Sunday, February 18, 2007

Elo in Charge


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Eloise wanted Ruby to follow her direction and pose for photos rather than spend time looking in the mirror.

clenched fists!


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Total excitement for Eloise.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Audrey and El


Audrey and El
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Look at Eloise's face here - it speaks volumes about how highly she regards Audrey! Look at her legs stretched out, feet flexed with happiness. Audrey, we miss you already!!!

Audrey & Girls


Audrey & Girls
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
A couple of weekends ago our most loved "nanny" from Burlington came to visit us. She is more than just a nanny though... what an excellent friend - an incredible human. We had so much fun showing her around Providence, eating good food and catching up. Only Audrey can get Ru and El to sit still for braids...

Braids by Audrey


Braids by Audrey
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
We are growing up way too fast. Look at our tremendous new hairdos!

mystery baby

Yesterday we had our big monumental ultrasound and there is indeed a baby in my tummy. With all of the distractions of everyday life I seem to forget I'm pregnant most of the time, and I feel sorry that the little critter doesn't get the in-utero attention it deserves. Now if that's not enough, I decided not to find out the sex! I never thought I could restrain myself from blurting out "WHAT IS IT?" while lying there, but I was so nervous that they would tell me it was another girl and I wouldn't be as elated as I should be. I kept my mouth shut.

If I can get the scanner functioning I'll post some of those alien ultrasound shots. Unfortunately you won't get to see a view of the legs or feet, because they wouldn't show us that angle - in case Myles could tell what to look for between the thighs!

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Psycho Ruby


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
She has made this face since she was 10 months old! I hope it never leaves her... besides, wouldn't you be this excited if you were wearing a crown of pink tulle?

Eloise


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
The tutu progressed towards their heads when they were through with dancing.

Dance Party!


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
My sassy ballerinas.

Glasses and Jammies


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Kathleen and Jim came to visit a couple of weekends ago and the girls thought they were special trying on their glasses. Notice the pigtails - which they call "puppy ears"...

Christmas Dresses


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
An old pic, but pretty darn cute.

LAZY!

I wish I had a decent excuse for not blogging regularly. I not only want to keep you all informed and entertained, but I also want to give myself a theraputic moment to digest all that's gone on in my brain. Even if this venue doesn't seem appropriate for sorting things out, it occasionally works wonders for my psyche! But today I realize I haven't blogged because I like television too much and I am just beat at the end of the day to try to process anything - even the silly and trivial shit that makes people laugh. I am REALLY an unhealthy person... I can't seem to muster up energy to read decent books, I crave trashy magazines (some things never change) and bad reality tv. And I actually like reading good books. Oh, and I like to cook delicious food, but I haven't managed to make anything out of the ordinary or decent in what seems like months. A while back Myles said to me, "Remember when you used to make yummy dinner stuff like roast chicken? What ever happened to that?" I had to laugh because roast chicken was apparently a more "upscale" version of my cooking - and the reality is that roasting a chicken is about as complicated as following the directions on the back of the box of Annie's Shells and Cheddar.

So, I feel like a beast. Savage moments... scraping by financially, emotionally, maternally. It's all pretty overwhelming. And how the weeks seem to fly by now that we have school, swim class, story hour and an occasional "Dad Day". I look forward to those "Dad Days" like you wouldn't believe. I'm almost ashamed about how eager we all are to spend time with him. Talk about savage though - I think Myles has forgotten how to do a dish, fold clothes and pick up after himself. His Daddy skills are surpassed by none though, and I guess that should suffice.

I should mention that my girls are pretty much potty trained now. YAAAAAY! We still put them in pull-ups at night, but only due to my laziness. I think once I start waking up every 3 hours to pee (you know, when my uterus is the size of a watermelon), I'll take them for a middle of the night pee and just try to keep them in undies for bedtime. Today we went to the mall and visited the bathroom 3 times in 2 hours. The entire business of potty trips takes a total of 10-15 minutes each time. I have given up on handwashing because it takes too long... and I caved in and bought a bunch of travel-sized Purell instead. What's going to happen when I have to pee more often than they do? I'm not conjuring up a pretty picture of our outings.

Perhaps I have a second to post some photos. You deserve these pics loyal readers. My girls are growing into such wonderful little ladies!

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Mom turns 31...


