Thinking Pink

I recently read about a study where researchers found that moms-to-be that had a "sense" of the gender of their unborn babies were correct 70% of the time!  I knew from very early on in my pregnancy that Olin was a boy and with our new little one on the way, this scene from Funny Face has been running through my head for weeks...

I guess that was my sign that a little girl was on her way because yesterday, the doctor confirmed that we are in fact having a little girl!

Because I have heard stories of ultrasound technicians and doctors getting the gender wrong, especially with girls, I asked the technician how confident she was and she said she was positive that it's a girl and then I asked the doctor (because you can't be too sure), and she laughed and said "Oh definitely a girl, she certainly isn't shy" so it appears that they got a good look at her!

Josh and I are so excited and all I can think about is all the little pairs of tights I am going to buy for her!

A Merry Christmas Indeed

This year we spent a lovely Christmas at home - just the three of us and our first in NYC.  It was nice to give little mister our undivided attention on his last Christmas as an only child!  On Christmas Eve, we went to the family service at our church.  Olin loved listening to the children's choir sing and after little Joseph sang his solo, in the quiet of the church, Olin threw up his hands and yelled "yay" for the performance.  It was so sweet and I think it even made little Joseph smile.

After church, Josh made a delicious corn chowder and then we had tea with our newly dubbed Christmas cake, which is actually Ina Garten's Easy Cranberry and Apple Cake, but to me it just tastes like Christmas.

And before going to bed, little mister got a few gifts - new Christmas pajamas, the cutest little Ralph Lauren slippers and an ornament to commemorate one of the biggest events of his past year... starting school!  He even hung his new ornament on the tree by himself and when he did, he cried out "I did it!"

We took an excessive amount of pictures on Christmas Day (or perhaps it was the appropriate amount for Christmas!) so I think I will have to post them separately!

Christmas Vacation

Today is the first day of Olin's first Christmas break and I suspect that he is really going to miss his friends and teachers over the next two weeks although we will enjoy having him at home more!

To thank his three teachers for all of their care over the past few months, Olin and I made them granola and he was so cute distributing the jars yesterday morning.  We used this recipe, and it was so good that I made another batch for us to have at home last night!

Ho Ho Ho

The big day finally arrived this past Saturday... Olin got to see Santa!  We took him to Bloomingdale's to see the big guy and I have to say, it was probably the scuzziest Santa I have seen (seriously, Bloomingdale's), but luckily little mister didn't seem to notice - he loved him!  Olin kept waving to Santa as we waited in line and when it was finally his turn, he was mesmerized.  Olin felt his beard, said "ho, ho, ho" a few dozen times and couldn't stop smiling.  He even brought his little stuffed Santa with him...

December 2012 - NYC

What a big difference from last year, when he clearly was not yet a fan of the big guy...

December 2011 - Chicago



And while we are looking at past photos with Santa, I just had to include this one from his first Christmas... oh, he's so little...

December 2010 - Denver

Baby Oh Baby!

Baby Burgher is expected to arrive in June 2013 and we are thrilled!

Mr. Independent

I think it stems from a combination of his age and his school's philosophies (they focus a lot on independent work and play), but lately, most of the meltdowns in our house have been a result of Josh and I trying to help Olin do something.  How dare we help him put his coat on or clear his dinner dishes?  How dare we cut his food for him?  Don't we know that he is 2 now and capable of so many things?  The only problem is the time it takes him to do something doesn't always fit in with our hurried schedules.  We are learning... or at least working on it.

I am definitely not complaining though.  This independence has been great - particularly on those afternoons after school when he plays in his room (often while singing to himself) while I clean the kitchen or make dinner.  We've even found ourselves enjoying adult conversation over our Saturday morning coffee just like in the old days.  Maybe, just maybe, we could even begin a subscription to the weekend paper, although we might want to wait awhile... I would hate to jinx it!

And in a note of personal victory for me, I did this...

I saw Josh cringe when I brought this bulb home from Whole Foods last Friday, but as you can see, these paperwhites are thriving under my care and actually bloomed!  Maybe I am not a lost cause with plants after all.

Over The Weekend

It was a big weekend in the Burgher house because this past Saturday marked Josh's 36th birthday!  And to celebrate, we ate (of course).  Even Josh's present was food... cheese, pate, saucisson and wine... all of his favorites, which made for a feast of a lunch on Saturday.  Josh is probably one of the world's easiest people to buy gifts for - get him nice cheeses, charcuterie or a good bottle of wine and he is a happy man.

We also had a date night dinner on Saturday at Community while Olin slept under the watchful eye of our babysitter Josefina and a Swedish brunch at the Scandinavia House on Sunday.  Olin really took to his Swedish roots at brunch as he devoured his meatballs with lingonberry jam.  For a little boy who does not like to eat meat, we were very proud.

