Hurricane Sandy....

So, yes, we were in the dark zone for 4 days following Hurricane Sandy. For those of you who don't know, we live on the 19th Floor of a high rise, right across the street from NYU Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital (both of which were evacuated after the storm). Just below the Halloween Post is a post that explains our logic for staying home when so many left (less than 50% of our building was here by the time the power came back on Friday evening).

In addition to being prepared, we also had Noa's good spirits in our favor. She really was a trouper and I think she liked all the Mommy and Daddy time (though she was very happy when Jess L showed up to spell us a few hours today - thanks Jes!)

Noa did a great job climbing up and down the stairs - as you can see in this clip. This was our final ascent, and this is the 18th floor - you can see she is still going strong. As you can imagine, this game it a bit tedious for Mommy and Daddy. It's 19 floors, but each floor is two flights of 7 steps each PLUS the first floor is really a double level (4 flights), which adds up to 40 flights of 7 steps each.

Going down was much easier - going up often involved a lot of coaching (we were on a pretty fast track in this clip) and often one of us would go ahead to drop off bags and then come back.

Going down and up the stairs took up a lot of the day - we just brought her stroller down once and left it in the lobby - and then we'd go up to Ben's office which had electricity where we'd charge our phones and the ipad and ipod, and I'd drink tons of coffee. Noa was great at sitting at the table there playing with books or fans. She seemed to get that it was a special time and that she had to be a big girl and not bring toys to the potty, or just get by with the book that was there, or whatever was necessary.

And of course she loved the shower at the YMCA and the hairdryers there. In the end, I think we all had a pretty good experience and a huge part of that was due to Noa staying patient and open to what was happening, and of course her general good disposition which made things like getting up and down the stairs bearable. In fact, the stairs even became a counting game that I think Noa really enjoyed.

Below are a couple of photos from our Hurrication Period - most have been on Facebook but I wanted to add them to the blog as well. Thanks to everyone who offered us a place to stay, or to come bring us food, etc., we are very grateful - and we're very lucky of course to have only been inconvenienced.

Noa basking under the hand dryer at the YMCA

Still cheerful in spite of the fact that the yellow bead is totally stuck on her finger

Noa hangs out at Daddy's Office

Enjoying a morning with her toys

Climbing the Stairs

Noa enjoys the wind preceding the storm

Before Sandy: The Halloween That Wasn't & Wind!

Yes, I've already posted a bit about Hurricane Sandy and our experience in the blackout, but didn't have a chance to post this great clip from just before Sandy hit. Noa loves windy weather so we wanted to make sure to get her out before it was too dangerous to do so. This is from Monday late morning, but as you can see in this clip - the gust were already coming in at a good clip. I actually move toward her in this because I was afraid she might just get blown over!

The other thing that happened right before Halloween - thankfully - was Halloween Story Time in the Community Room of our building. A new tradition, and one I think all the parents were grateful for since I think we all knew we might be spending the next few days at home with the kids - and though I don't think any of us really thought Halloween would be cancelled, we knew it was a possibility. Noa loves Halloween and the parade that happens on Halloween in our building - and we were extra grateful. And of course, as it turns out, this was Halloween!

And I have to say, it would have been a shame to miss out on showing off this terrific tiger outfits (with hip green boots!). It came with two of Noa's favorite fashion items: a hoodie (with zipper) and fingerless tiger gloves!!!

As you can see, Noa is looking up in the photo - she actually seems to get the idea now that if she hears the clicking noise she is supposed to look up. Of course she often does this serious face too - so we'll work on looking up and smiling.

Noa isn't smiling in the photo below - but that's not because of the clicking sound. This is story time. When we were at school a few weeks ago they were very proud to tell us that Noa had finally learned to sit still during all-school events and they were very proud and happy (and so were we). Listening to story time, or sitting in any kind of situation with a bunch of kids and someone talking, is very difficult for Noa. The biggest problem is that I don't think she can figure out what she's supposed to be listening to and/or why. Even in this case where the reader was very engaging - there's just so much ambient noise. It's just a lot of confusion aurally. SO, I sat her in the chair and this immediately hit this pose - hands her legs and all, and just sat there. So she can do it... but clearly not really enjoying it too much.

She sat like this through two stories, and then wanted to get up. We just walked back and forth on the side for the rest of the time, which she seemed to enjoy tremendously. Then we walked home. It was great fun for Noa and I'm really glad we got to have at least some Halloween fun!