Happy Birthday Mollie!
Originally uploaded by rsfrd.
Sorry I've been so out of touch (to all 8 of my blog readers), but we just ended our bout with a 2.5 week cold from hell. How did we end up with twins who have asthma? It's really exhausting to say the least.

When I have more time I promise to post some more pictures and give y'all a better update on our lives... and maybe I'll show you my new belly!

Saturday, December 16, 2006

La Squinta


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Can't get anyone to pose for a picture these days... especially in the sunshine.

climbing Scooby


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.

en fuego


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
I love this shot of Myles' stinky toes warming up by our little fireplace. It makes his feet look so much nicer than they really are...

No, actually, the real reason I'm posting this is because I'm so happy to have a home where we can get cozy by a fire. The girls love it, Myles loves it, and I've taken to building fires - even when it's 55 degrees.

The Charlie Brown Tree


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
We didn't pick this one, but it was much adored by the girls... and after this photo, both of them peed in their pants.

Christmas Tree Chopped!


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
We are alive here in Providence, just busy as hell. It seems as though there aren't enough days to fit in all the fun and family and gift making that I originally planned. Honestly, it will be a miracle if I ever get the holiday cards happening... sorry gang. It might have to be a New Year's card, or better yet, a Valentine. I just got through making the cookies and I'm having a hard time not eating about 10 in a row...

Monday, November 27, 2006

One Bun

It really is only one bean in my uterus. My doc gave me a quickie ultrasound the other day just for fun and to set my mind at ease that I wasn't going to go through the twin thing again. Hooray! I've also been prescribed ginger and vitamin B6 for nausea and it's working really well. I must admit I was skeptical about herbs and vitamins... but what a difference. Now if only they'd prescribe me some speed for lack of energy, then I'd be just about normal.

Lots going on these days... We're trying to take a trip to NYC for a couple of days while Myles has a light schedule (Central Park Zoo, Natural History Museum, old friends, Magnolia Cupcakes and new shoes in order). I'm really excited. I don't think I've been to the city in a year and I miss it like hell.

I need to write out Ru and El's applications to private schools, register our car, get new plates, get new insurance, have the couch slip-covered because it's hideous, and sew about 12 curtains for the house. (Now that the leaves are off the trees nobody needs to see my pale naked ass scampering around our house. Besides, we have lived here for about 6 months now.)

Off to put the girlies to bed. And yes, it's after 10 pm. They love to stay up late now...

Friday, November 17, 2006

Blog-a-putic

Here's my therapy for the moment: listing what appeals to me in the food department.

plain bagels, toasted. Gobs of cream cheese.
Total Greek yogurt (full fat) with the honey cup thingy on the side
honey roasted peanuts
honey nut cheerios
extra painful sharp cheddar with stoned wheat thins
cold cold cold apple cider
clementines
fresh pineapple chunks, close to frozen
ramen noodles
poached eggs on an english muffin
hot chocolate (for the afternoon pick-me-up it's good to resort to an old fave)
plain croissants from Seven Stars Bakery
apples (honeycrisp, granny smith)
pressed cuban sandwiches (for those not in the know: ham, cheese, mayo, mustard, pickle, on sweet white bread)
Annie's shells and white cheddar, plenty of ketchup for dipping (don't ask...)
EGG SALAD SANDOs with extra mayo on a baguette
and last but not least, if I"m feeling really brave I'll eat broccoli soaked in soy sauce. But I don't think it's about the broccoli. Something about that soy flavor makes me want to lick the bowl...

Tomorrow I'm going to find myself some really tart lemon sorbet. Actually, if Myles wasn't at work right now, I'd be sending him to the market for just that - or maybe Edy's lime popsicles. YUM! That's it. I knew this brainstorming would result in a groundbreaking flavor... LIME. Real lime though, not like the green gummy bear lime. Maybe there's a lime in my fridge? I'd make a phony lime-ade with sugar and seltzer.

