HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD

Yesterday was my dad's B-Day.  Happy Birthday Dad!  Sending Papa John our love and best birthday wishes from the NYC!  Wish we could be there to celebrate.

BANANABELLE

Yesterday was the West Village Infant/Toddler Parade at Bleeker Street Playground.  Kids, and some parents too, dressed up in their Halloween digs for trick-or-treating, music, playtime, pictures and hayrides.  Annabelle was a bit too little to enjoy most of what was going on, but we had a good time putting her in her 'Bananabelle' costume and meeting up with our friends and their babies. We are looking forward to a couple more Halloween festivities next weekend so Bananabelle will be back.

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Here are the ladies con kiddos:  Wendy with Jackson (cow), Me with A. (banana), Jen with Carson (skunk), Maureen with Violet (Cat and the Hat).  The festivities were a little much for Violet.  She opted for a cat nap.

BIKE TRICKS

On our anniversary, Adrienne texted me this great photo of a girl doing a bike trick.  This very trick happen to be one of my signature bike trick maneuvers when living in Newport though I never attempted it wearing a bushel of balloons.  The traffic in New York does not allow for many bike tricks, but I like to think if was back on the Newport boardwalk the trick would come back to me.  Like riding a bike, right?

THREE YEARS AGO

Three years ago today a small group of dear family and friends gathered in Zihuatanejo, Mexico to celebrate our marriage.  Under the blazing Mexican sun we exchanged our vows, promised ourselves to one another, and began a new chapter of our lives.   So many more memories have unfolded since that favorite day, and today I love you more than ever.  Happy Anniversary Nathan!  May all the rest of our days be filled love, laughter, and happiness.  xo.

ROCK STAR

I wanted to share Annabelle's favorite new pastime - rock star.  She loves when we hold her in front of the mirror, giving her the opportunity to shake her maraca and sing into it like a microphone.  So far she only knows one song, "Aaahhhhhh", but it is a start.  Check it out. 

IN THE NEWS

Today's edition of the New York Times featured a large scale aerial view photo of our very own Abingdon Square.  The image was taken from the same perspective as out apartment's view, however we are on the third floor, so we see the the trees rather than the tree tops from our bedroom.  In this photo, however you can see our first New York apartment just across the square.  If you look to the top of the photo it is the melon colored building mid block. The article accompanying the photo is all about how living near small, parks in the city offers light, breathing room, and a sense of intimacy.  We both feel quite lucky to have landed here, remembering back to that summer in 2007 when Nathan and I spent a fast and furious weekend with a broker visiting 12 apartments in two days trying to find a place to live before we moved here.  The converted 1 bedroom on Abingdon Square was the last apartment of the 12 that we saw, just hours before our flight back to Cali.  It was small, just about 500 square feet or so, but the kitchen and bath had been remodeled and, as the article mentioned, the light was fabulous.  The park view added such charm.  We loved the greenery, the shady serenity of the the tall trees, the beautiful landscaping, and the lovely mix of people sitting on the benches that border the park. We joked it was our front yard with company over all the time. When we decided to move to a slightly larger apartment a little over a year later, we did not go far, just across the square in fact.  We loved the neighborhood, the light, and of course, the park.  The bummer part of the article is, with such great press, the rent is sure to take a hike.

ABINGDON SQUARE PARK, a 0.222-acre triangle of greenery in the West Village, is not a place that requires much time for exploration. A lap of its curving byways, around a manicured garden island, takes just a minute or two. Indeed, most everyone there on a recent sunny Saturday was partaking in the square’s main day-to-day activity: sitting on benches.

Yet that is a pleasure, devotees say, that should not be understated. For neighbors of the park it is a place to read, to sit quietly in the shade, to meet friends and in general to retreat from the busy streets just a few steps away. The advantages of life near a big park, with acres of forest and lawn, are well known and well chronicled. But living on a square like Abingdon, or any of a handful of other patches of greenery tucked in around New York, is a more intimate and private experience.  

“It’s not Central Park; it’s not Prospect Park; it’s not Battry Park,” he said. “You kind of lose yourself in those kinds of parks. In the smaller parks, you find yourself.”

AUTUMN AT BEAR MOUNTAIN

Autumn is certainly in the air.  On Sunday we opted for a picnic out of the city.  We drove an hour North to Bear Mountain to take in some crisp air and fall foliage.  The leaves are just starting to change.  Everywhere you looked there were splashes of orange, red, and yellow amongst the green forests.  Our picnic did not really last too long.  Seconds after this pic was taken, Annabelle fromage'd all over Nathan.  Too much airplane I guess.  Not 5 minutes later she had a major blowout on mom.  Oh well!  For the short time we were there we enjoyed the lake views and autumn in New York.  We journeyed home slightly smellier than when we left - such is life with a baby.

PORTRAIT

Strolling through Soho on Saturday afternoon we stumbled upon an artist painting portraits for donation at the Housing Works Thrift Shop.  We couldn't resist. 

