nothing to do!

i don't think that alex and i will ever start off our weekends saying that we have nothing to do again.  on friday, when we started reviewing what we had planned, there was nothing we could think of.  so we made breakfast with friends plan for sunday morning.  then we remembered we had passes for disney on ice.  then we got a text reminding us about alex's uncle's birthday party.  so our relaxing weekend turned into a super busy, but very fun weekend!
we started out at an 11am disney on ice show.  we didn't tell penny where we were going, just in case there weren't any tickets for us, and because it's fun to surprise her.  she thought that we were going for a walk in the snow!  we hadn't yet been in the barclay's arena, and were pleasantly surprised.  everyone was super nice, there was free stroller checking, and the place was spotless.  once we had gotten our passes, told penny what we were doing and gotten to our seats, i think she was pretty pleased:

we watched the first half, and she did great - even during the blackouts!  at intermission we decided we needed a snack, and penny and i bought a giant bag of popcorn inside a reusable bucket.  she told me "we usually have popcorn at shows", and i cannot disagree with that.
we went home and took an epic nap, then headed out to uncle steve's birthday party.  penny bellied up to the bar and proceeded to eat her body weight in cheese and grapes.  she loves poking things with party picks.  she ordered pineapple juice from the bartender, and sat on a barstool like it was the most natural place in the world for a three year old to be.
also.  at some point in the past, i tasted a glass of penny's water and said "it's definitely vodka".  how do i know this?  because at breakfast on sunday and this morning, she parroted it about a hundred times.  hilarious?  yes.  embarrassing?  only slightly.
we had a great breakfast out with friends, and then went on a tea & yarn date with mary & mike.  got home, watched a movie, then napped.  i fell asleep on the couch during penny's nap, and apparently she saw me sleeping, sneaked past me to use the bathroom, came back to check on me, then went into the bedroom to get alex and they both came and woke me up together.  amazing.  she ate the largest dinner i've ever been witness to, and didn't mind having her hair washed in the bath.  alex and i keep reminding each other to enjoy this time now - we have no idea when she's going to go back to whining and crying all the time.  i certainly hope that it's not anytime soon - she seems to have turned some kind of corner last week and is a whole new, delightful, charming, funny person.

MLK day adventure!

we had an adventure on martin luther king, jr. day!  in the freezing cold weather, we decided to go to the brooklyn children's museum.  once we had trudged our way through the cold to the subway, we found out that the train routes and schedules were all bizarre. we decided to get off in a few stops and see what was open.  we tried the brooklyn museum - closed.  we tried the botanical gardens, which are not open on mondays, BUT, as it turns out, that's one of the two mondays a year that they are!

we had a great time exploring the frozen gardens.  penny brought a notepad and pen with her and took notes on everything, which was completely adorable.
we didn't want the fun to end, so we went across the street to the zoo!  we had a fun time at the zoo, too!
we asked penny if she knew about martin luther king and she told us that he taught us that it was ok to be friends even if you're different.  "like dean and i have different hair".  penny's teacher told me that she came up with this example all by herself in class, which is really nice.
i love adventuring!

Apple

aunt kate!

uncle jonathan married aunt kate yesterday, and we could not be happier.  penny and i lit a candle together, and penny did an amazing job and was so well behaved and delightful at the wedding.  there was a point where she changed into pajamas, and she and i were sitting on a couch together while dinner was being served, and she was chatty and funny, and she totally made me laugh.  it was a great moment together at a wonderful, joyful event.  i am so happy to welcome kate into a family that has so welcomed me.
today, though we were all exhausted, penny was just as terrific (except for the couple of minutes that we tried to skype with aunt dana & family, when she went out of her mind).  we played games and had a dance party on the moon and went grocery shopping and had a fun day as a family.  it's nice to have penny around.  we like her.

well, now i know where i stand.

penny was doing a great job of taking care of herself this evening, and i told her that she didn't even need a mama anymore.  she looked up at me with her giant blue eyes and said "sure i do - for sandwiches".

there you have it.

it's the start of ladies week!

alex is off to LA for the week, and we have kicked off our girls only time in high style!

of course, because she's alex's daughter too, when she saw the oval sticker in the middle of her palm she said "i look like iron man now!" and then sang an iron man song.

where's my family?

a family game of hide and seek (i was "it") produced the best hiding spot i've ever seen.  see if you can spot penny & alex: