New Year's Eve 2006

So, we have a tradition with our dear friends The Russells to fondue every New Year's Eve... however, the past several years have found us far from each other to be able to do it together. So this year, we invited some of our New York friends to fondue with us... Word to the Russells: You have GOT to try cheese fondue! It's de-lish!

This was also Lexi's first intro to the tasty concoction... I guess fondue-ing is a bit *retro*, but why not enjoy a good thing?

#2

IT'S A GIRL! I do hope she & Lexi will be friends! When the ultrasound technician first said it was a girl, I really had no feelings one way or the other. I think I was just hoping for a healthy baby, and since I already have one girl, I felt that I would be happy with either another girl or a boy... But now that I have had some time to let it sink in, I am thrilled to have another girl!

Christmas in New York

Christmas 2006

Click the above picture to view the album of photos.

We stayed in New York this year for Christmas... it was wonderful! Matt's parents came to stay with us and we had a great time seeing the Christmas Sights around the city- windows at Macy's and Saks, & the Tree at Rockefeller Center being among the most famous. We spent Christmas Eve in Brooklyn with some of Matt's extended family. Christmas morning was here at home, and then for the rest of Christmas Day, we joined Nanny Susan's family at her home for food, games (what's Christmas without BINGO?!) and fun. It was a great day- so exciting for Lexi- she could barely contain herself- so many gifts and so many people she loves!

Ice Skating at Lasker Rink

Today we went with Dad and his class down to Central Park to go ice skating again... it's turning into an annual trip! Lexi just loved it, although it's quite tiring for me to help her skate. One of the rink employees tried to help her learn by teaching her to "waddle like a penguin", but she had a hard time doing that. Mostly, she just wanted to hang with daddy's students- they took her for a few spins around the ice, but they, too, got a bit tired out. When I told Lexi we had to go, she got very upset and cried and attempted to break free and get to the ice herself. On stable ground, she was very good at walking on the skates... maybe next year will be better.
(Click on the little photo above to see more from our day trip).

Ice Skating with some of Daddy's students


*Skating* (more like walking) over to Daddy.

For Unto Us A Child Is Born

So, for those of you who were wondering, Lexi got stage fright (just like her mama!) and would not even stand with the other primary kids while they sang in church today. She clung to me and refused to go sing- even though we had been practicing the song for weeks!

Later that night, I took a little video of her singing the song, just to document that she does, in fact, know it well. The only way she would do it was if she could march along as she sang, hence the shaky camera work.

Decorating the Tree

We have never had a tree in our apartment here in New York, but this year since we are staying at home for Christmas, and since Lexi is getting old enough for it to be a fun experience for her, we splurged. The trees in our neighborhood started at $30 for a pretty small one- not that we wanted something huge. So one weekend, when Grandma let us borrow her car, we took a trip to New Jersey for a fresher and cheaper tree. The result was this nice tree that smells divine!!

Lexi putting the star on the tree.

...and the Government shall be upon his shoulders...

After reading this post on my friend Julia's blog, I discovered that the primary and senior nursery are planning to sing "For Unto Us A Child Is Born" from Handel's Messiah for our ward Christmas Program. It's an ambitious and lofty goal, if you ask me, but I decided to try and help Lexi learn the piece as best as a 3-year-old can. We played it for her the other night, and sure enough, when the choir sang "Wonderful! Counselor! The Mighty God! The Everlasting Father! The Prince of Peace!" she chimed right in! She made us repeat the song 3 or 4 times, which was fine with me because I just love it. Then we took a break for dinner. Soon after, Matt & Lexi headed to the living room and Lexi made this request:

"Daddy, I want to watch. Uhhhh... I want the government to be upon his shoulders. I want to listen!"

Matt gladly obliged.

Holiday Festivities

Parade of Lights, Corning NY 2006

On Saturday, we headed over to Corning, NY to participate in the Holiday festivities downtown. Lexi was adamant about NOT visiting with Kris Kringle, so we skipped that and headed straight for the reindeer. Took some time to mosey down the main street, and had some delicious pizza at Atlas Brick Oven Pizzeria. There weren't any tables avaialble, so we decided to sit at the bar, which turned out to be a front row seat to all the pizza-dough tossing a little girl can handle.

