The Jimmies

We found a new kids band. And I love it! So does Alexis, thank goodness, because that gives me a good excuse to listen to their music.

The Jimmies were giving a free concert today downtown near Union Square, so we went. They were filming for a DVD they'll be releasing and Alexis got to be right up front. Maybe she'll be in the movie! It was a great rock concert, kiddie style. She got a free t-shirt and rocked out to make her Aunt Allie & Aunt Laura proud!


Here's a video clip of my favorite song, Spanimals:



After the concert we wandered through the Union Square Farmer's Market, then over to Blue 9 for some yummy hamburgers (if you don't already know, Matt & I are always looking for some good burgers!) This was a place we found a couple of years ago, but have just never been back to for one reason or another. Then we did a little shopping at Trader Joe's and loaded it all onto our stroller & shoulders and headed back uptown on the A train. Which promptly stopped due to an *electrical outage*. So we sat at the 42nd street station for awhile hoping and praying that it would be up and running soon, but finally decided (for the sake of our milk) to transfer to the 1 train which took us home without any further delays. I do love the subway system here, but it can be so temperamental and a bit uncooperative at times.

Prospect Park Zoo

(Ella & Alexis checking out the sea lions)

We headed over the Zoo in Brooklyn today with our friend Sheridan. We've never been there before, and in an effort to use our zoo membership to it's fullest, we decided to check it out. It was awesome. I mean, it's really, really small. Smaller than the Central Park Zoo (for those of you familiar with that), but it was virtually empty, so we had up close time with all the animals. We didn't feel rushed at all, and got to spend some serious time with the baboons. The baboon exhibit was in a big room where a glass wall ran from the ceiling to the floor separating us from the baboons. There was a big daddy baboon sitting really close to the window- at one point he went right up and rested his feet on the window. I let Ella out of the stroller to crawl around and she headed straight for the window to get a good up close look. Being only 1, she pulled herself up on the window and then banged her little fist in excitement. Too much excitement, I'm afraid, for Big Daddy. He got quite flustered, jumped up and banged back on the window so hard that it even startled me! I whisked her up into my arms and ran from the window quickly. The zoo keeper there wasn't upset with us, thank goodness. Seems it happens whenever someone taps/knocks/bangs on the window. The baboons feel threatened and act out. Ella wouldn't go near the window after that.

Alexis learned to milk a cow:

And spent some time playing baby chick & spider's meal:

And we saw a black swan. Amazing.

After the zoo, we met up with the VanDeGraffs & rode the carousel & just played in a big green field in Prospect Park. Delightful! Then it was back onto the train to take the hour ride (for only 16 miles!) back to Manhattan.

The Zoo (Again)

Last year my mother got us a membership to the Wildlife Conservation Society, which allows us entrance to the 4 zoos & 1 aquarium here in the city. We enjoyed it so much that we renewed the membership this year (thanks, Mr. Bush). I take the camera with me, but only for times when we see something unusual or somewhat new to us, because it seems that we have an overabundance of zoo photos. This time, the lions were actually close to the viewing area. They are rarely close enough to really see. And we even heard the male lion roar a couple of times (although not while we were actually watching him- we had moved on to a close-by exhibit). I went a little picture crazy because I was just entranced. For as many times as we've been to the Bronx Zoo, we have never seen the lions so well before!

Lions at the Bronx Zoo

Lexi was in rare form, too, choosing to pose for several shots and shouting "Mom! Take another of me here!" Maybe she is coming out of her camera-shy phase?

Happy Father's Day!

We're so glad you're ours!

Our Lifestyle

My friend Jenni (who has a private blog) *tagged* me to post some photos of our home. And, actually, I've been wanting to document our lifestyle here in the city, since we (hopefully) won't be here in another year or so. So, here goes. Remember, we're renters. So there are only minimal things we can do to improve the situation....

