Natural History Museum of Martha Stewart

Last Wednesday Cody and I decided to take advantage of our last few weeks here in NYC and take Morgan for a morning outing to the Natural History Museum.

Morgan and Cody riding the C train.

Morgan's favorite area in the museum is by far the ocean area with all the fishes. He walked around the whole time excitedly pointing out all the fishes and the big whale that hangs in the center of the room. I love watching him get so excited about being able to recognize animals like turtles and octopus.

Last time we missed the dinosaurs so this time we made sure to pay them a visit.

Morgan didn't seem to care one way or the other about the dinosaurs but he did enjoy the big ramp in the middle of the room and just running about and having daddy chase him.

It was a great way to spend a wintery day. I am really going to miss all the museums here but I'm sure Ohio will having something fun to offer as well!

Cody saying good-bye to his hero Teddy.

Yesterday I had the fun opportunity to go to a taping of the Martha Stewart Show (it airs this Friday morning).

I went with some of great friends here, Minde, Sunny and Ashley.
Even though I'm not a huge Martha fan, it was a great excuse to get all dolled up, drop off the kids and have some mommy-out-on-the-town fun!
We had great seats and I think we made it on camera a few times.
Sunny volunteered to sit behind us since there were only 3 open seats in the front row. What a trooper.
We may have stood out since we were the 3 pregnant ladies in bright colors in the center front row. The episode wasn't all that exciting, no celebrities, but at least we came home with some free goodies!

Those are the highlights from our past week or so. We're keeping busy going through our clutter here and trying to get ready for the movers to pack up our home next Wednesday. It's getting to be crunch time, which is slightly scary to think about. But on the other hand it will nice to be in Ohio and settling in to our new life and getting ready for baby number 2.

Oh these crazy times!

Oh and here's a little video of Morgan rocking out with his favorite group the Wiggles. He loves to get his guitar and follow their moves. This kid just cracks me up!

Updates, Updates

So life has been a little crazy around here lately but I swear I will do my best to keep everyone updated as things change for us. So far it looks like we will be leaving NYC around the 9th or 10th of March. We are sad to be leaving all of our wonderful friends so soon and just as spring is around the corner, but we are greatly looking forward to life with a paycheck again!Here is a not so great pic of me at 30 weeks and on Valentine's Day.So last Monday I decided I had had enough of my long hair and went over to Morgan's nursery leader's house for a haircut. It was finally long enough to donate to Locks of Love so the timing was right.These pictures don't really do my new "do" justice but Rubi did a fantastic job. Thanks again.It's so nice to be able to wear my hair down and not have to take 30 minutes to blow-dry it just to feel like I'm walking around with a blanket on my head. I wondered how Morgan would react to my new look but he seems to really not care one way or the other. The only time it seems to bother him is when my bangs get in my face and then he starts batting at my face trying to get rid of it. I guess he likes an unobscured view of me!

Updates on our life in Ohio are as follows: Last Thursday night Cody and I flew to Cleveland to do a quick househunting trip (we flew back early Saturday morning). We left Morgan in the capable hands of our dear friend Anna during the evening/nightime and with our wonderful friends Ashley and Minde during the day on Friday. Morgan seemed to do just great and even took a nice long nap for Ashley. What a good boy we have.
Meanwhile, Cody and I spent all day Friday running around the Fairlawn/Copley area, right outside Akron, looking for a place to call home for a year or so. Cody had to keep reminding me that we were not looking for our dream home. Also, that the point of this apartment was to be a good place to live for a year while we try to get out of debt and save up for house. So with that said we found a nice 2 bedroom apt in Fairlawn. To make me feel better about moving from a 2 bedroom apt to another 2 bedroom apt, I chose to focus on the many upgrades this new home will bring. We will have a washer/dryer, dishwasher, 2 bathrooms, larger rooms all around, storage space, 1 car garage and a community center close-by with a pool and workout room. The fact that the rent is less than half of what we pay now does not hurt either. Gotta love suburbia!
Our crazy day in Ohio (I'm convinced very pregnant women should not go house-hunting or make any major life decisions) was also fruitful as far as our social life goes. We had dinner with a great couple, who have 2 small boys, also work for Smuckers and are LDS. Turns out Cody and the husband were freshman at BYU together and know all the same guys and seemed to recognize each other. After a yummy dinner we got to talking about college days again and the wife and I realized we went to Ricks at the same time and it turns out were in the exact same modern dance class. I love how small the church makes the world! What a blessing to already have a social network in place before you even move to a new area. I don't know what I would do without the Relief Society and church mom groups!
Well, that seems to be most of the news around here. We are all in a different stage of illness, which is not really helping but hopefully we'll all be on the mend soon. Thanks everyone for your well wishes and prayers. We'll keep you posted as this crazy time in our life progresses!

