A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.

The other day, we decided to put the kids in a wagon, and drag them around our neighborhood.

Here is the photographic evidence:
Here they are, shell shocked. Why are they sitting out in the cold elements, being wagon'ed around for all to see?

The main dragger-arounder.

I take a turn. These kids eat too much. That wagon is heavy!

I don't know why I continue to humiliate myself by posting pictures like this. Internet, what is wrong with me?

Seemingly having a good time.

A video: More evidence of wagoning.

The Party Continues...

Gideon's Party Part 2

So, after the kids were finished with their Olympic event, they herded the kids into the eating area, where a long table was already set with pizza.

Gideon sat, as he should as the birthday boy, at the head of the table.

Funnily enough, Lucia toddled over to the other end of the table. I think she felt she was hostessing this event. At one point, she walked over to everyone sitting and greeted them.

There is Gideon self-eating! He normally does not like getting his hands dirty, or sticky, or messy. But, peer pressure prevailed, and he sat and ate just like everybody else. Hooray peer pressure!

Lucia ate pizza too. She is so over baby food.
The triplets commandeered their side of the table.

Here is Mr. Innocent. Look at that face!
More cute kid pictures.

Speaking of cute.
So, one of the issues came cake time. Gideon was so fond of the pizza that he kept eating it.
Here is the cake. That is Wow!Wow! Wubzy! He is happy to meet you.
Ok, so remember all that pizza he kept eating? Well, when the cake came out, and candles needed to be blown, guess who's mouth was full of pizza? Check out the left side of his mouth. So, if your piece of cake had a tiny bit of pizza on it, now you know why.

Other than that, the cake was a success. We had some happy customers.

Happy kid here!
Another satisfied client. Notice the self eating again. Can you all come to my house everyday and eat with us?
Yummy cake! But what is mommy looking at over her shoulder?
Could it be this guy taking handfuls of cake?

Wait! Did you get frosting on your ankle? How did that happen?
Houston, we have a problem. There is frosting on a cute ankle.

Sadness, because the party is over. Don't worry, part 3 is coming soon.

Happy Birthday Gideon! Part 1

When it comes to children, all the cliches in the book are true. "They grow up so fast", or "It seems like just yesterday that he was just a baby", or even, "Time flies". This year, my son Gideon, who should still be a tiny newborn, turned 3 years old. Of course, if you ask him about his birthday, he will deny any and all evidence. Days before his birthday, I would ask him "Gideon, do you want a birthday party?". His answer: "No thank you" or "I don't think so". He apparently did not want to turn 3. Well, as my friend Jen said, 3 is the new 2:)

Well, despite his many protests, his birthday did arrive. We celebrated with a birthday party at the Learning Experience in Waldwick http://www.thelearningexperience.com/waldwick.html. My sister works for the Learning Experience as a business manager person-something, so we were able to get a discount. I was so impressed with the way the birthday party was run. All we had to do was bring a cake, and any food we wanted to feed the adults. They offered to order pizza for the adults, but I opted for cheese, veggies, and fruit instead. I just joined Weight Watchers, so if I'm on a diet, everyone is on a diet. They took care of everything else, including the goody bags.

When you first arrive, the children play in this awesome pretend area. There are all these little buildings, where the kids can play. There is a little store, and a little garage with a mini car, and a tool area. I wish we had gotten more pictures of that, but we were busy chasing the kids around.
A picture of my nephews inside the "store".
Oh! They had a slide, that would go down into a ball pit. Here are some party guests waiting patiently for their turn. The person in black was one of the girls who worked there. She made sure the kids behaved themselves as they went down the slide.

A view of the slide. That is Gideon holding everyone up.
Landing into the ball pit!
Another party guest putting the steering wheel back where it belongs.

They had us all sit in a circle.

And showed the kids what to do when they wanted to get their attention and be quiet. They were to "catch bubbles" and put them in their mouth.

We then moved into a larger room for the Olympics!
First some stretching. Gideon need some direction.
Touch your toes!
Run around the cones!
Some of the younger kids were just observing.
Some were helping clean the floors with their bodies.
Walking the balance beam. Notice the cheering. Hooray Gideon!

Everyone joins in!
This mom BECOMES the balance beam. That's how she keeps in shape.


Other kids just stood on the sidelines and danced. And danced. And danced.

The Olympics can get exhausting!

Stay tuned for Part 2!

