Getting Out

Filed Under Clothes, Firsts, Newborn- Taylor, Outings, Shopping, Two and a half years old | Leave a Comment

Today I managed to take both kids to the mall. I was dying to get up to Gymboree and pick up the Popsicle Party stuff I had on hold. Plus, I wanted to show Taylor to my manager and say hello. I am honestly looking forward to getting back to work (just once a week) and I even talked to her about putting me on the schedule two weeks from now for just a short shift!

I will say that it is more effort to get both kids out of the house. I am kind of thankful Taylor is a boy, because at least I don’t have to worry about fixing his hair or finding accessories to match his outfit. Or putting his earrings in. So he’s pretty quick to get ready, but I have to make sure he has eaten well before leaving. I also travel a LOT lighter than I did when Bailey was this age. I just bring the small black diaper bag from the hospital, for BOTH of them. He is breastfeeding so we don’t need any food related items. Basically I bring diapers for him, an extra outfit, and a burp cloth and then for her I just bring a diaper. I usually throw a binkie in his carseat just in case, and a blanket- which can double as a nursing coverup.

It takes longer to get the kids in and out of the car now, because I use the stroller for his carseat if we are walking any distance at all. We have a rule that Bailey has a choice, she can either hold my hand or hold on to the stroller. She usually “helps” push the stroller. She has done really well with this rule.

So we got our shopping done yesterday at Gymboree, and then I got brave and went to Motherhood to get a new nursing br@. While we were there, I let her play with the toys in the kid area and I sat in a fitting room with the curtain open (so I could see her) and fed the baby. Then we headed home. I was pretty pleased at how it went with both of them.

Here is a sneak peek of one of her new outfits!

Jonathon’s Birthday- Oberweis

Filed Under Birthdays, Daddy, Food, Outings, Shopping, Two and a half years old | 1 Comment

Jonathon’s birthday was also in December. We celebrated at Oberweis. Pregnant ladies do not need to host lots of events at their house, in my opinion at least. The lady at Oberweis told Bailey she was the cutest little girl she’d ever seen. She gave her multiple balloons and sheets of stickers and free ice cream treats. I thought she looked pretty cute too of course!

Bailey liked her ice cream but said that she didn’t want any sprinkles next time. How was I supposed to know? She loves sprinkles on cookies!

Then afterward, we (I) convinced Jonathon to go shopping at Target all together. Bailey wanted to just sit and read in the cart. It never ceases to amaze me how much she enjoys reading.

Happy birthday to my Jonathon! I love you and I’m so glad to have you as my husband.

Boo At the Zoo 2009

Filed Under Halloween, Outings, Two and a half years old | 1 Comment

A few pictures from Boo at the Zoo last weekend… Bailey would NOT wear her crown (in fact, she didn’t want to wear any of her costume but we told her nobody would give her candy unless she wore it!) She ended up having a lot of fun, but it was much more crowded than last year. I don’t know that we will go again in the future but it was a nice day to spend together as a family at least.

Here she is right after we got out of the van and put on her costume. Clearly she’s not thrilled and Jonathon was a little frazzled after wrestling her into the princess dress!

But then she met a friendly penguin who wanted to give her some candy, and it was all better.

We had to wait in line a lot to get candy, which was the boring part of the morning. We had to try to entertain her as we stood around in huge groups of people waiting to move through the areas where the foot traffic bottlenecked.

Bailey decided it was more fun to pass time by running around in the grass.

We finished off the morning with a picnic lunch and some candy tasting

Puckin Patch

Filed Under Family, Outings, Two and a half years old | 2 Comments

Last weekend we went to the Pumpkin Patch… or as Bailey says, “the puckin patch.” We thought it was going to be chilly but it ended up being sunny and a really nice day. There was so much to do. She was SO excited!!

She wanted to explore all the dark hay bale mazes and I was wishing I brought a flashlight. She did the tire swings and big slide over and over with Daddy. I tried to get her to wear her sunglasses so she won’t need wrinkle cream when she gets older…

She rode on the little tractor-

Just like last year! Remember this?

There were tons of great photo opportunities. She didn’t want to sit still for too long, though!

We rode on a hayride through the fields and saw the different crops. I tried to explain that we were on a farm and the farmers were growing vegetables.

We shared a funnel cake (well, I think Jonathon and Bailey might have gotten a few bites anyway) and barbecue beef brisket sandwiches and lemonade.

Bailey got to choose her own pumpkin and then insisted on pulling it all the way to the car all. by. herself. in the wagon. Which took quite a while.