The Fridge: It's small. It can get pretty packed pretty quickly. Especially after a trip to Costco with my mother. Lots of Lexi's art work here. And a little set-the-table diagram for Lexi to refer to when setting the table. Also a couple of calendars on the side. One for Lexi and one for me for when I'm really into the meal planning thing. And our radio & cd's on top, although you can't really see them too well in this shot.



The Sink: It's small. There are about 6 inches of counter on each side of it and that's it. Thankfully we found a great drying rack for dishes that hangs from the wall above the sink. All dishes done by yours truly. I do love my little soap bottle there under the utensil drying bin. So much prettier than those big plastic ones that you actually buy the dish soap in. And my mom bought us that fabulous faucet (the one hidden under all those dishcloths). The one that actually belongs there is really short, and has 2 separate controls for the hot and cold water. This has one. I had no idea what I was missing until she bought this one for us. Our super was kind enough to install it and wouldn't take the $$ I offered him. It pays to tip your super at Christmas, folks.

The bathroom: It's small. We do have another half bath, but we use it for storage. And it's like the size of a telephone booth, anyway, so it's sort of hard to use as a bathroom. I made that shower curtain about 6 years ago. It was one of my first sewing projects. I'm ready for a new one.


The laundry: It's small. And wait, haven't we seen this photo before? Oh yes! Because it's also my kitchen sink. Now, I know that many New Yorkers don't even have a washing machine in their apartment. I know I am lucky to have that! But it's the kind you hook up to your sink & it also drains into the sink, so all the dishes must be done. It's a small machine, so it takes me a little longer to do all the laundry- I basically have to do a few loads every day (but I don't always do that). And I don't have a dryer. So we hang dry everything. I use those hangers for shirts & dresses etc. I use 2 of those racks there on the left for other things. And I have a little laundry line in the bathroom that I use for socks & kids underwear. Sometimes we will take some stuff to the laundry room in the basement (which I don't have a photo of right now) to dry. But I am always a little nervous about what other people have washed & dried in those machines, so most of the time I just stick to my slow process. It certainly doesn't take me as long as using a washboard would, so I'm trying not to complain too much.

My closet: It's small. We only have 2 closets in this whole apartment. They are both this size. I share this one with Matt. And there's a whole lot of out of season clothing/baby blankets/maternity clothes/other stuff shoved up there on the one shelf. One thing I'd do if we owned this place would be to put little doors above the closet in all that wall space and have another little storage closet on top of the already existing closet. With shelves. There used to be sliding doors, too, but I took them off because it was too difficult to get anything down from the shelf, and also just too much of a hassle constantly sliding them back and forth. As you can see, Matt's nightstand there on the right doubles as a clothing shelf as well, most days.


My favorite room: It's actually not so small. This is our office/playroom. It has an air conditioner! And it gets a lot of sunlight since it faces south and west. We have our computer in there, my sewing table & stuff, Matt's guitars & amp, Lexi's desk, dress-up stuff and other toys. We are also getting a futon to put in there sometime this week, so it will be a real rec room! In NYC! We are lucky, I tell you. Our bedroom has French doors that open into this room, so if we want it to feel bigger, we open those up, too. And did I mention we have an air conditioner in here? (On a side note, I love my living room, too, except that it's pretty small, and it's kind of hot these days since it's right next to the kitchen & only has a small a/c unit).


What the kids are doing right now (when I took the photos): Lexi was playing on the computer. And Ella was eating breakfast. But right now (as I type this) Lexi is at school and Ella is sleeping. Practically my favorite time of the day because I am alone for a brief time. Not too long to get lonely, though.



My favorite shoes: Dansko Lolita Sandals. So comfortable. I can walk all over the city in these.

Dream Vacation: So many places I would love to go. But really, I just want to return to Spain. I love it so much and would love to see it again. We are tentatively saving & planning to go to celebrate our 10th anniversary...

I would really love to take the time to walk/run/hike/bike the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.

