Indian for lunch in midtown (etc).

(I spy Mike, do you?)

I had dinner with some friends last night & put my head on the table & cried when talk of Texas (& a trend of people putting feathers in their hair - what?!) came up. Sigh. Maybe I was extra-emotional because Quinn screamed for about three hours before dinner, & you know what a screaming baby does to your brain (brain = fried). This morning - a tooth just starting to poke out on top. His third tooth in the past few weeks! Poor baby.

I drank four Diet Coke's yesterday. FOUR. Two when I was getting my hair done, three at dinner. Wait. That's five. Five!!! I think I quit, as of right... now. Seriously. Cross my heart & hope to die, I'm finished.

Friends Jamie & Meghan are in a cab on the way to my apartment right this very second. They're visiting the city from the south this weekend & I couldn't be more excited. Hooray! 

Quinn, Mike & I ate lunch this afternoon with friend Scott at the Biyrani Cart in midtown. Kati rolls. Yum! I love Indian food & am hoping that a (somewhat) significant Indian population in Houston means decent Indian food (Mike just reminded me that we grabbed takeout from a good place while we were there the other week - so there is hope). On the same block - halal food, fresh lobster, falafel & an assortment of other street cart vendors. 

I'm going to miss New York City food. Let's talk about something else. 

We leave for our trip on Monday! We're gone for two weeks, & then come back for a week. Mike will zip down to Houston for the final inspection on our home, & then we'll take off to Priest Lake for a week. And then we'll be back in New York for a week. And then movers come & pack up all of our earthly possessions, & then we'll be in Hilton Head for a week. 

And then we have one-way tickets to Houston.

Excuse me if I'm a complete emotional disaster for the next... year. And in the meantime - I just kind of feel like I want to throw up.

Also (& very unrelated): I was getting my hair colored yesterday. The woman doing it told me that she had a 7 month old boy, & the woman in the chair next to us jumped in & said that she had 8 month old twins. Boys! So all of a sudden, we found ourselves in an hour-long conversation about babies, sleep deprivation, relationships with grandparents, the random + often inappropriate things that people say on the street to mothers, our changing bodies, breastfeeding, teething, all the fun tricks our babies do & really, just how much we love being mamas. And I came away feeling a really strong sense of camaraderie with the other young mothers that I know & the strikingly similar experiences & challenges that we have. I was also reminded of the advice that a lovely friend told me early on: you are the mother & you know best. I've decided over & over again lately that this is my mantra as a mother. In my moments of self doubt, or at times when I am challenged, I just remember that no one else is Quinn's mother. I am. I know best. And if I trust myself, he'll be just fine.

Lots of random things for today, but such is life this summer. 

(Post edit: Suzi just called to tell me that gingham is my new stripes. I obviously can't think outside of the box with my clothing choices. Sigh.)

30 Rock.

It's hard to not be awestruck by the view of the city. I love both views - to the south, looking down at our first neighborhood after our marriage + move to New York (six years ago yesterday!). And then to the north, where we've spent the last four years living east of Central Park. I think it's all really beautiful.

(We've delayed the official observance of our anniversary this year to later this month when Grandma is in town from Washington & can spend some quality one-on-one time with Q.)

Quinn thought it was fun, & then not so much when he realized we were smack in the middle of nap time & nowhere near his crib (with the Ergo serving as a poor substitute as of late). My city baby won't nap in his stroller (unlike in City Lullaby, one of our favorite books). Sigh.

- - - -

I made a joke to Mike today about donating plasma so that I could buy something especially frivolous (& lovely). He looked at me like I was crazy, & without missing a beat pointed out that I'm basically hanging on by a thread right now & that if I were to donate any sort of vital bodily fluid, I would likely face an imminent death. I suppose this is somewhat true. Let's hope that my broken toes / tweaked back / completely clogged sinuses show some mercy soon. I've been a bit of a disaster.

Joanna & Nate visited.

My sister Joanna + her husband Nate came to visit us last week & we had a lovely time. We did a lot of things that we do best with visitors. Eating (Shake Shack, Blue Smoke, Farinella's, Norma's, Wafels & Dinges), walking, wandering, etc. Joanna even got us to go to Times Square, which is really something I try to do no more than once or twice a year. It was Q's first time, & freezing enough that he required a wardrobe change to stay cozy warm (or at least to ease my anxiety). The holiday crowds were predictably a bit insane. When I told my cab driver one afternoon where I needed to go, he laughed. That being said, Rockefeller Center was crowded (& maybe prettier with snow?), & the streets were packed with tourists. I guess I have a love / hate relationship with New York City during the holidays, but it's much, much more love than hate. 

