Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! We rang in the New Year as a family a little early, as it was unlikely ANY of us were going to make it until midnight (unless you count getting up to feed Kira around that time).


We celebrated with the Arking clan, a tradition that had started many years ago with the mommies and daddies making crepes and drinking champagne together on New Year's Eve but was interrupted over the course of the years for various reasons. This year we finally resurrected the tradition, starting with dinner at a yummy vegetarian restaurant. Alex and Ari sat in "big kid" booster seats instead of high chairs and even tried a little bit of the food- Alex seemed to like the "chicken" but Ari wasn't fooled at all. They both devoured the fortune cookies, though, of course.

Alex and Ari wait for dinner (while Kira sleeps in the background)

Ari gets into the New Year's Eve spirit

The whole crowd at dinner

Mommy and Melissa

Kira wakes up just in time for dessert!

Following dinner we all came back to our house to make crepes. The kids had a blast running around on a sugar high, and they finally crashed a bit after 9:00 p.m. Not quite midnight but close enough and much later then they made it last year!

Alex says "Mmmmm...that crepe was good!"

The Arking clan waits eagerly for their crepes

Ari helps Vivi with a puzzle

There's really no better way to spend New Year's Eve- with family and friends, looking back at the years gone by and anticipating all of the happy times in the years ahead (including a new addition to the Arking family!) We wish all of our friends and family happiness, health and blessings in the year to come.

Alex, the morning after...