Girls Weekend

Dear Em,
A couple weekends ago, Daddy went camping. While he was viewing this...

We were enjoying the weekend as just the girls (& Joey & Charlie). On Friday night, you & I headed to the URI pool.

We woke up early on Saturday with a day full of plans. After enjoying a bounce house birthday party, we stopped to get a couple Awful Awfuls (on top of the two pieces of cake you had at the party! Whatever. It was girls weekend. Anything goes, right?). Then we did a little bit of shopping. I love having a shopping buddy. We weren't even shopping for you, but you were happy to browse the racks & give me your opinion in the dressing room.

Next we bundled up & headed down to Narragansett. There were scarecrows everywhere, & you ran around looking at each one. I think the bride & the groom were your favorites. The bright blue sky was sprinkled with cotton ball clouds. We walked around & enjoyed the ocean air for a while. Then you built rock towers until it was time to go home for dinner.

Sunday was another busy day. We got up early & headed to the pumpkin patch at Buttonwoods Farm. We met up with some of my girlfriends from high school & their adorable littles. This was the fourth year we've come together at Buttonwoods. It's become such a wonderful & fun tradition. I love seeing how much all the kids have grown each year & watching you all play together.

When we returned home from the pumpkin patch, you ran inside excitedly to find Daddy sitting on the couch. We were so happy to welcome Daddy back from his adventure. Our girls weekend was a blast, but being together as a family always puts the biggest smile in my heart.

I love you so,
Mommy

My Mini Me

Dear Em,
From the moment you were born, Daddy & I have always seen you as a wonderful mix of the two of us. You have my cheeks but his long torso. You have the shape of Daddy's eyes but my wide feet. Daddy's eyes are blue & mine are brown. Your eyes are a greenish hazel. As children, Daddy had bright blonde hair & my hair was brown. Your hair is a beautiful, dirty blonde- a mix of both of us!

I love seeing the resemblance when I look at pictures of me as a child & compare them to what you look like right now. You are so my child. Sometimes, you even talk similarly.

On the other hand, you have a sense of style that is all your own. Still, sometimes you love to match your mom. When I try on clothes at a store, you love to try on the same ones.

When we were in New Hampshire, I realized we had a couple shirts that were similar. I declared it twins day, & you were thrilled to play along...even if there was no pink to be had in either of the outfits. We hiked around New Hampshire in sweaters with blue & white stripes. You held my hand throughout most of the day, & I smiled as I looked down at my mini-me.

That night we changed into comfy, grey sweatpants & bright orange shirts. Again, you squealed with delight that we got to be "twins!"

Having a mini-me is one of the most freaking fun things in the whole world, & I love how much you beam when I refer to you as my mini-me. I know there will come a day when you don't think I'm the most amazing woman in the world. I'm sure there will be a time when you don't want to dress or look anything like me. For now, I'm just going to relish this time. I'm going to enjoy every moment of holding hands with my mini-me.

I love you so,

Mommy

Our Family New Hampshire Adventure 2015: My Favorite Hot Tub

Dear Em,
You LOVE hot tubs. You seem to rate how much you like a home by whether or not a hot tub is included. Nonnie & Papi have one at their house, & they've talked about how we should get one too. I like hot tubs, but I really don't want to own one. All I can think of is cost & maintenance & how we would have to hire someone to fix it if ever it was broken. I don't think we'll ever be hot tub owners.

However, it is a nice bonus when we're vacationing.

I think my very favorite hot tub to visit is the one in the condo complex where we vacation in New Hampshire. It's at the base of Loon Mountain. When you combine the brisk fall air & gorgeous, foliage filled mountain views with the heat & relaxation of the hot tub. It's pretty close to a perfect vacation moment. During our most recent visit, we got to experience all of that in the midst of the most brilliant sunset. My heart was at peace.

Although, I wouldn't necessarily consider it relaxing. I was in the hot tub with you, after all. Hot tubbing with you is always an adventure...& very splashy. I don't know if most people do cannon balls into hot tubs, but you do. Ha!

I love you so,

Mommy

Our Family New Hampshire Adventure 2015: Santa's Village

Dear Em,
I would have been happy to spend all of our New Hampshire get-away hiking & taking in the gorgeous foliage, but you & Daddy are thrill seekers. If the two of you were going to New Hampshire, you wanted to include an amusement park in the itinerary. The two of you planned to spend a big chunk of the day riding on roller coasters, & I planned to happily stand on the ground & take pictures.

We let you choose between Story Land or Santa's Village. We had been to both. I think you would take any chance to see Santa that you can get. Ha! Santa's Village it was!

Santa's Village was the perfect amusement park for you this year. It was just the right size. We didn't make it on everything, but we went on everything that we wanted to get to. You were tall enough for all the rides, & went on your favorites multiple times. You & Daddy rocked all the roller coaster type rides with huge smiles across your face. The girl in pink with her hands up? Yup, that's my daughter.

Luckily there were also rides that were more my pace. My favorites were the ferris wheel (at the top, there is an incredible view of foliage filled mountains) & a new ride that was a mix of the giant slide & snow tubing.

In between, there are a ton of cute activities & adorable photo opportunities. You had a blast using clues to find elves throughout the park. At each elf, you punched a hole into a card. When you had found them all, you returned to Elf University for a diploma & a pencil. 

It was an excellent day. There were no tears or meltdowns. There was just laughter & smiles & great family time. We didn't even seethe big man in red, but I think our day spent at Santa's Village was still absolutely perfect.

I love you so,

Mommy