Some recent pictures

Thought I would post some pictures that are hanging out on my phone.  I'm pretty certain that the computer cord for my camera was sent to storage (big oops) so all of these are iphone quality.

Daddy's Girl

 Lovin the Moby Wrap

 Our first visitor!  Stacey, our long-time friend!

 Story time

 Standing like a big girl

She loves to look at the dots in her crib

 Where are we going?  I'm ready!

This is what happens when Mom takes too long! 

Piper at 2 months

I'm a little late in posting this but I've had a lot to keep me busy lately!

Piper turned 2 months old on November 7th.  That is so crazy to think about because it has all gone by so fast!  Everyone tells you it will and boy are they right!  I'm including a picture of her in a Halloween costume now because her costume was on the moving truck on actual Halloween.  Some facts about Piper at 2 months are at the bottom and are mostly for us to remember.

2 month stats (really done at 6 weeks 4 days since we were moving)

Weight: 11 lbs. 1.5 oz

Height: 21.25 inches

Below is her one month picture

Cutest flower ever!

-You have started to smile really big and respond to us.  We LOVE this!

-You turn your head and follow the sound of your Mommy's and Daddy's voice but mostly Daddy's.

-You are sleeping through the night consistently!  You did this off and on starting at 4 weeks but now it's at least 6 hours every night.  Wa hoo!

-You like to take cat naps during the day for about 30-45 minutes then you are ready to be up.

-You love to be in the Moby wrap now that Mommy knows how to wear it!

-You love to be out and about in the stroller and look around at all the people and sounds.

-You can stand and bare your weight on your legs, something Daddy likes to do with you.  You can also push off with your legs.

-You like to play on your play mat and look in the mirror at yourself and smile.

-You are starting to coo and talk back and forth with us.

-You love to get baths as long as the water is warm and they are not rushed.

-You will go anywhere and will eat anywhere!  You will even breastfeed on the subway (only happened once so far).

-You prefer to sleep on your stomach but like to lay on your back to play and look around.

 We love you so much and thank God for blessing our lives with you.  We will never be the same- in a good way!

Hotel Sweet Home

This was our home for 11 days and 10 nights while we waited to be moved in to our apartment.  It protected us from the hurricane and provided a very comfortable stay!  We felt like we were living a luxurious life.  However, Brett and I have this theory that the nicer the hotel, the less you get for free.  For example, in some less expensive hotels you get a refrigerator, a microwave, a coffeemaker and have an ice machine on your floor.  Well, in the hotel we stayed at they provide you with a refrigerator but everything else costs extra and there was no ice machine to be found!  Trust me, I looked everywhere because I love ice in my drinks!  One night Brett needed a spoon so he called for one.  They were going to charge him $2.50 to bring up a set of silverware!  He decided he didn't need it that badly.  I don't want it to sound like I'm complaining because we were very grateful that we had a place to stay during the hurricane that had electricity and was far from the flooding!  Every Sunday they serve a world famous brunch in the lobby.  We saw it one Sunday but I forgot to take pictures and I am kicking myself because it was amazing!  The food looked so delicious and it was done so beautifully!  We did not partake since it was $98 for adults!!  So thanks to our hotel for having us as your guests during Hurricane Sandy!  Sorry the pictures are so bad.  They were taken with my phone.

The outside entrance

 The hotel lobby (this is where the Sunday brunch is set up)

 The hallway to our suite

 Room 1924

The living area

 Our bedroom

 Piper's bed

Beautiful bathroom

 There were 2 TVs

There was always a man out front waiting to hail you a taxi cab with the blow of his whistle.  You can see Brett in the brown coat waiting (Above).

Fun Facts

Interesting things I've noticed so far:

-Having a 7 week old baby is a great way to meet new people.  Everyone on the elevators or in the street stops and talks to us about Piper.  And of course they all think she is so cute!

-People in New York can be really nice.  People on the subway try to accommodate a couple with a stroller as much as possible by offering their seat and letting you get off before them.  They also hold doors open and smile at you and the baby.

-People in New York can be really rude.  They shout a lot, get in your way, cut in front of you and yell at you for trying to bring your stroller in a gym.

-All fashion styles seem to be acceptable.  This is good news to a postpartum mom who still can't fit into her stylish pre-baby clothes.  This also makes for interesting people watching.

-No matter how comfortable you think your shoes are, your feet will still hurt at the end of the day.  We are hoping our feet muscles adjust quickly to all the walking.

-Traveling on the subway in New York takes way longer with a stroller.  Elevators are not so easy to find and you look way less cool.

-There are a lot of Europeans that either live here or are on vacation.  We love to hear their accents and try to impersonate them! 

-Air Conditioning does not come standard in apartments.  And we are going to have to learn what having a radiator is all about.  Somehow this contraption heats our apartment?

-Honking loudly and for long sessions happens A LOT around here.  No quick, "Hey you might want to watch out" warning honk.  It's a, "Get a move on buddy I'm in a hurry and you are not moving quick enough" annoying honk.

-New York street hot dogs do not disappoint.  I love hot dogs.  I might be in trouble here.

-If you order water at restaurant, it will most likely come without ice.  I love ice in my drinks so I am having to remember to ask for water with ice.

-At restaurants the cashier asks, "To stay or to go?" instead of "For here or to go?". 

Brett and Piper waiting for the subway

Hurricane Who?

