Still Standing

Not much left to say about Hurricane Irene. This picture says it all. Manhattan is still there, as well as Jersey City and the Statue of Liberty. Belt Parkway is open. People are back to strolling the Shore Road walkway. And I was able to get in a three-mile run, but man was that wind something. Run with it and you feel like you're flying. Run against it and you might as well be carrying weights in each hand.

What Hurricane?

All my expectations of an Irene Round 2 have yet to materialize. The storm seems to have exhausted itself after driving through New Jersey, to which I can relate.

We even saw some sun poke out around 11 am. We all took advantage and went out for a walk.

Some twigs and plenty of leaves had blown across the streets and sidewalks, but no big branches that we could see. Sam found his share of puddles, or I guess you could say his boots found them.

83rd Street Cleans Up

No More Hurricane

Just saw that center of Irene passed NYC at 9 am, and it came ashore packing 65 mph winds. That makes it now Tropical Storm Irene. The wind and rain have nearly stopped here, but I assume they'll pick up again at least once more.

Sam, meanwhile, is building a hurricane-proof building with his megablocks.

Hen-rain

Sam was getting frustrated. We thought he was saying "Henry," so we repeated, "Henry." After a few times, with Sam getting more and more frustrated, it dawned on me - he wasn't saying his brother's name, he was talking about the weather. Rain. And I think he says "a rain" the same way he says "a car."

Sam's very observant.

And Here We Go

Tropical storm winds appear to be here, and they're suppose to pick up even more in the next couple hours. So far it doesn't feel like much more than a harsh thunderstorm. Our only problem is a an odd leak that has sprung in the seam of on of the windows. We'll see how the day progresses.

From the Window

Calm Before the Storm

Sporadic Irene-related rain, but not much wind to speak of yet. Just a waiting game at this point. Pasta dinner hit the spot. Now time to start thinking about bedtime for the boys. They're gonna get quite the wakeup call in the morning.

Hurricane Watch: Day 1

We're battening down the hatches, so to speak, with the full effects of Irene forecast to start hitting us by daybreak Sunday. Last I checked, the forecast for New York City had been upgraded from a tropical storm to a category 1 hurricane. This will mark my first hurricane, and of course the same goes for Sam and Henry.

And for Cristina and McKenzie, who were lucky enough to be visiting on this ominous weekend. Liz is on vacation with friends in Minnesota, sending us encouragement from afar.

I stocked up on supplies at Costco this morning, and we have flashlights, coolers and extra water at the ready. We're up and away enough from the shore so that the winds and flooding shouldn't affect us directly. The greater concern is loss of power and water.

I'll post updates to the blog as long as my phone holds out. We're in good shape right now and intend to keep it that way.

House remodel

My parents are remodeling their home. And it is such a major renovation that the entire second story of the house had to be removed. Frankly, the photos are a little disturbing to me. But Sam enjoys the pictures and video. He thinks Bob the Builder is working at Grandma and Grandpa's.

When the project is complete, they will have four bedrooms and two full baths. Plus, a larger kitchen, new deck and front porch. Yes, I think my parents a little crazy for undergoing such a major renovation. Plus, I am a little sad to see my childhood home changed so drastically, but I am certain that we will enjoy the changes when we visit next around Thanksgiving.

Here are my dad's photos from the day they demolished the second story: House remodel

A visit to the ER

The night was progressing as usual. Henry was in bed and I was preparing Sam's bath. Sam was on the potty, attempting to go. We have a kid potty that inserts into the regular one. He has a stool to get on and off.

Sam was done going potty and got down using his stool. However, he fell forward, hitting his head on an old-school metal hamper that is built into the bathroom wall. The hamper was slightly open. Sam immediately started crying. When he looked up at me, I could see the gash was bad...I could see bone between his eyes. It was just above the bridge of his nose.

I called 911. There was a lot of blood. An ambulance came about five minutes later. I called a friend from church to come over and stay with Henry - Dave was at work.

The EMTs said it was a deep gash and he would no doubt need stitches.

We rode in the ambulance to Lutheran Medical Center. By this time, the bleeding had stopped and Sam was calm and enjoying the ride. He was curious and wanted to explore the ambulance. They did have the sirens on with lights flashing.

