Friday, February 27, 2015

Baby Robert 2015!

Sarah and Donald just had their second gorgeous boy! I am so excited to meet him soon!

Robert B 2015
Robert Joseph- total perfection.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Visiting Ash- February 2015

I made an overdue visit to go see Ash and have some laid back fun times. I made my first successful chicken pot pie for dinner (with biscuits instead of pie- yum!) and we marathoned watched The Affair on Showtime. We recommend the recipe, but not so much the television show. I also got to eat all the delicious Indian food her mom left behind and Ash's secret recipe guacamole. Oh and I got to sleep in on Saturday morning. A big treat! The best part is I get to see Ash again in two weeks! Hurray!

Visiting Ash - Feb 2015
Ash and me- on the couch where it's nice and warm.

Visiting Ash - Feb 2015
Chopping the veggies for dinner

Visiting Ash - Feb 2015
So proud of my finished dinner!

Just FYI, no one paid me to link that recipe. It's just good. I mean look at those biscuits.

Monday, February 23, 2015

Miranda is 10 Months 2015

Miranda is 10 Months 2015 

Skills: She says Mama sometimes to me, and sometimes says Dada to Kevin. She says "J" sometimes in the general direction of James. She points to stuff she wants. She claps with delight or to music.

She understands "no" but just laughs and shakes her head when you try to tell her she can't do something. We're in so much trouble.

February 2015
The face she makes when you say "no!"

She can stand and balance, cruise from furniture to furniture, and occasionally dances on the spot, and has attempted a step forward, but she hasn't successfully walked yet. But we're sure it's going to happen soon!


February 2015
Standing and bopping.

Sleep: She's still sleeping through the night but waking up a bit earlier.  She's been sleeping from 7:40 pm to 7 - 8 am. I am definitely worried about what will happen during daylight savings time.

We still hold her for naps, but to be fair we haven't even tried to put her down in ages. Because she defeated us.

February 2015 
Shaking her finger "no" while sleeping!

Food: She eats everything. If you try to give her something you wouldn't personality eat, she calls you out on it by spitting it out and pointing at what you're eating. But if it's delicious enough for you, it's delicious enough for her. Her favorites are probably bread, mac n' cheese, and beef.

January 2015
I eat cheerios and judgment for breakfast.

Growth: She basically has 4 teeth now. I can see all 4, though the most recent one is about halfway out. She's in 12 month clothing.

January 2015 
Dada brushing her 4 teeth.

Personality: Oh she's the best. Feisty and determined. She has her own little rebel sense of humor, and giggles all the time. She gets her way... or else.

February 2015 
Just microwaving some veggies and ...

February 2015
... grilling up some chicken.

Kevin is obsessively in love. Me too.

January 2015
Bedtime snuggles

Valentine's Day 2015
Naptime selfie.

James is her best friend. It's them against the world. Even when she tortures him, which is several times a day every day, he's very patient with her.

January 2015
Oh I just took your seat. Deal with it.

Playing in their room.

January 2015
Hugs.

January 2015
You're in my way!

January 2015
Making sandwiches.

January 2015
When James tries to go to the potty alone.

January 2015
Little late-night cooking.

February 2015
It's a ghost!

February 2015
No it's James!

February 2015
Oh, okay... here then.

February 2015
This happened.

Miranda is 10 Months 2015
He loves her!

Miranda is 10 Months 2015
And she loves him!

If you're still here, I lost all the Miranda pregnancy weight, though I'm still rocking about 6 pounds of James pregnancy weight still.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Kevin's 35th Birthday 2015

Kevin had a low-key birthday at home this year. I made him his favorite for dinner, ropa vieja with rice and black beans. The kids also enjoyed it, though Miranda enjoyed it more. James was mostly interested in making it his birthday instead of Kevin's.

Kevin's 35th Birthday 2015
Feeding Miranda rice and black beans

Kevin's 35th Birthday 2015
Covered in food and worshipping her Dada

Kevin's 35th Birthday 2015
Cuban food joy

Kevin's not a huge fan of cake (I'm not either) but we got a little piece mainly for James's sake. Happy birthday, Kevin! We love you completely and we're so lucky to have you.

Kevin's 35th Birthday 2015
Blowing out his birthday candle!

Kevin's 35th Birthday 2015
Tasting some cake.

Kevin's 35th Birthday 2015
Gobble gobble.

Kevin's 35th Birthday 2015

Monday, February 16, 2015

Valentine's Day 2015

This year was the best Valentine's Day yet because we have another little Valentine that we didn't have last year: Miranda. Kevin, James, and I are really in love with her.

Valentine's Day 2015
Valentine's Family Picture!

Valentine's Day 2015
Playing with Dada

Valentine's Day 2015 
Naptime with Mama

Valentine's Day 2015
Sitting in Dada's lap at dinner because she's spoiled!

