Happy Halloween

From our little duck and even littler pumpkin!

Birthday Morning

(Yes, we took that many pictures of Olin's big day yesterday that I have to divide the day into two posts.)

Last year we had a birthday party for Olin with all his friends and I think that it was just a little overwhelming for him and he didn't seem to enjoy much of it.  Because we thought his reaction to a party might be similar this year, we decided to forgo the party and just make the day a very special family day.  I am sure glad that we did, because we all had the best day yesterday with our newly turned three year old.

As soon as he woke up, he walked out into the living room that Josh and I had filled with balloons and party decorations the night before, he got a huge smile on his face when he saw it and said "oh, no" like as in "you didn't!"  I honestly don't know where half the things he says come from. 

For his special birthday breakfast, we (actually, Josh) stayed with tradition and made him pumpkin pancakes with his favorite food (butter!)

A quick lesson for Odette on how to play with the toys on her chair...

And then about 20 minutes of gleeful playtime with a few of the balloons that had fallen from the ceiling.  I wish I would have known a lot sooner that a $2 package of balloons could provide so much entertainment  I think he probably would have played with them for another hour if we hadn't had to leave for school.
 

 To be continued...

Three

Today, our little boy turned three years old.  I honestly don't know how we got here so quickly, but if I had one wish today, it would be for time to slow down, even just a little bit.

Never have I met a sweeter soul and I know I have said it before, but it is such a privilege to be this little boy's mommy and to watch him grow and learn with each passing day.  

Olin Joshua, you mean more to us than words can ever say and we love you more than all the numbers.  Happy happy birthday love bug!

We had a wonderful day with our little boy and I will post many more pictures of his big day later in the week.

Feeling Very Blessed Today

The older I get, the more reflective I become on my birthday, looking back at all that's happened during the past year rather than making wishes for things that I hope to come true in the coming year.  Perhaps it's because I feel so incredibly blessed that I have little else to wish for in my life.  

In looking back at this past year. I have to say it was a pretty great one.  And not just because of the obvious big events like Odette's arrival in June (although that alone would have made my year), but because of the many little and wonderful memories we made, many of which have been documented in this little blog of ours.  Each and every one of them have made this past year so special.  And if that weren't enough, all of the birthday wishes that I received throughout the day from so many of you, reminding me of all the wonderful family and friends that I have in my life, just made it that much better so thank you all so much.

Here's hoping that 36 is even half as great as 35!

My birthday buddy, Olin, practicing for his big day tomorrow...

Our Quest For a Family Photo

There is little I find more difficult these days than getting a decent picture of the four of us.  Convincing a toddler to look at the camera and smile is near impossible and getting an infant to do the same is not much easier.  And if all stars align and both little ones do look at the camera at the same moment, either Josh or I or both of us have a pained expression on our faces as a result of the minutes leading up to said moment.  

Here are a few that Erin and Corey so patiently took of us last weekend while in Connecticut.  See what I mean...

Have a great weekend everyone!

Olin's Great Pumpkin Search

While in Connecticut on Saturday, Corey, Erin and Alice were sweet enough to indulge us by agreeing to go to an orchard with us to pick pumpkins and apples.  Olin has been obsessed with pumpkins this fall and finds them wherever we go.  So we thought it would be fun to get him his very own pumpkin for his room.  All week prior, he kept saying that we wanted a "BIG" pumpkin, but alas all the pumpkins at the orchard were deemed "too big" by Olin and as a result, a meltdown ensued and no pumpkins were purchased.  

Looks like we will be going to the corner bodega and buying him on of those guards that look like tiny pumpkins instead.

 

We did get some cute pictures of him in the pumpkin patch though.  As you can see, he was extremely diligent in his search.

Alice and Odette

Bright and early Saturday morning, we packed up the little ones in the car and headed to Mystic, Connecticut to meet our dear friends Erin and Corey who were coming in from Boston.  This was not just any get together, but our first opportunity to introduce our new baby girls to each other.  Odette is exactly one month older than Alice and it is clear already that these two little ladies are going to be best friends.  Is it just me or does it look like Odette is trying to give Alice a hug in the pictures below?

Honestly, there are no sweeter baby girls than these two.  And because Alice seems to have been blessed with some height from her daddy, the two are nearly the same size and of similar coloring so they were even mistaken for twins more than once.  

Erin and I have been the best of friends for nearly twenty years (yikes!) and have actually known each other longer as evidenced by a vacation bible school photo from elementary school that Erin unsurfaced years ago.  I would share it, but it's much too embarrassing.  Anyway, after all these years, Erin is more like a sister than a friend and so the fact that we were both blessed with baby girls this summer is pretty wonderful.

I am not embarrassed to admit that I cried when we had to say goodbye because Boston is much too far away from NYC, but the good news is that we are already plotting our next get together.

Oh, and the matching tops were planned once we discovered the girls owned the same one... we are not crazy enough to go out and buy them matching outfits.  Okay, maybe we are, but we weren't this time!

One more, post outfit change for little Alice.  Oh, those cheeks, they are just so cute!

Thanks Schenck family for a wonderful day - we love you all and we'll see you soon!  

Many more pictures of our trip to Connecticut to come!

Kind of Feeling Like a Mom Today

Tonight is the big fall event at Olin's school, the international potluck. and as the name implies, all families are asked to bring a dish representative of their heritage.  Josh and I clearly missed that last component when we declared that we would bring apple galettes.  We are in too deep now to change so if anyone asks, we have French ancestry somewhere in our family.  Perhaps I should take the next several hours to practice my French to really sell our deception.

Anyway, as we were baking the galettes last night, I realized that this is the first (of hopefully many times) that we will be asked to bake for one of the kid's school events.  And that, to me, is the ultimate mom responsibility.  {However, full disclosure, Josh did all the hard stuff to make these, like peeling, coring and cutting all of the apples.}  But, as I will be the one delivering them to the school today, I will receive all the glory (okay, maybe not so much glory, but a quick and not at all heartfelt 'thanks' from the school secretary, but I will take it!)

Well they sure did turn out pretty... oh, and that accompaniment to these beauties is spiced whipped cream that I over whipped (by hand!) but that's delicious nonetheless.

A bientôt mes amis!

Columbus Day and the Scooter

For Olin's first school holiday of the year we took advantage of the still beautiful weather here and spent some time in Central Park.

Olin has yet to master his scooter. Progress on this front has been hindered by the fact that he refuses to ride it with his shoes on and we refuse to let him out of the house with his shoes off.  We live in Manhattan for goodness sake, it's one of the last places you should walk around barefoot... gross.  

So yesterday after some pleading and lots of tears (mostly mine) I finally got him to take the scooter out with his shoes on!  It was a small victory because he cautiously rode it for about 3 minutes 

Then he walked next to it like it was a horse.

Then he wanted to sit on a bench.

Then he watched two boys playing on the lawn.

And finally, he walked it some more, this time to the playground where he left it with me so that he could play.  

Well, it's progress and I'll take it.  Here's hoping he has that thing mastered by his eighth birthday!