The Kremer Family

Downtown Living

Saturday, August 21, 2010

So we've moved to Downtown LA...temporarily. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depends on how you look at it) we had to abandon our house. For months we noticed the floors in our kitchen starting to warp. Nothing major. It just looked like water had spilled on it. Nothing a little drying out wouldn't fix. Then we came home from our vacation in Hawaii (will upload pics in another post) to the floor buckling. Now it was time to worry. A few more weeks pass and the floors were progressively getting worse.

After the leak was detected and fixed, our general contractor had to rip out the floors to dry the sub-flooring. It took a whole week with dryers and dehumidifiers.

My poor kitchen was sick and contained from the rest of the house. Too bad we didn't have advance warning that we wouldn't be able to access the kitchen when we came home. All our food was zoned off. Then the kitchen was entirely deconstructed. The countertops were lifted and cabinets removed.

Onward and upward. We decided we couldn't keep eating frozen meals in the game room kitchenette. Glad to have one, but I miss the convenience small things like an oven or even a toaster oven. I miss being able to make food on the stove top. We were able to make do with my little George Forman grill and microwave. We looked into temporary housing and narrowed our choices down. We found a cool place centrally located in the heart of Hollywood right at Hollywood and Highland. The place was new, clean and nice. The area...well it's Hollywood. It's crowded and at times can be a little sketchy. The other place we found was in Downtown LA. The thought of living downtown was very attractive so we decided to make a go of it.

We signed a one month lease at 1010 Wilshire. It's cool, chic and has the most incredible views. I walk three blocks to the subway and then three stops to Union Station where I aboard my train. It's kind of fun. We haven't gotten out just yet, but we're working on it. We have been able to swim at the rooftop pool. Nighttime at the pool is even more spectacular. One of these nights, we'll have to make it up there.

Muah to the Rice Family

Sunday, June 06, 2010

A few weeks ago I had this conversation with Izzy.

Isabella: Mommy, I want to swim in Asher's pool. Can we go to Asher's house to swim?
Me: Asher lives far away. We'd have to take a plane to get there. But maybe we can go to Chris' house in Palm Springs.

Then today she says this:

Isabella: Mommy, I miss Asher. Can we go to see him?
Me: I miss him too.

Isabella: We would have to ride a plane, right?
Me: Yes

Isabella: They live far away, right mommy?
Me: Yes

Isabella: Where do they live?
Me: [hmm...] Massachusetts

Isabella: [confused look on her face]

Izzy and Ethan. Ethan and Eli. Izzy, Ethan and Eli.

Saturday, June 05, 2010

We are so lucky to have three great kids. I fall in love with them when I see them play together and genuinely love each other. It's so special and I hope they continue it through adulthood (a mother can only wish).

I was driving Izzy and Eli around on one of my many errands around town and she says to me, "Mommy, I miss Ethan. I love Ethan. I love it when I chase Ethan. And I love it when Ethan chases me." Seriously? How sweet is that?

Yes, there are days when I want to leave them in a store, park or restaurant, but for the most part they are the best things ever to come into our lives. We are fortunate.

One weekend Ed was out of town and I popped in a movie to give me some down time. I look over at the kids and they are in the zone.

Twenty minutes later they are laughing hysterically. I look over and Ethan is trying to kiss Izzy and she plays keep away.

But he finally lands one.

These are pictures from today.

It takes some coaxing to get a group picture, especially from Izzy

They got serious

But it only lasted a moment. Notice how terrified Eli looks.
This is only the beginning.

All About Eli

Eli is now 11 weeks old. He's a sweet baby. He's definitely a cross between Izzy and Ethan. He's lanky like Isabella with a sweetness like Ethan. On the Kremer baby easiness-scale I'd rank him #2 after Ethan. Izzy was the most difficult because she was our first and she was a bit fussy.

At his two month appointment (on May 19, 2010) his stats were:

Weight: 10 lbs and 14 oz (31st percentile for boys his age)
Height: 22" (18th percentile)

So he's a little more like Ethan with his stats relative to other babies. The only concerns we've had to date is his constant spitting up. He's a spitter. We believe he has reflux, but so far it isn't detrimental to his health. You definitely have to protect yourself around him.

Eli has the cutest dimples; one is more pronounced then the other. He is a spitting image of Ed - it's really unbelievable. I feel like I'm looking at Ed. See for yourself.

Eli at a whopping two hours old...

These pictures were taken when he was only about four to five days old...

At 2 weeks old...

At 3 weeks old...

His first bath

At 5 weeks old...

At 7 weeks old...

At 8 weeks old...

(He is a spitter as you can see in these pictures)

At 9 weeks old...

And today at 11 weeks old...

All About Isabella

While on my maternity leave I keep the baby and one of the kids home with me while the other attends daycare. Izzy usually goes three days a week and Ethan goes the other two days. This way I get some time with each and they also have time with other kids. It's been great. Isabella has grown so much. She still has her moments, but overall she's been such a great help to me. I can't imagine having three small kids without her helping hand.

Every Thursday the Grove does event for kids. I've taken Isabella several times. We brought a picnic and set up. It was a nice day. We finished off the day with a Pink Berry (that's my bribe to do a little shopping).

We went to go visit my mom and dads. My dad is quite the gardener. They grow everything from kale, peaches, figs, bell peppers, grapes, plums....to blueberries and raspberries (these are new). Izzy saw them and got really excited.

I took the Izzy and Eli to Santa Monica. The weather was perfect. We did some window shopping and picked up a sandwich, salad and some edamame and setup a picnic on a park bench in front of the ocean. It was nice.