Over the (Beautiful Spring) Weekend

It's a rainy Monday after a gorgeous weekend in Manhattan.  I kind of love when the nice weather syncs up with the weekend and the rainy colder weather is saved for the not so fun weekdays like Mondays.

We started the weekend off with a surprisingly fun dinner at Whole Foods.  I am always amazed at how much fun I can have at the most mundane places when I am with my two boys... they really are so fun to be with.

On Saturday, we spent the morning in Central Park to take some maternity shots for posterity and then left the park for father/son haircuts at our local barber shop.  After the cuts, we went right back to Central Park for a picnic of shrimp rolls and ginger beer from Luke's Lobster.  Olin then had a great time running along the path that encircles the Great Lawn stopping periodically to watch the various baseball games going on throughout the lawn.  He kept pushing his little face through the spaces in the fence and yelling "hi guys!" and waving to the players.  His interest in these baseball games made me hopeful that we might have fun spending time in the park watching baseball games over the summer like I loved doing with my dad when I was little.

Saturday night we had a very summer-esque dinner of tacos and (mock) margarita's out on the patio of Cascabel Taqueria.  It was a little chilly as the sun began to set and the wind picked up, but none of us cared because it's just so nice to be able to be outside after the bleak winter months.  Olin, always charming our waiters at restaurants, was also given his first churro from our very nice waiter after dinner... I think churros have now found a spot on his favorite foods list... yikes!

On Sunday, we went to church and then afterwards had an impromptu picnic on our favorite bench in Carnegie Hill where Olin was more interested in playing with my sunglasses than eating!  After rescuing my glasses from his not-so-gentle toddler fingers, we made our way home to meet Olin's babysitter so that Josh and I could head off to the hospital where I will be delivering for the "expecting parents tour".  I will say the hospital wasn't bad, but it was not even close to the lovely hospital that Olin was born at in Denver.  Prior to yesterday, Josh and I decided that we would stay in one of the "semi-private" rooms that are covered by insurance, however, after we witnessed families of 6 plus people camped out in those tiny shared rooms with one of the new mothers while the other poor mother must have been wanting to pull her hair out, we have decided that we will break the bank and pay the $500+ per night for a private room.  I just don't think that it's the best time to be frugal!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

P.S. Today Olin turns 2 years and 6 months old... it just doesn't seem possible!

Bedtime Serenade

Just when we thought he couldn't get much cuter, Olin decided to sing to us last night before bed.  It started with his rendition of Baa Baa Black Sheep which then turned to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with Old MacDonald as the grand finale.  It really was entertaining and a great end to a great day.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

A few still shots of the performance...

Trash Trucks

We have a new obsession around here these days... trash trucks!  While we still love taxis, buses and Prius', we are really loving the neighborhood trash trucks.  Luckily we live in a city with a lot of people and thus a lot of trash so practically every other day is trash day here and the collection of trash and recyclables requires an entire fleet of trucks so we get to watch the process quite often.

Olin has an incredible ear for the sound of these big trucks and as soon as he hears one, he yells "trash truck!" and runs to the front window where he climbs up on a chair for the best possible viewing position and admires the trash collectors do their job.  Our walk to school in the morning is also filled with many sightings and the trash collectors, noting the joy on Olin's face when he spots them, are always so nice and give him a big wave or a cheery "good morning!", which makes his day.

Olin and his class are taking a field trip to the library today so I will be trying to busy myself so I don't think too much about him walking around our very busy city merely holding on to a little rope!

On our walk to school this morning watching one of six(!) trash trucks we spotted...

This Morning in Central Park

I saw the most lovely trees in bloom on my way to yoga... 

And then these beautiful red tulips all down Park Avenue...

The city is magical this time of year.  I just wish my boys had been with me on such a pretty morning - it's much more fun when I get to share it with them!  Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday and enjoying a little springtime beauty of your own!

Illness No. 362

Okay, so that is perhaps a slight exaggeration, but we are yet again recovering from another illness in the Burgher house this week and it feels like it has been nonstop this year.  Olin came home from school early last Thursday with a fever, which prompted an immediate visit to the pediatrician in hopes of diagnosing the issue from the start to speed the recovery.  However, his only visible symptom was a red throat and it just seemed to be a virus, so rest and hydration was the only prescription we received.  Fortunately, the fever came on after his field trip to the local fire station that morning, which, according to his teachers, he loved, and as luck would have it, the exam room at the doctor's office had a toy fire truck for him to play with, which was a bit of a lifesaver for me!

The fever persisted through Sunday, spiking at 104.6 so we made a return trip to the pediatrician.  This exam involved several more tests including a finger prick for a blood test to rule out a bacterial infection, a urine sample to test for a urinary tract infection, an oxygen level test and a physical exam.  All in all we were there for over 2 hours and left with the same diagnosis as before of "virus".  Poor little mister was so miserable and for some reason kept pleading to take a drive in our car, which we did do afterward because he was such a brave little guy. 

The good news is, today is a new day and he woke up without a fever and was excited to go to school!  Maybe now we are through with sick days for the school year... fingers crossed.

Some photos of the past several days: waiting patiently for the doctor, enjoying some coconut water and mango sorbet to help with the sore throat, and shopping (and snacking) at Whole Foods... 

