The New Adventures of Papa and Marlo

It has now been two weeks since we moved to the Bronx. Marlo has adjusted well from the move, and from her very first subway ride (pictured).

Kevin said "peek-a-boo" to Marlo a few times only, and I've never said it, and suddenly that's all she is saying today. She continues to amaze us, over 60 words now at just 14 months old. I'm definitely a proud parent but I have never seen or read about any parrot being this advanced so young. She's a genius!! :)

Ugh, my first NFL playoff game and Kevin's first NFL game period. It could have been colder but was a bit windy/chilly. And that was the positive! The Falcons really laid an egg. But we still had a good time and it was a fun adventure making our way to MetLife Stadium. Even met Joe from the Falcon's Roost.

Since we went out Friday, we decided to stay in last night and watch the New Year ring in on TV. At midnight, we muted the volume and just listened to the crowd outside in Times Square. I love this neighborhood!

We had a great time up in Massachusetts celebrating Christmas with Kevin's family. We came back Sunday night and this week is Marlo time and Kitty Christmas. Marlo loves her gifts already (see photo). It was the first time I didn't make it home to Tennessee.  It was just too expensive to go again so soon.

August has been a strange month. I was informed I had to move to an office (NYC doesn't count) or lose my job. On the positive side of things, we went to the Dutchess County Fair and saw REO Speedwagon, pig races, ate kettle corn, played games and rode rides and had a blast! We also survived an earthquake and hurricane so I'd say we were quite lucky overall. :)

July was a crazy month of new experiences. Probably the most important was getting tattoos! And Kevin's parents visiting for a weekend. We also saw some new shows including "Rain" (with the Mulcahys), the return of "Rent" (right across the street) and a new Caroline Murphy show. Our Hit Parade moved to a new venue, Highline Ballroom, so it was a new twist on a regular favorite.

A lot happened in June following the Fire Island trip. We saw Gavin Creel with Anthony on the 7th. We tried to go on a cruise on the 9th but got rained out (had dinner on the boat anyway!). Saw Jason's "The F on My Chest" on the 10th. The 11th was Diane's Circus and the 14th was Selda's 30th birthday show. The 16 we had another Daytime Drama event the 17th we flew out to LA for the Emmy events. On the 23rd we went to Zarkana (including a pre-party on a rooftop). Then it was Kevla time! Kayla and Kevin came to visit and we had so much fun seeing them!!

We returned Monday afternoon from another wonderful vacation, this time to Fire Island Cherry Grove. We stayed at the Grove Hotel with a room that overlooked the pool, the bar, and with a view of the ocean. We saw so many drag shows, many featuring Porsche, and met lots of interesting people. We also got to spend a day at the beach (a little sunburn though) and hiked/walked through the Sunken Forest. It was totally relaxing and there was barely an internet signal even if we had wanted to stay connected. We missed the kids but Uncle Damon took great care of them all.

After having a cold this week and working long hours and being crazy busy at night, my actual birthday was pretty low key--just what I wanted and needed. We did have a bit of fun in the early afternoon riding on The Beast, a tourist boat where riders get much wetter than we realized! It goes from Pier 88 to the Statue of Liberty and back with the driver intentionally swerving to try to splash people. It sort of felt like an amusement park ride. I'm sure we were the only non-tourists there. It's great that Kevin appreciates living in New York City as much as I do and wants to do things like this. The evening was spent finishing 30 ROCK (we watched all five seasons in a relatively short amount of time) and Charlie's Angels on the Sleuth Channel! Go Farrah! Looking forward to Fire Island on Thursday. I need a vacation!

Kevin made a four layer slice of red velvet cake on Wednesday as part of my birthday week celebration. He also made sure I was brought on stage at Our Hit Parade last night. Last year I spent my 40th birthday in Tennessee and had dinner at Cracker Barrel with my mama. It was one of her few good days during that 11 day trip although she was feeling bad by the time we went to bed. I woke up to a red velvet cake on birthday morning that she had cooked despite not feeling well. She was supposed to be sleeping and my brother was going to make the cake, but she got up after I went to bed and made it anyway. To have someone in my life a year later like Kevin, who means so much to me, making the same cake is just more proof of how blessed my life is. Life is grand...at 41!

Life is full and wonderful and I've hardly had time to update the blog. Here's a rundown of some of the things we've done in the past month. April 24 - Saw "The Normal Heart" - amazing! April 25 - Went to the Broadway Cares Easter Bonnet event and celebrated Damon's 40th birthday with his event at the Gay and Lesbian Center. April 26 - Attended the Downsized premiere party April 27 - Colleen Zenk at the Will Clark Show plus Our Hit Parade (the best one we've seen so far). April 28 - Giovanni's show April 29 - Dinner at Chevy's (finally!) and the premiere of Disney's Prom I told you we were busy! May 2 - Started working out with a new trainer May 5 - Cinco de Mayo party at our place May 11 - Love Out Loud event May 15 - AIDS Walk May 19 - Daytime Drama May 23 - Sondheim Unplugged May 24 - Damon & Truett May 25 - Our Hit Parade (my birthday was mentioned multiple times) In the middle of all that we've watched over fou...

Okay, she's been mumbling for weeks now, but this little genius, not even seven months old can say pretty clearly, "Give me a kiss," and "Marlo Ryan is a good little girl." She mumbles dozens of other things which sound more like words every day. She can also answer comments like... "Give me a kiss" - she kisses "What do you say when you see a pretty bird?" - she whistles "Ed, Edd & Eddy" - she sings the theme song, whistles it actually We can't believe how fast she is learning things!

We had a fabulous Easter decorating eggs and watching Marlo, Fatty and Emjay hunt them. They all enjoyed it tremendously. Watch the video below.

We had a blast in Cambridge, at the Harvard Faculty Club, the Inn at Harvard, Marblehead, meeting the Mulcahys, the JFK museum and so much more. Fabulous time!

We finally had a warm weather day here in NYC (I was in Oregon for the other warm days) so we took Marlo out for her first stroller ride in the neighborhood. She loved it and got lots of attention from people who walked by us.

Being away all week gave Marlo the opportunity to bond more with Kevin. She already loved him, not I think she loves him more than me! What?!! :) Taking care of our kids is not an easy job as they all demand tons of attention. Here's the latest episode of The Marlo Chronicles. She is only 141 Days old here (on Sunday) and it's amazing what she can do already. She just heard this video and started repeating herself along with the video. :)

I returned last night from being in Hillsboro, Oregon, all week for work. We were in meetings all day every day, pretty long days at the office especially since I hadn't been at the office for meetings in seven years. But we got a lot done, and managed to have a tiny bit of fun along the way. I connected through Minneapolis-St. Paul going and coming and had a four hour delay on the way out. It was good to see my co-workers I hadn't see in years, and to finally meet my boss.

Life is great. Marlo is the smartest bird in the world, Kevin is awesome and we're very blessed. We saw "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" and "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" in previews this week and loved them both. The ISAs were a huge hit this year thanks to Kevin. Our days and nights are very full of many fun times. Work continues to be busy for me and I'm going to Oregon next week but that's par for the course. I've really bonded with Fatty and he totally waits for me to give him "bellies" every morning when I wake up.  It's so sweet.  Emjay still loves playing football and getting all the attention in the world. We're planning a trip to Marblehead in mid-April and will be going to Fire Island in early June.  Hopefully this all coordinates with my busy work schedule.