A happy little sister

A fun ice cream social in NYC!

A lovely day at the Central Park Zoo

A walk through Central Park to the Zoo,where we met friends (that's Belle with her old friend Sawyer) and enjoyed a beautiful day among the animals! A Good Friday indeed :)

Not such a good night's sleep

Yup, that's Belle sleeping backwards in our bed (her feet are next to Craig's head on his pillow). She couldn't fall or stay asleep last night, so I gave up at about 4am and invited her to lie between Craig and me in our bed (Craig lying in her bed didn't work at 2am because she woke and fussed when he tried to leave). Belle didn't fall back to sleep in our bed until nearly 6am. We are all going to be zombies today. Is it nap time yet?

One happy birthday girl (Gaga)

Cousin Slumber Party

Owen is in the crib behind Isabelle and Belle,who are snuggled together on the floor. This lasted a while, without slumbering (but with lots of singing and giggling). Ultimately, Owen slept in the crib,Izzy on the floor, Craig in the twin bed in the room, and Belle, Emily and I shared the guest bed in the room next door. Lots of laughs, not so much sleep.

Emily is 5 months old today!

Seders are so much fun!

Smiles!

Happy Passover

Pre-Seder playdate

With Joey and Mina (Emily is asleep).

Playing

Emily

Play hard, sleep well, snuggle much.

Guess which kid is which

Both girls are approximately the same age in these pictures - 4.5 months. 

Emily's dip in the pool

Emily went swimming for the first time. Here she is showing off her swim suit and then warming up after a dip in the pool.

Belle's nap

While we were on vacation in Cancun, Belle napped in the hammock on our balcony overlooking the resort and the ocean. Not a bad way to relax after a busy morning of playing. 

Good morning!

Thank you, Jet Blue Airlines

One of many nice Jet Blue flight attendants found a fourth seat for us two rows behind the other three on our direct flight from JFK to Cancun. What a help to have Emily's car seat on board. The white noise and gentle rumble of the flying airplane lulled her to sleep, and it is far more comfortable for her to snooze NOT in our arms. I sat between Emily's carseat and Belle sitting like a big girl in her own seat on take-off and landing, while Craig enjoyed a moment to himself two rows behind us. I bought and brought kid-sized headphones for Belle, who was delighted to watch Nickelodean on her personal TV screen, and then play with my iPad. We all appreciated the snacks and beverages, too. Oh, and the few times the girls fussed (both were quite well behaved; I was relieved), I felt less bad for our fellow passengers since most were plugged in to the free entertainment.
Bottom line: Jet Blue is the way to go.

Hi from JFK

Saying thank you

Craig and Belle baked chocolate chip cookies from scratch last night.  We delivered them to the firehouse that dispatched the rescue team who came to our house on Friday and took care of our potentially dangerous carbon monoxide situation.  Belle got shy in front of the firemen.  

In front of the truck that came to our rescue.

Shy Belle says 'thank you' with cookies.

We also thanked our wonderful neighbors Debbie, Joey, and Mina (and Chris) for helping us out big time on Friday by offering us a fun, safe, and warm place to be while our house was aired of CO.

"Thank you, Debbie, Mina, and Joey!" 

All dressed up!

Reading with Sam and Kylie

Never a dull moment...

After Craig had left for work on Friday morning, the carbon monoxide detector in our basement went off.  I stayed as calm as possible as I moved the girls toward the front door and called the police department.  The dispatcher sent a fire truck and police car to our house and told us to get out of the house while we waited.  We three ladies were still in our pajamas since Belle's school was to open two hours late, and it was snowing out.  The dispatcher said standing inside but near an open door was probably OK for the few minutes it would take for the crew to arrive.

Long story short: there were high levels of carbon monoxide in the garage and the basement, likely a result of  Craig warming up his car, which had been parked backwards in the driveway, while he removed the snow from the car and driveway with the garage door open.  The firemen and policeman were super helpful and made the house safe again.  This involved opening windows all over the house (during a snowstorm), so we three ladies, in our PJs, had a mandated playdate with Joey and Mina down the street.  The toddlers watched the snow fall and jumped on a trampoline.  It turned into a super fun PJ party.  We went home after lunch when the house was carbon monoxide-free and warm again.

Joey and Belle in their PJs jumping on the trampoline.

The fire fighting crew who saved the day on a snowy Friday morning.

Joey and Belle watching the snow fall during the CO-driven play date on Friday morning.

Early mornings

Belle's school has a delayed opening due to snow, but there's no sleeping in for this mom. Emily has been up since 5:30am. So it's play time on the play mat at this early hour while the other two QuadriCeps snooze.

When the girls have had it

Emily asleep and Belle smiling with a shirt that says, "That's it! I'm calling Grandma!"

Why I love going to the grocery store

Last week, I took Emily to Shop Rite one morning while Belle was in school.  On our way to the parking lot, an older woman stopped me to tell me that Emily is "the cutest baby [she'd] seen in a long time."  I thanked her, and perhaps responding to my voice, Emily smiled widely.  They woman's face lit up and she said, "Look at that smile!  That just made my day!  Thank you.  I needed that."

Yesterday, I took both girls to Stop & Shop.  A woman nearby must have overheard Belle talking to me, Belle singing and counting, and Belle trying to comfort Emily when she fussed a bit while we waited in the check-out line.  The woman approached us and said to Belle, "If I ever have a granddaughter, I hope she is juts like you."

An actual quote

As we're watching SportsCenter on Sunday morning after I promise Belle hockey: "Silly Daddy, this is basketball, not hockey."

Hang on. I am on the phone.

Twinkle Twinkle with Grandpa Leon

Belle had to teach Grandpa Leon how to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star last week.

Good morning, Alfalfa

When I was a little, my hair always stood up. So grandpa Richard called me Alfalfa. Emily has followed in her father's legacy.

 

Belle and Claire

(((Hugs)))

Belle pushing Emily's stroller

Emily's 4-month check-up

Emily is growing well!  She is smiley and strong and demonstrating the skills a 4-month-old should possess.  She is also growing more like her "long and lean" older sister, as she weighs 14 pounds, 6.5 ounces (50 percentile) and is 25 inches tall (70 percentile).  Her head circumference is spot-on, too (16 inches/50 percentile).  Emily was champ when she received her immunizations today.  She especially enjoyed the oral rotovirus vaccine :).  She is sleeping now, all worn out from an exciting trip to the pediatrician.