Leah

Christmas Evening Family Photos

2011-12-25T19:30:00.000-05:00

Our second attempt at Christmas Family Photos, all dressed up.

Christmas Morning Family Photos

2011-12-25T11:22:00.000-05:00

We attempted to take some family photos this morning of the kids together. The kids all cooperated as best they could. I really love how the photos turned out.

Leah being her silly self as always. Love it!

They love their brother...

And he loves them.

5 point harness for the win

2011-12-11T11:05:00.001-05:00

Leah recently went from booster back to 5 point harness car seat and she couldn't be happier. She says it more comfortable and she does understand it is safer. Also it was one of the only ways we could safely fit 2 seats rear-facing plus Leah in the car.

I hear a lot of parents complain about how inconvenient it is to have their kids in one seat or another but for us? Safety comes first. Leah understands this. She's great about it too. She often has to climb over or under one of the other seats to get into her own and she's never complained. As for space? She has plenty. No less than she would if she were in a booster (which she really is not quite big enough for anyway).

Family Fun at LICM

2011-11-26T15:40:00.002-05:00

Due to Leah's very busy dance intensive schedule our time together as a whole family has been cut down some. It's well worth it, as she absolutely loves dance and is thriving. Still we miss being together. We try to spend as much of our free time together. After the Festival of Trees we rode Nunley's Carousel, had some lunch and headed over to the Long Island Children's Museum. All three are located on Museum Row.

The museum is perfect for our kids. There have plenty for both Leah and Louis to do.

Matt and Leah bicker and fight much like children do at times. He has a special relationship with her and I suspect she finds this type of bickering amusing.

Here they are fighting over who gets to play the instrument in the music room.

No fighting, only helping.

There is a special exhibit on Vietnam and life there. This was taken in the engagement hut.

Messy Afternoon

Baby It's Cold Outside

2011-11-26T10:54:00.000-05:00

Leah had her first dance performance of the current dance year. She and her dance mates danced to "Baby It's Cold Outside" at a local charity event, Annual Festival of Trees hosted by the Cradle of Aviation Museum to support the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County.

Contrary to the song's lyrics it hasn't really been cold out at all. Still we were able to stay in the festive holiday mood.

The dance studio had a number of performances featuring holiday songs. The kids danced beautifully and had a lot of fun. Afterward we wandered around the museum looking at the exhibits. We were joined by Grandpa George and Grandma Ruth. It was a nice way to spend the morning.

Leah worked really hard on getting her grand battement en attitude (think Rockette kicks) for the past month. I was so proud of how well she did them.

She's the dancer at the far right.

There was a Santa for a photo op.

There were also various characters walking around greeting the children, taking photos. We stopped to say hi to Elmo. Leah may be 7 and some would say a bit old to get excited over the characters but she isn't. Not one bit. She loved meeting and taking photos with them.

There were activities for the children. We decorated cookies and Grandma got the kids stuffed kitties.

A Devilish Halloween

2011-10-31T21:47:00.000-04:00

We had a great time trick or treating today. Went to the old neighborhood and did what we've done every year. It was so nice to catch with Laurie and Julia. I'm sorry we missed Toni. Halloween continues to be one our best family traditions. I love that the children enjoy it as much as I do.

Leah put together a beautiful devil ensemble. She carried it well.

Trick or Treating in the same neighborhood that her dad grew up in. There is one house that has a huge collection of handmade wood cutouts. All sides of the large lawn are decorated and set up for photo opportunities.

We collected an obscene amount of candy. Leah donated some to a local charity collecting candy to send to soldiers overseas. And we still have a lot left over.

Playing Catch Up

2011-10-14T01:00:00.002-04:00

I've been attempting to catch up on the blog updates and our photo books. Finally got around to completely our photo book of our camping trip last year.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Click here to create your own Shutterfly photo book.

Sleepover with Abuela

2011-10-10T22:56:00.002-04:00

This weekend Leah spent the night with my mom, Abuela, in the Bronx. They had a great time together. Went out to dinner, stayed up late watching a movie, spent the next day getting haircuts & having their hair done, went shopping. All the things any girl would love to do, especially Leah.

My mom took her to the salon & after her haircut Leah got her first professional blow out. What a big girl!

She also bought some new clothes. Very cute pair of boats and sweater Leah is in love with.

New England Road Trip - Day Three - Salem, MA

2011-10-01T15:05:00.000-04:00

After breakfast we packed up for our day trip out to Salem. It was an overcast, rainy day which seemed fitting for the locale. Salem is busy with Halloween activities, one of its busiest times of the year. I was looking forward to it, as was Leah.

Our first stop (after locating some parking outside of the village) was The House of Seven Gables. You may think that this is not the kind of thing kids would want to take part in, touring an old home and property but it turned out that Leah really enjoyed it.

The tour of this house on the property is not for the faint of heart. There is a point where you have to walk up a very slim, tightly built staircase. Just a wee bit claustrophobic. A few of the people on the tour with us didn't know what to make of us with the three kids but I think we managed surprisingly well with a one year old, newborn and 7 year old.

After the tour we headed towards Salem Village. We stopped at the stores along the way. We stopped at one point so Leah could switch her earrings. Matt bought her a pair of spider earrings at the gift shop at the House of the Seven Gables.

Based on the faces each of them is making you would think there was some torture involved.

We stopped to view the ship Friendship at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site.

We visited the Salem Witch Museum.

The Salem Witch Museum brings you there, back to Salem 1692. Visitors are given a dramatic history lesson using stage sets with life-size figures, lighting and a narration - an overview of the Witch Trials of 1692.

This was a bit more difficult with Gabriel and Louis. Gabriel was fussy and wasn't crazy about sitting through the presentation. Louis was antsy and just wanted to run around. Rather than inconvenience everyone I hung out outside with the boys for most of the tour. I've seen it a dozen times so it was fine by me. Leah enjoyed the show.

Afterward we walked around Salem, had some lunch, visited the shops, and stopped at various activities around town. We stopped at one of the local cemeteries as well.

The plan was to stay in Salem until nightfall and visit some more of the attractions but the boys were tired so we headed back to the hotel. Overall it was a nice way to spend the day.

New England Road Trip - Day Two - Boston, MA

2011-09-30T10:55:00.000-04:00

Boston or Bust!

Our second day was spent in Boston. The weather was out of its nasty rainy funk and it was beautiful out. Perfect day for doing the tourist thing in the City of Boston. Our hotel was about 40 minutes away and I was again stressing about Gabriel and the car. Overall this leg of the trip went well. We didn't hit any traffic and were able to get to our parking garage without much of a problem.

The parking garage was right next to Faneuil Hall. We went in and walked around the museum. Leah enjoyed looking at the uniforms from the American Revolutionary War and other memorabilia from their collection.

We walked from Faneuil Hall to the New England Aquarium. Leah was looking forward to seeing the variety of penguins.

We also saw one of the 3D movies, Sharks 3D at the IMAX Theater. Louis tolerated the movie for about 20 minutes or so and I left with him to play outsid while Leah enjoyed it in its entirety.

We grabbed a quick snack and headed back to the Faneuil Hall Marketplace to start off our journey on the Freedom Trail.

The Rings Fountain is a lot of fun. I hope we can be back in Boston during the Summer and fully enjoy it.