A Mish Mosh: Rachel Ray and Lucia pictures

So, a few weeks ago I had tickets to a taping of the Rachel Ray show. I took the day off from work, and along with my mom, my sister and cousin-in-law Stephanie, we hightailed it into the city. Of course, nothing really went smoothly, since the bus was late, we couldn't get a cab until my mom prayed one into being, and none of us had a chance to eat breakfast, so we almost expired right on the set. The thing with getting tickets to these talk shows, is that you are not guaranteed entry, regardless if you have tickets or if you are coming in from out of state/the country and had to fly and book a hotel room to get there. So, I was petrified of being late, and not getting in. We saw a couple from Germany who got there too late and didn't make it in.

This let's you know you are waiting on the right line.
The security guard. He didn't notice my covert picture taking. Ha! Got you security guy person! Take that!
Andrea and I waiting on line, faking happiness, since we were about to pass out from starvation.
Stephanie, contemplating ways to kill me if I took her picture. HA! I am still alive!
Andrea actually threatening me.

You weren't allowed to take pictures in the studio, so I took a picture of this portrait of her dog in the waiting room! Ha again! Take that Rachel Ray! I promise I am done with the HA's. Too much coffee this morning.

After we were done taping, we made a beeline to Ellen's Stardust Diner. Andrea really wanted to show Stephanie the singing waiters/waitresses, and I was dying to pay too much money for mediocre food. Mission accomplished on both ends.

Me and mom. Do we look alike? Everyone is always telling us that we look alike.

Stephanie and an adorable looking female. Wait! Is that me? Why, thank you for thinking I am adorable. You are too kind, my loyal reader.

This is Lucia on her actual birthday. We went to Friendly's for lunch, and she wore 3D glasses.

Her first cake. I forgot to take a picture of it, so it had already been cut. It was strawberry, and delicioso.

The family blowing out the candle. This was a replay, by the way. The original shot was taken in the dark, and you couldn't see a thing.

The crowd eagerly awaits cake.

Lucia receives her second birthday present.

It's a doll! She seems perplexed, but that is only because she has not figured out how to put it in her mouth.

Cake number two at Casa Soto.

This is not a reenactment.

I think me likee the cake.

A picture of Lucia in her new fall jacket.

Ok, and now I leave you with one of the funniest videos ever. Ok, it's no baby dancing to Beyonce, but I was laughing. It is Andrea and Stephanie dancing at Ellen's Stardust. Enjoy.

**UPDATE** I just saw the video again, and I don't know what is wrong with me. It is not that funny. I need a nap.

And She's One!

One year ago, at this very time (11:00am), I was getting ready for my noon appointment with Dr. Gallo. Two hours later, Lucia came shooting out into the world. Literally.

Coming home from the hospital.

The following pictures are of Lucia opening up a present that her Aunt Shelley gave her. We haven't really planned for a major party for her. Just maybe some kind of cake tonite with my family, and tomorrow night at the ritual dinner at the Sotos.

She has discovered her gift!

But wait! What is this? An Elmo card?

Taking it over to the couch for a better view.

Walking around reading the message from Aunt Shelley.

And now she rips it. She does that to everything she loves. Luckily, Gideon is still intact.

Speaking of Gideon, how is he dealing with all this birthday fuss? Especially, since it's not all about him?

Well, he's not impressed.

Here are two videos. In the first one, she is opening her present. In the second one, I am attempting to get her to stay still to get a shot of her in a tiara. However, she is not having it.

The Sotos Do Science!
or
Our Day at the Liberty Science Center- Part One

This past Saturday Alex and I decided to get out of the house. Even though Saturday is our designated house cleaning day, we realized that we are not taking advantage of our only day "off" with the kids. So, at first I thought about going to the NJ Children's Museum in Paramus. However, it costs $10.00 per person, including adults and children. It seemed a little steep for what you get. And the reviews online weren't great. So, we thought about the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. It is even more expensive than the Children's Museum, but I thought more worth the price. $15.75 for adults and $11.25 for children.
Here we are waiting on the security check line. Lucia is wondering what the hold up is. Gideon is trying to disguise himself by wearing a finger mustache. He thinks security won't notice.

Daddy waiting patiently.

The museum is definitely geared toward older children, but they do have several areas for the littles.

The first exhibit we went to is called "I Explore". It is meant for children ages 2-5. There is alot going on in a kind of small space.

This was a bin that just had rice, and some measuring cups to play with. Simple, yet effective.

They had this ball machine, and you would turn the cranks to make the balls go where you wanted them to.

