How'd She Do That?

Last week, Lyla and I were snuggling on her playmat and watching Gossip Girl on DVR. The doorman called and I ran over to the phone for a minute to talk to him. Here she is shortly before I left her to answer the phone. Here she is when I got back literally 60 seconds later. It's still not a full crawl, its a combination of pull-push-roll-spin-repeat. Whatever her method, she gets where she wants to be. P.S. As you can see, we finally caved and got rid of our coffee table. Lyla was starting to pull herself up on it and I was afraid she was going to hit her head. Here's a video from a couple of weeks ago when she first became interested in the coffee table.

Lyla Goes to Oysterfest

On Saturday, we took Lyla to Oysterfest on Stone Street. Stone Street is a great old cobblestone street that is lined with restaurants. We've been going to Oysterfest for the past few years and it is a lot of fun. We put Lyla in the BabyBjorn and headed over for lots of beer and lots of oysters. Lyla was such a trooper and slept most of the time, despite the crowds and loud music. When she was awake she had fun hanging out and people watching. We took a couple of breaks to regroup, eat and warm up -- thanks to the good people at Starbucks (where at least 3 people told me my son was so cute) and John, the very nice doorman at the William Beaver House who let us hang in the lobby for awhile. Mom, where did you bring me? The babybjorn (with Lyla in it) got passed around to various people. Poor Lyla was in it completely wrong when we put it on Dina (bad mommy, I know) but she didn't seem to mind one bit. She was up long enough for a make-out session with her Aunt Dina (one of Lyla's favorite activities). But Lyla just took it to the next level. Dina and Sharon. Mark declared that he is only calling her Shushi from now on. Jason, Rich, Mark and Shushi Me and Dina Mark and Kris

Lyla Can Zipline!

This was at today's Sports Babies class. Lyla loved it! And I learned I can send a photo from my blackberry right to the blog!

The People In Your Neighborhood

Lyla is getting to the age where she can actually get something out of a class or a playgroup, so I started looking into every possible kids' class in our neighborhood. I was really happy to see that there is a lot to choose from. So this post is really more for my benefit to keep track of all the fun places I found so far. The fall "semester" is starting now so many places are offering free trial classes. We've been"auditing" each class to see which ones Lyla likes best! Hands On Music. This is a great class. We went in the summer and already started for the fall! Gymboree . Just opened in the neighborhood a couple of weeks ago in the old Mini Masters space. NY Kids Club We tried the Gym Babies class but she is a little too young. She just kind of sat there while the other kids crawled around her. Dahlia tried to help her through the tunnel and she got stuck. Kidville Music Together Downtown Babies Creative Play for Kids Playgarden. We are trying the Sports Babies class on Friday. Physique Swimming at Claremont Prep. Mark is going to do this one with her in January so he has to go in the pool and not me. A little too old for Lyla, but other places we will keep in mind: Color Me Mine Moomah. This one looks really cute. Downtown Dance Factory Manhattan Children's Theatre 92Y Tribeca Manhattan Youth Center There are also some great stores around here: Babesta (this is where I got Lyla her Wu Tang bib) Babesta Cribz Boomerang Toys Firefly Boutique Tribeca Girls Bu and the Duck Babylicious Shoofly Zaba pb & Caviar Balloon Saloon Bundle These are a few of our favorite family friendly restaurants/sweet shops: Landmarc Bubbys Kitchenette Tribeca Treats Crumbs Billy's Bakery Financier Finally, some websites/magazines that have great ideas for kids in NYC: NY Magazine Time Out New York for Kids MommyPoppins UrbanBaby Daily Candy NY Kids

Lyla Grace is Seven Months Old!

