Christmas break

Our week off of work and 2011 are nearly coming to an end. Both went by much too fast! We had a great time celebrating Christmas with Rein and Christa in New York. Ellis remembered Oma and Opa well and she enjoyed our adventures to the Moma, Upper West Side and Queens.

Puerto Rico birthday getaway

Erik and I have been wanting to take a beach vacation since Aruba over three years ago. There were great deals between the two holidays, so we escaped cold NY for a few nights and headed down to Puerto Rico. Ellis loved playing in the sand and Erik and I were happy to catch up on some sleep (including a few afternoon naps). We hiked through the Yunque rain forest and up the hills of Old San Juan. Erik even found Wilson (like the movie Castaway) on a nearby beach. All in all it was a wonderful way to celebrate turning 31.

Cattelan at the Guggenheim

Really enjoyed the Maurizio Cattelan exhibition at the Guggenheim. The best shows I’ve seen there are the years are the ones that really take advantage of that great space and this one did not disappoint.

Uncle Mike

Mike is visiting from California for a few days before he starts his new job. We’ve had a really great time together. When Mike visited last year Ellis was shy and clingy with me, but this time she ran out the door and shouted “Hi Mike”. The uncle and niece even spent a whole day together around the neighborhood, visiting two playgrounds and logging some miles on the stroller. He’s been amazed at her new vocabulary and we’ve been so happy to see the special bond they are forming.

Early November

We had a great time cheering on the marathon runners on a crisp and sunny fall Sunday a few weekends ago. We live near the half way point and made a little sign celebrating that. We also finally got our new bed and mattress after 10 weeks on back order. The Keetsa mattress is a dream and was well worth the wait. Ellis and the cats seem to enjoy napping on it too.

Painting and paintings

Ellis has really been into painting lately. She wakes up and asks us to paint. Thankfully, she’s pretty careful with a brush so our apartment isn’t completely tagged. Since I couldn’t remember the last time we had visited the Met, we took a trip there today. Ellis enjoyed seeing the big paintings and statues. She especially liked the paintings with babies and babies nursing. The only difficult part was keeping her away from the low hanging paintings and sculptures! We walked through Central Park on our way home admiring the gorgeous fall foliage. It was sad to see the fallen trees from last week’s snowstorm. Ellis amused a few tourists with her special double stroller where she pushes her doll stroller while sitting in her own stroller.