New York

I had business in NY last week, so I got to spend a couple of days in the city.  It's the first time I've been back since Ally and I lived there in 07.  I had forgotten how much I love that place.  The differences between NY and LA are stark, which I knew, but this was the most apparent it's ever been to me, probably because up until the last three years I hadn't really spent a lot of time in LA.  But now that I've put man hours in each place, I'm beginning to understand why Biggie and Tupac were at odds.

For one thing, people in NY are a lot nicer than folks in LA (I know, I'm painting with pretty broad strokes here).  I've long thought New Yorkers have a bad rap when it comes to friendliness.  Perhaps it's because they live right on top of each other and are forced to interact so much while walking on the streets, riding in the subway, etc.  All I know is that my experience has always been that New Yorkers will readily engage you and are generally helpful when needed.  I've made quite a few friends while riding the subway, and even exchanged phone numbers with a guy last week who wanted me to give him a call next time I'm in town.

LA I think suffers from the opposite problem.  People never having to interact while out of the home.  No one walks anywhere, yards are small and neighborhoods are crowded so you rarely see neighbors out in the yard playing with kids or chatting with the guy next door.  I think people sit in traffic all day and just want to go into their homes at day end and not be bothered.

Another contrast is the general style of the two cities.  In NY people are very individualistic, but stylish non the less.  There is an ease to the look of those in the city- shoes are warn from walking, and clothes looked lived in.  In LA, whether Angeleno's want to believe it or not, the look is very homogeneous, especially among women.  Very immaculate, very expensive, often synthetic, and usually overdone.  I don't know that one is better than the other, just different (though I prefer the latter to the former).

That all said, LA has way better weather, and I think the opportunity for a better lifestyle is here in La La Land.  Still, it was great to be back for a few days.  Love that NY!

Grond Zero.  Can't believe it's been nine years today

Out old apt- 100 John St.

The old Lehman building, now Barclays blue.

8 Weeks

Parenthood is a funny thing.  It starts with the honeymoon called pregnancy.  Nine months of dreaming and fantasizing about how great your child will be and how you'll spend countless hours watching her sleep and cuddling her, dressing her up in cute outfits and taking tons of pictures.

Then there is the actual child birth which is even more incredible than you imagined, but... you now have a baby to care for.

No one tells you that initially it feels like the baby's not yours.  That you feel like you're just tending a niece and in a couple of weeks your life will go back to normal and you'll be able to do all the fun things you used to.  That your baby will cry and cry until you get frustrated with her, causing you to get angry with yourself because you're getting frustrated with a baby who can't  help herself.

Suddenly she starts making eye contact with you, perhaps even giving the occasional real smile, spending awake time content.  Your previous indifference begins to turn into like, and before long you find yourself thinking of her while you're at work, anxious to get home to hang out with her.  Soon you realize you really do have the coolest baby ever.

A few of my favorite Blaire-isms so far...

Blaire Bear- not only does "bear" conveniently rhyme with Blaire's name, but it also aptly describes the creature hiding deep within my baby.  When she is waking, she growls and snarls much like how I imagine a bear does when it emerges from hibernation.  WARNING: DON'T WAKE THE SLEEPING BEAR!

Baby One Sock- Blaire CAN NOT keep two socks on her feet.  The fact that socks don't stay on the feet of a wiggling baby is not that surprising to me, what I don't understand is why only one foot?  Never both on, never both off- always baby one sock.  (It also happens with her hands and mittens)

The Cappuccino maker- lets just say that sometimes her south end bubbles and fizzes like a popular drink maker.

The Woodpecker- when we hold her chest to chest, Blaire likes to explore for food by "pecking" at the chest of whomever is holding her.  Actually very annoying, but still cute (until someone gets a fat lip)

Lot's of others, but I won't bore you.

The Bear is waking.  I call this the "stink eye"

Baby One Sock strikes again

Blaire Hefner lounging in her robe

What Else? Blaire.

