Ground Zero

Last time I was in NYC the ground zero site was just a big whole in the sky where you knew something should be.

Bit different now.

What happens when you give two little people ice cream cones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tried to get Phoebe to move her ice cream from in front of her face, but she was not having it. She kept saying "Cheese" while licking ice cream. She knows the good stuff.

 

 

And then Lydia started running around with hers which of course ended up with ice cream on the ground. First dropped ice cream of her life. *Achievement Earned*

Staten Island Ferry

Lydia and I have been on this ferry lots of times, but she was much more aware of it this time. I think she loved it.

Phoebe was hilarious "A boat. A wawa."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the lovely photos, Katie! And the bagels we had (Leo's Bagels) were phenomenal.

Being Opera Singers

Lydia wanted to sing some opera, and held a book in front of her (like music). Phoebe had to get in on the action.

We spent a lot of time in diapers. So hot.

Disney, brainwashing since 1928 (? don't quote me on that)

When your toddler asks for some music to dance to, you know it's serious business. Not just any music will do. Thank you, Pandora, for sponsoring the 4-day Walton Dance Party with your Disney station. In the interest of full disclosure, I will note that the dance party was not continuous, in part because Lydia knows how to twirl but not much else in the way of dance moves, which results in more than a few injuries due to dizziness.

Maybe I'm setting up my daughter with unrealistic expectations for love, but I will definitely be showing her Disney movies. She's smart enough to figure out that Mulan is the best one.

Long but good

This article was a good read (over several days whenever I could catch a moment) that I wanted to remember. Lucky blog readers, getting to read all the things I don't want to forget.

K, S, and P

I didn't take nearly enough pictures while Katie and Sterling were visiting. Maybe they should blog all the pictures they took on the iphone (nudge, nudge). These pictures are from their second day here. After a fun day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and cupcakes at Sprinkles, walking home we stumbled on this fountain at Lincoln Center and it was hands down the girls' favorite thing all day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite things about their visit was that Lydia and Phoebe could play together. They LOVED it, and I loved watching them (and sometimes forgetting about them until they made a giant mess).

I'm a one trick pony

Rafe was looking so cute the other day that I wanted pictures.

It wasn't until I loaded the pictures onto the computer that I realized that I had taken pictures of him in almost the same outfit on the same blanket just a few days before. For the same reason.

 Can I add consistency to my list of desirable attributes?

Apparently I really like little boys in plaid.

On the other side of the lens

Adam and I recently went through our photos and put together a photo book. We kept clashing over which pictures to cut. Never happy with the way I photograph, I was always in favor of cutting the shots of me, but Adam was insistent that we needed at least some with me in them, and since there are so few to start with, they all had to go in. 

"Bleurgh," I said.

Adam told me to hand him the camera more often and tell him to take photos of me and kiddos. 

 So I did and was reminded of why I prefer to remain unseen. These two were the best of the bunch of 30 or so. 

"Bleurgh," I say again.

In other news, the reason I wanted a picture was because I realized when we were out and about that all 3 of us were wearing plaid shorts. Then Lydia got wet/dirty and I changed her into the spare outfit I had with us: plaid shorts. 

Adam says I dress the children like myself. I guess I can see where he'd get that.

And you can barely tell that our shorts are plaid in this picture. You win some, but I think you lose more.

Mimicry

One thing that has surprised me in parenting a two-year-old is realizing how much she watches me. I am her world, so it's obvious that she'll do things the way she's seen me do them, but I hadn't thought of it until I noticed her phrasing things exactly like I do or carrying around a phone and keys (and metrocard in NY) ALL THE TIME.

Here's another example of mimicry (it actually happened awhile ago, but I just found the pictures and it made me laugh). I pulled out some potatoes to make for dinner and found that some little person had gotten in to them. Look closer.

They've all been poked repeatedly with a fork. Every single potato in the bag was like this. I don't know when she did it, but I can imagine her sitting down and working on each one of them. 

Basically, my two-year-old knows how to bake a potato.

Parenting win?

Hey guys

Baby Rafe has exactly one spot that is both safe and soft (I'm not going to go so far as to say it's comfortable because it's an odd little baby chair that we got for free) in our NYC apartment.

We're missing our Bumbo (these pictures were taken before we left). I think he's just the right age for it and will enjoy sitting up like a big boy when we get back to Bloomington.

"Where did mine ball go?"

Governor's Island is a strange and quirky place. The ferry to get there is free and many of the events are free and...it's unclear what the purpose is. We had a nice Saturday family outing (possibly the last one we will have with Adam here in New York) there. 

 The main event was this odd mini golf course, obviously designed by nine different people (one for each hole). 

Lydia didn't quite grasp the concept, demonstrated by her penchant for picking up the ball after the first hit and walking it to the hole. "I win!"

Yes, you do, my girl.