Three

I am not sure what is more sad…the fact that I have only posted once this year. Or the fact that I posted in a timely fashion about Heather’s birthday and not about Todd's.

Ahem.

So let’s bring the number of posts for the year up to two by talking about our little man who is now three.

Three?! Yes, three!

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I am an only child. There are many things about the sibling relationship that I struggle with or that just plain don’t make sense to me. I have had fights with my friends. But I don’t think I’ve ever had a relationship where I can be happily playing with another person for half an hour, fighting with them for 5-10 minutes and then happily playing with again as if the fight never happened. Sure, part of this is the relatively short “memory” of pre-schoolers and the quick forgiveness that goes along with that. But I still don’t really get it. I love watching them when they are getting along, but it drives me batty when they are clearly pushing each other’s buttons on purpose.

There are pros and cons of being a second child.

R and I are more relaxed. We generally feel like we know what we’re doing. We weren’t freaked out by bringing a baby home from the hospital, aren’t upset by fevers or tantrums, don’t flinch at the first sounds of unhappiness…that isn’t to say that nothing surprises us. They are clear differences between our two kids and Todd has acted in ways that are different from Heather (tricks that worked on her would never work on him and
vice-versa), but we mostly feel like we have the majors bases covered and it just takes a little experimentation to find the best tricks to handle whatever Todd throws at us.

The downsides of being a second child are probably pretty obvious and predictable. It wouldn’t take long to find a lot more posts on this blog about Heather than Todd, and I would venture that blogging has slowed down in general since Todd was born. Heather will continue to do all of the “firsts” first, and at least in our mind all of Todd’s “firsts” are compared to Heather’s.

(I’m not talking about competitive comparisons, just “isn’t that interesting” comparisons.)

And of course, there are all the things that Todd will have to watch Heather do first and wait for his turn. They are close enough in age that some things that we have put off for Heather (…cough…swim lessons…cough…) will turn into things that they can both do together, but there are lots and lots of milestones that Heather will naturally get to do first.

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Three doesn’t seem as monumental as it did the first time.

Watching Todd turn into a 3-year old has reminded me that there is a lot of Heather’s threes that I have blocked out of my memory. Todd starting acting like a 3-year old a couple of months before his birthday and…whew…did I forget how mentally exhausting it can be! Even my laid back boy can now lose his cool when things don’t go exactly.as.he.wanted.

He can be intensely stubborn and refuses to move onto something other than getting what he wanted. Other times the pronouncement that there is a worm in the backyard or the opportunity to help mommy feed the cats will snap him out of his funk quickly.

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Todd is a charming, sweet, and very lovable little boy. He screams and shouts with delight, he enthusiastically greets the people that he loves and once he has warmed up to you, he will tell you anything about himself or our family. Todd loves babies and loves animals. He will chat and coo to every baby we see, and he will notice immediately if there is a baby in need of attention. He loves visiting our kitties and helping to feed them. He would sit and pet them or play with them all day if they would let him. He has a great time at the zoo and loves playing with the doggies at Grandma Sharon’s house.

Todd definitely has a reserved streak when it comes to new people and new situations. There is a warm-up period required often to get acclimated to “new” people. And when I say new, that even applies to people that we know but haven’t seen in a while. Having Heather around helps him acclimate faster, but it can still take 20-30 minutes for him to adjust. He can be so clingy during these adjustment periods that it feels like he wants to climb back in the womb.*

Todd loves to play outside, to play in water and sand, and to play with any sort of sports equipment. If it involves a ball or a bat, he is happy to join in the game. He even learned to throw a Frisbee this past weekend with his Aunt Tara. When we play inside, he can entertain himself with play-doh or a puzzle or a pile of cars, but it seems like his independent play lasts the longest in sand and water. When we spent time at the beach while we were camping, there were long stretches that he didn’t need to interact with anyone else – he was totally content. Overall, Todd plays well with his sister and with his friends at school, both the girls and boys.

