Valentines Day!

Zoe and I went to a Valentines party with her Little Tikes Play group! It was so much fun. We made Valentines for the kid's Daddy's and had yummy snacks and played with lots of toys.

Real Toddler

I feel like my baby is a real toddler now! Today she walked with me all the way to the store (three streets up and one street over), just holding my hand and loving every step. She had her first day of preschool today where they learned the letter D and the number 4 and she did so great! She is talking SO much, telling me what she wants and using magic words- please and thank you (well, most the time), and expressing her self with constant movement! When she gets excited she runs in place, when she dances she runs in a circle, and when she gets really mad, she has started using a very loud, very scratchy scream that only a toddler can make!

Zoe has been loving all the activities we have been doing to keep ourselves busy during this long and cold winter. On Mondays we go to a little play group with kids her age. She loves going to other people's houses or play rooms. I set this up to help her get to know her nursery friends so she will stay in nursery with out Mom and Dad. I am happy to report that last week Zoe stayed in nursery all by her self! Yeah for Zoe and Yeah for Mom and Dad who can finally get something out of church instead of sitting in nursery the whole time! On Tuesdays we go to her little preschool class we do with similar age kids. We just trade off each week doing the little lesson. This week was her first week and she had a blast! It was very well planned, the kids loved it. On Wednesday's we go to the church for our ward play group which is fun to just let the kids run wild in the gym. Last play group I was there the kids and I (yes I was the only adult), played hide and seek! It was hilarious, I had about 10 kids just running after me and yelling BOO, when they found me. I would then go look for them and find them all in the same hiding place! Thursday's are open- which I will hopefully be starting a music or art class. We have been doing a music class for city kids called music for Aardvarks and Zoe has LOVED it. She learned a song about a Taxi, which only city kids would fully understand!! She actually sings the Taxi song and jingle bells, where ever we go in the stroller.

Friday's are especially fun because Scott usually gets home early and we either head up to the American Museum of Natural History, down to Toys R Us, or the Disney store in Times Square and Zoe has a blast!! She talks all about the Dinosaurs at the Museum and at Toys R Us. The museum has tons of Dinosaur bones configured to be life size, which are amazing, and Toys R Us has a life size T-Rex that moves and Rorrrrs. They also have a huge ferris wheel that is super fun to ride too! I love the toy stores and museums in NYC, they are out of this world! As for our afternoons, we usually go to friends apartments or run errands, or just play inside. Thanks to all these activities, we are actually enjoying the winter, well most days!

Winter Fun

Zoe found a puddle and loved walking in it!

Zoeisms

Zoe has been loving to play hide and seek. She runs and hides and says "I see you dadda, I see you mama." Actually she says "I see you", to lots of things she sees now. Anyway tonight before bed we looked out the window to find the moon, I told her it was too foggy to see the moon tonight. And she looked out the window and said, "I see you foggy."

Zoe loves animals- all animals, at night she will name as many animals as she can and ask me if they are sleeping- as if to make sure all the animals are going to sleep the same time she is. Of course I have to repeat every animal and tell her that they are all going to sleep.

Zoe; "Frogs seeping?"

MaryLynn; "Yes Zoe the Frogs are going to sleep"

Zoe, " Zebras seeping?"

ML: "Yes Zoe, the Zebras are going to sleep"

Zoe, " Dinosaurs seeping?"

ML: "Um, well yes they have been sleeping for a long time"

Zoe, smiles in satisfaction and goes to sleep.

And lastly, because of the song I sing to her about the monkey's in the trees, every time we go outside in the park she looks up at the trees and asks for the monkeys. "Monkeys??" Where are the monkey's why are they not in the trees like the song says??? I just smile and tell her it is too cold for the monkeys to be in the trees!

Fixes for the Winter Blues- Thanks Michael Jackson!

So this winter I am apprehensive to admit, only because I would like to think of my self as a positive person however, that I have had the a case of the winter blues. Don't get me wrong I love the snow it is great, although, I have to admit I was not prepared for some 20+ inches we have received, I guess it has just been an absence of the sun and seasonal sickness either mine or Zoe's that has gotten to me. ANYWAY, today I was thinking, I have GOT to find some sort of fix, exercise can only get you so far and for so long, although it helps A TON.

SO...

I have found a fix, I went on to itunes and downloaded all my favorite Michael Jackson songs and after listening to them and yes dancing a little, I am feeling better. SO thanks to the late and very talented Michael Jackson!!

Oh and just so you know making oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, or any treats for that matter, won't take away the blues, they just taste really good at the time and after you eat too many you are just right back where you started but with a little more chiggly! (Do I sound like I am talking from experience?:) um yeah!)

Of course another fix for the winter blues would be to get the heck out of town, find some warm sun and stay there for a while, which thankfully, we are doing at the end of February (Naples & Miami, FL, YEAH!!), but that still means I have one more month to survive!!

