"The Ho'ses go UP and DOWN!!"

The Birthday Girl!




(The brunette is our friend Debbie - she came to wish Elie a happy birthday, too!)

Almost 2

We had Eliora's birthday party on Saturday.
We met up with friends at the Central Park Carousel at 10am.
It was raining at 8:30am. But - the rain let up and we had a really great time.
(Fortunate for us, because the "rain plan" was to meet at a gazebo which turned out to have a trellis rather than a roof overhead.)

Eliora had two friends there, in addition to Tressa. Zoe came with her parents Pete and Rebekah. They're friends from our church. Maya brought her Mom Gabrielle. We met Maya and family through a playdate that the nannies set up.
The girls each rode the carousel at least 6 times.

We had cupcakes that the girls decorated like a carousel (drink parasol on top, and gummi bears and animal crackers standing upright in the icing). We also decorated a cup with stick on horses to make our own "carousel."

Lots of fun.

After the party, Chris and the girls and I went by the zoo for a little bit. We saw the sea lion feeding, and watched the polar bear take a nap.

Hard to believe my little blondie is 2 years old.
And SO joyous. She's really developed a wonderful, energetic and playful personality. Everything she says comes out with a rush of enthusiasm. The last two mornings, she's gotten up, had a diaper change and then danced in the living room for as long as possible. She has a hard time sitting still and would usually rather be moving. But, she's also a snuggler. She'll come and sit in my lap just because she can. Or she'll clamber up on me and lay her head down on my shoulder. I'm not sure I want any more birthdays with this one. Well, of course, I DO. But, I hope that I can see her loving enthusiasm at every stage. (And the snuggles. I hope I still get the snuggles.)

Note to self:

If you think
you look
really cute in your snazzy new hat,
[Pink, purchased because its a necessity in the heat.]
And you are feeling
generally pretty good
about yoga and toning muscles...

When you're walking down the sidewalk
And want confirmation -
A visual image of just how sharp you look -

Don't
Look

In the window of a compact car as you walk by.

Heat Wave

I'm a little freaked out by the heat wave.
We got a note under our door last night reminding us what to do in case of a blackout.
Blackout = no electricity = no water, no AC, no light, no elevators.
(Okay, limited elevators with an emergency generator).

We bought a case of water and some portable food.
We found our flashlights.
We filled the bathtub with water.
We made our plans for how to stay in contact if we get separated.

I came to work in the midtown office today, but if there's a blackout I'll be walking back to the upper east.
I'm staying home tomorrow.
People were surly on the train this morning. It will only get worse as it gets hotter today.