Happy Halloween... Mahalo

Katie, the hula girl, went trick-or-treating with our neighbor Sophia (a character from the show Lazy Town). I suggested that she say "Mahalo" after getting candy, and she complied - though not sure everyone knows what mahalo means... Katie was so excited for Halloween, specifically to trick-or-treating with Sophia. I have never seen Katie so hyper, running around so excited. It's not completely Katie-like and it was contrasted with Sophie so calmly playing with Katie's toys. The girls had a great time and Katie smiled the whole way. She loved everything: knocking on the doors, choosing the candy, even going up and down the stairs.

MOME

Katie and I went to our building's Halloween party last night. She so proudly called it "our Halloween party" (as opposed to Daddy's Halloween party). They had these foam picture frames the kids could decorate with little foam Halloween stickers. Some of the stickers were letters and Katie saw a W and said it was an M for Mommy and put it on her frame. I finished with O M, so it said MOM. Katie took an E and put at the end to read MOME and said to me, "look, I made Mommy!" I was pretty impressed.

I haven't really liked the Halloween party because it tends to be really crowded and hot, but Katie had such a great time. One room had a DJ and she had such a great time dancing in her little flip flops. This wallflower mom was very happy to see her daughter enjoy dancing. I often envy the lack of self-consciousness in 2-year-olds.

Sunday in the park

We took the girls to Central Park today to enjoy the nice weather. We were hoping to see the trees changing colors, but not much change in NYC. It was cool, but warm in the sun. Meadow was very excited to be there, Katie didn't really care because we couldn't go to a playground since Meadow was with us. She loved looking at the ducks in the reservoir and really didn't want to leave.

"I'm going to Daddy's office!"

We went to the annual Halloween party at Peter's office on Friday. We all had a great time. It was an exciting day for Katie because we got to take the subway. Given her general fear of cars and dislike of walking on Manhattan sidewalks, I prepped her for a few days, explaining that we were taking the subway to the office and we didn't even need a stroller because the office is so close. The subway is across the street from our building, 2 stops on the express, and a block to Peter's office. She did great. Picture below.

It was a rainy day so we didn't get the great view of the city that the building has. But we got to see where Daddy works, which Katie found very exciting. And at the party we got to decorate Halloween colored buckets, watch a puppet show, and eat orange cupcakes. You can guess which was Katie's favorite. I'll spare you the picture of orange frosting all over her face.

I have to say that Katie looked adorable. The hula girl was my idea - as I think most costumes are at this age. I bought her the grass skirt in Hawaii and I wanted a low-key costume that I didn't have go hunt down somewhere. One of the partners at the firm told Peter he was in trouble because she looked so cute and so grown up. No one could believe that she's only 2 1/2. We get that a lot because she's tall for her age, but the costume seemed to accentuate this perception. To tell you the truth, Peter and I were a little self-conscious of the costume. There's a line in the movie "Mean Girls" that explains that Halloween is just an excuse for all the high school girls to dress up in revealing outfits, usually as some animal or another. Okay, we skipped the animal part, but a hula costume is definitely revealing. We figure it's okay at this age - when she's older, probably not. Note: my grandparents brought me a hula girl outfit from Hawaii when I was 4 and I got to wear it for Halloween too.

So here's Katie in the hall outside the office cafe

And here's Katie and Baby after the party. Peter had some work to finish up, so Katie and I hung out in the office until he was ready to go home. I have to give credit to Katie, she played with baby and walked around looking at the view and kept herself occupied for an hour.
And Katie and Baby on the subway. On the subway on the way home I asked Katie what she wanted for dinner. "I want to order something," Katie explained. The people around her laughed. She's such a city kid.

Alternate side Katie

As I'm sure you've seen me mention, Katie's baby's name is "Baby." Actually, Katie has 3 Babies and one of them can go in the bath. So last night we decided to try it out. Here's Katie burping Baby while she's on the potty.

And here's Katie rocking baby in the bathtub. Yes, Baby did well in the bath. Katie wrapped her up in a little towel when she was done and Baby dried quickly. We had spent the late afternoon with her friend Grace and her mom Beth had bathed baby Elijah so I think the sudden interest in bathing Baby may be related to that.

