5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Couch

How we spend our weekends...

A photo shoot attempt quickly turns chaotic...

Hanging artwork is nearly sacrificed for the cause...

Waiting them out/wearing them down...

And finally...iPad magic!

Anatomy of a Baby Walk

1.  Wide base stance.

I'm coming after you 15-month-old with a giant soccer ball!

2.  Arms out-stretched.

All the better for balancing.  Just ask a tightrope walker!

3.   The look of determination. 

Let's do this!

4.  Downward glances.

My legs are moving under me.  This is amazing!

As he neared 11 months, Tiger Cub started showing quite a bit of aptitude for embracing the two-legged lifestyle.  For the record books, I consider his official walk date 11 months + 2 days (or January 23rd).  Tiger Dad will likely argue that it happened much earlier, but it wasn't until after the 11 month mark that he truly started going places.

Now that he's been on his feet for a few weeks, Tiger Cub can do advanced activities.  Like this good time called, "I must keep shaking this box no matter what!"

I Love You My Snow-Deprived Southerners

Dear Southerners,

You guys are a hoot.  Seeing you running around all happy and under-dressed reminds me of a time when it was cool that white stuff falls from the sky.  I love that you’re making snow angels in the shallow accumulation and trying to sled even though there is grass poking up right next to your trashcan lids.  And I'm not being sarcastic here, I really do love it.

When I was a “new” New Yorker, a co-worker asked why I was using an umbrella to walk through the snow.  I shrugged and replied that I didn’t know what to do when it snowed.  And from the looks of the news stories, neither do you, friends. 

But no judgment from me.  Your road panic is totally reasonable given that there is not a plow or a pile of salt within three states of you.  I'm not laughing that you're stuck on the road or spending the night at work because that sounds pretty rotten.    

Maybe the next time I'm wrestling a stroller through the snow, I will stop and make a snow angel in your honor.  But probably not because that's messy and I have to get to places like the grocery store or work or my son’s gym class, all of which will be open.  And because I've sadly lost the "OMG there is snow falling!?!?" kind of awe.

Sincerely,

a displaced southerner who still uses an umbrella when it snows

This little Yankee has seen more snow in his 11 months than I did in my first 20 years.

January Jewels

We're (literally) plowing through the first month of the year.  Since park visits are tabled until fairer weather, we've turned to indoor activities like eating and walking practice.

So far NYC has had one semi-serious snowstorm.  Tiger Cub remained unimpressed and unwilling to wear a hat or gloves.  I like our stroller's 16" wheels so much more (if that's even possible) after driving the buggy over seemingly insurmountable mounds of snow.

Here we're practically paving our own path...

In kitchen experiments, Randy continues to make big progress in his pursuit of "whole wheat baker of the year" award.  This time it was whole wheat challa bread with raisins and it was
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  Braided and everything.  Even as a challa bread novice, I feel confident in saying it could give the local Jewish bakeries a run for their money.

Gym class is our most efficient mode of energy expenditure.  Here Tiger Cub turned a game of "put the ball in the basket" into "dumpster diving."

We're experimenting with baby leg warmers.  I thought about this for weeks before buying them.  Something about the concept just seemed feminine.  Maybe because they remind me so much of his grandma's Jane Fonda-inspired aerobics gear from the 1980s.  They're perfect for our cold hard floors though.  Gotta say, he wears 'em like a man!

Family brunch + new glasses.

Holiday Roundup

Randy parents came to New York for the holidays!  They celebrated Tiger Cub's first Christmas with us, shopped and cooked up a ton of awesome meals, joined us in freezing our tails off, and did a lot of baby-watching since it was this place's busy time of year.  

Here's a sampling of the eating-decorating-present opening-child entertaining bonanza that took place.

A post-church brunch.

Joy and I joined forces for an all out bake-a-thon.  I didn't photograph the goodies, but they included a few types of cookies, peppermint bark, and fudge.  Here's GiGi and her little kitchen "helper."

With about five days to spare, a real tree suddenly appeared in our home one evening.  Stringing lights on a Christmas tree is the most exciting thing EVER!

We couldn't bear to stop the fun and let Tiger Cub stay up an hour past his bedtime.

TC had his first visit with Santa, which you can read about here.

On our way to somewhere.  If you ask me, this pic looks like it could be on a page of People magazine.  "The R family was spotted out with their young son on a chilly December morning."

This one has nothing to do with the holidays, but how could I resist?

Tiger Cub found his presents to be almost as much fun as the ribbon that came around them.

Three generations of "R" men.  Randy, where's your tie???

And happy New Year to us!  Pork with the traditional accompaniments of greens and black eyed peas plus a side of squealing baby.

So Long 2013...

You know it's been a big year when it starts like this...

And ends like this...

Here's 2013 by the numbers:

• We visited 0 foreign countries.

• 1 baby boy was born in February.

  

• 2 new parents are thrilled, thankful, busy, and want more sleep.

  

• Our new ride is a sweet 3-wheeled stroller.

• We took 4 out-of-state trips with our new addition: family weddings in Colorado and Georgia and family vacations in Tennessee and Florida.   

 

• Our growing family moved 5 minutes down the road to a bigger place.
  
  

• We had 6 visits from four loving grandparents.

• Randy and I celebrated our 7th anniversary.  But who's really counting anymore?

• Tiger Cub, who is always growing and changing (too quickly!) right in front of our eyes, hit at least 8 exciting milestones: smiling, rolling, babbling, sitting, crawling, standing, cruising, and ball chasing.  Walking is reserved for 2014!

 

 

• After 9 months of cooking on the inside, we've already celebrated 10 months of Tiger Cub growing on the outside.  Sheesh, where does the time go?!

11 cheers for 12 great months of 2013!  Basically it's been the year of the Tiger Cub, probably not unlike many years to come.

2014 here we come!  And dear time, please slow down.

Santa Time!

Around Thanksgiving it occurred to me that it's the time of year when parents take their kids to see Santa.  My thought process went something like this...

NO WAY am I taking my 9.5 month old to see Santa...what a waste that would be!...although we do live just a subway ride away from the Herald Square Macy's...they have that whole Santaland thing going on...everyone knows that's where the real Santa and his elves hang out...the grandparents will be in town and they might enjoy it too...well MAYBE it could be fun, but ONLY if we go early in the morning on a weekday.

Next thing I know, it's a Tuesday morning and this is happening...

9 AM is right!  We were practically the first ones there which I highly recommend.  No lines!

Tiger Cub got up close and personal with lots of Santaland characters.  Everything is life sized when you're a wee little man!

 

Of course it never occurred to me that I should get Tiger Cub something cute to wear for the (sort of spur of the moment) occasion.  Luckily GiGi came through with Santa Claus pajamas which seemed appropriate enough.

Tiger Cub was underwhelmed by his first meeting with Santa.  Despite the elf waving a rattle, he remained skeptical and unsmiling.  In his defense, Santa wasn't really all that jolly.

Afterward we sat down at a cafe in Macy's.  GiGi's empty coke bottle and pictures of gingerbread men were just as amusing to TC as Santaland.

Santa Baby!

Photo credits:  Tiger Cub's Papa