Family
Snow day!
Blizzard Nemo (ha!) hit New York yesterday. It was pretty crazy being out in it – like icicles prickling my face. Today the blizzard had passed and the city was covered in a glorious foot of snow. Yay! We head over to Fort Greene park to give Eloise her first real taste of snow. She really loved it – she couldn’t get enough of sitting on the ground and trying to grab it in her little mits.
Christmas in Hawaii
We decided to fly to Hawaii for Christmas and meet my family there instead of flying back to Australia. I booked us a three-bedroom suite at a resort in Ko Olina, right on the waterfront.
The flight was brutal – 10 hours straight. Eloise napped just once and then was awake for 12 hours straight.
The resort and beach were so beautiful. Ko Olina was a little piece of paradise. We spent most days walking around the beaches, swimming in the ocean and pools.
We also did the toddler dolphin experience at Dolphin Quest. It was wonderful to meet dolphins with Eloise. It totally blew her mind. She was fascinated by them, and has been saying “dolph!” and pointing to pictures of them since.
One thing I really wanted to do was the Disney character breakfast at Aulani. It was so much fun! A decent buffet breakfast with a great omelet station, Minnie Mouse and Goofy wandering around to the tables for meet and greets and photo ops. Every so often, “Auntie” would strike up music and sing cute Hawaiian-y songs, handing out instruments and leading the kids in a parade around the restaurant. Eloise was in absolute heaven.
Alec and I had a few hours to ourselves one day so went for a drive to Mokule’ia Beach, where Lost was filmed. It was stunning – a pure white sand beach with almost no one in site for miles.
We also went on an easy hike one day with Tim and Michele up to Diamond Head. It had an amazing view of Honolulu.
I also got up super early one morning to see Pearl Harbour with Michele. It was a sobering experience to be there and see the sunken Arizona ship.
Even though I get really sea sick pretty much just by looking at boats, I thought it would be a fun idea to get on a boat and go snorkelling and whale watching. True to form, I felt ill the entire time, but we did see about 10 Humpback whales.
We went for a stroll through Waimea Valley. It was really beautiful – a little too manicured, but some amazing plants.
We also went on the Ranch and Movie tour at Kualoa Ranch, where a lot of movies and TV shows have been filmed. I loved the tour – especially seeing where Jurassic Park was filmed for the famous scene with the log below.
It was really strange being somewhere other than in Warwick Farm for Christmas morning. It was really lovely, but also really strange! My first Christmas not in Warwick Farm in my life so far. We had breakfast at the neighbouring Marriott resort, followed by present opening and relaxing.
What a wonderful trip! It was so great to see my family all together. Hawaii is paradise – can’t wait to go back again.
Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013!
Wow, what a year. It started out much as 2011 ended – with a hard, fussy, non-sleeping baby dominating our lives. Thankfully, by the time summer rolled around, everything improved by about 100%. We had a baby who slept! We slept! We had a wonderful summer and really enjoyed ourselves and getting to know a new, happier Eloise. I felt like a new person, not just hanging in there for dear life every day, but finally enjoying life again. It was wonderful to finally be able to really enjoy our baby and our lives together. We went out a lot, had playdates, went to galleries. What an an amazing life!
2012 was definitely the year for working out how we and Eloise could co-exist successfully as a family. I’m excited about 2013 – hopefully the year where Alec and I can start to focus again on what we want to achieve career-wise. For Alec, this involves quitting his job at Twitter to start his own business. For me, this means hoping to launch a freelance writing career to make some extra money as well as focusing on getting my own site/blog Brunch With My Baby off the ground.
As Eloise leaves her babyhood behind and turns into a toddler, we are loving getting to see her adorable personality developing. The little girl who is a daredevil, climbing and tumbling and throwing herself off stairs. The tiny person who adores music and dancing, and who loves to play jokes with us and laugh at everything.
2013 is looking to be quite an adventure again – I can’t wait to see what happens.
Buffy is home!
We had some wonderful news as we flew into New York. Buffy was found! The little scamp had gone wolf in the bush for two weeks. She had made a den in some used car parts down the back of the pet sitter’s property. The son saw her and tried to catch her, but because she tried tried to bite him (!!!) he had to trap her. Unbelievable. She’s looking pretty good for two weeks in the wild. She’s lost 1.5kgs (from under 5kgs anyway!) but is otherwise fine. Miracle!!