I took a sad number of photos, none of which capture how much Quinn loved his aunt & uncle. I'm so glad that they could get acquainted. The Hudson Family Tree is quite large, but slowly but surely Quinn is getting the chance to know everyone. We live SO. FAR. AWAY. from everyone in my family - which is a really sad thing if I think about it for too long - so it means an extra lot when people will fly across the country to see us. It's fun, & nice, & makes me feel loved. 

(I'm having a hard time managing a camera + a baby in a carrier these days. I think I like my iPhone photos from the past week more. Sigh.)

Times Square, & my hatred of yeast.

Joanna took this in Times Square today. It was SO. COLD. Seriously. Like, cold enough that I was feeling guilt & went to Baby Gap & bought Q a (really cute) new little outfit that was extra warm to put under his bear suit.

People keep talking to me about his bear suit, by the way. On the subway today, a man who looked like an 80's gangster kept saying God bless you! & talking about how beautiful new babies are. And then a man nearby told us congratulations, & about how he just sent his child off to college & then medical school, & how it all goes by so quickly. 

And Joanna! She's here, with Nate, & we're having a really great time, especially because with all of these friendly baby-loving New Yorkers, Nate now realizes that he isn't at risk of getting mugged at every corner. Q thinks they're great, they're easy apartment-guests, & we've done lots of fun things already - including lots of walking & eating, of course.

Randomly: Do you use Instagram? You should! Follow me (kathrynwhiting), & let's be photo friends. It's like Twitter. I think. I don't tweet, but if I photo-tweeted, I think it would be Instagram, right? It's a clever little app, although it's perhaps a bit silly that Joanna & I were running around the city today with our gigantic cameras & then taking photos with our iPhones. Oh well.

Did I mention that Q & I are on round 2 of thrush? Probably not, because I was too busy trying not to scream in pain every 3 hours, or I was at the pediatrician trying to hold my (sometimes sharp) tongue with a condescending doctor (who was on call for Q's doctor, who I love) who kept talking to me like I was an idiot, or maybe because I was standing in line at the pharmacy for the thousandth time because every time I go it seems to take 45 minutes. Anyway. Round two (!!). I love breastfeeding, & I love my excess-yeast-producing son, but seriously. Again?! I'm quite certain I'm deserving of some sort of reward.

Oh. Quinn. 12 pounds, 14 ounces @ 12 weeks. !!

More fun with company.

More from our Saturday afternoon, which included a little group breastfeeding + diaper changing with our lovely friends the Cannons. Because some things are more fun with company, right?

Saturday = day that Dad changes all of the diapers day. 

Next to Normal.

We know that life doesn't end after Baby Boy. But picking up & going to a Broadway show on a Friday night will get exponentially more complicated (breastfeeding) & expensive (babysitting). So we took advantage Friday night & made it down to Times Square to see Next to Normal. Do you see what I'm wearing? Jeans! And a long sleeved shirt! It was almost chilly, & I loved it. The show, too. We both loved it (which is saying a lot, given Mike's general aversion to Broadway & the expense of going - although as we've done a better job strategically selecting shows for him, the more he's grown to appreciate / enjoy it more). It was contemporary, the set & cast were both simple, the music was fantastic & the storyline was fascinating, if only a bit heavy. 

My good friends will abstain from mentioning that my massive pregnant boobs are now comfortably resting on my belly. Please make them go away. I hate them.

Baby Boy loved the music so much that it felt like he was trying to break out of my belly the entire time, which meant that I was in a panic that he would literally be born on Broadway, on the subway, or in a taxi on the eve of a little party my friends had worked so hard to plan for me. It would make a good story, but the germs (among many, many other things)!! I'd prefer the comfort & safety of Roosevelt. Anyway. It turns out that some of the tight feelings I've been having for the past oh, several weeks I think, are actually contractions (so says the hospital, where we had a little date night post BYU football-watching with friends last night) - but not strong enough to get this guy out yet. My body is still doing a great job getting ready & I've got a solid 15 days to go. By the way, if you're not friends with Mike on Facebook, you probably should be. He's really funny, & clever, & smart, & sometimes, I just can't believe the things that he publishes on THE INTERNET. My  sweet husband has essentially given a play-by-play of the happenings of my vagina & cervix to his close little group of FB friends, & as personal & invasive as this likely is, it's actually really kind of funny, so whatever. I kind of laughed & yelped at the same time when I read his last status update. I just wish I'd catch him doing it live, instead of 4 hours later when it's too late for any edits! Oh well. This week - I'll get to endure my third pelvic exam in a 9 day period (yippee), & do my best to walk this baby out sooner rather than later. 

