I wish I could take really artistic & beautiful photos, but I can't. I wish I was a creative writer, but I'm not. Instead, I take my kids all over the city (& sometimes the country, too!) to experience the wonders of life. And then I slap up some point-and-shoot pictures & tell you plainly about it.
Oh. My. Gosh. My family knows how much I adore those Girl Scouts Samoa cookies. I crave them year round. I wish I had a big freezer so I could buy a case every year and freeze them to eat whenever I want. Except that I would probably eat them all in one sitting. Making the freezer unnecessary. Good thing they're $3.50 a box which limits my consumption. But NOW I'm in trouble. You seen, I recently came across this recipe. And I am Ecstatic (with a capital E). It's "C" week around here. So you better believe we're gonna make these Cookies! (nevermind that we already made Chocolate Chip Cookies). Oh, yes. It also depends on whether or not I can get caramel at my friendly neighborhood grocery store (aka. C-Town Town).
What's your favorite Girl Scout cookie? Here are some recipes for Do-Si-Dos and Tagalongs
Gordon B. Hinckley has passed away. This was a prophet that affected our lives in many ways. Even before he was officially called as the Prophet & President of the Church, he was a voice to be heard. He was the prophet that called both me & Matt on missions. I briefly met him in person a couple of times. He made my dream of visiting every temple in the United States impossible (which is a GOOD thing- as now there are so many...) And he aided in the effort to bring the church out of obscurity, appearing on 60 Minutes and Larry King Live. And although we will miss him, the spirit he brings, his sense of humor, his kindness and love, we know he is in good hands now.
Ella cut these 2 teeth over a month ago (right after Thanksgiving), but I have been unable to get a good shot of them up until now. This photo was taken in the park on Jan 8- a day of unseasonably warm weather, hence the reason she's only wearing a sweatshirt in January, in New York. She LOVES the swing!
I've taken a page from Alicia's book and started focusing on a letter of the alphabet each week with Lexi. Last week was A and we did things like make applesauce cookies, read Alphabet books etc. (Truth be told, I had a hard time coming up with A-activities). This week we'll do B- things. So we started today by cutting bangs! I think they look cute. What do you think? I also think they make her look a little younger, which I am actually happy about because much of the time people tend to think Lexi is older than she is (she is really tall and extremely verbal) and therefore expect her to ACT older than a four year old.
She also wore Braids with Bows today. Other activities I have planned: baking bread, blowing bubbles, building with blocks, making our bodies out of butcher paper, bird watching (there are still some around here).... Do you have any good B ideas?
I made this crayon apron the other night for Lexi to give as a gift at a birthday party. I saw something similar on the Toys R Us website and thought, "I can make that!" This was one of those projects that you think will take you 30 minutes. 3 hours later I was ready to pull my hair out! Not so much because of the project, but my machine was being so tempermental. I had to take apart the machine and clean out the lint. Then I had to pull the bobbin out a zillion times, re-thread a hundred times more, fix the needle, fiddle with the foot- just problem after problem after problem after... you get the idea. However, I was pleased with the results and so was Lex. We bought a coloring book to go with the apron. Alexis went to The City Quilter with me and chose the fabric. I used 3 fat quarters (1 whole one and parts of 2 others). I was going to do a fancy topstitch, but after having to pull out several seams and all the other issues I had, I ended up just doing a straight stitch. Anyway, it was a fun project- and certainly built my character... right?
Ella is 7.5 months old now. She still has not really rolled over, but I definitely don't think it's because she can't. It's more because she just doesn't really care to. She is a very content little girl and will be happy to sit and play with whatever toy you give her. Now that she can sit up so well, she is also unhappy when lying down (whether it's tummy time or on her back). She just prefers to sit. She can also basically lean ALL THE WAY over (folding herself in half) and reach for something and then sit herself back up again. It is in this sort of position that she has begun to move around. By bouncing. She will put her hands in front of her and bounce her little bottom and move around that way- backwards. She is really getting off the ground now, and I'm afraid she might end in a face plant one day soon.
