happy valentine's day!

valentine's day 2013

Baking heart shaped sugar cookies. Blowing up red balloons & erupting into giggles chasing these balloons around the house with H. Making homemade chocolate dipped cinnamon bears. Creating Hudson's first art project for daddy- his footprints in a heart shape on a canvas. (much easier said than done.) What ensued was red paint everywhere! 2 baths for Hudson and some vigorous scrubbing later & all but one little smudge washed right away. That little stain on his high chair will forever remind me of my attempt at making my child's first sentimental holiday gift. Aww. Setting up a candlelit cabana for our dinner for two. And how can we forget the explosion. That alone will make this a valentine's we will never forget.

This year was my year to plan. I planned a scrumptious dinner of filet mignon, creamy garlic mashed potatoes, homemade heart shaped french bread, steamed green beans, fresh pineapple slices, and white grape sparkling cider with heart shaped ice cubes all to be eaten in our romantic cabana. Sounds perfect, right? Too good to be true? 

 Just seconds after Kyle put Hudson to bed & right as I was taking the tender and juicy filet mignon from the oven, it exploded! everywhere! Okay, not the steak, but the baking dish. I was stunned. There, lying on the floor among chunks and slivers of glass was my precious filet mignon- the key to winning my man's heart (okay, that is a little dramatic). Needless to say, sweet Kyle came to my rescue. We spent the next hour deep cleaning the kitchen from all the glass as the rest of our dinner grew cold amidst the flickering light of the candles. Nothing more romantic than rolling up your sleeves, vacuuming corners, scrubbing stoves, & washing every pan, dish, and piece of silverware. The good news is that along with flowers, I got a sparkling clean kitchen for V-day this year! 

Even though nothing turned out as planned, it was truly an unforgettable day. I felt so grateful for my two sweet valentine boys. My little Huds who is all smiles and giggles and reminds me to enjoy every moment of life. I don't know where this first year has gone, but a million times every day I reflect on how happy i am to be his mom. And my man, who makes me laugh and find the bright side of life, who loves me even when i manage to explode our valentine's steak and serve up chicken instead. 

I'm such a lucky girl to have these two amazing guys in my life! Happy Valentine's Day!

traces of christmas

The end of the Christmas season is always a little bittersweet. 

I love the fresh start of a new year, but I hate knowing the holidays are over.  

With all the craziness of December, we finally got around to snapping a family photo by the tree--

just in time to un-decorate and toss 'er out on the street. 

And that is that. 

The holidays were magical, but now it's on to the New Year!

goodbye 2012

if you look closely, you can see we are making a "2013." pretty cool, right?

a run down of our new year's eve 2012:

1 early morning 5:30 wake-up call

2 pushes of the snooze button

3 of us & our 5 pieces of luggage crammed in our tiny rental car

1 bittersweet goodbye after an amazing holiday visit

hundreds of delicate snowflakes falling slowly during our drive to the airport

1 first class seat (for huds & me), 1 coach seat (for kyle)

3 squeezie pouches of baby food, 1 wardrobe change for huds, 1 in-flight movie, 3 subway transfers, & a strong kyle carrying our 120+ lbs of luggage simultaneously up the subway stairs with his bare hands (it was an impressive sight) & we were back.

home in nyc.

we spend hudson's first new year's dressing up in our holiday best & dining at dean's with our good friends. then, we boycotted hudson's bedtime & rang in the new year with a spectacular firework show in central park over the lake. well, truthfully we rang in the new year on our way to central park with our cabbie, dalgeet. yes, we were in a cab when the clock struck midnight. our timing was a little bit off. but, that didn't keep us from loving the moment. we were stopped at a red light (dalgeet was a very slow and cautious cabbie) and we all yelled out excitedly. even dalgeet joined in the fun. oh dalgeet. i will never forget the big smile on his face as he screamed along with us and oohed and ahhed at the fireworks we could see peeking at us from the night sky. good times.  we were only a few minutes late to the celebration as thousands of new yorkers gathered to say hello to 2013. we bundled hudson up, threw on some reindeer antlers and jumped in the midnight run yelling out "happy new year" all through the park. we passed people dressed in santa suits, santa hats, charlie brown + friends attire, capes, jean cut-offs and suspenders, and even a homemade brooklyn bridge costume. everyone was festive and happy & so excited for the new year. and even hudson loved it. his bright eyes gazed at the fireworks and he smiled from his stroller throne as we jogged along. what a trooper. we didn't make it home until nearly 2am. 