Didn't stop Leah from running through it, or me for that matter. She lucked out and didn't get wet. I was soaked.

Matt running through with Louis

They made it without a single drop on them

We stopped to watch a street performer outside Faneuil Hall.

We followed the Freedom trail towards Boston Common and the Public Garden. I'd say right around this point we were all losing a bit of steam and on the verge of crankiness.

I wasn't kidding when I've said our Graco stroller is a work horse. We spent the entire day and part of the evening in Boston. We had everything we could possibly need for the kids with us. We also had our umbrella stroller for Louis.

Nothing like a stop at the playground in Boston Common (America's first park) let the kids out to get everyone back on track.

At the Public Garden (First public botanical garden) at the Make Way for Ducklings bronze sculpture. The book Make Way for Ducklings is the official children's book for Massachusetts. It takes place in Boston Common.

We left the Public Garden and instead of heading back the way we came I decided we'd back a different way. I wanted to head through Chinatown and then walk back. I should have known better. Chinatown- no matter is what city? ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS gets me turned around. It's happened in NYC (not anymore after years of learning the ins & outs), San Francisco (not even going to get into that fiasco), Portland, Houston, Toronto, Vancouver and Detroit. Clearly I need to learn to read Chinese. Any dialect will do.

We had no shortage of maps but the streets split a few times and follow the same names in 3 different directions. 20 minutes of wandering around I finally figured out where we were and how to get back. Weren't out of sorts for long but it was enough to put everyone into a cranky mood. We were hungry mostly and tired.

Needless to say we were all happy to get back to Faneuil Hall and to visit the food stalls at the Quincy Market. There are so many choices it was hard to decide. I ended up with an absolutely delicious bowl of New Englad Clam Chowder (typical I know) and Leah & Matt got some of the best tasting mac n cheese. Leah had chicken and I think Matt had buffalo chicken. They had a lobster mac n cheese I am STILL thinking about. Definite must have. I also had a Sam Adams on tap which hit the spot.

Overall I'd say we had a great time in Boston. We managed to see a lot of the sites and the kids had a great time. We were all ready to crash when we made it back to the hotel.

New England Road Trip- Day One - Mystic, CT

2011-09-29T08:52:00.000-04:00

After our successful somewhat impromptu trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras back in February I decided to plan another trip for us. Gabriel is still pretty new so we decided to stay closer to home. New England has a lot of options for families so we went with a New England Road Trip as our next family vacation.

Like with our trip to New Orleans I made a loose itinerary based on places to visits. There were places we would venture out to and then smaller stops/other things to do if we had the time and/or energy for them. Traveling with children isn't always the easiest thing to do if you want to pack everything into a trip. I figure a few highlights and fun stops for them is the way to go. I always plot local eateries into our trips as well.

The one concern we had was Gabriel. Gabriel hates the car. The minute he hits the car safety seat it's full on crying. We don't go out much these days for more than a 15 minute car ride because of it. The past few days we've seen a slight improvement so we took the chance. Perhaps not the smartest decision to make but it was the one we made. Going along with our "this is a trip for the kids, not just with the kids" attitude I planned for extra stops along the way if we needed to.

Our first stop was Mystic, CT. If you think Connecticut you may think "Oh that doesn't seem to far." Well it is. (Not really, our destination was only 3 hours from home) Especially when you have a newborn, a toddler and a school age child in a sedan. Fortunately Leah and Louis are great car travelers. We headed for Mystic Seaport. The weather started off a bit overcast and there was a chance of light rain in the forecast. A good seafarer weather day.

Gabriel handled the ride pretty well until the last 20-30 minutes. I've never been happier to get some place before.

Mystic Seaport is a recreation of a 19th Century seafaring village, complete with homes, businesses and collections of sailing ships and boats. More than 60 of the buildings on the property are original and have been restored to their old glory.

After this photo was taken we bumped into pseudo reality tv star Kourtney Kardashian with her son. Her son and Louis share the same birthday. She had camera crews with her. We forgot ours at home. :D

We left Mystic Seaport for Downtown Mystic hoping I could stop a local restaurant and have some lunch and walk around the town. This did not go according to plan. As we made it to Downtown Mystic we found that 2 of the municipal parking lots were full of contruction workers tearing up the streets along the way. It was difficult to get around and at this point Gabriel began to cry because he was hungry so we scrapped the search for parking and headed back towards Mystic Seaport where I knew there was a McDonald's near by. I am not proud of how much crap food we eat while on our trips but at times like this? I'm happy for whatever works. I sat in the car and nursed Gabriel while Matt grabbed some food with the kids.

Our next stop was The Dinosaur Place in Oakdale, Connecticut. By the time we reached our destination it became quite clear by the ominous clouds creeping up around us that rain was on its way. Still we decided to tour the Dinosaur Place. The latter? Pretty much makes us a crazy family I think. I don't know why we thought we'd beat the rain! So we paid and in we went. Within 10 minutes it was pouring out. Still we had a good time. In some ways it was a bit how I imagine walking around the prehistoric ages would've been like.

The ride to the hotel was uneventful even though the downpour worsened at this point. Our hotel was located in Foxboro, Massachusetts, home of the Patriots. We booked a one bedroom suite and when we got to the hotel found out management had upgraded us to a 2 bedroom suite. Perfect for us! Louis and Matt took one room while Leah, Gabriel and myself stayed in the other one.We had 2 bathrooms w/showers & tubs. A full service kitchen w/fridge, dishwasher and microwave. I packed us enough drinks and snacks for the trip (and then some) so the fridge came in handy. My favorite feature? The ice maker.

Our first night we winded down, watched Alice in Wonderland (Burton) and went to sleep (Louis as you can see in the photo knocked out as soon as he hit the bed), ready for our early morning.

Lucky #7

2011-08-04T21:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Leah!

It is hard to believe, it has now been 7 years since our first born joined us. So many changes have taken place in our lives as the years have gone on. Our family is growing again and soon we will welcome another child into our brood. Leah is a remarkable young girl. She makes me proud to be her mother every day. She is compassionate, smart, funny and the joy of my life. Seeing her love for her little brother and her enthusiasm in welcoming another is one of the highlights of my day.

Leah celebrated her birthday at camp and the celebration continued at home with her family.

Leah loves Monster High and their dolls. It may not be for the mainstream family but the dolls suits our family very well.

Leah loves the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series

And who doesn't love a cute owl?

It's A Boy!

2011-07-26T14:09:00.002-04:00

Today we welcomed the newest member of our family, Gabriel Leo, into the world.
You can read about his birth over at his blog.

Not long after he was born at home Leah was picked up at camp and brought home to meet her new baby brother. As we did with Louis, outside of myself, Matt and the medical staff (this case my midwife & birth assistant) Leah was the first one to hold the baby.

Proud Big Sister

Family photo

Loving on their brother together.

Wedding Fun

2011-07-14T12:35:00.002-04:00

Today we had the pleasure of celebrating the nuptials of Matt's cousin Marc to his new bride Marcy. We attended as a complete family which made Leah really happy. She understood that Gabriel and I may not be able to attend but she really wanted us too. I think it worked out well, especially with a 2 week old. This is our family now. A newborn, a toddler, and school aged child. Fun times, full speed ahead.

Leah and I danced for a bit, oh and Gabriel too.

Leah looked beautiful in her dress and with her hair all dolled up.