Oh My, Oh My, Ohio!

Ok folks.

It has finally happened, the moment you've all been waiting for...Cody got a job!

And it's in Ohio!

Yep, that's right the Royal Adams and they're Big City Life are moving to the midwest and suburbia. Cody was offered and accepted a job from Smuckers on Friday afternoon. It was an offer we couldn't refuse. After much soul searching and pro/con lists we decided this is the best move for our little family. Unfortunately the timing is not ideal since I am already 30 weeks along in this pregnancy and the clock is ticking but hey you can't haggle over a blessing!

The whole move however is bittersweet because we love our life here in Harlem and will greatly miss all of our wonderful friends and our amazing Harlem 1st Ward family. But if anyone is used to moving and understands the value of change for a family it is Cody and me.

We will be going out to Ohio later this week to check things out. We will keep you all posted. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support during this tough time. We couldn't have made it through all of this without you!

A Glimpse of Spring

Here's a bit of what we've been up to during these long winter days...actually we're experiencing a brief break from the horribleness and enjoying some moderate weather. Yahoo!

With the nice weather on Sunday I was looking forward to walking to and from church. I decided to actually wear my hair down and straight so while I was getting ready that morning I had a headband on to keep my hair dry.Morgan decided he liked the look, called it his new "hat" and insisted on wearing most of Sunday.
He was so cute with it on I didn't have the heart to stop him.

Relaxing and watching a show before afternoon church. He wore the "hat" in his stroller to and from church but luckily left it in the stroller during church. Although he did ask about it a couple of times.

Morgan the Naked Cowboy

"Thank you Harlem, Good Night!"

Despite being unemployed, Cody still insists on getting up at 5:30 to go running before he gets Morgan up at 7. I have no problem with this arrangement as I get to sleep in till around 8 and I don't have to go running in the cold (which lets be serious I wouldn't run even if it was warm!). However, I do sadly miss some beautiful Harlem sunrises. Cody decided to show me what I was missing.

This is what Cody found when he got Morgan up this morning. That is pretty amazing for short hair! What a cute Flock of Seagulls impression!

Today in honor of somewhat warmer weather we ventured to the playground.

Needless to say Morgan was thrilled to have the freedom to run and climb.

And slide.

After the playground we walked around the Harlem Meer for a bit and watched the ducks, geese and swans. I love how peaceful he looks just sitting there.

My boys. Morgan finally got cold enough that he wanted his mittens and hood on. Love the rosy cheeks!

Sitting with Daddy and watching the birds.

Deciding he needs a closer look.

Scaring Daddy into thinking he's going to try and swim with the ducks.

The next few days are suppossed to be warmer as well. Cody saw a glimpse of a daffodill in the park; I guess it was tricked into thinking spring was upon us as well.

I long for spring and mornings at the playground surrounded by beautiful flowers!

Thanks for the glimpse!

Morgan's Musical Blowout

So here is Morgan's 2nd Birthday Party in all its glory!My mini-cupcake guitar cake complete with hot pink frosting...just how every little boy dreams it will look! I swear we were trying for red but after using about half the bottle of consentrated food coloring gel, we decided to call it a night and go with electric pink. Our kid's a rockstar so he can pull it off!
That is Morgan with his serious rocker face.

Morgan always gets a little stage fright when the attention is turned on him (something he'll have to get over before his big rockstar debut). But after Cody helped him blowout the candles, he quickly recovered and starting shoving as many cupcakes into his mouth as possible. He even ate some of the wrapping.

All his little friends who helped him celebrate.

From left to right: Aaron, Harper, Morgan, Sebastian, Tedrah, Cyra, Chase and Eliot (Lucia and John Henry didn't make it into the picture)

And yes they all have bright pink lips and teeth. That frosting was intense!

Those are the lips and cheeks of a happy birthday boy!

Me and my favorite little man with a guitar!

The male representation at the party. Thanks guys for helping us rock!

This guitar was Morgan's special birthday gift and boy o' boy does he LOVE it.

He plays it from morning till night. Our walls are taking a slight beating but the kid is happy.

I love watching him do a little dance every time he plays an instrument or sings.

That is one pink mouth!

Here is a slide show of all the wonderful pictures Nikki took for us. Thanks again for being our photographer and friend!

This morning Morgan discovered our bike pump again and decided it would make a perfect mic stand. He grabbed his other new guitar (thanks Castro family) and got down to rockstar business.

Here is a great video of Morgan rocking out. I couldn't believe he kept performing once I got the camera but he did it beatifully. I love how he gets a little crazy with the electric guitar and then gets all mellow with his acoustic.

Happy Birthday my wonderful little man and thank you to all who helped us celebrate.

We are truly blessed to be able to call you our dear friends!