PARTY TIME!

The new house has officially been broken in for parties and we certainly started things off with a bang.  Hannah's 3rd Birthday Party was a great success and we hope to have many many more parties in our new home!  All of the kids had a blast and it was really nice to have so much room to entertain for a change.  Rob and I both marveled at how much easier the process was.  Riley had so much fun that she has already sent out invitations for her birthday party in April!  Everyone was beyond generous not only with housewarming gifts and presents for the birthday girl but also with helping to set up and clean up the food!!  We can't thank you all enough!  We've been waiting a long time to be able to throw the kind of party we've always wanted to and it's so satisfying to finally have done it.  Here's to many more!!

Surprise!

Last weekend we drove to Vienna,VA for Aunt Renee's baby shower!  We had a great time and are very excited that our new cousin will soon be here.  Riley and Hannah particularly loved swimming in the hotel pool.  Summer can't come soon enough.  On the drive home, we stopped off in Wilmington,DE to have a reunion with Hannah's friends from China and their parents.  Lily and Bella are getting so big and they all had fun playing and eating together.  I'm so glad that we are able to get together with them every 6 months or so.  Now, we're gearing up for the first big party at our new house this coming Saturday.  Hannah's birthday celebration continues...

Hannah can see!!!

Just as many of us have suspected, Hannah is near sighted like her Mommy.  Yesterday, she received her first pair of eyeglasses and she loves them!  They are Disney Princess "Snow White" glasses and they came with a little pink pocketbook.  Hannah ate it all up.  She can't wait to show Daddy tomorrow when he is finally home from England!  I, for one, am so relieved that she can finally see the world around her and also, that her time in China will truly be a blur.  :)  Yea Hannah!

Happy 3rd Birthday Hannah/Happy Chinese New Year!!

What a very fun day was had today!  Hannah lived it up at her very favorite place to be - Miss Stacey's music class, then on to chores with Mom made much more exciting than usual by the addition of the normally off-limits lollipop at the bank and Hannah's first ever "own cart"(kid sized) at Adam's Market.  She's been yearning for to push that thing for a long while and now that she's 3, look out shoppers' ankles!! Here she comes.  She did run pretty hard into a fur wearing older woman and the old animal activist in me was secretly pleased.  On to pick up Chinese food in honor of the Year of the Ox and then home to see Daddy off to England.  (Rob's working on another Scooby-Doo tour over there).  A quick nap in the car and then some Dora TV time, of course.  To top it all off, Grandma and Grandpa came over to partake in the Chinese food and brought with them the family fave- the Carvel ice cream cake.  A perfect birthday, I'd say.  Enjoy the pix.  Happy birthday cutie banana.

THE NEW HOUSE!!

Wow-

It's been a busy month and a half.  We moved on my 40th birthday (not the day I had in mind but nice to get a big house as a present).  The weather promptly decided to dump snow, snow and more snow on us, so my parents' housewarming gift of a snowblower could not have been more perfect!  We managed to get a Christmas tree in time for the big day and enjoyed our first holiday in our new digs.  We feel like the house is our new full time job (as I'm sure every new homeowner does) and spend every weekend at Home Depot one day/painting,unpacking,putting furniture together the other.  It's great, though.  The extra space seems ridiculously large - I'm loving it.  More than that, the kids can jump, run and be loud without my constant worry that they're disturbing the neighbors.  BIG RELIEF!  We really are blessed to be here.  My very favorite part of this new living space is the view we have out the back of it - it's truly spectacular especially at sunset. Oh and also I could not love the school bus picking Riley up more.  I can ease into my day :)   The time since we've moved in has flown and I cannot believe that Hannah's 3rd birthday is tomorrow! She is now in her "big girl bed"! (She finally realized that she could jump out of that crib).   It is a happy new year.

THE BIG MOVE

Just a heads up to all our family and friends that we will be moving this weekend! (I've still got loads of time to shop for Christmas gifts, right?) Our new house is amazing and Riley is very excited to finally be able to ride the school bus every day.  Boy, is she in for some disappointment.  Her own room will more than make up for it.  So, it looks like Santa Claus will be able to come down an actual chimney to give the girls their gifts this year and I can't think of a better 40th birthday present for me!  Here's hoping Hannah will actually be able to sleep in her new room.  She's always been fine when we've traveled and stayed in hotels, so I'm feeling optimistic. Keep your fingers crossed that the next 5 days go really smoothly!  Enjoy some pix from when we first looked at the house back in September!

20 more days...

Santa Claus came to town tonight and the gals were jazzed!!  They bundled up, walked down to the Hudson, got their hot chocolate, listened to Christmas carols and finally, after the tree was lit, the big fat red man arrived bearing candy canes. (Hannah's favorite part)  I love the little village I live in so much on nights like tonight.