January Snapshots

Ella loves learning all recipes, but is especially serious about these family recipes Nagymama teaches her. After they made this delicious batch together, Ella went into school the next day and told her whole class that she was going to bake them apple strudel for their next special snack! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qvElB6znVE

I'm always amazed at the special ways God weaves our stories together. After Nagymama left Hungary in 1956 and was reunited with my Nagypapa, they spent some years in Germany. It was not an accident that  my four year old dad was sitting on the front stoop of their apartment building as a newly relocated family walked by speaking Hungarian (his native language). My dad ran inside to tell his mom that there was another Hungarian family in their neighborhood and that was the start of a lifelong friendship! A friendship that only grew stronger when they both relocated to New York City. The families grew up together right through my childhood.  I have great memories of playing with their grandkids at family BBQ's.

When Mama was here in January, Ilonka and her two daughters came to visit and it was a sweet reunion.

When they met Juliet, they said it was like looking at me when I was a baby. It's always fun to spend time with people who knew me when I was born. 

I loved listening to everyone reminisce about years of memories. It was a great afternoon!

After a great couple of weeks, Nagymama came down with a nasty virus. As always, Ollie was the best little buddy as she napped and recovered. 

Abby: Nagymama...you are like Bob Ross! You are our Bob Ross!
Ella: Don't stop making big beautiful strokes with your paintbrush. It's what makes a picture extraordinary.

These three spend the afternoon painting beautiful winter landscapes with lots of happy little trees!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guYZDj0iSz0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR_Er6hx3mU

Nagymama's art class 1/7/2017

We like to call this one, "Blustery New York Winter Day". (clockwise: Ella, Abby, Nagymama)

They have promised a Florida inspired masterpiece this summer. 

After lots of cold days in the house, we were all ready to get out, so we headed to the mall. Nagymama needed a new dress for an event she had coming up and there were a few little ladies who were very willing to be her fashion consultants. They helped her pick out way too many options and led her around Macy's telling her "this was definitely her color" and "I think you need something with sparkle". Then, the girls sat outside of the waiting room and critiqued each option until they picked the perfect one! :)

After our mission was complete, Abby told her daddy that she wanted to show him her favorite store (currently: Justice). As they walked around inside, Abby stopped at the accessory area and told Joe about all the earrings she would love to wear one day when she gets her ears pierced. When Abby turned five, we told her she could get her ears pierced as soon as she thought she was ready. It was her decision. She wasn't ready each time we asked her over the last two years. So, when Joe told her she could do it right then if she wanted to and she said YES, we were all surprised. Nagymama made the memory even sweeter by gifting it to her as an early birthday present. Abby was equal parts excited and hesitant, but she walked up to the counter, picked her earrings, sat bravely in her daddy's lap and got her ears pierced! She didn't even cry!

She feels so grown up and keeps tucking her hair behind her ears. As we were walking through the mall afterward, Ella said, "I can't even handle this. She is getting so big and changing so much. All of her teeth are gone and now she has earrings! My sister is growing so fast!" Ella also informed us that she will not be getting her ears pierced until she is 18.

Juliet reading with Nagymama

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upRYPb2Kdms

Thank you, Snapchat, for moments like these!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaLfXHY2PHA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6jxceYmaPY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eQ7tKvv60s

Sweet time with Mama at Dance with the Stars Live on her last night in NY. We watched the show on the same stage I graduated on fourteen years ago. It's crazy (and fun) to think about how different life is today! I'm so thankful for all the special memories we made during this visit, but I'd be lying if I pretended I didn't start missing Mama before I even got home that night.

Ella dances


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfLW7D0OZu4

My sick little baby girl just needed her mommy.

Elmo or Daniel Tiger must be on the TV.

Another man down. I don't love it when the girls are feeling awful, but I do love these moments when all they want to do is slow down, stay in their jammies all day and curl up in my lap. Oliver is just an added bonus.

Right on cue! Go Girl! (Juliet:16 months old)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFpZ_gTyQLc

Ella took a class trip to a local music school. They played instruments, learned about music notes and sang lots of songs.

Ella and her buddy, Gianna 

Juliet loved the field trip too. Especially when she got to play the drums!

 

Juliet takes first steps (1/26)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l8jzt2dqls

Juliet stands 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IuHuQ8v1MQ

Juliet "dresses herself"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8kW8wKPhkU

It's Wacky Wednesday and this girl nailed it!  

