Do I look Beautiful?

This question was posed to me right after Eva had placed this lovely red bow from our costume box (courtesy of Snow White) in her hair. "Of course you look beautiful, Eva!" was my reply, with the hint of a giggle. This bow has been a mainstay of her hairstyle ever since (4 days and counting). This comes as quite a shock to me- because Eva has never been my "girly girl." She has never been interested in "dress-up" or anything considered "pretty" by her older sister. Usually she can be found fighting over trucks and balls with Owen. Suddenly, out of the blue, I get this question- and now there is a staunch loyalty to this hair piece. I had to take a picture and make note of it here, because I am not so sure this will ever happen again:).
Now, I just have to convince her that her beauty transcends any accessory.......even with pizza sauce on her face. Love my Eva.

For my 30th birthday Marc knew I was going to need something to help soothe the "I don't want to be in my Thirties" whine. Thanks honey, this was a very nice mid-day surprise. I love a good flower bouquet, but for this birthday- chocolate was just what I needed:)
I thought I should take a picture before I start to sample, and it doesn't look as pretty:)

Watch where you Step

It is amazing how fast two creative girls playing "house", and one 18-month-old on the loose can turn one previously-tidy bedroom into a war zone.

Easter Sunday

The girls were so excited to wear their new Easter Dresses this morning. It is still so cold in NYC, so it probably was not the best choice of attire for today at church, but they insisted to wear them anyway. They did a great job of sitting all by themselves today during Sacrament Meeting. Lately, the routine has been that Owen can only make it through the Sacrament, and then he has to be taken out into the foyer. Marc is on the stand with the rest of the bishopbric, so when I take Owen out, I just have to trust that the girls will behave themselves. So far they have done really well- although I will say that in my absence they always manage to clean out everything edible from my bag. We had a great Sunday today. I am still trying to figure out what made it so wonderful. Was it the messages shared in Sacrament Meeting? Was it the cute Sharing Time in Primary? Was it that I was able to go to Relief Society for the first time in 4 months b/c the Priesthood in our ward substituted for our Primary classes today? All of those things were wonderful, and added this great Easter Sunday, but I will say that the best part of Easter today, for me, was that OWEN IS FINALLY IN NURSERY!!! I have been counting down the days :).

Easter Morning

Here are some pictures of our Easter Morning. We had a great time hunting for all of the goodies left by the Easter Bunny. Owen (the family leprechaun) held his own in the egg-hunt.

Trip to the MoMA

One of the advantages (and maybe the only one:) to working a job that is closely tied to the stock market is that you get to take a holiday when the Market is closed. So, as a result, we were able to spend "Good Friday" with Dad in tow. We explored the Museum of Modern Art as a family this morning. Uncle Mason is in town right now and it has been great to see him. The girls enjoyed the trip to the MoMA (mostly because it was under an hour:) and we ended the morning off with another trip to Chelsea Market to get some goodies for lunch.

Unauthorized Photos

We have a self-appointed family photographer. Eva is always trying to sneak my camera whenever she can. The girl is one little creative ball of energy- and she is sneaky to top it off. Often, I do not find out about her shenanigans until I download the pictures from my camera to my computer. Usually I will find one or two "unauthorized" pictures and a video stream (which is actually her giving instructions to her brother/sister as to how she wants them to pose- and she doesn't realize the camera is in video mode).
Today I found 25 pictures, after download, courtesy of Eva. The scary thing is, I do not have any clue when she did this. It looks like the title of this shoot was "A Study of Toes". She is getting smart enough now, to have her photography fun- and then quietly place the camera back in my bag so her escapades go unnoticed until download time.
I am going to have to find a better hiding place for this camera of mine:).

Chelsea Market Madness:)

Our family has been sick pretty much non-stop from mid-February to Mid-March. For the first weekend in about 3 weeks, we were finally able to venture into the city for a much needed activity.
We headed over to Chelsea Market, which has become a favorite food stop of ours now, to pick up some goodies. We have family in town (Rick, Alicia & Kai) and we were also joined by Jonathan and Julie A. We gorged ourselves with Hale and Hearty Soup, Fat Witch Brownies, cupcakes from Ruthy's Bakery, and milkshakes (chocolate orange peel, YUM!) from the Ronnybrook Dairy. We had absolutely no control:)
We had a good time hanging out with our family and friends. Unfortunately my camera battery ran out after the trip to the bakery so these are the only pic's we have to remember our outing.
Owen, Madeline and Eva were awestruck by the cupcakes in Ruthy's. As you can see from the top pic, Owen was especially excited about the Sesame street cupcakes.

Another Year Older and Wiser too.....

Marc celebrated #32 on Friday. His birthday was on Thursday, but he was out of town all week in CA, so we had the official family celebration on Friday.

The girls wanted to be in charge of Daddy's cake, so no- I cannot take credit for this culinary masterpiece. Eva was in charge of sprinkles and candle placement, and Madeline was the scribe. Both of them lay claim to the gorgeous hearts that adorn Marc's title of "Dad."

Owen is officially ready of Boy Scouts. He did everything in his power to try and grab one of those beautiful flickering candles.

You may want to turn down the volume on your computer if you want to watch the video of the Happy Birthday song. Note to self: sing very softly whilst videotaping.

Happy Birthday Marc, We love you Dad!