Happy Easter!

Simone had a super surprise for Easter this year.  She was expecting Grammy and Pop to join us for the weekend, but she didn't know they were bringing her cousin Seleste -- and that changed everything!  She had a playmate for all the things that make Easter special, and she loved it. 

At Easter brunch.

Decorating Easter eggs on Good Friday -- in princess costumes, of course!

 The flashlight Easter egg hunt in our backyard....

A pose with Pop.  Grammy made matching pink nightgowns for both girls AND their bitty baby dolls.  Too cute.

 Getting the basket blessed on Holy Saturday.

Simone's Easter basket.  The bunny brought a fishing pole for the contest in May.  Simone can't wait to catch her first fish.

Both girls in their Easter best.

Beverly (the restaurant owner) had her staff hide eggs especially for Simone and Seleste to hunt for while we waited for brunch to be served.

A shot of yummy.

And finally... some hugs with Grammy.  The girls were so busy playing with each other all weekend that hugs were few and far between.  Grammy stole most of them!

Spring Is On The Way...

With Easter a little early this year, our community egg hunt happened today before any of the cherry blossoms or any other signs of spring arrived.  Gotta admit that it didn't feel quite right, but at least it got us starting to think about Easter. 

 Simone made us super proud of her kindness and generosity at the event.  Unlike just about all of the other kids, Simone adhered strictly to the 10 eggs per child rule despite seeing other kids' baskets filled to the brim. Then, as we were walking away, she noticed a toddler who had no eggs in her basket and she reached down and put three of her eggs into the little girl's basket.  It was so sweet.  She does indeed have a kind heart.

She then politely waited her turn to touch the animals at the petting zoo.  The bunny was her favorite.

It was a very nice morning.  Although it was overcast, the temperature was mild and the rain held out until after we were through.  We are definitely ready for spring.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Simone has been preparing for Tony's birthday for several weeks, and it finally arrived. To celebrate, we had dinner at Ford's Fish Shack, and then came home for cake and presents.  Simone worked very hard to make it special, as well as keep all the plans a secret.  She also Skyped her cousins in to sing happy birthday to daddy.  And, in addition to several homemade drawings and cards, she made this very special video as a present for Tony.  He totally loved it and wanted to share it with all of you.

Yes, for those who notice, the hat is all disheveled because mommy dug it out of daddy's closet and couldn't figure our how to put it together. Hence, it's kind of just hanging there. LOL! 

And speaking of hats, Simone also made a birthday crown for daddy-- a requirement for any proper birthday party, of course.

and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

 Well, we ended our holidays with great merriment.  Over the weekend we got more snow.  And although it was too powdery for snowmen, there was plenty enough for some very fun sledding.  It didn't take long to get a good track going and Simone and her cousin Jack were off!

Tony in his most dreaded state ...snow. But don't let him fool you,  he had tons of fun too.

Sledding was super fun and had it not been for a minor crash on the last run, I'm not sure we would have ever convinced the kids to come in.  They just couldn't get enough.

And for the grand finale...  we rang in the new year with a quiet day/night at home.  During the late afternoon we had a New Year's Rockin Eve Junior party with sparkling cider and a masquerade freeze dance contest for the kids.  

And later that night we spent the evening with a small group of family -- snacks, cocktails, and conversation, reminiscing about times gone by.  Simone made it all the way to midnight because she wanted to take a picture of the ball dropping in Times Square on her ipad.  And she was successful indeed.  

GOODBYE 2012, Here we go 2013!!!!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

We have had an amazing Christmas week, and it's not over yet.   But the photos are piling up so I thought I'd post what we've done so far.  It has been nothing short of perfect for Simone--just about her every Christmas wish has come true.  Today she asked me if we were going to come back to Grammy's next Christmas, just to make sure this wasn't a one time shot.  lol!  

When we arrived last Saturday, Simone wasted no time meeting up with her cousin Madalyn and baking cookies.

The next day, we took a trip to a German Christmas market with Gram and Pop and her cousin Kamryne.

Tony asked Santa for this hat.  He did not get it. 

Simone and Madalyn met St. Nick at the Christkindlmarkt.  He was particularly sweet and spent loads of time talking to them.

Afterwards, the girls came home to another treat -- Operation Santa Claus.

Then the heart of it all...

Christmas Eve before mass.

And Christmas morning opening Santa presents. Simone only asked for 4 things this year -- one of them was her very own suitcase.  Santa brought her a very fashionable Paris suitcase and Simone can't wait to go!

But here was the big moment.... We woke up to a white Christmas.  We only got about 2 inches, but it was wet and packable, so Pop brought Simone outside to build a Christmas morning snowman.  She was deliriously thrilled.  She's been waiting for snow all year.

After they built the body, off they went into the forest to cut branches for the arms....

 AND VOILA!!!... the masterpiece.  Pop had to bribe Simone to come back inside after such fun.

The next day we got a little more snow, so our frosty got a fresh coat of frost.

We were lucky though that the snow was modest because it let us to hit the road for a daytrip to New York.  First stop -- Angelina Ballerina Holiday Musical.  No cameras allowed in the show, but Simone loved it.

Grabbed some lunch at a great little Thai place.  Simone enjoyed the lemongrass soup and drunken noodles.

 Then we hit the subway downtown to take a peek at the 911 Memorial.  It was an incredibly powerful place.  Extremely well done.  We look forward to going back in the summertime to see the park in bloom.

Tony explained to Simone the meaning behind the 911 memorial in very simple terms.  She seemed to grasp it.

We couldn't leave Manhattan without giving Simone the tour, so...

On Wall Street in front of the NY Stock Exchange.

Tony discovered where Ohio was created. Oh happy day.

Swung by Grand Central Station 

The Chrysler Building

The Empire State lit up for the season.

And, of course, Rockefeller Center to see the tree and ice skaters.

Finally, Simone loved the light show displayed on the Saks building.

Ahhh... I just love Christmas and this has been a remarkably good one.  I think they just keep getting more and more fun as Simone grows a little more each year. It will be sad to see the holidays end, but for now, we'll continue to savor the remaining moments.