Such a pretty girl.

Spring Time Fun at the Farm

2011-07-06T12:43:00.006-04:00

Two Peas in a Pod

2011-06-28T17:02:00.001-04:00

Leah has started camp and Louis cannot wait for her to get home. The minute the bus pulls up, he is off and running. What is so wonderful and heartwarming for me is the big smile Leah has for him as she walks in the door. She is never annoyed with him. She is ready to give him a big hug and play with him. Her love for her brother is unconditional.

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-19T19:46:00.002-04:00

We spent the afternoon at the beach. Louis and Leah cannot get enough of the beach. They both love the water.

And the sand!

Later in the evening we met up at the grandparents' house for some good grilled food and to enjoy the time celebrating with Matt and Grandpa George.

Leah and Louis REALLY enjoyed some watermelon together.

Family Picnic

2011-06-03T20:40:00.000-04:00

There are many things that I like about Leah's school. One of those things are that the PTA and the school's administration work hard at providing the students and their families various social events throughout the year to just have fun together. Towards the end of the year, when the weather begins to turn around there is a Family Day picnic. It is held on a Friday. A dj is provided for entertainment, refreshments and snacks. The families come with picnic dinners and good time is had by all.

Leah was not a fan of having her photo taken at all, she just wanted to play with her friends. I did manage to get this one photo of her cute outfit, that she put together herself.

Fruitheads

2011-06-01T18:30:00.000-04:00

Almost ready for school, something is missing...

Her glasses!

After school/before dinner snack. Leah loves fruit, one of her all time favorites is watermelon.

Louis loves fruit too, just like his big sister. Here he is devouring a ripe peach after finishing his slice of watermelon.

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

2011-05-29T17:12:00.000-04:00

Memorial Day is pretty much the Summer kick-off in the U.S. Also serves as the countdown till school ends and camp starts in our house. I always make an effort to discuss with Leah what Memorial Day is and why it is commemorated. Don't want that lost in the shuffle of all the fun we try to have during the weekend. It's typically a 3 day weekend for Matt so it is great to have him for an extra day.

We went to Tobay Beach. I'm sure we will be spending many days there come the summer. Bought our summer pass and will no doubt get more than our money's worth out of it.

When I met Matt many years ago he was not a beach guy. I cannot say I've changed his mind about the beach much (he still dislikes it- sand and the sun, not his favorite things) but I think he's found a middle ground he enjoys. Tobay works well and the kids are both total beach bums. He cannot escape being at the beach so he may as well join in the fun. He's been a great sport.

It is also the weekend our condo pool opens so we took advantage and had a quick dip.

Dance Dance and...Dance!

2011-05-20T11:53:00.001-04:00

Leah's big recital weekend is always crazy busy but a ton of fun. We have dress rehearsals and professional photos on Friday, a performance on Saturday and another on Sunday. All of it is more than worth the effort. Leah really loves to dance, is talented and works hard. She did beautifully and had a blast while up on stage. Couldn't ask for more.

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-08T17:22:00.000-04:00

I love being a mother. Growing up I was never sure it was something I would want to do as an adult for a very long list of reasons. I count my blessings every day that I have been lucky enough to be the mother of two amazing kids. Leah is everything a mother could ask for in a child, in a daughter.

We spent the afternoon at Belmont Lake State Park.

The kids made themselves at home in the dirt.

This stroller really is a work horse...6 years later and Leah can still sit in it :)

Playground fun

We grabbed dinner at the Spare Rib in Hicksville. Very short wait and the food was good. A great Mother's Day. Leah's face says it all :D

Coney Island & Some Fish

2011-04-25T16:37:00.000-04:00

Today we headed out to Coney Island. We visited the New York Aquarium followed by some time on the Coney Island Boardwalk.

Leah makes friends wherever she goes.

Swinging car on the Deno's Wonder Wheel

Stopped by Nathans

Easter Brunch in NYC

2011-04-24T15:09:00.000-04:00

Today we went to Manhattan to have Easter Brunch with Grandpa George & Grandma Ruth. We went to a restaurant called Opia.

Leah posed for some photos before heading out.

Attempted to get a photo of Leah and Louis. This was as close as we got.

We got a great seating at the restaurant right out on the balcony.

The restaurant had a room set up for kids to play in with a face painter, Easter Egg hunt and other goodies.

Waiting to have her face painted.

Not your ordinary run of the mill face painter.

Leah loved it!

Zombie eh?

LI Children's Museum

2011-04-22T16:49:00.000-04:00

Today we headed out to the Long Island Children's Museum in the midst of Spring Recess. We took the bus over to the DMV first so that I could get some things done there. Afterward we grabbed a cab over to the museum. I love that the kids travel so well on public transit.

The museum has plenty for the kids to do. Louis had a great time following Leah around from exhibit to exhibit. Leah is true awesome big sister fashion was totally cool with it. She also had some time to herself on the big climbing area.

Passover 2011

2011-04-19T22:00:00.000-04:00

We went to Nana's today for Passover dinner. The kids had a great time (as always) with the family. Great food, great company.

Leah showed off her ever growing reading skills.

More fun at the farm

2011-04-18T17:52:00.000-04:00

We needed to get out of the house for a bit today and once again White Post Farms was the perfect fit for us. We enjoyed their Easter themed activities.

Easter Egg Hunt

The Goods

Feeding the animals

Meeting the Easter Bunny

Painting a huge ostrich egg.

Riding the train with Louis. You are supposed to be an adult to do this with a little one but Leah said she could do it without me. Great big sister.

Holding on tight to Louis.

The farm has a nice cafe in its gourmet market. Smoothies and fresh baked goods.

Dance Break

2011-04-07T00:46:00.004-04:00

Leah and Louis usually share at least one dance break/party during the day. Due to Louis being sick most of the week and then Leah being sick they hadn't danced together for a while. Leah decided to make up for it. After her own dance class she spent some time with Louis dancing away. Louis is too cute, he follows everything she does. He's also wearing one of her shirts.

The Lone Princess

2011-03-23T21:36:00.002-04:00

Leah was hoping for a girl (again) but we found today we're expecting another little boy. I understand why she has a desire for a little sister. It is a special relationship but she rocks as a big sister and Louis absolutely adores her. So I know she'll do the same with our next child.

We're all excited. Looking forward to meeting the little guy.

Tooth #5

2011-03-06T18:36:00.001-05:00

Leah lost her first front tooth. It has been loose for over two months. Hanging on by a thread or two the whole time we were in New Orleans. She came upstairs last night with it basically all the way out so I pushed down on it and it popped out.

Nola - Day Four - Last Day

2011-02-27T14:49:00.002-05:00

Sunday served as our last full day in New Orleans. We were all feeling the effects of our stay away from home. Leah and myself did not want to leave anytime soon. Pretty sure Matt was content with heading back home. Louis is just happy being outside so I don't think he cared either way.

We spent the day walking down to the Riverwalk. We spent some time walking around and had some Sno-Balls, a New Orleans treat. Sno-Balls may look a bit like Sno-Cones but the ice is different. It is shaved much like fallen snow. I especially like my with condensed milk. We got ours with various syrups. They were refreshing and very good.

Matt and Leah walked down past the barrier to the sands onto the Mississippi River.

We then walked down to the French Market and picked up some more souvenirs for family.

