Thomas!

My friend and I took our girls to see Thomas the Tank Engine, for his limited visit on the Nene Valley Railway today. Early on, we really encouraged her to like Thomas - kids get into what you yourself get excited about, for the most part. Anyway, I wanted her to subtly know she could like a "boy" thing.

So this early encouragement probably explains why she loves taking the train - be it the underground (subway), trolly, or tram. In fact, our trip to the London aquarium was interrupted multiple times by requests to go back the "the track." As in, "Mama, when are we going back to the track?" 

She has already learned that the journey itself is just as good (maybe better) than the destination.

As she retold the tale of Thomas to Pedro this evening, she reminded him that Thomas is a "really useful engine." Of course, I had to tell her to stop causing "confusion and delay" this morning as we were trying to jet out of the house. She didn't get my joke.

It was a fun morning for all.

3rd Birthday!

 Isabella turned three last week! Look at her go on her new scooter! She also got a fish tank! We put it in her bedroom and she absolutely loves it. This is year she was showered with all kinds of cool toys from her friends and family - we are very fortunate for such generosity and thoughtfulness. She's got lots of new art supplies, books, and cute outfits and accessories to last her the next year.

A few days later, we had her Peppa Pig themed party at our village hall. It was a smallish affair, only eight kids (most kids parties we go to have up to 20!), but the decibel level was pretty high! I worried that the kids wouldn't have enough to do, but those worries were totally unfounded. They all went nuts. I am starting to think that Isabella may be an introvert, like me, because at one point she got into one of the tents with some stuffed animals and started playing by herself. If there is a lot going on, she does tend to withdraw from the action - I am hoping that she doesn't become super-shy like I was. 

Her party was also meant to be a dress-up party, as in re-use your Halloween costume - but Isabella didn't want to put hers on! And the rest of the kids abandoned theirs shortly after walking in the door. Isabella had a robot costume that was FUNNY! Hopefully, I can get a  photo of her in it before she can no longer squeeze into it - her legs are growing miles a day.

Happy 3rd Birthday, my Sweet!

November and December

We have been so busy lately, it's hard to keep up with everything. Ever since the vacation and cruise in Puerto Rico I have been playing a big game of catch-up. Catching up with projects, catching up with Christmas, with friends, with family...and someone is always inadvertently left out. I remember hearing my mom complain that there weren't enough hours in the day and I'm afraid that I'm saying the same things now. As a "stay-at-home mom", I feel this shouldn't be so. Most days, I feel like I'm working full-time with a 15 tasks going at once. And yet, when someone asks me what I do....I never know quite what to say.

So here I am, playing a bit of catch-up from the past few months.

Our trip to the Caribbean was wonderful. We were celebrating our ten-year anniversary and decided we wanted to include as much family as could be there. We did a cruise with my mom and her partner Steve, Pedro's parents, and my cousin Dennis and his fiancée. By day we relaxed, and by night we relaxed too - so I guess it's the universe piling all the stuff on me now to balance out all the relaxation I had then. The food, the sun, the people - everything went off without a hitch and we discovered that a cruise is a really great way to get together with family. After the cruise, my mom and Steve stayed four more days in PR since she had never visited the island before. So we did all the rounds to Pedro's family, introduced them to my favorite Puerto Rican dishes, and showed them some of our favorite beaches.

There are a lot of really great things to say about this trip, but since a picture is supposed to be worth a thousand words, I made you a video. Enjoy - and please leave a comment if you watch it - I'd love to hear what you think.




XO

April