noon so we went to the beach to run around and scream.  Poor Gus had been cooped up and needed to run before we stuck him in the car for the two hour drive home.  Being at the beach was not the worst way to spend New Year's eve.  We had a lot of fun.  We even dug out Gus' new excavator to dig in the sand.  He and Daddy tried to dig a hole to China.

We may not have had any snow in NY, but he still was able to get a few "sledding" runs in at the beach

enjoying his new excavator

Gus thought this hole was just perfect

Running to the ocean

When does Christmas end?

The answer is never - we should always carry the spirit of Christmas with us everyday!

The festivities continued even after Christmas.  I was able to get together with my childhood friends Deb, Tina, Christine and Jolene.  Some of us have known each other since kindergarten (over 30 years ago). 

 We had an extended Christmas at my cousin Stefania's where Gus received more great presents.  You guessed it, more vehicles of one kind or another.  He thought they were all pretty cool.  It was nice to see Stefania and Joe's beautiful home.  They have done a fantastic job on it.

Gus fell asleep watching cartoons with Poppy.  We were about to take a bath, but he laid down and fell asleep naked on Nonni's side of the bed.  (No diaper - Nonni was not happy)

Sweet Christmas Angel all tuckered out.  We are so blessed!

Christmas

Opening presents was great fun this year.  Needless to say, Gus made out like a bandit.  I think Uncle Sam and Carrie outdid Santa Claus!  We had to ship 6 boxes back to CA.  It was awesome to see Gus get so excited for all his toys.

Tractors, need I say more?

Learning what a noogy is

Learning to give a noogy!

New helmet that looked like a dinosaur (it was for Gus, but Mommy thought it was pretty cool too)

Unwrapping gifts this year was more exciting because he realized that there was something cool inside.

More construction equipment!

Thor got outfitted by my Dad with Husqvarna hat and suspenders.  He is going to look gooood on the race track!

The excavator made an excellant tool to open gifts with, who knew?

The ultimate excavator!  Can't wait to get that in the sand box.

Gus with Carrie and Uncle Sam

The Ferrara Girls: (L to R) Jackie, Annie, Kate, Me, and Lindsay.  We were missing Sarah and Stefania, someone had to work.

The Ferrara Girls with Moms (and Gus): Back row - Kathy, Kate, Rosalie, Me, Lindsay, and Jackie.  Front row - Annie, Elaine, and Gus

Christmas with Grampa Dean

Dean came to visit for a few days before Christmas.  Surprisingly, we did not take too many pictures.  Here are a few from opening presents.  Cousin Natalie and the kids from next door were over to help supervise.  It was a good time and always nice to see Grandpa Dean.  We can't wait to see him in CA!

Needed Daddy's leatherman to open this one

Learning how to shave

Poppy thought it was time to teach Gus how to shave.  Here are some photos of the process. I forgot to get a "finished" picture, but it was still cute to watch the two of them.

Gus with his shaving cream on, ready to shave