The night before at one of the parades we were entertained by this great marching band, the 'Get A Life Marching Band' from Portland, Oregon. They were absolutely wonderful. We saw them again during our travels in and around the Jackson Square/French Market. They are great musicians, hilarious and so much fun to watch.

This is the synopsis of the band's first trip to New Orleans.

Portland's best traveled all-adult marching band recently augmented its string of national performances with its first New Orleans Mardi Gras parade. Over 100 members of the band hit the streets to laissez les bon temps rouler in the Knights of Sparta parade on the evening of February 26. The four-mile parade, dubbed "the best parade of the first weekend" by New Orleans Magazine, followed the traditional Uptown route along St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street with hundreds of thousands of spectators.
On the day following the parade, GAL performed an hour-long show at Washington Artillery Park, just across the street from New Orleans' renowned Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral, followed by a performance at the French Market stage on behalf of New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park. (Yes, we actually got to play a national park!)

This guy has been down in Jackson Square for so many years now. He comes and goes throughout the years because he's in the Army.

We loved the street performers/artists in New Orleans. I think this one right here was one of our favorites.

Leah in front of the many art pieces in New Orleans.

This guy cracks me up every time I see him (and the other guy who does the same bit). Go by him, give him a tip and just watch what happens.

He'll likely scare the crap out of you.

Then back to normal.

We headed up to Decatur and then stopped to watch part of the Barkus Parade. The Krewe of Barkus is made of canine friends. They get dressed up and their owners walk with them through a 15 block portion of the French Quarter area.

Stopped at Leah's Pralines which are my FAVORITE pralines but they were closed :(

And one more parade for good luck on Canal Street. Not much choice in stopping as there is little way across.

NOLA - Day Three

2011-02-26T12:58:00.000-05:00

We decided to take it easy on our third day. After walking so much the past two days and being a few months pregnant I needed a break. At first I had planned for us to do a swamp tour and possibly something else with the tour company but I felt that wasn't the best thing do with Louis and Leah. They just needed to be able to go somewhere and run around, have fun. We didn't have a set schedule for our trip which made it easier for us to be flexible about what we were going to do with our days. I made a loose itinerary for each day with lots of options to choose from.

Our hotel was a block away from the Louisiana Children's Museum. The museum turned out to be the perfect choice. They had so much for the kids to do. We could've easily spent another day in the museum. We got to the museum early on in the day so it wasn't busy.

Neat electrostatic plasma light globe

Big scale for weight measurements

The skeleton body (Mr. Bones) also pedals the bike when you do.

Rock climbing

Microscope and lots of slides to look at

Local artist and school made this.

Fun bubble section

The museum has great child size replicas of a lot of famous areas in New Orleans. All hands on. This was one of the Julia Street Warehouse by the street car, about a block away from the hotel. You could load and unload the carrier ships.

Another area of the museum dealt with architecture with many opportunities for kids to learn how to build their own structures. This station was about the use of triangles in fortifying bridges.

Winn-Dixie is one of the larger grocery store chains in the South. They had a great replica called 'Little Winn-Dixie' for the kids to pretend-shop in.

A few other things they had was a replica of Mister Roger's Neighborhood that was well made and just like the show. They have Cajun cottages for the kids to play house in. They also had a toddler section called 'First Adventures' where Louis spent most of his time while Leah explored the rest of the museum.

After the museum trip we walked down to the Riverwalk and shopped for souvenirs and stopped for some lunch. Leah found a mask for our next parade viewing. Leah had a smoothie which she shared with Louis. Then she tried to have some and as you can see Louis was not cooperating. I ended up sending Leah out to the outside promenade to drink her smoothie in peace.

After lunch we walked around some more and then headed back uptown to go to view some more parades. This time we took the bus instead of the streetcar. On the weekends many of the parades contain more than one krewe. This parade had two krewes so twice the time, twice the beads.

Due to the nature of Mardi Gras parades and the fact they happen on the major streets in New Orleans the buses reroute during the parades and it takes a while for them to get back on schedule. Overall though it worked out pretty well. We walked about mile down and waiting for the bus. Matt grabbed some sandwiches from Subway while we waited. The buses are a great way to travel in New Orleans. The fare is 1.25 for the bus or streetcar. The drivers are used to tourists and we found them to be generally patient and helpful. Another thing you will notice when being down South is how much nicer everyone is when on public transit in comparison to New York City.

We made it back to the hotel in about 20 minutes, had our dinner and headed to bed. Overall it turned out to be a good day.

NOLA Day Two

2011-02-25T20:12:00.001-05:00

We began our day with an early start. The hotel we stayed at had a great breakfast served every morning. Continental buffet selection, eggs and waffles to order. The kids ate very well. It was the perfect way to begin our days in New Orleans.

Day two was spent in the Garden District/Uptown area. We rode the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar to Audubon Park then took the shuttle to the Audubon Zoo. I would love to share loads of photos taken during the trip but I completely messed up and left the camera back at the hotel! Fortunately Matt managed to snap a few photos with camera phone.

Onto the Audubon Zoo. From the minute you get there one thing you notice right away is open the zoo is. Beautifully landscaped. I loved how the zoo was laid out. The animal exhibits were well done. Very hands on approach for children at all points in the zoo.

Pink Flamingo exhibit by the front entrance.

We got there in time for the elephants special playtime. Children and adults all enjoyed learning about the elephants, watching them being bathed and then they got to pet them. The elephants really seemed to enjoy the attention and affection from the public.

The Asian Domain is also home to white tigers and Amur leopards. They were sleeping but out for us to see.

The Jaguar Jungle exhibit up close and personal.

There was a tortoise that Leah would not part with. The zoo volunteer was talking about it and she stood there for at least 10 minutes listening to him. She proceeded to pet it and then it peed on her feet. Didn't stop her from continuing to pet the tortoise.

There is a great part of the zoo called the Discovery Walk. It alone could've been worth the trip to the zoo. Leah learned about a skink and pet it (of course). A little boy next to her asked the educator if the skink bites and the guy said "Yes if you touch his head" and of course Leah went and touched the skink's head but all was good. It just kind of wiggled away. She loves reptiles. Having grown up around reptiles I cannot argue with her love of them. I am also a fan.

Afterward we checked out some great parrots and then headed to the petting zoo called the Embraceable Zoo . Leah said it was the best petting zoo she's ever been to. She imagined it was kind of like being on a farm. They had brushes for the children to use on the goats and sheep. Very friendly animals. Leah and Louis absolutely loved it. Could not get enough.

One of the things I loved best about our trip to New Orleans was how laid back it all was. At first I reserved/scheduled some tours and such but then canceled them because I didn't want us to be held to the clock. We had a general idea of what we were doing and where we had to be but no rushing around. Made traveling with children (and also while pregnant) so much easier.

The sea lion exhibit is large and well laid out. There weren't any shows going on but the sea lions were still playing the water doing their tricks.

One area of the zoo that was one of the highlights for Leah was Monkey Hill. Perfect place to run around and explore AND cool down on a hot day.

There are huge beautiful oak trees throughout the zoo. This one tree is about 200 years old. Open for the kids to climb up on. Leah didn't think twice about it. Off she went. I am always amused when other people (bystanders, strangers, nosy people etc.) comment on Leah when she does things like this...usually in the vein of her being a 'girl'. As if that matters!

