Good Morning from the White House!

Neon Shades

Did you know neon is popular again? Lyla picked these glasses...so on the pulse of fashion.

Happenings

Just some random stuff I never got to write about...

The day after we got back from vacation (already a month ago!), we took an impromptu trip to Maryland. Mark told his family he was visiting but that Lyla and I were staying home. Were they surprised when a little blondie walked through their door! Bammie cried and later Lyla said to me "Bammie was so sad when we surprised her." :)





We had a decoy birthday party for my Nana before the big 9-0 party.










Lyla would only eat the strawberry shortcake if Grandma made sure there were NO STRAWBERRIES touching the whipped cream.





Bounce house fun






We celebrated Valentine's Day a couple of days late by making heart brownies.


Lyla got an early birthday present with a trip to the Disney Store in Times Square. No one was too impressed with the store, Lyla included.






We left with Bolt and some Minnie Mouse stuff. We told her she could get three things at the store. It made it a game for her to swap one thing for another as we made our way through the store. I wanted to get her an Ariel nightgown. At first she said no and then when I told her it didn't count towards her three items, she simply said "okay." After Disney, we went to Serendipity for lunch but the wait was nearly two hours! Pass.


Lyla, Ariel nightgown and Bolt = satisfied customer


We decided to paint our bedroom. Nearly three coats of primer to cover that blue. We still have some touchups to do once we get a really tall ladder, but the room looks great. Much brighter and more cheerful.


That wraps up February!  I can't believe it is March!!

Baby Update

I am at just about 22 weeks now and feeling good. We went for our anatomy sonogram last week and all looks great. He is measuring at about 14 oz now - the 70th percentile, so we have a big baby to look forward to. I feel his kicks a lot more lately, which is one of the best parts of being pregnant. The other night Lyla fell asleep on me and just as she fell asleep, Baby Jack woke up and started to kick. A sign of things to come, I guess. Personally, I think he's a little scared of her (she is wild at night) and only makes his presence known when he thinks he coast is clear.

My little spaghetti squash is more than half way there!


Lyla seems to be adjusting to the idea of having a baby brother. We talk about all the things she will teach him and all the ways she can take care of him.  When we are lyying down together, sometimes she will give my belly a little rub or a kiss. She also claims to have a baby in her belly -- either Baby Ashie or Baby girl Alex (her buddies at school). Baby Jack bought Lyla some animal hair clips for her birthday. She was thrilled and appreciative but at the same time a little confused. My smart girl asked "Baby Jack got these for me? But isn't he still in your belly?"

Lyla's Birthday Party

Lyla had her first real kids' birthday party this year. We held it at the Downtown Dance Factory, where Lyla takes ballet. She was very involved in the planning from start to finish :) Specifically, she wanted to know who was coming and whether she would get presents.

Kids' parties in NYC are pretty standard -- one hour of activity followed by a half hour of pizza and cake. Over and done with in 90 minutes. For the dance portion of the party, we wanted to keep it pretty gender neutral since the majority of her friends, classmates and cousins are boys. No ballerina or princess parties for us. We decided on a superhero theme -- boys in masks and capes and girls in masks and tutus (which pretty much no one ended up wearing...). The kiddos did a lot of superhero poses and made their way through treacherous obstacle courses.

Lyla's best superhero pose




























Woolworth building in the background




My hero


Lyla loves her buddy Ashie


And they are marching off for pizza










Cake time
























Best attempt at a cousins shot (the outtakes are hilarious)


Lyla usually gets a little shy in large groups when the focus is on her, but she took it all in stride. She had no problem leading the charge through the dance or sitting at the head of the table for pizza and cake. It was cute to see her playing the role of hostess - making sure her friends had a seat at the table and thanking them for coming at the end of the party.   My big girl is three!