Wicked Witch Of The East

Everyone knows this famous image of the Wicked Witch of the East being in the wrong place at the wrong time in the movie The Wizard of Oz.

Dorothy's house. Ruby slippers.

We all know it.

We had our own sighting of dangling feet.

This kid does many "laps" around his crib at night in his sleep.

PB&J, Here I Come

Since Cooper has hit the 12 month old mark, we can now open up his diet to some of the more allergy'able options like eggs, peanut butter, shellfish, and others. Introducing them one at a time to make sure he has no reaction, and thus far he has been a champ.

He was intrigued by the peanut butter right off the bat.

His love became apparent pretty quickly.

Peanut butter cracker sandwiches. He can't get enough of them!

Hell Or Bust

Well, we can all rest easy. Rev. Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh have absolutely secured their rightful places in Hell. If this fiery location does exist - they will most likely have the biggest houses on the block. They are disgusting human beings.

Thought it was bad enough when Robertson, in his infamous blame-the-victim fashion, made statements after the 9/11 and the Katrina tragedies that both these "wraths" were brought on by the gays, abortionists, and feminists. Horrible. And now? This "man of god" has blamed the earthquake in Haiti on the Haitian people because they "made a pact with the devil". Look at the sadness and devastation in the eyes of the people in the photographs and tell me how a moral person can spew out such lies. These are some of the most despicable untruths ever uttered, and the simple fact that his mind can concoct such elaborate and nonsensical theories is scary.

And then we have Rush. Apparently the windbag's court-ordered rehab didn't "take" because when brought to the hospital two weeks ago due to chest pains, he reported he is back on copious amounts of painkillers once again.... Which would explain the altered state required to feel the egotistic need to politicize the death of thousands of men, women, and children.

Trivializing a catastrophe such as this is a disgusting act. This is what it means to be a "christian"? Seriously? I can pretty much bet that Jesus is going to be pissed off at the pair of them. I don't know too much about the pious scorecard of the thrice-divorced, draft-dodging, drug-addicted Limbaugh. But the equally radical religious fundamentalism of both Rev. Pat Robertson and Osama Bin Laden have caused enough destruction and loss in the world.

New Year Stats

Cooper had his one year doctor appointment yesterday. All good!

Stats: His weight is 25 lbs (74%) and 31 1/2 inches (93%) is his height. The doctor rechecked Cooper's measurement since 31 1/2 is a huge jump from our visit at 9 months. But the nurse was correct, he is that tall, so this has been a big growth spurt.

Reported to the doctor that he is officially off all baby food and formula. Eats everything. Sleeps well. He is crawling and cruising and exploring. The doctor was impressed Cooper can sit for extended periods of time and have books read to him. He had a booster for MMR and flu, but we are holding off on Hep B and Chicken Pox for another year or more. With the rushed production and the recalls - H1N1 isn't even an option. Cooper is not a fan of the vaccinations, but he is a trooper every time.

Stanton Social

Michael's birthday was on New Year's Day, so on Saturday night the four of us went out to celebrate. They picked the place - Stanton Social -and MAN, was it GOOD! Located in the heart of the Lower Eastside, we sat down as soon as we arrived and it was hard to focus on the menu since everything sounded so great. We would categorize it as an ecclectic, small plates place. We ordered 8 plates and 2 desserts, and it was the perfect amount of food.

Favorites included French onion soup dumplings, wild mushroom risotto cakes, miso-glazed sea bass satays, Kobe beef sliders, and braised short rib soft tacos.

We want to go back!

The website for Stanton Social is way too involved in our opinion. You can get the same information and customer's reviews on Menupages, a site that we use all the time.

Snow Snow Snow

Cooper really explored the snow for the first time.
Snow came earlier than we thought on Thursday morning. So much so that it caused Maria to make the decision to turn around and not continue on to her gig that was located off the Palisades that day. The route was untouched by any sort of plow, salt truck, or great amount of traffic. Really treacherous, and 1010WINS continuously reported other highways, tunnels, and bridges that were closing around the city. No job is worth an accident! Home. Smart decision.

Picked up Van and Sarah and drove up to Brewster. Snow had slowed by then, and it was a much easier ride. A little shuffling of bodies once we arrived Upstate: dropped me/Coop/Sarah at the house, they went to pick up Michele from the train, dropped Michele home, they left to pick up pizza and meatball subs, Kim came home, got Cooper into his snowsuit, Kim and Maria shoveled the driveway while Cooper sat in the whiteness and watched, Lori and Van came home, and then we all ate. Whew!

Getting ready to go outside. Got to break in the new boots.
We had to make a snowman, right?

We think he was happy that he was taller than our creation.

Testing Our WiiFlexes

Woke up early on New Year's Day to the unfortunate news that Van needed to head back into the city. Her mom caught a bug or virus, so it was the right thing to do for Van to get on the train and help her out. Of course we missed her with us!