So I am calling out to my buddies that read my blog, do you guys have any remedies for the winter blues? I need some more, Michael Jackson can only get me so far seeing that New York winters last FOREVER!!!!! Well ok, not forever but it seems that way :) Your comments would be much appreciated!

At the end of the day, the good thing is is that the Spring ROCKS here in NYC. It is SO beautiful and fun, so I know I have something to look forward to, it is just getting to the spring that is the long and hard part!!!

Update on Zoe's eyes, she went to the Doctor the other day ago and we had to up her contact prescription- which was a bummer. As well as up the time she wears the patch- it went from 4 hours/day to 8 hours/day. The good thing is that she can see well out of the contact and so she doesn't fight the patch or putting in the contact weekly as much, so that is really good. The doc says she will be wearing the patch for a while, but, with time, we will correct the laziness of her eye, so that is GREAT!

Grateful...Today and Some day!

I am not sure if it is all the time I have been spending in my apartment with a sick kid that has got me thinking of all the things I hopefully will be grateful for some day or, if it is just having lived in NYC for a while now that has made me appreciate the small things most people take for granted. So I am blogging my thoughts so I can always remember what to be grateful for someday if, I ever have the chance to have these things.

Grateful for SOMEDAY!

-A NORMAL bed that I don't have to put up and take down every single day- fold sheets and blankets, take off and put back on cushions pull out and put back in, (i.e. couch bed).

-A kitchen that is more than barely two people wide and two people plus a high chair long!

-A store that carries EVERYTHING close by that I don't have to rent a car to get to.

-A drive way, where I can park and take my groceries right inside my house.

- A back yard, which means emediate access to more space and the semi fresh air.

- A play room- where it is ok for toys to be left out because it is not your living room, your bed room, and play room.

- More counter space.

- Room for a normal kitchen table that fits more than two people.

- A day care at my gym that doesn't cost a fortune.

-Customer Service- even when you are not paying ridiculous amounts for it.

- Wind that doesn't bite your face off when it blows because it is SO cold.

-Silence- instead of constant horn honking, siren blowing, and snow plowing noises while trying to sleep.

Things I am grateful for TODAY!

- Having stores, restaurants right out side my door.

- Central Park

-AMAZING PIZZA

-AMAZING FOOD

-Awesome architecture

-Funny accents

- The lights from Times Square

-Energy from the city

-WHOLE FOODS so CLOSE- I love this place!

- Shopping- especially Zara

-delivery- food, groceries, basically everything

-New places to explore

-A couch bed-even though I hate making it and putting it away twice a day!

-I robot vacuum- finally my floors are clean!

-Florida- instant sunshine just a two hour flight away!

-My gym, even though there is no day care.

-Scott's 10 minute commute to/from work.

-My windows- they allow me access to the world when I can't go outside because it is too cold or Zoe is sick. Seriously they have saved my life this week.

-The sun, whom I hardly ever see this time of year because winter lasts SO long

-The Natural History Museum- where a quick trip is so doable

-Trees- that give us some fresh air.

- The clock and temperature gage on top of the building right across the street from me.

-Access to food and things all around the world.

-Time Out and Time Out Kids magazine- to know what is going on in the city.

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Random Pics

More Family Pics

Family Pictures in CP

My good friend Kelli Granum took these pictures for us in Central Park, she did a great job!

Barbados 2010!!!

"Your Baby can read," Really??? Yup!

When Zoe was about 9 months old we purchased "Your Baby Can Read" system. I had done my research on the program and thought based on what I had found it was pretty legit with good substantial data to back up the program. One of the big things they said was that young children learn the spoken language at a very young age, why can't they learn the written language at the same time. So that is basically what this system does. Teaches both written and spoken language to small children at the same time. Plus their brains are on fire at this time so they are just eat up the information. So I thought, well it is something positive to do with Zoe so I started the program. It came with five dvd's and a serious of flash cards and books. We started and month after month I didn't think anything was sinking in, she still wasn't reading. THEN... finally about August/September time, she just blew up. She started reading and signing the words. I taught her signs for the words because she couldn't say the words and she totally used the signs to communicate that she new the words!! This video was taken a little while ago. Now she can almost say all the words on the flash cards, and she is learning more and more words every day. This is nuts, but it works. Some times she doesn't want to read the words like she chooses when she will do it, but most the time she will say the word out loud or do the sign after looking just at the word.

Library, "Dama", Fish Bowl

Zoe LOVES books! We went to the library one day and all the baby books were neatly lined up on this big long ledge. Zoe immediately went and started taking down all the books so fast I couldn't keep up with her. After she was done, she sat and "read" as many as she could before it was time to go. It was definitely heaven for her. If you put her in a room with toys and books, she will go straight to the books, she loves looking at the pictures, pointing out the animals and things she knows. She will also do the actions for example if there are characters waving, she will wave. It is hilarious. She has played with her books so much, I am afraid we will have to get all new ones for the next kid!

