Grandparents are special people

Our kids adore their grandparents. And, they have good reason to do so. Gigi, Papa, Grandma & Grandpa return the favor with great devotion and loads of affection. Unwavering love and an abundance of indulgence...what lucky and cherished children. Do they know how blessed they are? Yes, I believe they do. It is at some point during each and every day that Zachary, Ellie or Avery will mention at least one of the grandparents by name. We are constantly reminded of the characteristics, details, stories, lessons, memories, gifts, conversations, or notes, that these special people are famous for. Our children remember it all. Precious, in the eyes of the beholders.

A mere "Thank you" hardly seems to do justice for the steady stream and never ending supply of love and support. But, I'll say it anyway...Thank you.

We had a fantastic time with grandma a few weeks ago. Thanks for the visit. We missed you, Grandpa!

P.S And, now that dance class has started Avery says a happy "thank you" to Gigi every day.

My American Doll

We enjoyed our special visit to the American Girl Place. Avery was giddy with anticipation. In the Land of Make Believe this is a little girls palace! Three floors of pure delight for you and your doll. Everything you can imagine or pretend is here for your little dreamer. Excitement abounds and the energy of preschoolers is felt all around. Avery was especially eager to get Lucy's hair done at the hair salon (or wait, was that me?) I fell in love with the salon.

Avery chose to have Lucy's hair styled in pigtails with big bows...just like her own.

We shopped. and shopped. Avery was a particular little customer while deciding on which outfits would be a perfect fit for Lucy. Avery loves purple. So does Lucy. She settled on a purple dress, black purse, watch, pearl neckless, purple bow, and barrettes. Accessories complete an outfit and add hours of good 'ol fashion play time. But, her favorite purchase of the day was the "injury cares" kit, which includes: crutches, leg and arm cast and ace bandage.

We ate. Actually, we experienced. The American Girl Cafe. First and foremost this is a cafe for little girls and their dolls, so Lucy had her own chair at our table. She was offered up a spot of "tea" and Avery tended to her needs throughout the meal. Pink lemon aide, fruit pinwheels, mini-cini buns. Then on to the main dish. Finally, flower" pudding" pots, and shiny, sparkly pink treats end our meal. Each and every princess here is given this dessert. As luck would have it, we were treated to the best table in the house; a window seat overlooking the Magnificent Mile.

I'll never forget...

Being up above and enjoying the view, we pointed out down below a horse drawn carriage to Avery. My favorite moment of the day comes next. Without a second to waste Avery tenderly turned Lucy's head towards the window so she to could see the carriage.

After lunch we made a few final purchases, sat down in a lobby-ish area, played for a minute before venturing on back to our hotel. It was time to go. Hail a cab. Catch the train. Back in the suburbs and only minutes from jumping into the soothing hot tub. Perfect end to a perfect day. Thanks Gigi for making this special trip possible. Thanks Avery for brightening our day with your American girl smile.

It's your day, Grandpa

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Hope you have a special one! We wish we could be with you on this day. Since we are not, we are sending a special delivery of birthday surprises.

Zachary, Ellie and Avery each had a few wonderful (and very expensive) wishes for you.

Avery said she would wish to give you:

a unicorn, more hair (well, look at her daddy) and a big hug and a kiss for you.

Zachary would wish to give you: lots and lots of money. Then he said he would send all of "us" kids on a plane to visit. But in the end he decided on a jet plane for you.

Ellie would wish to give you one thousand wind- up toys. And, buy you the house across the street from us.

We love you. Celebrate and enjoy your day. And, in the end we hope all your wishes come true.

It's what dreams are made of

Last week Gigi, Avery and I flew to Chicago for Avery's one-on-one trip. The traditional, anticipated and beloved trip that the twins take every year was now upon Avery. Since she is just to young to take the solo trip, I stepped up to the plate, "took one for the team" and offered my time to take the trip with her and Gigi. In exchange, I was guaranteed 3 special days with my daughter and mother. Truthfully, I was the mastermind behind the plan. An idea was born. Chicago. The American Doll Place. It is what Avery's dreams are made of. I was also chasing a dream; the chance to spend quality and uninterrupted playtime with Avery. This dream has been tugging at my heart strings since the realization that her preschool days are quickly slipping away. A chance to hold her tight for a moment longer, and play in her "make believe" world while it still occupies her little girl heart.

Us 3 gals traveled. shopped. giggled. swam. joked. played. 3 peas in a pod. Avery didn't know who to turn to first, Gigi or mama...lots of love in the room and her smile lit it up!


We enjoyed the famous Chicago deep dish pizza at this restaurant on the recommendation of Jeff and my dad.

Avie and Gigi in the hot tub. Avery looked forword to our nightly swims. Hot tub, then pool, back and forth. Gigi would humor her and get in the pool and play however, I prefered to watch my little dolphin do her tricks from the comfort of the hotub. And, she loved it all.After swimming, we set out to toss a penny in the wishing well and we were on our way to dinner. What a night. I bet this tuckered little girl fell fast asleep with only the dreams of tomorrow dancing in her head. Stay tuned for the details of our excursion to the American Doll Place.

book worm

One of my favorite things about Ellie is her love of reading. It is her passion. She excels in school in all areas of reading. Reading keeps her a float. Any place, anytime, you can catch Ellie reading a book. This little sweat pea, could stay up all night with a good book in hand. Infact, when she gets a new book I have to keep her from reading it one sitting. So, you can imagine her excitement when she found out about the after school book club in 4th grade. She has been looking forward to this club since last year. And couldn't wait to join. The club meets once a month. The girls are responsible for their book and questions and then they compete with other teams. It's a battle for the books and my little book worm is ready to take charge!

Imagine her joy

Avery started preschool today...Imagination Station is the place to be. She is beyond thrilled. She loves school. So much so, that when she was invited to join the smaller but accelerated class we jumped at the chance. She was happy to have more "journal time! This is my child that goes to bed with flash cards in hand. Now, I'm not kidding myself -I know the cards are only a novelty- a chance to feel like the "big kids"...but, hey it's a start. Good practice. I did notice during "Back to School" night that Avery could use more time at home practicing her coloring. Yep, coloring. Her little self portrait was not as carefully detailed as I would of expected. In fact, at first she scribbled the face! What! Very quietly I asked her if she wanted a "do over." Yes, she thought about it, she would like to add a face. Moments later her purple person was very simple and done. She was ready to move on. She would rather be quizzed on her spelling words. Again, just good practice.

Avery and her teacher, Mrs. Laura