First Day of School

I was so glad to see the first day of school arrive this year. It was a challenging summer in that because I had a new baby, I didn't really want to go anywhere or do anything. But staying home in our spacious 700 square feet with 2 very active children was enough to make me batty and restless, so I had to muster the energy to take them to the park at the very least. The siren call of suburbia has gotten louder for me. I really love living in NYC, but, oh, to have a backyard or a basement to send the kids to play while I can remain on the couch with the baby! That would be divine. So anyway, the first day of school arrived. Alexis was really looking to going back to school. She hasn't seen any of her friends this summer and she generally loves school. The first day was rainy, but we still snapped a photo. Reluctantly, as you can maybe tell.

The second day of school was Ella's fist day of Pre-K.  She was so excited to be starting, and to have a uniform like her big sister, though their shirts are different colors.  Alexis posed for another photo with Ella.  Alexis's bus came very late the first day.  So late, in fact, that we didn't wait for it because we didn't want to be late.  Caleb, Ella & I took Alexis ourselves to school (on the city bus).  When we arrived, many of her friends ran up to her and gave her big hugs and shouted the wonderful news that "Ms. Russo is teaching second grade!"  Turns out her first grade teacher is moving up with them to second grade.  Alexis was over the moon about it.  Ms. Russo walks on water in her eyes.  And we were very pleased with Alexis' progress last year and feel that Ms. Russo is a wonderful, dedicated teacher who thinks about her kids even when she's not with them.  So we're happy, too.

And here's the new Pre-K student!  The teachers spent quite some time telling us about the curriculum that they follow.  Call me crazy, but I don't really care.  A curriculum in Pre-K?  I pretty much tuned out while they were talking about it, except I did catch how they focus on 2 colors at a time.  And 2 shapes at a time.  And that they teach the kids how to hold a writing utensil, but they start with markers and fat crayons because those are easier for little hands to manipulate.  (Ahem, excuse me while a brag a moment).  Ella has been writing her own name, with a pencil or pen, since before she was 3.  She knows all the letters and can write most of them and knows what sounds they make.  She can count to twenty.  She knows all the colors of the rainbow, in order, including indigo.  She knows lots of shapes.  She is a second child, so I know she was exposed to all this information at a very young age because of her older sister, but still.  I hope she's not bored in Pre-K!  I just wanted some playtime for her away from home with kids her age in a safe environment.  Despite all that, I don't actually think she'll be bored- she seems to be having a great time.  At this age, I think all you need a positive school experience and she seems to be getting that.

The Cloisters

The first weekend of the month, many museums around the country offer free admission to Bank of America customers. (For a museum near you, check out this link.) This month we stayed close to home and visited the Cloisters which is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The gardens are all really beautiful and the place is quite peaceful. 

The rest of the museum houses lots of Medieval Art, including the famous Unicorn Tapestries and lots of beautiful examples of dishes from Valencia, Spain (I brought home lots of dishes from my mission in Spain).  It's a small museum, which makes it a quick visit.  And it is located in beautiful Fort Tryon Park which overlooks the Hudson River. Word of warning: it is not very stroller-friendly- there are lots of stairs and I was never aware of any elevators, though I could be wrong.

A Day in Brooklyn

Over Labor Day weekend, we were lucky to win some tickets to a Brooklyn Cyclones game. The Cyclones are a minor league baseball team associated with the NY Mets. Their stadium is at Coney Island.  So we decided to make a day of it. We headed to the NY Aquarium first. Here we are just before the sea lion show began.  It was a busy day at the aquarium!

Then we walked along the board walk & played at the playground for a whopping 5 minutes.  It was then that I noticed how riddled with glass the sand was.  Sliver in the foot just waiting to happen.  So I pulled the plug on the fun and quickly herded us off to McDonald's for dinner.  Because I refuse to pay $3.50 for one Nathan's hot dog when I can get a whole package in the store for about the same price.

Then we headed to the stadium.  We saw the players warming up and the staff prepping the field.

I love that the score board looks like the Cyclone roller coaster.

Caleb's first baseball game with dad.  Here's hoping there will be many more together. Assuming Caleb likes baseball as much as his dad.  And that we can afford tickets.

They were giving away Cyclones winter hats that night.  So we all got one.  Even Caleb, who is sleeping soundly in the ergo in this photo.  Game over!  Cyclones win! 4-3 against the Staten Island Yankees.

It was Firework Friday night, too, although the fireworks didn't come out in this photo.

The girls got to meet the mascots also.

It was a fun day!  We didn't get home until midnight, though, because the subway was running local and SLOW.  And ever since then, Caleb's night sleeping has been all off again.  But it was a fun day.

Palmyra

One day we took some time to drive up to Palmyra, NY to see the home of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the printing house where the Book of Mormon was first printed. We started at the printing house and learned a little about book printing in the 19th Century.