Here are somethings I've been meaning to blog:

Katie knows how old she is and when her birthday is. We don't know how or when she learned when her birthday is, but when we asked her how old she was when we were in Florida, she said "I'm 2 1/2 and my birthday is April 8th."

And Katie is clearly an urban baby. Even though she barely rides in them (and then only in a carseat), she knows that all the yellow cars are taxis. I asked her what color car we should borrow in Florida, a white car or a blue car or a yellow car. And she said, "no Mommy, yellow cars are taxis."

And one day we were in our playroom and she was driving one of those little tikes cars that you move with your feet. I asked her where she was driving to and she said, "I'm looking for parking!" Alternate side Katie - When where on a plane and it's landed and we're waiting on the runway she says "the plane's looking for a parking spot!"

Cousin Danielle

My super-duper cousin Danielle just moved to NYC. We're so excited to have her here! Danielle's from the DC area and we saw her a lot when we lived there. Of course Dani was in middle school then, but really, we still loved to hang out with her. Katie took to Danielle immediately. The whole night she kept saying her name like it had some sort of magical power. It was adorable. Our easy-to-bed baby actually threw a tantrum in her crib because she didn't want to miss out on the fun with Dani. Katie was a little confused because when you ask her who her cousins are she'll tell you "Robin and Mitch and Pete." So she kept saying "No Mommy, Danielle is your cousin." Technically speaking, this is correct generation-wise, but due to a very unusual family double marriage, she is also Katie's generation. Yes, I am both Danielle's 2nd cousin and her mom's 2nd cousin. Bonus points if you can guess why this is...

Santa Fe Bath

Pictures of Santa Fe wouldn't be complete with a picture of Katie in the big bathtub (you can see other pics in March '06 and Jan '07). It's a highlight for Katie of her trips to Santa Fe. And it's a highlight for us because Nana likes to give the baths. Katie was impressed this time because she could take a bath and a "shower" - meaning that Nana used the hand held rinser and it is about the closest thing that Katie's gotten to a shower.

Sunny Santa Fe

When we say that Santa Fe is sunny, it's really true. Exhibit A - Katie's take on the Michelangelo Moses... We took Katie for a post nap walk around the neighborhood and she didn't want to walk and she didn't want to go in the stroller. She just wanted to play with the rocks and the dirt. This was not too different from trying to get her to walk around Washington State in July, just a different ecological environment. Oh - and don't you love this shirt? Nana bought it for Katie and our favorite Santa Fe kids' store.

You can see how blue the sky is here

Peter took this picture below - with the yellow aspen tree in front of Nana and Papa's house.

Up the Mountain

Katie and Daddy and Papa went up the mountain to see how the aspen leaves changed color while Ann and I went shopping. Here are 2 cute pics from their adventures.

Katie kept telling Papa to "go in front of me" and "I'm following you." She's very into giving directions and having adults comply.

"The sunset's ready!"

There are beautiful sunset views of the mountains and the sun set soon after this picture. Katie got all excited and said, "The sunset's ready! The sunset's ready." We all watched the sunset on the patio. Here's Papa and Katie watching the sunset.

"Nana, it's your birthday!"

The main reason we went to Santa Fe because it was Nana's birthday and we thought it would nice to be with her. Katie woke up Monday morning and walked into the living room with a card she made for her and said "Nana's, it's your birthday!" Ann loved it! We had a relaxing day in the sunshine. As you can see from the pictures, Santa Fe is very sunny. It's high altitude and the desert. Here's Katie on the back patio.

Big Girl Bed

Katie slept in a "big girl bed" in Santa Fe, a fact of which she is very proud. The inflatable bed bolsters are great! She slept all night with no complaints and even took naps in the bed.

Santa Fe Playground

Sunday morning in Santa Fe, we found a beautiful playground at an elementary school. All 5 of us had a great time climbing on the equipment. I love this picture of Katie. She looks at and says "I'm going through the tunnel!" Here are some other pictures to share.

Katie and Nana on the seesaw

Daddy pushes Katie in the "big swing"

Katie and Fe

Katie's favorite nurse at Oma is Fe. She always greets Katie with a big hug and picks her up. She'll often follow Katie around for a few minutes too and show her off to the residents. I told Katie to tell Fe where we're going and she said "Santa FE." I don't think Katie makes the association... Katie was pretty funny today. We stopped at the mall and she told me "I don't want my stroller Mommy, I want to go in the cart." I told her the mall didn't have carts, it's not very classy. "But Target has carts." Katie has quite an affinity for Target and points it out with excitement whenever we go past.