Our connection with Pepsi has provided another wonderful experience. My mother works for the Pepsi Foundation. A while ago they received an offer of tickets to the Big Apple Circus. She and another employee each got 2 tickets each, so she was planning on taking Alexis. However, the other employee was unable to go at the last minute which freed up 2 more tickets. Grandma invited me along, and we decided to invite one of Lexi's friends (Sarah Jane) to come with us. We were so lucky to attend a pre-show Private Event where they served hot dogs, cheese & crackers and beverages. We got to meet a few of the clowns and the ringmaster. Then we headed over to the tent where an usher led us to our seats. Which happed to be (drum roll, please) in the FRONT ROW. We were literally inches from the spectacles taking place in the ring. It was so fantastic. The girls were in awe- they stared with open mouths at many of the acts, they jumped up and down with excitement, they danced, and screamed and applauded with pure childhood joy. During the intermission, we were provided with cotton candy & popcorn. And then following the show, we got dessert in the ring! All sorts of yummy ice cream bars (like that toasted almond bar that I just adored as a kid), cream puffs, & mini cakes. The girls met Grandma the clown. It was just a one-of-a-kind experience. So. Much. Fun.
Has this ever happened to you? I usually heat up a bottle for Ella "old school" style by warming it in a hot water bath on top of the stove. On this particular morning we were in a hurry to get out the door to a doctor's appointment at 9:30. So, I popped a bottle in a pot while I was getting everything (and everyone) else ready. We dashed out the door and as we neared the subway station I was reviewing in my head what would happen at the doctor's office. Ella was due for some shots, so as I was thinking about how I would attempt to comfort her post-injections with a bottle I remembered that I didn't actually have the bottle with me. Because it was still at home. In the pot. On the stove. With the flame on. YIKES! I said to Lexi, "We have to go home! The bottle is still on the stove!" She yelled, "Let's run, mom!" and took off running. When we got home, the water had boiled out of the pot, the bottle had begun melting to the bottom of the pot and the milk INSIDE the bottle was actually boiling. Phew! That was a close one. I have since changed my ways. I'm still "old school" in that I usually heat the bottle up on the stove. But now I bring the water to boil and turn off the flame before sticking the bottle in.
Shout-out to All-Clad pots and pans, though. I just might be able to save the pan!
Alexis is our New Year's Baby. She was born at 10:50 PM on January 1, 2004 in Orem, Utah. We love her! She is a little firecracker and definitely knows what she wants. She is a strong personality- a future leader! We celebrated her happy day with Grandma Susan and Grandma Cope was able to sing alone via cell phone...
So, New Year's Eve with kids is a different experience for me. We used to go see a movie. We used to get together with friends. We used to stay up until midnight. We used to fondue (okay, we still try to do that, but we didn't do it this year). This year, we went to the Bronx Zoo to enjoy the Holiday Lights and see some animals. We rode the bug carousel. We listened to a pretty good story teller. We saw the tigers & sea lions & monkeys. We fed the goats and sheep. We made 2008 glasses for Lexi to wear. And then we joined in the countdown to the new year at 8:00 PM. That's right. 8:00 eastern standard time. Which made it the new year where? Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic, I guess. On a cruise ship. And then we went home. And went to bed. By 10:00 PM. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
For a little while, Ella was happy to sit on the couch and rock back, basically crashing into the cushions. Then she would sit up again and rock back into the cushions all over again. I got a few *rocks* on video.
I made Matt a cover for his electric guitar's amplifier for Christmas. But in order to do this, I needed to buy some fabric. Some of our friends were out of town for Christmas, so we had access to their car. I took a little trip up to the Palisades Mall to JoAnn's Fabrics. Much to my dismay, it seems that JoAnn's location is closing. So everything was on sale. While browsing the aisles, Lexi caught sight of some Hello Kitty fabric that she just fell in love with. "Mom, can we please get this?" I decided I'd also buy a pattern for a nightgown and try my hand at clothing. So we got a pattern. We got the lime green fabric. And this is my model wearing what I made:
Again, this was my first time sewing clothing. My first time dealing with sleeves. My first time *gathering*. This fabric was not the best to experiment with because it is kind of delicate and unravels a whole lot. But overall, I am quite pleased with the result. My mother walked me through the steps, which was extremely helpful and comforting. She made some fabulous clothes for my sisters and me when we were kids.
We enjoyed a nice Christmas this year. We had Christmas Eve dinner at our home with Grandma Susan and Aunt Allie. Our next-door neighbor is an older African-American lady who lives alone, so we invited her over for dinner as well, which certainly added some spice to the conversation (not that my family is boring, though!).
On Christmas Day, we woke up to an abundance of gifts (thank you to all the generous family out there!) and then we headed over to Grandma Susan's where we were joined by Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa, Uncle Bruce, Uncle Doug & Auntie Barbara, cousin Liz and cousin Pete & wife Becca. As usual, it was a rip-roaring time- food, presents, BINGO and so forth.
