2013 Catch Up

And we wrap up 2013 with some cute pics that never found their way into any of the other posts. Goodbye 2013 and Happy 2014!!!!!!!!!!!!

We start with a few pics from my birthday. I went out with two amazing ladies, Jennie and Lauren, for rooftop drinks overlooking the Manhattan skyline. The night started off rough for me because there were supposed to be more people, but nearly everyone canceled at the last minute. But I couldn't have been happier...the two who made it were the perfect girls to hang out with all night!

And now just some of girls going about their lives. :)

School friends!

Sweetheart

Mommy/Delilah date getting dumplings...one of her favorite foods!

Our first family movie night! We try to do it every Friday.

Playing "spa"!

 

 

And we end with one of my favorite pics. We often call the girls our "puppies" because they are loveable, typically intertwined, constantly eating, usually underfoot, and always adorable.

Christmas and New Year's with the Huntleys in Texas

Christmas morning was filled with the usual rush of presents and joy. Then we headed out to Dallas!

This picture was taken at the airport. We just told Delilah that Grammy Di and Papa H were also going to be in Dallas...she was clearly so excited!!!! :)

We had such a wonderful week with the Ernzens. The four cousins adore each other and play so well together that Mommy and Daddy get to hang out with the grown ups! It's always so great to hang out with Chris' family...I hit the in-law jackpot when I got married. We also celebrated NYE together and although the grandparents offered to watch the kids so that Chris, myself, Kim, and Ted could go party, we opted to stay in. We were all having so much fun together that it seemed silly to leave. Kim made a delicious champagne punch, and Ted made a delicious whisky punch and all 6 of the adults stayed up too late playing a hilarious game of Citizens Against Humanity. Haven't laughed that hard in a long time!!
Chris and I also got to see some of our best friends, Jenny & Chad, while we were in Dallas. I think it was the second time that the four of us have been out by ourselves since we had kids. So much fun!

Delilah and Pop Pop both love shrimp. She asked me to take this picture of all the shrimp she ate and send it to him.

We also went to the indoor water park Great Wolf Lodge. We stayed overnight and the girls had SO MUCH FUN playing in the wave pool and going on all the rides. They also loved the log cabin bunk beds...what a blast.

And although it's not chronologically accurate, we end with my favorite photo from the trip. Love.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Christmas Eve started off with a trip to Herald Square and Macy's! We looked at the beautiful store windows, took pictures with some favorite characters, and saw the awesome puppet show, "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Clause" for the second time. Such a magical day for all four of us!

Then we took some pics in front of our Christmas tree, both before and after receiving the annual matching pjs from Grammy Di and Papa H.

In this pic and the next one, the girls are doing something they do every time they match: they hold hands, jump and dance in a circle, while chanting, "We're twins! We're twins! We're twins!" It's even more adorable than it sounds.

I love Christmas season in NYC!!!

Mimi & Aunt Jenny!

Mimi turned 70 this year!!! Her two best presents were, in my biased opinion, from both her daughters. :)  I collected pictures and letters from everyone in the immediate family that described how we felt about Mimi--what she had taught us, our favorite memories, etc. I created a book for her incorporating all these letters and photos...she LOVED it. Can't stop talking about it and gets teary-eyed when she thinks about it. Her present from Jenny was a mother-daughter trip to NYC. They stayed with us for 3 nights, then stayed in a hotel for 3 nights. We all had SUCH a blast. It was really a perfect trip full of Broadway shows, tea at The Plaza, the perfect pastrami sandwich for Cheryl at the 3rd Ave deli, shopping, the Rockefeller tree, the Rockettes, and some of the yummiest Italian dinners I've had since I moved here.
The first three pictures are from when we went to see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. We didn't take Noelle because she's too little to sit still. So she stayed home with Daddy and had a special night of making pancakes and watching Brave...she is none the wiser of the fun her sister had and still thinks she got the better end of the deal. :)

This was Delilah's face during pretty much the entire show. She was absolutely mesmerized.

 

On our way to dinner after the show, we stopped by the Rockefeller tree!

 The four of us had dinner at a little Italian restaurant after the show, and Delilah felt so grown up. She behaved like an angel and we had a delicious meal!

This next picture was taken at The Plaza hotel. Mimi and Aunt Jenny took the girls by themselves (no parents allowed!) and they had tea, just like Eloise from the books. The girls have recently begun loving the Eloise series, so this was definitely one of the highlights of the visit. They kept saying how fancy everything was and they even spoke in fake British accents for part of the time. :)

Here they are, making their "posh face", as Delilah calls it. :)  Very fancy.

We also got a babysitter one evening so the four adults could go out. Cannon, Amy, Bryan, and Marra also gave Cheryl an incredible birthday present: 4 tickets to a Broadway show, and limo service to and from the theatre. We saw Pippin and it was another wonderful night. These next two pictures are at dinner before the show.

 

 

Aunt Jenny and Noelle in their coordinating ear warmers. Noelle loved Jenny's red one, so Jen bought her this pink one. So cute!

Finally, we end with two funny pictures of the girls. Mimi brought a ton of her fancy scarves that she knits and the girls started putting on a fashion show. So girly and fun!! 

 

Noelle is completely naked under these scarves. She kept running around like this, shouting "I'm a rock star!!"

Such a memorable trip. Happy birthday, Mimi!!!!!!!

Annual Pics!

It was hard getting our annual pictures taken this year. Between our steady stream of visitors, the unpredictable weather, and our crazy schedules, it took quite a bit of planning. They finally happened. I have to admit that it wasn't my favorite session of all the sessions we've done. I can't put my finger on why; perhaps things have just been so hectic lately that we couldn't really settle into a photo session. I will say that the black and white photo is one of my all-time favorite pictures in the whole world. That one photo made the entire session worth it.