Father's Day

We had a rough weekend. I had a fever that went up to 104.3. But we had fun too...

For Father's Day we had monk fish that taste as well as a lobster with home made biscuits (my special recipe) and farmer's market salad. It was a hit. I don't know who ate more fish, Jeremy or Sonia.

I also got something that Jeremy could have never guessed. A cool set of shoe polish in the unique wooden box and real sea monsters. I didn't think they were real, I thought they were plastic. The box said Smithsonian. Jeremy got so excited when he saw it. He proclaimed, "They are real." I looked closely and realized what it said on the box...

Hatch and Grow Amazing Triops. Triops 1 week. Triops 4 weeks. Watch Living Fossils from the Dinosaur Age Grow before you eyes.

Needless to say I lost all my words.

Here is Jeremy reading instructions very carefully.

Assembling our soon to be triops.

Sonia feels also deeply involved.

Right now they are on my kitchen window for close observation. They need extra light and I am hoping they won't escape because there are no lid on the top. If they do escape, I hope they like roaches.

I will post the picture of the creatures as soon as they hatch.

Sonia also made us laugh when she crawled into her dolly stroller and wanted a ride in it. It was so funny. She was super cautious and serious the whole way.

a night at Classic Car Club

Courtesy of the law firm our first night out in NY with high class entertainment, food and a cab to get us home. In the morning Sonia and I stopped at the Aquarium with a couple friends.

My friend Natalie who has a son, Henry was kind to watch Sonia for us. Around 5 pm I called her and said I will be a bit earlier since there was a special transportation also provided by the firm. Well, by the time I carried Sonia downstairs in the subway, realized I forgot my wallet (I had two purses!), had to go back, navigated super complicated doormen and an elevator with more buttons than stars in the night sky, nice luxurious apartment building... I was late. Jeremy was nice about it.

We missed the bus but there is always a subway in NY to get to an exotic Classic Car Club ;-)

CCC is not pretentious, they are enthusiasts, the cheapest monthly fee is only $8,000, according to their brochure. They pitch is: "It is cheaper than parking in NY for a month." Join CCC and get the keys to an unparalleled selection of gorgeous cars. Adventure begins.

We walked in and first car was a 2006 Lamborghini Gallardo.... later that night Jeremy took a snap shot with me.

I wanted to sit inside but that was not possible.

The party was big. I got to meet Jeremy's work friends and was invited to a car race but politely declined it. Here is Jeremy in the driver seat. He won the night race against a superior lawyer but Australian driver. All races were coin free.... what a delight!

We had plenty of drinks, mini hot dogs, burgers, cream puffs. I stayed mostly away from the food but loved simple orange juice with ice. I find it helpful to have a glass in my hand when I need to carry a conversation with someone I just met.

Jeremy was great! He even pretended to honk a horn on this classic 1966 Mustang Fastback for me. This was my favourite car of the show.

I also got to sit on the bike.

On the way back we found our Sonia deep asleep and had to let the cab go. We didn't want to wake her up while getting in and out of a car so we took a subway. I transferred her to bed at home and she slept soundly through the whole night.

Sprinklers in the back yard

Holding on to one finger, running and giggling very hard is Sonia's favourite thing to do these days. There is a big fountain right in the middle of our super modern neighboring playground. She loves to run in, get wet and cold and then quickly ran out of it. Sometimes her feet feeble and she falls in the cold running water but it never stops her from repeating this act. The Underhill playground is not our backyard but it is only two blocks away.

Natalie and Samuel came to join our fun play this morning. Samuel liked soaking his feet in the cold water. He is still a bit too little to make a run into the big cold water. Sonia is holding her finger on toddler part of the duck fountain. The water sprays in all directions so that everyone gets soaking wet.

Last Saturday we got a walker. It really helped Sonia to feel more secure and cruise without holding on to my hand. She still likes me walking with her at all times but she is a bit more independent in her steps now.

After getting plenty wet and super tired, we headed home to cool down in our nicely conditioned place. I am glad Jeremy got two coolers right before they all sold out at the store. Today was another hot day in NY.

First Climbing

Sonia can get into her stroller all by herself. That is huge for us. She does it now anytime she wants to rest or go somewhere. Here she climbed up when Jeremy and I asked her. We went to church and Sonia was happy little big girl. Sunday shoes are fixed with a pink shoe spray on this photo but it didn't last long. While runing on carpets at church, shoes got some marks on them today.

Right befroe bathtime Sonia turned into a wild monkey. She was chased by her papa. She was caught running at a very high speed with one card in one hand and another in her teeth.

NY Summer is here

The summer heat is on with 100 degrees... taking humidity into account it was 105. Okay, that is hot for the month of June ;-)
Jeremy had lots of stories of hot days in Brazil to tell me on the way to church this morning. He helped me feel that NY is quite cool and enjoyable. We took the bus going home since we didn't dare to take our chances in the middle of the day. It was our first time on the bus since Christmas time when it was a blizzard.

Yesterday the heat was 93. We did a few things including going to the Diamond district and FAO Schwartz. I found super nice South Sea pearls for a very good price but I walked away with light heart and no balance on my credit card. The set was perfect with white pearl earrings surrounded by diamonds and a neckles with 13.2 mm pearl. It was a beauty. One day I will go back and buy it. Today one of the Stake leaders spoke about self reliance. I didn't have to blush for myself while hanging out at the organ. Thank you, Jeremy ;-) My best of all advisers and the most fun, kind and loving guy in the world.

Sonia loved playing with toys at the big Schwartz store yesterday. We watched the big piano show for the first time.

Sonia chased down a huge monster. He ran away from her eventually.

She loved a pink retro car with a cool horn in the toddler department.

She was crazy about the play house and giggled on the yellow duck while peaking into beebo baby TV.

Sonia climbed up on the bench all by herself and played a miniature piano. I didn't get a good shot of her wonderful technique. Here she just climbed up, then she played with her fingers, no knuckles but I missed my shot.

Horay Accounting

I didn't think I would ever say that accounting is fun but today I think differently. There is nothing better than doing personal budget and figuring out financial side of things. I say it brings paece and joy. True joy with knowledge that foolishness is somehow avoided.

Today was one of those days... no need to go into great detail but here is the thing. Sonia's Sunday shoes got ruined by Jeremy not paying attention to child-up-bringing details. Needless to mention I was forbidden to buy a second pair of nice shoes just last weekend.

After doing a budget, we realized that we had to get another pair of nice shoes for Sonia but we can also fix this pair at the local shoe place.

Peace on earth ;-) Joy to the world!

Sunday best already 14 months

These pictures are for our grandmas. Sonia is the adorable one. I love this shot with Jeremy holding on to Sonia so she doesn't fall and laughing hard.

Right now my greatest challenge is sleeping through the night. Today was a good morning... I woke up late, at 6:48 am. I had time for most things such as a shower, doing Sonia's hair, getting her lunch and much for church, walking to church and getting there 50 minutes early for organ practice. I call it well done.

Here I have to brag about the haircut I gave Jeremy just a couple days ago. I think it was one of my best tries. Everytime I do it, it turns out somehow a bit differently.
This was almost perfect.