FOR THE BIRDS

So going cold turkey is for the birds.  We did okay last night with our attempt at skipping the feed, though not great.  I am too much of a softie to truly let Annabelle cry it out.  She woke up at 5:00 and we gave her the paci.  She dozed off until 5:20 when she woke again.  I gave her the paci for a second time and she slept until 5:40 when she woke up again, this time hungry.  She began to cry and it was killing me.  Bruce and Walter went into the room and began pacing in front of the crib.  Her crying was clearly concerning them too.  After 5 minutes I picked her up and fed the poor child.  We didn't quite make it until 6:00, but then again Annabelle doesn't know how to tell time.  All she knows is she is hungry and I, as her mother, want to provide.  So much for tough love.  My new strategy is we will ease into it and try to get her to go a little later each night.  On a happy note, she seemed to not mind ditching the swaddle.  She fell asleep no problem.  I am finding sleep is a tricky thing and everyone has their own opinion on what's best.  You don't know until you try and we will continue on searching for the strategy that works best for Annabelle.  It is not worth breaking both our hearts and I have no doubt she will get there eventually. 

COLD TURKEY

Today was Annabelle's 4 month doctor's appointment.  She is a healthy baby girl weighing in at 12lbs. 13oz. and is 25.3 inches tall.  She is in the 30% percentile for weight and 82% for height, so she remains on the tall side.  In the words of Aunt Ade, "no front row for her!" 

The pediatrician kicked off the visit by asking us Annabelle was sleeping through the night.  Though she has always been a good sleeper, she recently has been waking up at 4:15 every morning like clock work for a feeding. The doc asked if I ever attempted to NOT feed her at 4:15 and let her try to go back to sleep herself.  "Ummm, no."  To this day we have not let her "cry it out".  The doctor felt though, it is time to try to work through the 4:15 feeding.  She insisted that Annabelle is old enough and weighs enough to make it a full night and recommended that tonight we give it a try and not feed her until 6:00 am.  She also recommended that we don't sleep in the same room as Annabelle for a few days since she can smell us and sense that we are there.  Lastly, she confirmed what I read in an article: that we should no longer be swaddling her.  Supposedly we are inhibiting her from utilizing her muscles and her ability to self-soothe.  So tonight we go cold turkey - no swaddle, no 4:15 feed.  It will be tough, but I am willing to give it a shot.  The idea of not feeding and then pumping in the wee hours of the morning sounds like a dream come true!  Since Nate and I will be having a sleep over in the living room, I am thinking we will make a night of it.  Pull out the sleeping bags, pop some popcorn, and put on a movie.  I'll let you know how it goes.   Keeping our fingers crossed that Annie E pulls through with flying colors.

WHOoo WHOOOO?

Don't you just love flea markets?  Vendor after vendor selling previously owned items that they feel someone else might find value in.  I love how amongst what appears as junk, a certain item will call out to you.  A true treasure.  The perfect something to fit your eclectic taste.  I found this treasure at the Petaluma flea market when we were visiting Diane and Michael.  Carved from solid wood this owl now chills in our living room.  Whoooooo'd of thought?

SKYPE, FINALLY!

I am all set up finally and ready to chat thanks to my dear friend, Kelly, who purchased us a skype camera as a welcome gift for Annabelle.  My skype name is cathiellis (real original, I know).  Add me to your contacts and let's set a date.  Can't wait to see your faces!  Morning coffee, anyone?

HELLO OCTOBER

 Another weekend has flown by and we have officially entered October.  To kick things off for the month, I headed uptown to have lunch with my boss.  We put the luncheon on our calendars a few weeks ago so we could discuss my return to work.  I dropped Annabelle off in Times Square with Nathan, thew on a pair of heels and cut across Bryant Park and up 5th Avenue to my office for the first time in months.  For a minute I was the old Cathi, minus the Baby Bjorn sticking out of my purse.  My feet and heart instantly began to ache - my feet from the heels and my heart from knowing that I have less than two months left at home with our little girl.  I plan to enjoy every minute of that time, because when I return at the end of November I will have my work cut out for me.  The company is restructuring the Marketing Department and rather than return to my old position as Marketing Director of Styling they have offered me the Director of Haircare position.  I will have a new team as well as a much larger budget and product portfolio to manage. Such begins my role as a working mother, forever searching for that perfect work/life balance.  In the spirit of taking care of business, later that evening we solidified a nanny for Annabelle.  She came to us through a referral and has a reputation for being incredibly loving, responsible and awesome with children.  I feel good about our choice and am also relieved to have found her so early on.  Such a major check on the check off list.

Saturday was one of those beautiful, sunny fall afternoons.  The sky was a magnificent blue with a crisp breeze blowing white clouds across the sky.  The Village was bustling and everyone was out and about getting their fix of outdoors before the weather turns frosty.  The three of us headed to the Charles Street Pier on the Hudson for a picnic and game of smash ball.  One thing I love about New York how much the locals utilize public spaces.  On the same short pier there were kids and adults alike practicing yoga, playing tag, football, soccer, whiffle ball, and doing calisthenics -- a whole lot going on.  After hitting our 2010 summer record of 86 smashball hits, we headed indoors for a ratatouille dinner inspired by the lovely meal Diane cooked for us in Petaluma last week.   Here's the prep. Delicious.

Sunday we hopped the subway to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.  One of the exhibits featured stick structures that look like something from Where the Wild Things Are.  These monumental huts were created by the artist Patrick Dougherty.  They were supposed to only be in the Gardens through August, so we were pleasantly surprised to find they were still there.

Dougherty crafts large-scale sculptures from saplings: weaving, snagging, and flexing sticks into playful, nestlike architectural forms that evoke themes of shelter, habitat, and sustainability. Created of organic matter, his works have a natural life cycle, changing over time as the sticks settle and decay, eventually returning to the earth they grew from.

Here are some other shots from our visit.  Hoping you had a lovely weekend, too!