city scenes found on my iphone
December 15, 2011
December 14, 2011
Simon: 1 year!!!
What a crazy, amazing day! It's almost 6am and I am crying as I type this. Where, oh where, has this year gone?! How is it possible that my tiny baby boy is a whole year old today?! This last year has been the best year of my life.
It is so much fun having Simon in our family.
Simon is hilarious, sweet, and expressive. He "talks" very loudly (especially when others are chatting) and will often use his hands to make his point. He loves his family. He is so happy when everyone is home and he can crawl to and from each of us.
When that first beat of dancing music comes out of the speakers he dashes to Daddy and stretches his arms up as high as he can (and grunts "uh, uh, uh") until Brian picks him up and swings him around the room.
He loves to eat cheese, grapes, cheerios, quinoa and vegetable soups. He will tolerate oatmeal if it has enough applesauce mixed in. He won't eat anything with wheat in it. (I'm assuming his horrible eczema was a reaction to wheat I was eating. I was never successful eliminating it 100% from my diet. But, fortunately he seems to have grown out of the skin reaction.)
He makes car sounds when he plays with cars. And he loves to give kisses. Tight lipped, with a long, "mmmmm". Followed by a big smile.
He still take 3 hour naps every morning, which is lovely.
We recently started standing him on his own. And the first few times he would lock his knees, get really excited, balance for 3 seconds and then fall over like a tree. He has since learned to squat.
When he is tired he gets really, really goofy. He will laugh at anything.
He insists on being held while I cook dinner. He loves pulling things off counter tops. Not a good combination in a tiny kitchen.
He gets really excited when he walks around holding onto our hands or while pushing a chair.
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expert climber, not mama approved |
Labels:
Simon
December 7, 2011
December 6, 2011
Activity Advent: Catch up
We've been having so much fun with our Christmas advent activities that I haven't had a second to sit down and record it. Since I'm covering 5 days in one post, this is a long one.
Day 1
I bought Isabella and Oliver each one of the chocolate advent calendars at Trader Joe's for two reasons: 1) they are only $1 and 2) I always wanted one as a kid, but never, ever got one. After eating the first piece Isabella declared the chocolate as "bad". But continues opening each window, each night with delight. (It is pretty nasty chocolate.)
We also watched a Christmas video from lds.org.
Day 2
I finally finished the actual advent calendar (with Isabella's help, of course) and hung it up on our door. I used sticky notes on the inside so I can change and move things around as needed.
Our activity for the day was to go see the store windows on 5th Avenue. We timed it right so Brian could meet us after work.
Bergdorf Goodman's windows were so beautiful...as always.
We were near our favorite chicken and rice cart and needed dinner, so we waited.
A long line = delicious food.
On our walk home we passed Grom and had to stop for some sipping chocolate. Grom's hot chocolate is delicious, but a bit too rich and thick to be my favorite.
Brian gave Simon his first taste of chocolate. I think he was in heaven.
As was Oliver.
Day 3
Our actual activity for the day was the church Christmas concert, but we had a day full of fun before the evening event.
We headed out to find the "secret subway station". An old beautiful station that isn't used anymore, but the downtown 6 train passes it as it turns around to head uptown after the City Hall stop.
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The steps at City Hall |
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My camera couldn't capture the station outside the train, but here's Isabella peering out. Here are some online photos, if you are curious. |
We finally made it to the concert! It was the first time we got there early enough to sit in the chapel, where it sounded fantastic! I still feel uplifted, and that was 3 days ago!
The kids were super busy and a huge handful (since the concert started at their bedtime), but they did well considering. It was also awesome to see so many friends we haven't seen in so long!
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This is us at the end of the concert. (Thank you, Jill!) |
Day 4
We took a break from all the busy outings of the previous days and made snowflakes.
Day 5
After school we worked on making some gifts for loved ones. It seemed to be very therapeutic for Isabella. I've tried after school art projects before, to help her decompress from school, but they haven't worked, until this one.
We took a break from all the busy outings of the previous days and made snowflakes.
Day 5
After school we worked on making some gifts for loved ones. It seemed to be very therapeutic for Isabella. I've tried after school art projects before, to help her decompress from school, but they haven't worked, until this one.
Labels:
Create,
Holidays,
New York City
December 2, 2011
On a warm winter's day...
You know when Mother Nature gives you days full of 60 degrees and sunshine at the end of November there's no point to wasting it! On Monday I left the house at 8:20am to take Isabella to school and we rolled in and straight to bed at 9:00pm that night. It was a day full of spontaneity and fun. It was a lovely. I walked all day long, like the good ole days. I learned that my feet have become wimps in the last year.
