Children's Museum and Artie's

We started today off with the great idea to go to the Manhattan Children's Museum- and then soon realized that everyone in Manhattan had that same idea. The holidays in NYC are very um..."crowded" for lack of a better word. You should not live here if you have any tendencies toward claustrophobia whatsoever. It seems that everywhere we have gone in the last week has been uncomfortably tight- even just walking on the street. We did end up having a good time at the museum regardless. While we were in the "infant section" Marc leaned over and whispered "hey, isn't that Hillary Swank over there?" About 10 feet away playing with her daughter on the ground was Jennifer Garner. Okay, so he did not get the name right but I was pretty impressed with his star detecting capabilities regardless. That is another entertaining part of living in NYC. Celebrity spotting. Every time I spot one I am reminded of how grateful I am to be able to live an anonymous life free from the harassment they face. Speaking of faces, I had to post this picture of Owen taken at Artie's Diner (a sandwich shop around the corner from the museum). We discovered today that he likes pickles. It may not seem that way from the pictures but it is true- he sucked on that pickle for another 15 minutes after these pictures were taken.

Skating with the Stars

Marc took the kids to Bryant Park today to Ice Skate. Actually I came along too, but after we found the line to be 2 hours long, and we noticed that Owen was starting to grow horns and turn a shade of red- we decided that I should take him home. Marc had a good time skating with the girls. It was a first time experience for both Madeline and Eva- and they went from holding on to the wall, to holding on to Marc, to "walk-skating" all in one day so we are happy with that progress. They had a great time.

Skating with the Stars

Owen and Cars....

There is something about boys and cars and balls and hammers (3 of owen's four favorite things in the world - the fourth is toilets) ......another Christmas gift jackpot......

Passing the Torch....

Okay so I had to post this portion of our Christmas dinner because it was so incredibly impressive. Marc tried his hand at pie making and......drum roll please......success!! I was impressed- here it is for all to see- maybe we should have gone back to culinary school instead of grad school?!? I have decided that Marc can now be the official pie maker for our family for the holidays. Yeeessss:)

Owen at work

Here is Owen discovering a toy Christmas Morning that incorporates his two favorite things: Hitting, and Balls.......hours of entertainment:)

Merry Christmas!!!!

We know we could tell you all that we love you and miss you but we thought that the kids could say it better........

Christmas Eve Pictures

Some Pic's

Not to be outdone.......

So, Eva after having to sit through last month's "student of the month" assembly and watch her older sister awarded the coveted designation, Eva did all within her power to make sure that she would be "student of the month" in December. All of the hard work paid off :). Mom got to attend another assembly and be proud for a second month in a row. Eva was honored for "telling wonderful stories." We all know that she is good at that!!:)

Grand Central Station

We headed off to Grand Central Terminal this weekend to see the famous "Kaleidoscope" show. It is basically a light show set to music that plays over the walls and dome of the main lobby of GST. The girls had a good time watching it and we got a very small video segment (due to a full memory card:) of it so you can check it out. I threw in a picture of us headed there on the subway, and a few of us getting ready to go- for good measure.

Rockefeller Christmas

Here are a few pictures from some jaunts we have made to Rockefeller this month. We find ourselves heading to this area quite a bit. It tends to be cleaner than most areas of Manhattan, less crowded than Times Square and with more "family friendly" advertisements (aka no half naked billboards), and has some of the best shopping. We also find ourselves in the Bryant Park Area- just a few blocks south which is becoming equally nice- and close to dad's work which means we can stop in any time for a free hot chocolate and snacks :). The first picture is of the girls and I posing in front of some giant Christmas Lights. The funny thing was- neither of the girls had any idea what these were until they were told. They also had these huge Christmas bulb-like decorations. The second picture is taken of Marc and the kids outside St. Patrick's Cathedral. We came back tonight (the 22nd) and to show the girls the Snowflake show and window displays of Saks Fifth Avenue- while we were there Marc stopped in to buy me a few last minute Christmas gifts. Wait, that was my dream last night :) There was no shopping to be done..... but we did get a glimpse of the Rockefeller tree from far off and that was a treat.