Snow Snow Snow

We were in Jersey for pseudo Christmas with the Micioni Family clan at Peter and Beth's on Sat, and no one expected this snowy wrench to be thrown in and to this extent! The news gave us accumulation theories of anywhere from 6" to almost 2 feet on the Jersey Shore.

Christina braved the elements late Saturday night. Her report? Good and pack'able, approx a half foot at that point, tastes like snow, and was freakin' cold outside. Thank god we have an emissary like Christina to herald this vital information.

Michael and Maria's dad went to sleep early on Saturday because they had a date at 4am - going out in the truck and taking care of as many customer's plowing needs as possible. Due to the ice and such, they didn't get as many jobs done as they would have liked by noon. Got back to the house to do our cars before coming inside to thaw out. Christina went out to help Michael and Bernie, and the two of us used the 'Cooper excuse' and stayed inside in the warmth.
Dad did a couple of the neighbors and then our driveway.
View of the backyard. 21" total!
And in New York City.....

Friends of ours playing in Times Square.

Wow, the snow even scared off most the tourists.

It should be like this everyday!

Hope this guy got himself out relatively soon after this picture was taken. Those snow plows push mountains of the white stuff on cars parked on the roads. Alternate side of the street parking? Not today!

New York's STRONGEST - the sanitation department - is on the case.
And Cooper? No pictures as of yet, but will get them taken care of and posted tomorrow! He was fascinated by the white'ness outside the windows, and giggled nonstop when we brought a few snowballs in for him to play with on the tray of his highchair. He even ate some of the white precipitation and loved it. But who are we kidding? This kid loves any sort of "food" that we give him!

Books Before Bedtime

Getting a few books in before hitting the sack for the night.

Clara

Clara has been with Cooper since he has been a little over two months old, and neither one of them would have it any other way! We are very lucky to have a nanny like Clara. She is looking forward to starting Cooper up with classes over the Winter, and we also found a place that has scheduled open gym sessions for toddlers on the Upper Westside on days that they need to get out and do something active. They are both extremely attached to one another. We are very lucky!

Early Gifts

Cooper got some practice in opening some early Christmas and birthday gifts. Yes, he was quite intrigued by the boxes, but quickly passed over the wrapping paper when he saw what was underneath.

One of Cooper's current favorite toys is this walker/blocks from Plan Toys. He isn't up to the "building" stage of his development yet, but thoroughly enjoys taking each block out, looking it over, and then winging it on the floor. He goes through each piece one by one. So funny. (thanks Julie/Andrea!)

Other highlights are a Thomas the Tank Engine train set with Thomas and James, and a Fisher Price play phone.

What kind of face is this?

For Vannie

A very well known fact is that Van has a thing for penguins.

So in her honor,

Cooper is sporting a penguin shirt and playing with this penguin lantern-thing.

All he needs now is a red hat and scarf to complete the look.

Debbie, Lou, Toni

The core group: Maria, Lou, Debbie, and Toni. And the drinks keep coming....
Who is taking these pictures?

Hookers.

Lou almost fought them. Maria was preparing to be beaten up along side her friend. Whew, escaped without a scratch. Quite a story though! And the gifted tag-team retelling of the tale by this duo cannot be missed.

How did that get in there???

So much fun - so little time!

Long Underwear

Cold weather. New York City. Cooper in a stroller. Need some added protection. These thermal underwear are adorable, and keep him very warm. After these pictures were taken, Maria and Cooper headed out and walked around the city all day. Stopped at a farmer's market for a bit. Wish we had a picture of Cooper sitting on the steps in his big winter hat and enjoying an apple cider doughnut- he devoured it! Maria managed a bite before he claimed it for himself, and he wanted to sample the hot apple cider but the temperature didn't allow that to happen. Such a fun day, and the best part was meeting Lori at her office and heading home together.

No flap, but the epitome of hotness, wouldn't you say?

Man, the kid is cute! Is it obnoxious that we say that?

Remainder Of The Weekend

On Friday, Cooper's grandpa drove up to the city and picked him up since we had our party that night. Our usual "babysitters", Michael and Christina, were invited to the party - so that was poor planning on our part, huh? All good! Are you kidding? Maria's parents were so excited to spend a little quality time with Cooper. And anyway, it was his first experience taking a ride in the truck! He absolutely loved it.

Planned on picking him up for a party in the afternoon on Saturday, but that didn't seem to work out. Better for Cooper to stay healthy and not be around so many people at once. So he stayed in Jersey, and we went to Susie/Miriam's that night. Lots of fun and lots of people. We had a great time. And what time did we leave the bar? 3am? That is a pretty freakin' long 'one more - no more'! Have to get those pics from them! So love Toni and Lou. Life's a beach! And North Face puff-jackets are the "new black". Gringa called that fashion.

