Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Wishing my daddy the happiest of birthdays today! xo

A Visit With My Dad

We were blessed with a last minute visit with my Dad today. He has a job up in New Hampshire tomorrow and decided that rather than do all the travel in one day he'd come up early and spend some time with us. Grace and Emma's yoga class this afternoon meant that my Daddy and I would have the chance to visit- just the two of us. What a treat! We dropped the girls off and headed to Starbucks where a mint hot chocolate and a coffee were purchased (along with two treats), a spot was found and this gorgeous picture of my Dad was taken. We don't remember the last time it was just the two of us, but we surely enjoyed every moment of it! Thanks Daddy for coming up to visit and for a lovely afternoon at Starbucks. It is a day I shall cherish forever and always. xo

In Celebration Of Fathers

My Daddy and I in 1978.

David and his girls in 2011.  

Hard at work (with a little help from the Ponies, 2012).

"On this day we would like to acknowledge and honor all the fathers who understand the importance of their presence in a child's life. Who know that it is more than "providing" for the child. it is about being present to the everyday joys and struggles. It is about loving your children for who they are, dreaming of what they will be and accepting that the role is to guide not control. When a child has that love from a father, the world is a better place. Thank you to all the wonderful fathers we know." 

-As found on the toLabor Facebook page (toLabor is the organization I became a doula through).  

On this Father's Day I would like to take time to honor all the amazing, hands-on Dads that we are fortunate to count among our friends, but most importantly I would like to take a moment to honor my Dad and David.  Two men who are quietly strong and our biggest champions.  For without these two men life as I know it would not have been possible. It is due to their hard work and dedication to their families that we are able to live these amazing lives.  Just like the quote above says it's about being present and guiding the children to reach their ultimate potential.  And really, that sums up my Dad and David beautifully.

To David: I am so honored to get to be your wife, best friend, mother of your children and your all around partner in crime.  Thank you for all the diapers you have changed, boo-boos you have bandaged, babies (and toddlers!) you have worn, tears you have dried, mani-pedis you have given and jokes you have told.  Thank you for all the meals you have made, the dishes you have done, the stories you have read, the games you have played, the adventures you have taken and the Legos you have built.  Thank you for the laughter, love and friendship and thank you for embracing each of my ideas no matter how crunchy they are!  I am easily the luckiest girl on Earth!  XOXO

Happy Last Day, Daddy!

Friday was the end of an era.  It was David's last day working for the company that he had been with since right before we got married.  He was there for ten years, and in that time he served first as a staff therapist, follwed by a stint at the Director of Rehab to then return to working as a Physical Therapist once again. In his time there he has seen people come and go, patients pass and the building go through a total renovation.  We walked through the Land of Inferility while he was there.  He was a graduate student while he was there.  I birthed two babes while he was there.  So much has gone on in the (almost) ten years that we have been married and in the ten years that he worked there.  And now, after what, in the grand scheme of things was a relatively short job search, he will be getting ready a week from today to begin a new job full of new challenges and new adventures. 

The girls and I had been planning a celebration for him for about two weeks now.  Emma asked that we have streamers.  Grace said we needed a cake.  I decided that a banner was in order.  So on Friday, we got to work.  We decided to make our first "not from a box" cake. I had been wanting to ditch boxed cake mixes for awhile now, and it seemed like now was as good a time as any to do so.  A fitting way to celebrate the end of this era and the beginning of a next one, if you will.  We got out the Flour bakery cookbook and quickly agreed on the cake you see above (recipe found here).  While the cake was baking we got to work on the banner and streamers.  And as the cake was cooling we made the super yummy ganache (and licked the bowl clean, of course). Finally, he arrived home.  The girls hid inside the Flower Shop and jumped up and said "surprise!" as soon as he walked in.  He was super surprised by the celebration and very excited to see all we had done!  It truly was the perfect way to end this chapter and begin the next one!

Bye, Daddy

 We are entering the last week of Dave's busy holiday schedule. The last week of me living the life of a "Williams-Sonoma" widow. We have had a truly fabulous holiday season full of traditions, magic, wonder, and time spent with our dearest friends.  Each holiday season gets easier as the girls get older, with this years season being the best/easiest yet!  The one thing that we always miss though is having David here with us on the weekends. Only a few more days to go before we can rest and reconnect...

"Bye, Daddy!"

A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That

Today was one of those days where we did a little bit of everything, or at least it felt that way.

We went to dinner at with our friends from The Chronicles of Mad Molly.  

Emma decided to put her cheese cubs in my water. 

Sure, it may be gross, but she had a blast!

The girls absolutely love the ladies room at the mall. 

They love to dance under the crystal chandelier. 

While she is dancing, Emma is singing: 

"I know you" from Sleeping Beauty's Once Upon a Dream song. 

A bathroom with a fabulous crystal chandelier totally lends itself to dancing under it 

while singing that song.

Then it was time to visit Daddy.

For the past ten years, David has worked part time at Williams-Sonoma. 

It's always a treat to visit Daddy at the store.  

We had a wonderful day, full of simple adventures and good friends.
On that note, dear friends, I am going to head to bed.  

We'll see you tomorrow.