Todd will draw and color, but while we wait at a restaurant he would choose to play a game on an iPhone over crayons every time. He will also watch anything on a screen. Look back at the lists I've posted about the things that Heather watches and the same is true for Todd. We've recently added Diego, Dora, My Little Pony and Babar to the list.

It feels like Todd is very quickly leaving all of the "toddler" behind and moving ahead to little boy status. We saw a toddler this weekend and it is quite amazing to realize how much he has grown and changed in 18 months. We don't even blink when he speaks in long sentences and paragraphs and it seems that each day we discover something else that he can do for himself without help.

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*Description stolen from Michelle at Burgh Baby

Just Pictures

Summer fun has continued around these parts - more camping, playground, playdates, ducky tour, neighborhood fair, jazz in the park, pool and walks around the neighborhood. To keep you occupied until I can put together a more newsy update, I'm going to share my two favorite pictures that R has taken this week.

9 days of Summer

This is Todd, asleep in the carrier on my back at the end of our first family trip to Kennywood. (Thank you pikkolo carrier, for helping us avoid taking the stroller to the amusement park. ;-)

Last week, R and the kids were home for vacation, and we packed a WHOLE lot of summer into that one week. Todd's expression above is pretty much how I felt when the week was over. Completely and totally exhausted. :-)

The week included camping, hiking, beach time, eating campfire food, a family 4th of July picnic, lake and pool swimming, Cars 2 (Todd's first movie theater experience, Heather's second), the spray park, the zoo, puddle jumping, a day at Kennywood amusement park and a cookout birthday party with bubbles. Whew.

Every indication is that the kids had a great time all week. They got to know some of their cousins better while we were camping and could have spent all of their time at the campground playing at the beach & the lake if we would have let them. It was hard with so many activities to keep up the usual routines and there were lots of car naps, and some bedtime issues. But the kids seemed to deal with the unpredictability well and the only "problem" was some boundary testing near the end of our break. Other than some slow mornings, the return to daycare and our normal routine has not been hard and both kids were eager to join their friends after drop-off this morning.

Our day at Kennywood was a lot of fun. Heather was ready to ride anything that she was tall enough to go on and was enthusiastic in Kiddieland. Todd was a little more hesitant at first, especially on the rides where he was supposed to sit solo. So we switched to the rides where kids and parents can ride together, and by the evening he was enthusiastically going on the kid only rides with Heather.

Heather and Daddy also rode on the Pittsburgh Plunge and the Jack Rabbit together while Todd and I found other ways to entertain himself. We may need to find another adult to take with us next year so that Todd has a riding partner for the rides outside of Kiddieland as well. This mama only rides the spinny rides and not anything that goes up and down. :-)

We look forward to more summer activities, but this past week was the epitomy of summer fun!

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Bedtime stories in the tent:


First walk on the beach:

Playing at the Glendale Lake beach:


In the Mole Rat tunnel climber at the zoo:


Riding the Kiddieland version of The Whip:

Family Wedding

R's sister was married this past Saturday. R was a groomsmen and Todd was the ring bearer.

I'm not sure if there is anything more unpredictable than a 2 year-old as a ring bearer. :-) But he did really well. He was a little unsure in the rehearsal, but the second time through he was relaxed and unconcerned about walking with the flower girl (the daughter of the groom).


A family shot before the wedding. (Thanks for taking the picture, Aunt Wendy!)


I was with Todd at the back of the church as the rest of the wedding party processed and encouraged him to walk down the aisle with the flower girl. He seemed intrigued by the petals that she was dropping on the aisle - a new addition from the rehearsal. Once that novelty wore off he noticed all of the people sitting in the sanctuary and walked the rest of the way with his head down, refusing to make eye contact. At the end, he seemed happy to make it to daddy and be out of the spotlight. And he stayed up at the altar for the whole ceremony.

For the recessional, he was uninterested in walking with the flower girl. (I went to the back of the church, but he couldn't see me around the best man and matron of honor.) So daddy carried him while also escorting the bridesmaid he was matched with. Still pretty cute.