There you have it! Thanks for the tag, Jenni. It was fun to do.

School Pictures

I love these photos. I love this one because it's a typical school photo- cheesy rainbow in the back, slightly awkward pose, trying too hard to smile. But oh-so-adorable! It makes me smile every time I see it.

And I love this one because it's proof of Lexi's experiences in West Harlem, New York City. We won't be living here forever (at least, I hope not), so it's nice to have a photo memento. Can you pick out Lexi? It should be easy... she's the only little white girl!


Just a couple of things I'd like to document here about her time at this preschool. That boy standing right behind her, the one with the striped tie, that's Richard Amir. He has such a serious crush on Alexis. His mom told me about it a few weeks ago and says she is just amazed at how much he likes her! I talked to Alexis a little bit about him one morning not too long ago and she told me that he always wants to sit by her, but she doesn't want to sit by him sometimes. He always wants to talk to her, too. But these things only happen during classtime, I guess, because whenever we see him at drop-off time, as soon as he spots us, he hides behind his mother, or puts his head in his father's shirt. It's really quite funny. Is this what *puppy love* is like?

The other thing I want to jot down is how oblivious Alexis is to race. She is the only white girl in her class, but it doesn't even phase her. She will play with anyone. And if she doesn't like someone, it's because she genuinely does not click with their personality, or doesn't want to play what they want to play. And their skin color is simply that- a way to describe them ("My teacher Mr. Valdez is the one with the brown skin.") and not in any way an indication or influence on them as a person. I love this about her. And I hope she will always feel that way about people. That we are people first, we just look different. This is not an attitude that is felt by everyone in this neighborhood (like the people who put up signs with the headline, WHITE PEOPLE: READ THIS!). But it is an attitude that I hope she will keep through her life.

An Unlikely Pairing

We really like Alison Krauss. She recently collaborated with Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin fame) on an album, Raising Sand. American Blue Grass meets British Rock. Now they're on tour. And we went to see them last Tuesday at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Here's what the NY Times said about the concert- and I think it's a pretty good summary. Maybe that's why they get paid to write about that sort of stuff.

And we went with Jared & Linda. More awesome people who moved here for a little while, and are now leaving the city for life in suburbia. We'll miss you!

Hot Town- Summer in the City

Sometimes, when it's really hot around here, people crack open the fire hydrants. None of the pools are open yet, because school is still in session (yep- until June 27th, actually) & they don't want to tempt the kids to cut school. So instead, they play in the hydrants. This one is right under our kitchen window. The boys seem to like to gang up on the girls and drag them through the fierce spray of water. And when a car drives by, one of the boys will stand behind the hydrant and put his arms into the spray to direct it at the car- giving a free *car wash*.

Agua

The other night when Alexis took a bath, we decided to keep Ella out. While Matt was helping Alexis get out, Ella noticed that there was water in the tub, so she crawled over, pulled herself up and right over into the water. She adores the water and absolutely hates to be left out of bathtime.

Good Friends

One of the greatest things about New York is that lots of cool people come and live here. Peter & Nikki are one such couple. We met them right after they got married and had moved into our ward. They were here to be NYC Teaching Fellows in ESL, which is the same program Matt was in. I was in the RS presidency at the time, and so met Nikki on her first Sunday. When she told me why they were here, I immediately invited them over for dinner so they could pick Matt's brain about ESL teaching, NYC schools & professors in the masters' program (they were attending the same college, as well). We hit it off really quickly with them and they soon became some of our closest friends. Last year, they moved out to the Bay Area in Northern California for Peter to attend Stanford Law School. But they didn't leave NY until after we blessed Ella. It was the very last thing they did here before driving over the George Washington Bridge. We miss them so much!

A couple of months ago, Peter decided to surprise Nikki with a weekend trip to NYC. They flew in overnight on Friday and spent Sat in the city. They stayed with us Sat night and it was just like old times- talking, talking, laughing, teasing, more talking. On Sunday, we hosted a little party for them to be able to hang out with lots of their friends who are still here in the city. And then they were headed back to the airport. We love you guys! It was sososo great to see you again!

