Happy Fall.

A few other 2014 faves.

A Frozen Hudson.

 134th and Henry Hudson

Vivi and I took a field trip to the frozen Hudson River.  It finally reached 30 degrees that day and felt warm compared to the teens and twenties we had been dealing with!  It was incredible.  Birds were just walking all over the ice.  I man asked to take our picture and lucky us, he was a photographer for a newspaper, so he took several shots.  Sadly, he was there because there was rumor that a dolphin was stuck somewhere in the ice.  Here are some of my faves from that morning. 

 Vivienne at 18 months old.

April 2014

April's always a relief because it finally starts to sort of warm up with some sunshine!  Looking through all of my April pics, it became clear that we were ready to kiss the cabin fever goodbye even if it meant still wearing coats!

 Riverun Playground.

 Tecumseh Playground

 Yankee Stadium with Grandpa Kent!

 Walt Whitman's home on Long Island

 Ella was inspired by Walt...

 Ella as Abigail Adams at her schools "Wax Museum"

 And me-- At Columbia University with Ricki Lake, Abby Epstein and the Women's Organization on Campus, talking about The Business of Being Born and Breastmilk. :)

 Reading is a weekend hobby when school is spent doing Test Prep!

 First concert at Canergie Hall!!!

 Tribeca Film Festival Street Fair

Paisley-isms

Ella was giving Paisley a quiz from an American Girl activity book and came across this question,

"Glass half empty or half full?"

"Empty.  I love drinks."

And then right now....we were looking up who Zachary Levi is.  (He's the voice of the prince in Tangled, the Movie.) Paisley sees the picture of him on IMDb and says,

"He's cute...I wish I was older..."

The best part is that in both situations, like she does often, she says the first words in a regular voice and then the second half almost under her breath hoping people don't hear her.

Still making us laugh every single day...until we're in for it when she becomes an adolescent...

Ella's Golden 10th Birthday.

Ella turned 10 on the 10th this year!  We started the celebration with a simple family party.

 And then a few days later, she had a Karaoke Party with friends!  We ordered Mariella Pizza and listened to 9-10 year olds sing their little hearts out all evening.  Fun times.  I'll never forget that I threw this party in the midst of having H1N1. I pulled it together for the 2 hours and didn't touch anyone or anything, but was sick in bed for about 10 days.  The worst!    

The party crew living it up just a few blocks north of Times Square, on our way home. :)

Less testing, more singing and dancing.

 (Paisley and friends, performing their end of trimester Irish Step dance.)

 I don't know about you, but there are more days that I want to take my daughters out of their public school than not, now a days.  It has become apparent that what they learn, is mostly based on how to take the state tests and it gets me allllll upset, but that's another discussion, for another time.  On the occasion that the girls get to do what they love at school, we're all over it.  

 Ella has become quite comfortable at performing on stage and she does quite well!  This performance was for a musical theatre class she takes after school.  They performed a song A New World that was written by a parent at the school.   

 She's also been working hard in a Chorus Workshop with 4th and 5th graders and her music teacher.  This is her singing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. :)  She got a short solo, which was exciting.

 Vital Theater came in a worked on a Native American unit with the 4th graders.  Ella was in a short skit that she and a small group of classmates wrote and all of the fourth graders sang, "Colors of the Wind."  It doesn't matter how off tune or how far ahead they were singing to the track.  Can't listen to that song with out shedding a tear! :)

 This is Ella and her Longhouse that she and Scott put together.

This is Ella being a good sport and wearing the humongous piece of pie that her mother made her wear for a song.  Hey, the teacher said to make a costume for the song, so that's what we did.  Complete with twisted up purple animal balloons as the filling. :)  I'm quite sure she was humiliated, but she knew how much effort and time we put into it, so she wore it....after I cut it down so that she could at least do the dance in it.

 And we've got a super cute little tap dancer!  Oh man, gotta attach some video of Paiser and her Winter Wonderland tap dance!