All the Thanksgiving tourists had left and Central Park felt more peaceful than usual. Like the quiet calm after a sudden, raging storm. We soaked in the tranquility. I snapped tons of photos of my willing boy, turned super model for the day. I was his paparazzi.
After we picked up Isabella from school we ate, played, and headed to the Winter's Eve Celebration at Lincoln Center.
As a side note: that evening as I juggled my three little ones I once again realized I was the only one around with a 1:3 (adult:child) ratio. Some people call it brave. Some people call it crazy. I am learning bravery and craziness often go hand-in-hand.
All the Thanksgiving tourists had left and Central Park felt more peaceful than usual. Like the quiet calm after a sudden, raging storm. We soaked in the tranquility. I snapped tons of photos of my willing boy, turned super model for the day. I was his paparazzi.
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The Bow Bridge. It's the one in all the movies. |
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Letters out of sticks. |
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Leaf hat on The Mall. |
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Being a monkey at the Central Park Zoo. |
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Dining on Waffles & Dinges. |
After eating his Waffles & Dinges, Oliver crashed and Simon woke up from his morning nap. We walked all the way to the Chrysler Building and met Brian for lunch. We ate at my new favorite sandwich shop, Potbelly. Awesome, tasty, filling sandwiches for $5.50!
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Simon's lunch: Joe's Os. |
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During lunch break we walked to the UN. And back. |
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Chipotle on a rock in Central Park. Where do you eat your Chipotle. |
We had so much fun at the festivities, and my hands were so full with my beautiful babes, that I didn't take many photos. We loved running into so many friends from all over this city! I am grateful we have such wonderful people in our lives.
We ended our festive night by watching the ice carving in front of the church. The artist was working so fast, but the nutcracker was melting even faster!
I hope and pray such beautiful days don't stay away too long this year!
As a side note: that evening as I juggled my three little ones I once again realized I was the only one around with a 1:3 (adult:child) ratio. Some people call it brave. Some people call it crazy. I am learning bravery and craziness often go hand-in-hand.
Labels:
Food,
Holidays,
New York City
November 30, 2011
Our Play Space
It's kind of funny how things happen sometimes. I really enjoy browsing blogs on my downtime (rare, but true). Blogs are quick bits of inspiration that don't require a time commitment. Perfect to do while nursing or waiting on the subway platform. One blog that I enjoy, Childhood 101, began posting readers' play spaces a few weeks ago. It was fun and inspiring to see "normal" people's spaces.
Every time I looked at our disheveled bookcase, crammed with kids stuff, I thought, "Maybe I'll clean it out one day and send in a photo." And that thought morphed into, "If I do organize our stuff I will send in a photo." Which would be a fun way to share a bit of our space with a group of worldwide blog readers.
I had begun to mentally clean out the kids' shelves a few weeks before my hands were free to do the work. I cleaned and organized for just about an hour (a benefit of a small space) before it looked good. I snapped a few photos and submitted it to Childhood 101. A few days ago I noticed our space was featured on Childhood 101! It's so fun to see it there; our little home. Hopefully it will inspire others who live in tight spaces. You can see the bit I wrote about our space on Childhood 101 or view other play spaces on the site as well.
Every time I looked at our disheveled bookcase, crammed with kids stuff, I thought, "Maybe I'll clean it out one day and send in a photo." And that thought morphed into, "If I do organize our stuff I will send in a photo." Which would be a fun way to share a bit of our space with a group of worldwide blog readers.
I had begun to mentally clean out the kids' shelves a few weeks before my hands were free to do the work. I cleaned and organized for just about an hour (a benefit of a small space) before it looked good. I snapped a few photos and submitted it to Childhood 101. A few days ago I noticed our space was featured on Childhood 101! It's so fun to see it there; our little home. Hopefully it will inspire others who live in tight spaces. You can see the bit I wrote about our space on Childhood 101 or view other play spaces on the site as well.
Labels:
Home
November 29, 2011
Scenes from Thanksgiving Weekend
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend in Connecticut with Brian's family. The weather was beyond perfect (the mid 60's?!?!) and we spent a lot of time playing outside. We had so much fun and I took tons of photos.
Here are afew a lot of my favorites:
Here are a
Thursday:
waiting for the turkey
Friday:
soaking up the warm sunshine
Saturday:
hiking to Blackledge Falls
Saturday Night:
roasting marshmallows
(cozy campfires are awesome)
Labels:
Connecticut,
Family,
Holidays
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