Friday, May 31, 2013

Olivia's very first graduation

New York Kids Club rocked our little girl's world all year long. She was super shy at graduation (hiding behind her diploma), but I know that she loved being there surrounded by so many loving, wonderful teachers. They always welcome her with a smile and a hug, and took the time to really know our little girl. She loved them back just as much.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Wisteria Lane

Our dear friends the WWs just moved to a perfect little neighborhood in a cute little town in New Jersey, right in the suburbs of New York city - almost too perfect to be honest...Wisteria Lane anyone? :) We miss these guys like crazy since they moved a couple weeks ago, so we decided to take the train and do a little overnight trip to check out the new WWs headquarters.

 And all Wisteria jokes aside, it was fantastic. The weather was great, and we spent the afternoon we arrived outside, the kids playing in the backyard and riding their scooters in the driveway -serious business, can you see how intense the kids' faces are? :D I hung out barefoot in the yard the entire afternoon with a cup of tea in my hand and a good friend to chat with. The simple pleasures of life.
  Pretty little Flo.

We hung out and BBQed at night and talked while listening to good music. And it was great to wake up to friends and pancakes and happy little kids. Flo and Madeline jumped on beds and couldn't stop laughing.

We can't wait for our next trip to Wisteria lane :)
 

Monday, May 6, 2013

You are my wild



This little girl just turned two. Hard to believe. And with each day that passes she keeps amazing me with a her personality. Because, believe me, she is tiny but she's got big personality. She is fearless but also shy. She is bubbly and sweet. She is strong-minded and caring. And we all love her beyond reason.
  When we sang the birthday song to her in the morning, she went hiding. Same thing when we sang it later when we ate her birthday cupcakes. Madeline is funny like this, she doesn't really like it when all the attention is on her. The other day she did a super cool trick at her gym class on the bars, coach Kerryn complimented her for it and she went straight into shy mode and wouldn't go back on the bars after that. I wonder how this is going to go when this smart little cookie starts school.

 Madeline had been asking for a guitar for weeks and weeks - she LOVES music and singing. And so that was her birthday present from us, and I'm SO happy we gave her that - she didn't let go of her guitar, even for her afternoon nap or to go take the trash out. Best present ever :)
 

And on Sunday we had a little party with close friends. We had some food, Lou played some music for the kids and we all had a brilliant, mess of a good time. It is one of my very favorite thing to do, to bake a cake, and decorate the house to make my little girls feel special and loved. We hung balloons from the ceiling and put giant polka dots on the walls. And of course, the cake had to be pink :)
 

And per our birthday tradition, we made her "when she grows up" birthday poster. Will she be a postman, a politician, a vegan organic soy yoga instructor, a film director or a princess with a pink unicorn? I guess time will tell, and I have no doubt that she's going to do wonderful things with her life....but I am secretly vouching for the unicorn option ;)
   

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Coney Island



When we told the girls we'd be going to Coney Island, they squealed with joy. Mostly because in that Dora episode that they always watch, Dora goes on an adventure chasing an ice cream truck that is going to Coney Island - an island literally covered with ice cream cones. We just told them that the subway ride wouldn't be quite as exciting as climbing strawberry mountains and crossing chocolate lake the way Dora wings it ;)

We picked the perfect weekend to go, to be honest - the very first warm-ish weekend of the season. It wasn't too hot nor crowded yet, and we loved every bit of it. We hung out a bit at the beach when we arrived. Madeline seems to always love contemplating the water, while Olivia loves running wild around the beach.
 

We had some food at Ruby's, and I loved it not because of the greasy food but because it was the most interesting place to do people watching to be honest. The most interesting people sat there. People you usually think only exist in movies - young hipster from Brooklyn dressed all in vintage clothing, old Italien couple in their swim suits singing to oldies on the radio. It was brilliant.



And of course we had ice cream and went on plenty of rides - or at least the girls did. It was so great to see their sweet little faces light up as they went 'round and 'round and 'round. Coney Island - you treated us well!!