Vacation

Today we are off on a trip to see some of our family and friends in Utah & California. This will be Lexi's second airplane ride, but her first real experience since she was just 4 months the last time we flew anywhere. We will be at a family reunion for Matt's family in Altamont, Utah (see http://www.hiddenspringsranch.biz/), then off to California! We'll post some pictures and anecdotes when we return to the Big Apple...

Rock Star

Dad has had the summer off (sort of- he doesn't have to teach at the Middle School, but has been taking classes towards his Masters degree). So in his spare time, he has been playing the guitar more often. Lexi & I LOVE IT!! Sometimes dad will let her strum the strings, and sometimes she attempts to "tune" the guitar (much to Daddy's dismay), but mostly she loves to listen and dance to the music. Here she is enjoying a good time in the guitar case. She climbed in there all by herself.

Toenail Painting!

When Lexi got up from her nap the other day, she came running into the living room and spotted me with those crazy toe-separator thingys on my feet while my newly painted toenails dried. Being the utterly femenine little girl that she is, she just HAD to have her toes painted to. I always wondered when that day would come! Here she is waiting for the paint to dry. And although we didn't use the pink things in between her toes while we painted she absolutely insisted on wearing them, if only for effect.

After her toenails were dry, she tried to get down and walk, which wasn't too successful. Here she is attempting to put the toe things back on her feet. Because we all know how undeniably comfortable they are to walk around in!

Dentist!

Today, Lexi had her first visit to the Dentist! I was a little nervous about how it would all go... The first thing we did was show the assistant how we brush teeth at home. Unfortunately, for the most part Lexi DOES NOT want to brush her teeth and most attempts end in her sucking the bubble gum flavored paste off the toothbrush. The assistant gave her a new pink brush with a duck on it and helped her to brush her teeth a little. We then ventured on to the big room where Lexi played in the big chair while the assistant raised and lowered it to Lexi's squeals of delight. She was fascinated by the hanging overhead light as well and pointed to it everytime the assistant turned it on saying "Yite, yite". She grabbed a big stuffed Ernie and headed back to the chair where she was raised up and the back reclined. Lexi dutifully laid down with Ernie next to her and promptly opened her mouth to our chorus of "Ahhhhh" and received a lovely teeth cleaning with cookie paste. Lucky girl. She doesn't even get cookies at home very often. Maybe it helped that the assistant let Lexi touch the spinning head of the cleaning tool before it went in her mouth. Dr. Rob came in and examined her teeth after the cleaning, stating that she has 16 BEAUTIFUL pearly whites. Yeah!! She is still awaiting 4 more molars. He was so impressed with our routines at home that do not include milk or juice before/at bedtime.

We got an overall good report, and were urged to try and brush 2 times a day. Ever since then, Lexi has been happy to stand on her stool at the sink in the bathroom and brush her teeth! She even lets me help her a little. She is so grown up. Where did our baby go?

Independence Day

Today we went down to a free concert by Yo La Tengo (http://www.yolatengo.com/) in Battery Park. Then we headed over to the "Shake Shack" (http://shakeshacknyc.com/) in Madison Square Park for some YUMMY burgers and shakes. We ended up watching the fireworks from the rooftop of our apartment. We could see some of the big show in Midtown, as well as the neighborhood shows. Here is a family picture from our day.

Lexi with a chocolate mustache/beard

Corn on the Cob

Lexi has a new talent for eating corn on the cob!

Horseheads High School Graduation

Today, Allison Portlock (Kendra's youngest sister) graduated from High School with Honors. Her she is proudly holding her diploma. She is headed to Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina (http://www.appstate.edu/)

Mom, Dad, Allie, Kendra, Matt & Alexis

Not so camera shy anymore!

It seems Lexi is warming up to the camera! She is more willing to look when I say "Look!" and smile when I say "Say Cheese!" I dropped our camera a couple of weeks ago and a lot of our pictures have been coming out fuzzy... sorry!

Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Matt & Kendra at Yankee Stadium- tonight was a Regional Family Home Evening Activity for the LDS church at Yankee Stadium. Over 4000 mormon from all over the NY/NJ/CT area gathered to cheer on the Yankees. Needless to say, the beer sales in our section were quite low that evening. Sadly, the Yankees lost 5-4, but we did get to see Hideki Matsui hit one out of the park!

Tea Party!

One of Matt's mentors invited several of her "mentorees" and colleagues to Tea Time at the Hotel Carlyle (http://www.thecarlyle.com/). Here we are enjoying the experience (that's ginger ale in my champagne glass).

A fabulous array of tea sandwiches, scones & pastries served along with our choice of tea in our very own teapot.

Heat Wave

We have had some awfully hot weather lately! Here it is 95 degrees outside and Lexi insists on wearing a sweater and socks!

Matt grows a goatee

Matt's goatee- Matt started growing his goatee when he couldn't really shave due to a cold sore. Then he decided to keep going... and this is the night before he finally decided to shave it off. Isn't he hot? "It feels like there is a perpetual bug on my face."

Hooray!!

We are back in business! Thanks to the wonderful techie Patrick who helped us figure out the problem with our "Hello" photo uploading software!! Below you can see some photos from our trip to Coney Island and Matt's trip to a Mets game with his students.

Mets vs. Reds at Shea Stadium

Some of Matt's students at the Mets game

The Wonder Wheel at Coney Island