The weather was nice enough that the kids could run around outside the church during the receiving line and mingling. Todd seemed relieved when guests started paying attention to other people and not just him.


There was time to go home for a rest between the ceremony and reception. Instead of napping, the kids watched Gumby.

Once the (boring to them) dinner was over, R took the kids onto the dance floor and they had a wonderful time. It was pretty hard to get any reasonable pictures, but we hope that there will be some fun video to show you in the next few weeks.

They danced so hard, there had to be some breaks, too.


We left the reception about an hour after their bedtime, and even with all that dancing and the late hour, neither one fell asleep in the car on the 20 minute ride back to Grandma's house. Thankfully, they didn't fight sleep too hard and they both slept in later than normal the following morning. Not super late, but late for them. :-)

Todd's toddlerhood

As I mentioned, someone in this house turned 2 recently. This little boy is charming, happy and completely adorable. And did I mention charming. There is just something about Todd that makes people smile. Sometimes it is his smile and other times it is his enthusiasm, the cock of his head, his earnestness...it is hard to describe but there is just something about him that is hard for anyone to resist.

Overall, he continues to be the easy-going child that he was as an infant. Which is not to say that he doesn't ever express his will or state his desires. And quite frankly, when he expresses a desire, he is serious about it. He isn't just halfheartedly telling you something to see how you react. He has decided that this request is urgent to his state of happiness. And he will stubbornly defend this need with typical toddler methods.

The positive thing that I have learned about the above stubbornness, is that most of the time he still has the attention span of a toddler. If he doesn't protest strongly, the protest will likely die down in a few minutes. If he does protest strongly, then it is time to move on to something else and come back to the issue in 5-10 minutes. After a break, it is likely that his easy-going and cooperative state will have returned. Who knows how long this technique will continue to work!

His language is really amazing. I don't have specific data points, but my impression is that his language exploded sooner and faster than Heather's, who was no slouch in the words department. At his 2 year check-up, the doctor asked if he had at least 20 words and we had to do our best not to laugh...since he had more than that at the 18 month appointment. By his birthday he was starting to use 3 word phrases pretty regularly and now (2 months later) is using 5-6 word sentences. Tonight: "Thank you [for] making dinner mommy." It is kind of amazing to me that he is talking so much, especially when you consider the chatterbox that he has for a sister. But maybe that is why, so he can get a word in edgewise. ;-)

15-21 months was a tough period. Sleep was tough and so was his level of neediness and separation anxiety. It gradually improved and now it feels like we have come out of the worst of it. Of course, we have also entered the world of toddler tantrums. But in some ways I prefer the occasional tantrum over a toddler velcro-ed to my side nearly 24/7.

Todd's favorite things:
- Doing whatever his big sister is doing. Anything and everything that Heather does is what he wants to do, too.
- Playing with and watching others play with baseballs, footballs, soccer balls, etc. If it is a sport, he is intrigued.
- Swinging at the playground. He enjoys climbing and sliding, too, but he can literally swing for an entire visit to the park.
- Playing in water - at the spray park, the pool, the kiddie pool, a water table, the bathtub, etc.
- Eating fruit. (There are other things he likes, too, but fruit is definitely eaten with the most gusto and quantity)
- Playing with his friends Will and Henry.
- All of the TV and movies that his sister enjoys. He has a pretty long attention span for it, for someone his age...which is both good and bad. :-)
- Anything with animals - books, TV, the zoo and real life visits with dogs and cats. He would be thrilled if our cats would allow regular petting and playing sessions.

For his birthday, we had a small party with his two pals and family. After the party was over, we tested the new bubble wands, colored Easter eggs and rode bikes. It was a lovely day to celebrate the little boy who made our family complete.

Have I mentioned...

...that someone in this house is 2 now?

No, I can't believe it either.


Also, spray parks are awesome when it is 90+ degrees outside and the pools aren't open yet.

