Thursday, June 18, 2015
Jillian's Fabulous Fourth
Jillian turned four last week and she had an absolute blast! On her actual birthday Nina got the day off from school and we had an amazing day beginning with opening presents from lots of wonderful family members who were so thoughtful to send them to us. Then off to the best place in the universe for Nina and Jillian and our worst nightmare right now...the American Girl store! Thanks to the most generous Auntie Judi now Jillian is the proud owner of her first American Girl baby doll like Nina. We had a super fun time picking out her doll and outfits and then lunching at the cafe where the girls got to decorate their own cupcakes for dessert. She requested sushi for her birthday dinner and tore into her salmon and avocado roll. On Saturday afternoon she celebrated with her six of her friends at a salon where she had nails, hair styles and princess dresses galore! It was quite a week and she was birthday hungover for days but is still talking about all the excitement. Four is definitely her year! Enjoy all the photos.
The graduate
Nina made us so proud this June as she graduated from her preschool at the Beth Shalom congregation. We have been so grateful for the three wonderful years she has spent there and are sad to see her leave but are thrilled Jillian will follow in her footsteps and attend there next year. Nina and her class, Eitim (Eagles in Hebrew), designed their own Talit and entered singing a song and then sat in a circle and shared with us what their year encompassed. They also performed a routine to a blooming song and danced. The most special part of the night was when each child got to sit in the middle of the circle while the teachers and school director shared their thoughts and love. This is what Nina's favorite teacher said about her:
"Nina, you are wise which means that you know things not just in your head but in your whole body, including your heart. And you know things in a way that helps everyone around you. You are also always dancing!"
It was very touching and we were so proud of our amazing Nina Bug. While Nina is processing lots of emotions about leaving Beth Shalom she is getting more and more excited about Kindergarten and we are excited to start her journey at John Rogers Elementary School right across the street from our house!
Here are some photos and videos of the special evening.
Jete-ing Jillian
Jillian has loved taking ballet this Spring and has proven to be quite the talented little dancer! I recently had a chance to observe the class and take lots of photos and videos and have shared them below. She is off to ballet AND tap this summer and can't wait to show you her moves soon.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Fall shenanigans
While this Fall season was harder than usual with missing Grandma Cheryl, we tried to enjoy some of our favorite activities and cheer Mama up. We had our annual get together at Fox Hollow Farms with my PEPS group and I loved seeing all the animals and running around with my buddies that I've now know for almost five years. Mama loves seeing her mommy friends and they all get teary eyed when they think of how we are getting so big. We also hit up our favorite pumpkin patch and picked out two huge pumpkins to bring home and decorate. Poor Daddy got stuck carrying them in the rain but we loved the muddy hay ride and messy puddles to jump in! Halloween was a blast too. I was a black kitty cat and Jillian was Snow White. We had a fun party with our friends in the morning and then went trick or treating in our neighborhood in the afternoon. We filled our pumpkin buckets with tons of candy and enjoyed answering the door for the trick or treaters who came by. All in all it was a great Fall!
Thursday, October 2, 2014
A mother's love
My very first love was my mother and now I get to be Nina and Jillian's first loves. They will someday know the pain I feel now saying goodbye to that love. There is nothing that will replace the unconditional love that my mother provided me the past almost forty years. Though we had our good times and bad knowing that someone was always there to love you no matter how badly you messed up, have your back in any instance and be genuinely interested in the minute details of your life is something I will never take for granted again. My mother loved this blog and checked it incessantly, it was her doorway to her grandchildren and to my youth for which she never forgot. I dedicate all future posts to her and will deeply miss her witty comments and obvious love for her grandchildren. She had her own way of doing everything and she did it right up until the end. I miss you mom and hope you are still reading these (and correcting my grammar) from wherever you are. I will speak of you often, tell stories of our childhood and make sure those girls know how much I loved you. I ache to hear your voice one last time but can hear you saying "I love you J-belle" because you always knew how to make me feel loved.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Oregon Coast getaway
We've been back for about a month now but Mama just got time to go through all the photos from our amazing beach vacation to the Oregon Coast. It was such a wonderful trip full of memories we will never forget. We got to stay at a beautiful house just one block from the beach in Seaside, OR with Granny, Grandpa Frank, Mimi and Auntie Kerry. Jilly and I had our own room with four twin beds, tons of toys and a television! Since we woke up super early every morning Mama and Daddy caved and let us watch a bit of it while they tried to let everyone else in the house sleep a bit more.
We played a ton on the beach and got used to the "moving" water as Jilly liked to call the waves. The highlight was most definitely downtown Seaside with the carousel, bumper cars and ice cream. I was especially excited about the paddle boat and was a star peddler. We got a chance to check out Cannon Beach, which was really cool, and watch Daddy and Auntie Kerry play volleyball on the beach. It was an extremely memorable trip full of many firsts and we hope to make it a yearly tradition! Enjoy the many, many photos.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Jillian turns three
Jilly D here as I just turned three! I had such a wonderful few days celebrating my birthday. My best friends Miya and Ava started by throwing me a little party at their house since they were going to be away for my party. They were so sweet and made me a special strawberry cake and got me a beautiful butterfly Barbie doll. Then my Granny came into town and I was so happy to see her! Auntie Kerry arrived a few days later and they helped Mama and Daddy with an amazing Frozen birthday party in our backyard. The weather was beautiful and all of my friends came to bounce in a blow up princess castle with me and eat lots of yummy food and make crafts and play other games. I'm still recovering from all of the festivities and have done a really good job sharing all of my new presents with Nina. She hasn't given me much of a choice in the matter but I'm still handling it very maturely, I am three now after all.
Enjoy the photos and videos of my candle blowing experiences. I found it a little tricky so the first time Miya did it for me and the second time Mama gave me a little help.
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