Big Breeze Aftermath 2011

So Irene did little damage, aside from stranding Bluet's nanny in Puerto Rico this week - so Emily and I are taking it in turns to look after Bluet. The plus side is more time with Bluet, the minus is less time to do work.

On the night of the big hurricane strong breeze, we went for a stroll in between rainstorms. We stumbled across a really cool small bar/restaurant just minutes from our house, that we had never seen before - thus, I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be a magical, hurricane induced mirage. Nevertheless, fearlessly we stepped in to rest a while, sup a beer, and watch the world go by, whilst Bluet practiced sitting on the table

Ok, there was a small amount of rain

Bluet receives bad news from the Nanny

Out with the other people, looking for non-existent carnage

Kids are required for the massive clean up effort. To be fair, this is a flooded playground

It's bonus extra time with Dad, Monday AM

To the swings!

It's bonus extra time with Dad, Tuesday AM

some random snaps

While we wait for the hurricane/tropical storm/strong breeze to cause minor inconvenience, here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Still lovin' those swings

A tough morning nap, when the favourite knitted blanket was in the wash

First time sitting upright in the reconfigured pram

More swinging in central park

Waiting to see the paediatrician. (NB calling it a waiting room doesn't mean that you should make us wait there unnecessarily)

Ah, oui. C'est le swings.

PS don't miss today's other posts.

Hurricane #1

So here we are in our apartment, waiting for the big storm to hit. Seeing as it is probably going to be a tropical storm, we're not worried (and we are well out of the bits of Manhattan likely to be flooded). We did pop out earlier to make sure we had food, milk and juice to keep us going over the weekend, and were amazed to see how many people were out on the streets shopping - usually there are very few people out and about here on a Saturday morning.

The supermarkets had gone crazy. I think that a lot of people on the Upper East Side never cook for themselves as they can afford to eat out every day. So they were thrown for a loop by the incoming storm and had to go straight to the shop. Remarkably, there was a queue outside the posh supermarket (Agata and Valentina) but not the regular supermarket (Associated). So we went to the latter (we are already well stocked with posh foods in this house). The shelves were not stripped bare of the items we desired - in fact the supermarket remained well stocked. However, bottled water has SOLD OUT. We have a cunning plan* and did not need to buy any ourselves.

NYC Last Night. Remember this kids, because the hurricane could change all that

Again, last night. But it will look like this on Monday too.

New Yorkers going Supermarket shopping crazy

The queue outside the posh shop

One baby who ain't afraid of no hurricane/tropical storm/strong breeze

Anyway, we got home just as the first rains started. A brief, heavy shower, which is now over.

As we will be stranded inside this weekend we should have time to catch up on the blog (as long as we have internet), and post some previously unseen footage. Including evidence that Bluet is fully prepared for any flood. 


*e.g. a large plastic bottle (19 litres) that we can fill from the tap.

Bonjour!

Bluet, c'est tres chic et tres belle!

Mais, ou est le beret?

4 Month Vital Statistics

As we may have mentioned, Bluet is now 4 months old. It turns out it is difficult to find time to put everything she does on the blog (I had no idea a baby would take up so much time, and do so many things). So today, here is her 4 month (and a bit) celebratory video. As you can see she is now very active and lively, and loves standing up (an important milestone, showing Bluet is very advanced for her age).

In today's big news, Bluet went for her 4 month check up and vaccinations (so she can benefit from and contribute to herd immunity). The nurse took her measurements and showed them to the paediatrician, who could not believe her head had got so big in just two months - they had to measure it again to be sure. Fortunately her weight and length are in proportion to her head, so she is totally normal, if above average in size*. She then had her injections which made her scream (and everyone sad to see her so upset). But that soon passed. By the time I got home from work, she was happy as anything, as you can see in the following photo (note the attractive plasters over the injected areas).

*She is in the 93rd -95th percentile for everything. I'm not 100% sure, but I think this means that if you got all the 4 month old babies to stand in a row in order of height (or head size), she'd be very near the front.

Missouri miscellaneous

Rides on the golf cart are a regular activity on the farm and
it turns out that Bluet is just as entertained by this as everyone
else in the family (the dogs like it so much that they even go
on utility rides with my mom to transport lawn chairs). Here
we are, on the last ride of the last day of our recent visit.

The day everything became hilarious

Bluet was 4 months old on Wednesday, but we were so busy laughing at her laughing that we didn't have time to make a sign to record this for posterity. It's possible that documentation of 4 months and a few days will be forthcoming.

100 Years of Swampitude

Emily and Bluet's family have been farming the same farm in Missouri for 100 years, which calls for a celebration. So this weekend we were down on the farm, partying. In 100 years, I suspect that Bluet and her American cousins will be flying in from Mars on their space cars to celebrate 200 years of the same family farming Swampeast Acres. Of course, by then they will be farming space foods and selling them to some intergalactic federation, rather than soy beans to the Japanese, but that's progress for you.

Anyway, here are some pics and videos

Happy baby on the plane

Happy Baby in the car

Incoming storm (the night before the party)

Bluet has a Boulevard through the woods

Bluet Sleeping

Bluet slept through most of the party

More sleeping

Stopped for lunch on the way home

At the airport

Bonus Videos!

back to work

I'm working full days again and have been missing
my baby this week! Her nanny is very sweet and often
brings her to the park across the street from
Sloan-Kettering so I can see her around lunchtime.
I guess I'm lucky to have always liked my work, and
have never really been that eager to leave the lab,
but now find myself happily hurrying along the sidewalk
with the rest of the rat pack at 5:30.

This photo is what I came home to on Monday...as the
day wears on, Bluet sucks her thumb more and more and
we know this is a sign that she is getting tired. No
naptimes at that time of day though, and I was so happy
when I realized that taking her to Central Park is the
perfect antidote to her almost daily late afternoon
fussiness. Typically all three of us are relieved when
the hour reaches 7 pm, and we feed her, play with her
as long as she's happy, give her a bath, read her a book
and put her to bed. She loves to go to bed, just like her
mom. You can see her relief when her blanket touches her
hands and face - it's very cute.

3,000 Hits

Ok, here is the long awaited 3,000 hits post. I assume we are the first website to ever reach 3,000 hits, and not like the 28th website to reach 3,000 hits, because if we were only 28th that would not be worth celebrating.*

*this is a baseball joke, about the media fuss over Derek Jeter becoming the 28th player ever to reach 3,000 hits, which was ridiculous. After all, everyone knows the name of the first man on the moon, but who cares who the 28th man on the moon was?

Anyway, here are some hand picked classics never before seen from the extensive Bluet archive. One day they will probably have pride of place in her presidential library. So here you can once again see what Bluet used to look like, when she was young and small and sweet, as opposed to today when she is a little bit older, a little bigger, and just as sweet. To be honest she is a bit more wrinkly than I remember.

Also, from today, Bluet reading her book (she is now looking at the pictures). This is very exciting as soon we will be able to read her such children's classics as 'the giant jam sandwich', 'The Jolly Postman', 'The very hungry Caterpillar' (a presidential favourite), 'Tootles the Taxi' (a favourite of Uncle Nick), and, best of all, the re-issued complete Mr Benn

Swings, day 2