Today we watched some figure skating. Liam was really into it, so I got out my old skates for him to see. Then he wanted to try them on. He enjoyed wearing them much more than this picture will lead you to believe. In fact, he wanted to wear them for so long, that Jason and I got tired of holding him up. With a little Googling, I found out that the skating rink at Rockefeller rents skates in Liam's size. Liam earned himself a skating trip before the winter is over. So stay tuned for pictures of Liam on Ice.
1.30.11 ~ The Cutting Edge
Today we watched some figure skating. Liam was really into it, so I got out my old skates for him to see. Then he wanted to try them on. He enjoyed wearing them much more than this picture will lead you to believe. In fact, he wanted to wear them for so long, that Jason and I got tired of holding him up. With a little Googling, I found out that the skating rink at Rockefeller rents skates in Liam's size. Liam earned himself a skating trip before the winter is over. So stay tuned for pictures of Liam on Ice.
1.27.11 ~ Record Snow Fall
We got more snow yesterday and last night. This morning school was closed for Liam and me so we ate cereal and drank coffee while we watched New York dig itself out on the local news (Liam drank milk). They reported that this is the most snow New York has ever gotten in January.
After lunch and nap, Liam and I bundled up and headed out. Since public schools were also closed today, the park was packed. And people had made snowmen all over the place. This was really an experience for Liam. Frosty the snowman in the flesh. He was sort of star struck, I think. Then we made snow angels and sledded a little. And then Liam got cold and asked to go home.
(I only had my phone so excuse the low-fi video and pics).
Hugging a snowman.
Sitting on the snowman's lap (pretty sure this one had boobs).
This was the best one! Can't beat a snowman wearing a traffic cone hat! Not even with boobs.
Liam's snow angel....Nina's snow angel.
1.13.11 ~ That Baltimore "O"
How is it that my little New Yorker has a Baltimore accent??!
Baltimore O from Nina Philipsen Hetzner on Vimeo.
1.08.11 ~ Happy 2011!
Christmas and New Years have come and gone again. But this year was special because in many ways this was Liam’s first Christmas. For the first time he started to understand what was going on. He sort of got the concept of Santa and he definitely got the concept of opening gifts. And boy, that kid got a lot of gifts. As usual we did Christmas Eve with my family (everyone except Anya was there), Christmas morning with Jason’s Dad, and afternoon with Jason’s mom. Santa dropped gifts off for Liam at all three houses and he got new clothes, new bath toys, new puzzles and games, new books, and A LOT of new train stuff. The highlight for Jason and me was a car track that combines with the train tack complete with a crossing. AWESOME. Today Jason constructed such a magnificent track on the living room floor that Liam didn’t even know what to do with it. He sort of only played in one little corner of it. Honestly, I think maybe we’ve taken the whole train thing to a level he’s not developmentally ready for.
Anyway, Christmas was great. Liam got sick again on Christmas Eve, but we kept him well medicated to keep his fever down so that he could enjoy himself anyway. Hopefully we didn’t spread his bug around to everyone else like we managed to just before Thanksgiving. Mostly, it was great to watch his relationships with his family members continue to develop. I think after this trip he will no longer forget his aunts and uncles. I think they spend enough time together and he’s old enough now where they’ll stick with him. It’s tricky, though, since he doesn’t see them much. Liam calls Vera “Vavia” or “Wavia” or something along those lines. And he’s actually been talking about her a quite a bit since we left Baltimore. Anytime he sees a girl with her hair in a bun on the subway he assumes it’s her. And today he talked about her so much that I finally asked if he wanted to talk to her on the computer to which he answered a firm “Yes!”. So we Skyped with Vera and Liam was pretty excited to show off for her a bit. Jumping around on the couch and speaking long nonsense sentences into the webcam.
Then there’s his love/hate relationship with Baby Owen and Baby Sydney. The first time I held each of them it resulted in a full Liam meltdown complete with long cries of “Mooooommmmyy!!” and real tears. It was hard not to be a little bit amused by his intense jealousy. But it stopped being funny when he tried to hit Owen while he was in my arms. I can safely say he is not ready for a sibling. Though, slowly over the course of the week in Baltimore he got more used to the babies and stopped freaking out when I held them. And the babies also left a lasting impression with Liam. He often points to the Baby Liam pictures we have hanging up in our apartment and says “Baby Sydney!”. At first I would try to correct his confusion. But now I just roll with it. His enthusiasm for his baby cousin is sweet. And he spent about 15 minutes yesterday watching a Baby Sydney video on repeat on my computer.
After Baltimore we flew to Austin for what is shaping up to be our New Years tradition. This year, Jill and Josh had just bought a new house so everyone gathered there for New Years Eve. Their house is huge and beautiful and perfect. We sent Liam to bed in the guest room around 9pm and so Jason and I had the rest of the evening to celebrate how we pleased. We rung in 2011 with a backyard firepit, tons of snacks, two kegs, and old and new friends. As always, it was good to spend time with Jill and Pia. And this year with Jill and Josh having a new house and Pia and Raymond being pregnant it really sunk in how long we’ve been friends. Our lives are changing and things are happening and through it all we’re able to maintain our close friendships. The only bummer is that they all live in Austin together while Jason and I are totally left out in New York. It only took about an hour of being in Austin before we were fantasizing what it would be like to move there. But it’s not likely to happen. At least not anytime soon.
Now we’re back in New York. Liam happily waltzed into the Toddler Room on the first day of school and hasn’t even glanced toward the Infant Room since then. Jason is back into the mix at work. And I had a very productive week dissertating. It’s good to be back in our routine.
Happy 2011, everyone!
P.S. Sorry about the collages, but I had to figure out some way to share so many pictures. If you click on the image, you'll get a larger version and it'll be easier to see.
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