It was a busy Q4, so we opted for a New Year’s greeting 😊
2022 Holiday Card
Month: December 2022
Eloise’s First Christmas
It took us five days, but we finally got around to having Eloise’s Christmas. We lit the Christmas tree, listened to Vince Guaraldi trio, and Gigi helped Eloise open her gifts. We had so much fun focusing on Eloise and Gigi did a great job showing her the gifts, explaining what they were, and telling her all about the gift givers.
Workout Buddy
Georgia Grace is the BEST workout buddy, and I have missed our time together! I just got cleared to workout post-childbirth, so it’s time to party! Today we did a Kesha and Katy Perry themed SoulCycle class. I rode my bike and Gigi danced her face off! It’s good to be back 🙂 I love my sweet girl and our time together.
A Daddy and His Baby Girl
He is such a wonderful father. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to witness him raising these children. And it is an absolute joy watching him fall in love with his second baby girl.
The Nutcracker: Our Tradition Resumes!
Since there was no NYCB production of The Nutcracker in 2020 and the 2021 show we had tickets to attend was cancelled, I was going to do everything I could to get Gigi there this year. I bought tickets the minute they became available for purchase, and made pre-show lunch reservations at The Smith in September. I was determined to reinstate our special tradition. But, as they say, life had other plans. Gigi came down with the flu, so we weren’t able to make it to our planned performance on 12/22. Fortunately, the box office was able to accommodate us and refunded us for our tickets.
When my sweet G started feeling better, I started searching for tickets. We got so lucky and found fourth ring seats for the 12/29 7pm performance. The seats were nowhere near as good as the ones on our original tickets, but I was just thankful to be able to get our little girl to The Nutcracker. I called Dave at work to make sure he’d be able to stay home with Eloise, and clicked purchase.
We had a blast getting dressed up and Gigi packed her purse with the essentials: pretty gloves, lip balm, and tissues. On the way there, I let G know our seats might not be as great as she’d experienced in the past. My sweet little glass-half-full girl replied, “When you sit too close to the stage sometimes it’s hard to see anything. And that happens a lot when you’re a kid.” Seats didn’t matter — we were going to see the show!
We got to The Smith early and they seated us right away. Happily, the restaurant was still festive with Christmas lights and garland and buzzy with chatty customers and holiday cheer.
Gigi loved her bread and butter, and politely requested to order more. “Mama, are you going to order more butter?” She asked, and when I told her I would, she replied, “Mama, just beware I am probably going to use all of the butter again.”
After dinner, we bundled up and crossed the street to the theater. Inside, we snapped a picture with the snowflakes (no ‘live’ ballerina anymore due to Covid), washed our hands, and then purchased our traditional pre-show treats: M&Ms and champagne!
We then called Daddy and Eloise for a quick hello, and headed up to our seats.
When we got to our seats, the magic of it all hit us: we were finally here and we were going to see the show.
The performance was flawless (Tiler Peck was the Sugarplum Fairy!) and we loved every minute of it. My heart is filled with gratitude for our special night together. I am grateful to Dave and the cosmos for everything had to work out in order for us to make it happen.
EEW: Week 7
Christmas 2022
Christmas 2022 was nothing short of magical. Our entire family is in good health (Gigi’s little case of the flu seems to be done!), and, as far as I’m concerned, Santa came early and outdid himself when he brought us our perfect baby girl on November 9th. With that said, Santa did right by Gigi, too. He checked off some of the bigger items on her list (An American Girl doll that looks like her! A Bluey and Bingo scooter set! A Nora arctic fox! A unicorn backpack!) and surprised her with some special things, too (Eloise books! A Crayola light up board!).
In true Gigi style, we didn’t start opening gifts until after 10:30am, and when we left for Christmas dinner, there were still several gifts left just waiting to be opened… most of which were for Eloise — we figured she wouldn’t mind waiting!
After we opened presents, I told my dad and Gigi that, as a final gift, we’d be going to Christmas dinner/brunch at Soho House, and was so pleasantly, sweetly surprised to see how excited they both were. Truthfully, I didn’t expect Gigi to regard a family meal as a ‘gift,’ but I was very wrong! She was super excited and hurried off to choose the presents she wanted to bring with her.
We hadn’t been able to enjoy Christmas Day brunch at Soho House since before the pandemic (so December 25, 2019, I guess), and it felt really happy to celebrate Christmas as a new family of four… along with Papa Bob, of course! The food was wonderful of course, but the experience just felt so special. Having (hopefully) been through the worst of a couple very hard years, I had so much gratitude sitting there and enjoying my champagne with Dave, Gigi, Eloise, and PB.
Not a creature was stirring…
Christmas Eve
Since G was still not feeling great on Christmas Eve, we spent the day masked and at home, but still managed to have a wonderful day together.
