Evacuation Zones

Forgot to post these--we were almost in the mandatory evacuation zone (zone A, red)

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy has come and gone, but she has not yet been forgotten. For us, the experience was not traumatic and we were very fortunate throughout it all. 

Sunday we had church at 10am. Curt and I actually both spoke in Sacrament meeting. Just as Sunday School ended there was an announcement that there was a mandatory evacuation of Zone A in Manhattan (red zone). We didn't know what zone we were in but soon found a map showing we didn't need to evacuate We held an emergency meeting instead of Elders' Quorum/Relief Society and dismissed for people to prepare and evacuate. Many people in our ward were evacuated. Throughout Sunday the wind picked up and the rain came off and on.

On Monday most things were shut down in the city. Curt stayed home from work (training was cancelled Monday and Tuesday but he's at work today) and we hung out at home. It was a great vacation (vacation only because we weren't affected like many). I left in the morning to get some food at the grocery store and the streets were completely empty. I was surprised to see the Times Square neighborhood a ghost town. It was very windy and misty on my walk. The brunt of the storm arrived later in the day. From our apartment we could see the water from the Hudson flood the West Side Highway and could hear the wind and pelting our windows. The windows really shook. On Monday evening many people lost power in Manhattan: most places south of 39th Street. We are the lucky ones on 42nd. Many even lost running water in their buildings. The streets flooded, cars downtown floated on streets, the tunnels and subways flooded, etc.

Tuesday seemed to be the first day of recovery. The winds were still blowing and people remained without power and water. Many will be without power for up to 4-8 more days (wow!).

Today was the first day I went running after the weekend. I was surprised to see how much progress has been made in clean-up. New York City is recovering. 3 of 7 subway line/tunnels are already pumped out, some buses are running and some subway lines will be running tomorrow. We had some friends from the ward come over to have showers, use internet, etc. They were evacuated from their home on Sunday and their home is still without power. They were told it could be mid-next week before they have it back.

I took this running along the Hudson River parkway. It was in a lot better shape than I expected considering the water surged and flooded there Monday night. I ran by many crews who were cleaning up the bike path and gardens. They had certainly made a lot of progress. Starting around 20th street it smelt of exhaust and the air was full of dust. It was really uncomfortable to breathe. We turned around and went the other way after we had a bit of that air. I'm guessing it's from all the generators and pumps.

The bowling alley on our corner was flooded. The water must have come right up to our building but not entered. A construction site across the street is still flooded.

June enjoying the run.

Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze

Every Thursday we go to a play group with some girls in the ward. We got there before everyone since it was a 5 minute walk from our apartment. This is how June sees NYC.

This time we met at the Intrepid pier for their Fall Festival.

June's cute jacket was a gift from Grandpa & Nana Calder last year. I can't count how many people commented on it and her cuteness. See Paige in the background? She and June play so well.

I took a lot of photos of her in the pile of pumpkins they were using to decorate. I couldn't choose which were the cutest so I'm posting a lot:

This is at the end of the small corn maze

June even got to take a pumpkin home!

Don't you just love New York in the Fall?

I say that all the time. And yes, we do love NY in the fall. Here are some things we've been doing lately:

We've spent a lot of time with our friends the Porters. Paige is 6 weeks younger than June and they get along very well. Anette (my friend) served her mission in Brazil as well and we always have a lot to talk about. With the Manhattan temple so close we took turns babysitting so we could go. It's wonderful!

Out apartment searching. We did this many times the last few weeks. This week we signed for our apartment. Hooray! After 3 months in temporary housing we will have our own home and own things. We'll move in the beginning of November.

Cute pigtails. The hair is still the same status: baby mullet

Walking home along the Hudson after apartment shopping. One World Trade Center is in the background (we'll be living near ground zero downtown).

Naptime in the living room

Climbing on Mommy and trying to catch the camera

Wednesday night we went on a tour at St. Patrick's Cathedral for a Relief Society activity. It seemed so normal to be walking around a big cathedral. They were everywhere in Europe.

Birthday Bear

June's Great-Grandma Mildred June and Great-Grandpa Maw sent June this special bear for her birthday. It is the Beanie Baby June birthday bear, and perfect for our little bug. She absolutely loves it. The day she got it she kept it in hand all day. I had to take it away for mealtimes and walks (didn't want to lose it out the stroller). She hugs it and drags it everywhere. 

I have it sing "Happy Birthday" to her and that makes her exceptionally smiley.

This was her chasing the camera. She looked so cute I had to post it. We love the shirt--it was a special bday gift from Candice, Tim & kiddles. Thanks guys!

Budding Musician

June has always loved music. For quite some time she has been mimicking the conductor in Sacrament meeting at church. When we watched General Conference a couple of weeks ago, June immediately turned her attention to the screen and "conduct" the music. The other morning I was feeding her breakfast and listening to a conference session. I paused to record her:

Erin visited again!