February 3

I have been wanting to write, but I haven't been sure what to say. The kids and I haven't been doing much interesting stuff on our home days. With the snow and all three of us having colds, laying low has seemed like a good plan. We have a neighborhood playdate this afternoon, but It is our first in a couple weeks. Now that we are all on the mend, I need to get some more plans on the calendar. :-)

A few snippets:

1 - I had an interview on Friday. I would like the job. I was surprised to get a response on Tuesday. It is a contingent job offer, subject to the firm getting the notice to proceed on a new project. No specific timeframe. The upside is that it gives me some hope and real possibilities. The downside is the uncertainty and the fact that the stability of the job will relate directly to new work that comes in the door. I'm definitely in a better place than I was a week ago, but I'm not breaking out the champagne yet...

2 - I have both a knitting and a crochet commission arriving this week, so I used the bit of 'free' time I had to wrap up and work on my own things. As of Tuesday, the two "Hey Jude" toddler sweaters are ready for a bath, I started a swatch for some leg warmers and I've woven some more Babette Blanket ends. I have since gotten different yarn for the leg warmers and want to use the original yarn for a beret design. So many ideas and so little time...

3 - I submitted a design to Twist Collective. I'm waiting to hear if it was accepted. If it gets accepted, the next six weeks will be very busy with that and my commissions.

4 - When life/the kids allow, I am fastidiously cleaning the house. Heather's birthday party is in less than two weeks. Plus, if/when I get to start the job, I would love to exit unemployment with a clean house. Fingers crossed.

4A - The birthday party preparations and the knitting commission are constantly conflicting with each other for my time. I'm hoping to get ahead on the knitting, so I can take a little time to plan the party. Plus there are the preparations for Heather's actual birthday...

5 - The kids and I did take an outing to the mall a few weeks ago. I couldn't really tell you the last time I went to mall. There was a time in my life (high school) when it was a regular and enjoyable activity. Not that I hate it now, I just think there are other things I would rather do. I have other ways to hang out with my friends and online shopping is faster. (I do prefer to shop for clothes in person, but the time and money required only align 1-2 times a year right now.)

Anyway...Todd got a Build-a-Bear gift card for his first birthday and I wanted to wait to use it until he could pick the animal himself. He chose (with a little influence from me) an owl. He really seems to like it and it is the closest he has come to having a "lovey" in 21 months.

6 - Have I mentioned that he is 21 months now. Yikes!

Translating Todd

Todd is still primarily saying one word at a time with the occasional 2-word phrase. The interesting expansion of his language is into verbs and words which express more than just object identification. For those interested in the progression of toddler language, here are some examples.

"doing" (usually with pointing)
You are doing something interesting or unusual and I need to see or participate in whatever it is that you are up to.

"some"
You are eating something that looks or smells good. I need some, too.

"heavy"
I need you to move this for me to a new, and probably less-convenient location.

"carry"
I require you to carry me at this time. Until I deem that you are allowed to put me down again.

"this"
I can't reach it, but I need this item that I'm pointing at. Please hand it to me now.
Or
What is this object? Is it this for me to play with?

"ketchup"
My food requires more tomato flavor. More ketchup, please.

"cut"
Please cut my food into smaller pieces, mommy.
Or
Please cut a piece of your pie/scone/sandwich/pizza for me.

"Talk! Talk! Talk!"
You are on the phone. Therefore I will describe what you are doing into the phone as loudly as possible.
Or
I need to talk on the phone, too, even though I have no idea who you are talking to.

{Vigorous Head Shaking}
I would rather have you spoon feed me yogurt than wear that bib you are holding.

"help" or "stuck"
I have climbed into/on top of/under something and I can't get out without your assistance.

"broke"
The toy I'm playing with isn't doing what I want it to do.
Or
My sister just broke or tore a toy/crayon/box/piece of paper.

"hat"
I want to watch Cat in the Hat.
Or
You have a hat on and I need one, too. (same for "coat")
Or
Where is Woody's/Jesse's hat?

