Midwest Tour Part 1 - Getting out of town

End of June we packed our bags and headed west to visit family. After two weeks of juggling work and being at home with Jaime during a major heat wave, we were ready for a break.

We had an early morning flight out to Milwaukee. This early time allowed for the flight itself to be around naptime and for getting out while the city was quiet. We left plenty of time for driving, parking, getting through security, etc but everything flew - we were at our gate in record time with tons of time to kill. 

 For the logistics, we decided to get Jaime his own seat this time.  The last time I flew with him on my lap he was four months old and content to snuggle and sit in our arms for hours on end.  Now that he was very mobile, not so much. At bedtime (and naptime) he snuggles for a little bit and then wants in his crib to go to sleep.  We knew the only way he would sleep and be content sitting was in his own seat and his carseat.  We also decided to not take a stroller.  So for getting through the airport I wore Jaime in the carrier and used a roller carry on while Dan carried the car seat and a carry on. The baby carrier is the best way for me, it keeps my hands free and we get through security super easy with less stuff to deal with.  And while Jaime doesn't want to hang out in there for four hours, he is super calm and content in there for the time it takes to get to our gate.  Easy peasy.

The flight was completely easy.  Jaime was asleep before we took off and then woke up in a great mood with just a little time to snuggle with us and flirt with people around us before we got off in Milwaukee.  Some lady from the flight stopped us in the airport to tell us how cute and sweet James is... we know!

Before we knew it were back in the midwest.  It was a totally easy trip.

Everyday stuff in June

June was a busy month and so when we had family time we made sure it was relaxing time.

Fortunate for us, we live between two fantastic parks that provide plenty of space for relaxing and enjoying green space. There is also plenty of space for James to explore, working on his motor skills and lots of naturey sensory development.

These were also stroller days as more often than not it was just too hot to have a little bug on you. 

Our time at home was becoming much more active as James became more mobile.  I loved how when in his high chair he would cross his feet or put this toes on the edge of the table... so cute. And we don't mess with naptime in this house, it is like clockwork (most of the time, there are always outliers).

We did a ton of playground hopping throughout the summer and it was so much fun to see Jaime get more and more confident on the equipment. 

June was such a good kick off to the summer.  Most of our everydays were filled with small stuff, but the small stuff was pretty great.

Two weeks without child care

Out of the blue our child care quit and gave us a four days notice. And we didn't have back up. We had a great routine in place and were hopeful that it could continue through Baby #2's arrival but it wasn't in the cards.

We had two weeks until our Midwest Tour. So began the child care hunt and juggling jobs and being home with the bug. We took turns working from home.  Thankfully Jaime was still doing two naps a day so we could get quite a bit of work done during naps and then after dinner... on days that didn't also include a day care tour. It was an incredibly busy time and a true test of juggling abilities.

But we all enjoyed the extra family time. There were lots of picnics and playground visits. Jaime got to do his first ride in a shopping cart after a daycare tour one day, this city kid had only been either in the carrier or stroller when shopping.

Child care is a stressful thing to work out, especially when trying to figure it out in Manhattan where "tuition" is very high and wait lists are long and a clock is ticking with how long your manager will be cool with all the work from home time that includes long bouts of offline time.  But we worked it out. And the break of time with Dan and I being home with Jaime was good for his transition.

First Father's Day

I'm a Dad..a father...holy crap!  For my first Father's Day, should I relax?  Put my feet up?  Catch up on my magazine reading?  Nope!  A wild, active day of mulitple playgrounds and chasing after Jaime is what's in store for me.  After running a race in the morning, we hit up a local bakery for some snacks and decided to eat them on a bench on Central Park West. 

Even if I was chasing after a wild munchkin most of the day, it was a very rewarding and satisfying first Father's Day.  And I'm looking forward to many more.

Race #8

On Father Day Dan and I ran another race together.  When I signed up for the race it was supposed to be my last one.  But a race we were going to run together in May didn't happen when our babysitter bailed at the last minute. So this was race number eight in four months.  And it just so happened to be the second race with baby #2.

This race was HARD. It was a five miler and I was at about six weeks pregnant. That is the worst time for me when it comes to running. Just like when I was pregnant with Jaime, starting at about five weeks I was unbelievably fatigued and running was just the worst. I had zero energy and so it was my slowest race of the year by far.  Dan stuck with me and we finished.

But slow or fast, it counts towards our goal.

And on the way home we stopped by Birdbath Bakery to pick up a pretzel crossaint and a muffin to share with the little bug.