Total: Erin-3 Allison-0

Yes, that's right folks. I am a sub-par friend. Erin has been awesome and visited us wherever we have moved in the world: Denver, Geneva and now New York. We were so happy to see her and spend the afternoon with her. The good news is I can up my score to 1 when we head to Utah for Christmas. It sort of feels like it should only count for a half point.

In addition to the fun chatting and delicious Doughnut Plant doughnuts she brought, Erin taught me a lot about New York City, fashion and much more. She also spoiled June with probably the cutest outfit she owns. I'll put up a picture of that next time she wears it. She's a great Auntie for Junebug.

Thanks for visiting!!!

Playing and Piggies

Playing with her new birthday present

Celebrating the birthday. Since my water broke in Evian we joked we'd get June a bottle each birthday to reminisce. I guess that's more for me. She doesn't remember .. (yes--the water is really from a spring in Evian France. I drank it from "the source.")

Playing with the dolly in her newly acquired piggy tails. She barely has enough hair, and I must say none of the hair in the piggies is from the top of her head.

June: 12 Months!

These photos portray June's personality to the T. She is extremely animated, bright & cheerful. Since last month she is even more interactive. She jabbers, sings, dances and is very affectionate. June will go to mommy and daddy just to give them hugs and kisses (the kisses are still a mouthful and full of slobber: love). She also loves to squeeze and love her toys and doll. A few days ago I watched her 'dress' her doll (I had just changed her and left the clothes on the floor. She kept putting them on top of the doll and then putting the doll on top of the clothes. She looked a little perplexed.). She even gave her dolly a bottle in the pram once. June cruises (walks with assistance) everywhere. She still crawls, but it seems she prefers cruising. She has taken some steps unassisted (max 5 at a time). June's favorite song remains "How Much is that Doggie in the Window?" She dances anytime music comes on by bouncing or swaying. She will even 'conduct' the music with her arm. June still willing goes for jogs and walks with Mommy, but now that she is more mobile she has a shorter stroller-span.

Her usual sleep pattern is 8:30pm-6:00am with a morning nap and a longer afternoon nap. She is a BIG eater and isn't picky--well I guess I can't say that because she has zero desire to drink milk. Yogurt is a favorite, but milk, in almost any form, is rejected. I added chocolate powder once and that seemed to help a little, but not as much as I hoped. June is still a little bird and likes to try everyone else's food. She still has the 4 front teeth coming in.

It's amazing one year has passed. This little girl is so special and unique. She brightens every place she enters. We're so lucky to have her and love her very much.

June's Pram

June loves the pram for her baby doll from Grandma 'Nita. The second it was set up she was cruising all over the apartment. Occasionally she'd get hung up in a corner, but usually she could figure out how to get out, normally by pushing it backwards. She is very good at taking the baby in and out, often head first. It's amazing how natural it was for her to push her pram and want her baby in the pram. I guess she's been watching Mommy do this the last year. She also tried several times to climb into the pram herself, unsuccessfully.

"Helping" Daddy put it together. Anytime he had it set up she tried to start pushing it, making it very difficult to place the screws.

Taking care of babydoll

June is sporting her adorable new birthday dress from Grandpa and Nana Calder. What a lucky granddaughter!

June's [Virtual] Birthday Party

June's 1st birthday was Sunday, October 7th. We had a birthday party on the 6th because Clint was in town. We had some family attend 'virtually' via FaceTime/Skype. It actually worked really well and was fun to have grandparents, aunts & uncles around.

June & I made the cake this morning. Part of the Funfetti mix (my favorite cake as a child) went to June's cake and the other towards cupcakes for the guests (Daddy, Mommy & Uncle Clint). 

Pizza time before the party! (General Conference tradition with my family)

Wasn't Conference wonderful??

Talking to the grandparents

Note: iMac, 2 iPads, iPhone. Virtual guests: 13

Opening gifts

(Funny note: I had been shopping for June online and found the *perfect* gift. I told Curt I'd show it to him when he got home from work. That day a package came from Grandma 'Nita. It looked like the size of the gift I had been considering and thought I should check. Curt said he thought that was a lame excuse to peek early. I insisted and looked and...it was exactly what I had chosen. Grandma really knows June! I was SO excited for her to try it out and it is a major hit. It's a baby stroller that's good for beginning walkers.)

Pre- and Post Cake

June really wanted to grab the cake early. I made her wait until we put the candle in and sang, which made her a little sad. She got over it quickly enough.

Blowing the candle out before she grabbed it

The first grab

Making progress

Concentration face

June's hands were covered in frosting. She liked to fling them around and made quite the mess. Thanks to Daddy for cleaning the floor, chair and table. Frosting is not easy to clean up.

Talking to our 'guests'

  

Post-Bath: I even got all of the cake and frosting out of June's ears-the amount was not minimal.