Camryn & Laney’s Laughin’

You know what comes right after baby smiles, right?  Baby gas, baby poop and baby spit up… but soon after that you get baby laughs!

Flashback: I still dare you not to laugh while you’re watching this.

 

The Schragers (and Giasis) Take Manhattan

Although we only spent 1 1/2 days in New York City, we packed 2 1/3 days worth of goodness into the trip.  To kick off the festivities, we were greeted at the hotel by our long-lost friends the Giasis who arrived just in time to help us avoid paying a bellman to lug our 3 tons of luggage to the hotel room.

After Lily, Lucy and Bill had a chance to meet Camryn and reacquaint themselves with Laney, we headed off to Central Park for an afternoon of adventure and horse poop. (Seriously.  There were horses everywhere.  You couldn’t throw a pretzel without hitting a horse.  It was like they hadn’t sprayed for horses in years.  You get the picture.)

First stop was the Central Park Zoo where the only thing more plentiful than horse poop was the delightful pleading of “… can we see more animals?” every time we stopped to see a new animal.  We saw everything from the more exotic seals, polar bears, snow leopards and monkeys to the native squirrels, pigeons and sewer rats.

But nothing seemed to excite the kids more than the penguins.  You should have seen Delaney’s joy as she pressed her face against the glass and stole her first look at an animal she had only read about in books.  As a majestic emperor penguin came gliding by gracefully, seemingly turning at just the right time so as to wave to use, Delaney pointed into the tank, looked up at me with her big blue eyes filled with wonderment and exclaimed with pride, “PENGUIN POOP!”

That’s my girl!

After Kristin joined us, we continued to the kid’s zoo where the girls could wreck havoc on smaller, more unprotected animals and climb on more dangerous objects before we all trekked for what seemed like 20 minutes across town to eat at the famous Serendipity.  Unfortunately the wait was over an hour and they didn’t allow strollers, so we had Italian food on the corner.

At the end of the day, we were all exhausted and ready to collapse… right after we went to Crumbs for cupcakes to replenish all of the calories we had walked off that day.

It was a great time for everyone and the perfect introduction to NYC for the girls.  Next stop… Yankee Stadium!

A Bronx Tale

It was an historic day in New York on Monday, Sept. 22, 2011.  Not just because it was the day that Mariano Rivera threw his 602nd save, becoming baseball’s best reliever of all-time, but it was also the day that the Schrager Family visited the new Yankee Stadium for the first time.

It was quite an experience for everyone involved.  From the long trek across Central Park to catch the only subway line running to the stadium that day, to Laney’s first Nathan’s corn dog and Carvel helmet treat,  to realizing we could be witnesses to history as Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” started blaring over the stadium speakers, it wan an exhausting and memorable adventure.

I hope Fenway Park is ready to provide an equally memorable experience when we take the girls there in the future.

 

 

(That’s Mariano Rivera over Laney’s shoulder!)

 

 

Pretty in Plaid

Laney woke up one morning and decided that she wanted to wear matching outfits with  Camryn.  Luckily she didn’t do the same for me and Sam.

Heeeeere Come The Gators!

The Schrager Family loves the Fall and not just because it means cooler weather is right around the corner, it means another year of Gator Football!   With the first game tomorrow, Laney was rocking her new Gator outfit and looking forward to a season full of W’s.

She has high hopes for the new coaching staff, but still has some concerns about whether the team will be able to adapt to the new pro-style offense quickly enough.  She really takes this stuff seriously.

Flashback:

– All For The Gators, Stand Up and Holler! (2010)

– Laney and the Gators Snack on LSU (2009)

– Laney Celebrates Her First Gator National Championship (2008-2009)

– Florida’s Chances of Winning the BCS Make Laney Drool (2008)

– Delaney Celebrates UF’s Win Over Miami Photo of the Day (2008)

 

How Do You Like Them Apples?

Summer is coming to an end and Rosh Hoshana is right around the corner, so why should Laney wait to bust out the fall outfits?

When I See You Smilin’

Camryn’s smile has been a bit like a vampire.  We all know they exist, but they’re almost impossible to capture in a photo.  I’m happy to report that the myth became reality yesterday when I was finally able to snap a picture of Camryn’s beautiful smile!

Camryn in Dramatic Lighting

I took this photo of Camryn today and it reminded me of one I took of Laney at about the same age.  Sunrise… sunset…

Delaney on July 7, 2008

Back to School

How quickly time flies.  Only a day after returning from our family vacation to the Cape, it was time for Laney to start a new year at school.  This year she’s one of Ms. Ashantai’s Rainbows and has moved up to the second floor with the “big kids.”

She’s pretty excited to be back with her friends and will be attending swimming lessons during the week as well… and after the progress we saw from her in the water at the Cape, we’re starting to think she’s part fish.

What Happens In Cape Cod… Doesn’t Stay In Cape Cod

Sorry Mitch… but those glasses are begging to be mocked.