Home to Jersey on Sunday. Nice day. Hung out with the twins. Cooper was "corraled" so he didn't get too friendly with the Christmas tree. Lori took a nap on the sofa. Maria provided snacks and silly jokes for the three boys. A nice relaxing day. Headed to Maria's grandparent's house for Sunday Dinner around 5:30pm.

Cooper went to town at dinner! He stole all the provolone from our antipasto salad, and then proceeded to eat vegetables, baked potato, meatloaf, and bread. Maria's parents fed Cooper spaghetti on Friday night.... Need to post THOSE pics on the blog!
We played with the puzzles a bit, but Cooper gained more enjoyment in picking it up and letting all the pieces fall out. Harvard, here he comes. Hey, baby steps!

Harlem Holiday Cheer

We had our annual holiday party entitled 'Harlem Holiday Cheer' on Friday, December 11th. Such a great time! Approx 60 people were in attendance, and we had a packed house. So much fun! Too bad the holidays only swing around once a year.

Anthony and Bryan are great wingmen.

Blonds do have more fun.

Lori and the 'Over Six Feet Tall' club.

Julie commandeered the camera and the picture-taking for most of the evening. The result? Fabulous photos but NADA of Julie and Andrea. Couldn't have that! Unearthed this one! (Ah, the power of FaceBook.)

How cute are we?


Friday night. A little vodka. A little more vodka. And Tony's true intentions are revealed.

Sorry Tony! Nice try, but we don't think Mike is too into the idea. (Not that there is anything wrong with that.)

Great group. Great friends. Can't wait for Harlem Cheer '10!!!

Splash Time

Cooper loves the bath. His newest is slamming his hands down into the water and making huge splashes. Hopefully, this is just a phase! Too cute. Totally worth all the toweling up in the bathroom after he is tucked in bed. His standard toys include colorful fish, hippo, and (of course) a "rubber duckie". He loves the bath.

Like the new look the kid is sporting?

'Run Around' Saturday

The holiday season is absolutely upon us, and we know this due to our party schedule this past Saturday night. We successfully hit three in one evening. Pretty good stat! Very disappointed we couldn't manage Amy's soiree, but it just wasn't do'able. Maria will have to put a bottle of wine in her box at Sorenson the next time she is down there.

First stop? Chelsea.

Stuart has a great place, and it was really nice to hang out with the boys for a while. What was that dish with the bacon in it? So delicious. Great group of guys. Wish we could have stayed a longer.

Next? The Bitter End.

Maria's friend Jen invited us to the CD release party for Devlin Miles - a very talented singer/songwriter. We cab'ed it to Bleeker and met up with Jen at a table in the middle of the venue. Great music. So happy we trucked down there. Thanks so much Jen!

This is a very cool club that is characteristically typical of Greenwich Village so small and dark and rich in NYC music history. So many artists got their start here, and we thoroughly enjoyed Devlin's entire set. Even bought the CD!

Final destination?
Alan and Brian's party. Always a good time, and the guest list has been cut down over the years. There was a time when it wasn't an oddity to have 100+ people were in attendance! Great food. Lots of good friends. And everyone looked beautiful. We wanted to stay longer, but needed to get home and relieve the babysitters.

The babysitters were kids on Maria's team from Lexington. Teresa and Monique played with Cooper, ordered pizza for themselves, and hung out until we got home around 1:30am. All good! Teresa told Maria at practice the following week that the duo grabbed Dunkin Donuts after departing us, and then stayed there until 3:30am! Craziness. Maria is going to have to kill them if they do it again. And? They are both "stalkers" and read this blog religiously...... (REALLY GUYS - I AM GOING TO MAKE YOU RUN LAPS IF YOU DO THAT AGAIN) Go home! :)

Guitar Hero

Lori took out the guitar this morning, and as soon as Cooper heard her tuning it he BOOKED over to her. Giggled the whole time.

He is so interested in the strings and the music and wants to try it out himself. Maybe he will play an instrument one day. Who knows.

Apparently he thinks he has mastered the guitar. He is trying to move Lori's hand away so he can perform a solo concert.

Rice And Beans

Our earlier post reported that Cooper hasn't tried too many new things this week, but that status has changed since this morning. He went to town with his lunch. The meal? Brown rice and lentils, and Maria also added some broccoli, zucchini, and carrots. He was going at it with both hands. When all was said and done he probably ate four heaping tablespoons, and that is quite a lot for a little kid.



We also have the spoon on his tray at every meal, and with help, he is trying to feed himself with it.

Still a work in progress!