New York Pumpkin Patch and a Texas Halloween

It's hard to believe we've been in New York for 3 months now.  It's been a hard adjustment for both Martin and myself but we are starting to feel more at home.  Although it has been a tough transition, mostly because it was so sad for us to leave Austin.  I still have moments where I can imagine walking through our old house, playing in Amelia's room, and enjoying family time in the living room.  That small living room that I always complained about but now long for so much.  I will make sure to appreciate such things much more in the future.  And even though I miss my old life, there are so many good things I'm looking forward to here.  I can't wait for the girls to see their first snow fall.  I guess Amelia has already seen one but it was small and uneventful.  I'm looking forward to taking them to Rockefeller Center to see the giant Christmas tree, taking Amelia ice skating for the first time, and hopefully doing some traveling throughout the northeast.

On to other good things... It is the eve of Lucy's 9 month birthday and she finally cut her first set of teeth today!  When we moved here we were celebrating her 6 month birthday and she seemed so much smaller.  Her 9 month check up is  next week but we did get an unofficial weigh in last week and she's 19 lbs 8 oz!  Our sweet chunk-a-munk!  She just started clapping the other day and she's babbling a lot more.  I'm pretty sure she actually called me Mama recently when I came home from work.  And she has to be the funniest and happiest baby on the planet!  I'm sure of it.  Even her daycare teachers always talk about how sweet Lucy is and how everyone fights to hold her.  The kid definitely enjoys being fed and has been known to steal other kids food at school!  My little bruiser.

Amelia continues to surprise me everyday with her understanding of how the world works.  She is our little actress and always has funny things to show us.  There's no doubt that she is incredibly bright.  But on top of that, she's sweet, sensitive and starting to understand empathy.  She can comfort and makes sure to always tell us that she loves us.  It is one of the most wonderful things in the world.

Both of our girls are growing up and we're trying to enjoy every minute.  We have managed to have some fun outings while here.  A couple of weekends ago we took a road trip up to Westchester county to a town called N. Salem for a pumpkin patch.  It was absolutely beautiful!  The drive was gorgeous and it was so nice to get out of Brooklyn.  We also enjoyed Apple Cider Doughnuts for the first time!  I can't believe I've never had these!!!

Last week the Northeast had the worst storm system move through and devastated so many areas in New York and New Jersey.  Martin and I missed it because I had traveled to Houston to see the family and Martin was in Detroit for the World Series.  Giants swept the Detroit Tigers!!!  Anyway, neither of us could get flights back to New York so I got a nice week long vacation with my family and Martin managed to get down to Houston too.  Luckily I took the girls Halloween costumes with me and we got to spend a wonderful Halloween with our good friends in Houston and their kids.  Amelia and Ava are 3 weeks different in age and have known each other since their birth.  Enjoy lots of good photos from the past month...

Kung Fu Panda and The Giraffe!  Thanks, Grandma & Grandpa Turner for these!

Lucy's first Pumpkin Patch!

It is harder and harder to get Amelia to smile for a good photo.  This was as good as we could get.

My beautiful, sweet girls!  

Lucy's belly competing with the pumpkin!

The Turner pumpkin about to be carved.

Amelia did not like this process.

GO GIANTS!!!

Halloween 2012 - There's No Place Like Home!

with Mimi

Ava & Amelia - part of the Brat Pack

How cute are these kids?

BFF

Love!  Ava kept saying "NEXT HOUSE!"

Amelia would say "Trick or Treat, Give me something good to eat"

Even Lucy got a goodie!

The Cowardly Lion

Milo & Lucy, the next generation of Brat Packers

Empire State of Mind

Where in the world are the Turners?...  New York!  Yep, we're no longer Texas residents.  As of this past August, we packed our bags and moved our family to New York in pursuit of a new job for me.  I won't go into all of the sorted details of my job search, but know that I accepted a job with an e-commerce company called OpenSky as the Sr. Beauty Buyer.  It's very exciting, high paced and lots of fun.  We've settled into a small apartment in Brooklyn in Ditmas Park which is just south of Prospect Park.  The move has not been without it's challenges but we are a strong family and we're not afraid of a challenge.  This post could get really long if I went into all of the details of our move, but I would rather talk about the kids and what they're up to.  Hopefully now that I'm catching up a bit, I plan to keep up with the blog more frequently so we can let our family and friends know what we're up to.