The Audubon zoo is home to many primates. The World of Primates had many monkeys and other primates to see. The gorillas were hanging out sleeping in the shade.

We were able to sit and watch the newest addition to the Sumatran Orangutan family play with its father up on the ropes. The affection between the two of them hugging and swinging along together was great to see.

We stopped for some lunch at the Cypress Knee Cafe in the Louisiana Swamp Exhibit. It was a nice open space with air conditioning. The Louisiana Swamp Exhibit was my favorite one at the zoo. It is beautifully done. You really feel like you are in the swamps.

Leah loved the white alligators.

There was so much more that we were able to see. It was a great visit.

After visiting the zoo we took the shuttle back to the other side of Audubon Park. I took a rest and laid down in the grass while Matt took Leah and Louis to play in the playground there. The park is located across from Tulane and Loyola Universities so there were families everywhere.

We then took the St. Charles streetcar downtown to its last stop and found a great spot not far from bathrooms, a food concession stand and lots of families to watch our very first Mardi Gras parade as a family. Leah could not wait for the parade to get started. Our first parade was being done by the Krewe of Oshun. Their theme for this year was the 'Best of Broadway'. Everything from the floats to beads and other thrown gifts to the marching bands were wonderful. We all had a great time.

Leah got a silly hat. I think it helped her get extra beads. Louis was great for bead, plushie getting. He loved the music being played and clapped & danced.

We left with a TON of beads. We decided to walk back the 3+ miles to our hotel. Louis fell asleep at one point while in his carrier on my back. That carrier of ours is worth every single penny and then some that I paid for it. We walked through the Garden District and saw all the beautiful houses decked out for Mardi Gras. Stopped off at McDonalds to grab a quick bite to eat and so Leah could use their portable potty.

When we got back to the hotel Leah and Matt went through them.

Someone loves her beads :)

These aren't even all the beads from our first parade.

NOLA Visit - Day One

2011-02-24T11:27:00.000-05:00

We spent a few days in New Orleans during Leah's Mid-Winter Recess thanks to a very generous wedding gift from Aunt Lindsay :)We were originally going to go, just the two of us, but I have issues with leaving the kids for a night, let alone many nights. I have so much more fun on trips with them than without them so its win-win.

The timing of our trip allowed us to visit during Mardi Gras season. I spent many months during my late teens, early 20s in New Orleans. I worked for Red Bull and Jägermeister promoting their products in various bars and clubs. During my free time I traveled the city with newly made friends from the streets of the French Quarter. It was always a great experience. The music, food, people in New Orleans are all wonderful. New Orleans is VERY family friendly with a lot to offer.

It is a city that I love. Probably the only place outside of Puerto Rico and New York City that comes close to being my favorite place. It was so much fun to show Leah, Matt and Louis around. It also felt good to be part of the post-Katrina tourism. Every little bit helps.

We flew out of JFK on a late flight and got to our hotel room around midnight. Leah watched tv most of the flight. She handles traveling very well. The next morning we checked out what would be our place to rest for the next few days. We had a courtyard room with sliding doors that led out onto the pool area. It was nice to be away from the front of the building. There was plenty of room in the hotel room for us.

Leah made herself right at home. I brought my own pillowcase because my hair dye tends to come off on stuff if wet.

The kids and Matt checking out the whirlpool.

Palm trees everywhere - sure beats pine trees!

Leah could not wait to get into the pool.

The first day we spent in the French Quarter/Riverwalk area. We started off with walking through the Riverwalk Marketplace.

"Riverwalk Marketplace, an upscale mall stretching along the Mississippi River waterfront stretching from the base of Canal Street upriver to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, was constructed on the site of 1984 World's Fair. The area along the riverfront was long devoted to shipping. By the start of the 1980s, increased use of containers in shipping made some of the older riverfront wharfs less useful, so the Poydras Street Wharf and the Julia Street Wharf were demolished, and the land was used as part of the fair."

We shopped for hats for everyone. One five minute walk outside in the Louisiana sun and we were quickly reminded that it isn't New York during the Winter. Sun protection was needed. Good to keep cool too.

Oh the attitude

Overlooking the Mississippi River.

Our next stop was the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.

"The Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, located along the banks of the Mississippi River, at the upper end of Woldenbeg Park, has been recognized as one of the leading aquariums in the United States since opening in 1990. Run by the Audubon Institute, the aquarium features 10,000 animals representing 530 species.

Noteworthy exhibits include a Caribbean reef featuring a clear 30-foot-long tunnel surrounded by a 132,000 gallon tank of sea life; an Amazon exhibit, encased in a glass cylinder that includes macaws, piranhas, and other specimens from the Amazon basin; a Mississippi River gallery, featuring catfish, paddlefish, and a leucistic white alligator; and Gulf of Mexico exhibit, featuring a 400,000 gallon, 17 foot tall tank of sharks, sea turtles, and stingrays from the Gulf. The Aquarium of the Americas also hosts an IMAX theater.

Though the structure survived Hurricane Katrina in 2005, electricity outages and backup power generators were unable to operate the sophisticated life support systems needed to keep the animals alive. Aquarium staffers were forced to evacuate the facility only to return four days later to discover that most of the 10,000 fish did not survive. The aquarium reopened on May 26, 2006."

There is a fantastic walk through glass tunnel where you are surrounded by fish on all sides, including above you.

The aquarium is set up in a very kid friendly layout with lots of room for children to run about and look. Lots of play areas set up for them to burn off some energy.

Following our trip the aquarium we walked down by the Mississippi River to Woldenberg Park.

"Woldenberg Park is 16 acres of sprawling green space stretching between the Mississippi River and the historic French Quarter. Begin or end your walk in the park with a visit to Audubon Aquarium of the Americas or Entergy IMAX Theatre, both adjacent to the park. The riverside jogging path is popular with city dwellers, as are the sculptures and artwork. Don't be surprised if the sights include a strolling band, impromptu second line or a bustling festival! Prime location makes Woldenberg Park a perfect setting to escape and unwind."

We bought tickets for the Steamboat Natchez cruise and stopped at the Shops at the Jax Brewery food court for a quick bite to eat. Then we headed over to the get on the steamboat.

The previous tour heading back to dock.

It is a 2 hour cruise which can be a lot with two kids with you but they were fine with it. Matt got us drinks. I had the best tasting Cajun Virgin Bloody Mary. It was absolutely delicious. Right amount of spice. Louis drank about half of it! The narration of the cruise was nice and informative. There was a wonderful breeze and it was an overall enjoyable experience.

Following the steamboat cruise we walked down to Jackson Square. I am glad we decided to come the night before and were able to enjoy the area during a slower period. It wasn't crowded and we were able to just walk around without the hustle and bustle of the weekends in the French Market district.

The historic Jackson Square, originally known in the 18th Century as 'Place d'Armes' and later renamed in honor of the Battle of New Orleans hero, Andrew Jackson, is a featured attraction in the heart of the French Quarter in New Orleans.

This famous landmark facing the Mississippi River is surrounded by historic buildings including the St. Louis Cathedral, the Presbytere and Cabildo (Louisiana State Museums), the Lower and Upper Pontalba Apartments (the oldest apartment buildings in the U.S.) with retail shops, museums, galleries and restaurants on the ground level and still used even today as prestigious apartments on the second floor.

