6 months

It's been awhile since I've written anything about our little Barty-warty. He is now a chubby little 6 month old. As I said before, I feel like these 6 months have gone by so fast. Bart is still a little angel child. He sleeps anywhere from 12 to 14 hours at night and takes 2 or 3 naps a day. He is a trooper wherever we go, whatever we are doing. Either just sitting quietly in the stroller or hanging out in the ergo. He has finally mastered the art of eating from a spoon and is currently enjoying rice cereal, bananas and sweet potatoes. Bananas are the clear winner as far as favorites go. He likes to "play" on the floor, and can roll both ways. Although, he seems to have forgotten how to roll from his stomach to his back, because he gets mad when he has had enough time on his tummy and refuses to just roll over to remedy the situation. He likes to talk/scream, view the world from his bumbo chair, have his big brothers play with him and make him laugh, to be tickled and given lots of lots of kisses, and to suck/chew on anything he can get a hold of.  He has been getting lots of attention from the ladies these days, and he seems to already know how to smile just so.  He has the softest, squishiest skin, I just can't get enough of it. I know I am just a teensy bit biased, but I am pretty sure that he is just about the cutest, sweetest little guy that ever was seen.  See...

This outfit was my brothers.  Cool huh?

We sure love this little guy.

Happy November 1st!!

Wow! I can't believe that it is already the first day of Novemeber. This year has flown by, and this semester has especially gone fast. This morning, we walked outside to go to the library, and the air was icy. We had to break out the hats and gloves for the first time today. Then as we walked past Columbia campus, they were putting up the Christmas lights!! I couldn't believe it. Seriously, is it really almost the Holiday season? Don't get me wrong, I love this time of year, and am already SO excited for it (I'm not gonna lie, I'm listening to Christmas music right now. It happened by accident, but it was nice, so I left it on. Don't judge), but it still feels like summer just ended. I mean, we just took our a/c units out like 2 weeks ago.

Anyway... I am excited for Thanksgiving, and the fun things we have planned. I will probably hold off on the Christmas music for a couple more weeks. Although I can't say that I appreciate Nate's bad attitude toward it, and that is not the reason I am holding off, by the way. Nate tends to be a bit of a scrooge when it comes to holidays in general, and it makes me a little sad (hint hint Nate).

I hope you all have a wonderful fall day!

P.S. I hate suckers. Could there be anything more sticky and gooey??

Park days coming to a close

Our New York fall is in full swing. The leaves are changing and the weather is turning chilly. We have been trying to squeeze in all the park days possible while the weather isn't too fridid. I am enjoying it immensely, as are the kids... as usual. Here are some fun pics with the boys and their friends.

Addi on the swings

Asher and Addi climbing.  It is amazing how agile they are these days

Sayer diggin' in the dirt

It looks like he is doing an ad campaign for craisins.  And yes, he is barefoot.  It was in the 70s that day though, don't worry.

Movie night

This last friday, we had a movie night pajama party at our friends' house. We watched Winnie the Pooh's Halloween and had pizza with fruit and veggies. The kids loved it. I think we are going to make it a weekly ritual while the weather is cold.

Sayer, Asher, Chase, Jackson, Tali, Addi

Jayden

Barty-warty

Sayer gets so into whatever he is watching.  He was so wide-eyed watching this movie.

Chase and Jackson

Tali and Addi

Look what I made...

Cute huh? They looked way cuter online, their fur was much better, but I still think they turned out pretty darn cute.

Really?

The other day I was running along riverside park, when I ran up behind an elderly lady wearing what looked from behind, like one of these:

I thought to myself, "she seems rather old to have an infant". But then as I passed her, I realized I was mistaken. For it was not a baby carrier at all, but one of these:

Wow. Really? I've seen my fair share of these:

in the city. Now I can't decide which is worse.

Conference weekend & a visit from Jill!

Over conference weekend, my sister Jillian came out from DC to hang with us. It was also her birthday, so it was a nice excuse to see a show and see some of the city. She got here on Friday afternoon. We went and grabbed a slice and then saw The Addams Family starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth (we didn't get to see her, she was out of town). It was a fantastic show, actually. Very funny and entertaining, very talented cast. Most of the songs were quite enjoyable. Some of the funniest parts were with the puppetry that they did. The sets were awesome and they did some cool stuff with the curtains. Hard to explain, but it was neat-o. It was all very clever. Nathan Lane was truly amazing. He is such a talented actor, with impeccable comedic timing. A perfect Gomez. I was so glad that I got to see him live. A guy I know from BYU, Clark Johnsen, (he was a Young Ambassador at the same time I was a Folk Dancer... we did Light of the World together, and he was in Whitney's MDT program), was one of the ancestors, so it was fun to see him in it as well. 

Saturday we spent most of the day in Central Park after Nate took the boys to the Central Park zoo.  We started at Hecksher Playground at the south end of the park, the walked through the mall, up to the lake and Bethesda Fountain.  From there we headed to Bow bridge, then up past Cherry Hill to the fountain.  Then out of the park by Strawberry Fields.  We picked up some jumbo pretzels and ate them on the steps of the Museum of Natural History, then headed home. 

Asher showing off his golf skills.  He's actually pretty good.

Sayer, charming random park goers.  Per usual.

Jill and Bart enjoying the sunshine

Making wishes at the fountain at the top of Cherry Hill in Central Park

Making a wish...

and the toss

Asher's turn

Thinking about what to wish for... pretty sure it had something to do with birds.  Shocking, I know.

Conference Sunday.  Jillian's birthday cake.

You can't tell, but they are singing Happy Birthday to Jill

We didn't have any candles, but Jill was a good sport and pretended to blow her candles out!

On Saturday night, we had a lovely dinner out to Deluxe, one of our neighborhood faves.  Sunday we listened to conference and baked.  Then we had bbq pulled pork sandwhiches, fruit, veggies, and other delicious treats, with some friends in the ward.  Jill had to leave late afternoon to get back to DC for school the next day.  Thanks for coming out Jill!  We had fun as always.  Next time, we will get out and see more of the city, promise!

Drummin'

Sayer was entertaining Bart by drumming on his bumbo tray. Bart was giggling so much, it was so cute. Love those little boys!

Rice cereal

Barty started eating rice cereal. He likes it. It would be nice if he would keep most of it in his mouth. I know he will eventually learn this skill, but it would be nice if he could master sooner rather than later. :) Either way, he sure is cute!

Coney Island

On labor day weekend we went to Coney Island for the first time. The weather was perfect, and the crowds were not bad at all. After a quick lunch of Nathan's hot dogs, we spent some time on the beach, then headed over to the Aquarium, which the kids loved. I would not, however, recommend waiting in line to see the 4-D Planet Earth movie... SO not worth it.