Category: <span>Moments</span>

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The best adventures are the ones that aren’t necessarily planned. We took our little wild ones to see some big and really wild animals at the Philadelphia Zoo. It must be noted that we’re members of the zoo and admission and parking are free for us for the duration of the membership (1 year). The zoo is also a 10 minute ride from our house and yet, somehow, we have managed to omit the zoo from our weekend lineup for all of spring. However this happened, it was remedied on an overcast and fairly cool, albeit, humid summer’s morning.

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Not one to overstimulate my children and try to see and do everything, we took it easy and visited only the exhibits the girls wanted to see. We saw the polar bear, the penguins, the reptiles, and the big cats. These were the girls’ choices and I am pleased they led the way. The zoo posts all sorts of factoids about its inhabitants. For example, did you know that orangoutangs make new nests for themselves every day? Not only that, but they also make pillows, mattresses and even blankets from leaves and straw daily. Now that’s cleanliness and room service I can get behind!

IMG_4168 (1)Just as the crowds started to get significant, we headed home to peace, quiet, and air conditioning. That evening, we grilled middle eastern chicken kabobs. The kids were invited to Baba and Deda’s house for the better part of the day on Sunday and they’re not ones to turn down an invitation from their grandparents. I hear there was gardening and splashing in the back yard as well as books, games, and activities. All in all a much needed lovely weekend.

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This past weekend was supposed to be amazing. I had grand plans for the three days at home catching up on rest and relaxation. Except that just as Sophia was getting over a stomach bug, Eliza came down with it and Sophia somehow, somewhere picked up the common cold.



In the end, we did enjoy some of the weekend despite all the time spent nursing the girls to health.

My sister hosted a beautiful dinner to celebrate the Fourth of July and we baked a Danish dream cake to accompany our singing her a very Happy Birthday. I took the girls to a woodworking gallery where we ogled chairs which cost $10,000.


Evan and I cooked; we made ice cream, lamb chops, burgers, chicken cutlets, kugel, and a peach and blueberry crumble, too.

And although we would have done just fine, we appreciated all the help my parents lent us this weekend. My Dad came in on Sunday to spend a bit of 1×1 time with Sophia and then, the girls both spent the better part of the day at their house on Monday.

More than the hands-on help or the blintzes and chicken soup, what we got was just what we needed—support. When you’re up in the middle of the night with a baby who is so warm that you’re sweating holding her and are not sure if you should head to the ER, it’s nice to know that you’re not alone.

All the reasons we moved back to Philadelphia and our decisions to uproot our life in Maryland are justified each time we see our family.

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Moments

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Long ago, I dreamed about birthday celebrations with balloons, a colorful cake, and a carousel. I don’t remember what my own birthday celebrations were like when I was young, but the dream I had for myself, Evan and I made a reality for Eliza. Our friends and family came together to celebrate Eliza’s big 2 and enjoy the glorious day that was Saturday. Until recently, Eliza had been very nervous about sitting on a pony while riding a carousel preferring to sit on a bench. That all changed on Saturday probably after she saw how much fun her cousins were having riding the different animals on the carousel.

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Some details about the party: we held it at 10 AM to try and beat the heat. We served breakfast and cake/desserts choosing to sing Happy Birthday earlier on so as to not ruin anyone’s appetite for lunch. The venue had a carousel and mini golf providing ample entertainment for kids of all ages. Since the venue was so close to Philadelphia’s chinatown, we served fortune cookies with a custom fortune as our favors and the kids got those and a few other trinkets in a asian take-out container.

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Eliza loved her party and Sophia carried off the role of the birthday sister with aplomb. In fact, Sophia has been a supportive birthday sister for a whole week as small celebrations and birthday presents trickled in for Eliza.

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We spent the afternoon of the birthday party decompressing from all the festivities with a cold beverage and plenty of presents in hand.

It was hard to beat the excitement and fun of Saturday but we came close with a trip to a local farm tractor ride and all. We picked blueberries, peaches, and even some apricots. The girls loved the outdoors and we’re looking forward to making peach cobbler.

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Two. Eliza turned two yesterday. These past two years have been a whirlwind—a happy, chaotic, tumultuous whirlwind. Eliza is truly a little piece of sunshine. She has captured our hearts and souls and we love her to the moon and back, twice over.

We spent the day celebrating as befits a newly minted two year old. There were birthday pancakes with sprinkles and a candle followed by a luncheon with family and a homemade birthday cake.

This year, I opted for a strawberry cream cake which was a chiffon cake with macerated strawberries and a cream/cream cheese frosting. It was incredibly light, not too-sweet and tasted of June, of strawberries, and of family celebrations. Eliza, much like both of her parents, liked the frosting and the strawberries over the cake itself.


I would be remiss if I let on that we celebrated Eliza’s birthday over just one day. Two years apparently meant two celebrations and two cakes, too.


And because two is so big, we decided to capture this age, this magnificent little girl, and the day on camera.

This is two.

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