These Holidays

Sometimes it is hard to find a picture or a thought that I want to share, but this was too precious to keep to myself. XMAS is so magical for Zelda. She wakes up SO excited. There is an advent calendar to open, days on the calendar to count, an Elf to visit in the kitchen and maybe new presents to ask Santa for. This past weekend it snowed and after a morning full of sledding (by herself!) we had hot cocoa and sat by a warm fire. We talk a lot about what Santa likes to eat for breakfast and when Zelda will get to go to the North Pole. She is adamant we not have a fire on XMAS eve, Santa's bottom may land on the hot ashes! I love her enthusiasm and I am so hoping she has a wonderful XMAS day.

This Girl

I am so in love with this little lady. I keep calling her my 2 year old, forgetting that she still has 4 months to go before she actually is 2! Hazel seems so grown up to me. Her favorite word is, 'mama' but she also loves to say, 'Zelda', 'walk', 'gummy' and 'water'. She is feisty and loves wrestling with Zelda and Portia first thing in the morning. Outside she climbs right up the ladder to the monkey bars and really wants to swing across them. Climbing and dancing are her two favorite things. If you say the word dance she starts a little jig with lots of hand clapping and low knee bends until she falls on her bottom and starts to laugh. Hazel is so warm, so cuddly and so so sweet.

Just Hanging Out in Our Bathrobes

These three are always on the run. I am terrible at getting pictures that resemble anything but I thought these perfectly captured our evening last week. Zelda, Portia and Hazel all become very giddy after a warm bath. I have to chase after them to get their pajamas on and their teeth brushed. They are all over the house. Usually they collapse in front of the sofa and if I let them we watch an episode of Gumball (which I love... it's so weird).

Our August

A first time visit from the tooth fairy... $10 (spent on something called Nums Nums from the local kids store).
Soccer camp, tennis camp.
Long walks to the town pool with stops for sunscreen at the side of the road.
Hot dogs and ice cream from local snack bars.
Late bedtimes, early mornings, middle of the night diaper changes.
Watching Olympics, Pet Palace, The Secret Life of Pets and Finding Dory.
Slowly making our way through the never ending list of household tasks.
Playing with Hazel as she learns to run, jump and attempt jumping jacks.
Marveling at how such a very pale family becomes so tan so quickly. 
Tucking in two tired girls in their bunk beds after days spent outside.

 

Up a Tree

Summer time has been outside time. Climbing trees, swimming and long walks. I don't want it to end. None of us do.

July

July is hot. Somehow I thought being in the suburbs for summer might alleviate the heat a bit, it does not. Every afternoon these three come home with pink cheeks and sweaty brows like they have just run miles. Our afternoons are spent at the playground, where Zelda makes up games about where she is driving in her play car and who her new family is. Portia plays with Zelda until she decides she doesn't want to play the sister or mom anymore. Then she heads to the monkey bars and does her best to get across (almost there!). Hazel is everywhere. Stealing other kids snacks, sliding down the slide, running away, singing to herself. She is so entertaining and so busy sometimes I forget how hot it is.

What We Have Been Up To...

Laughing. Zelda loves funny faces, funny pictures and funny jokes. Yesterday we took a long walk and when both her sisters fell asleep in the stroller we shared chocolates and told each other jokes. 

Playing with citrus at school. Portia has just gotten into painting, drawing and reading. 

A little bite of chocolate turned into a big mess.

A Little Update

Every so often I look over at Hazel and she is upside down again. She finds it very funny but she finds most things funny. The funniest to her is when Zelda or Portia pretends to fall down. She adores them. Both of her sisters are very sweet to her. Occasionally Portia will knock her over or grab something out of her hand, but overall they are way nicer to her than they are to each other. Her new favorite activity is to empty the kitchen cabinets of all the pots and pans. Or she gets into the cereal and feeds Hugo the Cheerios. Hazel thinks all food is for Hugo and he loves that. They follow each other around and only sometimes does she pull his tail. I'm not sure if she thinks she is a dog or a little girl maybe she thinks she is both!

Play Time

All three of these girls play together now! Hazel has no idea what is going on most of the time, but she runs (walks really) after Portia and sometimes the two big ones slow down and roll around with her. The other afternoon Zelda played a little game of peek a boo with Hazel. Portia crawled around pretending to be a kitty. There is a lot of kitty in our house.. a lot. They also play mom, Zelda is usually the mom and tells Portia that she is busy but will help her in a minute. Teacher is another big game right now. Zelda is the teacher and she chastises her students for speaking out of turn. It's all very entertaining.

