Happy New Year!

I have been so delinquent blogging lately! I believe it is mostly due to the holidays and things being very busy! Here is a photo from today of our little Eloise. She is a bundle of joy and Charlotte is really stepping into her role as a big sister nicely. 

These days Charlotte can count to ten, knows all of her colors and all of her letters. She amazes us every day with her new words and knowledge!

Eloise is cooing quite a bit and has almost mastered rolling onto her tummy. 

2010 was a year full of amazement, happiness as well as struggles, though luckily not in our immediate "pod" as I like to say. I am so happy and blessed to have an amazing husband and children.  Every day I am thankful for them all and so very lucky.

Eloise's First Christmas

What a special Christmas, celebrating Eloise's first! She was very much into the tree and all of the endless love from all of our friends and family. Charlotte still does not quite get the concept of presents under the tree, though she has said "Santa Claus" many times! Charlotte is stepping into her role as "big sister" very nicely, and she was very helpful handing Eloise her new gifts as we opened them. She is very good at sharing and it is very sweet to watch the bond slowly grow.

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Trimmed and Complete!

"The" Tree!

Yesterday I woke up with the excitement of a child on Christmas Day...excited to get our tree! I decided we would go to the place we always get our tree (the local volunteer fire company) and literally say "I want your biggest tree!" Alas, they had one 10' tree with my name on it! Yes, 10'! It is so big! When we saw it at the fire department, it really did not seem that enormous, but it felt huge when we got it indoors! We had so much fun decorating it, which involved many moments of standing on tip toes at the top of the ladder.
I have some finishing touches, but that will come in the next few days!

Pearly Holiday Prep!

Every year I seem to get more obsessed the the 'perfect' holiday card. This year was interesting because I had to capture both of them in the same style, but in two different photos. Charlotte is interested in Eloise, but not enough to sit down quietly. To say the least, it was VERY entertaining capturing the look I wanted and in the end, I got one hilarious shot of each of them. Here are two that were also adorable!

Bunnies + Eggs + Pearls

What a joyous Easter we had at the Racho's in Stamford! Charlotte was looking dapper as ever and the real highlight (for me) was Charlotte receiving her first strand of real pearls from our wonderful Aunt Mary. I was so thrilled with the gift that I immediately dressed Charlotte in her new baubles and I must say, she loved them.
I took so many pictures of Charlotte and we had a ball playing outside. I had my "cheapo" camera as I like to call it instead of my nice one, but the pictures are still cute!
We hit the 23 week mark of pregnancy and are looking forward to celebrating the six month mark next Saturday. I am feeling great and loving my bump! We cannot believe how time has flown by and we are thrilled to meet Baby Racho in a few short months!
We are indulging in this amazing weather lately. Dare I say it, I even soaked up some sunshine for a little tan...
Even just a simple Monday as today provided simple pleasures such as planting some new Forsythia (yes, I killed the old ones but I think I know why), reading on the porch when Charlotte napped and then spending some quality time running around the back yard with Charlotte and Frank. Maybe it is the Vitamin D or the pregnancy hormones, but I am so happy and feel so lucky to enjoy these moments! Now, I am off to roast a chicken. Happy Easter everyone!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all of our friends and family! 2010 is greeted with excitement and hope for a number of different reasons. 2009 was Charlottes first full year and was filled with joy and pride. Having Charlotte in our lives made all of the trials and tribulations of the year seem so much lighter. We are looking forward to all of the wonders and surprises a new year brings.
This morning, a lazy, snowy weekend morning...Charlotte was in her pajamas and decided to thrill me with all of her different silly faces. These are the unplanned moments that make each day so special. May you all have special moments and a wonderful year!

Christmas 2009

What a wonderful weekend filled with various Christmas celebrations. Ben and I had so much fun shopping for Charlotte, and were most excited about the glockenspiel we bought for her...we were so tempted to give it to her every night before Christmas! Alas, we waited until the real day and she has so much fun playing it! Charlotte's favorite toys all seem to be the "musical" ones where she can make her own sounds.
She didn't quite understand "presents" and how to open them yet, but she had a lot of fun romping around in the wrappings on the floor. It is amazing to watch her grow and develop as the days go on. She is walking like a pro now and babbling constantly. There is something new she does every day and we watch her in amazement. We constantly wonder how it is possible to be so adorable.
We broke down this weekend and bought a Nintendo Wii....so it is time to join the rest of the world and have one in our family...and I admit, Super Mario is addicting! Ben and I also competed in a round of golf, and I won :)
We hope everyone had an amazing Holiday!

Westport Fire Children's Christmas

Today we went to the firehouse for the children's holiday party. It was a lot of fun, Santa came to the children in a firetruck with all the lights on! It was a bit chilly, so we stayed inside and watched from the windows. Charlotte had a great time...she mostly enjoyed watching some children play Hungry, Hungry Hippo. She was the youngest one there and of course, everyone ate her up!