Halloween in NYC

Better late than never seems to be the theme of my life these days... so here goes with a Halloween post -

The weekend of Halloween we took a family babymoon to NYC. My cousin Maggie had recently moved there and graciously hosted us for 2 nights (I pray she's no longer having nightmares about E's crazy 2-year-old antics...) on the Upper East Side and we then ventured to a B&B in Brooklyn for 2 more nights. As usual, we had a blast exploring all that NYC has to offer (though it wasn't at our typical pace with a toddler and preggo in tow). Here are a few highlights from our adventures. We love you, New York...

E practicing her "stay away from me paparazzi" pose.

Happy to be sitting after a LONG hike to the LES for some raved-about gluten-free goodies (sadly, we didn't find them to be as amazing as the hype or the price).

Our little ladybug trick-or-treats NYC style - to the businesses on 2nd Ave.

Trying to wrangle the choking-hazard cinnamon disk from the ladybug. She's clearly already on a sugar high.

Watching the NYC Marathon from the comfort of Maggie's 8th floor balcony!

A rainy, cool Monday morning is apparently not the most happenin' time at Coney Island.

I shy...

While saying our standard goodbyes on Friday morning, I told Elynor to tell her friend's mom thank you. Instead, she turned her head away and said:

"I can't Mama. I shy."

Huh? What? I thought. 1. You are NOT shy! and 2. Where on Earth did you come up with this one Miss Personality?

The next night after dinner Ryan asked Elynor to sit up so he could clean her hands.

"I can't Daddy. I shy."

Close. But we'll have to work on the use of this excuse.

Honesty & Consequences

Here's a fun story relayed by our beloved nanny, Heather, this week - providing a little peek into the developing mind and heart of this little girl. Enjoy -

I went upstairs to get Elynor up from her nap and she had the Jonah (as in, Jonah & the whale...) book in bed with her (it was not there when she went to sleep).

"Elynor reading Jonah," she informed me.

"Oh, should we read Jonah together??" I asked her.

She readily agreed.

We cozied up in the big blue chair and I read the first page about how Jonah didn't do what God told him to do, and then tried to explain in E terms what Jonah did.

"Jonah disobeyed God," I said.

Elynor turned to look at me. "I got out."

At this point I wasn't tracking with her. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"I got out of bed," she answered.

"Do you mean that you disobeyed by getting out of bed?"

She nodded. (Note: My biggest fear in going to a big-girl bed was Elynor freely roaming about upstairs when she should be sleeping... so we initially told her - and she has really taken to heart - that she is not to get out of bed unless we come get her.)

"Well, do you think that Jonah got a consequence for disobeying?" I asked.

"Yes."

"What do you think his consequence was?"

"A pinch," she answered without hesitation! (Note: Elynor often gets a pinch on her leg when she disobeys. It's kind of funny how effective this consequence is!)

"Well, let's see what happened to Jonah after he disobeyed."

We finished out the story and saw that Jonah's consequence was getting thrown overboard and swallowed by a whale and that in the end he obeyed God.

"So, do you think that you should have a consequence for disobeying and getting out of bed?" I asked.

"Yes."

And she willingly sat out a two minute timeout with no murmur or movement... and was a happy kid when she got out!