"yee-ha"
I am playing with Jesse and that is what she says.

"boots"
I am playing with Woody and that is what he says.
(He can clearly identify Woody, Jesse and Buzz as well.)

The One in which I Talk about Cooking

I realized the other day that it isn't really going to the grocery store that I hate. And really, hate is a strong word...but I do tend to procrastinate significantly when it comes to the grocery store.  Even with my current ability to go alone.

Honestly, it is the whole 'food management' that I am just really tired of doing. Planning meals, finding recipes, making the shopping list, feeling guilty for not clipping coupons or shopping the circulars, doing the shopping, putting away the groceries, cleaning out the refrigerator/pantry at the same time and then having to clean the containers for the leftovers that expired. Not to mention the dishes and keeping track of what is already in the cupboards.

I hope I'm not sounding whiny. I know that all of this responsibility is part of being an adult and having a family. And I'm much better at it than I used to be. I still remember the feeling of 'fear' when I was pregnant - knowing that by becoming a mom I was dooming myself to having to cook practically every night. I've increased my repertoire significantly and have found some easy, healthy frozen options for the nights I can't get it together. But I have been in a rut lately and need to pull myself out.

I need a system. I'm not sure what it is, but I need one. I need a repository to look at when I'm planning meals for ideas. I need to do the coupon thing and smarter price shopping  (in a way that doesn't involve going to four stores a week). I need to write a list every week. And I need to be proactive again about adding new recipes into the rotation.

I need to find a way past my two major challenges.
1-There are other ways I would like to be spending my time. If I could find a consistent time to plan and shop each week (or every two weeks?) and not let myself off the hook until I really do it. In truth, it probably only means giving up one knit/crochet session a week and it would reduce my kitchen stress. I've just got to overcome the mental hurdles and DO IT!

2-It is very satisfying to put a healthy meal on the table in front of my family. But there is nothing inspiring about cooking for this crew. Heather is just beginning to sometimes be willing to take a teeny bite of something unfamiliar. What Todd will eat is totally unpredictable outside of a few favorites. And neither will eat an unhidden vegetable.

Really, all three of them would be happy to eat the same 4-6 meals over and over again...so expanding our repertoire is just to keep my boredom at bay and to try to find new things they'll try/eat.

If anyone out there has a brilliant system that might inspire me or a good recipe that your family loves, please share. I am hopeful that just writing this out will help me process what I need to do and move forward.

P.S. I hope this also helps explain why so few of my friends with newborns have gotten dinners from me. It is not a lack of love, but the fact that I just barely manage to cook for my own family. Those of you who have gotten food now know how lucky you are...

Miscellaneous Kid Update

I feel the need to write a post, but I'm honestly not totally sure what to tell you. Shall we see what comes out?

1. There seem to be a new word or two coming out of Todd's mouth each day.  This has actually been going on for a while and it is to the point that I'm almost not surprised by new words.  Two word phrases are still more rare, so those get my attention a little more. But the most fun is the comprehension. He doesn't understand everything, but sometimes we can have a real conversation.

T: Nurse! Nurse!
M: Can I please start dinner before we nurse?
T: No.
M: Can I please get my phone before we sit down?
T: Yeah.

Or....

End of bathtime
R: Todd, you got in first, so you need to get out first.
T: Noooooooooooooooo!
Once he's out and in a towel, staring back at Heather:
T: Baff! Baff! Baff! Baff!
(bath, in Todd speak)

2. Heather is really great and a lot of fun right now. Coming up with lots of extravagant pretend play scenarios, singing, dancing, practicing writing letters, chatting away and making up stories. She can also entertain herself for a while with her toys and seems to need at least one good session of solo play each day.

But she also loves to play with other kids.  We have been to an indoor play place several times since my layoff, and this week she was definitely trying to actively find other kids to play with.

