Thursday, March 31, 2011

.....hope.....

......although nothing about the 30 degree weather has felt like spring, there are still signs that breed excitement and feverish expectancy......


......and the sun has been beaming the last few days and we take every advantage to soak it up.....even if we have to bundle up in the winter gear to enjoy it.....



.....and although the driver to enjoy the outdoors is certainly the sunshine and crisp air, it is also the fact that I have this belief that the more I walk, the quicker our baby will arrive......and considering none of my winter gear fits and my casual coat will no longer zip, I sequester the girls rain or shine to get outside and walk.....because I am ready to meet this sweet child.....

.....and everything is always more fun if we do it with William.....so he and his Momma bundle up and join us......




......and although the little ones should not be complaining that their fingers are cold this time of year....they are......because I packed away the mittens two weeks ago thinking that certainly the last cold snap had already shown it's frosty head.....and every year, Mother Nature always gets me with one late winter spell just before April arrives......forcing me and all of the other spring seekers to tell ourselves, this is certainly the last of it......

.....but we carry on like it is 70 degrees, hoping the weather will follow our lead.....




.......we snooze like it's time for summer siestas.....



.....and my girl could not be roused by anything.....I didn't want her to miss out on the fun, so I practically had to pry her eyes open so she could see that her sister and William were feelin' quite festive......








......and when Elsie is forced to wake up when she isn't ready, she requires a lot of TLC.....and I am happy to give it to her.....


......and it's not a surprise she was a weary one......she worked hard this past week......it was her turn at school to showcase her All About Me poster......after lots of cutting with her new scissors, lots of glue sticking her favorite items on to her cardboard and after much deliberation on where to showcase her purple and pink stickers, she was ready to take it to her class and explain all of her favorite things......


.....and she was quite proud to talk about the things she loves......pink cupcakes, Saturday morning pancakes with Daddy, summertime, spending time with her sister, adventures with her best friend William, ballet class, growing hair as long as Rapunzel and having tea parties......she covered it all......


......and I was so thrilled to be able to watch her in her glory.....proudly stapling her poster to the All About Me wall with her teacher, satisfied that her hard work wasn't going unnoticed.....mark a notch on the self esteem belt.....this three year old was feeling pleased with her accomplishment......



......and then it was off to trim the bangs.....not a cut, a trim.....because trims actually make your hair grow longer.......

......at least that's what my Mom used to tell me.....so I am using the same line since Elsie does not want to have short hair.....the goal is to the floor by the time she's four......



.....and she kept checking to make sure that Miss Lily wasn't cutting her hair too short......jus a little trim, peez, not a cuutttt......


......and stay tuned because someone else in our house is due for her first cut soon.....my bald and beautiful toddler has sprouted hair overnight.....and we need to give her new do a little.......how shall I say this?......shape......



......I can't wait to share a special day with Callie like I did when Elsie had her first cut last summer......

.....and that's the thing about anticipation.....whether it's waiting minute by minute to see if each braxton hicks may turn into full blown labor, or waiting for the winter to finally move past us so we can begin the liveliness of spring, or spending days talking about an event with a child that gets them so excited and woozy about something as new as a first haircut.....it's all so hopeful......and hope is such a key element to enjoying the tiny moments and pushing through the other stuff until you reach your own pot of beauty and glory......




.......and the little ones remind me so often of hopefulness because it's the smallest things that get them revved up and full of sheer happiness.......they love to anticipate everything.....and that is living in the moment......




.....savoring the small things we learn from our children.......
Thank you, Sara, for your beautiful outdoor pictures!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

.....happy birthday, blog.......

.....one year ago, I had no idea how much I would love documenting our life for my children.....capturing as many details for them as I can so they can look back in the years to come.....it's the sheer driver of how I find the time to scribble down my thoughts, our memories, our history on this white slate of virtual paper.....

.......the blog books are ordered.....they will soon be here for tangible evidence of this blog.....I envision my girls and their sibling sipping wine, laughing with sentiment, and reciting remember whens around a coffee table someday as they flip through these books......years after Stefan and I are long gone......I know they will have these memories to look back on which can remind them how dearly they were all loved......

......so as a tribute to my beloved blog and all that it will give my children, here is our year in review......





.......happy birthday, blog......

