It’s rather difficult/funny to try to take a family picture with Cate and Henry. Eleanor was in the midst of studying for finals but we roped her into meeting us in Central Park on Saturday. As soon as we got to the park, our nice camera ran out of batteries and we had to use our iPhones, okay except they don’t do so well with lighting. Henry wanted to run, Cate wanted to crawl. It’s amazing we got one decent picture.

Here’s some of our attempts (Telfer deleted most of them!):

var so = new SWFObject(“http://www.db798.com/pictobrowser.swf”, “PictoBrowser”, “500”, “500”, “8”, “#EEEEEE”); so.addVariable(“source”, “sets”); so.addVariable(“names”, “christmas pictures 2009”); so.addVariable(“userName”, “telfandrea”); so.addVariable(“userId”, “40012104@N00”); so.addVariable(“ids”, “72157622893801981”); so.addVariable(“titles”, “on”); so.addVariable(“displayNotes”, “on”); so.addVariable(“thumbAutoHide”, “off”); so.addVariable(“imageSize”, “medium”); so.addVariable(“vAlign”, “mid”); so.addVariable(“vertOffset”, “0”); so.addVariable(“colorHexVar”, “EEEEEE”); so.addVariable(“initialScale”, “off”); so.addVariable(“bgAlpha”, “90”); so.write(“PictoBrowser091217090427”);

In other news, we are doing Christmasy things. Telfer and I went to the Nutcracker last week (can’t wait until Cate is old enough!). We watched White Christmas while wrapping presents to go to Washington. I am working on our Christmas cards today and just finished my annual listen of A Christmas Carol (Jim Dale version). When Cate wakes up from her morning nap, we are headed down to the SoHo Crate & Barrel to get a few more wine glasses for Christmas celebrations. The majority of Telfer’s family arrives on Sunday! 

tree on the table
Originally uploaded by telfandrea.

Our apartment really has one logical place for our little fake tree: the space where Cate’s toy box sits. I imagined a December in which all I say is “no, Cate, no” as she tips the tree over for the 87th time (she is into EVERYTHING and the concept of “no” is a bit of a game at this point).

Next place for the tree: on top of the table. Not so much logical as whimsical but we are enjoying the slight oddity of a four-foot tree on top of our little table.

bundled
Originally uploaded by telfandrea.

It snowed (mostly rain but we were still excited) for the first time here on Saturday. I was dressed like a ditzy Californian, wearing suede flats, no socks, a light coat, no hat, no gloves and no umbrella. Must.get.smarter.

Telfer watched Cate for most of the afternoon while I headed up to a church in Harlem to volunteer at a Toy Shop for needy kids. Our church published the wrong address for the event and so I am wandering, ill-equipped, around Harlem in the freezing rain and looking for the correct church. As you can imagine, all turned out fine, I found the location and the event itself was worth the effort.

Cate, on the other hand, is so toasty! Our blanket on the outside of the stroller system just wasn’t cutting it. Want to come to New York and I will push you around the city in a strolling sleeping bag?

so big!
Originally uploaded by telfandrea.

The flu took me down the Sunday before Thanksgiving and lasted the entire week. Thankfully, Cate and Telfer were spared (they both had flu shots). I am a little nostalgic for pre-child sick days but really, I had the next best thing: Eleanor. Last week was a light week for her and she came over, played with Cate, took her to Central Park, took Henry for walks, went grocery shopping for me…so wonderful. I hate being so sick you can't even read but I did get caught up on all my television shows (notably they all start with "G": the Good Wife, Glee and Gossip Girl).

Last Monday we had been planning to rent a car and go to Costco in New Jersey for a major stockup (exciting things like paper towels and baby wipes and toilet paper and body wash). Telfer was literally up working the entire night and I had the flu but we loaded Cate into her car seat for the first time since June and away we went across the George Washington Bridge. Very exciting to be in a car. Not so exciting to go to New Jersey. By the time we loaded up our car, drove to our building, unloaded everything into the lobby, then the elevator, then the hallway outside of our apartment and then finally, our apartment itself, we were both exhausted. But! We now have Costco amounts of toilet paper. So worth it.

The picture of Cate with her arms outstretched is her answer to the questions: How big is Cate? [so big!] How cute is Cate? [so cute!] How much does Mama love Cate? [so much!] The possibilities are endless, really.