The Apartment

Yes, it's taken longer than it should have, but we finally have pictures of the apartment to post. Of course, pictures can't replace seeing the real thing, so come visit soon.

This is our dining area. The mixer is out because Marin was about to start making bread when she realized that that apartment was clean enough to photograph.

Marin has wanted to hang all of her pans and utensils on the kitchen wall ever since she saw the way Julia Child did it in her kitchen. She may never go back to stacking things in drawers and cupboards.

This is Marin's office area. She's still working some of the kinks out, organization-wise, but the secretary and bench (which holds filing folders inside) holds much more than she thought it would. The small bookshelf holds legal research manuals, church books, and Cub Scout supplies. This picture was taken at night, so you can't see the stunning view of a brick wall that she enjoys from this corner.

We specifically wanted the entertainment center to be able to close off the TV to reveal Charlie's toys. We're really happy with the way it turned out, thanks to Gil's expert Ikea carpentry skills.

Almost every New Yorker who sees the apartment remarks on how lucky we are to have such a beautiful space for the piano. We have all loved having it here.

There's not that much to say about this picture, but we're trying to be very thorough in this apartment tour.

This is our bed. We sleep here. Sometimes all three of us sleep here.

This is Charlie's nook with his new Big Boy Bed. Charlie loves his bed, but he think it is best used for rolling, talking, singing, reading, and playing. Marin and Gil are trying to convince him that it is also a nice place for sleeping.

Five Years

After making some tricky babysitting, Cub Scout substituting, and work arrangements, Marin and Gil celebrated their five-year wedding anniversary on October 3 with a night on the town: Indian food for dinner and the Broadway musical, "In the Heights." We've been listening to the soundtrack to this musical for months, so it was amazing to see the original Tony-award winning cast. It is, by far, the best show we've seen on Broadway.

We are still so in love and excited about the new chapter this year will bring for our family.

Children's Museum of Manhattan

Charlie and Marin took a long-planned trip to the Children's Museum of Manhattan last week. We had so much fun! Marin was afraid that there wouldn't be enough two-year-old stuff to do all morning, but there was plenty . . .

Marin's favorite activity was 11 am clean-up time. All the kids get soap, sponges, mops, and brooms to clean up the activity area. (After they're done, the janitors come through to clean up the clean-up mess.) Charlie was dubious at first, but after a few cleaning songs, even he joined in the fun. The two kids next to the boy in the red jacket are friends from Charlie's church playgroup.

Charlie was fascinated by this station. Didn't we have miniature versions of this when we were little? Lightbrights? This was so much cooler (with far fewer chokeable pieces). Other favorites in the room were the dragon who ate alphabet letters, a harp with laser-beam strings, air-blowing tubes, play tables covered with shaving cream, and a tricycle simulator.

When we finally decided to go home, we found an entire floor of the museum devoted to Diego, a cartoon bilingual animal rescuer and Charlie's current hero. Thus our departure was pushed back another hour.

When we finally decided to tear ourselves away, we came around a corner and found the outdoor water play area. And we pushed naptime back yet another hour. It was an exhausting but super-fun day. We can't wait to take Dad.

Playing in the City

With Gil at work on a fairly regular schedule, Marin and Charlie have been exploring things to do, see, and play with in the immediate neighborhood. Here is how we've been spending our time for the last week:







This is the tiny playground at the tiny Belsler (sp?) Park. It's just a few steps from our apartment, so it's a great place to go when Charlie needs some exercise. The "art" on the walls is a collection chalk drawings by the toddlers who come to the park. See if you can recognize Charlie's contributions.

This is Heckscher Playground in Central Park. Marin doesn't like it so much because it's too big for her to keep track of Charlie, but Charlie loves the space and the abundance of pigeons.

The weather has been nice for the most part, but on rainy days we like to play inside with friends. Here's Charlie with his friend Anderson, eating hotdogs in our apartment. We also made a fort out of couch cushions, banged on drums, and watched "Toy Story."

Charlie loves Sheep's Meadow in Central Park: tons and tons of open grass to run on! It's a nightmare for Marin because she has to run all over to make sure Charlie stays out of trouble. Of course, Charlie thinks it's awesome to be chased, so he tries to make things as exciting as possible. In this picture, Charlie is coming to Mom to give her a much-deserved kiss.

We discovered Clinton-Dewitt Park for the first time last week. The playground was deserted the first time we went, which was a little eerie, but the second time it was pleasantly crowded. It's got some great toddler-friendly playground equipment, and, best of all, some huge rocks for climbing.

Rie's visit

We had our first visitor (the first of many, we hope) last week. Marie came from Ogden to help us get moved in and to do some sightseeing. She was so much help, and it was fun for us to get excited about the city as we saw her see it for the first time.

The biggest help she gave us was the morning that she took Charlie out of our room when he decided to wake up at 5:30 am. Later that morning, both Rie and Charlie took a much-needed nap. The picture I took will have to be posted later: My internet is slow tonight.