Happy Birthday Kate

Our baby is two! And hardly a baby anymore. We had a great time celebrating with her. She managed to get her fill of cupcakes (stealing 3 off the counter before the party even started--she's quick!) and loved playing with her buddies. Give the girl some crayons, play dough, balloons, music and a few little friends and she's happy as can be.

She is a lot of fun to have around and is quite the little person. She loves singing, pretending to cook in her kitchen and play with her dolls. She loves books, puzzles and doing somersaults. Her newest accomplishment (much to our chagrin) has been climbing out of her crib. We are now woken up in the morning to Kate's face about 1 inch from ours saying "hi." And when we don't respond quick enough, she proceeds to lift our eyelids up with her fingers to make sure we wake up and help her get her breakfast. Good morning! We have had so much fun with her these past 2 years. Happy Birthday Kate!

Winter at our house

Frozen, icy windows.

Cookie baking.

Camping out in the tent in the living room.

Christmas #3

We spent Christmas #3 visiting my family in California. We were blessed with gorgeous weather and great company. I was a little burned out on picture taking, but snapped the shot above on an evening gondola ride to see Christmas lights. Our trip was relaxing and it was great to see family that we don't get to see enough. The last weekend we were there my cousin's wife, Dara, and my mom threw Paul and I a baby shower. They are both talented party planners and Paul (and all of the men there) said it was the best baby shower they'd ever been to! :) There were some funny games (see picture of Paul trying to drink water out of a baby bottle), good food and lots of laughs. Kate loved being surrounded by her cousins and we loved spending time with family.

Carmel & San Francisco

We had a great time in Carmel and San Francisco. Carmel is beautiful. We drove down Highway 1 to Big Sur--breathtaking and especially enjoyable not listening to kids tunes (thanks for our great babysitters). San Francisco was charming and very hilly. Maybe my expectations were too high but it will never live up to the city that New York is, in my opinion, anyway.
We just left sunny Southern California (where it was 80) and arrived in Connecticut (where it is 15) and I think the nesting urge is beginning to kick in. It's taken me a few hours too long to unpack my suitcase because every drawer I open I decide needs to be cleaned out. Right now. So now we are all tired and the great post about our trip I had dreamed up just isn't happening. So here it is in photographs. It really was splendid.

sneak peek

Paul and I just got back from here... it was a bit like paradise.

Christmas #2

We were really fortunate to be able to spend Christmas in Denver with all of Paul's siblings and spouses. We are all spread across the country and it was a lot of fun to spend time together and reconnect. Kate, being the lone grandchild and niece, was spoiled rotten.
Highlights from the trip (from left to right and top to bottom) 1. a tour of the celestial seasonings tea factory in Boulder (free tea, my kind of tour) 2. playing by the Christmas tree 3. being found in the bathtub fully clothed in jammies 4. taking a "nap" with Elmo 5. all dressed up for church 6. eating way too much candy 7. family photo on Christmas day 8. practicing the piano 9. meeting Elmo on Christmas morning 10. practicing the piano, again 11. enjoying a turkey supper