2012 was wonderful. a new job for kyle & our new baby's arrival & plenty of memories we will always cherish.

but here's to 2013. a fresh new start for the 3 of us. 

happy new year!

Winter's Eve

I love the magic of NYC at Christmas time. There is nothing quite like it. Each year, the UWS hosts a Winter's Eve celebration with a tree lighting, performers and bands, ice sculptures, activities for children, delicious food from local restaurants, and Santa. From Columbus Circle clear up to Lincoln Square, the streets are packed with holiday cheer. Even the hotdog stand man decorated his cart with cheery lights! 

In the past, I never made it home from work in time to catch anything but the tail end. This year was different. Huds and I bundled up & went down with some friends. We sipped hot cocoa & listened to performers & then feasted on juicy sliders and rich, chocolately brownies. NYC festivals aren't complete without delicious food, that is for sure! The highlight of the night was Hudson meeting Santa for the first time. He was squirmy, but didn't let out a single scream. Success, I tell you! Kyle (complete with his Movember 'stache) was even able to meet up with us at the end of the night. It's officially Christmastime in the city! 

the Great Hill Pumpkin Carving

Our awesome friend Dawn planned a pumpkin playgroup this year to carve and decorate pumpkins on the Great Hill in Central Park. Unfortunately, I didn't capture a photo of all the little ones and their finished masterpieces, but I did snap this one of little Huds. He was definitely more interested in playing with the leaves and the pumpkin in its own natural form. He did look adorable with the paintbrush in hand, but we'll wait until next year for him to become our real pumpkin artist. 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from our Little Owl!

Quite possibly our best Halloween. Ever. 

Kyle ran over 50 blocks home from work (still no subway service due to Hurricane Sandy) to meet up with us while it was still daylight & Huds was all smiles to see dad getting home so early. He loved flapping his wings & smiling & scored lots of candy for dad while trick-or-treating on the streets of NYC. This city is oh so friendly to all the little kiddies dressed in their cute little costumes. Funny how that made even walking along Broadway feel so "home-townish." But my favorite was probably strolling along 78th street between Columbus & Amsterdam to the cute & festively decorated brownstone buildings, where owners would sit out on the stoops, ooh and aah over the costumes & hand out candy. We saw everything from a baby snowboarder to the Empire State Building, & call us biased parents, but we think our little owl was pretty darn cute.  And brave too...he made it through his first haunted house at our friends' apartment before the night was over. Now, we've tucked away his costume & our little "night owl" has decided that as fun as owl life is, he'd rather just be a little guy and go to sleep.  And you know what? We are okay with that.  Happy Halloween!

Block Island Getaway: Part 1

It's been over a week since we returned from our Labor Day dream weekend away and I am still sifting through the hundreds of pictures we I took. I sometimes annoy Kyle by stopping every few minutes and snapping a picture. You just never know when you'll want that moment etched in your memory, you know? I think he might enjoy it more than he lets on though; at one point on our trip he simple said, "I remember moments when we take a picture more than moments when we do not." Cha-ching! Now, I do not feel so bad about my addiction to taking photos.

We had such a lovely weekend away with just our little family of 3. This picture was taken in our final few moments on Block Island right before we boarded the ferry back to the mainland. I love that this picture captures it so well. The ocean behind us, the picturesque harbor, our sunglasses and summer hats, our little Hudson (who honestly looks a little dazed, but happy nonetheless...he is such a trooper on all our adventures), our creamy & delicious half-eaten peach ice cream in homemade waffle cones, and the big smiles on our faces. Our day on the island was slow-paced, stress-free & simple. Simply perfect, I might add. When I look at this picture, I am instantly taken back to that moment. And I love that sensation.

More on Block Island coming up...

4th of July

how did we celebrate the 4th of july in the big city?

no early morning parades for us this year. we kicked off our holiday without a bang, by sleeping in. sometimes that is the best thing.

hudson + friends decked out in red, white & blue. so festive. and aren't those babies ALL simply adorable?!

a little Mets game action with friends (after all, what's more American than baseball?)

an outdoor barbecue

& an awesome fireworks show over the hudson river to top off the night.

and in case you were wondering, yes, my husband thought my flag shaped fruit tart was a masterpiece. 

loved our day. 

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

Love, 

Kyle, Em, & Hudson