But she was in a great mood all day, and we really had a nice time. The bigger she gets, the more Jonathon sees that it is actually fun to go do activities as a family. It’s much easier to convince him now than it used to be.

Another Day…

Filed Under Difficult Stuff, Outings, Sensory Processing Disorder, Two Years Old | 1 Comment

At Grant’s Farm! It’s only open on Friday/Sat/Sunday now through the end of October so we are making the most of the time we have there. I have heard rumors about them not opening next year because of the AB buyout. So sad, but who knows… they said they wouldn’t open this year and they did.

Riding the tram with Kenzie

Here is Bailey in front of a fence. This is significant because she loves to CLIMB these fences and has fallen into the chicken pen and the guinea pig pen multiple times because she leans over too far.

We went on the carousel after Bailey talked me into it. She has a really hard time with motion (like carousels, swings etc) because of her vestibular dysfunction. I knew she would hate it but I didn’t want to tell her no because I don’t want to limit what she thinks she’s capable of… if that makes sense… so we went on the carousel. For about a week afterwards all she would tell me was “I go up and down on the carousel. I too scary carousel!” Broke my heart. Here she is just a second before the panic set in, though:

I hate that she can’t do what her friends do. She wants to. She is so brave and such a happy little girl but I just don’t want anything to hold her back. It’s like when she runs and crashes into things on purpose… people stare and I just want to say LOOK HOW GOOD SHE IS! DON’T STARE AT HER!! She is perfect to me. And when she tells me “I too wiggly, Mommy” it always makes me smile.

But back to our day at Grant’s Farm before I get myself upset.

Emily and Ella, and Jen and Wyatt were also there with us but I didn’t get any pictures of them. I am bad about forgetting to get my camera out once I get busy!

Later that day, I put Bailey’s hair into what we call “a big girl ponytail” for the first time. (a.k.a. one ponytail in the back instead of pigtails. Not my favorite because she looks too grown up!)

Buncha Pictures

Filed Under Daddy, Outings, Two Years Old | 2 Comments

I have been trying to write this post for over a week now and you wouldn’t even believe the issues I’ve had with my blog. If I could go back in time I would have left it on blogspot and sacrificed the fancy options that come with Wordpress and self hosting. Seriously.

Anyway- I have all these pictures that I want to share. I’ll start with some from a zoo trip a few weeks ago with Daddy. We bought a zoo membership that day so now we get “free” train rides, children’s zoo visits, etc. There is one random pic of her at home… The next ones are from another day when we went to Grant’s Farm with Daddy. Then the last two are from my Dad’s birthday in July.

4th of July Zoo Trip

Filed Under Friends, Outings, St. Louis, Two Years Old | 2 Comments

We went to the zoo late last week with friends and it was SO crowded. I am assuming because people had days off for the 4th and maybe family in town? I will remember not to do that again! Here are a few pictures from our day. Despite the waiting to park, and the crowds, Bailey and I had lots of fun.

Posing for pictures before we left- my little model-

The LONG car ride… We went with my friend Jen and her kids Adelle and Wyatt. I was glad we at least had company since we had to wait like a half hour in traffic around the zoo. Besides, Bailey is obsessed with Adelle (Ah-daw) and Wyatt.

Looking at the gators

Here she is on the train- doesn’t she look thrilled? I think she was getting tired!

But then when I asked her to smile she got really cheesy!

Monkey Joe’s with Daddy

Filed Under Daddy, Outings, Two Years Old | Leave a Comment

Last weekend we took Bailey to Monkey Joe’s. It was the first time for Jonathon to go there. Bailey was a complete wild woman. She is fearless when it comes to climbing UP anything. She actually climbs to the top of all the structures (including a few that some older 3-4 year olds could not climb up) but then sometimes she gets scared and has to be rescued by the Monkey Joe’s workers. I don’t want to discourage her from being adventurous, but she gets in over her head!

Here she is in the “baby area” which lasted all of about five minutes…

And being silly with Daddy!

Our goal is to do one fun activity as a family each weekend. Jonathon is off work most Fridays now for the summer, so we have more time to go do stuff. And he is starting to learn that it’s actually FUN to take Bailey places. Maybe even more fun that working on his computers…. maybe….

Grant’s Farm with Grammy

Filed Under Outings, Two Years Old | 1 Comment

We went to Grant’s Farm again last Friday. We love that place. Here are some pictures from our visit.

Tram ride

They said this little guy had just been born the day before. It was so cute- he was just trying to get his legs to work and he was so wobbly!

