On the deck

The first half day Friday and 80+ degree temperatures, summer is here in NYC. We enjoyed a great afternoon on the deck. To cool down, we filled a few tubs with water for Ellis to play in and then we let her go wild with some paints on her mini picnic table. Looking forward to beating the heat this way again soon!

Time travel

I was flipping through my childhood photo albums and could not believe my eyes. Ellis time traveled back to 1982! Not really, but there is no denying we are related.

20 months

Ellis turned 20 months on the 20th of May. Just as the jump to the double digit 10 months felt like a big milestone, passing the teen months and adding that 2 in front just makes her feel so much closer to actually being two. Two! I can’t believe it. She is really bursting with personality. Her favorite things this week were jumping in the rain puddles, reading Kikker with Erik, and taking all of her stuffed animals down the makeshift slide we built from a fedex box. She’ll say “step, step, step, ssslllide, weeeee!” as she guides each toy down. I love to catch her playing, dancing and singing when she’s alone. When she’s around friends, things are even better. Today she was surprised with a handmade tutu from Annabelle’s Mom! Ellis and Annabelle (along with about 5 other adorable toddlers) spend their days together and even take a dance class on Mondays. It’s so sweet to see them interact and call each other by name. Now that the weather is warm, but not unbearably so, we spend most of our weekends outdoors, going from park to playground to brunch and finally crashing at home. At that point, we take Ellis’s wise advice and “seat down”.

Mothers Day Weekend

The weather this weekend was perfect. I wish I could bottle it up to enjoy when I need a break from those freezing stretches in February or those sticky humid weeks in August. On Saturday we visited Jersey City for Rubi’s second birthday. Olga and Goran have a lovely home there in an incredible building with a 5th floor lawn and pool. We’ve heard so much about this area. It was great to finally see it for ourselves. Jersey City is a lot like Greenpoint and Long Island City with the opposite view of Manhattan.

For Mothers Day, our little family enjoyed a delicious brunch at DuMont, a long walk in the neighborhood, napping in the park for Ellis, Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory cones and a trip to the playground where Ellis could not stop staring at the girl with the new American Doll. I was waiting for her to try and steal it.

More Louisville Fun

Before another week goes by, here are more photos from our trip to Louisville. We had a great time with family and friends. Swimming in the pool and visiting the greenhouses were highlights for Ellis. She especially enjoyed her first ride in a red wagon.

Four generations

Despite the sad start to our vacation, we made the most of our time in Kentucky and had a wonderful week with family. This was the first time the four generations of Tuttle, Carrow and now Vrielink women have been together. I was almost tempted to visit Sears for a formal studio portrait. We didn’t make it to the mall, but I am very happy with the moments Erik managed to capture on “film”.