Grandma and Grandpa Thomas came out to visit us and watch Zoe while we went to Barbados, in September. She LOVED having them there to play with. She got their undivided attention ALL day. She did lots of fun things with them. This is the three of them at the Central Park Zoo. She learned to say "Dama" Grandma and "Papa" Grandpa!
This is our little sweet heart in the CUTE skirt my friend Katie made for Zoe for her first birthday! It is adorable Katie, thanks!!
Fish Bowel?? So one day I was busy doing something and I noticed that Zoe was playing a little too quiet. I went to my room to check on her and she was in the bathroom taking her fish bath toys and putting them in the toilet! GROSSS! I guess she thought fish shouldn't be out of water, and that they needed a new home! Well they got a new home that is for sure, it was called the garbage!

More Summer highlights- playing catch up!

The picture above was a fun day at one of the play grounds in Central Park. There are tons of playgrounds in CP and most have water fountains this day it was hot so we played in the water and the sand. Needless to say, she had a saggy diaper after she was done! Below, Zoe went to the park with her friend Hunter! They were so cute together! This was the Central Park zoo. It also has a petting zoo that Zoe loved. She fed the sheep and thought it was hilarious. She would giggle when the lamb would lick her hand and then pull her hand back super fast. She said moo moo for the cow that was there too. After the zoo we all (Zoe, Hunter, Lauren and I) went to this cute little burger joint and the kids had tiny NY style burgers which are basically mini burgers, they had mini buns and mini burger patties, they were cute!

I took this picture in Central Park by the famous Bethesda Fountain. It was so cool cause there was nobody in the tunnel except my two favorites!

Day off!

This was a beautiful summer day in Central Park. We all had so much fun running and playing in Sheep's Meadow. Scott had been working SO much, like he hadn't come home before 11pm every night and worked every weekend, so this particular day he finally had a day off and we took advantage! I actually have become used to the work hours and it is no big deal now. Scott on the other hand, well I know he would rather be with us, but that is life. The nice thing about living in NYC though is that pretty much everyone works crazy hours, so it is just the normal. You don't feel bad for yourself because there is always someone that had it worse off, it just our life. After five years of living here, there are things you just call normal now, and work hours are one of those things. Some of the other "normalities" in NYC are walking everywhere, small spaces, hearing the news 24/7, wearing heals and skinny jeans on the weekends, eating at awesome restaurants, paying more for EVERYTHING, hearing sirens at all hours of the night or day, and finally sleeping on a couch bed (which is a luxury vs. an air mattress) All you New Yorker mom's and dad's you know exactly what I am talking about!

More Summer highlights- playing catch up!

Wow I am so behind on my blog, so to catch up here are some quick highlights of our summer. We had a great summer, or least Zoe and I did, Scott worked a ton. Some of the highlights were 3rd row seats in the new Yankee's stadium to see the Yankee's play with my friend! It was so fun! Thanks Breanne! Lake Powell with my family in July, and of course Oregon Coast with my family and Scott's parents! That was amazing.

Oregon July 2010- Cannon Beach

Our first real vacation of the summer was in Oregon. After a very long over night flight (which I thought would never end), we made it! We met Scott's parents there. Cannon Beach was the first beach we went to when we got to Oregon. It was BEAUTIFUL!! SO dramatic, scenery I had never seen before. Big rocks jetting out of the sand with steep rocky cliffs rising from the sand with lush green forest. Zoe had a blast running along the very wide beach. She had just learned how to walk and was loving her freedom there on the beach. We met Scott's parents in Oregon who had driven up from SLC. This was the beginning of our GREAT Oregon adventure!

Coney Island June 2010

We took the train out to Coney Island in June with some friends. It was super fun. Good old Coney Island, it is definitely a place to people watch that is for sure!! We had a great time though just hanging out on the beach and walking on the boardwalk (dragging all our beach gear!) Coney Island has actually been cleaned up quite a bit, there is rides for kids and the old faris wheel that I think has been there for years and years (hopefully they have updated it yikes!). Needless to say we did not go on that ride! Anyway it was super fun to just jump on the subway and step out on to the beach. Zoe had a blast playing in the stand and eating messy strawberries. The water temp was nice (although I didn't get in too far for fear of what was in the water) but, it was nice way to cool off from the heat.

June 2010

The weather was beautiful in June, in New York City. We had so much fun taking Zoe to Sheep's Meadow in Central Park. We got her a little baby stroller that she loved to push it, this helped her learn to walk.

On June 22nd, Zoe took her first steps!!

Scott worked ALOT this month, so we took advantage of every minute we had with him.

Zoe's hair has grown so much, it was crazy after her bath one night so we had to take a picture!

Peek-a-boo!