Feeding the goats “the safe way” through the fence

And snack time… isn’t that always the highlight of every event?

Just a few randoms

Filed Under Firsts, Outings, Parents as Teachers, St. Louis, Two Years Old | 1 Comment

Last week at the Transportation Museum with Grampa- who(m?) Bailey still calls “Popock”… I had a little misunderstanding with the weatherman and dressed my child waaaay too warm weather-ish. Bailey enjoyed riding the train so I got a few pictures of us in front of the train… until we got too cold and had to get moving!

Ready for nap the other day, she was singing a cute song and I just love her in t-shirts, she looks so cuddly and sweet!

First day of summer camp through our school district- the parents stay and play, and it was lots of fun. We made a birdfeeder, did water play, free time, play dough, and got to go outside!

Oh and a picture from Gabe’s birthday party back in February- I just found this!

Have a great weekend!

“Key Mouse”

Filed Under Outings, Parties, Two Years Old | 3 Comments

Bailey went to a birthday party a few weekends ago at Chuck E. Cheese. It’s the first time she has been there since she was about nine months old. She had a blast. I do have to say that she was probably the ONLY child there in a dress, but that’s how we roll.

She was IN LOVE with Chuck E. Cheese (the mouse) and called him Key-Mouse. She wanted to watch him sing on stage the whole time. She also liked this ride with him and it took her picture and printed it out during the ride.

She loved climbing through the tubes like at McDonalds. She looks scared in this picture but I’m not sure why because she was waving and laughing up there. And if you have ever gone to any type of play area with Bailey- she is the fearless one who heads straight to the top and tries to play with the older kids. I have to try to catch glimpses of her once in a while through the tunnel windows.

The cake… she ate ALL the icing and it was so sweet. Huge sugar high but I’m just glad she’s eating!

And the birthday party had a Minnie Mouse theme. Bailey wanted to pose over and over next to the cardboard Minnie and get her picture taken.

One thing I love about C.E.C. is that EVERY ride is only 25 cents. Which lasts a loooong time for a two year old. I think we got ten tokens and were hard pressed to use them all. I mean the birthday provided us with the tokens… but for future reference it would be very inexpensive to go there and play for a while.

Wordless Wednesday- Not so wordless outings

Filed Under Complaining, Outings, St. Louis, Two Years Old | 3 Comments

A few pictures from our outings last week- first the Magic House (LOOK at Bailey with her hands in the sand! She is doing so much better since she started her O.T.)!! And then at the Botanical Gardens.

Magic House playdate with Addison

Botanical Gardens- it was so hot… it got a lot more humid than I expected and what was supposed to be an overcast day turned into a muggy, sweaty day. I don’t do summer in St. Louis, I melt when it gets above about 85. Just ask anyone who knows me IRL, I quit coming to playdates last year for the month of August, unless they were at the pool. I am thinking this year we might potty train in August since we won’t leave the house!

But we still had fun with our friends- Ella, Kaitlynn, and Brady (whose mom just started selling Avon too!)

Rough Day at the Park

Filed Under Outings, Play, Two Years Old | 4 Comments

We went to the park last week with our Moms and Tots group from church. The morning started out great. Bailey actually cooperated and got ready without a hassle- which is rare- can I get an Amen, moms of two year olds? She was rewarded with a powdered sugar donut. Yep, I’m totally NOT above bribery.

We got to go down the hill (I think it was more like I chased Bailey down the hill when she took off running) to see the pond. We had fun walking across the bridge and exploring. It didn’t even faze her that there was a huge pond. It scares me how fearless she is and how she is so impulsive. It was HOT, but she didn’t seem to care.

We saw this duck up close and she thought that was pretty cool.

Then on the way back up the hill, one of those big furry bumblebees got in my flip flop and stung the bottom of my foot- it was still hanging on and I had to flick it off and then oh did it hurt. Plus I had to limp all the way up the hill on my tip toes of that foot while carrying Bailey who was having a fit. But there were a lot of dandelions so I didn’t want her to get stung too! Bad mommy decisions.

When we got up to the top she had some snacks and then went back to play on the playground while I poked at my foot- which felt like it was on fire. I haven’t been stung since I was like 8 years old and I don’t recommend it. But Bailey loves Goldfish crackers and she seemed oblivious to my pain. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it and scare her but she didn’t notice anyway.

