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.

This August once again brought a fantastic and funtastic evening at Rye Playland thanks to Pepsi's Family Fun Night annual company picnic. The weather had been really sketchy, but earlier in the day we got an email that said PepFest was on and that there was a chance of a passing shower so to be prepared. How bad could a passing shower be? We got to Playland right at the beginning of PepFest and the girls jumped in line for a ride. Just as it was their turn to board, a loudspeaker announcement alerted us to "thunder in the area" so all outdoor rides would be temporarily closed. So we found some face painters to pass the time with while we waited out the "passing shower".

Here we are after the shower.  The shower that was more like a tornado.  Winds were gusting at about 40 mph and the rain was torrential.  Thunder clapped right above our heads and lightening was flashing all around.  The winds blew over all the outdoor tables and chairs and that face painting pop-up tent we were trying to take cover under? Matt and I held onto it for a good while (with another kind man) but finally had to let go because the winds were too strong.  It's metal legs & supports snapped in half as it blew across the lawn after we let it go.  We ended up under an overhang with maybe 20 other people.  All the adults were crowded around the children who were screaming and crying.  I felt like a scene out of March of the Penguins where the penguins on the outside of the herd take the brunt of the storm to protect the others inside.  Caleb, thankfully, was snug in his carseat in a stroller covered by the only umbrella we had and seemed blissfully unaware as he napped through the whole ordeal.  It was actually quite frightening and gave me a glimpse into what it must be like to then see an actual tornado headed your way.

Here we are after the storm.  It passed over in about 15 minutes, but those were LONG minutes.  We headed to the midway right away and since we were some of the very few competing at the games, the girls both won stuffed animals right away.  It sort of alleviated the terror from the storm.

Caleb held all our game tickets.  They were in my back pocket and were drenched so we had to carefully separate all of them.

And then we saw a rainbow!

After that, we were able to have a wonderful time.  We ate lots of food and rode lots of rides and played lots of games and won lots of prizes.  Caleb slept the whole time except for about 10 minutes to eat.

Uncle Christopher came with us!  He is really good with the girls and they love him so much.

Last ride of the night: Lexi in the front car and Ella in the back. Wouldn't it be wonderful to go back next year?

Blessing Day

Here are some photos from the day we blessed Caleb.  He was a champ and didn't cry and Matt was voice to a beautiful blessing.  I feel a large responsibility to be the best mother I can to this little man. 

From left: Erik Orton, Richard Cope, Tim Boyle, Matt Cope holding Caleb, John Elliott, Peter Conti-Brown and Blair Garff

Caleb wore the same outfit that Matt wore when he was blessed as a baby.

Caleb & Great-Grandma

Caleb and Great-Grandpa

These girls love their little brother so much!  I hope they will always have such positive feelings for him and that the three of them can be a good support system for one another & friends forever.

End of July

Ella and Alexis went and spent a week at Grandma Susan's house when Caleb was just a couple of weeks old. It was great for all of us- they had lots of summer swimming adventures with Grandma, and I got to stay home & "lounge" on the couch with a baby. At one of the pool's they went to, the staff was handing out leis, and the girls picked up about 10 of them. There was only one multi-colored one and they decided it would be for Caleb. So we had to make sure to get a photo of him wearing his lei.

At the end of July, we had Grandma Cope come visit for a week.  (Grandpa joined us later in the week.)  She got some good cuddle time with 3 week old Caleb.  She helped me take the girls to see the Winnie the Pooh movie, treated us to lunch at Dinosaur BBQ, made some of my favorite dinners & did some more bonding with the girls.

One day we ventured downtown to visit the NYC Police Musuem. I've always wanted to visit it, some friends of ours were going, and I was getting a little antsy being in our 700 square foot apartment with 5 other people.  I'm accustomed to taking the girls out basically every day, so being home with them for several days on end can get me a little worked up sometimes.  The birth of our third child has definitely amplified the siren call of suburbia.

Anyway, we headed down to the Financial District/South Street Seaport area to check out the museum.  I thought it was interesting, and I loved that it was pretty small making it a fairly quick visit as museums go.  It also had a kids room where they could dress up and play around, which is always a hit, even for 7 year olds.

Caleb behaved himself very well- just chilling in his stroller much of the time.

Yes, my seven year old is nearly five feet tall.

And my four year old is over four feet tall.

Grandpa Cope flew out later in the week and also spent some time with us.  He and Matt did a couple of projects around the apartment, the most important of which was building more storage shelves above a door.
And here he is reading a story to the girls (& Ella was so wiped out she fell asleep on his shoulder).