First Steps

Jaime had been working on walking before he was crawling.  The little guy loved to be held up so he could take these enormous steps and he then he worked hard to master pushing around the learning farm toy and then lots of practice with holding our hands.

He was always so serious about it. Concentrating very hard on mastering this skill.  But he had to wait until his body proportions were just right.  So he patiently practiced nonstop. Working on balance, doing squats to strengthen up. (I am being serious, he totally did squats- still does.)

Then one mid-June Wednesday I was sitting on the floor playing games with him while Dan we prepping dinner after work and he stood up and with his own blend of concentration but nonchalance took his first very own, unsupported step.  Both of us saw it and we immediately looked at each other, saying "he did it!"  But that day he only wanted to do the one test.  A few days later in basically the scene, he did another test step.

Then while we were at a playground on father's day, he was playing in the sprinklers with Dad and decided to go for it.

He took something like five steps and was so determined.  Thankfully I had the pannie in my hand and it was on so I could quickly snap a few pics as he took the steps while being so excited for him and caught up in the moment that I am surprised that I managed to take them.  We were clapping and all excited for our little guy as all his hard work payed off.

After that he was even more determined to get stronger and faster.  He was so excited to be walking that he couldn't sit still anymore.  Books, snuggles, etc could all wait while he explored his world with this new perspective.

Race #7

My seventh race this year was the first weekend of June and it was pretty crummy.  I had an absolutely crappy bug that made sleeping and breathing a challenge.  And was hitting the early pregnancy energy drain period.  So I was not feeling it at all. 

This was one of those runs that you just keep yourself going by reminding yourself that in the grand scheme of things it is just not that far nor that much time and you will really be done before you know it. 

First race with baby number two...

And only two more to go to finish the nine races in a year program.

 One the plus side, it was a beautiful morning to spend in Central Park and I enjoyed a nice quiet walk through the ramble on my way home to my napping boys.

The Central Park Zoo

One early June day we headed to the Central Park Zoo.  It is kind of a hike from our place and at this time Jaime was doing two naps, one in the morning and one after lunch, which made it a tricky outting as the travel time would put us in the danger zone of time for lunch or nap. But we were determined and turns out the CP Zoo is small enough for a baby sized outing.

Once you get there the first big thing is the seals.  And it is crowded.  We hung out here a little bit but Jaime was more into people watching and the people were kind of annoying.

Next up was the penguins.  This he loved. He was able to get a great spot to see the action.  Penguins kept swimming right by him and he would squeal and laugh and point.  It was fun.

After that we wandered around and checked stuff out.  Some of it was a little too small or far away for Jaime to get excited about but we found enough to keep us entertained.

And this last picture is here for proof that I was in attendence for this family adventure. (He did not want to be near the goats at the petting zoo section!)

Time to hurry home for a nap!

June First - Let Summer Begin

The first of June set the tone for the rest of the month - playground hopping, picnics in the park and sprinklers. 

The first weekend of June was a warm one so we cut across the park to go buy Jaime more shorts and decided to do an impromptu picnic in the park.  We grabbed a few things from Dean and DeLuca's and found a nice shady spot.

After lunch we entertained the little with bubbles...

The after lunch naptime is a great thing...

Then after naptime we headed to Hippo Playground, which was a madhouse.  The sprinklers were on and there were more kids than you could count. Jaime had a total blast.  There is this big rock sprinkler thing that has turtles and lizards and spots where the water pools - he loved it.

Sunday was much of the same just a new setting.  We were doing lots of practice walking at this time with Jaime.  He was building up his confidence and muscles.

 

 And he had so much fun playing in the sprinklers again.  We started off with clothes on but then just stripped down to the diaper.  He seriously loved the sprinklers and thought it was the best ever.

This was the weekend that Jaime got to discover the joy of pinkberry frozen yogurt for an afternoon treat.

It is the simple things in life that make the best moments.

Memorial Day Weekend Activities

Over Memorial Day Weekend we also did a variety of activities in our neighborhood.

It was rainy one day so we headed to the Children's Museum a couple blocks from our building... not going to lie, this place stressed me out.  It was total wild kid zone and we just aren't there yet.  I also was thinking, how the hell will I keep a wild toddler and an infant under control and safe at a kiddie place like this next winter over maternity leave.  But Jaime had fun.  There was a small kid zone where we hung out and a cool motion detector bubble machine.

Monday was super sunny and nice so we headed to the Great Lawn in Central Park to hang out and then after the afternoon nap we headed out to a playground.

We also spent plenty of time at home working on the shape sorter and stacking rings.

It was a very nice weekend and that freebie extra day off was very much enjoyed.