Good Eats!

Another milestone (which I was putting off as long as possible) was introducing cereal/solid food.  Since Anna is six months old and trying to put all of my food, spoons and drinks in her mouth I decided I had to give in to the inevitable.  Again, I made a big deal about it and had the kids help me get the chair, special spoons and bowl, new bib and the rice cereal ready.  Max was a little less interested in this one, but Kate could hardly wait! Anna was eager to know what was going on and loved being in her highchair beside Kate. Anna looked adoringly at Kate and Kate gently brought the spoon to Anna's mouth, she opened wide, Kate slipped the spoon in just like I showed her, Anna swallowed and gave Kate a big grin! Rinse and repeat.  My little girl is getting so big and my other little girl is such a little Mommy!

Before

 During

 After

First Sip

We introduced the sippy cup to Anna.  I made a big deal about it and Kate & Max were really excited about helping Anna use her sippy cup.  Anna adores Max and Kate so she did not hesitate a bit when they put the cup to her mouth.  She was a little surprised but went for more and tried to hold it herself.

New York - Part 2

As I mentioned before the trip to New York was actually for a conference. Anna and I tagged along and WALKED all day in all sorts of weather conditions to take in as much as we could. We really got around from uptown, Central Park, Midtown, Tines Square, Rockefeller, Tribecca, Chelsea, Hill Line, Battery Park, Staten Island, World Trade Center and a lot in between. We met up with Peter for lunch each day and toured the world with French, Italian, Ethiopian, and Spanish cuisine. My sister Abigail even babysat one night so we could enjoy an extra special date night for our anniversary. So much fun and incredible memories.

Central Park

Rockefeller Center

I actually saw the last day of ice skating. The next day it was all gone.

High Line Park

Old railway converted to an amazing park with great views of Tribeca, Chelsea, West Village, and the Hudson River.

Times Square

Staten Island Ferry

City Hall Park

World Trade Center

There were two incredible pools marking the footprint of the old world trade centers that are really hard to capture but really suck you in. The personal items displayed really got me choked up.

Central Park

6 Months

Little Anna is six months old. Unbelievable!!!

She is such a character! She is rolling, exploring and grabbing everything. She enjoys her little toys more and more and everything goes straight to her mouth. Amna loves her feet, takes off her socks and chews on hert toes any chance she gets. She seems to smile ALL of the time. She loves attention and will interact with anyone who will look at her. She actually reached out and held someones finger who was talking to her as we walked through Grand Central. She "talks" up a storm which makes us all giggles. Anna is very interested in what we are eating and tries to get tastes for herself (I guess I should feed her). She is working on sitting for a few seconds at a time. She is full of little giggles and likes to play games like peek-a-boo. We all love her kisses - she pulls your face to her and opens her mouth real big and leaves the perfect wet spot on your cheek!

New York - Part 1

We took a road trip to New York for nine days! Peter had a conference to attend in Manhattan so we added a few days on to either end to visit my parents, enjoy city life, and celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary!!!

Our family day in Manhattan was spectacular.  The kids were so excited about their first train ride. Max had a "perma grin" the entire ride.  He was so excited to get his ticket, could not wait to meet the conductor, thought every train was tooting its horn at him, and was glued to the window.  

 

We walked from Grand Central Station to Central Park.  Max could not get over all the Taxi Cabs, noticed there were a lot of people, requested a top in Build-A-Bear (which was new to them) and could not wait to climb on the rocks. Kate could not wait to play in the playgrounds, loved having a picnic, noted the city was very loud and embraced the extra time and attention from her Daddy.

 

One of the many little lakes had sailboats that you could personally navigate.  I am not sure who had more fun - Daddy or the kids???

 

Anna was all smiles for Grandma Mary! 

 

Kate wanted to eat everything she saw.

 

We blew Max's mind with a taxi ride back to the train.  He was so excited and practically hung ou the window pointed out all the numbers and letters as road through Time Square.  Kate and Anna were passed out!

It was a very memorable day!