We finished wrapping gifts, watched Christmas Eve church service on TV, had a yummy family meal (roasted chicken, Brussels sprouts, carrots, mashed potatoes, salad, and red wine), read books, and listened to Christmas carols.
When G started showing signs of improvement, we took a quick trip down to the playroom.
…another Christmas Eve activity: hanging the wreath Papa Bob sent us several days ago. We were NOT going to celebrate Christmas until it was hung! Fortunately we had an extra set of hands to help us this year!
Before we knew it, it was time to put out cookies and get to bed. Given the circumstances this year, we opted for store-bought cookies (sorry, Santa!). Like any good chef, Gigi tested the cookies before plating them.
As the day went, it became clear that Gigi was feeling better. We were all so happy and relieved she was recovering in time for Christmas!
Finally, it was time to say goodbye to Present Lucy Welch. She is such a special elf and we are so thankful for her visit this year!
EEW: Week 6
The pediatrician says her smiles aren’t social just yet, but we beg to differ!
Hiccups
There is no sweeter sound than sweet baby hiccups. Eloise hiccups a lot, slightly less than G when she was a baby.
Baby’s First Stationery
This is one of Eloise’s Christmas gifts! Never too early to start teaching the importance of manners and good penmanship!
Santa!
We went to visit The Big Guy this weekend! Normally, we see Santa in the North Pole, by way of Cleveland. But this year, when we heard he was stopping through New York, we just had to pay him a visit.
I woke up at 6:00am (actually, let’s be honest, I was already awake with Eloise) five days before to secure a reservation. Fortunately, I was able to get one, because seconds after getting our slot, there were none left!
Having heard the line — even with a reservation, you can’t see Santa without one! — was long and the wait upwards of 90 minutes, we prepared for a long day ahead. We packed snacks, breast milk, diapers, wipes, and several changes of clothes. When we arrived at Santa’s Village, atop Macy’s in Herald Square, we checked in, and we were glad to have planned ahead… it was busy!
Santa’s Village was filled with Christmas magic and excitement. We saw pretty Christmas vignettes, took a picture with Mrs. Claus, and met all sorts of elves. The elves were sweet and kind, and engaged us in patient conversation throughout the slow walk to Santa. The first elf we met was Jolly, and he assured us he was going to look for Present Lucy Welch when they both returned to the North Pole on Christmas Eve night. When Dave asked one of the elves how long the wait would be, they told him, “It’s about one thousand elf steps to Santa.”
After two hours, a candy cane, two granola bars, one diaper change, a feeding, a standing wardrobe change (thank you, Dave, for changing E into her Christmas outfit and for putting up with my request to do so!), and a lightning fast trip to the potty on the seventh floor, we were steps away from Santa. Gigi was nervous but VERY excited. She checked her purse for the essentials — her wish list and a candy cane for Santa — and walked right in.
Santa was kind and patient and as lovely as I could remember. He had a sweet conversation with G, and felt confident he’d be able to check some of the items off her list. (Author’s note: I’m so sorry that I didn’t take a picture of her list! Obviously, Santa wanted to keep it for his reference.) She asked him for three things: a doll that looks like her, a unicorn backpack play set, and Nora, the arctic fox elf pet. Santa was excited to meet Eloise (“A first timer!”) and when I let him know I’d gotten all I’d wanted this year, he congratulated us and gave us credit for our little Christmas miracle, saying, “You did this.”
As we headed for the elevators, we agreed our special day was worthy of a celebratory meal at our favorite spot, Soho House. So we hopped into a car and headed that way. Several minutes into the ride, Gigi announced to no one in particular, “Today was great.” Mission accomplished.
Gigi’s First Nutcracker Performance!
This weekend, Gigi performed as a sous chef in The Joffrey Ballet School’s production of The Nutcracker! She was in Cast A, which meant she was in two shows: one on Friday night and a matinee on Saturday.
Gigi felt a little nervous (but mostly excited) before the first show… but when we hugged her at dismissal, she told us she had so much fun and she wanted to do it again! On Saturday, there were no nerves — just excitement!
Dave and I very much enjoyed both performances. The dancers were incredibly talented, but we have to admit — our sweet Gigi stole the show! Eloise, though very proud of her big sister, slept through every minute!
We did our best to take pictures (me) and videos (Dave), and shared them with Gigi on Saturday evening. She loved the rat king fighting sequence — she requested to watch it over and over again and declared that she wanted to be a mouse next year! Later that night, Gigi asked to watch the New York City Ballet’s Nutcracker performance on Amazon Prime. She was moved to tears watching it!
We are so proud of our girl and the hard work that she has devoted to her passion. Congratulations, Georgia Grace!
Bunny Rabbit
Gigi Makes Three 