These are the balls. That is Lucia there, and Gideon is reaching in to get more balls. Lucia would just take them and throw them.

They had foam building blocks.

Lucia could almost reach them. I didn't really want her to grab them, since whenever she did, they became a chew toy. Wait, chew toys are for dogs, right? Not babies.
Ok, tell me this child is not up to something.

You could "paint' this slate wall with brushes and water. Lucia kept trying to suck the water off the wall.

There are more pictures that I need to upload. So stay tuned for Part Two...

Baby Girl

We all went to IKEA just a few days ago to have a cheap, but tasty dinner, all while giving the kids access to the loads of fun IKEA offers children of all ages. In a play area, Gideon went jumping around with children he just met, in particular this 3 year old boy who enjoyed screaming. And, Gideon joined in on the ear-piercing fun.

Lucia was sitting in the shopping cart seeing all that was going on with the cutest smile on her face, as if saying, "soon, I'll be able to jump around just like my big brother." This same boy playing with Gideon noticed Lucia and must have thought her to be the cutest baby girl he's seen. He proceeded to run towards Lucia yelling and making funny noises that didn't make her laugh, but did force her to crack a smile. She kept looking away, but he would come back again and again, and finally gleeful noises came out of Lucia's mouth.

The whole time, I was sitting on a bench inside the play area holding onto the shopping cart. Everytime the boy approached Lucia, I would unconsciously strengthen my grip on the shopping cart. I knew I was doing it, but didn't know why. I just couldn't seem to help it. When Alexa arrived from getting our food, I told her that I knew what type of Dad I would be when Lucia reached boy-liking age.

Lucia, why must it be an inevitable thing that you grow up. Sigh.

Alex and Alexa Go to Rockport

I have been putting off writing this post, because I feel like the second I write it, all memories of Rockport, and our lovely getaway will be a thing of the past. Alex and I used to take lots of road trips when we were sans children, and we very much enjoyed them. But, I don't think there has been a trip that I have enjoyed more. Maybe it was the fact that I could sleep in if I really wanted to, or that I didn't have to change any diapers. Whatever the reason, I highly recommend Rockport as a relaxing change of pace. (it sounds like I am writing a travel review)

When we were first talking about the possibility of going away, Alex kept saying his only criteria was to "do nothing". He wanted to sit and look at nature, preferably a view of the ocean. I didn't have any criteria. Just NOT HOME. I probably would have been happy at the nearest Hilton, just as long as I could get room service.

We wanted to do Cape Cod, but of course being the non-planners that we are, it was pretty expensive and there really wasn't anything available. My co-worker (technically, my boss) Annie suggested Rockport, MA. Her in-laws live there, and she thought we would like it. I Googled it, and behold:

That is picturesque, people.

I emailed every hotel, motel, and bed and breakfast in town. I got back a lot of "sorry, we're booked", but I got one very friendly email back letting me know they had one room available, the Seacrest Manor http://www.seacrestmanor.com/. After getting everyone at my job to vote, we all decided that yes, this was the place. (It wasn't much of a vote, since it was the ONLY choice, but whatever.) I called to book, and was told that they only had a room for Friday night. However, they had a cancellation, so we could have a different room for Saturday, but would need to switch rooms. We thought that was fine, so we booked it. My Facebook status instantly changed and alerted everyone of our plans.

We left Friday morning, and after TONS of traffic, we arrived at the Seacrest Manor, and met our new best friend, Pat. She is the innkeeper, and the loveliest woman in the whole wide world. She had been waiting for us to arrive, and seemed very happy to see us. (I don't mean seemed, as she if was up to something. I am sure she was genuinely happy to see us.)

Here is my darling husband, posing in front of the inn.

Myself, and Pat! Hi, Pat!

Our room for Friday night. This room had no air conditioning, which we were warned about. However, the night was very cool, and the lack of air conditioning did not affect us. I forgot to use the flash in this picture. It also is a lot larger than it appears.

Our room for Saturday night. This room was extra lovely. See the pink thing on the bed? That is my robe. When Alex and I came in from being out, someone had laid it on the bed for me. I had left it out all sloppily, and I came back to find it all genteel and stuff.

The deck! The marvelous deck! The perfect place to sit and do nothing and look at nature with a water view! I think I fulfilled Alex's criteria. I am the fullfiller of criteria!
This is the view from the deck. With a some zoom.

