NYC- MOMA Rain Room

So I am a few months and approximately 6 posts behind, and I do plan to finally edit many pictures and get those posts up.  However, I couldn't help jumping ahead to Eliza's 9 month, John's 3rd birthday, and this incredible photo op on Saturday.

Jane is in NYC for a week and a half for a job training, and my mom helped get her situated this past weekend, so we hopped over for a very full and fun day in the city.  I had seen some phenomenal pictures from a temporary exhibit at the MOMA, so we did some research, strategized how to best manage the beastly line, and went for it!  Another highlight of the day was catching up with Heather, one of my best friends from college who just moved to the city (!), and running in to Kristen Hill, a long-time family friend. Both Heather and Kristen joined us for this exciting day.

First adventure: 6:53 AM train from New Haven to Grand Central.  The train is so easy and allowed for some great family time!

Second adventure: The MOMA!  Jane took one for the team (Team Rain Room, to be exact) and stood in the direct sunlight for almost three hours while we stood nearby in the shade.  The heat was still too much for Eliza to nap in, so we took a 1 hour detour through the air conditioned museum.  Eliza napped and John drew on the iPad (both in the stroller), so Matt, Heather, and I were able to enjoy some beautiful art!  

Highlight: Starry Night

Stunning, soothing, and entrancing

Third adventure: The Rain Room!  My first reaction was relief as we left the sweltering heat and entered this dark, cool room.  Your view of the exhibit is blocked by a black canvas, so it was a few minutes in line indoors before we turned the corner and could see the actual room.  It is breathtaking.  Truly a multi-sensory artistic display.  The only source of light is this gigantic spotlight on the opposite side of the large room, and the majority of the room filled with perfectly vertical rain.  With the backlight, the rain almost looks like mercury, with an ethereal shine to it.  We oohed and ahhed and waited for another 15 minutes in line before we entered the rain. Ahead of us, an older lady pushed her walker into the middle of the rain, pulled out her newspaper, sat down and read for a few minutes, which was an awesome demonstration of how the exhibit works.  Sensors detect your presence (if you move slowly enough) and stop the rain where you are standing.  Such a cool sensation, to be surrounded by beautiful, pouring rain, yet only feeling an occasional drop.  John and I spun around quickly and got rather drenched, which felt quite refreshing.  Seeing, feeling, walking through and hearing this exhibit was awesome.  But the pictures are what really make it so spectacular!

                         

 

Fourth adventure: Shopping!  After a quick lunch, Matt took the kids back to my mom's hotel room for naps, and the girls had a great time strolling through some 5th Avenue favorites. A fun indulgence was admiring wedding dresses at Bergdorf Goodman, where we ended up showing the staff pictures of our wedding dresses and learning about the latest trends.  I loved this girls' outing and the great conversations!

Fifth adventure: FAO Schwartz and meeting up with my cousin Oliver.  John got to try out the huge piano and admire the impressive stock of toys, and I loved connecting with Oliver for a few moments.

Sixth adventure: Dinner at Grand Central then the 8:07 train home.

Long but wonderful day!  I wouldn't brave that Rain Room line with kids and only one adult, so I'm so glad we were able to go for it while we had so many adults to stand in line, play with kids, and converse with.  Truly a memorable exhibit and great day with people with I love.

Happy 3rd Birthday, John!!

Happy Birthday, darling John!! 

This past June was quite the celebratory month!  Here is how we celebrated you turning THREE:

1. Party #1: A lion-themed birthday party with a few of your friends here in CT, on a date when your dad wasn't on call and could participate- June 8th.

You contributed to every preparation- designing and coloring the invitations and thank you cards, selecting the activities, and prepping the food.

You love being 'big' and a 'good helper', and you worked hard!

You were especially excited about the lion cupcakes (popcorn manes) and lion carrots (hummus and mushroom face).

Your friends arrived and each picked out an animal foam hat, then we dove into the safari activities!

Outside, we played animal charades, lion tag, "Duck, duck, lion", roar contests, animal print matching games, read your favorite lion book, and went on a "grub" hunt.

You were in lion heaven.

 And your sister was your enthusiastic sidekick.

You were gracious and excited about your gifts.

The highlight: Your smile while your friends sang "Happy Birthday"

     2.  Party #2: June 22nd with MD family. Your dad and I were on the Alleman 40th anniversary cruise, and Grandma and Grandpa Colton watched you and Eliza for the week.  They finished the week with this party, including Scott, Brittany, Pierce, BAC, GGma, GGpa, and my cousin Jared. You ate meat kabobs, delighted in some presents, and loved eating TWO birthday cakes (GGma wasn't so sure of how her homemade white chocolate cake would taste, so she supplemented it with a store-bought dark chocolate one!).

 

Highlight: Two birthday cakes!

On your actual birthday, we attended a baptism for my friend Genevieve's little boy, Trent, then drove home to CT.  The highlight from that day: Your smile when the entire congregation at that Catholic mass sang "Happy Birthday."  They were singing to multiple congregation members, but you beamed and said "thank you" repeatedly.

You are such an amazing boy, John!