Our sweet Lucy is still a wee little one and has many milestones to track.  I already feel as if she's gotten a little short changed being the second child.  She is a few days shy of being 8 months old and she has to be the cutest baby on the planet!  We like to call her our little Lucy Lou Who from Whoville because she does have some similar features to Cindy Lou Who.  At her 6 month check up, she was weighing in at 15 lbs which is in the 50th percentile for weight and she's also in the 50th for height.  This was pretty exciting for us since we had so much anxiety about Amelia's slow weight growth.  It's looking like Lucy will have no problem eating or gaining weight.  Let's keep our fingers crossed on that one.  She's crawling and sitting up but oddly has not cut a tooth yet.  Lucy is also proving to have a more calm and laid back personality.  She likes to sleep through the night (something she's done since she was about 6 weeks old), she hardly ever cries unless she's hungry or tired, and she can amuse herself for long periods of time.  She babbles a lot now - mostly saying "Ba ba ba" or "da da da" or "ma ma ma".  Overall she's the sweetest and cutest baby.  

In July, just before we moved, Amelia celebrated her 3rd birthday!  I cannot believe it's been 3 years.  She is not breaking any records for height or weight (unless it's for being small) but she's growing up nonetheless.  She has an amazing vocabulary for her age and has funny conversations with us and her friends.  Amelia has loved moving to NY - mostly because of the subway travel and the awesome playgrounds.  The subway passes right below her bedroom window and I catch her at night, when she's supposed to be sleeping, looking out the window waiting for the next train.  I was really worried about taking her out of her social setting at school and leaving our home and how it would effect her.  But, surprisingly, she has taken it so well.  Daycare has not come easy for us and we're still working out a permanent situation but it will happen soon.

New York is an exciting place to be.  But it has been a bit of a lifestyle adjustment for us.  We live on the third floor of a house that was converted into an apartment.  Cute place but small and we have to climb two sets of steep stairs to get there.  We have lost some of the comforts we're used to like a dishwasher, permanent parking space in our driveway, and a washer and dryer.  We kept one car but use the subway most often.  Martin took a job with a brokerage out in Long Island, which is a bit of a trek each day.  Needless to say, getting around and doing our normal day to day chores take more work and planning now.  It's been two months and I'm slowly getting used to it.  And while I am enjoying aspects of it, I am home sick for Austin.  I know it will take some time but this move has been the hardest for me.  I am trying to keep everything in perspective and remember that this is an adventure.  There are lots of fun things in store for us here and we'll make lots of great memories.  We are growing stronger as a family.  And even when I get sad, I try to look at my glass that is more than half full with a wonderful husband, two beautiful and healthy children, and friends & family that are only a phone call away.

Here are some photos to enjoy!  I need to find a good online photo sharing site that I like.  So far, I haven't been happy with most.  Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Amelia lovin' the Brooklyn playgrounds!

Love!

Lucy has many faces...  this is a funny face

Trip to the Bronx Zoo

The New York crew - Lucy, Amelia & Abe (note the awesome shot of the Brooklyn Bridge)

Another great Lucy face

Pics like these remind me of how big my little girl is getting

6 months!

The girl loves her cereal

Enjoying the High Line

7 months!

I put a Swiffer on Lucy... keeps the dog hair off her clothes and cleans the floor at the same time.

How cute is she?

The view of the Brooklyn Bridge on my commute to work.  Not bad, eh?

Catching up.....

I am seriously slacking on the blog posts as of late.  Let me do a little catch up on big moments for the Turner family...


Lucy is 14 weeks old now and continues to be an unbelievably easy baby.  I don't know how or why, but she is so calm and rarely cries.  I can count the times she's cried this week on one hand!  Plus she has been sleeping through the night for the last several weeks - let's hope I don't jinx it by talking about it too much.  She is growing like a weed and measured at 12 lbs 4 oz at her 2 month check up!  And she started rolling over a few days ago, which I'm pretty sure is a bit earlier than normal.  Amelia absolutely adores her baby sister and Lucy loves her back.  Every time Amelia coos and talks to her, Lucy smiles and coos back.  I know these girls are going to be great friends when they get older and that makes me so happy.


Amelia will be 3 soon and is proving she knows all about the "terrible two's".  She definitely has some spunk about everything she does but most of all her personality is larger than life.  We are constantly entertained by her discussions, facial expressions and imagination.  Over the last few months she has started talking about her first imaginary friend named Doss.  Apparently he's a little boy who she met at the restaurant at Target (this is what she told us and since Target does not have a restaurant, it must be made up).  At first it freaked me out a bit because she would talk about Doss all the time and talk to him.  My fear stems from watching too many horror movies and I have almost gotten over it now.  Doss tends to come with us wherever we go and sits next to her at home.  Just the other day she started talking about another made up friend but I didn't catch her name.


All in all, life is really good right now.  Our family is growing and there is never a dull moment around the Turner household.  Here are some pics to enjoy!

Enjoying the Kite Festival

2 months old

Check out these stats!

First Dentist Visit

Easter treats

Sisters

Making the house look pretty

Amelia did her fair share

It's not complete without the SF Giants flag

Martin's birthday party

Sophia, Amelia & Avery

At the Weiner Dog Races in Buda

Love!!!

3 months

Tummy Time

First boat ride on the Riverwalk

Grandpa Turner's first visit