The lovely dining area where we sat, and Pat brought out delicious breakfasts. Like baked French Toast. And vegetable quiche. And eggs with bacon or sausage. And toast with 2 kind of jam. Two kinds of jam! That is really living.

This is what you would get before the hot breakfast. See that cute white dome? That is the secret butter holder. And the little cylinder behind it? One of the jam holders.

Someone asked us to take their picture, and in exchange we asked them to take our picture. Nothing is free, people! Do we look adorable? And matching? We never plan on matching, it just happens.
The Annisquam Lighthouse. It took us forever to find it, because it is actually in a residential neighborhood. The "parking" was adjacent to someone's driveway. It was beautiful, and we usually go looking for lighthouses for my dad's sake.. He loves lighthouses, and I like to bring him a picture of one he hasn't yet seen in person.

A pile o'kayaks. Alex liked the way they looked, so he snapped this picture. I love them. Not enough to go kayaking, but I like the colors.

The lovebirds. Don't we look relaxed and rested? We loved our little getaway, especially staying at the Seacrest Manor. Alex promised me that we would return again. I think it is really important to take a break from your everyday, and just be a couple again. Of course, we missed our babies. I even shed a tear when we left. But we need to recharge, and be a wife and a husband again, not just a mommy and a daddy. We are both feeling better, and although we are back to our busy life, we have been more patient and loving with each other.

Happy Anniversary, Hunnie.

Crayon Rocks!

Alex and I went on a weekend getaway to celebrate 6 years of being married. I will write a post soon about our trip, and the lovely inn where we stayed. This post is about the souvenir we brought back for Gideon. It would be the first time we brought him anything, since it's the first time we have been away from him for any length of time, and it's the first time he may have noticed.

Gideon loves crayons. He loves to play with them, and have conversations with them. He's all like, "Hi Blue, what are you doing?" and apparently they answer back and tell him about the wonderful day they are having. Gideon also loves rocks. He usually picks up whatever rock he finds outside and also talks to it. I know, he's a little weird. But, he's my weirdo, and I love him.

So, when Alex and I saw this, we knew it would be the perfect gift.Right? Of course right.

He LOVES them.

They are pretty much what you think they are. Rock-shaped crayons. They are all natural, made of soy wax. (I don't know what that is), and are "Designed to strengthen the tripod grip muscles, preparing fingers and hands for handwriting." The woman at the store was very excited about them.

He likes to put them all on the mini canvas bag they came in.

And of course, he has meaningful conversations with them. Probably about why he can't watch They Might Be Giants whenever he wants to.

Alleys

As a junior in college, I often walked quickly down a street in Alphabet City in the East Village going to and from my part time job just trying to keep pace with the fast pulse of NYC life. Not wanting to miss my bus and train, I often focused on what was ahead, and maneuvered my way down the sidewalks to arrive at my destination in a timely manner. But one day, after visiting my boss's client somewhere closer to SOHO and making dozens of pitch calls to random journalists about a story they didn't care about, I was fired. It was my birthday and I went through a range of emotions, from immediate anger saying to myself, "how dare he fire me on my birthday." Come to think about it, I don't think he knew it was my birthday.

My next emotion was a little less distinguishable, but life was a puzzlement to me in this phase. I quickly moved on to visible sadness, and adopted a "woe is me" attitude as I aimlessly walked the streets of SOHO and other parts of the city. This time, I was walking at a normal pace, not speedily as everyone around. I was pushed, prodded, bulldozed .... and somehow felt like, whatever, all this being pushed around by people is nothing compared to being fired on what's supposed to be a happy day - my 21st birthday. So, my attitude quickly turned toward rebellion, not in a take over city hall kinda way, but in a "just see if messing with me is a good idea" kinda way. I guess I was challenging everyone and anyone to a fight - at least in my head.

Not so focused on trying to catch the bus before it left me, I ventured off into some unknown streets. I found myself in West Broadway, and then Houston. Along the way, I peeked into an alley, something I wouldn't have time doing if I was employed. It was shadowy, with grey brick laid out on the ground and plastered against all walls, but there, I saw a camera crew with a bunch of beautiful people (I think they were models) standing around seemingly waiting for instructions. I think they were shooting a commercial or something. I didn't stick around to see what they were actually doing. But, right there it was clear to me that amidst an alleyway that was less than inviting, can exist beauty, or hope. And, I wasn't so sad anymore about just losing my job.

So I like alleys, or at least the idea of hope in a dark place. Here are some pics of alleys in Rockport, which as you will see are nothing like the ones in NYC. Enjoy.