Happy New Year!

So far we're off to a great start.  We completed the year with a tad of down time -- if there is such a thing as "down time" with two kids.  :)  I took the kids to see the tree at Rockefeller and to watch the folks ice skating.  We then walked over to Greg's office and took the subway home with him in the late afternoon.

Atticus and I had a fun little adventure on Christmas Day.  He and I went for a chilly walk and ended up stopping at a fun little bakery for some coffee, orange juice and a slice of cake.  Wren and I have gone on a few small adventures here and there recently too -- I think her favorite was FAO.  She wasn't such a fan of the Apple store, but then again, it was just prior to Christmas and a wee bit busy!

Atti and I also spent last weekend at Bryant Park.  We shook off the nerves and hit the ice.  There was a tantrum or two when he first stepped onto the ice, but after our second try, he really took to skating.  Truth be told, I was impressed.  We stopped several times the first go around the rink -- but the second trip went pretty smooth.  We even went large distances where he was only holding my hands and not onto the rail at all!  I'd say pretty good for the first time EVER!  I'm going to try and take Wren soon and hopefully get back with Atticus again too.  Atti and I were lucky that we made it the very last day of the "shops".  After an hour or so on the ice, we packed up and watched the zamboni clean the ice.  That was a highlight for sure.  Next up, snacks.  We tried some grits and had one of the BEST wafels (yes I spelled that right) ever.  Seriously, I'm still dreaming about the wafels.  Of course, no day would be complete without a street vendor hot dog!

Thankfully, we're in a bit of a warm spell right now, so we've been able to spend quite a bit of time at the two closest parks.  The kids love these gigantic swings.  They're made from a heavy duty plastic and they're set up so the kids are reclining at a pretty steep angle.  Who knows... they love 'em.  And, as a result of pushing them constantly - I think I'm getting a decent upper body workout in every time we go to the park!

We're also stopping into the library at least once a week.  Some current favorites include I Ain't Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont and Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker.  I really need to see if the kids school has a Scholastic account so that I can order those two.  We've checked out many books lately, but those are definite favorites.

Everything else is holding steady... the kids are loving their gymnastics classes at MyGym.  I'm also considering adding in some classes at the 92 Street Y... but we'll see.  I know how easy it could be to overschedule the kids.  They have so much fun, it's hard to not let them try everything out!