So we are five weeks into this thing now (parenthood) and mostly Ally and I love everything about it, but...

Blaire has entered into this new phase where she likes to have some awake time during the day, which I'm all for except that she doesn't seem to spend much of that awake time being content.  When I'm holding her she just squirms as though she's not comfortable.  When I lay her down she cries.  The swing consoles her for approximately 90 seconds, and my go to move of bouncing on the exercise ball has begun to fail me.  I feel like Goldmember did about Austin Powers- "So Miss Blaire, there is no pleasing you."

I find myself fighting these awful thoughts of wanting Blaire to hurry and grow up, just a little, so that she can spend more time with us awake, but happy awake.  But of course we don't want these moments to pass too quickly.  Oh, the mental battles of parenthood...

She hates tummy time.

What you lookin at?

Go Dojers!

Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle, Great Uncle. Blaire's Big Week.

Big week for Blaire.  She met her other grandparents as well as an aunt, uncle, and great uncle.

Ally's sister and her sisters husband came out to see us last weekend.  It was really great seeing them and I know Ally appreciated having her sister around for a few days, plus Melissa made us dinner a couple of nights (thanks Melissa).  As an added bonus, they stayed at the W hotel in Westwood which meant baby's first pool party.  Blaire is going to have the wrong idea about life outside the womb...well maybe the right idea about life in LA. 

My parents were in Fremont this week helping with some things in my brothers family and decided to make a slight detour on the way home to come see us.  It was great seeing them and Blaire loved meeting her grandparents!  

As an added bonus, Blaire also met her great uncle Phil.

Thanks to everyone for stopping by and for your generosity.

First Doctors Visit- 2 Weeks

Blaire saw Dr. Efron today for her two week check-up.  She did well.  She weighed in at 8lbs 3oz which is about 12oz above her birth weight.  Dr. Efron wants us to give her a little tummy time each day to develop her neck muscles and also to keep her from getting a flat head.

Also, the doctor had her on her stomach during the examination and was commenting on how good her head control is already.  Then she decided to go ahead and roll over.  Dr. Efron says it's usually a three month trick, so of course Ally and I are convinced she is a genius.

Weenie Houdini

Blaire is beginning to show her talents.  She is an escape artist.

When we put our Weenie Houdini down to rest, we always swaddle her.  It takes her approximately 2 seconds to get out of it no matter how tight we wrap her.  Someone gave us a swaddle that velcros, literally like a little baby straight jacket.  We've only used it once and seconds after getting her all velcroed in we heard the sound of velcro being ripped off, and sure enough...Houdini was out.  She also makes quick work of socks and mittens.

Our own weenie Houdini.

Funny Story

I guess I'll be one of those parents who thinks everything their baby does is the cutest, funniest thing in the world...

While we were in the hospital, the nurses kept telling us "when the baby sleeps, you sleep."  So having never been one to challenge authority, I was taking a nap yesterday afternoon while Blaire slept.  I was awakened suddenly by the shrieking of my wife and mother-in-law in the other room, followed by instructions from my wife that I get in there immediately.

As a new parent I find that my mind often conjures up all kinds of outrageous, highly unlikely, worst-case scenarios that might happen to my baby- when I lay her on the bed for a diaper change she's going to fall the moment I reach for a diaper,  I will somehow suffocate her as I try to burp her, she is suddenly going to come down with a here-to-for unknown illness, an ill intentioned person will somehow make off with her- the list goes on.

So of course when I heard the aforementioned screams, I leapt out of bed expecting the worst.  What I found instead was my wife holding a clean diaper in her right had, Blaire's legs in her left, and a stream of an easily identified substance making its way from Blaire's raised, uncovered tush across the couch and down the length of Ally's knee to ankle.  And we're not talking about #1.  Hilarious I say, hilarious.

Practicing her moves for the paparazzi

Baby Pilates

Sleeping like, well, a baby