My suitcase

This pic was too cute not to include. Katie was looking forward to going to Florida so she could bring her suitcase. And she got to wheel her suitcase through the airport "like a big girl." So here's Katie and Dima, each with their rolling carriers.

Florida Highlights

Besides seeing Sophie, we didn't do much in Florida. It wasn't a very long trip. Katie did get to spend a morning at the beach and the "cool" and she was very excited! The water was too rough to go swimming, but Katie enjoyed playing with her sand toys. And at the "cool" she loved going up and down the steps and even got to go in the water with her Dipa - a first!

Katie has completely outgrown the pack-n-play now. Truth is she outgrew it a while ago, but we put her in it anyway. It was quite a discussion what to do next. Katie's a really restless sleeper. We've always known this, but it was very clear this summer when she ended up sleeping on a crib mattress on the floor and rolling into the hallway during the night. I found these inflatable bed bolsters and they are great. We will continue to use them for travel for a while. Here's a picture. Is she going to be mad when she's older for putting this picture up?

Katie meets Grandma Sophie

Katie and I just got back from Florida. She was a great traveler and I have lots of pictures to share. We had 3 meals with Grandma Sophie, my grandfather's 97-year-old wife. Sophie is amazing. She's completely with it, lives in her own apartment (with a caregiver) and still goes out to lunch with the ladies. We were very impressed. Sophie couldn't be happier spending time with Katie. I have to say that Katie did her best to be adorable and she made a great impression.

I brought Sophie an album of Katie pictures, about two each month of her life so that Sophie could watch her grow. I'm so used to people seeing pictures on the blog, that I rarely print them or I do and I forget to send them. I labeled each photo and Sophie just kvelled at her beautiful great-granddaughter. Here's a picture of Katie showing Grandma Sophie the pictures. She was sure to point out certain features "I lost that purse." and "I lost that Elmo." in addition to "that's my doggie Meadow."

And for those of you who have known of Sophie for many years - yes, she still wears high heels (with her walker!) and she still wears lots of makeup. We should all be so lucky to live that long in such good health and spirits.

play date time

Katie had a playdate with Kevin and Erika yesterday. It's preschool exploration time for next year, so we're all taking turns watching each other's kids while we go on tours or open houses. Seriously, if I had known, I would have written my dissertation on intensive parenting in the toddler years in NYC. The expectations are so different from the rest of the country, but I will go into that another time, I'm sure. Anyway, Kevin came over here and Erika and Kelli joined him. The girls were their usual active selves, alternating between hugging each other and taking toys from each other. Kevin was little more content to watch.

The blanket was both for a picnic and to go to sleep or "go shuffy" as Erika says. I think Kelli's family must come from a different part of Eastern Europe than mine b/c her pronunciations are slightly different than my family's (shluffy). Of course there aren't too many phrases common in my 3rd generation household, but I do remember also learning from both Elizabeth's mom and grandma and my Aunt Judy. Both Karen and Aunt Judy were fond of calling us vantzes. I thought of this the other day when Katie, Kevin, and Erika were running through Kevin's hallway. The word vantz just popped into my head. Bonus points if you know what this means.

I want my belt

Katie got some new jeans that came with belts so that's her new excitement this week, putting on a belt. Not too convenient for getting to the potty, but we're only at the beginning of learning, so I'm not too concerned. By the way, Katie picked out this t-shirt to wear on Tuesday. There aren't too many little girls running around the UWS with a "Polska" t-shirt and it's cute. A grandma in our playroom asked her where she got a shirt from Poland. "Ewa gave it to me" was her response.

Katie and Olivia

I had to put this on the blog before it got too old. It's from 2 weeks ago when we had a Friday-morning-before-we-go-to-NJ playdate with our friends Olivia and Pamela. The girls played so well together, it was so nice to see. And Katie loves to give her friends hugs - the only challenge is reminding her that she can't hug them around their necks, especially when she's so much taller than all of her friends.