3. There are, of course, a few challenges now as well. Todd's sleep still sucks for a 20 month old. He naps great at daycare, but rarely naps outside of the car seat or my arms on home days. I can only put him down totally asleep and his overnight waking is random and unpredictable. He's finally gotten all his teeth through, only has a minimal cold and the separation anxiety is lessening during the day, so hopefully a breakthrough is coming.

I've considered various strategies, from bedtime changes to nightweaning, but each time I'm ready to implement his patterns change again. And quite honestly, he is minimally cranky when he's tired, so other than adult tiredness there isn't much other motivation. We've also considered a bed change as a strategy, since some nights he really enjoys Heather's bed and seems like he could cuddle up in it and sleep.

4. The primary challenge with Heather right now is her acting like a baby and refusing to do the things we know she can do (dressing herself, clearing her plate, putting on shoes, etc). In the grand scheme of things, we are working through it and it is really on the easy end of the Heather-behavior spectrum. But frustrating when both kids act like they need the same level of 'care'.

A Nice Holiday

Well, Santa didn't bring me a new job or more sleep, but we still had a very nice Christmas.

I have no complaints about the holiday season that is now coming to an end. I wouldn't mind a few more days of it, but that part isn't up to me. ;-)

I did start it with a little anxiety. I was very excited for this year because I knew Heather would be into it and love her presents, and I thought it was likely that Todd would do great as well. There was a lot to look forward to and each time I heard about someone else getting the tummy bug going around it gave me a little bit of dread. I've been sick over the holidays before and I didn't want the kids to deal with that. (Really, I hope they never have to deal with it, but especially at the holidays.). Thankfully we were spared (at least for now, knock on wood) and all of our plans were fulfilled without a hitch.

Getting Todd to nap anywhere other than my arms or the car has been a struggle, but as he doesn't get nearly as cranky as Heather did without a nap, we just kind of roll with it and try to get him some kind of downtime. We managed one long car ride after lunch, and a couple of times I just held him so he would get some sleep. Not ideal, but thanks to my iPhone it is slightly less annoying than it would be without it!

The highlight of Heather's Christmas was definitely her Woody and Jesse dolls with pull strings (from Toy Story). She found them first under the tree and had to be coerced to open anything else after half an hour of playing with them...in the next room. There were other things she liked and she did let us do stockings first, but I knew that Woody and Jesse would be king and queen of Christmas for her. Santa did such a good job on her stocking that she commented that he 'knows me very well' and 'he is smart'. It was a lovely day at home with my parents and some of us never got out of our pjs!

Todd enjoyed many gifts. The remote control train, the tool bench and several vehicles have maintained his interest. I have to say that both kids enjoy presents that the other received. There have been a few difficult toy moments, but most of the time they do a decent job of taking turns and sharing. It helps that Todd's attention span is short, so he is usually done with a toy before his allotted number of minutes is up. And when Heather challenges Todd's use of something, I think it is more about her plans at that moment and not about being possessive. If her current game involves Woody *and* Jesse, for example, then she can't deal with Todd using one of them at that time. But if she's just playing with Woody, she'll practically beg Todd to play with Jesse.

We also had nice visits in Johnstown and Dayton. Including some snow play at Grandma and Grandpa's, lots of fun presents (many Toy Story or vehicle themed), visits with family friends and the joy of sharing our excellent pictures of the kids by Seedlings Photography with family. Once home, we had both planned and spontaneous get togethers with neighborhood friends and two terrific New Year's day parties to attend.

To top it all off, my circle of friends was blessed with two precious arrivals that I can't wait to meet. I worked a little on the refurbishment of their dresser before Christmas and I hope to help finish some of the preparations in the coming weeks. I guess I need to finish knitting their sweaters. :-P

I hope that your holidays were wonderful as well!

Keeping my cup full

I read this post over at PhD in Parenting and I feel like maybe it can help me figure out how I'm feeling. Now, honestly, after six days of holiday celebrations and having my parents around to help with the kids I am feeling pretty good. Tired, yes. But the excitement, anticipation and extra work of Christmas is past (minus one trip to the mail center this afternoon) and there is no 'next thing' hovering over me.