I love how brave you are, with a healthy dose of caution.  You live fully and love it.

I love how much you love being outside.

I love how observant you are.

Here you were mesmerized by my cousin Kevin's piano skills.  You quietly noted how he spanned the whole keyboard and the crowd's reaction.  So when he was finished, you said "My turn," and did the cutest little butt scooch up and down the bench as you tried to cover the keyboard.  Your grin was ear to ear as your adoring audience applauded.

I love the depth of your questioning, connecting, and memory.

I recently attended the funeral of a good family friend, and taught you some basics about his 'broken' body, his return to Heavenly Father in heaven and healthy body, his funeral, etc.  And you absorbed every detail. Almost daily you have asked me, "Mom, let's talk about Steve and heaven," and you love to work through the details.  You are three.  I love how much you can converse and understand!

I love your love of learning.

You loved our preschool co-op.  You loved learning facts about various themes and letters. Here you are jumping in your seat with excitement over your certificate.

Your wonderful preschool friends:

Elizabeth, Evelyn, Naomi, Rosemary, and Kellan.

You love to draw.  That's all you want to do whenever sitting still- draw with crayons, pens, or on an iPad drawing app.

You still love blocks and puzzles.

You love your parents' alma maters (or at least the reaction you get from us!)

The Stanford hat is your favorite accessory, but the BYU fight song is what you request every night before bed and you have most of the song memorized. You also love BYU cougars and have a poster in your room.

You love your dad.

You talk about him constantly, reminding me that he is at work, that he is a very nice dad, and that you love him. 

And you want to be just like him.  

I love how you mimic our phrases (and wow you pick up on everything- "Dangit" has been a favorite phrase for the past month).  The cutest mimic lately: "..., huh?" at the end of every phrase.  "It's kinda hot, huh?"  "Eliza is being silly, huh?"  Makes me smile every time.

John, you are so sweet and kind. Your current motto is, "I am nice and kind and brave," and it is true!

Here's to a great year being three!

Eliza- 9 months!

Eliza turns 9 months old today!  Wow.  It would be lovely if time could start slowing down a bit now.

She continues to be so happy, observant, social, strong, and coordinated.  Here are some of my latest favorites with her:

-Babbles and words!  She regularly repeats or intiates: "Ma ma" for me and "Ba ba" with a wave for Bye, Bye. She also produces the occasional "da", "na", and "ya".  My favorite may be her frequent deep grunts, tongue "thbbt"s, and exaggerated gasps.

-Smiles.  She cocks her jaw to her left and gives the most hilarious, cock-eyed, two-tooth (now four- tooth!) grin.  Often with closed eyes, with her smile taking over her face.  She also throws her head back and tilted towards one shoulder in this "oh this is too much" sort of smile.  Scrunched nose, likely accompanied by a little laugh/gasp.

-Laughs.  John especially can make her lose it.  The two of them cracking each other up is THE cutest, most heart-warming sound in my life.

-Her social proclivity.  This girl.  Studies everyone.  And if someone fails to acknowledge her, she will tilt her head to the side and study them harder.  She enjoys playing with toys and moving around, but whenever she is seated, she would rather connect with people than observe any other thing.

-Her coordination.  Dang.  She is strong and has a solid core, so she rarely falls while discovering new motor skills.  Granted, when she does bonk her head, to any degree, she lets out the quite the dramatic, feminine cry.  Tough as nails with her brother and other kids wrestling and playing with her, but head bumps- major tears.  Currently she is crawling up a storm, climbing stairs (agh), standing up by herself from a squat, pulling herself to standing everywhere, and absolutely loving her motor freedom.  She has yet to process the marching motion, and I really wouldn't mind if she held out on that for at least another month.

-Her interest in her brother.  Forget baby toys.  Whatever John is playing with, she wants to play with.  And of course, whatever she plays with, goes straight to her mouth...  She lights up whenever John is around.  When I bring her with me to get John from his nap, leg and arm spasms take over and she crawls around like a shrieking mad woman on his bed, unable to contain her excitement.

-Her cuddliness.  Cuddle opportunities are much rarer now that she is on-the-go, but I love how she nestles her head on my shoulder when I sing her a song before her naps.  I treasure each one of those cuddles.

-Her calm observations of her world.  I love participating with her in her excitement over movement, noises, people, and interesting sights.  She claps and squeals, and loves to make eye contact as I "yayyy!" and clap alongside her.

-Her compliance with travel.  As long as I switch things up, she is an easy traveler.  Thank goodness, because we are back in summer mode and have some exciting trips this summer!

-Her love of food, especially independent eating. With baby food she is increasingly bored, grunts, or sometimes protests.  She is happiest with diced cheese, fruits, veggies, or bread in front of her where she can feed herself.

-Her joy with the outdoors.  She loves kicking and splashing in water, and will tolerate a pool float for some time (until she decides to gulp the water, yikes).  She thinks wind is exciting.  She loves to touch (and eat) grass, flowers, and sand.  So her joy will hopefully just continue to grow as she moves more and ingests less.

Sure love you, baby girl.  Happy 9 months!