Happy 4th, Delilah!!!!

Happy 4th Birthday, sweet Red!!!  This past week, Delilah has told anyone and everyone that her birthday is April 21st and she is going to be 4 years old.  We will have a party with friends this week, but we decided to make her actual birthday a family day.  We hopped on a bus without telling her where we were going and took it all the way to the Bronx Zoo!!!!
The walk from the bus to the front gate was only a couple minutes, but it took about 20 because Delilah just kept wandering off to pick flowers and climb on rocks.

The Bronx Zoo is enormous and basically built inside a forest.  Absolutely gorgeous.  The girls loved the animals, but I think it's safe to say that they were just happy to be out of the city and in some nature.

Somebody loves her daddy

Sweet girl

Noelle was wandering around aimlessly, when she suddenly spotted a rhino walking across an exhibit.  I have never seen her run so fast...she HAD to check out the incredible creature!

Little fox

Taking a break

Reminds me of singing to Red when she was a baby, "you are my sunshine, my only sunshine..."

This pic cracks me up.  Look at her little arms sticking out!

Delilah's favorite parts of the day were the Dora & Diego 4-D adventure, the carousel, the polar bears, the twisty slide that was inside a tree and running around like a maniac in general.  My favorite part of the day was watching our sweet daughters play and play and play together.  They get fussy with each other like any siblings, but, man, their love for each other is strong and fierce.  It is so beautiful to see.

 We finally headed home, where Noelle took a looooong nap, but somehow Red stayed up.  Too excited to sleep, I guess.  We opened presents, had dinner, and then cake. 

 After bath time, Red put on one of her presents from Aunt Kim & Uncle Ted: an Ariel spa kit consisting of mask, towel, and slippers.  How cute is she?!?!?

As she went to bed, the last thing Delilah said was, "This was my favorite day ever."
Happy Birthday, sweet girl.  You made April 21, 2008 one of my favorite days ever.  We love you.

May you always be this happy!!!!

Wordless Wednesdays: "Hey, Mom & Dad, I'm a better climber than you thought"

Happy Easter!!!

I know I've been MIA for a couple weeks, but I am back!  (Appropriate day to return, no?)  This morning we had big plans for the girls to look through their Easter baskets together, then hunt for the eggs that Mr. Bunny hid last night.  Alas, this was the first day in about a month that they haven't woken up within 15 minutes of each other.  Delilah woke up about an hour before Noelle, and trying to get her to wait was like shaking a Coke can, opening it, and then expecting it not to fizz everywhere b/c you asked it nicely to stay inside the can.  Delilah kept finding eggs, opening them, dumping out the contents, then refilling and putting the eggs back.  Finally we let her go for it and she was so very happy.  Worked out well, b/c when Noelle finally woke up, she was super excited to find Delilah's basket of eggs just waiting to be dumped out! :)

Then we headed off to church, stopping along the way to take a few pics.

 Service was lovely...NYC church services tend to be especially lovely b/c there's all that Broadway and Carnegie Hall talent just begging to be used in worship.  Afterwards, the congregation spilled onto the streets and we passed out Hot Cross Buns to anyone who wanted one.  Delilah didn't do much passing; opting instead to sit down on the pavement and eat her own. :)

And as seems to often be the case on special days: I am typing this while everyone in my home is sleeping.

Thank you, God, for your son. And thank you for filling my life with so many precious blessings.

Wordless Wednesdays: Gig 'Em!

St. Patrick's Day Fun

We had big plans to go to the infamous NYC St. Patrick's Day parade, but sometimes plans changes with two kids who are 3 & under. We started the afternoon off with lunch at our favorite child-friendly haunt, Brother Jimmy's. 



Noelle indulging in her citrus habit and Delilah indulging in her need to be in every pic

Delilah sharing mac & cheese w/ sis

Noelle stealing some ice cream

Noelle drinking a beer (kidding. kind of.)

After lunch we planned to head to the parade, but the girls were a little tired out and Red said she wanted to go home.

Of course, as soon as we passed a park, Delilah got a second wind and we spent the next hour or so playing our hearts out.  I LOVE watching our girls play together!!!

It's like she was created specifically for St. Patrick's Day.  Seriously, I birthed a leprechaun.

Hope everyone had fun and nobody got pinched!  We'll try to catch the parade next year!!

Bailey's Baptism

Last weekend, I flew to Michigan to celebrate the baptism of Kurt & Joie's youngest daughter, Bailey.  Chris & I are the godparents of Bailey's older sister, Avari, so I went as the Team Huntley representative.  I am swamped with school work, so I can not give this post the attention it deserves, but I'm afraid if I postpone writing it, it will never get written!
I flew out on Saturday morning, and returned home Monday night.  A quick trip, but absolutely lovely.  I stayed with Kurt's family and they were beyond gracious...felt like a member of the family.  Saturday night was dinner and a hockey game, Sunday was baptism and party, and Monday was traveling day.  It was an odd experience to be by myself for so long, and I tried to take advantage of it.  I adore my girls, but the ability to sit for extended periods of time and have adult conversations or read a book was quite refreshing.  And I loved getting to hang out with Kurt, Joie, Avari, & Bailey.  I hate that we are now a 4 hour plane ride away from each other instead of a 4 hour car ride.  Also had a great time with Bailey's godparents, Debbie & Chris.  We got along as though we've known each other forever.

Debbie & Chris with Bailey

Precious Bailey

The Hauschild Family of Four

Upon getting home, I walked into a spotless house. Chris & the girls were at swim lessons, and he had cleaned the whole place for me. It was so nice, but I have to admit I was almost mad at him for making it look easy...until he fell asleep at 8:45pm that night after making me promise to never leave again. :)

Wordless Wednesdays: Have You Met Linus?