It's pretty pathetic that this is the only stuff I can think about right now, but if I'm not on top of the food cravings, then the nausea sets in and I'm stuck with crackers and pretzles for the next few hours. The intensity and specificity of flavor during pregnancy is truly overwhelming for me - I mean, I can get pretty hyped up about food when I'm not pregnant - but this is like I'm on a special mission to find those "just right" things. As dorky as this sounds, these feelings are so primal and desperate even. For example, when I'm tired and I need to sit down, there's no, "okay, I'll just wait 'til I get to the car". Instead it's "I NEED TO SIT DOWN NOW and I'll do anything including getting down on the floor if that's my only option". Now, with that being said, throw 2 two-year olds into the mess (and they're pretty primal too, for those of you without kid exposure) and you've got 3 really grumpy people trying to get along. Oh wait, I shouldn't forget the fourth person: the completely over-tired and over-worked stressed-out surgical intern (also prone to primal urges that are only deemed acceptable in the comfort of your own home).

I'm trying to hold it all together one bite at a time.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

In Hiding...

This has gotten pretty pathetic - I've neglected to say anything interesting about our lives these days. I figure the pictures say enough, mostly, but if I want to be honest, let's just say I'm exhausted.

Well, no actually, to get specific about the exhaustion, I'm really just pregnant.

(Only 8 weeks gang, so don't get too excited. But craving Cuban pork sandwiches and fighting nausea here and there should prove that this little bun is warming just fine.)

If one more person says, "are you sure it's just one in there this time?" I might have to punch them. I'm making the assumption that I don't feel nearly as crummy as I did with Ru and El in the first trimester, so the hormones can't be double, right? We don't have an ultrasound until 20 weeks I guess - which should be kind of a bummer considering we got to see the girls in my tummy at EVERY doc's visit. So we'll do the old fashioned guess work and look at my weight and measurements in the meantime.

More later. Have fun digesting this information and conjuring up images of what my life will look like with 3 (or 4 if you include Myles) children to take care of...

Belated Halloween


Felines
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Here they are, the famous cheetah and jaguar in full excitement. Would you be surprised to know that Eloise (on the right) is still very happy to be wearing her costume around town for fun?

Friday, October 27, 2006

Frenchie Outfits


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
When my mom goes all out and gets cute things, she really nails it. These hats and jackets cannot be worn without a gazillion compliments from random strangers. But I must admit, I'm getting a bit tired of telling people that I don't know where my mom got them...

All Four


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Yet again, a moment when someone else grabbed the camera!

Feelin' the Love


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Twins are fucking cool.

Nature Moment


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
The best thing about living in Providence is living so darn close to my mom. We can just shoot over to her house and lie in her most perfect lawn, pick flowers and eat yummy meals (that I don't have to cook!). My mom's house also holds the world's most sought after vintage toy -
"Bug World" by Playschool. I can' t find another one of these things to save my life. Ebay-ers be on the look-out - I'll pay over $200 for another Bug World... but it must have all 3 little rubber bugs and decals intact.

Sorry I just nerded out and talked about vintage toys. But due to Bug World's insane popularity amongst all children, Ru and El are always entertained at my mom's place for hours. They cry when we leave.

Ellen and the Girls


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Vino, cake, a new pal... delightful.

Lunch on Thayer


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Here's a shot taken by our house guest Ellen. We all treated ourselves to an enormous slice of chocolate cake on a beautiful afternoon. It's nice to have someone else around to document me and my little bears. A change of camera perspective is nice.

Arborist Myles


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Myles still likes to climb trees just for the fun of it. Isn't that nice?

A Day in the Leaves


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
When Myles hangs with the girls, he often doesn't put them in proper clothes... hence the p.j.'s in the yard for leaf raking. I love this picture! Pure joy...

Little Miss Hat


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
El just loves this look. Whenever she sees a Red Sox hat she says, "Look, that guy is wearin' a Pawsox hat". Aw... isn't that cute? I've produced a little Rhode Islander in just a few months.

keeping warm


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
When you don't have fur, you have to curl up like a loaf of bread on the couch.

Scrotal Cat


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
This is what happened to Miguel when we got his mats shaved off. He looked pink and his stomach resembled a set of testicles. Poor thing. He thinks he's so handsome now!

Thursday, September 28, 2006

just browsing


just browsing
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
A historical moment captured at the Providence Place mall: estranged husband and wife browsing spiffy computer features at the new Mac store while children are at school.

mirrormirror


mirrormirror
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Here I am posing as identical twins.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

The Fiesta Begins


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
So Lyllah wears a mexican hat better than anyone. Really... who looks good in a mexican hat? Lyllah does. What that says about her, I'm not completely sure, except that I know it's a positive attribute. We (her most annoying friends) managed to keep her 30th birthday party a secret for a long time. Here she is with her beloved Ricky, sharing a mango margarita... or something like that.

