Jersey City playdate

We made our way over to NJ on Saturday so Erik could watch the Champions League final with Goran. Ellis was pretty excited to see Rubi too. Walking up to her building, she said “Rubi’s house... I love it” We had a wonderful time playing, swimming, BBQing, and celebrating the start of summer. Is there anything sweeter than seeing two little friends walking hand in hand?

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a fun and relaxing Mother's Day weekend complete with a trip to Central Park, the Zoo, MoMa, ice cream at Rockefeller Center, dinner out Friday night at one of our favorites places and many swings in our new hammock. Ellis called Rockefeller Center her castle and couldn’t believe how tall it was. She was even on her best behavior today (despite not taking a nap) and kept us smiling for hours. 

Papa snuggle

I know tomorrow is Mother’s Day, but I couldn’t resist capturing this sweet moment of father/daughter time with my two free hands!

Rubi is three

We had a great trip out to NJ to celebrate Rubi’s 3rd birthday. There was a clown who painted faces and Ellis wanted everything painted. She had six different “face paintings” on her body. When Rubi was born, it felt like she was so much older than Ellis. Now I realize they will be in the same year of school.

Hammock, the Enterprise and little conversations

On Monday, Erik caught some great photos of the space shuttle enterprise coming into New York. I was jealous seeing the pictures from my desk at work that I hadn’t gone in late that morning also to catch the historic fly by!

During our trip to Puerto Rico last December, I picked up a woven hammock at a beach side shop. I was hoping it would work for our small deck. We finally had a chance to hang it up after work tonight and it was perfect. I can’t wait to take an afternoon nap or read a book on it very soon.

We are really enjoying Ellis’s ever expanding vocabulary. She’s started to tell little stories about her day, ask us pretty specific questions, and make plans for the future. She’s discovered the magic power of band-aids. The other night she tripped over one of her toys, got a small scratch on her foot and begged for a purple band-aid. She then fake limped around the apartment while checking out her band-aid in the mirror. She’s such an actress! After attending a few birthday parties of friends, she has been asking about her party. She'll run through the list of her friends and ask if they can come to her party, if we can have cake at her party, and if she’ll have gifs.

Bronx Zoo

After becoming members of the Central Park Zoo a few weeks ago, we decided to take advantage of the “free” admission and take a trip up to the Bronx Zoo today. Our train ride there was easy enough, but Ellis had an giant tantrum getting to the entrance and only wanted to be carried for the first thirty minutes or so. Erik and I were ready ready to head home. Thankfully, the baby giraffe was the perfect distraction and Ellis settled down. The next few hours were great and we all enjoyed seeing the gorillas, flamingos, peacocks, alligators and the gang from Yo Gabba Gabba. We are looking forward to checking out the Prospect Park Zoo sometime soon too.

Birthday and Bellwether

What a gorgeous weekend! All of the trees and plants were blooming, the weather was perfect and I wore a skirt and sandals for the first time this year. We celebrated Sophie’s 5th Birthday on Saturday. She’s so grown up! Ellis was looking forward to her party all week. When I first mentioned it, she said “I get shoes, I get coat, I go to Sophie’s party”. We are starting to realize she doesn’t fully understand time just yet. We often say she can have something in “one minute” so when she wants something, she’ll say “I go to park one minute”.

On Sunday, we continued our Table for Three with a trip to the newly opened Bellwether near McCarren Park. This restaurant was formerly the bar Royal Oak where I have so many great college memories of drinks with friends and late night dancing. Ellis must have felt the vibes, because she had a great time doing a little robot dance in our booth! The food was good and the atmosphere was perfect for our busy little family.

Easter and illness

After a few on and off sick days, I was knocked out last Monday with a fever and sore throat. The Dr. confirmed I had strep throat. I had always heard about strep, but managed to avoid it for the last 30 plus years. We were pretty off all week with my recovery and playing catch up around the house. Erik’s been under the weather too and we are both knocking wood that Ellis will have some magic immunity and avoid getting sick. We were thankfully able to get out and enjoy the beautiful spring weather over the weekend, hunt for some easter eggs and meet up with our Louisville friends Carrie and Darcy. The blossoms in Central Park were beautiful! Looking forward to spending as much time as possible outside for the next six months or so.