We have had another fun evening at Pepsi's expense. On Saturday, they rented out a rink at Rye Playland for many employees & kids to go ice skating! Pizza and drinks were aplenty. And Lexi did really well this year. We started out on the kids rink, and then headed up to the party rink. They had a plethora of safety cones out on the ice, and one of the ladies in charge told Lexi to hold on to the cone while she skated. Turned out to be a fabulous idea, because by the end of the event, she was well on her way to skating by herself. She had such a good time- One time she fell really hard and was visibly shaken up, but when I tried to get her to come off the ice to sit and rest for a little while, she had a little meltdown because she didn't want to leave the rink.
I just realized I have let a month slip by without posting a single word out there in cyberspace. So, here it is. An update on some of the highlights of the past month:
Aunt Allie trying on Ella's Halloween costume: Along with Grandma Susan, we attended an activity at the Hawes' home in Connecticuit. The special speaker was Glenn Beck who basically shared his conversion story. We also ran into some old friends from our Orlando days- the Merritts. So much fun to catch up with them! The church makes this a wonderfully small world. Here is a clip of Glenn- sort of the same kind of things he shared the night we heard him speak:
Just a good smiley shot of Ella taken sometime in November: A HUGE thanks to a friend who gave Lexi & me the last-minute opportunity to attend the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular. This was the 75th year of the show and it was fantastic. Lexi could hardly stay in her seat! We had seats right smack in the middle of the orchestra which made for great views of everything. The ushers gave us programs (which included a pair of 3D glasses) and little light sticks with stars on top. During the show we saw a 3-D movie of Santa travelling from the North Pole to New York City. Other features that had Lexi on the edge of her seat: snow in the theater, streamers shot out over the audience, fireworks (!), real live animals walking across the stage, and at the end, everyone was asked to light up their little star sticks and the theater was aglow with little lights. So fun! This also happened to be a preview night and NBC was filming the show for a TV special (which I believe already aired) as well as a DVD. Before the show started, a crew member came out on stage and directed us to yell things like "Merry Christmas" and also to applaud and cheer quite loudly. It was fun. And, of course, I teared up! Ella on December 5, 2007- 6 months old! And finally, this short clip of the cat at my aunt&uncle's home checking out Ella. Seems the kitty has never seen a teeny tiny person (smaller than she is!) before. She just sat and stared at Ella, who was kicking her little legs, for quite some time.
Alexis needed a couple more pairs of pants, so last night we went down to Old Navy on 125th Street and then decided to head over to one of our favorite pizza places on 110th. After we ordered, Matt pulled out the debit card to pay only to be told they no longer take credit cards- cash only. We were surprised since every time we've gone, we have paid with a card. We decided to eat first and then Matt was going to go the several blocks to our bank to get some cash. After we had all settled into our booth, a woman came over and gave us $20 insisting on paying for our dinner. She said, "It's so cold outside. Just take it. No problem!" We were stunned. We tried to refuse since we have no way of knowing who she is and paying her back. But she was so so so insistent. Maybe she took pity on us since we had 2 adorable kids and seemed to be in an inconvenient situation? Amazing moments like this (and this one with the cab driver) are just a few of the reasons we love New Yorkers and the city we all live in together. They definitely outweigh the very bad experiences.
Ella's not really a big swinger yet- just kind of hangs out in the seat and sways a few inches back and forth. Lexi, on the other hand, needs a big *underdog* push to start things off...
Last Sunday we had the Ward Primary Program. Lexi is a Sunbeam this year, so she had one line to say in the microphone (I can't see Jesus but I know He is there because the Spirit helps me to feel good and happy). She basically refused to practice her line at home. One evening we were attempting to get her to practice and I prompted her by saying, "I can't see Jesus....." to which she replied, "Yes I can! He's right there!" and pointed to a picture we have hanging over her desk in the computer room. The primary had several practices and for the most part she was familiar with her line. The next hurdle was getting her to say the words in the microphone. What little kid doesn't love to hear their voice magnified a bazillion times?! Not Lexi. At least, not in front of a couple hundred people. I desperately wanted to hear her sweet little voice during the program and was considering some sort of bribe... Grandma Susan to the rescue! She told Lexi that if she would say her words in the microphone, she would get a little present from Grandma- a Belle doll, to replace the ones she lost on an outing in the city... The best part of the story is that just before the meeting started, Lexi was seated near a live microphone and proceeded to tell the little girl next to her that Grandma had a present for her if she said her words in the microphone. Don't know how many people actually heard that, but it had us laughing pretty hard! This little flower was one of the many that each child made to display in the hallway---