Lyla Grace is seven months old today and she just keeps getting cuter and more fun. She is sitting up like a champ and slowly starting to crawl. Right now, it is mostly backwards, but nonetheless, she manages to get where she wants through a combination of creeping, rolling and pushing. She loves to play and loves her new "sitting up" toys from Grandma. She can stand while holding her exersaucer and can get around pretty well in a walker. Her biggest giggles come when we lift her in the air and swing her around. She adores her cousins and loves playing with the big kids. Lyla lights up when she hears music. We sing to her constantly and she shows us her big toothless smile when she recognizes the song. Her favorite songs are Open Shut Them, Old McDonald, Hickory Dickory Dock and Bushel and a Peck. She's trying to do clap hands but right now she kind of just shakes her hands when we start to clap. Lyla is a great eater so far. She loves her fruits and veggies (with the exception of green beans) and loves to try mommy's snacks. She also thinks books, remote controls and phones taste delicious. Her eyes seem to be getting bluer and more beautiful and her little blonde fuzz is growing longer. There may be enough soon to hold a bow, but that may just be wishful thinking on my part. We love you Lyla Bell!!

Peekaboo!

A Recent Conversation

Me: Lyla, sshhh, Mommy has a headache. Lyla (with big grin): AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Trying to Crawl

The thrill of sitting up has come and gone for Lyla Grace and now this little girl wants to move. She is trying so hard to crawl and gets very frustrated when she can't reach what she wants (usually my blackberry or the remote control). I'm giving her plenty of time to practice her crawling, but to be honest I'm in no rush for her to crawl. She is already getting so big so fast and I know I'll miss her snuggling with me when all she wants to do is go go go. Here is her technique: 1) Push your chest up as far as you can. 2) Dig your legs into the ground so your tush sticks up in the air (which usually negates Step 1) 3) Face plant and use your face for leverage to get you forward. 4) If that doesn't work, rock back and forth like a see-saw. 5) When all else fails, lick the ground. And yes, she is wearing a tutu.

A Tubby With Daddy

We have this great new tub from Bammie and Pa that is kind of molded around Lyla's little tushy so she can easily sit up, play and splash without me worrying too much about her slipping. It's kind of an ingenious design. I highly recommend it. Lyla had a fabulous time playing in her new tub with her Daddy. She chuckles when you spray her with one of her toy squirters and loves to splash. Looking up at Mark. Do you think its love?

Sunday In The Park With Lyla

After being cooped up in the apartment for two days of constant rain, Lyla and I were excited to get out yesterday and enjoy the beautiful weather. We headed over to Hudson River Park and spent the day playing, picnicing, and relaxing. We found this tiny little park that is geared toward real little ones, so it was perfect for Lyla. We played on the swings for awhile until I thought Lyla was going to fall asleep from all the rocking. Lyla was a little nervous at first and clung to the swing for dear life. But when she realized she could give me a kiss every time she swung in my direction, she was fully on board. I couldn't get a picture, but on the swing next to us was a cute little girl (probably a little under two years old) wearing oversize sunglasses, a black tunic, black leggings, baby Tory Burches and had a short angled haircut that matched her mommy's. She was a little intimidating :) Only in Manhattan. After the swings, we met up with Brian, Eileen and the twins. Lyla loves Dennis and Dylan and they always manage to make her laugh. Lyla loved rolling around on our new picnic blanket. She flipped and flopped in every possible direction. We spent some time by the water watching the ships go by. It was Harbor Day on the Hudson so there were really cool replica ships going by. On our way home, I thought about bringing her to Teardrop Park, a neat little park that is kind of hidden and never too crowded. We decided she was a little too young for this slide. The worst part of the day was that Mark couldn't join us. He's giving a presentation to House Financial Services Subcommittee (sorry Mark if I'm wrong about this) today and had to work all day to prepare.

Fun With Peas

We're still trying to find a food she doesn't like. Peas are definitely her favorite so far. Don't ask how, but she literally had peas on her eyeball. Seriously, mom. Are we really all done?

Back to Work

I am back at work and adjusting to life in high heels again. It is definitely an adjustment to go from thinking about Lyla Grace 24 hours a day and now trying to do my best at work and at home. All my old cases are still hanging around so I went back to many friendly faces and I must admit, it was nice to have some grown up conversation. The first couple of days were really tough and I just stared at her picture all day. But we are finding our groove and Lyla is doing great with Dahlia. She even takes real naps now! Also, in honor of our return to the city, I decided to change the blog layout to get into the swing of things. Do you like?

Tubby Alfresco