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”.

Easter Tornado

Our plan to visit family in Alton was ruined when a tornado hit the St.Louis Airport Friday night. We were really looking forward to seeing everyone and meeting my cousins’ toddler sons Max and Will. Since we couldn’t get a clear answer as to when the airport might reopen, we decided to reschedule. Traveling with Ellis and all of her stuff makes delayed flights and rebooking all the more complicated.

We tried to make the best of our unexpected Easter in NYC with a visit to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden on Sunday. The forecast called for rain all day, but we saw there was a dry window before noon. We dressed up, packed the rain gear and headed out. Boy were the weathermen wrong on this one! It turned out to be a gorgeous summer like day. The sun felt great. It was even so sunny that we ended up using our umbrella for shade and buying Ellis a hat at the gift shop.

Early Easter

Ellis participated in her first Easter Egg Hunt this morning. She did a great job spotting the eggs and putting them into her basket. She loves to share though so her eggs quickly made their way into friends’ baskets. I will tell her this story when she is a candy obsessed five year old and she won’t believe me! Here are a few other pictures from our indoor adventures as well.

Little Pink Coat

We found the little pink coat Ellis has worn almost everyday for the last five months at Clementine Consignment. It is so soft and light and the zipper is very gentle on little hands and skin. When we were at the Central Park Zoo last month, a mother came up to me asking if we had bought her coat at Clementine. She went on to tell us, in her lovely Italian accent, that it was from Italy and her daughter loved wearing it and would be selling another larger coat soon. What are the chances of such a sighting in a city of 8 million? The coat is made by iani mini.

Spring adventures

It’s been a busy few weeks here on Huron Street, mostly with work and freelance. Ellis has been busy as well, making us laugh, testing her boundaries and running around everywhere in her favorite “sshooz” (usually her pink snow boots). The past few weekends were spent strolling around the neighborhood, playing in parks, visiting the flowers we planted last fall, and enjoying our first outdoor brunch of the season. We especially enjoyed the newly opened Williamsburg waterfront pier next to the Brooklyn Flea. I thought Ellis might be ready for a little potty training since she was announcing her need to poop with a trip to the bathroom. Of course, as you can see, after attempts at demonstration, she has no idea what to do with her little seat. We’ll take a break for a while and revisit with a mini potty instead.

The first photos are from the garden of Ellis’s home daycare. Before heading home yesterday, she couldn’t resist a little time on the couch with her friends Max and Lulu. I love that she has so much space to run around in the garden and the playroom and it’s nice to have a more positive feeling about the building that took away our Empire State view! I only wish I could take a dip in their pool. It’s hard to walk past it everyday and not want to grab my swimsuit.