But there are still two things I'm dealing with. And they kind of go hand in hand when it comes to my emotions. To use the metaphor in the above-referenced blog post, I feel like I'm struggling to keep my own cup full so I can keep pouring for the kids.

1 - Being unemployed and how I define myself. It is not that I only define myself as an architect...but I don't define myself solely as a mother either. Working as an architect helped to 'fill my cup'. It gave me pride, great adult interaction, interesting stories, purpose, challenges and something tangible to accomplish for others. Obviously, there are other things that can fill one's cup in the same categories, but I haven't found substitutes for them yet. And I would prefer to substitute them with a new job over anything else.

2 - Todd's needs are pretty substantial at the moment. Actually, his daytime mommy neediness seems to be abating a little or it is just a manifestation of having daddy, nana and bapa around so much over the holidays. We will see for sure on Tuesday. But the real draining issue is bedtime and overnight. He needs a lot of mommy/nursing time at bedtime as well as overnight. The lack of regularity makes me think that his brain is waking him up and once he's up he wants to nurse back to sleep. It is still clear that he *can* sleep well in his crib, he just isn't. And he really has to be passed out at bedtime, which sometimes takes a couple of hours. Which is hard especially because it takes away most or all of our couple time as well as my 'me' time and chore time.

I'm doing my best to remind myself that both of these issues are just phases. They might be longer phases than I would like...but in the grand scheme of my career and Todd's life, they are really pretty short. So I will remind myself the importance of filling up my own cup, even when that means ordering pizza instead of making it or letting the kids watch one more episode of Bob the Builder.

In my head I know all this, but I think the metaphor is giving me a good framework for dealing with it on a daily basis.

Preparations (and Reminiscing)

Last weekend the kids got to see Santa for the second time. Their first visit was in Johnstown the previous weekend while I stayed home. In both cases, Heather was accepting and enthusiastic about sitting and talking with Santa. Todd was not a fan. We were nice enough not to force Todd on his lap, so we don't have a duplicate of Heather's mad/sad photo. Aaaah memories.

We went to Phipps Conservatory as usual, and both kids liked the trains, the flowers and the activities. Always a great destination. When our finances ease up a membership needs to be added to our plans. Especially since Todd will no longer be free as of his birthday. :-)

Tree and decorations - check
Photos taken - check
Cards designed and ordered - check
Wrapping paper - check
Visited Santa - check, check
Make cookies - check

Remaining:
Check address list and print labels
Send cards
Print photos for family gifts
Wrap (I've started...)
Decorate cookies

Trains at Phipps

Chatting with the man in red.

This is as close as Todd would get.

Looking at flowers with Daddy. (Daddy will be annoyed that I didn't rotate this one to make it straight. I'm just happy to be putting up a post...)

Attempting to get a photo of 2 kids together. Always a challenge.

And now for a little trip down memory lane. (AKA, Oh my goodness the kids have gotten big!)

Santa at Phipps, 2009. Todd didn't think it was a big deal. Heather wouldn't leave my arms.

Phipps Winter Flowers, 2009.

Santa at Phipps, 2008. She was fine while waiting in line, but was not okay in his lap!


Santa at my family reunion, 2007. Just staring...

Hershey Vacation - Day 1 and 2

I wrote previously about Day 3 of our Hershey trip. Due to a dog-related delay our friends joined us a day later than originally planned, but that enabled us to go to bed early the first night and to check out a more kid-focused activity. We also didn't have to worry about arriving later than planned.

Once we arrived and checked into our room, the kids checked out the bouncy-ness of the bed while I tried to locate a convenient dinner location. I found a nearby pizza place with an iPhone app. It was so close I think getting the kids buckled into car seats took longer than the ride. And being a Tuesday night, it wasn't busy.


