Ellie is walking!

It is such an amazing moment when your infant starts walking. Those wobbly, chubby little legs first testing that they can keep balance and support their weight and then taking off and never looking back.

Ellie took starting to walk in stride. She hadn't been doing as much cruising as Jaime had been doing at that age but I could tell she was getting strong enough so I was curious about where she was with this one. She had been crazy mobile for a while and was really efficient at getting around crawling. But with a big brother running laps around us, it was very tempting for her to catch up with him.

Ellie did single steps with both Dan and I while we played on the living room floor. She sometimes did an afternoon nap strike so that she could get some one-on-one practice time while Jaime was napping. She could take the single and then two steps at a time just over 11 months.

Then at 11 and a half months she was off. Jaime was so excited and exclaimed "Ellie walking! Ellie walking!" as she took her first full on walk in the living room.

After that she was hooked.

She was regularly hanging onto my pant legs as she tried to walk with me while I made dinner. And Jaime would give her his hand to try to lead her off to play games. It didn't take long for her to get very good at walking. By Christmas she was a pro.

Our little dino was on her way to being a toddler!

(the photos in this post won't resize - I will try to update them later.)

Christmas 2014

Christmas was special this year. It was Ellie's first Christmas and Jaime was at the point of getting the magic and anticipation.

We walked to a corner stand to get our tree for the third year in a row but this year we got a  full sized tree. I found a place that had them for the same price we usually pay for the table top so I got my way of having a nice full tree. It was a little further away and so Dan had to carry it back on his shoulder... does it get more New York than this?

Our tree was decorated pretty minimalistic with some felt decorations that Jaime made and a few things we have picked up over the past couple of years. We kept the other decorations simple (my budget was zero dollars) but the kids loved it anyways. We have decorations in storage at Dan's parents house but most of those are fragile.

Jaime was so happy with his little felt ornaments and the snowmen he made.

We spent Christmas Eve being Santa's helpers assembling toys and stuffing stockings.

Christmas morning was amazing. Just truly amazing. The kids were so surprised and excited and full of joy. They couldn't believe it. There was lots of squealing with excitement.

We had snowmen pancakes and played with every single toy.

After a bit we went out for a walk in Central Park. It was a truly gorgeous day.

The next day the presents from my parents arrived during the kids' naps and I put them under the tree so when they woke up they were excited all over again - presents!

It was a very merry Christmas.

December 2014

December was a full month. We did all the usual stuff with holiday stuff mixed in there.

I was still getting my bearings with being outnumbered by toddlers all day long. Dan was working long hours getting his bearings with the new job. The kids were busy getting all their angst about being left with nannies out.

The weather was not too bad for December so we were able to get to the playground often. We had some truly fantastic days running around the playground with the whole place to ourselves (most people put their babies and kids in a long list of daily classes). I think a little fresh air and space to run free does us wonders.

Jaime was still obsessed with his contruction stuff and I found it hilarious to see a two year old walking the streets of Mahattan with a hard hat on and a truck in his hand.

Ellie was starting to cruise early in the month and Jaime thought that was super fun as it meant she was closer to being a playmate.

We played at the twisty slide in Hippo Playground forever one day. Jaime would climb up to play peekaboo with Ellie and she would giggle as he slide back down on his belly. Ellie and I were sitting at the top. They had a blast.

These two can play in a sandbox for hours. It kind of grosses me out but they love it and it isn't worth the fight to keep them out.

We had major naptime battles. It was pretty tramatizing. I still cry a little when I think about it. I possibly should have learned to go with the flow but both Jaime and I seem to have a bit too much Type A personalities so it was full on power struggles.

We played a lot indoors too. We did all the usual toddler games. Lots of painting. Lots of building. Lots of puzzles. And of course lots of reading.

We took a trip to Midtown to see the holiday trains at Grand Central and Rockafellar Center.

Both kids had huge eyes and big grins.

We made a trip to the High Line - Jaime loves that place. He requests it often.

I really wanted to get a picture of the kids to tuck into a holiday card. Toddlers are difficult to corral for photographing together. I mean seriously guys. Or maybe it is just my high-energy kids. I never did mail the cards this year.

We baked muffins and made treats. Jaime was very excited about the chocolate covered pretzels. We kept it simple this year.

Once in a while Jaime gets the camera and has fun taking pictures...

Took Jaime to the Children's Museum for a little date. We spent much of the time at the fire truck.

Jaime fell asleep during an evening walk so Ellie got a little one on one time with us at the Mall.