The girls had a beautifully busy weekend. In the city, out of the city, at home, playing at playgrounds, having play dates, making art work, eating ice cream, sleeping, napping and swinging. These first few weeks of nice weather are such a sweet time for us. They completely exhaust themselves. One moment they are galloping around the room and the next they are asleep in their chair. Their enthusiasm for everything is so contagious. I love it (and them).

April with these Little Ladies

 "Mom, after school we need to do 4 activities. Write them down. I need to make ice pops in ice cube trays, I need to play Queen with Portia, I need to paint a picture for a friend and I need to have a picnic." Zelda keeps us busy. Somehow I did write it all down and the ice pops were surprisingly delicious.

Always happy to be included. The tiny ice cream cone from Trader Joe's almost seems like it was made just for my littlest lady. Hugo likes to think it's his treat and sometimes he gets a bite or two. 

"Momma, this is my new dress." She tried to bring it home. Portia has such a great imagination and such spirit.

Round Here

Licking the bowl. Portia is always after something sweet. She is constantly looking for chocolate or lollipops. 

 So many teeth!! My little lady is like a rabbit, chewing everything. She especially likes Portia's nose and sometimes Portia even lets her do it (I would never)!

Zelda is so grown up. Always a big help with Hazel and Portia. She is so good with any task I give her and likes to feel important. Night time is tricky these days. Zelda is super scared of zombies and ghosts. I try so hard to convince her they are not real, but she does not believe me.

Just Happy

I don't mean to post so often about happiness, but it is the first word that comes to mind when describing this little lady she is pretty incredible. I could watch her all day long. She is just happy, so happy to hang out, go on an adventure, do the laundry, drink milk, eat oatmeal. Everything is so exciting. Sometimes we call her the Hazel monster she has such a big strut and makes so much noise for someone so little. I can hear her stomping all over the house. Hazel is constantly talking to herself. In the morning she has a little conversation all alone and gradually starts to complain and cry when she wants her milk. Her face lights up when she sees her sisters and she calls both girls, Zelda. Her favorite family member may be the dog though, she can't get enough of him. It's nice he could use the extra attention.

Hazel

She is 1! My littlest lady of Larchmont is now officially no longer a baby. We haven't had a party yet, or even a cake but we will have a tiny celebration over Easter weekend. She is a really fun little girl. These are some of the things she is good at:

Walking!!! Hazel can take a few steps and I am so proud.
Dancing, I can't sing to her before she goes to bed. She starts to hum and shake trying to dance to my lullaby. This little lady loves music. 
Laughing, everything is funny to this one year old and she has a deep belly laugh that is totally contagious.
Not napping. Hazel likes to skip her afternoon naps (but then she goes to bed at 6:30pm, not so bad really.)
Eating everything. By everything I mean chalk, play dough, markers, playing cards, crayons, socks, everything is in the mouth.
Doors: she can open and close doors all day long. Sometimes her little fingers get stuck and they turn purple but there are no tears, she is tough cookie.
Stairs. I am always chasing after her when she starts up those stairs. Hazel is too fast.

We love you Hazel. Happy Birthday!!!

Happiness is...

These are just a couple of pictures from our weekend outing to Williamsburg. Brooklyn Bowl was a big hit. There was a little bit of bowling, a little bit of beer and lots of dancing around in the dark.

Getting Cozy

Last weekend we went walking to our favorite spot, the rocks down by the beach. All 3 girls managed to stay awake until we got there. Then, Portia and Hazel fell sound asleep and Zelda almost did. It's almost like they are perpetually tired. Put them in some moving vehicle with a blanket and they are out, but put them in a bed in the dark, at night (even at 9pm at night after a super long day of soccer, swimming and running around) and they think it is play time. Tell them to, 'go to sleep' and that's it they definitely won't do it. Last night Zelda was up until 10pm telling me where she likes to keep her boogers when she doesn't have a tissue. Apparently she has multiple spots around the house, be careful if you come to visit.

February Break

 Mad, mad and mad. She had a tough week with ear infections and strep throat. She spent a lot of time yelling at me and Zelda.

