Self Portrait

Morning Sky

Updates!

So it's Christmastime!! That's pretty wonderful. Michael, Alice and I have been enjoying the season. We put up our beautiful Christmas tree last week, and hosted an open house for Michael's students. We put on "holiday" carols, baked oodles of sweet goodies, and made some delicious Parsnip-Potato-Leek soup.

We both had a string of holiday parties last week. Alice loved hugging all the babies.


We've been trying to keep warm. Alice is wearing adorable leg warmers now:

And one other major highlight - a couple of weeks ago, Michael and I went to a work function, where we got to see the mayor! And then we went OUT to a bar. FOR DRINKS. Like grown-ups do. It was a real highlight.



So that's just a basic outline of the past few weeks. There's more to share, but I'll save it for another post.

Thanksgiving 2011

Dear Alice,

Happy holidays, my sweet!! We just celebrated an amazing Thanksgiving, full of great food and family. Your PapPap, GG, Grandma, Grandpa and LeeLee came all the way up to New York to mark the holiday with you. They showered you with love and attention, spending every last minute making sure your every need was met.

At dinner, we went around the table sharing what we were thankful for this year. Everyone agreed - you are the greatest blessing. Your PapPap and GG both mentioned being grateful for having spent time with you, getting to know you and witnessing your personality develop. Your daddy and I cherish every minute we have to share you with this lovely family.

I love you insanely, my sweet baby girl. Happy holidays!
Mamma

Lunch: Parsnip Soup

Dinner:
Roasted Turkey with Citrus Rosemary Salt
Harvest Bread Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows
Green Beans & Carrots in Charmoula Sauce
Roasted Asparagus

Dessert:
Pumpkin Pie
Candy
Bourbon-Chocolate Pecan Pie

Too Much!

Funny Faces

Recovery

I've been in a mood lately. I'm the first to admit it. A whole lot of factors contribute to this thrilling version of me, but mostly I have been feeling a little stuck. I've been trying to make some changes in my life lately without much success, and it has just been getting me down.

I have a vivid memory of the first time I heard Tom Frieden, our former Health Commissioner and the current head of the CDC (a God among Public Health folks), speak. The very first thing he said was, "Do you know what the only proven cure for depression is? Physical activity!" So, with that ringing in my head, I've been trying to get to the gym this week. I'm committing to 2 times a week from now until the end of December, or I have to quit the gym. Will it work? I sure hope so. And so does my husband!

And my sweet husband brought me flowers tonight!!! YAY!

Sweetie Pie

Stoop

Alice & I have taken to sitting on our building's front stoop. Neither of us get enough time outside, and developments over the past several months have limited that time even more. My office's move from a lovely, lively downtown to a rather ugly neighborhood in Queens in April keeps me indoors much of the work week. In order to get home in time for family dinner - which been pretty committed to since Alice started eating real meals - we ride the train home rather than walking from daycare. We just can't seem to spend enough time outdoors.

So, we sit on our stoop. Thankfully, a lot goes on right outside our building. Alice loves watching the trains come and go. We have a lot of dog lovers in our neighborhood, so we almost always see a friendly pup. There are plenty of kids in the neighborhood for Alice to wave to. A few of our neighbors just love Alice, and occasionally we will all sit together outside, chatting about this and that. And we get some beautiful sunshine just outside our building. I've been surprised by how pleasant the experience can be.

This is just another way that Alice is growing up as a City baby. I find the differences in our upbringing so shocking sometimes. Alice knows how to wait for an elevator, how to hail a cab (the CUTEST thing ever), how to steal some sunshine and fresh air from just outside a building. Amazing.

At Home

We're getting ready over here...

NYC Marathon Alex Baldwin prorez from Marc Beroza on Vimeo.

Cuteness!!

A Happy Night

Dear Alice,

Tonight was a lovely night. I picked you up from John & Anna's, and you were happy to see me, though a little sad that it meant you were leaving Naomi & Penelope for the evening. On our walk home, we stopped to pick up a bread role from the bakery just down the road. You impressed everyone, walking into the bakery, holding the bag with your evening treat, saying "Thank you" before we walked out the door.

At home you played patiently while I cooked dinner - pork chops, roasted broccoli, mac & cheese and salad. You, Daddy and I enjoyed a relaxing dinner, and you even made it through the WHOLE meal in your own seat! After dinner, we did the hokey pokey and ring-around-the-rosie. You pretended to sleep, and then jumped up to surprise your daddy and me.

You are too cute for words these days. You learn 10 new words a day, it seems, and love mimicking your Daddy and me. You want to be a part of everything, from cooking dinner to doing the laundry and carrying groceries. You love to read, and dance, and sing, and eat.

I love you more than anything ever!

Love,
Mommy

Chatty Cathy

Halloween

Work!

So, I haven't created these at all, but look at this awesome ad campaign our office launched today!





And you can see the ads here.

All Quiet

Sorry it's been all quiet on the blogging front lately. October has flown by!

Michael has been working particularly long hours lately, as naturally occurs when you work in an academic institution. Between his late nights and mine, we've had few nights together as a family this month. Thankfully we've had some lovely visitors, including my mom and Michael's parents, and savored our weekends together.

I've been feeling particularly flabby and gross lately. Too much time running around, too little time to take care of myself. I miss the gym, but not enough to find a way to make it happen. My poor husband is sick of hearing about how I miss it. Perhaps I need to set some real goals for myself - 2 visits per week for the next month or so. Something with a punishment. Or a reward.

Alice is super cute these days. She mimics everything we do, and insists on helping me with groceries. Here's a little something from last weekend - too cute!

Family Time

Friends

Dark

Just because she's so cute!

I woke up at 5:30 this morning, jumping out of bed to get a shower before our hot water turned off at 6 (oh, apartment living...). I was shocked to see just how dark it is at 5:30 am.

This summer, I wrote about my internal debate with waking early enough to get some quiet time in the morning versus sleeping in to get some rest. When it was light out, I chose to wake up, practice some yoga, enjoy some quiet time before my day ran away from me. But more recently, as the morning light drifted later and later, I stayed in bed longer. I've noticed that I can actually stay awake at night with my husband. I'm definitely more rested when I wake up, and think I'm a little less moody than I was before. But I've also been consistently late for work, pushing my dinner prep time to after Michael & Alice leave the apartment in the morning. I've felt more frantic from 6:45 AM until 9:30 AM. And I definitely haven't done any yoga in weeks.

I guess this is just another balancing act, like so many others. For now, I'm enjoying some extra sleep and think it is worth the sacrifice. But I'm also already excited for lighter mornings and early rises...

(PS Is this the most boring post ever?!?)