mi escuelita celebrates summer

School ended in late June, and Mi Escuelita welcomed the start of summer with a fiesta. Here's Ida in action and a sweet video from one of the parents.

roof!

Thanks to the deck and rooftop kiddie pool, we've been handling the summer heat well. It's actually been a mild summer so far. But August has just begun....

early spring roof time

We've been neglectful of the blog (sorry!), mostly because we've been having a busy, fun-filled summer. Here we are in early spring on the roof. It was still a bit chilly!

5 boro bike ride

Ida watched her first 5-boro bike ride today. Uncle Lou, Matt and Norbert came to town for the ride, and Chris joined them to raise funds for Stoked Mentoring. It was a rainy, chilly spring day and yet 30,000 cyclists turned out. The ride began in Lower Manhattan, took them through the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn (right down Kent Avenue in Williamsburg) and then on to Staten Island.

egg hunt at mi escuelita

A few days before Easter, Ida and her friends at Mi Escuelita celebrated with an egg hunt. The kids dressed up for the occasion with handmade bunny ears and face paints. They had dyed some of the eggs earlier in the day, but the ones with candy inside were Ida's favorite.

easter

Easter was especially fun this year because Ida's Grammie and Uncle Zack were visiting. We dyed eggs, made Easter cookies, and the Easter Bunny visited Ida. We've been hiding eggs and eating chocolate for weeks now!

Ida also spent the week with her Grammie. They did lots of fun things like give Ida a manicure and pedicure, read books, color, and meet friends at the park. We're already looking forward to another visit!

grand street playground

It doesn't get much better than a warm sunny day with friends Lili-Cai and Miel.

one snowy day

summer dreamin'

fun at home

rhode island

We spent the past weekend in Rhode Island visiting the Mazza family - four generations! - and Big Papa and Gramma. Ida met her cousin Molly for the first time (so did we) and loved every second of it. She couldn't keep her hands to herself!

chinese new year

We recently joined the masses in Chinatown for the annual New Year's parade. Ida was a little scared of the confetti poppers and not sure what to make of the crowds. But she loved the dancing dragons.

christmas in virginia

After a festive couple of weeks leading up to Christmas here in NY, we traveled to Virginia, where we had a relaxing time with Granmommy, Pop, Uncle Stephen, the Seatons and extended families and friends. It was a refreshing break from the City. Ida took advantage of the simple luxuries of life like reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve (a Norfleet tradition) and playing by the river. She even indulged her parents with a visit to Colonial Williamsburg (see photo of questioning toddler in stocks).

first snow

We saw about four inches of snow in late December, the first of the winter. Ida was excited until her hands got cold. How to convince a 2-year-old that mittens help?! These were taken on our roof deck.