August Snaps

August was a weird month. It had the usual hot days of summer in the city filled with the kind of things that kids love - sprinklers, popscicles, Mr. Frosty, etc.

Dan had some time between contracts/clients so was home with the kids for a while. I was exceptionally busy at work, the type of busy where you just can't pause to think but where you just put your head down and plow through as much as you can. Quantity over quality just isn't my style so that was rough. Interviewing new childcare options was also rough, as usual.  Jaime was as active as ever and was so happy to have Dan at home. His language was developing but not as fast as he would have liked causing the poor guy a little frustration. Ellie started crawling this month which was fantastic and terrifying all at the same time! She started to really enjoy playground time and getting her toes into the sprinklers.

Ellie was also waking up a lot. We both had a couple of rough colds which made sleep even more elusive.  I dropped out of marathon training as there was just no way for me to fit that in. I could barely get enough sleep to function (or be a complete grump) let alone have the energy to do 16 mile runs.

Jaime loved his beagle more and more.

We also finally got a library card. Jaime was wanting to read so much every day that we need to have a more cost effective way to keep a constant flow of new material.

Ellie was ready to take baths with Jaime. They both were so excited about this and would no longer take their baths separate.

Also, after trying many places for Jaime's haircuts we finally tried a true NYC barber...it worked out great.

Parks or playgrounds twice a day, everyday makes for happy kids.

Carefree, summer fun was had, and had, and had.

 

Lazy summer days were also plentiful.

Shelby liked to annoy the crap out of me by getting a little too pushy about getting her take from the kids' meals.  Nothing shocking as she has done that since she got the first taste of human food 12 years ago.

We spent the last day of the month soaking up as much summer fun as we could...

It was a good month for our little family.

Stone Barns Trip

The first of August we finally made it out to Stone Barns Farm. This place was on my to do list since we moved. It is only 25 miles north of the city but feels like a much more. It was a fantastic morning trip.

We only spent a little time exploring this place as it was scorching hot and the two little ones can only take so much. But the time spent was quality time. We all felt relaxed and enjoyed exploring.

I love exposing my kids to the country and life outside of the city. You can look at chickens in books but how amazing for a toddler to see chickens in real life. It is the little things. And there was plenty of space to run which our little runner loved.

I really wanted to get a nice picture of me with my two kids. Jaime couldn't wait for such nonsense when there was exploring to do. I also had envisioned sitting my kids together in the grass for a nice photo, they had coordinating outfits and everything but it never happened. As a side note, Ellie's shirt was totally hidden by the carrier the whole time but it was very cute with tiny green polka dots, button front, and ruffles at the sleeves.

The flowers were amazing and made me happy.

The chickens were quite the site. And I have an embarrassing number of photos of these chickens. But it was just so neat. Jaime watched those chickens forever. He kept putting his hand in, like when you offer your hand to a dog until he got pecked... that was what he remembers from this adventure and will tell you all about it.

We were going to walk over to the cows but it was quite the hike and we couldn't get Jaime past this tractor once he spotted it. He also tried to turn it on....

We went back to their nice little patio to have snacks before heading back to the city. It was just a quick outting but it was very restorative. I hope we get to make it back there and check out more.

Shelby is back!

As a refresher on the whole dog thing - the move into Manhattan after having a baby with both of us working made for a hard adjustment for the dogs. We felt very overwhelmed and like we weren't giving them the live they needed. We also felt that they were quite stressed out in our extremely small apartment. They also seemed very anxious and stressed when we were out on walks (our neighborhood is more mellow than some but still considerably busier than our old Chicago neighborhood). After serious deliberation we decided that they would be better living at Dan and Marietta's house back in Illinois until we were moved into a larger apartment.

Even back then we considered keeping just Shelby, as she is the much smaller dog and requires shorter time periods of exercise we thought she would adapt the best. But we didn't want to separate them as they had always been best buds and would get stressed when apart.

January of 2013 Dan drove them out there and we missed them a ton but were happy knowing they had a huge house and yard to roam around and lots of walks.

July of 2013 we did our midwest tour and decided that we were at a point where we could bring Shelby back. We still couldn't have both dogs and Eddie was loving the semi-country life. It took us an entire year before the trip to get Shelby happened. It was just never a good time - there was either a baby on the way or something. But July of 2014, Dan met his dad halfway to bring our beagle back home.

Well, I knew that Jaime was going to be excited about having a dog. He has loved dogs since he was a baby - they are a favorite. But I couldn't have even imagined his reaction. It was beyond anything. He most excited I have ever seen a person be about anything. Pure joy. And when he got to hold the leash to walk her - he was so happy.