Kevin got me flowers and wrote me the nicest card ever. James made me this awesome Valentine (pictured above in family picture). Kevin picked up sushi for dinner (I was actually craving it today- not just because we often end up getting it for Valentine's).

Valentine's Day 2015
Flowers

But the best part was going out-- for a second weekend in a row! We were giddy with freedom. We met up with Lukas and Sarah who, luckily for Kevin and me, had to delay their Valentine's ballet plans. We went to Sekend Sun in Astoria, a new cocktail bar and restaurant. We had tots, pretzels, and chocolatey beignets, and I tried more cocktails than I should have. Valentines Double Dates might be my new favorite thing now!

Valentine's Day 2015
At Sekend Sun (though Kevin is a first son)

Valentine's Day 2015
Sarah and Lukas (a legitimate second son)

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Our 5.5 Wedding Anniversary 2015

Our five-year wedding anniversary was in June of last year, but Miranda was only six weeks old and I was nursing so we really weren't going anywhere to celebrate. At first, we were at peace with this, but 5 years is kind of fun, and when Miranda started sleeping through the night (!) we started looking at some options. Of course, none of this would have been possible without Grandma- thank you, thank you, Grandma.

Anniversintine 2015
"Before" picture by Grandma

Kevin found a new Argentinian restaurant he wanted to try in the city, and had the smart idea to book us at a fancy hotel for the night so we wouldn't have to come back to Long Island for the night and listen to the children scream. We set out for our "Anniversitine" or our anniversary celebrated closer to Valentine's than to our actual anniversary.

Since our dinner reservation was in the Lower East Side, we found a random bar to get pre-dinner drinks. We wandered into El Sombrero and it was pretty awesome. The music was straight out of my grandparent's living room, and the drink I got was great: tequila, cointreau, lime juice, passion & guava puree.

Anniversintine 2015
Tequila drink at The Sobrero

For dinner we went to Balvanera, an Argentinian (steak) restaurant and wine bar. We had the most amazing appetizer- Empanadas Caseras filled with hand cut roast beef. YUM! Kevin got the strip rare, and I got the skirt steak (entraña) medium. I know my choice sounds kind of gross to American ears, but trust me, it wasn't. Hispanic people pound flank steak into sweet submission. They were a little heavy on the steak but delicious. Both steaks came with thin fries. We washed it down with A Lisa Malbec from Patagonia.

Anniversintine 2015
After dinner picture

After dinner we weighed going back to the hotel, getting a drink near the hotel, or getting a drink near where we were on the Lower East Side. Kevin suggested The Magician, so we popped in for "one drink." Right away we spotted Briggs at the bar, who promptly told us that Nick and Emily were also coincidently there with another group of people. All of Kevin's friends like that bar, so it wasn't the craziest thing that's ever happened but it was kind of weird. Especially the part where Kevin and I were out together. We had a lot of fun running into everyone. We also ran into Kevin's college ballroom dance partner (there with Nick and Emily). I didn't even know he'd taken a dance class ever!

Anniversintine 2015
Nick, Kevin, me, Emily, Briggs at The Magician on Saturday night

We headed back to the hotel, but we were remiss to give up the good times so quickly so we stopped at bar near the hotel we'd never been to before, Session House, rumored to have a really good Guinness pour, which Kevin confirmed. They had a musician who just happened to play Miranda's early favorite song, You're So Vain (though now it's Itsy Bitsy Spider).

Anniversitine 2015
In the lobby of the Waldorf on Sunday morning

To top it all off, we stayed at the Waldorf Astoria over night so we didn't have to drive or take the train back at night, or take care of kids in the morning. The hotel itself is gorgeous, and I want to come back for the super luxurious Sunday brunch sometime. Our room was a bit more sedate, but it was in a corner away from any potential source of noise, and our window framed a view of the Chrysler building which Kevin loved. He loved sleeping even more, and though he assured me he didn't even know how to sleep past 8 am anymore, I'm pretty sure he would have slept through the check out time if I hadn't woken him up a bit before. I did wake up a bit earlier so I luxuriated in bed and finished my super long book. We grabbed some New York bagels for everyone and headed home. Great anniversary. Anniversitine. Whatever.


Thursday, February 12, 2015

Grandma Visits- February 2015

Grandma visited from Thursday night until Monday afternoon. The kids loved every minute of it and asked her not to leave. Well, James did. Miranda can't talk yet otherwise she would. Grandma brought two different delicious homemade soups with her, and made the kids mac n' cheese from scratch. As if all that weren't more than enough, she let me and Kevin go out to celebrate our much delayed anniversary (more on that later). Thanks, Grandma!

Grandma Visits- Feb 2015
Grandma playing patty-cake with Miranda

Grandma Visits- Feb 2015
Reading the classics with Grandma

Grandma Visits- Feb 2015
Miranda cruises over to Grandma

Grandma Visits- Feb 2015
James gives Grandma a check-up
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...