quilts with katie, and then even more quilts

Part 1. Katie & Quilts.

Yes, this is a story about quilts and it requires 2 parts.

A few weeks ago we were lucky to have our friends Katie and Norah visit us from DC. Katie was my roommate for 3 years in college, and Norah is her adorable daughter that is only 10 weeks older than Isaac & Bethany. If that's not a recipe for a good time then I don't know what is.

Much of the weekend was spent catching up and catering to 3 babies' napping schedules, but we had some great outings too. One highlight for me was seeing the quilts at the American Folk Art Museum with Katie. Little did I know (until a couple months ago) that in the years since we were roommates, Katie has become quite the quilter. It was really fun to see some beautiful quilts with someone who knew what we were looking at. This one was my favorite. I also like how the AFAM is right next to the MoMA and kitty corner from the best halal cart on the planet. (SW corner of 53rd/6th if ya didn't know! Get the chicken & rice plate!)

The whole time we were at the museum, I watched Katie take all these pictures and I kept thinking, Oh, those are going to be great for her blog. It didn't even occur to me that I should also be taking pics for my blog. Wow.

But I did manage to get these of our little cuties...

Wreaking havoc on the nursery.

Eager readers.

We were all so glad they made the trip up!

Part 2. Infinite Quilts.

A few days after seeing the quilts at AFAM, an exhibit opened up at the Park Ave Armory called Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts. When I heard about this, I was hoping it would happen during Katie's visit, but it was a week too late. Some other friends and I still got to go, and I'm so glad! It was a really spectacular display and a super impressive collection.

Overcompensating for my lack of AFAM picture-taking starts now...

2 colors. Infinite variety.

Quilts, ooooh!

Utah quilt? (Kidding, unless it really is and then I totally called it.)

The lady who took this ^ shot was covered in cat hair.

I just thought that was funny.

Quilt-show-goers.

After the quilts, we let the little monkeys out at the Billy Johnson Playground in Central Park.

Both my babies made new friends that day. Isaac's new friend was Hashi, who must have taken him down this huge slide like 10 times. They were both having such a blast.

Bethany's new friend was the oldest, cutest lady to ever ride the subway. They played "ET phone home" the whole way.

The end.

b. i. e. a. eh.

A sippy cup per kid that I watched today.

Bethany, Isaac, Eli, Audrie, Ellie H.

This picture says more to me than just that I had a crazy--fun, but crazy--day with 5 kids under 5. (Fortunately the most I had at a time was 4.) It's about the amazing friends I have here in NY! A lot of us here are transplants, and I think as a result we fill in for far-away families. Moms and non-moms alike. We watch each other's kids. We pick up each other's groceries. We meet up for playgroup. We swap baby toys and clothes. We understand the love/hate relationship between a mom and the city. They make all the tough parts of city life livable, and the best parts even better.

old news

Our internet is back! It was out all last week and spotty for a few weeks before that. Which leaves me in serious catch-up mode... So. I want to knock down a few bits of old news and then share some pictures of recent fun in a few upcoming posts.

1. Piper did not have to move to Albany, yay! She'll still have to move someday, but hopefully the delay will help them find a place closer to home for her parents. Thanks to those who emailed me with concern for a family they don't know. I know we all wished we could do more to help.

2. It wasn't melanoma. I realized recently that I never closed this one up on the blog. That spot on my shoulder did turn out to be pre-cancerous, which is awesome that it was caught early (and scary to think about what if it wasn't). Pale is definitely the new tan.

3. Twins rock. I love this video! A few people have asked if my twins do this. The answer is some, but not at this level of intensity. Mine are 2-3 months younger than these twins. Most of their back-and-forth right now is in giggling and squealing form when they play hide-and-seek with each other. Still intensely cute. I'd love it if they start having conversations like this though, and not just because I'd try get famous with the youtube video (but partly because of that).

On a completely unrelated note, is it normal that I sometimes sneak into my babies' room to peek at them? And I sometimes take pictures? Jared always makes fun of me for pouring over their pictures whenever they sleep, but this might be taking it to a whole new level. I mean really, does this cross the line from doting mom to creepster mom?

These are dark, for obvious reasons... :)

Angel Face.

(I've called her that since before she had a real name.)

My photo-taking caused her to stir, and this is how she ended up--

with her arm hanging out and her bum in the air. I helped her out of it before I left.

Isaac, also in a strange situation.

I don't know how they sleep like this!

Does this win the award for most boring post ever??

3 hours is 3 hours longer than a mother should have to travel to see her child

Jake & Reagan are one of the first couples we met when we moved to New York almost 3 years ago. As soon as I learned their names, I whispered to Jared that we would have to be their friends because if you said Jake/Reagan real fast it sounds like Jake Cragun, one of the great friends we had just barely moved away from when we left LA.

It wasn't until the second time we saw Jake & Reagan that we learned they had a daughter, Piper Jane. We hadn't met PJ yet because she lives in a hospital, and has since birth. She's now almost 4 years old. I know--it's hard to even imagine what that would be like. But I cannot imagine anyone handling such a situation better than Jake/Reagan. They have worried all the worries and cried all the tears that most parents would in the same situation (which is speaking hypothetically because Pip's condition is so rare she's basically 1 in 7 billion), but they have also rejoiced in their daughter more than most parents do in any situation.