Shelby was happy to be in the city. She was pretty upset with us for sending her away, this I know and feel terrible about. She was living with family in a familiar environment but still, we did send them away and that clearly hurt her. But little by little we repaired the relationship and she found her way into being part of our daily family life again.

It was an adjustment for all of us. While she had lived with us for eleven years, it was a more simple routine before kids. That and while Jaime loooooooved having Shelby there that meant there was a lot of monitoring - he doesn't always get the whole personal space thing. But Shelby could take a flying toy to the rump like a champ, which I didn't think she would be able to tolerate. She was cautious with the kids, which is fair as she was a senior citizen and those flying toys hurt. But she also quickly cared for them and give them allowances that she wouldn't have for just anyone.

So, here we are a family of four plus one dog. The morning and evening routines became quite jam packed but you do what you gotta do.

July in snapshots

As I am so far behind in our blog I am afraid it is turning into more of a photo scrapbook, which was never the intent. We wanted to keep up this space so that the random stories would be documented to look back on for  putting the words down is much more reliable than our long term memories for the details. And while photos are certainly part of that it is the words that go missing when you six+ months behind. I hope that I can get this space updated soon so that I am able to spend my very few minutes of quiet to write on more current happenings. But as it is, I am writing about July in January. Here goes a photo dump along with a few snippets about our life in July 2014.

Jaime's birthday kicks of the month. I can't believe my baby is two. July is also when Ellie turned six months. Again, can't believe my baby is already six months. It is so cliche but holy crap does time fly with kids.

On Jaime's birthday we had breakfast at Taralucchi and played in the sprinklers.

For Jaime's birthday celebration we put up streamers (Dan hung them if you can't tell by the photos) and balloons. We made a chocolate cake and lit two candles. The George balloon was a huge hit. His eyes were so huge and smile so wide by these simple little things.

The big-deal-present was the scooter. I knew he would want one and sure enough, he had been trying to swipe semi-abandoned scooters at the playground. But I held out so it could be part of his birthday.

We went out for a scoot and stroll and you have never seen a cuter sight than a two year old on a scooter. That little tiny foot pushing along is unbelievably adorable. He was so excited to have his own scooter.

Jaime wanted to scoot all the time. And he would wear his helmet to be prepared for when we would say it was time to head out.

Ellie was getting started with solids. We mashed up some purees for the first little bit. But like Jaime she just wanted to take control of the situation. So itty bitty finger foods soon followed. Getting her own highchair made her day... almost as discovering that she could barrel roll to get to Jaime's toys.

Big mornings out in the park lead to big naptimes! We were able to get a little overlap of the two kids' afternoon naps after Ellie had a little playtime.

July is hot and humid and strolling along through the park is often all we could muster on Saturday mornings after a long work week.

I took off a random Tuesday and took the kids to Bryant Park in the morning. I was proud of myself for navigating the subway with the stroller just me and the two kids! :) It poured during naptime so we jumped in puddles and listened for the commuter train at Riverside Park in the afternoon.

Another morning I worked from home so that I could take Jaime out for a little one on one time. He had a difficult transition when I went back to work after maternity leave. And with two so young mornings are a challenge to give everyone what they need before I run to the train. The after work sprint to bedtime is even worse as we balanced getting dinner ready, mealtime, baby feedings, two bathtimes, and bedtimes along side two kids that were demanding attention/playtime... all between 6:00-7:00pm. So anyways, I thought Jaime could use a little undivided attention. We did a scooter date to the Resevoir on a beautiful morning.

What else happened in July? Soccer, naps in the carrier, sweet corn, sidewalk chalk, well visits for both kids, climbing the rocks in the park, watching ants...

Also, Shelby came back to live with us. But I think that should be a post of its own.

July was filled with just being a family of four, doing our thing.

James is Two!

Little dude, you are two! It was such a fun year, filled to the brim with joy, learning, exploring, and laughing. The days were packed with growing and aquiring and mastering skills. You keep your eyes wide open and explore your world. You are curious and observant and compassionate. You have such a big heart.

It was nothing short of amazing to watch my baby grow and develop. Jaime, you certainly let us know that you are not a baby anymore and that you have so much to do. But no matter how busy you are, you always have time for a hug and kiss.

(at our favorite cafe for breakfast on his second birthday)

My dear boy, two is:

• Seeing everything. Listening always. Taking it all in.
• Eating fruit (any kind, any way) pasta (any kind, any way), chicken tikka masala, yogurt.
• Reading as many books as you can get.
• Watching Curious George.
• Singing Taxi and Wheels on the Bus.
• Playing soccer and in sprinklers.
• Climbing everything, including the boulders in Central Park.
• Running as fast as you can as often as you can.
• Giving the best, biggest hugs.

James, we love you so much and are so proud of you. Happy happy!