Help Bring Buffy Home
I just found out the devastating news that while we were on holiday in Hawaii, my 8 yr old Havanese, Buffy, escaped from her pet sitter back home in Sydney. Please help me find her.
NAME: Buffy
LAST SEEN: Lot 10 Minerva Rd, Wedderburn, NSW, Sydney, Australia where she was staying with her pet sitter.
DATE MISSING: Dec 15th, 2012
COLOUR: Yellow/blonde
BREED: Havanese
AGE: 8 yrs
SEX: Female, desexed
SIZE: Small toy – weighs under 5 kgs.
TEMPERAMENT: Extremely friendly and good natured.
CONTACT: Owen and Kay Knight, 02 96020661. Address: 12 Hope St, Warwick Farm. Email either myself at clknight@gmail.com or my parents at okayknight@gmail.com.
Please keep an eye out for this tiny, very beloved dog. She has been missing for 12 days now and the situation does not look good.
Thanks for any tweets, shares etc.
Christine
Such Is Life in New York City
I don’t blog as much as I should about the amazing things I get to do living in New York. Here are a few fun things I’ve been up to recently.
Seeing the world premiere of Les Miserables with Beck, followed by a Q&A with the cast, including Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried.
Christmas decorations are up! Loving this beautiful tree at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Eloise also loved the museum – she has reached an age where she notices everything around her and is so curious about everything she sees.
Saw the NYC ballet perform the Nutcracker with my friend Alexis at the Lincoln Center.
Hanging out with a special visitor! It was wonderful to see Beverly after almost three years, and meet Hunter and Carter.
Eloise’s first time in snow!
Had a wonderful time at the So You Think You Can Dance live tour with Dan and Sue.
Watched the US Olympic gymnastics team perform live in a showcase at the new Barclay Center in Brooklyn.
Lived through Hurricane Sandy.
And managed to celebrate Halloween straight afterwards.
Had great adventures with Grandma!
Thanksgiving 2012
This year I am especially thankful for my wonderful husband, my amazing, beautiful daughter, my loving parents, and both old and new friends. I’m thankful for mine, Alec’s and Eloise’s good health, and for our situation in life that enables us to live in New York, in a lovely apartment, and for me to take care of Eloise full-time while she’s so small.
It’s hard to focus on the big picture when the day-to-day gripes set in. I’m taking a moment today to really feel thankful for how lucky I truly am.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving 2012
This year I am especially thankful for my wonderful husband, my amazing, beautiful daughter, my loving parents, and both old and new friends.
I’m thankful for mine, Alec’s and Eloise’s good health, and for our situation in life that enables us to live in New York, in a lovely apartment, and for me to take care of Eloise full-time while she’s so small. It’s hard to focus on the big picture when the day-to-day gripes set in. I’m taking a moment today to really feel thankful for how lucky I truly am.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Maialino at Gramercy Park Hotel
Elegant dining – with kids? Absolutely possible at Maialino; kids and babies are made to feel very welcome. Despite not having a kids’ menu, the staff offered several suggestions for meals they could make for the 11-month-old babies we had dining with us. We chose the pasta with a butter sauce – and no-one even batted an eye at the piles of pasta thrown on the floor. Sorry about that, Maialino – next time perhaps spaghetti noodles are not the best idea for babies with minimal hand-eye coordination.
Highchairs: Yes.
Stroller storage: Yes, for strollers that fold up.
Easy access: Yes.
Change tables: No, but the restrooms are in the lobby of the Gramercy Park Hotel, which are large and have space for diaper changes.
Kids’ menu: No, but they will cook custom dishes for kids on request.
Kids-friendly rating: ♥♥♥–
Maialino at Gramercy Park Hotel
2 Lexington Avenue,
New York, NY 10010
Tel. 212 920 3300
Reservations: (212) 777 2410
Hours:
Breakfast: Mon–Fri 7:30am–10am, Lunch: Mon–Fri 12pm–2pm
Brunch: Sat–Sun 10am–2pm
Dinner: Sun–Th 5:30pm–10:30pm / Fri–Sat 5:30pm–11pm