Pillows

Here's a little peek for you, Andrea!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

(Ella sitting on a bench in the subway waiting for the train)

It's been raining for about 2 months here. Off and on. Mother Nature, we don't live in the Pacific Northwest. And it's June. Yesterday it was 56 degrees in the morning. Now, I'm not begging for 95 degrees or anything like that. And I really don't mind that we haven't had to use the air conditioners yet. But a little sun so we can get out to the playground would be very much appreciated.

Another Quilt

Here's quilt #2 all done for my friend Joni. Her babies were born on June 11. Luke, Ella and Anna. I'm done with the girls' quilts and just have Luke's to finish up. Hope to have them done by the time they come home!

Two Little Princesses

Grandma Susan picked up these lovely dresses for the girls. They got about a million compliments today! (the photo's not so great, as I only had my cell phone with me to take a picture).

The Giraffe Path

On Saturday, June 6th, we joined the Horey's and many other New Yorkers to Hike the Heights and follow the Giraffe Path (a series of giraffe sculptures created by local youth). We started out at 147th Street & Bradhurst Ave and hiked all the way up to the High Bridge Water Tower at 173rd & Amsterdam. Alexis walked the whole way, and Ella walked most of the way. At the end of the hike, there was a festival going on- crafts, food, music, hula-hooping. A very fun activity and wonderful way to experience a little more of the neighborhood we call home.

Ella's Birthday

June 5, 2009- Ella is 2 years old today. And we are happy she was born! We didn't throw a big party or anything like that, but we did have Grandma Susan, Aunt Allie & Zac come with us to Chuck E Cheese. We all had so much fun playing games and winning tickets. Grandma was a whiz at some helicopter game- the tickets just kept pouring out. Alexis' skills were very impressive, too, and she was able to score an impressive amount of tickets as well. Between all of us, we won over one thousand tickets! We had some left over from the last time we were there (my birthday!), so combined we had over 1300. Both the girls were able to get a cool prize- a squishy ball for Ella and a beading-jewelry kit for Alexis.

Then we headed home to our apartment to open presents and eat cake. Here are some videos of those events. Ella blew the candle out with no help!











Some things about Ella:
Her favorite color is Yellow.
She has over 50 words in her vocabulary.
She loves to sing.
She loves to read books.
She loves to wear a little backpack around and push her little stroller (with no baby inside).
She loves to help with everything- putting food away after a trip to the market, putting laundry in the machine, cooking dinner, swiffering the floor etc.
She knows how to use a cell phone. (She called Allie the other morning- sorry, Al!)
She can put the movie into the DVD player and start it up.
She loves to go to the park.
She still wakes up in the middle of the night at times- she just needs water, or help laying back down.
She can unlock and open the front door- and left the other day without me realizing it! (she ended up at our neighbor's apartment, who brought her back to me).
She's a climber! And she can keep up with big sister at the playground.

Happy Birthday, little one!

Golden Friends

This is Heather. She was in our ward here in NYC for several years. Her husband was the bishop. She and I served in the RS presidency together. We giggled about Bella, Edward and Jacob together. She introduced me to peanut butter noodles. She is tall, just like me! She taught me to close my eyes a little bit when a photo is taken so to not appear as a deer in headlights (I'm still working on that). And she is just a warm, wonderful person. She's one of those people that is just full of love for everyone. And you can't help but love her back. Her oldest, Desmond, and Alexis were little buddies. About a year and a half ago, she & her little family left for Kazakhstan and have been living quite a different kind of life over there. We sent them some small tokens of our love for them (including a pirated DVD of Twilight that I picked up downtown somewhere). Heather was back in NY this week and we were able to see her & her darling babes. The first thing Lexi said when she saw Desmond was, "Wow. He's a lot bigger now!" I guess even kids notice that they grow up. (but they wouldn't let me take a picture of them together).

It was so nice to see you again! We miss you around these parts.

Little Singer

Ella really loves to sing lately. She'll just make up some nonsense words and play with her voice. It's a joy to hear, especially because she has never babbled, until now, and she is finally discovering what those vocal cords can do. But, of course, once I pull out the camera, she gets a little shy about it.