While on the subject of celebrating Josh, please allow me a moment to gush about my wonderful husband and give just one of many examples of why we are so lucky to have him around.  On Monday morning, we had a parent tour at a preschool we are applying to.  (As a side note, high school seniors have to do less to get into college than toddlers applying to Manhattan preschools do. The process is truly insane).  Anyway, Josh is incredibly busy at work right now, but he still insisted on taking me out for a mid morning chia seed muffin and coffee after the tour and before heading back to his office.  And during our snack, while I left the table to use the restroom, he ordered me my favorite brownie to-go and snuck it in my bag for me to find and enjoy later.  Then, much later Monday night, after he graded papers for the class he is teaching this term and hours after I had gone to bed, Josh stayed up to reconfigure the electrical cord situation for the Christmas tree so that I could push a button near the TV rather than climb under the tree to turn the lights on.  And then, he sewed up Olin's beloved stuffed Santa whose stuffing was beginning to fall out!

He truly is incredible and I don't know what we would do without him!  Happy birthday again, Josh!  We love you!

More Photos With His Tree

A couple photos from this morning...

Christmas Tree!

Lately, we've been walking around the city to the song of a tiny voice crying out "Christmas Tree! Christmas Tree!" from his stroller at each one one that he sees... which is nearly every two feet... in building lobbies, storefronts, apartment windows and then of course, the Christmas tree lots (his favorite).  To say that little mister has become obsessed with Christmas trees would be an understatement.

Well, yesterday, Olin finally got that Christmas tree of his very own.  He was so excited that he had to spend some alone time in his room to compose himself (twice!) during the process of decorating the tree.

The nice man at the tree lot even gave Olin the cut-off end of the trunk with a branch stuck in it for his room, which he loved.  And when we got home, he spent a good 10 minutes picking up the needles that had fallen off the tree and trying to put them back on to the tree's branches.  Neither Josh or I had the heart to tell him that it doesn't work that way.

This morning, he quietly drank his morning milk in the glow of the lights, just staring at the tree, mesmerized by the sight of it.  This year's Christmas tree has become an unexpected calming presence in the Burgher house.

Fun in the Blue Room

Olin has been doing a lot of fun things in school lately, including a trip to the Post Office on Tuesday where he and his classmates were allowed to work the metering machine and send a letter to their parents - we are anxiously waiting for ours to arrive!  The trip also required that I sign my first field trip permission form - the first of many, I suspect.

I have also had the opportunity to spend some time in the classroom the past few weeks.  Once to observe Olin and his classmates to get a glimpse of "a day in the life of Olin" and then this week, the teachers asked that each parent sign up for a slot to come in to share one of their talents with the class.  Well, I feel like I really have only two true talents... which meant that I could either teach the toddlers how to analyze SEC filings for investment purposes or I could peddle healthy foods.  Luckily for them, I chose the latter in the form of a smoothie making demonstration with the class.  These little guys are so cute and attentive... except one (Olin) who insisted on eating berries and yogurt straight out of the blender and got so much of the smoothie and its ingredients on him that he already had to change into his back-up shirt by 9:15 am!

I bumped into one of the other moms in the class who happens to be Chinese and she told me that she was teaching the children Kung Fu this morning... oh my goodness, Olin is going to LOVE it.  If only I had a cool talent like that! 

He learned "the robot" last week and his teachers couldn't wait to tell me at pick-up that he has the best robot in the whole class... he must get his dance moves from Josh!  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

From Wednesday's walk home from school past one of the many tree lots...

Oh, and one of the Christmas presents that I ordered arrived yesterday and this is what the package looked like.  Nice, NYC, happy holidays to you too... (in case you can't read it from the photo, someone wrote "Eat it!" on my box)

Over The Weekend

We had a very fun weekend despite the frigid temperature on Saturday.  We took the subway out to Brooklyn (without the stroller!) to celebrate baby Hollan's 1st birthday!  The birthday boy was so cute in his little bow tie and sweater vest and ate his first cake like a total gentlemen.  And Hollan and Olin were adorable as they ate lunch together at Hollan's little table and off the same plate.  But I think perhaps the highlight of the party for Olin was meeting Bridget's Grandma June.  He would call out for June when they weren't together and she even fed him birthday cake.  June is the sweet lady that is holding Olin in many of the photos below.  It was a wonderful party and I think Olin would have stayed there all day if we had let him - thanks Bridget and Damon!

In addition to the excitement of the birthday party, Olin also had Indian food for the first time and he seemed to really like it.  He ate mostly naan and a potato samosa, but the key is that he ate.  It looks like we have another Olin approved restaurant that can go on our (tiny, but growing) list.