Thank You For Your Patience...

...while I give my blog a little boost!  In the wee small hours I decided to play around with expanding the Marvelous Kiddo template from two to three columns, and here I am, with things a little half-finished :)  Forgive me, but a mama's gotta sleep eventually.

Stay tuned for updated links and hopefully some fun new features in my newfound sidebar real estate!

Image via Capucha's Tumblr.

More Memories

Photos from late in my last pregnancy, about two years ago.  Taken in Central Park, near our apartment, by Liz Rubincam.

I Heart New York

My heart sang when I read this little vignette in today's Metropolitan Diary:

Dear Diary:

My husband, who is the ultimate recycler, collects the sad, misshapen and rejected umbrellas that are often found lying in the trash bins around our West Village neighborhood.

Knowing of my aversion to collections of clutter, he hustles them past me to his study and spends quite a bit of time repairing them.

The next time it rains, he carries several repaired umbrellas into our neighborhood and approaches anyone who appears to be bedraggled, drenched or just plain miserable. He says, “You look as if you could use an umbrella.”

After their initial expressions of shock, their faces change to smiles of gratitude as he hands the refurbished umbrellas to them. “Have a great day,” he says, thoroughly enjoying himself. 

Ricki Fier

Photo via Flickr.

Birthday Blooms

I love a good excuse to splurge at the corner deli on some flowers for the house, and yesterday's festivities gave me just the chance I've been waiting for.  I'm in love with the peonies and hydrangeas thrown together in the top photo!  Aren't they visually delicious?!

Scenes From A Celebration

Yesterday a few family and friends gathered at our apartment to celebrate the Kiddo's birthday (which actually falls on Thursday).  There were balloons and cupcakes and the enthusiastic disemboweling of a watermelon by the birthday boy.  It was so much fun!  Here are some highlights...

Looking Back

The Kiddo is turning two years old in less than a week, and over the last several days I have been doing quite a bit of reminiscing about his birth and the days leading up to it.  It's such a cliche, but I am amazed by how fast the time has flown by and how he's grown up into a little boy so fast.  

Last night I went through a bunch of old photos that my friend Liz took when I was pregnant with the Kiddo, and I thought it would be fun to post a few.  

These are from my last three prenatal appointments with my midwife before the Kiddo made his big entrance on June 11, 2007.  In the top one, we are joined by my mom and mother in law, who happened to be visiting at the time.  It was really fun to have them participate by listening to the baby's heartbeat.  As two ladies anxiously awaiting their debut as grandmothers (and both of whom had home births themselves) it was a really meaningful experience to have them there.  Ah, memories!

Beautiful Blocks

They're called Zen Blocks, and they are all natural, featuring a super safe mineral oil finish, and the wood is from urban tree harvesting or other sustainable sources.  They can be stacked, shuffled or contemplated.  Aren't they unusually beautiful?  Order here.