‘Til There Was You

The other night I walked into our bedroom to check on Mike and the baby after they had disappeared for a diaper change a while earlier. Mike was walking around with Virginia on his head repeating, “Tallest baby in the world… tallest baby in the world.”

Just the facts.

It’ll be a while before V is reading on her own but Mike and I have a niece who turns 8 tomorrow and I asked my friends for book suggestions. Here’s what they came up with…

Dominic suggested…

Morgan suggested…

Elizabeth wisely suggested the entire Ramona series (which I had forgotten about but totally LOVED as kid)

and…

the whole Anastasia Krupnik series by Lois Lowry

All great, age-appropriate picks with the exception of Jeff’s suggestion of ‘Guilty of Everything’ by Herbert Huncke- which Publisher’s Weekly describes as, “Guilty of inducing boredom as well, this sordid, ill-written memoir by a retired thief and ex-addict adds little to one’s knowledge of Burroughs, Ginsberg, Kerouac and the post-World War II drug scene.”

(You can click all the cover images above to be directed to a place where money can be exchanged for them)

I wish there was a bigger, better picture of these infant “boots” but it’ll have to do- that is, until I break down and order them and can photograph them on V’s feet. (I’ll wait till she’s a walker though) For $25.99? Cheap thrills.

I’ll have to call and ask what exactly “small, medium and large” translate to…

This cute non-toxic lamp at 2Modern comes in 6 colors and offers the perfect amount of light to change a diaper by. Also, unlike a real dachshund, you don’t have to worry about it breaking its own spine by jumping off the bed?

It’s good to let it all hang out sometimes, you know?

Okay, okay – - there was this OTHER component to the birthday picnic on Saturday that I failed to mention in the post. Instead it made the Post. And yes, I am the breast-feeding mom (loosely) quoted therein…

Now I’ve got Twitter people in Europe wanting pictures to confirm this is true? I didn’t take any because I am a “cool New Yorker” – nor did I take any yesterday when Mike, V, my mom and I had dinner three feet from P Diddy and his three bodyguards at Serafina. What can I say- these boobs are fame magnets.

The nuggie got her passport photos taken the other day and I meant to scan or take photos of them to post on here but then we had to get them off to Washington in a hurry if Virginia is going to get her first passport in time for our trip to Toronto on August 5th. But WOW– she totally didn’t look like herself! First of all she didn’t look like a girl (we can blame grandma for dressing her in a blue and white stripe Ralph Lauren romper), second – she looked positively OBESE (we can blame my boobs). I had heard “the camera adds ten pounds” but I thought that was a relative term not necessarily applicable to 6 week olds- not true. Thankfully she is too young to hate her passport photo or she would hate her passport photo. When we get her passport back in a few days I’ll show you…

While not obese, Virginia *is* growing really heartily. We went to the pediatrician on Monday and she is now 12.6lbs and 23.5 inches long! That’s >97th percentile! She’s going to be a little bruiser in the infant room at daycare in the fall; schoolin’ all those puny multiple births! Look out.

My birthday fell on a Saturday this year– perfect for a baby-friendly picnic along the Hudson river. On Friday afternoon my mom, Virginia and I went around to all our favorite village food shops to get the necessary supplies. The best mozzarella from Joe’s Dairy on Sullivan Street, the best Italian cookies from Rocco’s on Bleecker, bread from Amy’s Bread, and soppressata from Faicco’s (I assume this is also the best but will never know). We also picked up some white wine from Manley’s on 8th ave to make some peach sangria. My mom did the lion’s share of the work – making tons of tiny individually wrapped sandwiches, cutting up fresh fruit for the sangria, and packing enough blankets for our tired butts.

It was an awesome day too- the rain held off thankfully and we found a great shady spot between 12th and 11th.

Jeff and Chuck.



See?




So nice!

Thanks to everyone that came out, and to pals that couldn’t make it like Kim and the Curran sisters -we’ll hang real soon.

I should really take photos when folks come by and visit but I guess part of me doesn’t want to get labeled as one of those moms who never puts the camera down.

On Thursday afternoon, our friend Eva from Toronto came by straight from LGA to meet Virginia and hang out for a bit. We got some subpar Mexican food, some delish iced coffees as we walked around in the sun and discussed her upcoming wedding to this guy, and then, perhaps best of all, she perfectly synopsized the entire Twilight series for me in about 5 minutes, saving me the trouble of having to read 4000 pages of teen fiction. I really enjoyed the abbreviated version! But unfortunately I have no visual documentation of my enjoyment or of Eva’s visit.

After Eva left to start her bachelorette weekend, V and I enjoyed a short nap before my work buddies Helena and Morgan were due to come over. Mike came home and roused me from my slumber and went out for a run. Helena and Morgie arrived shortly thereafter and I brought them in to see the nuggie burrito, conveniently pictured below

We fidgeted with her until she woke up and then we enjoyed some delicious organic vegan pizza from Slice, that they had brought over. When V thoughtfully elected to sleep a bit later, the four grown-ups played Sequence.

I always forget how much fun board games with pals can be. I should really buy some since I’ll be spending a lot more time at home the next few years. After a few games (Morgan and Mike’s team won best outta 3), a few brews and lots of cracking up, it was time for the ladies to head back to Brooklyn. I can’t wait until they return and we can have a rematch!

The weather doesn’t have to be miserable for you to want to tackle one of these super cute, FREE, downloadable crafts projects from Wee Wonderfuls!

There are sewing projects, embroidery patterns, even paper doll cut-outs. Fun!

All thumbs? Then just enjoy Hillary Lang’s blog – it’s filled with inspiring projects you can live vicariously through, lots of great book recommendations, plus shots & stories of her cute kids and growing garden.