Bishopric Picnic

Matt's been in the singles ward bishopric for almost a year now. We have loved getting to know the Orton's & the Hall's better through this calling and have really enjoyed spending time with many of the ward members as well.

Sadly for us here in NYC, the H's are moving to Southern California at the end of the month for grad school, so we decided to have one more bishopric day-o-fun before they left. We opted for a picnic this past Saturday. It was hothothot (but not so bad in the shade). We had yummy food, dancing music from neighboring picnickers, and great company. We brought a couple of kites (one that has been sitting in our closet for months, and another that was a gift from some friends) and had some good kite-flying fun with only one tree incident.

This is me with Emily O & Tamara H. And although I don't get to spend a ton of time with either one of them, they have still taught me so much through their examples and faith. They are remarkable women and it has been *fun* to hang out in the singles ward with them!

Here is the bishopric. Matt, Erik O & Doug H.

Family Party

On Friday night, we celebrated Ella's first birthday. Grandma and Auntie A came to have dinner with us and shower the birthday girl with gifts. Thanks to my friend Meredith, we had some delicious cupcakes from Magnolia for dessert. She's an icer & production manager there and once decorated a cake for Sarah Jessica Parker's birthday! She's so cool. Meredith, I mean.

Ella got several cute little gifts and really seemed to be interested in each item. She is a pensive and sort of serious little girl. She can be hard to get a smile and laugh from, but when she does indulge you, you know it's totally sincere. She adores Alexis so very much. And she is quite content. I am looking forward to getting to know her better! We love her to bits & pieces.

Seriously?

It's only June!

6/9/2008

Hi: 100°
Mostly sunny. Highs around 100. Heat indices between 102 and 106. West winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Bag Tag

What do I carry in my bag? Karen wanted to know. (Sorry this has taken me so long!) Since I'm a mom, the bag that is usually with me is the big ol' diaper bag. I love it cuz it hangs nicely on my stroller and it's big enough for all the stuff I need on the go with 2 little ones. Here are the goods:

diapers
wipes
diaper rash cream
a diaper pad
my handy-dandy streetwise map of New York City
extra clothes for Ella
a burp cloth
toys for Ella
figurines for Lexi
a little first aid kit
my wallet
a bottle
snacks
my cell phone
keys
sunglasses
my MetroCard (for the subways & buses)
feminine products
sunscreen
hand sanitizer
chapstick
lipstick
tissues
a few pens
my little notebook (for writing my to-do lists)
aspirin
a pacifier
my Sigg water bottle
digital camera & extra batteries

Museum Mile

Last Tuesday, we went down to 5th Avenue to enjoy the evening in the closed-off streets. Museum Mile is a festival when 9 museums have free admission for the evening (but the lines were crazy long!), and there were a bunch of street performers: jugglers, magicians, balloon men, clowns, musicians.

I got to participate in one of the magic tricks (a card trick that was rather amazing) and was actually pretty excited to have a part in it as I was just finishing up a book called The Prestige (there is also a movie of the same name, which I also love) all about 2 feuding magicians. I have to say here, too, that I totally love simple magic shows like those. And I don't want to know the secrets. Because I like being amazed.

The festival also provided lots of sidewalk chalk and everyone (including Lexi, of course) had a great time drawing on 5th Avenue.
A stranger made this one, but we loved it so much, we had to snap a photo.





We did make it into the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design, but only out to their *backyard* where Ella made an escape from the stroller and crawled around on the grass for awhile. Lexi made some grass angels (which are just like snow angels, but in the grass instead. She says that you can see their shapes.) We also saw a glass blowing demonstration from the experts at the Corning Museum of Glass.

Lexi also did a *rubbing* outside of the Guggenheim: