the two girls

The face of pure fun!

thetwogirls — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:42:52 +0000

I love when I capture pictures of Olivia where she’s experiencing pure kid joy. It’s like when she’s running and laughing at the same time. She’s not thinking about what she’s doing, she’s just experiencing the moment. Here are a few recent examples from the Weehawken, Kids Fun Day.

Olivia Swimming: after 6 weeks at camp

thetwogirls — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:30:43 +0000

hey Olivia, what do you like best about summer…

thetwogirls — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:54:32 +0000

playing in the water!!!!!

after a day at the pool...

maybe america does have talent…

thetwogirls — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:51:02 +0000

My kid is a performer. I’ve known this about her for years. Since her first Music Together classes when she was 6 months old, she’s liked to bounce to music, clap hands, dance and sing songs. I’ve witnessed first hand her singing and dancing, but this summer, Olivia stepped up, on two separate occasions, and performed by herself in front of other people. There was no hesitation, no pushing and prodding by her mother (okay, maybe a tiny bit of pushing). I can’t explain the sense of pride that I felt as I watched her confidently get up there and do here thing.

Dancing to “Wake up America” for Granddad Williams at the Williams family reunion (it took three videos to capture the whole dance, but I’m only going to subject you to the first one).

Singing “Ellie the Elephant” with Mr. Ray at Village Swim (please ignore my singing in the background!)

it IS a pretty, great state….

thetwogirls — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 00:11:43 +0000

Olivia and I went to Utah for two weeks right after school ended and before camp started. Olivia was in cousin heaven the moment she arrived. Aunt Amy, Uncle Rich, Ellie, Lauren and Cole were great hosts. They once again welcomed us into their home with open arms. Grandma Janet also came up from Moab to hang out. I got to see a large number of my own cousins at the Williams family reunion. We survived a wicked thunderstorm while camping out one night, were introduced to the yumminess that is “Frogurt”, cheered on Ellie at her swim meet, and celebrated with Lauren and Cole as their school year came to an end. I got my Cafe Rio fix and spent time with Chuck. Olivia and I visited Grandma Mitzi’s grave and hung out with Grandpa Doug. Despite the 5 hour plane ride, we love going to Utah. There’s an ease to it that just doesn’t exist here in the NY/NJ area. Plus it will always be “home”. However, next time, we think Utah should come to us!

Cousin Feet

Early morning trampoline jumping

cousins helping cousins

do the hoedown....the hoedown....

Grandma and her new man...

Visiting Grandma Mitzi's grave

Grandpa!

oldest and youngest granddaughter

I love these kids!

she’s 5… again… and again… and again….

thetwogirls — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:35:33 +0000

Olivia turned 5 on July 5th, but the celebration of Missy O’s birthday lasted for weeks!

Celebration #1: Picking out presents with Daddy at Target before he left for China

Celebration #2: Picking out presents with Grandma at Target (we love Target!)

Celebration #3: Cake and presents in Utah with mommy, Ellie, Lauren, Cole, Aunt Amy, Uncle Rich, Lisa, Tanner and Tyler

Cake #1

I love puppies & purses

Celebration #4: Cake and presents on her actual birthday with mommy, Jeannie, Russ, Morgan, Cole, Kristin and Clint

a girl's got to have pretty nails

cake #2

Celebration #5: Actual Birthday Party at Village Swim Club with good friends

Morgan & Olivia

b-a-r-b-i-e!

william

cupCAKE #3

Celebration #6: Picking out presents with Jeannie at …you guessed it… Target!

Celebration #7: Dinner with Matt and Danielle to open presents!

Three days after turning 5, Olivia asked me when she’s turning 6. Slow down my sweet girl….slow down!

what a difference 9 months makes…

thetwogirls — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:38:28 +0000

I read somewhere that a good way to see how much your child changes over a year is to take a picture on their first day school and then again on their last day of school. Mother Nature didn’t cooperate on Olivia’s last day of Pre-K, so I couldn’t take a picture outside by the front door, but here are two pictures…. It’s amazing to see how different she looks.

First Day of School - Sept 2008

Last Day of School - June 2009

5 years ago today….

thetwogirls — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 04:30:11 +0000

Olivia Rose Mitchell-Rheindorf was born. I can’t believe my little girl is five. The past five years have had its fair share of laughter, tears (by both mommy and daughter), wonderment, successes, some failures, and a handful (well, maybe more than a handful) of timeouts. I can’t wait to see what the next 5 years will bring. Happy Birthday Missy O! I love you!

Love, your Mommy!

Day 1

1 year

2years old

3 years old

4 years old

5 years old

Happy 4th of July…

thetwogirls — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 04:00:47 +0000

In celebration of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson sailing up the Hudson River (well it probably wasn’t called the Hudson River back then, but wow…what if it was… that would have been a huge coincidence, huh?) Macy’s launched their annual 4th of July fireworks from the Hudson River instead of the East River (ha! take that Brooklyn!). This means we had a spectacular view of the fireworks from our backyard. I like fireworks as much as the next person, but it was truly was an amazing sight to see them so close with the Manhattan skyline in the background.

One of six barges that would set off the fireworks

New York Fire Boat

"say...fireworks!"

catching fireflies

illegal sparklers

mommy...is it going to be loud?

getting ready for the show

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh....

a little white trash toboganning…

thetwogirls — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:27:24 +0000

3 cousins + 3 neighborhood kids + 1 skateboard + 1 moving dolly = hours of fun!