........you have given me so much joy and inspiration to relish in all the happenings of our life and capture them in one place that can be archived for years to come......you are the gift that keeps on giving and I can't wait to see what this next year unfolds.....

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

.....surreal spring days......

.....just because spring is officially here, doesn't mean mother nature in the northeast has to agree.....after a glorious two days of 70 degree weather last week, we were welcomed to our mid week hump day with a wintery mix.....


....wet, slushy puddles and rain mixed with over sized snow flakes.....it made a great day for catching up and calling a time out on the race of our routine.....and since Wednesdays are our only free days without anything on the calendar, this wet and chilly spring day meant doing a whole lot of whatever we wanted......


......so to escape from cabin fever, we pulled out the rain gear and walked to Luigi's for a pizza lunch......just me and my girls......



.....and although the girls were hungry and extremely well behaved for this spontaneous occasion, they were also very goofy......and would laugh at each other making silly faces when they took bites of their cheese pizza.......

.....Silly sister #1...... 


......and silly sister #2......


......and the silliness continued at our next snack time session.....






......and just when I was beginning to wonder how many more hours of silliness we were going to have to invent on a wet, cold indoor day; Sara sent a text with one of the best play date ideas we have done in a while.....let's practice dying Easter eggs down in the playroom......what a colorful and festive way to welcome spring, even on a day that feels like a whole lot of winter......

.......and I say it all the time.....I adore this building, this lifestyle of tight quartered living, this small group of friends that live no more than four floors away from us......because in no time at all, we had five toddlers and one sweet 10 month old laughing, giggling, making a mess, creative imaginations at work, talking about what color is their very favorite......and four Mommas who were all so very happy to see each other.......


.....and while this project needed all hands on deck, three of us rolled up our sleeves and Sara began to click away......documenting the excitement of the littles who were encouraged to get as messy as they wanted......capturing these days of toddler wonder.....






.....and they took us up on that offer to splash dye, mix the cups of color, double dip eggs, forgo the spoon and hand dip their little fingers.......







......but there was nothing like watching their awe and wonder when their first batch of eggs came out gleaming with spring color......






.....and not a moment goes by that isn't surreal these days.....knowing that within the next three weeks, we will have a newborn with us.....I am constantly wondering, during my days with the girls, if this will be the last meal, walk, bedtime, breakfast, story time, play date when it's just the three of us.....of course we are all over joyed at the thought of expanding our family.....God has blessed us with another babe that is already uniquely and wonderfully made.....and there will be a time when we will all say, what was life like before this baby joined our family?......

.......but there will be an adjustment period for a short time.....I will have to reinvent how to spontaneously walk out of the house for a pizza lunch......I will have to manage logistically how I will, on a whim; grab three kids and hit the pavement with our stroller to walk to Central Park.....we will have to share Momma's time, as the newborn feeding schedule can be quite demanding......and it wouldn't be honest if I didn't admit that I have some anxiety about it....knowing that for a brief glimpse in their lives, this will impact my girls.....there may be let downs of the things we are limited to do.....temporarily.....there may be less time for the things that feel so good; like cuddles in the morning, reading books on the floor, or making french toast to kill some time on a rainy morning.....just because we will have this new little miracle that will need all of us.....

.....but overshadowing my apprehensiveness on how am I going to do this or that? is the warm and joyous knowledge that we are never given more than we can handle......that millions of mothers have nurtured their families as they abundantly grow fuller with grace and compassion....I remind myself that as much as my girls may briefly feel the adjustment, they too will experience what it is like to have your heart grow bigger when you love another human being so extremely......and I will make a lot of mistakes trying to juggle three small children......I know there will be a lot for me to learn as I begin this new journey, but I know that each day I will give everything I have to each of them.....the difference between a good day and a bad day will be whether or not I was able to make each of them feel uniquely special.....whether I was able to ensure that when they close their eyes at night, they feel secure, peaceful, and no matter how the course of events of the day unfolded; that they will most certainly know how passionately they are all loved by their Momma.....


.....and I know I will eventually get a groove on how to manage each of them individually......I will learn what makes each one feel exceptional.....I will understand how to ensure each of them feels like they are making some of their own rules too.....and it will take some trial and error, but I like to think that over time, in the end when they eventually leave the nest of our home; they will look back and know that they were each remarkable, significant and were loved uniquely for their own extraordinary characteristics......


.....and I hope that they would say, we savored every minute of the journey......