Monday, October 31, 2011

Halloween 2011

This is going to be picture heavy, you've been forewarned!  

We had such a great time out Trick-or Treating last night.  I think it may have been Elliott's best night of his life so far.  They all had fun, but he was REALLY into it.  If you've tracked with us for the past few years you already know the Halloween drill here in Manhattan, but in case you don't there are lots of pictures to give you an idea.  We stayed on 1st Ave. between 14th and 23rd St.  It took us roughly 2 hours to walk that stretch and go in and out of the stores.  Here in Manhattan the majority of people go to stores for Trick-or-Treating, unlike the suburb neighborhood.  There is something about it being a whole community event that I like.  It feels strange, but so many stores participate.  The kids just run in and go to the check out counter of a deli, or the bar at Starbucks, or the hostess stand in a restaurant.   It's lots of fun.  

Without further ado...  

Introducing Jack the Pirate
 Lillie the Ballerina Pirate
(only added the ballerina part because she declared that's what she wanted to be 2 minutes before walking out the door.... so we added the necklace)
 and Elliott the Pirate.



I had planned on making these bags for them last year, but just got around to it this year.  My friend Melissa and I made them for our kids on the Gallery Church Retreat.  
 
 At the dry cleaners across the street from our apartment

  Jack and his buddy Ryan.


 Barber Shop
 Deli
 Laundry Mat
 At the Bagel shop they got bagels instead of candy... they ate them for breakfast this morning!

 Bakery
 Another Deli
 At Dunkin Donuts they got a whole donut at one and a donut hole at the other one.
Starbucks

I have some pictures to share from Fright Night at Jack's school in the next post... need to get them off my phone.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Catching Up


Fall is here, maybe... there is a chance of snow tomorrow which makes it feel more like winter is here, but this weekend is full of fall activities. We are getting into our new rhythm with Jack in school and working our day around his schedule.  It's been amazing having the connection with other families at his school.  There are two families specifically that we've really connected with.  This weekend we'll be going to Fright Night at Jack's school with 2 of his friends and their families and then involved in other activities Halloween related Sunday and Monday.  I'll write more about them when I have pictures to post.

I feel like once we moved to our new neighborhood a new chapter of this journey opened up for me.  The way I'm getting to connect with other moms has been very refreshing to me.  I have good friends at church, but have struggled connecting with others outside the church.  Part of that is I've had a hard time relating to other moms because my kids have not been in school or in other extracurricular classes.  In NYC when you meet another mom the first question is always "where does your child go to school?"  It's really great now to be able to share a school and then, with a lot of families in our neighborhood, automatically have some common ground.  It's been nice.
We've had a lot going on at The Gallery.  Several months ago we moved to one service and in that transition moved the church offices to the back of the room where we have our Sunday morning gatherings.  It's been a great transition.  The office space is very small, but for the first time since we've lived here Freddy T. actually has a room he can shut the door and have private, quiet study. He can now counsel with people and not have to talk quietly or worry about everyone else in the room being able to hear.  It's a great setup.  This past week a team was in town and built an amazing floor to ceiling bookcase in Freddy T.'s office.  I bet he has told me 1,000 times how excited he is about the new set up.  It's really great.  I'll have to get some pictures to show you.

Enjoy a few pictures.
 Lillie plays her "guitar" on a daily basis.  We have a few play guitars, but this is her preference.
 This was the first time I braided Lillie's hair, you can't tell, but it was adorable!
 When we ride the bus Lillie always asks all the older ladies "what's your name?"  They love it!  This particular ride the lady, Marilyn, invited Lillie to sit in her lap so she did.
 This is "Spike" and Lillie.  I told them to smile for the camera.  Spike is saying "cheese" and Lillie is smiling.
(Elliott asks to have his hair spiked on a very regular basis)
 We were going on our church wide retreat the first of October.  I think it was Jack's Gran that introduced him to Bubble Tape, she gave it to him for his airplane bag to travel back to NYC over the summer.  So Jack insisted that he needed Bubble Tape for his airplane bag to take on our hour long drive to the retreat.  We went to 20 stores looking for Bubble Tape and finally found it... one very random pack on the shelf of a 7-11.  He was thrilled.
 The kiddos riding a play police motorcycle on the playground.
 Jack one morning on our way to school.  The Steelers hat goes with him everyday and stays in his backpack.
 Elliott taking Grover for a walk and Lillie pushing her baby.
 We have neighbors across the hall that are away from May through September.  They live here the other months of the year.  Anyway, we just met them several weeks ago, since we moved in right after they left.  Lillie and Elliott are crazy about Rita and Don.  They have lived here for 36 years...same apartment!  They think they are supposed to get apple sauce every time we see them.  This picture is taken from Rita's kitchen floor.
Sweet brothers... very rare moment!

Oh by the way... we might get 2-4 inches of snow tomorrow!