Char-leave!

We're now back from a luxurious couple weeks away at the beach - by which we mean the winter wonderland beach experience that is Bridgehampton in February, of course. What a time we had! The three of us Kelly/Olkens got some concentrated hang-out time, with both Mom & Dad on parental leave (our "Char-leave"): exploring the lovely towns of the Hamptons in their off-season quiet, bundling up for walks on blustery winter beaches and silent snowy woods, getting chased out of a nature preserve by three mean-looking wild turkeys, and enjoying lots of playtime around the house. Charlie got to spend great weekends with two sets of grandparents, who enjoyed a range of new three-month-old tricks. And we even squeezed in a visit from some of our favorite left-coasters, Amy and Aaron.

With all that activity, we've been hard-pressed to slim down our photo highlights to a reasonable post. So here, self-indulgently, is our extended highlights album. Only two first-time parents as head-over-heels for their little guy could take so many pictures of him just sitting around and being cute...but come on, he's pretty darn cute, no? (Note: to see the pictures, it appears that you need to be using a laptop or desktop.  For whatever reason beyond our technical capabilities, the pictures are not visible on the iphone/ipad.  Apologies.)

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The pictures are the fun part, but here's a few more highlights to aid us in remembering all our good times:

• Dining out! See previous post.
• Dining in! Lots of cooking together, including some slow-cooker triumphs (to eat again: Vaguely Vietnamese Tacos) and some help from alexandracooks.com 
• Shabbat dinner with Jan, Stacy, and Scout
• Exploration: driving tours from Southampton to Montauk and everywhere inbetween, including covering new ground in the Springs, Sag Harbor bayfront, back roads Amagansett
• Snowy walks in our backyard nature preserve
• Wine tasting at Channing Daughters
• Movie time, old (Charade) and new (Big Short), as well as small-screen excitement with Homeland and John Adams (does that count as excitement?)
• Beach walking pre- and post-storm, in weather from 50 to 0 degrees
• Keeping up with the political maelstrom, from debate watching to mulling over the future of the Supreme Court
• Retail therapy, from J. McLaughlin to KMart
• Speed-puzzle with Amy & Aaron

A Foodie in the Making

We spent the past two weeks out at Ruff House, enjoying our overlapping maternity and paternity leaves, a vacation we termed "Charleave".  In addition to walks on the beach, strolls in the woods, and play time at the house, Charlie got to explore much of the east end restaurant scene.  He was a very accommodating dining companion, essentially snoozing his way through every type of cuisine offered.  Some highlights of his culinary outings:

Testing out the wines at Channing Daughters (since he is already expert in the Wolffer Estate offerings having visited back in December):

Monday night pasta specials at Tutto il Giorno:

Enjoying quiet and attention as the only brunch patrons at Topping Rose House:

A visit to Bay Burger, where Charlie was photographed so that at some point later this winter he will be awarded the august title of "Customer of the Week," which means he gets to eat for free.   Think of all the burgers and ice cream, Charlie!

 A yummy late-night dinner at Almond, just down the street from home:

$17.70 Thursday night specials (what a delicious deal!) at 1770 House:

Weekday breakfast at Estia's with the locals:

Fashionable setting for dinner at Wolffer Kitchen (where we sided more with the skepticism of the Constantinides-Romeros than the effusiveness of the NYTimes):

Lunch in Montauk at Bliss:

Checking out all that raw fish that mom couldn't eat while Charlie was getting ready to make his entrance into the world at Suki Zuki in Water Mill:

Fantastic island fare at Rumba in Hampton Bays on the drive home:

While enjoying the restaurant offerings, Charlie also assisted in cooking at home, with outings to King Kullen and Citarella, including for Superbowl prep:

The Parade of Friends Continues

Catching up on some of Charlie's activities from the past few weeks...The end of January brought even more new friends for Charlie, including several of EB and Josh's current and former work colleagues, as well as some college friends.  What fun!

Friday night antics with Bill Kelley and Juan Escobar:

An afternoon with the Tishman Speyer crew, including lullabies courtesy of Broadway star Jose Llana (with silent back-up from Erik Rose):

Upper West Side neighbors Julie Lurie and Ben, soon-to-be instructor for Charlie on all the cool things in the neighborhood for young gentlemen:

Learning about the playgrounds of the Upper West Side with experts Jessica Eliasi and Henry:

 

Learning how to nap from Nate Austerlitz (which requires direct parental involvement):

A giant puppy present from Regina, who reminds us that everything they do in Texas is just a bit bigger than what we do in NYC:

Happy Birthdays to Uncles Dan and James!

Birthday celebrations with Uncle Dan and Uncle James.  How lucky to have such youthful uncles living so close by.  Ladies - hard to believe but these gentlemen are single, and Charlie is available as a wing man anytime.

Uncle Dan turns 25!

And Uncle James swings by after class at Columbia to celebrate 23 (with Uncle Dan joining via FaceTime):

More Upper West Side Firsts

Never one to settle for what he already knows, Charlie has enjoyed many new firsts in the past couple of weeks.  Many of the firsts were enjoyed while sleeping, but perhaps the experience was enjoyed through osmosis (though hopefully not too much was picked up on the subway!)

First subway ride:

 

Checking out the dinosaurs, the blue whale, and the planetarium at the Natural History Museum:

  First Happy Hour, hanging with the crew from Mars: