What's up Chuck?

Happy Monday, friend!
How was your weekend?

This past weekend we visited a friend's new digs in the city and celebrated a cousin's birthday at the Bronx Zoo.  Here are some photos from our zoo adventures...

Three cousins ready to start their zoo adventure!

Such a beautiful building-  love the carved animal heads

Chuck saw his cousin sitting on her daddy's shoulders, so he wanted to ride on hubby's shoulders too!

We almost caught this peacock, but he was a slippery fellow.

Some of Chuck's favorite animals

Seeing the cousins play together made me so happy

What's up Chuck?

Hi everyone! How was your week?  Did you have a good Labor Day?

Before you read on, I gotta warn you. This post is FULL of photos because last week was chock full of activities. 

Early in the week, Hubby had to go out of town for a couple of days.  We missed him a lot.  It was tough holding down the fort without him around.  Fortunately, my sister came to visit one day.  Having her around sure helped me out. 

Then hubby came back and we visited a bike show in Brooklyn.  (It was a pretty easy going night, so I took a lot of photos.)

Beautiful custom bikes at the show

I've never seen such a tall bike before!

Delicious Mexican food

Whoever lives in this apartment has such a quirky sense of style.  Love the birds!

I can't take credit for this outfit.  Chuck is now picking out his own clothes.

Then, hubby and I celebrated our anniversary with a trip into Manhattan to see Pippin and eat Korean food.  Yurmmy.  (Thanks Tita Tina and Tito Ric for babysitting!)

And then we celebrated Chuck's 2nd birthday with a trip to the zoo.  (Wow.  I can't believe that two years passed by so quickly.  He's no longer a baby anymore!)

Chuck really enjoyed seeing the animals, especially the sea lion.  He and his cousins had fun trying to talk to them through the glass wall.

Phew.   And that's what happened last week.  Time to take a nap. 

What's up, Chuck?

This weekend we went into the city and visited Chelsea Market.  There were so many interesting things to see and eat.  But,  oy vey! I forgot just how crowded New York can get.  It was a wee bit overwhelming to be constantly surrounded by a sea of people.

Here are a couple of photos from our adventure that day... 

Exposed brick and large industrial fans give the place such character

Butcher's shop

Chuck and I were dying to run our hands through the mountains of spices...

Lunch time!

Super adorable cookies... but unfortunately, not gluten free. :(

Yurmmmmy fresh seafood...

We were all super tuckered out by the time we got home

Happy Monday! 

What's up Chuck?

Hi everyone! 

We're still battling the remnants of illness here, blech.

Here are some photos of our life lately....

1.  Chuck feeding his best friend, Pink Pig

I have no idea why... but Chuck loves this little pink pig.  She's his best friend.  He loves her so much that every time we eat a meal, Chuck has to feed Pink Pig too.  He places her on our couch and puts those two cups in front of her.  Then, when we're done eating our meal, he cleans up his pig's dishes too.

Super cute.


2.  Fun with Cars

Move over balls, cars have now stolen Chuck's heart.  We've already built several racing ramps and today Chuck and I mixed it up and built a large parking lot.

(Oh boy, do I wish parking in our neck of the woods was this plentiful!)


3.  Potty Humor 

Lately, Chuck has been adding "poo poo" to a lot of strange words and then giggling hysterically.   I've now heard, "Eat poo poo," "Poo poo rawr rawr," and "bad poo poo."

He also likes making his stuffed animals poo into different containers.  I'll let you interpret the above photos on your own. :)


4.  Putting on our shoes

Chuck really is  his father's son... because he loves shoes.  He especially loves wearing mismatched ones.

One day I found him wearing these two shoes and walking around the apartment.  I was so proud of him because he put them on all by himself. 

5.  Baking with Chuck  

I'll let the video do the talking.


P7226875.AVI from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.



Hope you have a great weekend! 
I'm hoping we all feel 100% better by Sunday....



(Psst- I did the unthinkable. I jumped full force into social media and got myself an Instagram 
and Twitter account. Yes I know.  It's kind of overwhelming... scratch that... very overwhelming.  I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm pushing hard to try new things... eeek.)

What's up Chuck?

You know that line from Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times?"

Well, this past week kind of felt like that.

We worked to fight computer failure.  But it's now official, the computer is dead.