 

Beautiful Baby Girl

Josh and I had a very special morning today at our (hopefully) last ultrasound.  To our complete surprise and delight, we got an unexpected 3D view of baby girl.  I know that a lot of people find these 3D images creepy, but to me, I can't think of anything more beautiful. 

In addition to seeing her sweet little face, we learned that she is estimated to weigh about 4 pounds 10 ounces (which is in the 66th percentile), she is moving around beautifully, and she is positioned perfectly. So here's hoping for a smooth and uneventful final 8 weeks before her arrival!

Hope everyone is having a great Thursday!

Here she is at exactly 32 weeks... 

Pinkberry in the Park

Save for a few rainy days, we have had beautiful spring weather the past couple weeks in NYC and Olin and I have tried to take full advantage of it by stopping off in the park on our way home from school.  Here are a few photos of Olin enjoying his Pinkberry yesterday after school.  Actually, he doesn't seem to like the frozen yogurt, only the fruit on top so baby girl and I get to eat the good stuff once he's finished!

P.S. Shortly after leaving this spot, we saw a giant rat crawl out of the bushes near where we were and I haven't been able to get the visual out of my head since.  I think we may enjoy our afternoon snack inside today... 

An Unexpectedly Wonderful Afternoon

Late last week I was experiencing fairly painful abdominal and pelvic pain, so at my doctor's request, I headed to her office on Friday afternoon for an exam.  The exam entailed a quick ultrasound and then me being strapped to monitors for 30 minutes in a room by myself to check whether or not I was in fact having contractions and to monitor the baby's heart rate.

As the nurse was strapping me in, my mind immediately began to race about what else I could be doing during that time so as not to waste a precious minute... should I ask her to get the newspaper out of my purse so that I can catch up on the latest stories or maybe my phone so that I can go through my email or jot down a "to do" list... and then she switched the monitor on and I heard the wonderful sound of baby girl's heartbeat and thought to myself 'Am I crazy?! How often do I have the opportunity to listen to this little being inside of me?' 

So for 30 minutes, I just laid there and listened to her and loved every minute of it.  Her heart would race as I felt her doing her now seemingly constant acrobatics and then slow down for a minute as she would rest just to speed up again.  She really went nonstop and I found myself laughing at her and her antics.  And this might sound crazy, but I felt like I got a chance to learn just a little more about her in that half hour.

I constantly struggle with being present and this was just another reminder of how wonderful and rewarding it can be.  And in light of the tragic events in Boston yesterday,  I feel even more recommitted to slowing down and enjoying all of our wonderful gifts because you never know where life is going to take you.

Oh, and by the way, everything with me and the baby looked great so no need for concern.

And, because a post is not complete without a picture of Olin... I had an all day meeting at our church on Saturday, so the boys were on their own.  Here is a picture that Josh sent me of their lunch together (eating pizza, of course).  It doesn't look like this little boy missed his mommy one bit!

A Weekend Spent with Grandpa and Grandma

Last weekend, Grandpa and Grandma spent the final days of their spring break with us in the city and Olin could not have been happier.  Below are just a few photos of the fun they had together.

Have a great weekend everyone!

{Photos (clockwise): Watching Sesame Street, making cupcakes, reading his latest book Sheep in a Jeep, and lunching at Community Food & Juice (outside -ah, spring!)}

Easter Sunday Photos (a little late)

Well, I am a week late with these, but better late than never.  Here are some photos of Olin on Easter morning at our church Easter egg hunt.  After the hunt and church, we had a lovely brunch at Bistro Chat Noir.  The restaurant employees were so smitten with little mister that they brought him a pain au chocolat before he ate his lunch so between the jelly beans from the Easter egg hunt and the pastry, he was on sugar overload and was not at all interested in actual food.  Which meant that he crashed hard in his stroller as we walked home across Central Park and then a block from home, the poor little guy woke up and started throwing up on the street.  Normally, I would think it was due to the excessive amounts of sugar, but I had woke up the morning before vomiting as well so I think we both had a little stomach bug.

Even with the bug, we had a wonderful Easter morning and our little guy recovered quickly (in less than 2 hours) so he was ready to open his Easter basket just a few hours later!  It is amazing how this guy bounces back so quickly from all his ailments!

Oh, and if anyone is keeping count, this is the second holiday accompanied by a stomach bug so far this year (see New Year's).  I can't wait to see what Memorial Day has in store for us!

Spring Break 2013!

We've been a little quiet over here lately because we have been busy enjoying Olin's very first spring break, which officially ended yesterday afternoon.  I have to be honest, I miss him already this morning... I got really used to having my little buddy around!

Here are photos from some of the fun we had over the past several days...

Story hour at Bank Street Bookstore

 Black & white cookies at William Greenberg Desserts

Shopping for a very long time with mommy at Destination Maternity (thank goodness for the play area)

 

 Yet another haircut from our Israeli barber shop

Play time in Central Park

Dinner at the NYC outpost of mommy's favorite Ramen restaurant in Shanghai, Ajisen Ramen, (sadly, the NYC location is not the same)

 

A play date with our Saks friends

Crafting at Little Shop of Crafts

Hope everyone is enjoying the arrival of spring as much as we are!