Winter Survival Techniques

So far this winter has been the most cold and bitter out of our four winters we've lived in New York City. I definitely like to hibernate during the winter and enjoy trying to find creative ways to keep busy and happy in our warm, cozy apartment. Here are some of our favorites:

Hide and seek. She's getting a little too good lately.

Arts and crafts. It's really fun now that she stays focused for a while.

Sitting on the windowsill watching the snow fall.

Having friends over. And giving them the Heimlich...I mean, hugs.

Making cookies.

Riding the "cooter" in the hallways.

We also read a lot of books, snuggled on the couch or in our cozy bed.

Olivia's Blessing

Angela and Jon's sweet baby, Olivia, was blessed in Connecticut while we were visiting. I got to play photographer and practice a ton with my Nikon. All the models were so patient and fun to photograph. I snapped 300+ photos of the event and had a hard time picking my favorites.

More Christmas Photos

Cousin Devon

Cousin Roman

Cousin Sabrina

Aunt Heather

Grandma Carini, aka Mimi

Shepherds

Favorite Christmas Photos

This girl loves her gum!

Jumping into daddy's arms.

Taking a break from unwrapping gifts and dancing!

Sad face.

Happy face.

Sweet, kissable face.

Sharing.

Christmas LIGHTS!!!

We got a car for a couple hours last week and went down to Dyker Heights in Brooklyn to see the amazing Christmas lights display. It's one of those neighborhoods where every tries to outdo the others in their fancy, crazy, amazing show of lights. We played Christmas tunes on the radio and drove slowly around the neighborhood for about an hour. I've never seen lights like these before! Here are only a few:

This photo doesn't do this house justice.
The home is huge and the Santa and toy soldiers are massive towers!

A Piece of Work!

If I could sculpt this it would totally qualify to be in the MOMA.

She found my goggle stash (from my science parties).

Toddler Time

Every Monday and Wednesday morning Isabella and I participate in a preschool co-op with some friends. Four other parents and I take turns hosting, helping or just dropping off (so it's 2 adults to 5 kids). The last two times I've had the opportunity to host the co-op at my house. One day went particularly well, when I decided to center the activities on the letter 'H'. The kids all wore different hats, we danced the Hokey Pokey, traced our hands and colored little paper houses I made. I put a large piece of butcher paper on the floor and the kids would come and go, coloring, tracing, practicing their 'H's". It was so much fun!

Around Town

Looking at the Greek and Roman statues at The Met.
She really loved it and was fantastic for about an hour.
More than I was expecting.

Lounging at the Waldorf Astoria.

'Tis the Season

Isabella enjoyed the big teddy bear so much more than Santa.
I totally agree; that teddy bear stays put and doesn't make a sound!

She also enjoyed the drummer boy.

Gazing at Macy's animated windows with Morgan.

Shopping makes everything better.

Taking it a little too far, aka, bag lady style.

Our friend Beth invited us to join them on their voyage to Macy's to go see Santa. Going to see Santa was never a tradition my family really participated in, but I was game and wanted to see all the holiday decorations. Our time spent in line, waiting to meet Santa was a lot of fun: dancing bears, rocking horses, zooming trains. Isabella really enjoyed the magic of the lights, music and entertainment. Then we got to Santa and she was so hesitant that we just chatted for a bit with the old guy (didn't even attempt to sit down) and continued on our way.

Then we went outside and enjoyed the window display until the moment when Isabella completely freaked out. You know the dreaded two year old tantrum in the busy public place? Yup, that was us. I received my first initiation (and I'm assuming it won't be my last) into public humiliation by my child. I was glad she was contained in the stroller until she flung her self back and flipped the stroller right over. I quickly and quietly gathered all our stuff off the sidewalk of W 34th St & Broadway, took her to a more mellow place (very difficult to find) and tried to figure out what to do next. Once she was a little more calm I took her to a nearby H&M to let her run around a bit. Once we got to the little girls accessory department she was in heaven, putting on every possible necklace, shoe, and purse she could find. I think we spent well over an hour there and after trying on all the women's high heel shoes she was willing to sit in her stroller and go home, with only a little fuss.

Making dinner

I'm still making my Artisan Bread in 5 min/day

Delicious, crunchy ginger snaps with extra ginger because I love it so.

Making my first caramel sauce ever and sauteing some delicious mushrooms.

Isabella enjoying the gingersnap dough. No eggs, no worries.

We had a couple of friends over last week and I was impressed at how many different parts of the meal I had going all at once. I'm always amazed at people who can orchestrate a beautiful meal with different dishes all ready to serve at once. I'm working on it and that day was almost a success. It's a tricky thing juggling a hot oven, a hot stove, cleaning the house and entertaining a toddler, but I did it!

Family came, and we played...

Brian had a dance off with brother Spencer in Toys R Us.
They drew quite the crowd.

Isabella continued to adore cousin Roman and laughed at everything he did.

We got to see the famous Philippe Petit perform at the Cathedral of St John the Divine.
His performance was silent but Isabella was captivated during the whole show.
*Celeb sighting*: David Duchovny was picked at random to help hold up Philippe's tightrope.

Just chillin' with Spencer and Roman.

Cute Pics

She loves to wear her daddy's shirts.

She really was happy and cheery with these stickers on her cheeks.

Playdough

It was so fun to make a batch of homemade playdough with Isabella and then she entertained herself for about a half hour while I worked on dinner. I loved it. We made a simple, no cook, no cream of tartar batch. But the cooked, cream o' tartar stuff turns out much nicer. Each time we play with this stuff it gets our hands all grimy. Which means Isabella keeps wanting to wash her hands and then go back and play some more.

Here's a good website, instructables, that shows how to make the good stuff.