We battled illness.  (Chuck had a cold.  Then I caught his cold... and then I caught some sort of tummy bug.  Ick. I'll spare you the details.)

And throughout the week Chuck and I engaged in some pretty epic battles of wills.  (His new favorite word is "No.")

But amidst all these tough spots, we've also shared some wonderfully sweet moments.  As Chuck gets older, he's also becoming more aware of the things and people around him.   One of his favorite things to do is copy others.   

He copies the older kids at the sprinklers

He noticed that I wore a ring, so he wanted to wear one too

He and daddy wore matching outfits to church

He saw some kangaroos on tv and wanted to have a baby kangaroo in his own "pouch" too

Pretending to be a kangaroo from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.


Life is tough, but there are also such beautifully sweet moments sprinkled throughout. 

Have a good weekend, friends.  Stay cool and we'll see you next week!

New Jersey Children's Museum

I don't know what the weather's been like where you are... but around here... it's been hot.  Really, really, really, hot.

So hot that the park across the street has been practically empty all weekend until 5pm, when some brave souls drag their stir-crazy children out.

So hot that I feel like a roasting chicken when I step out into our apartment's hot, stuffy, lobby.

So hot that our curtains are drawn practically the whole day so that we keep the sun's powerful rays out.

Blech.

With hubby home for the long weekend, we wanted to hang out as a family... but where could we go that was fun, kid-friendly, and indoors?

Luckily for us, Hubby found out that the New Jersey's Children's Museum is located only about a half hour away.  So, we spent one weekend morning there, hiding from the heat and having lots of fun.  We're so thankful that places like this exist.  They had lots of toys and interactive exhibits just right for young kids.  And, bonus- everything there is meant to be touched, pulled, pinched, dropped, etc... which is just perfect for us, since Chuck's super active and curious.  Here are some photos from our fun (and cool) day:

Need something demolished?  Chuck's ready to help out.

Fee-fie-fo-fum!  There's something awesomely cool about seeing things in miniature size

Perhaps Chuck's favorite exhibit- the sandbox.

Largest kaleidoscope I've ever seen- you had to turn a steering wheel to operate it

Chuck and a new four-legged buddy save the day

Ack!  These little wooden Wild West toys are just too cute.   

The super-humongous lite-brites board made us feel like kids again  (It would also be an awesome DIY to make one day... oh huubbbby.....)

Hope you had a good weekend as well.

Happy July 4th

Dear friends~

Happy July 4th. 

Hope you have a restful, refreshing, and reflective weekend.  

I'll see you next week!

Adventures in Brooklyn

Last weekend we visited Brooklyn to see the Renegade Craft Fair.  Wow.  It was really amazing to see so many talented crafters.  I walked away feeling super inspired (and super intimidated.)  

Below are some photos from the day's adventures.  I wish I could have taken more photos of all the vendors' wares, but, it was way too sunny and hot.  We ended up just walking through and then searching for shade.  Despite all my best efforts at using sunscreen, I still ended up getting burned.  Ick, ick, ick.

Some Brooklynites lay sod over a closed-off street to create instant green seating for an afternoon concert

Brave souls who ventured out into the heat to enjoy lovely crafts

Love these earrings because they reminded me of friendship bracelets

Cool word art (And now I'll know the different parts of Brooklyn)

One vendor sold lovely diorama boxes with interesting images

Chuck cooling off with his spray bottle

Chuck and I sharing a smoothie

A + C's wedding

This past weekend we attended a cousin's wedding in Brooklyn.  It was a wonderfully intimate and elegant affair.  The bride and her mother's touches were everywhere.  The lovely bride altered her own dress and both ladies worked together to bake and decorate the cake and put together all the floral arrangements.

Here's what we wore to the wedding:  (We took these photos beforehand because it would be nearly impossible to take photos while entertaining an active almost-two-year old during the event.)

 And here are photos taken before the event:

Something blue

Wedding cake made by the bride's mom

Can you believe these flowers aren't real?  They're edible and made by hand.

My small DIY contribution- Handwritten escort cards

Wall decorations at the reception

Bride's bouquet

Here are photos taken from the ceremony:

Here's how we entertained Chuck during the ceremony

 Here are photos taken during the reception:

Beautiful lace back

Dinner time!

Cake cutting

Congratulations A and C!   Thank you for letting us be a part of your special day.