Ice cream party

Last weekend we celebrated Clara's third birthday with an ice cream party. Here is Emilia all dressed up in every accessory under the sun on our way to the party:

When we arrived, Emilia made a beautiful ice cream cone with the kids...And, as is becoming tradition at Hill birthday parties, the kids did many rounds of ring around the rosie...

We celebrated the beautiful birthday girl with big bowls of yummy ice cream......which even Emilia ate!

Open wide

You're probably thinking "what the heck is this a picture of?" Let me explain. A few weeks ago, Eric had an appointment with a new dentist. Though a cavity was discovered, Eric was completely taken by the office. Everyday since he has been fanatical about flossing. He's been on my case about flossing, too (yeah, there are about 117 things higher on the priority list for me these days).

So yesterday, Eric "got" to go back to the office to have his cavity filled. The average person wouldn't really enjoy this, but Eric, on the other hand, was so engaged in the process that he actually took photos on his cell phone during the procedure to document it. Not only that, he insisted the photos go on the blog and promised the dental staff that he would give them a shout out. So, here you have it: Eric's wonderful adventure at Reston Family and Cosmetic Dentistry.

It doesn't end there. Eric enjoyed getting his cavity filled so much that he had the receptionist cold call me -- at work, mind you -- to encourage me to switch dentists and schedule an appointment for myself. I'm not making this up -- the woman called me on the phone and said that she heard I needed a dental appointment. He won (shocker). I have an appointment on Feb. 18.

Hooray for books, good food and planes

Emilia loves books, so we were excited to take her to a children's bookstore called Hooray for Books! in Old Town yesterday morning. The store was hosting an Olivia-themed story time with special guest Olivia herself! Emilia now has two Olivia books, so she was thrilled to meet the famous pig. That's her way up front near Olivia...Hugs for Olivia...Mommy and Anna got to meet Olivia, too...

After story time, we went to a nice lunch at Rustico. Emilia enjoyed some gourmet mac and cheese...while mommy told her one of the toppings on our pizza came from a pig like Olivia.

And then we stopped in for dessert at Buzz Bakery.Such a shame, Emilia couldn't appreciate Buzz's yummy cupcakes...On the way home we stopped at Gravelly Point to see the planes taking off and landing.We successfully wore Emilia out again!

All smiles

Our smiley Anna...

Sisters in sweats

Here are the girls staying warm this week in their cozy sweats...

Anna: three months

Our sweet Anna is three months old today. Here's her three-month shot with the lamb:

Anna, also known as bug, buggy, bugster or Anna Bear to me, continues to coo, smile and laugh. She adores watching her big sister and swinging, and is mesmerized by herself in the mirror and her mobile. She is ever so close to finding her thumb, but is making due with her pacifier and other fingers for now. We've recently had to introduce the bottle and formula since I've gone back to work, and she's proving to be a good eater like her sister. She still gives us a good stretch at night and nods off between feedings throughout the day. After two days at daycare, she seems to be doing well so far (though mommy misses her like crazy). Her hair (well, her fuzz) is definitely blond and even strawberry blond depending on the light (with a poor little bald patch on the back of her head). Her eyes, usually open and attentive to what's going on around her, are still deep blue. She is strong like her sister -- mastering holding her head up and even pushing off to stand and grabbing onto things already. We advise everyone who holds her to take all necessary precautions, as you never know when an explosion from either end will occur (ask Gillian).

Other recent highlights:

Charming Grandpa and Uncle Kyle at Christmas...Showing off her strength...Horsing around with daddy...And just generally looking cute...

It's over

The holidays are over. Our Christmas decorations are hereby sentenced to 11 months in a dusty basement storage closet.That's not all that's over. Tomorrow I return to work after three months of maternity leave. I have loved my 1:1 time with Anna and special moments with both of the girls. Back to the grind, so they say.


I'll leave you with these photos we had taken of the girls last month.

Anna at two months: All the best to you in 2010!

Dinner at Uncle Corey's house

On Friday night, we packed up the girls and my parents and headed to Arlington for dinner with Corey and Gillian. Corey is doing a ton of work on his new condo, so it was fun to see the progress. We relaxed over a chili dinner and football before heading back to the burbs.

Frostival

On New Year's Day, we met up with the Vaughans at the Dulles Expo Center for Frostival, a new event for families complete with rides, crafts, food, music and more. Emilia loved the bounce houses and ball pits, not to mention getting her face painted and jamming to the first Rocknoceros concert of 2010.

Making a penguin with daddy... Hanging with her buddy, Nathan...

Cheers!

Happy new year! This New Year's Eve we got a special treat: a night out with just adults! The Hills and Vaughans joined us for a rare dinner out at a restaurant without crayons and paper place mats. But, before the adults headed out for a crazy night on the town (and by that I mean dinner at the Reston Town Center, home by 11), the kids got into the spirit: At, oh 7:30 or so, the kids enjoyed an apple juice toast:They also tried out Emilia's new contraption: gymnastics rings! Clara was a natural:

The kids had fun and so did the adults. Thanks to my parents for holding down the fort while we were gone!

Back to the Gaylord

On New Year's Eve day, we took my parents to the Gaylord Hotel to get a better look at its great Christmas display. Here they are posing in front of the giant suspended glass tree: Emilia checking out the trains:Eric and Emilia catching the fountain show:

Bon voyage, Emilia!

Last week, Emilia went on her first vacation! In a last-minute plan, we decided to send Emilia up to New Jersey with my parents for a few days. Emilia was beaming as they backed out of our driveway and drove off. There wasn't a hint of missing mommy and daddy. The visit went well, so I expect we'll try it again in the summer. Though we missed Emilia terribly over the three days she was gone, it gave Eric and me some precious 2:1 time with Anna. I never thought I'd say this, but managing a newborn alone was a breeze! Running errands is a lot easier with a 3-month old who generally sleeps in her car seat than a 2 1/2-year old who is into everything!

Mystery guests

The snow gave us proof that we have a variety of animal visitors in our yard. I'm going to keep thinking that these tracks are from squirrels and birds, but I suspect that some of them are actually from the neighborhood fox.

Rockin' around the Christmas tree...

...with our favorite tot rock music band, Rocknoceros!

The Rocknoceros holiday sing-along concert at Jammin' Java was postponed because of the snow storm before Christmas. On Sunday morning, we met up with the Vaughans for the rescheduled show. Emilia had a great time singing and playing along with some Christmas tunes and Rockno classics.