I first heard the mention of the hurricane to hit the Northeast the night before we were to fly out to move to New York.  My Aunt Judy mentioned it to me in conversation while saying she thought it was funny because it's name was Sandy (Sandy is my mom's name), like my mom was trying to warn us not to move and take her only granddaughter thousands of miles away!  I didn't really think anything of the hurricane at the time, having never been involved in one.  Little did I know it was to affect our whole plan of moving in in a timely manner.
We were all set to move in 3 days after we arrived, on a Monday morning.  Sandy was predicted to hit on Monday evening in New York.  On Monday morning we learned the bridges were closed, the subways, and buses were shut down and most stores were closed as well.  So, all of our belongings were put into temporary storage somewhere in New Jersey until further notice.  Lucky for us, we were staying at the Waldorf Astoria on Park Avenue and did not lose power or suffer any flooding like the southern part of Manhattan did.  We did suffer some cabin fever for two days because no stores were open, the subways were closed, and restaurants were hard to come by and were out of many food items.  We did find a Duane Reade (drug store) close by that provided us with the bare essentials.  Bare essentials these days include diapers and wipes for miss Piper girl.  I was so glad we didn't know anyone in the city just yet because we were wearing our dirty clothes until we could get to our apartment to do our laundry.  We are really counting our blessings that our home and belongings were not affected by the hurricane.  We only had to survive very minor annoyances. 

We are praising God that we did not end up in Hoboken, NJ as originally planned.  When we first came to "house hunt" back in May we really loved the city of Hoboken and the charm it portrayed.  You could also get way more space for your money and it was about a 15 minute commute for Brett.  We found a fantastic apartment at a condo building called "Sky Club" but to our major disappointment, that did not work out.  We were so upset that we were not able to get the dream apartment we really wanted.  We still had hopes of moving into the Sky Club or the surrounding area.  But, when Brett went to find a place to live in Hoboken, nothing seemed to fit our criteria.  So, we ended up in Manhattan.  If anyone has watched to destruction of the hurricane, they saw that Hoboken was significantly damaged by it.  The city was over 50% flooded, most of the town was without power and many people were trapped in their homes.  As it turns out the Sky Club received the worst of the damage.  Most of the power was out in the condos and it suffered major flooding.  It's one of those situations in life where you are so upset when your plans fall through at the time but when you look back on it you can see how God was leading your life for the better.  It's all very humbling and we are thanking Him that He is in control.

We absolutely love the apartment we have in Manhattan and the area that it is in.  It doesn't quite feel like home yet but I'm sure it will in time.  Pictures to come when we clean up the chaos that moving in brings.

Here is a picture of the cabs normally lined up by the train at the edge of Hoboken.
 

Laundry Day

Tonight we packed up all of our dirty clothes in our suitcases, waited 30 minutes to hail a cab and went to our apartment to do laundry.  This was quite an ordeal because the laundry is in the basement and our apartment is on the top floor (6th).  So, we took 2 suitcases and a stroller down to the basement, emptied out one into the washer (the others were being used), and tried to figure out how to use the laundry cash card for the machine, losing 6 dollars in the process.  Then we took 2 suitcases (one empty) and a stroller back upstairs to our apartment.  I fed Piper then we went back down to the basement with one suitcase and a baby in arms.  Emptied out the washer to the dryer, and refilled the washer with more clothes.  Suitcase and stroller were then taken back upstairs.  We then started to paint Piper's room green since we are not moving in until Monday.  It was during this time we both realized how hungry we were and that we had somehow skipped lunch after having a fairly big breakfast.  So, we went back downstairs with one suitcase and a stroller and put the other clothes in the dryer and took dried clothes out of dryer and into suitcase after a quick fold of important items and a refill of the laundry card.  We then took the suitcase and stroller back upstairs and left with just a stroller to find a place to eat.  After dinner we grabbed the other suitcase from the apartment and filled it with the rest of the dried clothes.  Can you say exhausting?  I have never spent so much energy doing 2 loads of laundry!  It will be easier when we don't have the suitcases I am sure but we were both missing our laundry room with washer/dryer side by side with no laundry card slot.  Did I mention it is $2.50 per use of each machine?  Wowza!  You better believe we stuffed those machines to the max!!

We did meet a very nice lady in our building who was also doing laundry at the time.  Her name is Judith and she has awesome, BIG, red rimmed glasses.  Brett says she looks like an English teacher.  I would guess she is in her 60s (sorry if you ever read this Judith and you are actually much younger).  She was very nice and we might have bombarded her with some questions about where to get your haircut, what was proper laundry etiquette, and where to eat dinner around here.  She led us to a great "Mexican" food place that is a few blocks away and decently priced.  Oh, and they have free delivery!  It was very delicious, we will be going back!

Here are a few pictures from dinner at El Mitote

 Piper girl was there too!

 Here is our laundry room in the basement.  It is really clean and a very nice space!

This Whole Blogging Thing

I never really thought I would start a blog and I was kind of thinking that the whole blog thing was over.  But, when we had a baby and moved to New York many of my friends and family asked me to start one to help keep in touch.  Then, when I really thought about it, I figured it was a great way to chronicle our 3 year journey in New York City.  So, here I am, posting my thoughts and photos for the whole cyberworld to view.   I am really writing this for our family memories and for Piper to see how the first 3 years of her life were lived.  So, I hope you enjoy the tidbits of adventure from our little world here in New York City!

Here is the link to a video of the walk to our apartment from the subway station.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFE_QMTevWA&feature=youtu.be