Here the girls hold some of the pieces of type. Alexis was fascinated to learn that on the typesetter's desk were 2 cases. An "upper case" where all the large letters were organized and stored and a "lower case" where all the small letters were organized and stored.

After learning the ins and outs of printing, the girls got to learn how to fold one of the printed sheets, which had 16 pages of the book, to ready it for binding.  They each took home their very own folded copy of those 16 pages.

Then we visited the log cabin where Joseph Smith lived for several years with his family.  It was from this home that he ventured into the woods to pray about which church to join.  It was in this home that he received an angelic visit.  10 people lived in this space.  Which I can actually imagine quite well since we are 5 people living in less space.

It seems to me this bedroom is bigger than ours.  Maybe because their bed is smaller and they have less furnishings, but I really think it is a bit bigger than ours.

Photo of construction detail of the roof rafters and planks.

Palmyra Temple spire peeking through the lush New York woods.

The photo below shows some beehives.

This barn is not original to the property.  It was moved here.  

But it is the barn that belonged to Brigham Young's father.

This is the frame house that the Smith family moved into later.  It might look a little small to some of you, but it seemed quite large to this city family.  I hope to own a home of similar size at some point!

We also took some time to walk through what is known as the Sacred Grove.  It was in this grove of trees somewhere that Joseph Smith prayed about which church to join and subsequently received a vision of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. It was quiet and peaceful and beautiful.  A good place to say a humble and heartfelt prayer.

Our last stop was in Fayette, NY where we visited the Whitmer farm.  This is the place where about 50 people gathered (in that home!) to witness the official organization of the Church of Jesus Christ on April 6, 1830.

We were a little short on time, so we only drove past the Hill Cumorah were the Golden Plates were buried by the ancient prophet Moroni and centuries later given to Joseph Smith. (Alexis was able to see the pageant last year with Nanny, Pop-pop & Aunt Barbara).

A couple of weeks ago we took a trip upstate to the Finger Lakes Region to visit family and get away from the city. Since Caleb was born this summer, we didn't make any firm plans to go away, and Matt worked summer school. But as summer school was winding down we felt like a little trip. The girls stayed at Nanny and Pop-pop's house while Matt, Caleb and I stayed at Aunt Barbara and Uncle Doug's home. The girls had a grand time playing the yard, making projects in Pop-pop's wood shop, going to the library and to play miniature golf and spending time with Nanny and Pop-pop. Matt & I enjoyed the little break from our high energy daughters and spent some time in Ithaca & Watkins Glen and enjoyed staying on the shores of Lake Seneca.

Our first stop as we pulled into town was to visit Aunt Barbara at Elmira College. This fountain was a gift from one of the graduating classes to the college. She treated the kids to some EC souvenirs from the bookstore & the famous purple&gold M&Ms. We also visited the Mark Twain Study which sits on the campus, but I don't have a photo of that.

On Tuesday, my cousin Liz came home from her LDS mission in Tempe, Arizona.  We surprised her at the airport- she had no idea we were going to be visiting.  She only had 3 days at home before she had to report back to BYU for the fall semester, so that was another reason we decided to take the trip-- so that we could spend some time with her. 

She and Caleb spent a lot of time together and he seemed to really love her.  He was always calm with her. At the risk of sounding a little cheesy, I believe she had such a strong spiritual presence with her and he could sense that.

Auntie B got some snuggle time, too!

The rose garden that we planted back in June has really grown nicely. 

The plants seem to have doubled in size.

I remember singing at the piano while my grandmother played.  (I also remember playing piano duets with her).  It's exciting and wonderful for me to see my daughters making the same memories.

Ready for Church

All dressed and ready to go to church.

Farewell to Friends

One of the sad realities of living in NYC is that many friends move away. New friends always move in, which is great, but it's always hard to say goodbye. This summer, Texas took away one of my dearest NYC friends and since today is her birthday, I'm thinking about her. I met Mackenzie when I was serving in the Relief Society in our ward and she was in the stake RS presidency. We hit it off right away and although we lived in different neighborhoods, we made the effort to get together about once a month. Our kids got along well, too, which always makes life easier. They haven't seen as much of each other since they are school age now, but when they do they are always happy to play.  Here are Ella and Alexis with Lucas.  Sam decided not to be in the photo.

Until another day, Mackenzie!  I'm so happy for the lifestyle change your move has brought you, but I miss you and look forward to when our paths will cross again, even if it's only for a day.

One month

 Caleb at one month was 11 lbs. 8 oz and 22 1/2 inches long.  He had about one 4 hour stretch of sleep at night, but other than that he was waking every two hours.  Matt says I have a short memory because the girls MUST have woken often when they were newborns as well, I just don't remember being this tired.  

Here's a photo with a slight smile.  At one month he's still wasn't really intentionally smiling, but I was lucky to catch one!  I'll take whatever he dishes out.

Lexi was around while I was taking these photos, so she jumped in.  She loves her little brother to the moon and back.