The next morning after trying out the hotel buffet, we went to Cherry Creek Adventure Farm in Strasburg. We fed goats and sheep, held baby chicks, looked at pigs and geese, and learned about farm animals. On the 'adventure' side of the farm, the kids tried out a variety of play areas - climbers, jumpers, slingshot games, giant lincoln logs, hay tunnels and wooden horses. We chose to skip the corn maze, given our limited time and our lack of confidence that the kids would enjoy it.





About the time that the kids needed lunch, we got the call to meet our friends over at the Strasburg Railroad. The limited hours that the attractions were open meant hoping that Todd would nap in the sling (he didn't) and powering through the day. After eating, we bought our train ride tickets and then explored the rest of the station until it was time for our ride. At the shops, Todd chose a Thomas ball, Heather chose a nice metal train and I found a train ornament for the tree.

We all enjoyed he train ride and Todd did well despite the lack of a nap.







In the evening, our friends picked out a nice, local restaurant to try. And when we returned to the hotel, daddy took Heather swimming while I put Todd down for bed.

Hershey Park - Vacation Day 3

There is too much that has happened this summer (and this year) to imagine that I'm going to go back and document it all. Especially since I am already bogged down by trying to document the last 11 years of my work life.

But as I think of things or as I find a few photos in the archive that I want to share, I plan to at least cover some of the things I've missed.

I mentioned that we went on vacation the week after my layoff. For a number of years my best friend and I had been chatting about a combined vacation. We needed somewhere sort of in between our homes, and since we didn't manage to do it 4 or 5 years ago, we needed someplace kid friendly! This year the planets finally aligned with all of our available vacations, and we set the Hershey area as our destination.

As it turns out, there is a LOT to do in the area. Really, I had no clue there was so much. And on top of that, we could have spent at least two days in the park itself. Since Todd was not totally himself (teeth + a little virus + no nap + lots of waiting in line = unhappy Todd), it is probably good that we hadn't planned two days in the park. But he did enjoy the time on the rides while they were moving, and some of the people-watching. The waiting in line he could have done without...

Heather seemed to have a great time. She rode a bunch of rides, and came off each one looking for the next. Had I known she was going to be so enthusiastic, I probably would have planned ahead a little and marked up a map with all of the rides she was big enough to ride. Next time for sure!

All in all, it was a very nice day. Especially once I got Todd to take a hour long nap in the carrier. My only annoyance with the park is that you can't bring in food. In hindsight, I wish I would have tried to sneak in just a few small snacks. There were a couple of times that a little dried fruit fortification would have improved the moods of the little people in our group, and there was never anything appropriate near us when we needed it.

We crammed chocolate world in at the end of the day. I was hoping for better dinner food than in the park (and there was), plus we did a little shopping, did the free "factory" tour, got our free piece of chocolate (that Heather had been talking about *all* day) and got back to the hotel about an hour after bedtime. A long and good day.

Just a couple of the rides Heather was on, plus my awkward camera phone picture of Todd after he finally fell asleep:

Summer and Words

First, we've been having a lot of fun outside the past few weeks. In the water, on the playground, out walking, in the backyard, etc. We've had some rain, but most of it has been sporadic and Father's Day was one of the most beautiful June days I've ever experienced. Hot in the sun, cool in the shade and minimal humidity. I'm not sure why we didn't get a little backyard pool before now...

Todd on Grandma and Grandpa's swingset.
Heather in a drink float in Grandma and Grandpa's pool.
Heather and Todd "helping" me with the yard sale.
Todd is just a few days away from 14 months and it is clear that his receptive language is improving, and we are hearing a couple of new words a week. Did I ever even tell you all which word was his first?

Kitty was the first one, a few weeks before his birthday, I think. Basically any animal is a kitty - doggies, squirrels and recently a goat that we saw on TV.

Other words:
Uh-oh
Book
Ball
Duck
Mama, which is now mommy
Dada, although since saying mommy, that seems to be his term for both of us
Hi
Bye
Beep
"Ma" for more, which he can also sign

And R thinks he said "cheese" when he was taking his picture last night. Most of these have been figured out because he does a LOT of pointing when he wants something, and that helps to clue us in. :-)