The kids were very exited about their Daddy’s brithday on December 1, telling everyone about it during the weeks before. I was going to update this blog for a birthday present, but due to technical difficulties it’s a Christmas present instead. I have gotten over 10,000 photos from the last two years on to our computer and organized, so expect more blog posts soon.
The night before Mark’s birthday, the grown-ups went to sushi in Manhattan and had fun walking around the Bryant Park holiday market. On the actual day, the kids helped me make molten chocolate peanut butter cakes (that we served with homemade ice cream).
Baking with kids – fun but messy.
It was a great party, though we couldn’t arrange for a visit from these guys (UGA dogs as Julie calls them), who celebrated Mark’s 40th with him.
We are big on birthdays (and like excuses to make and eat dessert). For Julie’s half birthday in November, she wanted to take cupcakes to school and have her class sing to her but we talked her in to cupcakes made in a mug at home. She is very proud to tell everyone she is 3 1/2 now. And Max just turned 6 1/4, so of course we made cupcakes and sang again.
On May 14, 2005, we got married overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
On May 14 ten years later, we had a view of the East River from the hospital where Max had jaw surgery (mandibular distraction) to hopefully help his sleep apnea. Mark spent our anniversary night on a hospital couch instead of an ocean-front Ritz Carlton suite. Not quite as scenic, but the next morning the view included this trooper reading on a couch as he got ready to head home and we couldn’t be happier.
Much has changed in 10 years (including our home address four times), but much is the same. Then, Brittney made Mark learn an elaborate choreographed routine.
Mark has not danced much since then, except for Saturday morning ballet with Julie, when he is proud to say he never marks it.
Then, Brittney worked on bizarre film projects. Now Max is making almost-as-interesting music videos in a local film making class.
Then, we had an awesome ice cream sundae bar that we missed because we were too busy dancing. Now we are having ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner as Max adjusts to a soft foods diet for the next few months (plus Nonna’s favorite Magnolia Bakery cheesecake and an occasional kale-hemp milk smoothie). Five days after his procedure, Max is almost back to his usual cheerful self, playing lots of checkers, Go Fish, and his new favorite card game, Solitaire, doing word puzzles with Nonna, reading with Aunt Ashly, visiting Daddy’s work twice, and enjoying fun presents from friends and family. We started turning the distractor today (for those of you interested, an explanation of the surgery) and it didn’t seem to bother him as long as he was watching Superfriends. A sleep endoscopy Wednesday morning and a sleep study next Sunday night will tell us more about the results of the surgery and how much more we need to turn it. He may go back to school as soon as this Friday, though we probably won’t let him anywhere near a playground for a while as he has to be very careful about falling or hitting his jaw.
When I first looked at our wedding pictures after our honeymoon, I told Mark in 10 years I wanted to have the party over again, gathering all my friends and family together at a beautiful location for great food and dancing. That didn’t quite work out, but it’s been wonderful feeling everyone’s love and support and enjoying some extra time with our lovely family of four.
One August Saturday, Julie and I revisited our old neighborhood. First we went to the Lincoln Center Atrium (where we used to hang out so much we became friends with the manager) to make tap shoes that Julie enjoyed testing out during a tap/swing show.
Then we met up with Max’s school friend Zayanna – who Julie thinks is her friend – and her little brother for a workshop at the American Folk Art Museum. As always, Julie held her own with the older kids, making a yarn-covered bumble bee she flew around the museum.
Then we went to a Lincoln Center Out of Doors performance of Latino music & poetry but Julie was mostly interested in sticking popsicle sticks in her bumble bee, drawing in the dirt and being BFF with a 5-year-old.
While we miss living blocks away from cultural meccas, we still visit often. But for weekends like these when our cultural plans get foiled by spring snow and sniffles, it’s nice to have a big house with a toy room and pirate ship to relax in.
Recently Brittney helped plan a winter event at the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum, a historical house nearby, on a cold snowy day. We had lots of fun there last summer at a vintage baseball game and First Friday celebrations with live music. We loved romping around the gorgeous gardens.
Lots of pretty paths to wander.
Max learned how to tell the age of a tree.
And Julie fell on the ground many times on purpose.
Seeing if anyone’s home at a structure we later found out is the carriage house.
We couldn’t figure out what this was, but we liked going under it.
We had a delicious picnic with Julie’s favorite – prosciutto.
Followed by a wrestling match.
A big upside of suburban living has been more time in nature. We became members and look forward to many more visits to this special place.