Katie and I are preparing for our trip to Florida. It will be the first trip we take without Peter, but we are going with my parents. Last night, I was again going over the details with her, that we're going to Florida, but Daddy is going to stay home with Meadow. "Mommy," Katie said, "I'll feel sad when I left Daddy to go to Florida." I also explained that Grandma Sophie is older, like Oma. But because Oma thinks Katie is intimidated by her wheelchair, I explained to Katie that Grandma Sophie doesn't have a wheelchair like Oma. Katie now says. "Grandma Sophie's not in a wheelchair like Oma." Katie's most excited by the idea that she might get to take her pink suitcase on the plane.

Happy Sukkot

Happy Sukkot! I'm not sure it's technically appropriate to say this, but I'll go for it anyway. Sukkot is sort of like the Jewish Thanksgiving, a harvest holiday. And since you say Happy Thanksgiving, I figured why not Happy Sukkot. Katie was very lucky and got to celebrate Sukkot twice this year. On Saturday we went to our friends' Darcie and Jonathan's to celebrate in their sukkah. Katie got to color a tree that they had cut. Very cute. And she got to smell the etrog (it's a really sweet-smelling, yet inedible citrus fruit) and watch while we shook the lulav. We had a nice time and they had a beautiful sukkah in their backyard. There were lots of kids there around Katie's age, and many of them were boys, including their son Eli. It was funny to see Katie a little apprehensive with the boys. She doesn't spend too much time with a lot of boys and I somehow think that, at this age, she already knows that there is a difference. This, of course, is endlessly fascinating to me. Anyway, there was one girl there around her age and Katie befriended Sasha immediately. And once she was with Sasha, they both started running with the boys. And Sasha, who just turned 3, uses the potty and this really impressed Katie.

Today we celebrated Sukkot at Kevin's house. Their building has a big patio where some residents put up a sukkah. It was quite a deluxe sukkah with lights and windows. So we prepared dinner for the kids and they ate it outside. You may recognize the cast of characters by now - Jill, Karen, Jamie, Kelli, Erika, and Kevin. Since outdoor space is difficult to come by in Manhattan, to celebrate a holiday where you build a temporary outdoor dwelling twice was really great.

Here's Katie with the lulav and etrog at Eli's house.

Cupcakes on Broadway

Peter and I joke that we know we're real New Yorkers when you think street fairs are a pain rather than fun. Who wants more crowds and less parking? After about 2 years here, we began to feel like it was all the same stuff, the same crepes and gyros and roasted corn. And there's only so much of this stuff you want to eat - and in the past few years that's been none. But yesterday we found a treasure at the street fair in our neighborhood. There was a barbecue truck from a place in the Bronx that has been written up in the Times twice this year. And it was good. They only had pulled pork and ribs and we decided that ribs were not good street food with Katie. And the pork was great, not fatty at all. I'm sure Katie would have preferred the ribs because she wouldn't even touch the pork. Oh well.

And then further up the street, a Harlem bakery I've been wanting to try had cupcakes. Very yummy. The bench picture above does not show the location. If you look below, you'll see that Katie is eating a cupcake, literally, in the middle of Broadway! Not what you'd want your toddler doing on most days. Katie was actually amazed that they closed half of the street to cars (remember, she's a city kid who is afraid of cars and makes me carry her in suburban parking lots). In fact it was such an exciting novelty to her that she actually walked all the way up to 105th. We didn't even take a stroller and she was fine. That's almost a mile round-trip. Good job Katie!

Picnic with Nana

Katie's new thing the past 2 weeks is "going on a picnic." She fills her little picnic basket (thanks Aunt Lesley) with pretend food, says she's going to the park for a picnic, spreads out her blanket (thanks Aunt Debbie) on the floor in the "other" room, and has a picnic. It's very cute and imaginative. Then she eventually says "I'm going home now" or "I miss you Mommy, so I'm going home." Living in an apartment, we have basically 3 rooms - Kati'e's room, Mommy and Daddy's room, and the "other" room. I fully expect to Katie to move to a house one day and say "Where's the 'other' room?" when she realizes that people have separate areas for living, eating, and cooking.

I'm trying to keep track of some of the funny things that Katie says. So many of them are amusing, but if I don't put them on the blog, I won't remember. Last Wednesday she was eating yogurt with a spoon and being pretty messy. I said to her, "Katie, do you think you might be able to eat your yogurt like a person?" She replied, "I'm not a person Mommy." "If you're not a person Katie, what are you?" "I'm a lady!"