Then right before we left this kid pushed her (not trying to push her off, just pushed her out of the way and turns out he was deaf and couldn’t talk to her anyway) but she went flying off one of those gaps where you can slide down a pole. KWIM? It was about the height of my head so over five feet- I just saw her go flying to the ground and then laying there in a heap screaming. At least she was screaming but I was thinking for sure broken bones! She bit her tongue and it was pretty bloody and she had a little bump/scrape on her chin but I think that’s it!

For a day or two she kept saying “Boy push you!” and “Beelay fall boom park!” POor girl, there was nothing I could have done but it was so awful to watch.

Grant’s Farm (second visit this season, first with pics!)

Filed Under Outings, St. Louis, This Rocks, Two Months | 6 Comments

Title says it all, really. We love Grant’s Farm and just went for the second time this year. Bailey LOVES it. She gets so excited to “Ride choo choo train” (the tram) and “see animals all day long.” We met up with Amy and Kaitlynn, and Kim and Mackenzie and Tristan. We all parked close together and the girls were happy to see each other. I got a picture of them together before we went in and met the rest of our group.

And yes, I had Bailey’s stroller. She hates it with a passion and so I don’t make her get in it too often. Only if we are walking really far. And usually if we are going through a parking lot. If we ever have another child I guess I don’t need to invest in a double stroller. Really the stroller is just my diaper bag carrier. And when we go shopping it’s my clothes rack!

I love that you ride a tram to get into the park. I would say the ride is about 15 minutes but can be longer on a really busy day or if there are a lot of animals in the road. The rule is that kids sit toward the inside and adults sit on the seats along the edge. So that you don’t lose stuff… or a kid… well today I turned and reached toward Bailey who was sitting on the inside and somehow my shoe (Birkenstock sandal) went FLYING off and landed on the ground. If you know me IRL you know that I tend to have outbursts so of course without even thinking I was all “OMG my shoe! My shoe is over there!” And the tram tour guide started asking me on the microphone about it. He couldn’t get the driver’s attention in time to stop (the tram is like four 10-row cars long) so they had to radio the next tram to pick it up. So then on the microphone he had to ask me what color my shoe was and everything. I’m glad they got it for me because that would be like walking through the zoo without a shoe… ick! Plus not a cheap shoe, either.

Here is Bailey before the tram ride started and before the shoe incident.

She fed a goat with a bottle for the first time today. She asked me about it a couple times. I kept trying to blow it off because I know the goats are a little psycho sometimes if you go in their pen. Like they will start nipping at your clothes, nudging you (not gently, either!) and put their front feet up on your leg to reach the bottles. Bailey was NOT happy with just feeding them through the fence- she wanted to go in there. This picture was taken within the first ten seconds while it was still fun, before she had three goats climbing on her and fighting over a bottle. She kind of freaked out and I was trying to get the lens cap on my camera and stuff it in my pocket because the goat area is so dusty AND I was afraid they would bite at it. Now when I ask her about feeding the goats she says, “No no goats! All done goats!” We will probably try another time through the fence.

And toward the end of our visit, by the camels. You can buy food to feed the camels and Bailey is always sticking her hand in the food dispensers to see if there is anything in there. They’re like those gumball/candy machines where you put in a quarter and turn the dial. She is such a scavenger.

Overall it was a really fun day and I am looking forward to going back! I am so glad we got a parking pass again so that we can go whenever we want. It is a great way to spend a morning because it’s closer than the zoo and smaller/less crowded so the kids can run around more.

Powder Valley Nature Center

Filed Under Friends, Outings, Two Years Old | 1 Comment

The other day we went to Powder Valley Nature Center for the first time with Kim, Mackenzie and Tristan. I was so glad she suggested it, because we are always looking for something new to do! It was a cool and overcast day but there are so many trails and things to see outside. We’ll have to go back again when it’s warmer.

We got there a few minutes before Kenzie and were able to get a few “touristy” pictures outside. Check out Bailey’s grimace in the second one. She’s saying Cheese!

There was a lot to see inside. There were aquariums with live animals, displays of pretend animals, things to climb on and explore, and even a library area. Bailey really liked the fish and turtles.

Here they are in the puppet show area. It was SO hard to get both girls looking out the holes at the same time. And yes, we are inside and she still has her sunglasses on.

We can’t forget Baby Tristan! He was sooo good the whole time we were there. He just slept and looked around, and then woke up toward the end and ate. He even tolerated Bailey grabbing his feet and patting him way too many times. I got to hold him for a few minutes and it’s hard to imagine that Bailey was ever that small. I know she was never that calm!

The sweetest picture of the girls