Well, Reagan has asked for help. Read her post to see why. (I'll have to warn you that this is Sad Reagan talking. We don't see Sad Reagan a whole lot/ever. Usually we see Funny & Uplifting Reagan, like when she explains Piper's situation in her guests post on C Jane, or when she nails it in an interview with another mutual friend on Bloom, and especially when she boogies all over NYC.) Do you know someone (that knows someone that knows someone...) that knows something that could help this situation? I'm not sure I do, but I thought writing this post could be one way to try. Send me an email or post a comment if you do.

And if that doesn't work, we can always...

* Feel inspired by this amazing family
* Pray your guts out for Piper and believe that it will help

* Be glad Jake & Reagan are so good at blogging about Pip - the more you read & more piptures you see, the more you love this girl

* Be jeal that you don't have your own Piper Jane Breinholt

digging

My kids dig through folded laundry like dogs dig for bones.

I love this accidental video of Bethany digging through the pajama drawer and Isaac burrowing through the blankets. (I went to take a picture but my camera was on the wrong mode, so I went with it.) It's really nothing exciting--kind of a typical scene at home--but it shows some of Bethany & Isaac's "things" right now. Aside from the digging and burrowing, we also have...

*talking baby talk, each one in their own unique way

*Isaac's goose egg that he got running after a dog at the park yesterday

*Bethany's habit of always sticking out her tongue just a little

*copying each other

*ignoring their mama

*always ending up in the same place, playing together or side-by-side (they've done this since they could move)

*Isaac opening containers with his teeth

*Bethany saying hi & bye

*Isaac waving bye (just before he walks off screen)

PS this is my first day using my new camera!! Jared replaced the one I lost and he didn't even wait until my birthday or Christmas like I probably deserved. Thanks hon! I love it so much... I think Jared's a little concerned I might love it more than my children, but I don't. Promise. (Although... I'll never have to clean up Desitin off the floor because my camera opened the tube with its teeth...) If you're looking for a good point and shoot, it's a Canon PowerShot S95 and it's so pretty it hurts.

See? It hurts.

weekend: slumber party + natural history party

A little about last weekend before we start our next...

On Friday night, our friend Ellie slept over. We get to have Ellie over every now and then when Ellie's parents or Jared & I want to have a date night. The evening consisted of dinner, playtime, changing into jammies (aka checking out each other's belly buttons), milk time, and bedtime by 7. And then it was movie time for mom & dad (we watched Man on Wire). Not a bad way to spend a Friday night.

While Ellie & Bethany have their special girl connection, something suspicious is definitely going on between Ellie & Isaac. More than once they wandered off together when they thought no one was looking. The beginning of their relationship can actually be traced back to a specific day... read about it here if you want to know how it all went down.

(PS Ellie's mom is an amazing photographer if you're wondering why all the pictures are so fantastic. PPS having friends with awesome cameras and awesome skills is what has gotten me through these last few camera-less months.)

Dear Ellie's parents: we're so glad everyone else already had a babysitting swap going so that we could be your last resort!

On Saturday, as soon as the babies woke up from their morning nap, we hauled our little foursome down to Central Park West & 79th, to the American Museum of Natural History. I had heard that the area under the big blue whale is a great place for the kids to run around, but as soon as we got down to it these babies were only interested in the stairs.

...That is, until Bethany decided to roll to the floor...

That little nut!

We were eventually able to peel them away from the stairs (and floor) to check out some of the displays. (This must be the darkest part of the entire museum...)

We then made a quick run through the dinosaur floor (amazing!) before heading home.

It was a short enough trip to avoid any major melt downs, yet just barely long enough to get a good taste of how awesome this place is. Next time we are heading straight to the Discovery Room!

just the 3 of us

All sorts of excited about their new slickers.

Sup.

(Pretending not to be crazy excited about their new slickers.)

This is the blessing of keeping expectations for myself at a bare minimum--like these babies, I can get super excited about the simplest things.

The triumph of the last few weeks has been play time at the park with just Bethany, Isaac and me! I know that doesn't sound like a big deal at all, but it is (to me) considering that all my previous attempts to let them out of their stroller at the park were quickly struck down by one or all of the following: (1) snow/rain/extreme cold, (2) having two children who are unable to walk, and/or (3) having two children who are unable to keep every twig/leaf/pebble/clump of dirt out of their mouths. (Sick, right?) It was just too hard for me to manage both little rascals by myself. (I used to meet up with other moms at the park and leave my babes in the stroller, but that was before winter struck and my babes were young enough to be content just watching the world from their two front row seats.)

It's not exactly easy now--I definitely have to be on at all times, but it can be done and it's so much fun. The days are getting a little less cold, and the kids are getting better on their feet and are showing a bit more self-control with the non-food substance eating. It's been a blast!

I want to give these kids every possible chance to learn and grow, despite there being two of them and only one of me. I feel a lot of gratitude for these sweet and able babies, and just hope my abilities will grow with them. I'm also so glad that Jared has been around so often this past year. He has such a special and fun interaction with those kids that only a dad can have. Like our janitor tells us each time he sees us, we feel so blessed, so blessed.