For well over a half century, there has been an open-air artist colony at Jackson Square, with artists painting and displaying their work on the outside of the iron fence.

St. Louis Cathedral
Few cities in the world are so identified by a building as is New Orleans. The city is instantly recognized by our cathedral and its position overlooking Jackson Square. The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France is the oldest Catholic cathedral in continual use in the United States.

We walked over to the French Market to check it out before it closed down for the night. It was getting to be near dinner time so we headed back to the hotel. We stopped at Huck Finn's Restaurant and Sports Bar for dinner. It is a very laid back, comfy restaurant with very nice staff. Very family friendly. The waitress recommended the bread pudding and both Leah and myself are very happy we ordered it.

Their bread pudding is sweet and savory, with a bit of cinnamon. It is served in a delicious whiskey cream sauce. It is cooked to order and well worth it. A meal on its own. I'm sorry we didn't stop by there at least one more time in our visit for another order of the bread pudding.

I've found a few recipes for bread pudding with whiskey sauce and I am hoping with some experimenting I'll be able to come up with something close to what we had. So good. Leah keeps asking me to try and make it so I'd better get on it.

Once we made it back to the hotel ALL Leah wanted to do was go swimming so off we went. Unfortunately the hose was left in the water and it was overflowing the pool which meant it was cold. Not that she or Louis cared.

Then it was off to a good night's sleep for everyone. Much to our surprise the kids slept through the night without a problem.

Dance, Dance, JUST DANCE!

2011-02-12T16:49:00.000-05:00

Leah received many Christmas presents. One we just got around to opening is Just Dance 2 for Wii. Everyone got in on the fun. As usual with most video games Matt did well but for once I did better :)

Leah follows the dance moves very easily (no surprise there). Louis also did pretty well.

Matt doing his thing. Not really any dancing involved here.

Ice Skating w/Aunt Lindsay

2011-02-11T14:40:00.007-05:00

Lindsay took Leah ice skating today. Leah has gone a few times this Winter and after a few go arounds I think she really got the hang of it.

She had a fall & got a little banged up. She was upset (rightfully so) and a bit scared BUT she had some hot chocolate and went back on the ice.

Blog Updates

2011-02-09T23:45:00.002-05:00

I am currently working on building one site for a page for each child and one for our family. Our family is growing and keeping up with all three seperate blogs will be a challenge. Having one place for them will be a lot easier for me.

In the meantime I am going to work on catching up this blog!

Mom & Daughter Day

2011-01-16T19:31:00.008-05:00

We definitely needed a day just to ourselves. Both Leah and myself felt like we were missing some time with just the two of us. We decided to head into Manhattan for a day of wandering and then eventually meeting up with my friend Jen and her family. We didn't have a specific plan, just felt the day out. It was a good Winter day for walking around. Cold but not windy.

We started off with heading to Central Park. We walked through and ended up at the Central Park Zoo. We have made good use of our membership to the WCS zoos. Definitely going to renew our membership in June.

On the way out of the park by the Children's Zoo we stopped by the Delacorte Musical Clock. Waited for the half hour and the wonderful show. Leah loved it.

We headed out of the park and walked crosstown towards Alice's Tea Cup:Chapter II for dinner. It was a 30 minute wait but it went by pretty quickly. Leah ordered their 'Wee Tea'. Comes with her choice of drink, she chose a pot of their Berry Bunch Fruit Tisane Tea. It is a blend of flowers, hisbiscus with fruits and berries. Very tasty. She chose their buttermilk scone served with clotted cream and preserves, chicken fingers (no surprise) and their delicious chocolate mousse.

Everything was good. We weren't rushed, took our time.

Following dinner we walked down to Aunt Lindsay's to see if she was around but she was out and then headed over to visit my friend Jen at a local hotel in Rockefeller Center. Jen and her husband Keith were going to be on the Today Show the following day on one of their weightloss segments. Leah has never met Jen's daughter Mairi but you would've thought they were best friends since birth. It was a great visit.

Snow Day

2011-01-12T18:36:00.000-05:00

Leah had a snow day today and spent it playing the snow. Appropriate. We got another really good dose of snowfall so Louis went out to play with her. He loves the snow just as much as she does.

Magic Tree House

2011-01-11T20:13:00.000-05:00

Today we went to the Barnes & Noble in Carle Place to see Mary Pope Osborne, the author of the Magic Tree House Series. Leah recently began reading the series and was excited to meet the author.

Blizzard 2010

2010-12-27T16:33:00.000-05:00

We had some good snowfall for the kids post Christmas. Leah had a blast playing in it. She went out for over an hour and could have easily stayed out for much longer.

Can you tell she LOVES snow?

Christmas Eve 2010

2010-12-24T19:30:00.000-05:00

As per our usual Christmas Eve tradition the kids opened up their (expected) gift, new set of pajamas to wear to bed and wake up in on Christmas morning. The past few years we've hosted Christmas Eve dinner at our house but with all the business with Louis's first birthday party it would've been too overwhelming for me.

Gifts wrapped and ready to go.

Lil Bro's 1st Birthday Party

2010-12-12T17:29:00.000-05:00

We threw a Dr. Seuss themed 1st birthday party for Louis. The weather was questionable, lots of rain, doom looming but everyone made it out.

Leah looked beautiful in her Dr. Seuss theme outfit.

Leah's fave table of food...dessert!

Best kids around- beautiful too :)

Santa Visit

2010-11-30T17:45:00.000-05:00

Dressed up Leah and Louis today and off we went to see Santa. Unusual to be without all of Leah's drama about being scared of Santa. Louis was not happy about it. This was as close as we were going to get to a happy photo with the two of them with Santa.

Christmas Decor

2010-11-28T17:40:00.001-05:00

Finally managed to get our tree up (and I know now that it is up it won't be done till probably February). Still love our tree.

Our Lil Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T17:51:00.001-05:00

Since moving to our current home we've hosted a Post-Thanksgiving feast a few times but this year it was just the 4 of us.

Leah helped decorate for Thanksgiving/Autumn.

It was nice. I made everyone's favorites and we sat down and ate and well...ate some more.

Happy Thanksgiving! - A lil Early

2010-11-12T13:45:00.002-05:00

I absolutely love Shutterfly. I do try to make my own invites and cards but the site is so easy to use. Leah wanted to make some cards. We ended up with three different versions of a Thanksgiving card. Working on some Winter Holiday themed ones as well.

Festive Family Fall Greeting

Unique party invitations and greeting cards by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Circus Fun!

2010-11-11T17:57:00.001-05:00

Leah loves the circus, as do I. This year we decided to take Louis along to the Big Apple Circus. Matt isn't the biggest fan so it was just the three of us.

Leah at the fountain at Lincoln Center.

Leah and Grandma the Clown

So cute!

Off to school she goes...

2010-11-05T08:54:00.000-04:00

Leah asked to get herself on the bus this morning so I watched from the porch.

Family Photo Shoot

2010-10-25T10:29:00.003-04:00

We did a family portrait photo shoot with the kids, Aunt Lindsay and Grandparents Ruth & George.

These are some of the proofs.

Boo at the Zoo

2010-10-10T23:00:00.001-04:00

We visited the Bronx Zoo today for their 'Boo at the Zoo'. I am glad we did end up getting a family membership during our last visit. It is well worth it.

