elf on a shelf

 So we decided to do Elf on a Shelf this year. (If you haven't heard of it... google it- you'll be amazed.) We let Audrie and Annie open this gift from the North Pole...

 Needless to say, Audrie was pretty ecstatic!

 She was smitten at first sight with the cute elf. (Whom she named "Tommy"...??)

 We read her the story of how it all works. (The basic idea is that the elf sits quietly and watches all day and then at night- after Audrie is asleep- he flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa about all the good choices that Audrie has made that day.)

 

I'll admit it's a little creepy and deceiving,  but Audrie loves it! She wakes up each morning excited to see where the little elf has come to sit that day.

I know it's a short window of time that the girls will believe in Santa, so we're enjoying their excitement! (Well, Annie couldn't care less but it's cute to watch Audrie try to tell her about it.)

date night with Audrie

 Jamie and I took Audrie on a special date night last week. Just the three of us went to see a movie. Audrie was SOOOO excited.

We took her to see Puss-in-Boots. I was thinking I would just have to endure the kid's movie for Audrie's sake but it was actually pretty cute.

 

The movie theater we went to was near Lincoln Center and was a really beautiful theater. (I felt a little underdressed for the movies.)

 It was in 3D and we weren't sue how Audrie would do with the glasses, but she kept them on and loved every minute of it! (Not sure why Jamie is making a weird face in this photo...)

 We let her have way too much popcorn, candy, and soda! But it was her date night so we let her go for it.

It was a fun night out with Audrie! We will definitely do it again, soon.

macy's day parade

 A few years ago we came up to nyc to visit Jason and Sam (actually it was when I was pregnant with Audrie) and we went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade then. It was MADNESS, but fun. Since we knew it would be so crowded we decided not to take the girls this year, but did opt to go downtown the night before and watch them air up the balloons.

It was hard to get a good photo on my phone in the dark, but I did capture a few. (I like this one because Annie and I are both too distracted by the huge balloons to look at the camera...)

 It was really cool to see all the huge cartoon character balloons and Audrie loved it.

 It was cold so we didn't hang out too long. We did meet up with Caleb for the subway ride home.

 

It was fun to watch the parade on TV the next morning and listen to Audrie exclaim about all the balloons she had seen the night before!

I know there are some things you just 'have' to do in this city, so maybe next year (if we're still here) we will be brave and take the girls to go stand with the 3.5 million people at the parade!

grandma cornett

Last week Donna came up for a visit and we were SO thrilled she was here. We were also very impressed with her traveling skills- she flew from Bentonville, layover in Chicago, into NYC and then took a cab to our front door! All by herself!

 Audrie had been counting down the days until she arrived.

 It was such a nice break to have her here to help with the girls and give Jamie and I a chance to get out a little bit, too.

 Audrie and Annie stuck pretty close to her side the whole week she was here. They read a lot of books and played at least a hundred games of hide-and-seek. They have missed their Grandma Cornett.

I'm sure she was pretty wore out when she left, but we can't wait until she comes back again!

new bff

My brother, Caleb, graduated from college this past May and has been traveling through India for the past three months. He flew into NYC two days ago and is going to be staying with us until he finds a job and an apartment here. I really love having him around and Annie seems to have made an instant new best friend. She follows him around everywhere and always wants him to rock her! It's really cute.

so much thanks

Moving to New York City has definitely turned our world upside down and pretty much nothing is the same about our life. But in so many ways it has been the best thing for us. We are closer as our little family of four. We've had to lean on God in a major way like we have never had to before. We are learning so much about ourselves and about living a life outside our comfort zone. And when we hit a rough patch that seems unbearable, we pick up the phone and we call those people who are back home rooting for us and loving us. We are constantly reminded of how MUCH we have to be thankful for.

But we ARE going to miss our families tomorrow on Thanksgiving. My mom was up two weeks ago and Jamie's mom was here last week (and actually my brother, Caleb, arrived yesterday) so we have had some quality time with family that has been wonderful for us (and the girls)!

 

Although according to Audrie- all she is thankful for is... 

When she brought this home from school yesterday, Jamie and I looked at each other and asked "should we make some spaghetti for Audrie to eat on Thanksgiving??".

Heck no. We are not eating spaghetti on Thanksgiving.

We are actually all getting together with our friends, Jason and Sam, for an entire day of feasting. I think the basic plan is: breakfast while watching the Macy's parade on TV (we took the girls downtown tonight to see the giant balloons getting aired up- so awesome!), then lunch and naps, then the official Thanksgiving Feast begins in the evening. I'm so excited! I may break out an old pair of maternity pants for the all day eating.

I hope each of you have an amazing Thanksgiving Day!

"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever."Psalm 107:1

just another saturday

 Last Saturday Jamie and I headed out with the girls and I decided to finally bring my camera along to try to capture some of the fall leaves in our neighborhood (as well as to get some photos of a typical Saturday for us here in the city).

 I am absolutely loving the Fall here! My walk to work every morning is really stunning and even though my job is stressful, I try to enjoy my beautiful walk on the way.

 The leaves in our neighborhood are so bright yellow!

 We are thankful that we are still able to be outside with the girls now, too.

 You can see Audrie likes it, too!

 The cold air makes Annie's face water, but she loves being outside. So much that we have to avoid saying that word around her! :)

 Jamie looking all cute in his man-scarf.

 We were meeting Jason and Sam at the subway station and the girls always get excited when they see them coming...

 Yay, it's Jason and Sam (and Samuel)!!

 We got on the subway train to head downtown.

 Annie gets really excited when she hears the train coming and points her long little finger out in excitement every time.

 We rode down to 82nd street which is one of our favorite neighborhoods to spend time in. Lots of family friendly things to do around there.

 And the leaves there were just as gorgeous!

 And of course there is a Starbucks on every corner (which we frequent often)!

 As well as cute random stores that sell just about anything you can think of...

 Annie looking all sweet...

 All the cute stores are so tempting to me and it's hard for me not to want to SHOP every single day here.

 As we walked along I was reminded how every few feet it seems there is a beautiful photo spot just waiting for a photo shoot...

 Random photo of Sam pushing Samuel in the stroller (we have one of these plastic bubbles for our stroller, too- so great to keep warmth in and the girls actually don't mind it).

 Me and Jamie...

 Me and my two little crazy girlies.

 We were walking up and down the sidewalk trying to kill time while we waited for our table at a restaurant. (Thanks, Jamie, for the photos.)

 Samuel is awake!

 We were standing next to some neat red church doors, so we played a game for a few minutes pretending to knock on various people's door (Santa, Elmo, Grandma, a scary troll, etc).

 Finally our table was ready. It's a big feat when we all attempt to sit down for a meal together at a restaurant! When the waitress asked how many, Jason said 4 adults and twenty kids- because that's what it feels like sometimes! :)

 Jason was very patient with Audrie while she showed him every letter she has learned to write at school.

 And we were as equally impressed with Samuel's ability to feed himself cheerios!

 We ate at the Popover Cafe that is famous for it's amazing 'popover' muffins. So delicious! We actually made it through the meal and had a lovely brunch together.

 Then back on the subway to head back home. I really like this photo of Jamie and Audrie in the subway station.

 Annie waiting for her train to arrive...

 

Audrie is just another new yorker on the subway...

 Sam helped entertain Annie on the ride home.

 And here we are back on our block (that's our apartment building on the right).

 Audrie was tired from all the walking that morning...

 

 Both girls always race each other up the steps. "Home sweet home".  :)

Well, that's it. Hope you enjoyed a little insight into a Saturday morning for us.