"Real Life" in Jersey City

After typing up the "story" of us moving out to New Jersey + our first week and a half here or so I asked Will what I should title it.  I was just ready to call it "done" so I didn't give it too much effort and just called it "Life in Jersey City."  Borrrringggggg!!!!!  I've also been thinking about how it was more heavy on the events and things we'd filled our days with, but it lacked several details that really tell what life has been like.  I'll think of more things over time, but now let me tell you some things that describe real life right now.  And that's what we like to see on this blog! : )

So, in no particular order....  most of this will probably be about Andrew, by the way...

Andrew is pretty into shoes right now.  He likes to find my shoes and get them for me.  Sometimes he likes to put his feet into them, but he really just likes to help me untie them and put them onto my feet.  He says something along the lines of "shzzz"

The elevators all have mirrors so you can see yourself every time you head somewhere.  Unfortunately this makes me a little more self conscious, especially with the top lighting in the elevators making my hair look that much more frizzy.... blahhhhh.  BUT, we like the elevator because Andrew likes to press the buttons (with help... : ) AND he loves to throw his head back and see his reflection in the ceiling mirrors and laugh and say "haaaaaahhhhhhhhh!"  And my hair looks better when I throw my head back and see my reflection in the ceiling mirrors, too : )

Andrew loves to throw things.  Balls, socks, toys, food...........  Mealtime used to be so peaceful..... ha! : )

Andrew lately will throw his head back and laugh sometimes.  It's cute and funny.  He wants to be able to play with the blinds cords.  Those are off limits for safety reasons and he gets mad.  That's not cute or funny...  

We figured Andrew would regress in some area or another with all the changes with moving.  It's seemed to be the sleeping.  Last night was the first night that he stayed in his own bed the whole night.  That doesn't mean that he didn't wake up needing help at 2:something, but he did stay in his own bed.  It was exciting.  He's always been an "early" riser, and even when it's still dark he's up at about 6:30 give or take.  The really exciting thing is that we'll get to start over with helping him feel settled and comfortable when we move into our house in a couple weeks.  Woohoo!!  At least he'll have his own real bed then.  He's been in a pack and play....  We all miss the crib.  

Andrew is getting better at climbing onto things.  He's a little too short to be able to get onto the couches himself, thankfully, but he loves to be able to find something to give him a boost to climb up onto the coffee table.  Whoever invented coffee tables anyway???

Monday, October 12  in the evening we saw fireworks being shot off over the Hudson - looked like from Manhattan you'd be able to see them in front of the Statue of Liberty.  Cool!  We figured it was for Columbus Day?

A couple of weeks ago I got stopped twice within 10-15 minutes and asked for money while we were out walking.  Hasn't happened since. 

We drive past the entrance to the Holland Tunnel sometimes (like on the way to/from church and some other times.)  I haven't counted how many lanes across, but it's a ton.  And the sign across the top is huge.  It's fun to see.

The lobby in our building has some fancy looking decorations and 24 hour concierge in their suits so I feel like we're in some nice hotel.  Move here if you're rich (and have to pay yourself, ha!) and like dogs.  They like dogs so much that they have a bowl of doggie treats at the concierge desk that people can get their dog a treat from.  I have yet to see the bowl of people treats.... But I do see a man with a blond man-bun who works in the glass-enclosed leasing office side.

Andrew is into all things "transportation."  He's good at spotting airplanes and helicopters, and does like the boats, but his hands-down favorite is the light rail trains.  He loves to look for them out the window.  We spend time every single morning watching them, and sometimes in the evening.  Sometimes we go park on the sidewalk and watch them come and go.

I'm sure there's more things that I've thought to myself that I should write down, but this is good for now.  Here are some pictures from the last couple weeks.  These are all of Andrew from a project we were working on yesterday.  I'll add a couple more later - like the views out the windows, etc. But I'm sure these will be more fun anyway.

OH!  I trimmed Andrew's hair on Saturday.  It was getting sooo long.  I like it long/combable, but it was in his eyes bad, and over his ears.  When a lady asked me last week "boy or girl" it wasn't really a turning point, but I did wonder if it was the hair... I'd already told Will I was ready to cut it.  I wanted to try to do it myself before taking him somewhere.  I figured it could always get fixed somewhere else : )  We have hair scissors with our trimmer, but obviously not here right now.  We didn't really want to buy another set, so we decided I could try with the kitchen shears...... : )  despite Will's slight reservations....  Ask Andrew to hold his head still for longer than a millisecond.  Yeah... good luck.  He just wanted to see what I was doing.  We had him in his booster seat with food and Will to entertain.  I trimmed what I could for a while with the mediocre scissors and knew that it was at least out of his eyes.  It's certainly not professional, but it is shorter.  We decided it's fine for a 1 year old : )  It really is fine!  We'll have to see if in a  month or two we cut it "short" with the trimmers or if we try to trim it long again...

Final note... remember how a week ago it got really cold and I went and bought Andrew fleece footie pajamas and Will and I each some sweatpants?  Well... we all three went to a grocery store together Saturday morning each of us in our sweat pants (at least Andrew wasn't in his pjs!).  I told Will something like, "the family who sweatpants together, ........ " : )  

Ok.  the pictures.  Andrew gets up early!

On the playground at Liberty State Park

In the building's "Kids' Play Room"  He loved to bang that mallet on anything that would be loud.  I noticed a day or two ago an adult had put it up on a ledge... hahaha  Usually when we're in there hardly anyone else is, so who knows what some other kid did with it.

He likes to eat his bagels, and lots of other things, "vertical."  That seems to be the fastest way to get to the cream cheese.  Also the fastest way to get it all over his face.

He likes help putting them on.  Then he takes them off and hands them to me.  He wants me to put them on him again.  Every 5 steps or so... : )  He's really only needed them once on a walk lately.

He's been doing this move for several weeks now.  He also thinks it's super cool to have race car pajamas.  vroom vroom!

This is from walking along the marina right by where we're living, looking back toward lower Manhattan.  The tallest one is the new World Trade Center.  The same marina that we watch boats come in and out of.  The same marina that separates us from Liberty State Park and makes it so we have to walk half an hour or so around it to get there.  You have to walk through city to get up to the foot bridge connecting downtown Jersey City to the park.  We've done the walk several times and it's got plenty to see along the way.  The walk along the marina edge only goes so far, then you'd have to cut back into the city.  But that walk is fun, too, of course.  I don't really have walking through the city pictures yet because I feel like a weirdo taking them.  I tell myself right before we're going to move out of Jersey City I guess I'll feel a little more bold...

  

Those monster socks!!  My grandparents gave them to Andrew when we saw them for our sealing in May.  It was  too warm to need them until we moved here.  I told Andrew the monsters say "aaaaahhhhh" in a high pitched voice.  He can tell you what they say : )  And it was a multi pack, so we have several sets of monsters socks!  Perfect for Halloween!  

And that, my friends, is another snapshot into our "real" lives here in Jersey City.