What a difference one year makes! School is finally out for the summer and we are pretty excited.

First and last day of Pre-K with Miss Marie

Great to be Eight (months)

Miss Navy Blythe is 8 months old! Time has gone by too fast. Over the last month she has really started to show her personality. She is the most smiley, happy baby but within 3 seconds she can turn into the most high pitched screamer around. She loves Merrick. And that's putting it mildly. She won't eat her dinner unless he's sitting at the table with her. She laughs when he hits her with stuffed animals. She giggles when he spits toys at her head. She is constantly looking for him while in the stroller and when I wake her up from her early afternoon nap, I have to tell her we are going to pick him up from school just to get her to smile. Navy isn't crawling yet (which I am totally ok with!) but she is scooting all around the house looking in every corner. She doesn't have any teeth yet either so we stick with the safe foods for now. She gobbles down apple sauce, yogurt, anything with green beans mixed in and crackers. Of course she will try anything you are eating just to see what it is.

I love everything about her! Her big blue eyes, her bald head, her toothless smile and the way she gets excited when she sees her bottle. She's pretty relaxed and just goes with the flow. On days that we are outside almost all day long, she will take her naps in the stroller and wake up happy. She doesn't mind playing by herself on the rug for a few minutes and she prefers to be in the jumper so she can see the whole apartment. My most favorite time of day is when I get to snuggle her as she falls asleep for the night. We have our routine: the same chair, the same blanket, milk and no phone. It works (almost) every time!

I am a little bummed that I can't find her 3 and 4 month pics but there is still a noticeable difference over these four months.

Capturing US

Family pictures have never been easy for my little family. I always stress about everyone looking perfect, clothes in the right place, best smiles and no weird faces by a certain four year old. But over the last few photo shoots by the wonderfully talented Chea Lamb, I've realized that the ones I love most are the ones that capture US. Where we aren't perfect, my hair is flying in the wrong direction, Merrick is doing something silly with his hands, Navy is crying with a red nose and Danny is saying something under his breath about how much fun he is having. Thank goodness for Photoshop right?!

A million thanks to  Chea Lamb Photography for these pictures!

Play Me a Song

If there's one talent I wish I had, it would be to play the piano. The music is beautiful and I love the way it can make the room sound so peaceful and inviting. For the past 2 weeks, there has been an art exhibit going on around New York City involving pianos that you could actually play. Sing For Hope placed 88 pianos in different neighborhoods around the city that had been decorated by different local artists. We managed to find three on our own, the first being a random siting in Central Park. The others were downtown. On Sunday all 88 pianos were brought to Lincoln Center where they were all on display with live music by a professional pianist. We got to pick out our favorites, play each one and see all the different designs. Maybe when my kids are old enough for it, their piano teacher wouldn't mind teaching me how to play too?!

 My Favorite!

In no way do I consider myself a runner. If anything I am at the beginning stages of trying to love it. On Saturday I ran my first race with some friends. It was a 10K (the Oakley Mini) through Central Park. I really didn't know what to expect so my only two goals were to finish in an hour and not finish last. I'm happy to say that I finished in 57 min 45 seconds! Danny brought Merrick and Navy up to meet me afterwards. All I wanted to do was sit down and rest but Danny insisted on walking around the block to grab some Levain Bakery cookies. And I couldn't say no to that.

 Mary Martha, Sheena, Me, Hilary, Sarah Jayne, Shanna, Lizzie and Elizabeth.

Done!

Quick Update {and I promise I am going to blog more}

Wow! It's been a long time since I last posted anything. I think a family update is in order. 

December- We finally moved! The walls of our last apartment quickly closed in on us after Navy was born. We didn't go far, just to the next building. Our new place has a little more space for everyone. Merrick finally has his own room. In December my parents came to visit and we celebrated Christmas here in New York City.

January- We flew back to Arizona for Jackie and Hayden's wedding. Jackie is Danny's little sister and their wedding was absolutely gorgeous! When we returned home, it was cold and miserable here. Boo for winter. 

February- Danny started a new job at AIG. It's been a great change for our family and for him. 

March- Must have been pretty uneventful cause I don't remember too much. I must have been in baby survival mode still.

April- We took a family trip to Florida! And when I say family I mean the kids and I. Danny was at a work conference all but 6 hours of it so the three of us explored Ft. Lauderdale, hit up Target and attempted the beach (which is rather difficult with two kids who can't swim). Chea and Wayne came to visit a few days after we got home. I'm pretty sure they had a great time :)

May- The night before we were supposed to fly to Myrtle Beach for a real family vacation we found out that wasn't going to happen. We decided to rent a car and just drive. We ended up in North Carolina in the Outer Banks. It turned out to be pretty relaxing after all. Wendy and Colby came to visit us in May and I'm pretty sure they had a great time too!