We bought a car!

Yeah, we did. Below, you are looking at our '08 Honda CRV in actual use as Jennifer drives by on her way back from working the 5 am shift in Midtown. Jennifer and I have been car-free for a number of years now as NYC is a city where you don't really need a vehicle to get around. But with Hugo, it just made sense, and makes our lives a bit easier. We don't have to call a car service for Jen's early AM shifts, we have a means of getting to daycare or doctors appointments on crappy days, shopping is no longer a massive coordinated effort, and road trips and city-escapes are easier to fathom. We'll still ride the rails for our regular commute, and I will continue to bike in 2-3 times a week--for morning rush hours, this is still the best way to get around.

So yeah, we were not considering this Honda CRV at all. We had our eye on different cars but as we were sitting in the dealership reading the Carfaxes, the ones we were interested in were showing up with histories of damage. This was the only car that was fender-bender free, low miles, and enough room. Color didn't really matter, this one's gold, or as Jen coined yesterday, "responsible beige."


We took Hugo out in the car yesterday as we zipped out to the Long Island suburbs to exchange some baby stuff. We all enjoyed the ride. Here's Hugo above with his new stuffed toy from our friend Bill--he sends great stuffed toys. Our thanks to him and the entire Meisburger clan for all they've sent to Hugo, we very much appreciate it...and now with a car, who knows, maybe we'll come down and visit...Charleston's only, what, 15 hours away by car?


Here's Daddy and Hugo, doing the hat thing, as it was sunny and 80 here yesterday. Go Spring! Oh yeah, did we mention that Hugo is very chatty now...disregard the cheezy ad-lib by me...

Baseball's back...

Citi Field is only 4 miles away, and Hugo is fan-ready with his first Mets shirt. So is Daddy!

I was dressing Hugo for bed the other day and we put this fleece onsie on and the angle struck me as similar to a picture we took when we were leaving the hospital.  So here's a "then and now" shot – now and four months ago.  

A "Hi Mommy" Video

A "Hi Mommy" video taken yesterday as I had an impromptu day off as our day care was closed for Easter Monday. We send these little videos from time to time to cheer up Mommy at work...let her know we miss her.

Adventures in the City

Here's Jen and Hugo riding the rails. When Hugo's awake he would rather you stand (even when plenty of seating is available).

Our plan was, last Thursday, to get new NY licences (after 4 years of procrastinating with our Wisconsin licenses) and to apply for Hugo's passport so he can travel, eventually, back and forth into Canada. The Passport was easy enough, but the line at the DMV was ridiculous...so we bagged it in favor of lunch/dinner at a Herald Square restaurant.



Not quite ready for beer yet.

Our friend Erica pointed out that Hugo may be giving daddy the "thumb's up" in this picture. I agree, Go Daddy!

BL's Birthday Bowling Extravaganza

We had a great time at our friend's, Barbara Lynn's birthday at the Gutter in Williamsburg. Low red light so some of the shots are a bit blurry.

Barbara Lynn and Colin.

Jennifer, Evan, and Hugo...harsh flash, made me and Hugo blink.

Here we are again, Jen taking the picture in the mirror, Me staring at the pins, thinking "I suck at this game!" And Hugo chewing on his Mr. Amazing bib. He was one awesome and entertaining baby last night.

Here's Colin showing the finishing form. Note the extension. He actually picked up the spare here.

Jennifer selected a pink ball. She didn't need any luck as she bowled well! Better than me, that's for sure. And, in this picture, she too picked up that one pin for the spare.

Here's Hugo sleeping. The crash of ball and pins did not even stir him...that's our NYC baby, used to loud noises. Get this though...this ball weighs 16lbs; Hugo now weighs almost as much as this bowling ball! Amazing huh? Anyway, I looked better holding the ball than rolling it.

The Ganesh Experiment at Brooklyn Artist Gym

Benign Distraction
Drawing (approx. 20 x 36 inches)
April 2009

As I had posted earlier, I was invited to participate in what was deemed an "art happening" at the Broolyn Artists Gym studio space/venue in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The night started with an hour+ train ride from Astoria to Gowanus on the N train (which I forgot was running local on the weekends cause we rarely ride it past 57th street, so it took next to forever to get there, but I did manage to get set up with plenty of time to spare). I was a bit nervous about all this; I mean most of the time, as an artist, I am doing my work on my own, in my own space. But BAG was cramped with 30 other visual artists-with me being among the squarest one there: tattoos=0, piercings=0, hip-ness=0. And I had to put a piece together in front of on-lookers in very little time (3 hours). Drawing was tough at first as I was trying to steady my hand from the excitement. I had prepared stencils to help pencil in the basic layout of what I would draw. So as the night wore on, I got steadier, but really didn't ease into things until Jennifer, Hugo and friends got there. I am so glad my family was there for me--it meant a lot having them there. Actually, Jen and Hugo stayed the entire night! Which was NO SMALL FEAT as the music provided for this "experiment" was itself "experimental." Mostly it was just sound--a cacophony of loudness that, at times, was so ludicrous it was hard to focus on what I was doing. They called it a "wall of sound," or a "soundscape," but mostly it served to sonically drive the roaches, mice, and vermin away. For that, at least, I am appreciative. To my friends who came to witness, thank you for coming, if the music prevented you from staying, I am so sorry, I had no idea it would be that loud, or bad.

So the piece I completed is above. I called it "Benign Distraction," in honor of the "Ganesh Experiment." In many ways working on this piece was a fun step into an artsy life, at least for a little while. I really enjoyed it. This diptych was created with one side iconic/symbolic and highly articulated, the other side is more expressive and responded more to the sound and environment of the project. As to what everything symbolizes, every detail, I leave that mostly up to viewers, for now, to interpret on their own.

Me, Jen, and Hugo in front of the half-completed drawing.

Some photos since our last post

It was great having Uncle Mike visit us...he was in NYC a couple of weeks ago.

"Whaaaa!"

Hugo playing with his "space" themed activity station.

Hi hi! Tummy Time.

Taking pictures with Mommy.

More taking pictures with Mommy....

Still more :)

Jen and I do stuff too.

I thought I would post this as sometimes, just sometimes, there are other things going on outside of Hugo that are worth mentioning (although Hugo is way way cooler than us). I will be participating in an art performance this week in Brooklyn. 30 artists will work on individual pieces while musicians and performance artists entertain the gallery onlookers. Not your usual art show....photos will follow.

But, more significantly this past week, Jennifer earned National Headliner Awards second-place honors for the series she produced titled, "Where They Stand." A significant accolade for anyone in the industry--not to mention that Jennifer was well into her pregnancy while working on this! She had (22-inch long) Hugo's feet kicking her ribs almost the whole time. Hugo and I are both proud of her.