My mom let me drive her brand new Mini Cooper S to the party, and since Myles wasn't feeling so well, I stayed over for the night. I laughed and danced and hoola-hooped more than ever. We played blow-pong and Flip Cup. I think I'm a Flip Cup expert actually... and I managed to see 2 butts and one naked person. We even made it to bed before midnight... considering the party started at 3pm.

Having a night that lets you forget about being a parent is SO rewarding. It's almost like giving your brain a full tank of gas and an oil change. Read on...

Jerry's Masterpiece


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Ly's dad showed up for her surprise 30th birthday all the way from California... and grilled up most of a cow and pig for the party. It was completely delicious. I felt like I was in Kitchen Stadium.

Yeah.


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
This was the kind of night we were having... Annika wears this suit almost better than Neil. Almost. Sorry I didn't capture the beer and wine stains on camera... they complete the effect in a subtle way.

Ly's Cake Delivery


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Annika the Banana presents the birthday cake.

Dancing Bananaman


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Mike in the banana suit. Dig the shirt. He's in touch with his African roots...

Breakfast-makers


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Post-party feast, sporting vintage aprons, feeling groggy.

Mill-ball and the Goat


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Here's Myles about to sneeze on a cute little goat. This farm in Brattleboro is so amazing... really it's a petting farm where you can hang with all of their baby animals and play with a bunch of farm related toys. On weekends you can feed bottles to their calves. It's called Retreat Farm I believe, and if any of you are in southern VT you should stop by there for a visit.

Kath and the Girls


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
On our little trip to Brattleboro (our first time back in VT since we moved) we feasted on plenty of tiny tomatoes from Kathleen and Jim's garden. I thought everybody's raincoats looked nice in the green grass...

Some time after this, the severity of Ruby and Eloise's colds got worse and we ended up at the hospital dosing them with albuterol again. If I could only manage to bring the fucking nebulizer on our vacations we would have saved ourselves a serious hassle. Poor Eloise though, her oxygen sats were down pretty low and we ended up putting her on the oral steroids again. Oh well. They are all feeling much much better... and guess what? I managed to escape getting sick. Myles suffered through his vacation week with a horribly clogged nose, phlegm, sneezing, etc. Better luck next time Webster family!

Ru's Work #2


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.

Ru's Work #1


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
I turned around one morning to see Ruby perched on a kitchen stool, drawing the most expressive orange faces. Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Letting Go

Our school visit was a total success - despite Ru and El's apprehension about entering the classroom to peek around. Once we were in there, they didn't want to leave! The teachers left really adorable "goody" bags with symbolic treasures on each student's coat hook. The bag had a little list of how the things inside would help the kids learn about their new classroom. So fucking cute that I will write it out for you:

Stickers- to remind you that we all stick together and help eachother
Puzzle piece- to remind you that you are needed to make our class complete
Cotton ball- to remind you that our class is full of kind words and warm feelings
Apple- to remind you that we will learn something new each day
Eraser- to remind you that we will all make mistakes and that is okay

Ugh. And to top it off, the teachers prepared a little gift for parents to take away. On the outside of the package it read:
"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children: one of these is roots, the other is wings."

Our gift was a pack of tissues!

My eyes are swelling with tears as I'm writing this... it's ridiculous. My entire life I have fought the onset of corny crying, probably because I spent years watching my mother weep while watching television. I'll never forget the night she was sniffling and tissue-ing through a fucking USA Network re-run of "Quantum Leap". It made me ill. I connected this silly display of emotion with weakness - and I guess I still do. Over the course of these years my ability to fend off crying has become a natural instinct. I know just how and when to shut the door on my feelings so they don't come pouring out my eyeballs. You should have seen me on my wedding day... the tears were there, ready to pop out, but I blinked them back like a champ. Nothing to stain my cheeks. Not a drop. (Well, I guess I should mention that my loner moments in front of a quality episode of Gray's Anatomy have not been tear-free... but NOBODY get's to watch Gray's with me. Not even Myles.)

