Party Time Round 3

Grace has been receiving the "royal" treatment in honor of her birthday! Sunday dinner at Nana and Grandpa's was extra special tonight! Bernadette Grace enjoyed her third 3rd birthday celebration:-) Nana made Grace's favorite meal... "Nana meatballs," and Grace received majestic gifts including: a Disney princess snow globe, an Ariel dress, a Belle top, a princess outfit, a deluxe Cinderella carriage, and an adorable bikini. Grace was beaming all evening! She certainly likes being the center of attention, and she enthusiastically informed everyone that she saw Mary Poppins yesterday! Terry, Anthony, Rachel, James, and Jenna joined us for dessert! We enjoyed another wonderful celebration, and we're looking forward to Grace's birthday party with all of her little friends next weekend!

Dan and I special ordered this cake from Magnolia Bakery, while we were in NYC yesterday. It was delicious!!!

Aunt Dana gave Grace the most beautiful princess snow globe ever made!

She had so much fun playing with her birthday balloon!

Grace took this photo! She's getting good!

Aunt Terry bought Grace a gorgeous princess outfit! Can you tell how much she loves it?

Grace and James

Jenna and Grace

Mary Poppins

Dan and I had such a SUPERcalifragilisticexpialidocious day with Grace in NYC today!!! We've been looking forward to taking her to see Mary Poppins for a long time. Before the show, we stopped at Dan's office, and we were happy that we got to see the ice skaters and Christmas tree at Bryant Park. The New Amsterdam theater is gorgeous, and we felt like we were part of the show in our 3rd row orchestra seats. Grace has been so excited to see Mary Poppins, Bert, Jane, and Michael. Throughout the entire show, her eyes were glued to the stage. When we exited the theater, we were greeted with snow. We took a brisk walk to American Girl, picked up a birthday cake at Magnolia Bakery, and had a delicious steak dinner at Bobby Van's. During the car ride home, we sang along to our new Mary Poppins soundtrack. When we arrived home, Andrew gave us all lots of hugs and kisses. He had a fun day with LuLu and Pop, and he had a late night watching the Jets playoff victory with Daddy! Our day was "practically perfect in every way!"

Bryant Park

We got Grace a little something special even though she slept through our visit at American Girl.

Frosty and Footsie Jammies

This afternoon, we built our first "pint sized" snowman of the winter season. Our Frosty is approximately the same height as Andrew. Hopefully, the next snow storm will bring us some "packing snow." I think Grace would like a much larger snowman in the very near future.

Andrew can't wait to go outside to play with Frosty tomorrow! Grace blew him lots of kisses through the window to keep him warm:-) Don't they look so adorable in their footsie jammies?

3rd Birthday Photo Shoot

We braved the snow storm this morning for Grace's 3 year old photo shoot at Picture People. Our photographer, Heather, took so many fabulous photos that I had a hard time choosing just one shot! I've decided that I'm going to go back to get all of the pictures from today on a CD. Here's one of my favorite shots, and there are many more to come:-)

Birthday Princess

Grace had a grand 3rd birthday! She was genuinely excited from the moment she woke up until she conked out tonight. She has been looking forward to being the "Birthday Princess," and she decided to dress like one this morning. She looked adorable in her Rapunzel gown and was happy to pose for pictures. After our class at JW Tumbles this morning, Andrew and I joined Grace and her classmates at Lollipop School for a special birthday treat. Her teachers informed me that she received lots of compliments on her chosen attire. Her classmate, Dylan, told her she looked "dressy." She wore her personalized birthday crown with pride. Once we headed home, we began to prepare for her birthday party. We had LuLu, Pop, Nana, Nanny, Poppy, Aunt Dana, Uncle Denis, Aunt Mary, Jameson, Genny, and Shane over for princess cake, cookies, and ice cream this evening. Everyone treated Grace like royalty. She received so many fabulous gifts including: a Mary Poppins doll, princess books, a Precious Moment, American Girl pajamas (which match her Bitty Baby's), gorgeous outfits, and some beautiful dance attire. She had so much fun being the center of attention and enjoyed playing with her cousins tonight. We plan to continue celebrating until her BIG birthday party on January 16th!

This is the outfit that Grace chose to wear to school today. It's her birthday... she can dress like a princess if she wants to:-)

Grace's special birthday treat from Dunkin' Donuts.

Our table was set for a royal extravaganza!

Princess birthday cake (made with love by Mommy)

Opening gifts with Daddy:-)

Grandparents and Great-Grandparents... Grandpa got stuck working tonight:-(

Andrew provided some entertainment by showing everyone "The Situation."

Jameson and Andrew had fun shooting hoops.

My Goddaughter, Genny, and the birthday girl! xoxo

Grace loves her God Father... Uncle Denis!

Grace loves Shane-o!

Grace's birthday celebration at Lollipop School.

We had such a great time at this evening's family party!

On the Eve of Your 3rd Birthday...

Dear Bernadette Grace,

I love being your Mommy! You have brought us so much happiness! It's hard to believe that 3 years ago, at this time, we were still living in London. The night before you were born Daddy and I went on a date to one of our favorite Asian restaurants, Eight Over Eight, and then we headed to a movie on the Kings Road. During the movie, I remember wondering if the food didn't agree with me. Then, I whispered in Daddy's ear, "I think I might be in labor?" As you know, I'm never on time (your due date was January 8th), so we figured that it must have been the food. We enjoyed the rest of the movie, and proceeded to walk to our home at 16 Culford Gardens. In the middle of the night, I showered and woke Daddy up, and I told him that we needed to go to the hospital. We took a London Black Cab to The Portland Hospital, and Dr. Patrick O'Brien delivered you at 11:18 PM.

From the moment you came into our lives, you have filled our hearts with joy! You were such a sweet baby. I used to love taking you for walks all over London. During your first few months, Daddy and I enjoyed taking you on lots of fun trips including: Spain, Croatia, France, and Cyprus. You've always loved being read to and sung to. Tonight before I put you to sleep, I rocked with you and sang your two favorites, "You Are My Sunshine" and "Hush Little Baby." You love to sing and dance! You're always smiling, and you're such a little sweetheart. You're very gentle and imaginative. You are so much fun to be around. I am so thankful to be "a stay at home Mom." I can't imagine not spending all of my time with you and Andrew. You're such a wonderful big sister. You're crazy about Andrew, and you've already begun to look out for him. You are one of life's greatest Blessings! I thank God for you every single day. I wish you a life full of health and happiness. Happy 3rd birthday, sweetheart! "I love you to the moon and back!" xoxo

Love always,

Mommy

Moments after your birth...

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

Ringing in the New Year

We had a lot of fun ringing in 2011. Last night, Dan and I went out with friends for an early dinner at the River Palm. Grace and Andrew had fun playing with Nana and Grandpa, and we arrived home in time to put our little sweethearts to bed. Once our babies fell asleep, we headed downstairs to drink champagne, eat truffles, and watch the ball drop in Times Square. 2010 brought us much happiness, and we hope that we will continue to be blessed in the New Year.

We enjoyed celebrating New Year's Day with "LuLu and Pop." Grace and Andrew were happy to show off their latest tricks, the boys watched football, and my Mom made us a delicious beef stroganoff dinner. We always have fun when we're together! So far, the 2011 is looking good!

Grace and "LuLu" posing with Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

Andrew is such a "Jersey Boy." He loves showing off his "Situation."