Snow days have us like... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tchq6GodZtE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmnnoKs9toM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPy2BdiUjXw

Our weekends have been filled with some fun friend birthday parties this month. 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyI2W7sUZt8

She came around the corner (because she can walk very well, but she still refuses to in a consistent way) and had this purse on her shoulder and a bracelet on her wrist! 😍😍😍

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTQHKrWZaNQ

 

Juliet loves her puppy and more specifically loves giving him open mouth kisses. Who would have thought something could be so equally adorable and gross at the same time? 😝

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUll7rUoKhw

Abby's 7th (Arty) Birthday Party!

If you know Abby, you know how much she loves to celebrate and how much she loves to bring people together for all occasions. She always finds reasons to party and plan parties. She also makes friends really easily and loves them so much, so she seriously struggles with leaving people out. This year, we broke it down into a couple of smaller gatherings that have Abby details all over them (because I get her...she's like her momma, but every party can't be huge). To celebrate with non school friends, she had a few girls over for an art party. The girls had lots of fun painting and decorating cupcakes together. Abby told me this was her favorite party yet! (She says that every year!)  

Each girl had a canvas and painted her own variation of a flower garden. It was fun to see how each person creatively interpreted the task!

Lots of colors everywhere

A rainbow of snacks (including a colorful fruit and veggie platter, rainbow goldfish, cheese/crackers/pepperoni, popcorn and my personal favorite: rice krispie treat paintbrushes)

Our happy birthday girl!

Seven years old and so much to celebrate in this beautiful life God has entrusted to us!

Sisters make celebrating even better.

This is what seven, four and one looks like!

A room full of lovely artists

When they were done with their canvases, the girls moved on to frames.

A few of the finished products 💜💙💚

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTD43ZQKf4U

To celebrate with family, we had Abby's Taco Night Fiesta (also known as Sunday dinner with a twist). On her actual birthday, she celebrated with her class and Troll cupcakes! Each little party was different, yet "so Abby"! Birthday weeks are so much fun! I love knowing these are her childhood memories.

Mystery Reader

I think it's safe to say Abby's day was made when she was invited to be the mystery reader for a class of Pre-K students in her school. If you ask her, she would be quick to tell you that she is going to be a teacher when she grows up...making this moment a seven year old dream come true!

 

When Grandma asked her if she was nervous while she was up there, she laughed.
"No! Why would I be?"
Yup. That pretty much sums up her confidence any time she is put in the front of a group and asked to lead/teach.

Love this girl and her heart!

Cheers to 2017!

It's been years since we've been in my hometown to celebrate a holiday at "home", so we were excited about our plans to spend New Year's together at Papa's house. We started the party early with Hibachi.

It's crazy to think about, but the last time we were at this Hibachi restaurant, it was for my 8th birthday (i think), which means Cory was about Juliet's age!

The girls were stylin' in their 2017 headbands.

Trying to decide what she should order... 😆

The ladies! 💜

We were thoroughly entertained all evening, both by our chef and the people at the table next to us.

They don't look alike or anything...

I don't know whose face is better....Mama's or Juliet's?

After dinner, we headed back to the house for a night of games and dessert. The girls were hilarious while we were playing Hedbandz, both because they were up way past their bedtime and because Nagymama couldn't figure out that she was a tractor! At about ten, we realized the girls weren't going to make it to midnight, so we decided it was probably a good idea (and necessary) to get the girls to bed. Thanks to the geniuses at Netflix who created kids New Year's Eve countdowns, we pulled out the glow sticks, noisemakers, sparkling grape juice and fancy glasses two hours early and cheered in the new year together. The joy on their faces was the best! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SjPwax_CRc

After the "cheers" and on their way to bed, we headed outside with confetti poppers and let loose on Papa's driveway! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qniGYmdzUiM

It was the perfect way to end the night. The girls were so tired, but so overtired that we knew either daddy or mommy were going to have to get in the middle or they would never go to bed. Joe laid down and the girls were asleep in two minutes. They were excited to have a sleepover with Nagymama in her room. Joe and I were down the hall with Juliet. My dad was downstairs. We told the girls to come to us if they woke up in the night. Ella woke up coughing and Mama woke up to help her, but Ella said she was fine and closed her eyes, so Mama went back to sleep. My favorite was learning in the morning that after Ella couldn't fall back to sleep, she just went downstairs to Papa and snuggled with him for a while. Eventually she ended up in bed with us until the morning, but I love knowing she went to Papa first. 

The next morning, the girls watched cartoons in their favorite chair. We ate a special Papa's house breakfast and then went to play in the park for a bit. Nagymama cooked a Hungarian New Year's Day lunch before we loaded up and headed home. It was a really special way to start the new year!

I'm always sad to see the holiday season go, but once I get over my weepy nostalgia and pack up all the decorations, I'm all about New Year's Day. I'm just a sucker for fresh starts! January 1, 2017: New year, new beginning! Looking into the new year with purpose, hope and gratitude.