Ready for Halloween

2010-10-06T22:55:00.000-04:00

Halloween is a pretty big deal around our house. Leah loves decorating the house to celebrate. Last year I didn't do much because I was pregnant. I promised to make it up to her this year. Originally we were going to do this gruesome zombie baby display but then after some thought we decided with the little kids in the community it may be best to tone it down.

This is a preview of the porch. We have one or two things to add to it.

Bronx Tales

2010-10-05T22:49:00.000-04:00

We went to the Bronx today and visited with my family. Leah and Louis had a great time playing with my dad's bongos. Tio Ernie joined us in the drum lessons.

Leah has been asking for her own pair of maracas for quite some time now. Vivian got them for her.

Autumn Glory

2010-10-02T17:40:00.000-04:00

We visited another local farm today. We went to the Original F & W Schmitt's Family Farm. They have a pumpkin patch, corn maze, u-pick veggies and other activities. We went for the pumpkin picking and ended up with pumpkins, eggplants, string beans and peppers.

On the hayride on the way to the pumpkin patch.

Leah loves her lil brother.

Nintendo Love

2010-09-22T19:26:00.000-04:00

Matt gave Leah his Nintendo DS. The only good that can come from this is the father-daughter bonding that is happening.

The End of the Island

2010-09-19T17:50:00.000-04:00

Matt asked Leah is she wanted to see the end of Long Island and she said yes. Off we went from the Water Mill to Montauk Point. It was a great moment of spontaneity on Matt's part. It was about a 30-45 minute drive from Water Mill.

I don't know why we waited so long to make the trip out here. It is perfect for us. I can't wait to head back and explore the area some more.

Montauk Point Lighthouse

At the end is the Montauk Point State Park. After 4 pm parking is free. The place was packed. There are hiking trails, playgrounds, restrooms, and bbq grills available. There is also a restaurant and gift shop.

Montauk Park State Park Playground

There were surfers and fishermen everywhere.

Leah is all smiles...

Still smiling...Louis on the other hand is up to no good.

Ouch!

Poor girl

Get away!

All smiles again

Matt looking for shells, critters and other sea goodies.

Leah searching for the same.

Apple Picking in Water Mill

2010-09-18T16:11:00.001-04:00

We went apple picking today in Water Mill at The Milk Pail Farm, Orchard & Greenhouses. We really need to take advantage of driving our East more often. It is beautiful out there. It was the perfect day for a drive out to the Hamptons.

Water Mill is a hamlet of the Town of Southhampton. The houses in the town are gorgeous. As of 2009, Water Mill was listed as the sixth most expensive Small Town in the United States by Business Week. The median home price was $2,238,676. There were many properties for sale-it is always nice to dream :)

They have the very best pumpkin patches at the Milk Pail. You can pick pumpkins, ranging from mini to very large, right off the vine. They also have gourds of all kinds.

Leah's favorite apple variety, Golden Delicious, were perfect for picking.

Found a perfect one.

Big bite

Banging away on the pumpkins together.

Plenty of apples for the eating-Leah took advantage. All of the varieties were delicious.

If that weren't enough she had to have a caramel apple.

Contemplating her attack...

After her first bite of the candy apple...her tooth fell out!

But this didn't stop her from eating some more of her caramel apple.

Sticky hands

Hello Kitty!

2010-09-13T08:48:00.000-04:00

Start of the week and second day of school.

Backpack is filled with the other half of her school supplies.

Am I My Brother's Keeper?

2010-09-12T10:12:00.001-04:00

Leah's question to me this morning was "Am I My Brother's Keeper?"

This came out of morning sermon that was on the television. The pastor was talking about how we should be one another's keepers. How neighbors should look out for each other and we should respect one another, and love each other as we love ourselves. This led to a heavy early morning discussion about 'the Golden Rule'. Also known as the ethic of reciprocity. Leah asked if this was just from the Bible. I told her that the essence of the Golden Rule is much older than that one line in Deuteronomy that says "Love your neighbor as you love yourself", known as the 'Great Commandment'. It can be found in the times of Ancient Babylon, in the Code of Hammurabi. It can be found in nearly every spiritual and religious belief.

She grasped enough of the idea. She asked "What if someone does not love themselves?" Good question. We discussed reasons why people may be unhappy in their lives and why they may suffer from low self-esteem. What we can do in our day to day actions to help those people in our lives who may be in a rut.

So after discussing all of this I posed her original question to her "Are you your brother's keeper?" to which Leah replied "Yes. And I think he is my keeper as well."

Leah said that she thinks it is probably a good idea to just follow the Golden Rule all the time. I have to agree with her. Sometimes having positive intent can make all the difference.

Our Sunday morning conversations tend to be heavier than our day to day conversations. Probably has to do with my habit of watching Sunday morning pastoral programs and CBS Sunday Morning.

Nothing beats fresh farm air

2010-09-11T14:25:00.000-04:00

The closest thing we have to a local farm is White Post Farms of Melville. It is far from a 'real farm' but it is close by and works for us. We visit many times through out the year when we want to get out of the house but not go far. Today everyone was punchy and getting on one another's nerves. (This was partly due to the fact I was in a funk due today being the 9-11 anniversay-which always gets me down. I try to focus on remembering my friends and their families who were lost and spend the time honoring those I knew who passed by spending time with my family.) Going to the farm was definitely the perfect thing for us to do.

It was one of last weekends where they would have the inflatable water slides. They also had Clifford the Big Red Dog and lil bunnies for the kids to pet & take pictures with.

Matt and Leah fed the animals. I still think Matt enjoys this as much (if not more) than Leah does.

I have a picture of Leah in front of this sign for every year for the past 3 years. I need to dig them up for comparison.

L'Shana Tova!

2010-09-10T13:21:00.002-04:00

Leah asked to go to Rosh Hashana services this year. We didn't attend Thursday services but we did end up at Friday's. She really enjoyed it! I do have to say the majority of the children at the family service had a good time. The leaders do a great job at making it interesting and interactive for the kids. Leah recognized some of the parts of the service (Aleinu, Ein Keloheinu and Adon Olam) and I even heard her trying to sing along to Ein Keloheinu and Adon Olam. I know most of the prayers and hymns by heart now due to working at the synagogue and with the Hebrew School for the last 4 years. It seems that Leah has picked up a lot along the way as well. She had a blast (literally) blowing her Shofar and has made me promise to get her a real one some day. She has also asked to attend Hebrew School. I told her we will give it a go. She is going to attend this upcoming Wednesday and then we will see where we will go from there.

All of this is new to us as Matt is pretty much secular and semi-agnostic and I go back and forth between an interest in religion (nothing too specific) and atheism.

Nevertheless Leah is showing an interest and we will support her along the journey. She has also asked if she can attend a service at her friend Mayah's church and at another friend's church. We are going to be attending those services in the next month or so.

Matt asked her if she wants to go back next week for Yom Kippur services and Leah shouter a 'yes!'. Good thing for that job of mine or else those would be some expensive tickets! lol

Welcome to 1st Grade!

2010-09-08T15:26:00.002-04:00

Today was Leah's first day of 1st grade. She was very excited and only a little nervous. I was certainly more nervous than she was. Her grandparents Ruth and George joined us in the morning as she got on the school bus.