Enjoyed a great breakfast of french toast, bacon, and mimosas before hiding Sarah's magazine. Then we all trucked downstairs to check out the new Wii system. So many games - so little time. Also came across a bunch a WiiSpeak terms on Urban Dictionary, so will use them when the timing is appropriate.

Skiing. Michele, Lori, and Eileen came out on top.

But all the others in the group want a Wiimatch.

Bobsledding. Cooper and Maria rocked. Eileen is a Wiierdo. :-)

Sword Play. Eileen and Michele.

Such strategy. Careful guys, you don't want Wii-Elbow.

More sword play. Very calm at first. Wiilaxed.
Then the melee began. Wiidiculous.

The best part? There is a video. Traci and Eileen! Upload and send it out! So freakin' funny. Lori and Sarah were going to town trying to beat each other. We are so putting it on the blog, but hope they don't seek their Wiivenge. The bottom line? We are all Wiidicted to this game. It will Wiidefine our Wiikends until we will all eventually need Wiihab.

Ok ok, enough WiiSpeak!

New Year's Eve

New Years Eve! We continued the great tradition of heading to Kim/Michele's in Brewster to bring in the new year. We picked up Van and Sarah, and drove up in the early afternoon so Lori could catch Missouri play in the Texas Bowl against Navy. The results? Don't ask.

Cooper giggled and tried to catch Ranger at every opportunity. Ranger wanted this kid out of her house.
Others in this great group were Van/Sarah, Jo/Liz, Cathy/Deise, and Traci/Eileen. Cooper followed the plan very well, and fell asleep the second we put him down right as we were all called to the table.

Dinner was fabulous! German traditions included dumpling soup and chicken with special seasonings. Other offerings? Steak, brussel sprouts, amazing corn dish, risotto, and chocolate fondue with lots of options for dessert. Kim and Michele rule!



Are Van and Jo clearing dinner? Or catching up? Or discussing resolutions?

Or are they coveting all those delicious leftovers?

Some of us were trying to limit our alcohol intake that evening.

Cooper was asleep upstairs as the party was cranking downstairs.

Mandatory to have hats for a NYE party, right?

Wine, beer, vodka tonics were going down way too easy!

Watching the ball drop with good friends. What more could we want?

*** HAPPY * * NEW * * YEAR ***

Rage In The Cage

We headed up to New Caanan, CT on the Sunday after Christmas to have lunch at Monica/Scott's house to see everyone. It was so nice to catch up with Mr/Mrs. Duggan, talk to Alex about her new driving adventures, watch a few minutes of the Steelers game with those Webster boys, hear the progress of the pregnancy, Kevin/Angela giving us the lowdown on what we can expect from our boy in the next couple of months, observe the "fragile" consequences of the previous night, and HANG OUT WITH MEL as much as possible.

Will, Conner, Aidan, and Cooper locked up in the pokey.

And the arial view!

Aunt Mel read a couple of books to Cooper.
She also doled out a little life advice as long as he was on her lap.
We had such a great time seeing everyone. Lunch was fantastic and Monica's home is beyond gorgeous! The two of us have decided we want this exact house and all its decor at some point in the future.

Wrestlemania

Everyone tackle Aunt Lori!
Those boys are playing too rough with my Mommy!

Grandparent's Gifts

Of course, Cooper's favorite two presents came from his two sets of grandparents. He plays with both of these toys constantly.

Thanks grandparents!

Christmas Day

We all woke up a little late on Christmas morning, and that was GREAT. So do'able since Cooper has no concept of 'Santa' and 'presents' as of yet. But next year? We are going to be in trouble!

Hung around all morning until heading to Maria's grandparent's house for brunch. Cooper wasn't too keen on taking pictures when there was a house full of things to explore - buffet set up in the dining room, stockings hanging just out of reach, ornaments beckoning to be played with, and those twins running around!

Aunt Karen helped Cooper check out his stocking stuffers.

Alex was hard at work scratching off the holiday lottery tickets. Can't remember if he won anything. We won $19 with our cards!
Cooper wasn't thrilled with the pickle he tasted.
Maria's mom has created the tradition of wrapping all the kid's gifts in different kinds of paper, and then makes a "key" so all know who is the correct recipient. Alex made a point of explaining the system to Cooper. Way cute.


Cooper loves this puzzle!
We think the boys made out pretty well.

Cooper did too.


Alex made this in Art Class for Grandma.

Yes, he was very proud.





This mystery gift showed up under the tree.

Henckels knives.

Dad, you are going to have to get used to the block on the counter.

Merry Christmas.

Dinner was great! Filet mignon, broccoli, sauteed onions/mushrooms, and roasted potatoes. Threw in some rigatoni for the boys too.

Oh you guys.....

Always making jokes and cracking yourselves up!

Cooper needed a break so he grabbed a minute in Mark's chair.

He gets so entertained by the antics of those wacky 4 year olds!

Alex, the Village People are on the phone for you.