the rory lovefest continues

there's just no stopping me! i've caught rory photo posting madness. but seriously, i was quite upset by the lack of photos of rory with abbie and amy. so here they are. mama and baby all sacked out cute style, and auntie amy doting on aforementioned little one. i'm now plotting my secret escape to california so i can change lots of dirty diapers and munch on baby legs.

the closer look you (my imaginary readers) have been desperate for!

here she is, still just hours old, posing for auntie amy, who has already warned her to get used to it, because she's planning on taking at least a million pictures of rory by the time she is a year old. that takes the pressure off this auntie's pictures to be any good!

so the word is out. in addition to the 2oz weight discrepancy, the identical birth height, and 3 minute off birth time, looks like rory charlotte is taking even more after auntie kitty by charming all with her sweet, agreeable demeanor. now regardless of the loud, bossy monster i may have morphed into in the past three decades, i do have quite the reputation for having been a sweet and calm baby. at least that's what my mom says. and mom's are always right and completely unbiased. well, she certainly never made those claims about amy and abbie....

being a baby is like being britney spears or the grand canyon. everyone wants to pose for a photo op with you. i am especially an authority on the britney spears example, because once at a bus stop in the dusty interior of turkey at 5am, i was mistaken for britney by a bus of women wearing traditional head scarves, and appropriately fauned over and posed with. they didn't buy my protests, because, you know, i look just like her. true story. ask tristan.

here is rory obliging my various familial connections: (photos may be enlarged by clicking)















here is where you have to excuse my lack of web knowledge. i'd love to lay these photos out nicely, yet, don't know how! hopefully the order goes like so: proud brother, 14 year old kyle,

little cousin anika (age 7),

nana--my mom, who can't ever get enough babies!

cousin allyson (age 11), who grilled johnny the first time they met (abbie and johhny had been dating one month) on when they'd get married and have babies,

grandpa gus (age...oh jeez, nevermind!)

welcome rory charlotte kearns!

the giraffe is finally loose! some time around 3am, my little, well, actually BIG niece came screaming into the world. she tops me by 2 oz. at a whopping 9 pounds and 1 oz.! same birth height as auntie kitty--22". which means she should easily tower over abbie by the time she hits 3rd grade. i don't know many details yet, other than abbie didn't have to have the c-section we feared she would. more photos to follow when auntie amy arrives on the scene. i will now slog impatiently through the end of spring semester and the spring catering season till i can squeeze those chunk legs for myself! congratulations abbie and johnny, and welcome little rory! now if you'd excuse me, i need to practice saying "rory charlotte" in one twangy syllable.

happy belated birthday to mieke

sunday night we celebrated mieke's birthday at her place with the usual loads of great food and chocolate-mocha birthday cake. mieke is a beautiful and inspirational friend who moved to new york via turkey and her native belgium three years ago, studied hard to be certified in the u.s. as a physical therapist, and now resides in a beautiful apartment in williamsburg, brooklyn.


mieke always makes time in her life for exercise and outdoor fun, which is more than i can say for myself! who else says, "hey, let's ride our bikes down to red hook!", then forces me to ride her new 'luxury cadillac' bike home while she bumps along in my 'pinto'? having her for a neighbor has felt blissfully hometown--even when we're both super busy, we manage to meet up even if just to ride the train home together. this has also made it possible for me to force her into henna and haircutting servitude (which reminds me, mieke, my roots are showing!).
mieke and i first met at my annual christmas tree decorating party, and since then, she has shared entertaining duties with me, as we both love to throw parties--sometimes for sixty, sometimes just for the two of us. she's even humored me with costuming sprees, letting me outfit her even when it's not halloween. in return, i outfitted her with her honey, ezra, a similarly sweet and positive spirit who keeps her company when i can't, because with my schedule, let's face it, i ain't the greatest friend! finally, mieke makes me feel like a belgian rock star, by mentioned me often on her blog, which is written entirely in flemish. sneaky mieke. don't think i don't know what "Kitty, drank aangesleept door onze genodigden, mijn mooi parket bleek een uitstekende dansvloer te zijn" means!


i gave mieke a print of this photograph i took of the abandonned domino sugar factory, which sits a block from mieke's doorstep. it is the typical landscape of our post-industrial hipster neighborhood. probably soon to gutted and converted into luxury condominiums.....

this one's for amy

class at the new york botanical garden today. was wishing i had amy's beautiful macro lens!

rain drops keep fallin' on my head

instead of emailing you, amy, here is what i'm seeing this morning out my kitchen window. didn't want to get out of my cozy bed this morning--it was so dark!!

this, by the way, is not a commitment to blog!