We received an ear full when she got home from school. All good things. She loved her teacher. She said "She is strict, she said absolutely no talking in class unless she tells us we can but I like her." Good thing for her teacher to take care of from day one. Leah also told me she is looking forward to seeing me and Louis at school throughout the year. :) Guess this whole PTA Exec. Board thing isn't so bad after all.

Bring the kids to work

2010-09-07T10:06:00.001-04:00

Leah and Louis have come to work with me more often than usual the last week. Leah is a great help with Louis while I am in the office. I was running around this morning getting things ready and she sat outside with him in the driveway.

I know plenty of big sisters (myself included) and not all of them are as loving, caring and attentive as Leah is with her brother. People comment on how this is likely to change but honestly I don't see that happening. She is going to be his big protector for years to come. She makes me very proud.

I love taking pictures of her when she unaware of the camera. She is turning into quite the fashionista.

Leah on the other hand hates when I do this.

She loves her brother.

Farewell to Summer

2010-09-06T15:32:00.001-04:00

In celebration of our last weekend before school starts and the unofficial end to summer we went on our second visit in two days to Tobay Beach.

This time we stuck to the sprinkler park. Leah had a great time running through the park.

Sand, Surf & Sunshine

2010-09-04T15:44:00.000-04:00

The meteorologists drove us crazy this past weekend. We had Hurricane Earl setting his sights on Long Island so no one was sure what would happen. As it turned out he didn't make landfall on the island, he lost his strength 100 miles out. The ocean still felt it. It was very windy out but beautiful. We spent the afternoon at Tobay Beach.

Matt with his trusty neat looking for minnows to catch.

Leah following along

We never go over to the ocean side of Tobay but we wanted to see how the surf was after Earl visiting the area. It was pretty rough out in the water.

At first Leah didn't want anything to do with the water, then she started testing it out. She only went in up to her ankles or so. There was a very strong rip tide. You could feel the water pulling you in.

Off to Nana's House We Go

2010-09-03T19:16:00.000-04:00

Tonight we visited Nana for Friday night dinner. Lindsay started visiting reguarly for Friday night dinners. We came along this time. Leah helped set the table. We are going to try to come more often.

Blog Update

2010-08-31T23:11:00.000-04:00

I will be rebuilding Leah's blog. Most of 2005 and part of 2006 require updates due to broken photo links. Hope to have it all completed in about a week.

Prospect Mountain

2010-08-13T23:57:00.000-04:00

After spending the afternoon in Lake George Village we took the drive up the Prospect Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway to the 2,021-foot mountain summit with a 100-mile view at its peak. It was a beautiful day and the views were spectacular. You can hike the mountain or drive up to the summit.

There are three overlooks to stop at on the drive up to the summit.

This is the view from the first stop.

This is the panorama view of Lake George

The parking lot right below the Summit

We took a shuttle up to the summit. There is a trail and it is less than a ten minute walk but we chose the quick & easy alternative.

The history of Prospect Mountain is pretty interesting. There used to be a hotel up in the mountain. I would love to have been able to see it back in the day. There used to be an old cable system that used to bring guests up to the mountain summit.

Argh! Pirates ;)

2010-08-13T23:42:00.000-04:00

On one of our trips to Lake George Village we stopped at Pirate's Cove-the Original Adventure Golf.

Leah loved her first time playing miniature golf.

A Girl & Her Critters

2010-08-13T23:36:00.002-04:00

Leah absolutely loved looking for critters on our trip. Every morning and evening, on every walk, there she was poking at leaves, looking under rocks, watching carefully for moving objects...all so she could find that one frog or salamander. The same girl who will happily look for tutus, put on lipgloss and play dress up with in that same outfit throw herself in a pile of mud looking for frogs.

All I can say is "That's my girl" and that I wouldn't have her any other way.

Leah with her first red salamander. We found a lot of them after a night of rain.

Matt came across a caterpillar.

Lil bro is following in her footsteps I think.

On his way to take a shower at the bathhouse Matt came across a pretty decently sized millipede.

Leah and her frogs

Think she may be just a little too comfortable with them.

This is a caterpillar we came across. It is an American Dagger Moth Caterpillar.

Back to more frogs with Leah.

We saw a few common Garter Snakes. Before going on the trip I went over some of the types of poisonous animals, insects and plants we may come across while camping and hiking.

She was concerned about bears. Fortunately where we camp there haven't been bears in the area for years. Nevertheless I went over bear safety with her. For insects we are pretty lucky. There are few poisonous insects in the Adirondacks.

When we went over snakes I showed her what common garter snakes in the area look like. I went over the three types of poisonous snakes found in New York State. I reiterated that they are uncommon but that she should still avoid any snakes and be extra careful in areas where they may live. The one poisonous snake I have seen while out in the Adirondacks is the Timber rattlesnake. They tend to hang out North of the Lake George area which is exactly where we were. Fortunately we didn't have any run-ins with any.

It is always a good idea to become familiar with poisonous snakes or other critters you may encounter while out in the wild. I made sure to also pack the appropriate first aid. Leah really wanted to see a rattlesnake but I told her we were best sticking to the zoo.

There were all types of spiders around us. Wolf spiders, Cellar spiders, various kinds of domestic house spiders...pretty sure we spotted a few Jumping spiders as well. Plenty of Daddy Long Legs (but those aren't true spiders, just relatives).

The best was the Nocturnal Orb Weaver (commonly found by porch lights) that built its web in the entrance of the porch to our cabin. It spent half a night on the web then caught an insect and spent the next night enveloping the insect and draining it. We watched it for two days. It was pretty neat.

Lake George Village

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We drove down to Lake George Village a few times during our visit.

Here we are by the beach at Shepard's Park. Louis was fast asleep. We met up with our friend Brian and walked around the Village together.

We stopped by the arcade and Leah played skeeball with Brian.

We spent a few days in and out of town. In addition to playing mini golf we ate at a few local restaurants.

We always make sure to have at least one meal at the Adirondack Pub & Brewery. Adirondack Pub & Brewery. They have great beer they brew right there.

We also ate at a local cafe called Caffè Vero. Great lunch, perfect lattes and wonderful service.

We had dinner one of last nights visiting Lake George Village at the newly opened Moose Tooth Grill, same owners as the Adirondack Pub & Brewery. It is a great, kid friendly restaurant. Leah and Louis enjoyed it.

We also stopped by the Hawaiian Shaved Ice stand by the Lake George Waterfront. Leah shared a massive Watermelon Ice with Matt.

Leah got a hair wrap while in town.

Walking along the beach in her newly purchased Lake George sweatshirt. Ruth gave Leah some spending money for the trip. Leah took her purchases seriously. I lost count of how many stores we went into so Leah could find the 'right' sweatshirt.

We came back another day so Leah could go swimming.

Fort William Henry

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In an attempt to make some part of our trip educational we visited the Fort William Henry Museum.

By 1689, the British and French were the predominate nations in the New World. Wars for land, water passages and trade had been fought between these nations for years on the European continent, spilling over into North America. The final conflict, 1754-1763, is known as the French & Indian War and the Seven Years War.

Sitting atop a small rise, Fort William Henry commanded the southern end of Lake George November 1755 to August 1757. The Fort’s history is short but its final tumultuous days have been retold, although inaccurately, in the “Last of the Mohicans” by James Fennimore Cooper.

Grenadier

Getting the canon ready to blow

Boom!

Leah signed up for the Army

Soon after signing up she took her rifle and deserted.