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kathie (bailey's first nanny) asked her to be a flower girl in her wedding this weekend. it was VERY fancy and a chance for bailey to dress up like a princess. there was no rehearsal and VERY LITTLE instruction as to what to do. BUT the lesson for me (that i've been taught over and over again) was to never doubt bailey. she did a FANTASTIC job. she sprinkled rose petals down the aisle perfectly so there were only 3 petals left by the time she hit the front of the altar. she walked at a steady pace and stood smiling the whole time (even though her tiara of flowers kept falling off her head and even though her brand new shiny shoes were a little uncomfortable).

so.. like bailey, brynny's hair has not been super abundant. nonetheless, it was starting to grow to a point where the wisps were getting in her eyes. so we made the decision to get it trimmed. here's a pic of her first time at the salon.

she now looks like the little dutch boy but is much happier!

we started talking about leaving our 38th-st apartment awhile ago. knowing that a 3rd baby was on the way meant it would be ideal to have more space. also, knowing that bailey would be starting kindergarten in a year (and that it would be ridiculous to pay for private school for 3 kids), finding a better school district also made a lot of sense. what this translated to was a fair amount of surfing streeteasy and trulia AND visiting neighborhoods on the UWS, tribeca and even westchester. nothing seemed to be a good fit until we saw an apartment on 67 and amsterdam. it seemed to be the right mix of price, location (for commuting to work), school district, size and amenities (washer/dryer fiasco aside).

so after our first broker viewing in mid-july, things proceeded pretty quickly. AND we found ourselves packed up and moving at the end of that month.

now, we've been living in our new hood for over a month, and we're finally settling in. the neighborhood is much nicer (much more of an actual neighborhood). and it is super kid-friendly. tons of playgrounds and museums and indoor playspaces for kids. i still personally miss the amenities of the old building and the 1 minute commute to work, but as matt points out, as i'm 9-months pregnant and i'm just grouchy. ;-)

when i rub away the veneer of grouchy pregnancy, i know we are TRULY truly blessed to have found such a good fit for us. oh, and did i mention, bailey is now enrolled in a pre-K directly across the street from our new apartment? oh right, and that our church is now within walking distance? there's a lot of upside. :-)

also, the move was good in helping us pare down again (all the crap we've somehow managed to accumulate over the last 3 years). here's a video of all the boxes we had. and here's a pic of our NEW playground around the corner.

this video (and more on youtube) courtesy of grandma merry.

so, brynny is clearly going to be tough. she will fight kids twice her size. she will eat things off the floor. she will bust her knee open till its bleeding and not shed a tear. we lovingly refer to her as "honey badger."