Brunch at American girl doll cafe

I often forget what a fabulous life my little girls live here in the city. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't pause and think about how much I love this time in our lives. The city has lots of lovely qualities, but I am not unaware of its hardships either.

Today we had a 'it's good to be a city kid' kind of day. Elle has a buddy with a close birthday so her mom and I decided to take the girls out together and have brunch at the American girl doll cafe on 5th avenue. It is 3 floors of little girl heaven. The brunch was fun and the girls were enjoying every moment. I have to say their favorite part was window shopping the three floors after brunch though. They were like hummingbirds zipping from one exciting outfit to the next great accessory. I love her excitement, and her enthusiasm. She took home a catalog and collected little slips of paper to take home and show dad. She was so fun to watch.

Decorate your own cake party

We decided to have a party every other year for Elle. This year we did a 'decorate your own cake party'. We played 'pin the decorations on the cake (Elle's idea!), charades, decorated cakes, had pizza and plates with presents. I stayed up until 1:00 am making 14 mini 6" round cakes and 32 cupcakes (also had cupcakes in class today). I used 3 lbs of butter, almost an entire giant size bag of powdered sugar from costco and 18 eggs. It was nuts. Even though it was crazy getting it all ready, she loved it and was thrilled with how it turned out. 

I am so grateful for her fun attitude. It made the party a great time. I also love that Elle included Seraphina in everything! She could have pushed her to the side, instead she pulled up a chair for her. I have so much to learn from this sweet 6 year old. 

Playschool Olympics

Seraphina is a part of a little playschool. Our friend hosted the other day and put together a wonderful playschool centered around the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. 

She made a torch and each kid received a cookie good medal for riding down the 'bobsled'. 

Elle is 6

Elle is 6!

I can't believe my sweet girl is 6 years old . It seems like just the other day I was bringing her home from the hospital. 

Elle just started her spring semester of kindergarten. She is smart, funny, kind and loving. She has improved dramatically in her reading and has started enjoying doing math with Dad. She is the best example of a big sister. She is so patient and loving with Seraphina and is always quick to help entertain her. 

She loves reading the pig and elephant books, fancy nancy, Elmer, the magic tree house and anything about animals.

Her favorite color is pink.

She wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up.

She wrote her first talk and have it in primary two days after her birthday on agency.

For her birthday she wanted to find a pet store where we could take out the puppies and play with them.

She is a total gem and we love her so much!

And so we meet again, old friend

Here we are nearly two years later and I am finally posting something. I no longer have pressure to provide valuable content for my family that once read this, instead I am using this as a journal of sorts. 

Today we had a good 8" - 10" of snow. It was really lovely and so far untouched by the dogs and dirt that will inevitably destroy the beautiful white snow. Mathew took a call on our walk to the park and the girls sled, built snowmen and made snow angels for over an hour. We had a great time!

Also, Mathew surprised Elle today and picked her up from school and pulled her home in a sled!

Haw Par Villa

Haw Par Villa was an interesting adventure. It is a Chinese mythological theme park in Singapore. The park has over 1,000 statues and 150 giant dioramas depicting scenes from Chinese folklore, legends, history and illustrations of various aspects of Confucianism. The attractions include statues of the Laughing Buddha and the Goddess of Mercy.

The kids loved it, because they were able to climb all over the statues.

A little piece of home