joy to me

1/16/09

Big Smiles

We certainly enjoyed having Grandma and Grandpa Holt here for Christmas and New Year's. Sophia was excited to have more people to play with. She took to her Grandpa right away. Which surprised me because usually it takes a while to warm up to new faces. It had been a year since she had seen these loving faces.

Giving kisses to Grandma

We visited Great Falls and there was a dog there. That's why she is smiling so big.

Teddy Roosevelt Island

Sophia with another big smile

We also made it into the District to see the Botanical Gardens Christmas display and also to see the new Capitol Visitors Center.

We loved having you here. Thanks for spoiling us. We enjoyed the late night games of scum, eating out and of course just spending time together! Love you both!

1/2/09

Love, Love, Love NYC

Discoveries and facts from my New York City Trip:

Trains that start at a station may be on the wrong side of the tracks
Dylan's Candy Bar isn't just for kids
Serendipity can have a 3.5 hr wait
Bergdorf Goodman has the most amazing Christmas window displays
If you carry your subway sandwich in a bag to Central Park, most of your toppings will end up in the bag
New York's this crust pizza is delish
If you want to eat a cupcake from Magnolia's you better have time to stand in line
Bleeker St. is very, very long
A vintage store in Soho is the home of a funky little monkey
You really can see out of those 2009 glasses
It only takes 2 tries in the Wicked ticket lottery before you win $25 front row seats on Broadway
Wicked is the most amazing show I've ever seen.
Hearing you name called in the Wicked lottery can cause a brief episode of shock
Sometimes when in search of the Gershwin Theatre, if you turn around it will be right behind you
Canal St. isn't any fun unless you follow whispering voices into small vans and walk through walls that become doors and down stairs to locked basements where you find the perfect knock-off handbag
Never pay full price on Canal St.
Century 21 after Christmas is a madhouse, but a fun shopping madhouse
Leggings can be more than just a fashion statement, when worn under jeans they keep your legs warm
Hidden in the info booth in Times Square is last years New Year's eve ball
Mine and Amelia's wishes floated down on little pieces of confetti in NYC Times Square on New Year's Eve
With map in hand the Subway is easy to navigate
Twice we were asked directions and where able to give them with confidence
If you go see Twilight for a 2nd time you might fall asleep
Amelia's balcony door, if not locked, can blow right open int he middle of the night causing whipping winds to enter the living room
It's scary to be sleeping the living room when the door blows open
Watching snow fall from the window of your train is the perfect way to to end a trip

Thank You......

To Rob for watching Sophia and letting your wife go away to NYC and spend money.

To my mother and father-in-law for watching Rob and Sophia

To Sophia for being such a wonderful girl while Mom was gone

To Amelia for being a wonderful host and playing with me in NYC

To Matt for watching the boys and letting me steal your wife for a couple of days.

As you can tell it was a fantastic trip. Amelia and I had so much fun roaming free without kids in tote. Of course the highlight of our trip was seeing WICKED!!!

Let's play again soon.

This pic is for you Steph

Pic for Rob and Matt

Pic for you Rob

1/1/09

Christmas Morning

I wish I could have gotten her face on camera when she walked out to see the tree Christmas morning. Her eyes lit up and a smile covered her face. I don't know if she knew there were toys underneath the wrapping paper, but she knew it was something new to get into. It was so much fun seeing her get excited and play with all her new toys. She also enjoyed assiting Daddy in putting batteries into her toys. Our Christmas morning was just our small, little, happy, family of 3. Later that evening Rob's parents arrived to visit with us for about a week.