Then we headed outside to watch the Parade of Lights. Lexi was excited to see the street blocked off and took the opportunity to dance in the street.

Click on the picture above to see more photos of our evening in Corning.

Singing with Great-Grandma

 

Lexi is lucky to be able to spend time with Great-Grandpa & Great-Grandma Elliott. For the Thanksgiving break this year, we took a trip to visit them in Western New York. Since my grandmother plays the piano so well, and Lexi has memorized at least half of the primary songs (and that is NOT an exageration), they sat down together to play & sing primary songs. Great-Grandma did more of the playing and singing than Lexi, but Lexi seemed to love the time together! By the last day there, I think I overheard Lexi actually singing some of the lyrics herself. 

Shall We Dance?

A little clip of Lexi dancing to one of Bob Dylan's new tunes.

Red Shoes

 

While shopping at Marshalls the other day, Lexi found a pair of red shoes that she fell in love with. She was pretty upset when I said it was time to take them off! With a pose like this, maybe she could be America's Next Top Model!  

Apologies

Many apologies to our faithful blog readers... the past few weeks have found me feeling quite under the weather, and not up to posting. Plus, we just have not done anything blog-worthy in the past few weeks. Check back for updates...

Halloween- Part II

This evening, I decided to take Lexi out for another run of trick-or-treatin'. Mostly to try and visit the homes of our friends in our 'hood. We visited a couple of the businesses that we frequent (our bodega, the hardware store & the dry cleaners) and then headed to the beautiful street of townhomes where Lexi has made some friends. We ended up joining forces with the other kids and took them all down Amsterdam Avenue for some more treats. I discovered that Amsterdam shopowners had better candy than Broadway shopowners- things like M&Ms, snickers, Milky Ways & Nerds.
(Grayden the clown, Olivia as Belle, McKenna the gypsy, Quinn the cowboy & Alexis the Butterfly)




Here is a photo of Lexi with all her loot! A bit much for a not-quite-three-year-old, wouldn't you say? Mom & Dad will have to help her out!

Halloween- Part 1

In our neighborhood, it is customary to Trick-Or-Treat at the businesses in the area instead of door-to-door on the street or in an apartment building. This morning, Lexi and Aiden Smith headed out to Broadway to get some treats. They had a great time running from store to store and did well with the magic phrase "Trick Or Treat". Lexi even said "Thank you" to most! After each store, she came bounding out and looked up at me and asked, "We get more candy at another store?" The thing that most shocked me was the *generosity* of the store owners... we're talking not just one or two measly pieces of candy but a HANDFUL!! By the time we had gone 4 blocks, Lexi's candy bag was so heavy she couldn't even carry it anymore!

Halloween Party

A couple of shots of Lexi in full Butterfly uniform. Thanks to Nanny Susan for supplying the wings & colorful tutu & boa!

Halloween Celebrations

Today, Kristy Smith hosted a cupcake-making extravaganza at her home! Lexi & Aiden had fun decorating the cupcakes with oreo spiders, licorice legs & M&M eyes (although they probably ate more than they decorated!) I failed to get a photo of the finished product, but you can see the idea by clicking here.

Lexi Riding Her Trike

This is an old video from back in August, but I never posted it for your viewing pleasure. And I especially wanted Grandma & Grandpa Elliott to see that Lexi loves her tricycle!

The Little Red Lighthouse (Again!)

Today, the Little Red Lighthouse was open for the general public to explore, so we took a trip down with Grandma & Aunt Allie (the budding photographer). It was a cool and windy day, so much so that once Lexi got out on top of the lighthouse, she wanted to climb right back inside! It's a bit of a climb up the circular staircase to the landing where the bulb sits. Then, you have to climb through this little door- more like a cubby hole!- practically on your hands and knees to get out onto the surrounding balcony. It was a gorgeous fall day and we had a fun time exploring the LITTLE red lighthouse.

One of the park rangers said it is still *lightable*, although she was unsure if they actually do still light it and what the schedule would be.