The doctor at the ER called in a plastic surgeon. To minimize scarring, the doctor felt that a surgeon could do a better job. Sam was a champ. No crying. He was still and calm. Unbelievable! They did numb the area but he was able to see the fish hook needle sewing him up.

Dave was at the hospital for the stitches. And we did take the subway home. (Oh, how I wish we had a car!) We made it home by 11 p.m.

Unfortunately, Henry didn't want to sleep last night, waking up three times. So, Dave and I are exhausted, but glad Sam's injury wasn't more severe.

This one is definitely one for the baby book.

In the ambulance

This morning at breakfast

Scene of the accident

Singin' in the rain

We've had lots of rain here today, and Sam wanted to be out in it. Unfortunately, he refused to wear pants or his raincoat. So, we decided to get him go outside - but just so we could get some pictures!

Our new apartment

In case you haven't heard, we moved again. The new apartment is bigger and better....and on the first floor, so I don't have to navigate stairs with the boys and a stroller.

We have a long way to go before we are unpacked, but here are a few photos to give you an idea of the new place: Our New Apartment

Recap

Okay, I will attempt to recap the vacation we had, starting with Sam's birthday on the 3rd.....

We drove up to Fishkill, NY, where we use to live, to visit SplashDown Beach, a small waterpark. We wanted to take Sam there because Bob the Builder built his own mini waterpark inside. Sam LOVES Bob the Builder. Unfortunately, rain prevented us from going, but we did get to go swimming in the hotel. We also went to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner. Sam had some rich mac and cheese and TWO cupcakes!

On Thursday, we drove farther upstate to Corning for the Monico Family reunion, which Dave wrote about. Sam had a blast. Barb got Sam an Elmo cake and balloon. The whole family sang to him as he blew out his 2 candle.

We stayed in a hotel with a pool, so every day Sam, Henry and cousin McKenzie went swimming. Both boys are little fish. We were trying to teach Sam to hold his breath underwater, but it didn't go too well.

Henry had lots of trouble sleeping at night. In fact, he didn't sleep much at all, which made for sleep-deprived days for Dave and I. Henry sleeps OK at home, but I guess traveling is out of his comfort zone - for now.

On Thursday night -- well, actually, it was 4:30 a.m. Friday -- housekeeping knocked on our door to tell us they had received a complaint regarding a baby crying. Oh, lord. So, I took Henry, grabbed the stroller from the car, and walked around the empty streets of Corning for about 20 minutes until Henry fell asleep. I left him in the stroller to sleep once I got back up to the hotel room. Oh, that boy. Of course, he smiles big at us in the morning...

We visited the Corning Museum of Glass and got to blow our own glass ornaments. We had a cook out and a pasta dinner at Barb's and a fancy dinner at a steakhouse. Great people. Great food. Great fun.

Sam loved everything about the trip...the car, Grandma Barb's house, the dog, cousin McKenzie, the hotel, the pool, the cake, the ice cream, the glass blowing, etc.

A link to the photos is in the post below.

Hangin' With the Monicos

My mother hosted the latest installment of the semiannual traveling show known as the Monico Family Reunion this past week. The time flew by too fast, but in four short days, Sam and Henry got to meet a healthy helping of distant relatives, most of them from the West Coast Monico Clan. (There just aren't enough of us East Coast Monicos, I guess.)

It's hard to get a good turnout to any reunion other than the rare gatherings held in our homeland of Minnesota. The last time one of those rolled around was 2002, but maybe we can pressure the Midwest Monicos to step up their game next time. Even so, we had about 20 Monicos at this reunion, and my mom was a great host, throwing open the doors to her new compound in the woods, where spaghetti was enjoyed by all.

Sadly, my grandpa was the only member of The Twelve to attend. He's one of only four of the original 12 still with us, though I can still remember the "old days," circa 1985 reunion, when we had a full dozen attending. I can't really remember their faces or even all their names, but I remember the feeling of being in the presence of the full family, despite being only 8 years old.

Even with fewer faces and fewer names, it is heartening to be in the presence of family. Here's hoping we'll have many more opportunities.

Here is a link to photos, including many from Sam's birthday: PHOTOS
Liz will write soon about the big 2nd birthday.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sam!!!

TWO YEARS!!!!!!