 One very cold Saturday we went to the toddler gym at Chelsea Pier - they had a blast.

We went to the museum and saw the butterflies and the tree.

And we made a gingerbread house. OMG was Jaime excited about making a house. He had a little meltdown that I made him wait until it dried to decorate. But he had so much fun and was so happy with that little house.

The holiday shop windows were so fun for the kids. One walk down Broadway Jaime popped into a used bookstore and had fun purusing the old books.

The days were full. There was a lot of laughter and a few tears but more smiles than frowns. And of course we started to get ready for Christmas.

Thanksgiving 2014 and G'pa & G'ma Visit

Thanksgiving this year was extra special. It was Ellie's first Thanksgiving and we had family visiting. Jaime hadn't seen G'pa and G'ma U since his first birthday and Ellie was just getting to meet them - we were very excited for the kids to get to spend time with grandparents and of course get to visit with them ourselves.

Thanksgiving morning we watched the marching bands begin to make their way down our street to the parade starting point just like we had the past two years. Jaime was extremely excited about the bands and wanted to do out to check them out. So he and I headed out for a little walk. We watched the bands, various characters, and the massive balloons getting ready. It was quite cold so we didn't stay out long, just long enough for Jaime to see a little magic.

After Gma and Gpa arrived we chatted for a while and then headed out for a little pre-dinner walk. We took them by their hotel so they could get checked in and then circled back through Central Park. Then it was time to make dinner in our kitchenette (it is truly a small corner of our living room with half-sized everything). We kept it simple but wanted the resemblence of a thanksgiving dinner so we did the best we could to keep calm and carry on. Photography was just not on my mind so we don't have any photos of dinner.

The next day we set about showing off our town. We went to the American Museum of Natural History (but then proceeded to get separated and not communicate clearly enough to find each other easily so that visit was kind of a fail) and to Shake Shack for lunch. Then as the littles were tucked in for a nap Dan headed downtown with his parents to see the sights such as the World Trade Center.

Saturday we did a long walk through Union Square and Flatiron.

Sunday we went to the high line. I could have sworn I took photos but I can't find them. It was a great walk with lots of sunshine and toddlers running amok. We had lunch at the Meatball Shoppe (love that place) and walked a little through the West Village.

Monday morning we met for lunch at our favorite neighborhood cafe, Tarallucci, and another walk through Central Park. It was a gorgeous fall morning. We stopped at Bethesda Fountain to take a photo.

But Jaime really wanted to watch people feeding the ducks and to check out the guitarist. Jaime was really at a point all weekend of wanting to exercise his independence and we really just wanted him to do what we wanted him to do... classic.

We love love love having visitors, especially family. We get to spend time with those we love the most but also our kids get to know them. Jaime is at an age where he remembers people and events quite well and it is great to hear him talking about his grandparents out of the blue.

It was a very good holiday weekend.

November in Snapshots

November was a month of transition. I was transitioning to being home with the kids and the fall was transitioning to winter. Most of the month was just regular old family stuff, nothing elaborate but filled with sweetness.

It finally looked like fall and the leaves were beautiful.

Our days were filled from 6am to 8pm. Jaime loved Ellie's morning nap as he would get one on one time to do some kind of crafty, art project or play doh or something. We spent as much time as we could outside enjoying the brisk fall weather.

We played with the blocks and the duplos and the cars. Jaime made chocolate milk for me and Ellie did her dinosaur roars.

We built "houses" (forts), went for a drive (couch cushions as cars), and played "work guy".

^^Jaime took our portraits. (the pictures of Ellie had his fingers over the lens too much)

We did fall themed art projects and Jaime started requesting to "let's do a project."

With Ellie being so close to walking and Jaime doing so much more talking the interaction was approaching a new level, as well as the opportunity for frustration. But they were truly playing together now and Jaime would read to Ellie - it made me happy.

Playground visits were also becoming a whole new game with two mobile kids. Jaime was so excited to see Ellie playing too. And of course Ellie was excited to get to join in the fun.

I took them to the history museum by myself one cold day. That was hard. Jaime moves fast and just wants to go. It was extremely crowded with school groups so not a great time to test freedom.

Lots of walking in the leaves.

Transitioning to being a stay at home mom was a challenge. I was very excited to get to be home with the kids but it was also a little overwhelming to suddenly be 24 - 7 in two year old world. But we adjusted.

And before we knew it, it was Thanksgiving and a visit from Dan's parents.