She's FIVE!

This was the first year ALL of C's cousins and BOTH of my sisters were here to help her celebrate her birthday! We sure do love her.

Family and Friends

on Christmas night!

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas. Aunt Laura and Aunt Marcey were an extra special bonus, too! We got to spend time with them for a whole week, which we loved. And I might add that the accommodations were a bit improved for them this year, since we have a real guest room and separate bathroom (and not just an air mattress on the third floor)! All three girls got ("no strap") fancy shoes which they adore and tons of coloring/stickers/crafty materials--which has literally kept them occupied for two days straight and I'm not exagerrating! The only thing to tear them away from that has been the arrival of the Connecticut contingent of Schatzes, who only just got to town after Christmas. The gift of family and friends continues to be a paramount blessing, and especially this year in our new home where we feel blessed to be able to invite others in. We are looking forward to a whole new year together.

First Snow...kind of

We're all moved in to our new home and we love it! We are just so thankful for the way God provided this exact house for us and we couldn't be happier. This morning we woke up to a (very) small amount of snow on the ground but the girls wanted to go out and "touch it". They also loved running around in the backyard! Fun. Hoping for a white Christmas :)  That's Ellen and I at our front door and Sophie is snuggling with Aunt Marce.

Taste testers and Cake Makers

Aunt Marcey is in town and she and Corinne made a birthday cake for me...so sweet! Chocolate with light pink icing--yum! We had lots of willing taste testers for the batter, of course. The finished product was delish, as well! A great birthday. Just not sure how I am 35?! (Ellen in purple, Sophie in green)

So Long

We moved in with zero kids. We're moving out with three...and a lot of stuff (due to said kids). It's been a great six years. Wonderful memories. Crazy time of life. And now we're headed into a brand new season. And we could not be more psyched!

Outing to the Museum

Just a few pictures of the girls from our trip to the museum center recently. That's E & C up top. Sophie is holding the balls. We had a ball, actually!

Sophie Singing

Many mornings Sophie wakes up singing in her bed and she can also be heard singing at lots of other times. Usually when I tell her I like her song she insists that it is not her but her princess/doll/stuffed animal etc. Sometimes Ellen joins in but usually they switch off. On this day it's just Sophie in the kitchen with me while I'm making lunch. Listen for her brief  "hello"/"hello"as she switches from singing to having her princesses exchange hellos and then back to singing (around :36).

Homeade Thanksgiving Place Cards

I can't believe Thanksgiving has already come and gone. And actually October was the blink of an eye, too. But here we are and it's December and I am so behind on my posting. It's not for lack of news--we certainly have so much to be thankful for...including the extremely fast sale of our house. And the equally quick purchase of one that we are so excited for!! It's been a whirlwind here, and will continue to be until we move in to our new home right before Christmas. It's funny, we seem to have many MAJOR changes take place in our family around Christmastime. Corinne was born the day after Christmas five years ago, we actually moved in to the house we are in currently just a few days after Chrismas 6 years ago. And now we are moving at Christmastime again! As if the season isn't busy enough. But we couldn't be more excited for what we're headed to, though we have loved our amazing street and neighbors. More space. A huge yard. Close to our church. That all adds up to blessed. We are amazed at how God orchestrated every. last. detail. He gets all the credit! More updates when I get the chance. (Sophie in pink, Ellen in light green)

Together in NY

Just wonderful.

Busy in NY

We went to the Children's Museum in Brooklyn one afternoon while we waited for Laura to arrive from CA. Corinne had a good time in the sand area, especially. And then we found the puppet show area: right up C's alley. She did a little puppet show there...and then continued it at Marcey's place when she discovered that the wall cutout could work the same way! A few socks and voila! We watched puppet shows in our spare time all weekend.

Rockettes

We were excited to see the Rockettes perform their first Christmas show of the season at Radio City Music Hall. It was every bit as good as we were told it would be--and even better to behold in person. They are amazing!

Sights & Walking

I'm really not even sure how I ended up getting this picture with, ahem, Cookie Monster and Elmo in Times Square. It happened before I realized what was happening. And C didn't want any part of it. So there I was. But Ellen and Sophie LOVE Cookie Monster, so they enjoyed seeing it, at least. We did lots of walking, a little subway, and M even had a gracious friend's car for the weekend. Lots of sights for C!

Celebrating

We didn't do the greatest job celebrating Marcey's birthday, unfortunately. Time got away from us and M's dietary restrictions kind of slowed us down. Plus we were lacking on a specific gameplan going into the weekend. Before we left we did get some delicious cupcakes from a local place to celebrate. But we're sorry, Marce. We do love you and we were so thankful that we got to see your fantastic new place and spend the weekend with you!

Gearing Up

C and Aunt Marcey were making some plans on the phone today at lunch for our big weekend in NY. Can't wait!

Halloween Night

                                        

 Well...no Sophie Spider. I kind of had a hunch it might turn out that way! Instead, three princesses. Two with crowns, one without. Who were frozen solid and told us when they were done. It was a nasty night. Ellen was Ariel (purple and aqua) and Sophie was Sleeping Beauty/Aurora (pink). And it was our last Halloween in our wonderful neighborhood (more on that later)!