February break started on Monday and the last five days have been filled with a whole lot of fighting and yelling. Portia is in her literal stage. A pen is a pen is a pen. Zelda, though is in her imaginative stage (is that a thing??) and a pen is a magic wand, a microphone and sword. They have a hard time working out how to play house. 

Standing on her own these days. Lots of tiny steps and lots of falls but she doesn't stop. Any day she will be taking her first steps.

Sickness and Teething and Shopping and Sleeping

Hazel's working on her 4th tooth! She tried so hard to stay happy and smiley, but sometimes her gums hurt too much and she gets whiny and has to chew on something. Her favorites are the stair banister, pizza crusts and Zelda's toes. Lately she has been waking up in the middle of the night for a couple of hours (we have been watching some late night TV together. Yesterday we started the OJ Simpson mini series) and then she gets so tired in the afternoon she will fall asleep before I can even put her in her bed.

Zelda has been taking loads of selfies these past two weeks. She is getting really into it.

Portia may be my favorite shopping partner. She is so good at picking out what we need. We say hi to all the lobsters and pick out our favorite cakes. Our favorite stores are the ones with the little shopping carts so she can shop and check out on her own.

Getting wrapped up and cozy for our morning walks this winter has meant lots of sleepy strolls. Even Zelda will nod off for a few minutes while we walk to or from town.

We had numerous trips to the doctor last week for each girl. There were ear infections, sore throats and heavy coughs. We got loads of medicine and lots of good books and movies. Hopefully we are done with being sick for awhile. 

Recently

The first snowfall of 2016 brought big smiles to this girls face. I was inside with Hazel while Zelda made snow angles with her little sister. I was so impressed the two spent almost 2 and a half hours outside eating, sledding and building forts. They came inside only when it was time for hot cocoa and board games in front of the fire.

This little baby is becoming less and less of a baby every day. Hugo is always by her side and together they do laps up and down the living room. Both on all fours. Hazel is always dirty, her cute cheeks are always covered in marker or pureed squash. She constantly chases after her sisters and tries to grab whatever they are playing with. That usually means a little push, a shove or foot in the face but it doesn't deter her. She falls and then gets right back up. Nothing keeps her down. 

This little lady lives for ballet. The music, the mirror and the stories. Each week her ballet class listens to a story and then they act it out. So far she has been Pinocchio, Cinderella and the Snow Queen. Then the two of us go out for lunch (coffee for me and grilled cheese for Portia). I always ask her what the story was and she always says, Frozen. I'll let you know if it ever actually is Frozen.

The Snow is Coming

I'm looking forward to cozy fires this weekend and building snowmen in our front yard. The girls have all their winter gear and even though it takes us about 30 minutes to put it all on they are happy to play outside for hours in the cold.

January 2016

Winter has finally come, it even snowed a little this morning. It's been nice to have such warm weather but I am ready for the cold. The girls and Peter have been getting their winter gear on and they head out every weekend morning on a walk to the water. Even if it is raining. They also do lots of ice skating. The girls can go around the rink on their own now. It's so cute they try to walk on the ice. I sit and watch with baby Hazel hoping they don't fall on their bottom but they almost always do and that's cute too.

This week has been a whirlwind. There was the morning I woke up early to make sure all the kids lunches were packed first thing so we weren't late to school only to have Portia find them, unpack them and feed them to the dog. There was the morning I thought I had found a reliable car pool only to realize they had probably forgotten Zelda when no one had come 3 minutes before school was supposed to start. There was the morning Portia had a momentous tantrum and refused to walk Zelda to school and I had to have the crossing guard watch her while I took Zelda to her classroom. I have also discovered that if you look like you are struggling in the morning some nice parent may take pity on you and offer to pick up your kids that afternoon. I just need to make sure they remember. :)

XMAS Isn't Over in Larchmont

The girls discovered Rudolph this holiday season. They are in love. We break into the song randomly and there are lots of requests to watch the movie. Our tree is still up and I have a feeling there will be some tears when we take it down. XMAS is 2015 was all about decorating, hanging the ornaments and picking out a wreath for our front door. The girls had sparkling apple cider XMAS eve and left snacks out for Santa. XMAS morning was a little confusing (Santa had forgotten to put candy canes in the girls stockings, oops!) but everyone was excited to read Santa's note remarking on how well all 3 little girls get along. Overall, a very merry XMAS.