To continue the saga, my therapist back in Burlington asked me why I wouldn't cry. I couldn't spell it out for her exactly. I still can't. It has something to do with other people seeing me in what I perceive to be a "weak" state. But recognizing how choked up I am about Ruby and Eloise setting forth into the world of learning allows me to address my emotional masquerade. What a blessing my kids are - a breath of fresh air, that crisp chilly air, like when you leave the windows open on a too-cold night. (did I just use the word BLESSING? gross.) I can confront these very real, very sentimental sensations because the girls are in my life, and it feels good, but there is some residual pain associated with that goodness. Am I making sense?

Have you ever seen a group of kindergarteners sing holiday songs at a school recital? Those were always tough moments for me and the eyeballs! Those tiny little bodies all dressed up and organized in a line - innocently shouting out words far beyond their comprehension to a toasty room packed with devoted parents. Quality Lump-in-the-throat material. What's going to happen when those kid are El and Ru? Will I open the floodgates?

Well, let's just take it one step at a time. For now, I promise to check back after tomorrow's school "day" without mommy. And I'll be honest about me and the tissues in the car after dropping them off - if I really can loosen up and let those salty wet ones go.

Monday, September 04, 2006

Chicken Soup with Stars


Chicken Soup with Stars
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
"Back to reality...". We are home, the evenings and mornings are cool and I made some chicken soup with stars for our mommy/kid dinners. They just love to dip bread in the broth - such a novelty for them. I'm excited to be home again to cook good fall meals. I'm happy to say that tomorrow is the first day "visit" to Montessori school for Ru and El, and then they start up for real on Thursday. I'm anticipating that the 2.5 hours that they spend there will be dreamy for me. In preparation for this extra "free time" I took a moment to set up my attic studio... sort of. It felt nice to have my own secret hidey spot with all of my crap lying around me. To honor the moment, I finally hemmed a pair of my favorite jeans after about a year of cuffing them (now I only have 3 more pairs to go). May I say that they look stunning on me now? No more dragging the bottoms on the cement.

Send me your long jeans everyone - or the ones that gap at the waist and expose your butt-crack. The tailor is in.

Beach Buddies


Beach Buddies
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Honestly this day at the beach was so perfect it would make the average, 1st time Nantucket visitor puke. Thankfully I get to experience these kinds of days at least once a summer.

I do believe the days are a bit richer in emotional content than they used to be though. Observing my kids as they play and discover new things makes me ache with nostalgia; all the while they build those sparkly memories... those memories that we refer back to in March of the following year, the memories that make us return to this crazy island in the middle of the sea.

When I was 3 years old I told my dad that I liked looking at the "cracklies and goldens" in the ocean.

I still do.

Elo's Moment


Elo's Moment
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Elo has a knack for appearing like she knows way more than we give her credit for as a 2.5 year old. In this photo, I'm imagining that she is having deep intellectual thoughts.

Chloe


Chloe
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
What I wouldn't do to be carefree like this! Just to visit that beachy blissed-out kid state-of-mind... on top of the world.

Elo and Chlo


Elo and Chlo
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Chloe has a tan like you wouldn't believe. And she's only 7! Don't their bathing suits look nice against the sky?

Daisy and Ru


Daisy and Ru
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Daisy had returned from her first stay at summer camp (happy to say it was in VT) and she seemed older and wiser than ever. I do forget that she's only 10 years old... what a crazy time for her! Kinda pre-puberty, kinda still a kid... not really knowing which realm of childhood she relates to the most. I loved watching her entertain Ru and El. It was almost as if she could vividly remember what it was like to be their age and she was re-discovering those kid toys and games along side them. If Ruby and Eloise grow up to be half of the kind soul that Daisy is - I will be so proud. I almost wish you could all meet her...

cousins


cousins
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Daisy and Chloe were so amazing with my kids while we were in Nantucket. At times I had a moment where I could sit in a beach chair while they all played - and I would close my eyes! Heaven.

Ru's moment


Ru's moment
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Pail. Shovel. Warm sand...

El and Ammie


El and Ammie
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
My mom and I took the girls out to 'Sconset for an ice cream - it is completely pristine out there and I always enjoy spying on the spot where we had our wedding reception. The tiny town is like a dream. Clearly this photo demonstrates how certain places can make people very happy.

stripes


stripes
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
My little towel bundles! The air was cold and the water was warm, but for some reason we couldn't convince them to keep their bodies under the water to keep out of the breeze. So we spent a lot of time at the beach wrapped in a towel and soggy bathing suits.