Merry Christmas!

Life is slowly returning to normal after a busy week of family, birthdays, gifts, and fun. Alette is busily playing and organizing all her new toys while Abria is happily drooling and chewing on hers. Thank you to all who blessed our girls this season!
The holidays are all about traditions and we've started a new one in our family. Alette is truly addicted to ice-cream and in a moment of desperation to stop her whining, I told her ice-cream stores were closed in the winter (with the exception of her birthday). However, yesterday Andy wanted to go through the drive through at McDonalds...otherwise known as the ice-cream store. Thus we were presented with a bit of a dilemna: either Andy goes hungry, or I have to deal with constant whining everytime we get in the car. So..... guess what?! Ice-cream stores are also open on Boxing Day!!!! Alette was more than thrilled to celebrate Boxing Day and have ice-cream, Andy got lunch and all is good in our world.

Our Gingerbread House

I am not sure how long it will remain standing before the roof caves in and I doubt we'll be eating any part of it as Alette licked her fingers everytime she put on a candy. While it may look like the roof is decorated with ketchup and mustard, it is actually icing squeezed from a tube.

Happy 3rd Birthday Alette!

Alette received a 'fancy' skirt from Grandmom, which she wore over her dress for the party. This is probably the 3rd cupcake she is licking icing off of.

Fun with balloons!

The boxes are always so much more fun that the toys inside!

It is hard to imagine that our little girl is three! Alette was so excited to have a party, she spent the previous night calling her friends and family on her pretend phone. I think her excitement was partly fueled by the knowledge that she could have ice-cream when her guests arrived. In trying to curb her ice-cream whining, I've told her that ice-cream stores are closed all winter and will only open for her birthday. I'm not sure how long I can keep her believing it. Today (her actual birthday) we'll stop for some ice-cream on our way home from church. She was so eager to open gifts too-but after a couple, announced 'that's enough' and was ready to play. We actually had to work hard to convince her to open a few more. G-mom's play cash register is the big hit so far. We were blessed by G-mom's presence and missed those who couldn't make it.

Christmas in NYC

Pippi and Alette pose by the nutcrackers.

Abria's kept awake by the bustle of crowds and holiday window displays.

Dancing on the giant piano at FAO Schwartz.

The ladies lunch in NYC.

At the beginning of our day, Alette waits for the Riverline (or, as she likes to call it 'her' train).

There is nothing like the holiday season in New York. We met up with Grandmom, Anne,Marna and Pippi for a great day in the city. The girls were delighted to see each other-giggling and being as silly as possible. After riding on the Riverline, the NJtransit train, and the NY subway, going through FAO Schwartz, past the windows at Saks, to the tree at Rockefeller Plaza, Alette said her favorite part of New York was 'my sandwich and chocolate milk'. I sometimes forget how easy it is to please a toddler. Abria stayed awake for the whole trip also, clearly she didn't want to miss any of the holiday fun. We're hoping this becomes an annual holiday tradition!

Holiday Fun

Alette's angel outshines any store-bought version. Of course, I'm finding blue glitter all over the house, I even found some in our cats' fur.

We're back (with one more child)!

It's been a lengthy hiatus from the world of blogging. However, now that we have highspeed internet, and Abria has a somewhat regular schedule, I want to restart posting news and stories about the girls. In theory, I have time to do this. In reality I have a (almost)3 year old who no longer likes to nap and a 5 month old who also doesn't like to nap. Life may get in the way of this endeavor. In the meantime, enjoy some more recent photos of our girls!

A Weekend for Dressing Up

I had plenty of opportunities to play dress up with Alette this weekend as we went to two weddings. Luckily, she is a good sport and doesn't mind wearing dressier clothes, so far she also doesn't mind mommy playing with her hair either. I won't go so far as to say she was prettier than the brides, but she was definitely the cutest child in attendance.
Potty training is like a roller coaster ride. Some days we are way up on top and Alette is cooperative and we are accident free. Some days are just a free fall-lots of accidents and laundry to do. She does love her big girl panties, and insists on wearing them over her diaper at night. She even tried to put them on over her pj's last night, only to find it was a little to tight for comfort. We are hoping for diaperless month before baby #2 arrives!

Look how much she has grown!

We planted daffodil bulbs in the fall, and now are enjoying the fruits of our labor. What surprised me the most is the difference in Alette-she has grown so much over the winter!

Our Easter Bunny

It's not quite Easter but Alette has been getting into the spirit. I'm not sure why, but she knows the word chocolate-good thing I no longer keep it in the house! We are all looking forward to some time off for Spring Break. Aside from relaxing and spending time together, our big goal is potty training! Alette loves sitting on the potty but has no interest in actually using it. I'm getting very tired of buying diapers....so we are going to make a stab at the process.

How smart will these girls be?

Pippi was pretty good at retelling the plot of the movie to Alette, a vital literacy skill. Then they moved on to Scrabble....I wonder how long it will be before Alette and I can play? In case you think the girls spent all their time in academic pursuits, there was also plenty of playdough, hide and seek, and random chasing around.

Best Friends....Usually

Alette lights up whenever she sees Ganiyah. She can't stop trying to kiss and hug her and constantly wants to give Ganiyah her snacks and juice. But watch out if Ganiyah wants to play with her toys or use her highchair. Then our sweet and generous little girl dissolves into a puddle of tears and "mine, mine, mine!" Anyone thinking of working in foreign affairs or diplomacy needs to take care of a 2 year old and a 1 year old for awhile first!

Christmas celebrations

In Alette's world, Christmas lasts about three weeks. First came a package from Grandma and Grandpa in Canada. Of course we had to open it right away-good thing too since Grandma sewed her a beautiful new dress for the holidays! Then we had Christmas down in DC, then Christmas again up home in NJ. Alette perfected the art of unwrapping-she gladly helped anyone with their gifts. In fact, I had to rewrap several gifts that she unwrapped while I wasn't looking. She has become a busy homemaker with her new kitchen and vacuum!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Alette's birthday was on Dec. 21st, I am obviously way behind here! For her party she played like crazy for the first hour, then fell asleep and missed out on cake and candles. So we saved some and celebrated later. Unlike on her 1st birthday, Alette was more than eager to devour her cupcake.