Atlanta Botanical Gardens

We recently visited the Atlanta Botanical Gardens in the evening to see its Holiday Lights display.  One of Daisy's friends, Piper, came with her parents, too!

Warm, leafy, and Christmas-y

Daisy and Piper

These white lamps changed colors in rhythm to the
Christmas music pumped into the gardens

The greenhouses had poinsettias and fantastic
orchids with millions of green laser lights

After dinner, it was dark!

Miniature trains chugged around this little city

Fun to be here with a good friend!

Magical

The lights were really well done. I enjoyed sipping a hot drink with our friends and finding carolers in hidden corners. I love it when we can do something fun while also letting Daisy be an energetic three year old and run around. She was exhausted by the end of the night! This is going to be a long Christmas season...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Through our preschool's social events and workdays, we've had the opportunity to meet some amazing families who don't necessarily have children in Daisy's class. One Swedish/German couple we met sends their 4 year old daughter to the German School on Saturdays, so we've bonded over that and now carpool together. Here's a video of Daisy and Smilla playing in the leaves after class last week:

We hadn't really found a time to hang out before Thanksgiving, so the holiday seemed like a perfect opportunity to get our busy husbands together. We were so thankful to celebrate a delicious meal with them in their beautiful home, watch the girls absorb themselves in play, and talk about Europe and the US. Here are some of Helena's pictures from the feast: 

It was a meaningful day for us, reflecting on how much we are grateful for. After four months in Atlanta, we've found a lot to appreciate!

A 3-Year-Old's Halloween

Princess Daisy helped design a jack o' lantern...

...allowed her mom to play with her hair...

...played in a decidedly un-princesslike way at the playground...

...walked through a neighborhood parade with her friends from church...

...and did her first trick or treating! She tried to fish inside the buckets for M&M's most of the time, but her chosen candy to eat was a lollypop.

We went to about a dozen doors before quitting - I had chorus, and besides, goodness gracious, it was already almost 7:00! Plus, I could already imagine how long that 1/4 filled bucket would last her at one candy per day.

Another girl we passed on the streets was dressed as Snow White. The two girls stopped and chatted for a bit, then hugged. Princess Sisterhood!