Any time would be just fine though, really. Lots of people (mothers & husbands in particular) would understandably love to have more definite information. There are other things going on in the world besides me having a baby, & they're all important! I wish I could schedule him. I do! Except I don't want to be induced (nor would my doctor intervene unless I went overdue), & beyond that - I have no prior experience, no magic ball, & no ability to control anything at all, unless I decide to hang upside down from my ceiling to try to prevent him from coming if his preference proves to be early. My baby will come early, or he will come on time, or he will come late - likely no matter what I do, so that's that. Until then, life moves on, & I'm checking lots of things off of the list. I successfully made it through yesterday - & the happiest NYC baby shower I could have ever hoped for with my truly lovely, lovely friends - so I'll take any day at this point. In the meantime, I'll happy to appreciate the time to get ready & the opportunity to do simple & fun things with Mike & friends.

Oh yeah. Broadway. Loved it! And I'm obsessed with shooting in black & white lately. 

Norma's.

There are few things better than having most of your nearest & dearest at the same table at the same time. 

Brunch on Saturday was fun. And I cried. Because I have the nicest friends & I love them THIS MUCH.

(And I love, love Norma's. Best brunch in the city, hands down. I'm thinking next week wouldn't be too soon to go again [once, we went three times in one month - oops]. Oh, & B List celebrity sighting of the day was Lance Bass + boyfriend & his friend Jamie Lynn Sigler sitting next to us. Lance's hair is completely ridiculous).

Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century.

I prowled the streets all day long, feeling very strung-up & ready to pounce, determined to "trap" life - to preserve life in the act of living.

I remember first seeing this photograph during a photography workshop I took on composition several months ago. I loved it. The instructor briefly mentioned the photographer as being one of the masters, I forgot his name, & we all moved on.

Mike pulled a page out of one of The Economist last month & stuck it on the fridge. We have to go see this! An upcoming exhibit at The MOMA that he thought I'd love - Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century. So that was our Saturday afternoon date - after breakfast at home with friends who were in town, a quick meeting with the contractor who is working on our new apartment before we move in, & lunch at Cascabel (so close to our new home!), we went to The MOMA.

The Economist mentioned that Cartier-Bresson "rarely used a light meter or checked his aperture setting, & he seldom took more than a few shots of a single subject. With the instinct of a hunter, he knew when to click the shutter." You can see this in his photos - they're all simple, organic & not overthought - & so stunningly beautiful in how they portray life & his wanderings around the world.

(We bought a print of one of our favorites. Of course, after stopping by Pottery Barn to pick up a frame on the way home, I managed to scuff the print when trying to put it in the frame - totally ruining it - as soon as I got home. I went back to the shop the next day & they let me exchange it! For free! Even though it was totally my own human error & no fault of their own. Nice people make me happy. Oh - & I'm letting them frame & ship it this time. I'm not making that mistake again.)

Pop Burger.

It's been a week of relatively healthy eating for us. We've rarely eaten out, I made Missy's squash chicken (again), we've consumed lots of fruits & vegetables, & have almost worked our way through our shared with the Burtons yet still-massive Costco bag of spinach. Perhaps this explains why we thought it was a good idea to grab a 9:30pm snack at Pop Burger Thursday night (after said meal of squash chicken + a spinach salad with lots of chopped veggies). We were in the neighborhood after finishing a class at the 5th Avenue Apple store. It was only a block away. Why not? An order of fries + a black & white shake? Sure. No problem.

(Maybe this is why my run yesterday felt so heavy. Ugh.)

I think Pop Burger's fries are the very best, but I think I've said all of this before. They're extra-battered & the dipping sauce is perfectly spicy.

I'm back to eating (not-fried) vegetables today.

West Side Story.

Happy Birthday (yesterday) to friend Mindy. We celebrated with pizza at Angelo's & a visit to the Broadway revival of West Side Story. The music! The dancing! The snapping. Oh my gosh, I loved, loved it. Karen Olivo (won a Tony in '09 for West Side Story & we also saw her in In the Heights) had such a powerful voice & was absolutely amazing, as was Tony (played by Jeremy Jordan).