Goins' On

My favorite little zoo animal:)

The only actual animal photographed on our trip to the zoo.

Tired Mama with bulging belly chases busy boy:) Thanks for the flattering shot, Trav.

Waiting for Mommy to come out of the bathroom, again!

Incriminating picture of Keller eating PB and J. But more importantly to him is the "speshow" new cup he has. He loves his speshow cup because it's like the ones that the big kids we babysit use...Yes, I've had it/them since my shower (thanks Marisa and Elise) but stored away in the attic until "the right time" which apparently is now:)

Let's see...since Easter I guess we've been a little busy:) I've worked a lot and our weekends have been busy...Last week was my "off-week" so that's when I play catch up as far as errands and visits go...Trav ended up not having to work on Monday (or going in late? I don't remember) so I treated myself to a haircut...several inches which makes a huge difference to me, but no one else can really tell because my hair is generally up:) On Wednesday, Trav had a meeting in the Bronx and then the afternoon off so Keller and I tagged along, hung out in the parking garage for awhile and putzed around the neighborhood of Trav's meeting for a little while and after the meeting we headed to the Bronx Zoo. Fortunately and unfortunately it was "donation day" which meant the typical $15 entrance fee per person became a "donation" of your choice so it was good because we took the "two for one" plan and saved ourselves $15 but the bad part was that there was a big long line to get in...ugh! We did just fine though, B-lined straight to the bathrooms (darn pregnant lady) upon entrance and then began our own little loop through the park. Luckily, several exhibits were closed (so no obligation to go check them out), but we managed to see plenty, or just enough animals at least! Keller mostly liked the "grillas" and "sea lions-up thay-er jump! climb" We also saw hyenas, lions, zebras, giraffes, wild dogs, various birds/pheasants, and a digger truck:) Keller did a great job with some time in the stroller and some time walking and no nap until we were in the car on the way home around 3:30 or so. We didn't make it into the kids zoo part, which I'm sure he would have loved, but alas, by the time we left, the little boy's eyes were glossed over with exhaustion and refusal to nap and he had a big poop in his pants...and so time to go was time to go:) We will certainly go back...and if we go on a Wednesday, it will be much earlier to beat the mad rush!

On Friday was Keller's 18 month check up (I hate that it is now falling 2 weeks past his birthday, I can't fix it either because your next appointment is always made x-months from the date of current appointment...grrr). But he's a healthy little boy...Just above the 5th percentile in height and about 10th for weight...As the doctor clarified, "so he's not one of those beanpole kids"...what does that mean??? He's short and stubby?? I think she just meant that he's got a little meat on his bones. But not too much:) And he's on the short side like his mommy and daddy. No surprise there. We've been putting his shoes on opposite feet to encourage a little improvement of the pigeon-toes he's got. Doc insists it's perfectly normal and he's got a full range of motion of his legs and hips...Says he'll outgrow it when he's done being a toddler. This was the most interesting tidbit she left us with...she said we should be avoiding peanut butter because there are so many kids out there that are tied to their epi-pens with peanut allergies. I asked if I should take him off peanut butter for their benefit or for his and she said for his...says kids can develop a peanut allergy at anytime and that there are much healthier "butter" choices like sunflower seed butter (and another one, we forget what she said but it wasn't almond butter...maybe cashew?) I had never heard of this concern and when I next hit Trader Joe's I'll pick up some sunflower butter or whatever, but for the record, last night, we still had tofu and broccoli with peanut sauce and peanut butter and jelly for lunch today (easiest thing for me to pack to bring babysitting...) and so it goes, another thing to look into or ignore...ugh!! I know there were other issues with peanut butter that my naturopath had told me about when I was pregnant with Keller...aflatoxin or something, which is why I stopped buying the "all natural" ones and have stuck with Skippy Natural...who the heck knows!!!

After our appointment, Keller and I had a nice beach visit with Tasha. Keller can summarize the experience for you, "Ta-shaaaa, sand, kite---up thay-er, waht-err, beach, bucket, shuh-boh, nudder kite up-thayer, loshun, suscreen on, hat, cooldude (what he calls his sunglasses)..." or something along those lines.

And on Sunday, my family all got together at the same time and the same place to celebrate my dad's birthday! I feel like my whole family is rarely all together at the same time...on holidays we try, but between splitting holidays with two families it becomes tricky coordinating who is going to be where for the meal and/or for dessert, etc. And so Dad's birthday was a good reason to get together for a less rushed visit. It's great seeing all the cousins playing...Chase and Samantha running around being silly, and Cali and Keller pushing the little plastic chairs back and forth through the kitchen or else trying to keep up with the "big kids"--very cute:)

The house is still on the market For Sale By Owner. Trav and I hung flyers up around the local towns here. We have our third Open House this Sunday and maybe it will sell:) After this one though, I think we'll take a little break and just kind of leave it on Craigs List and leave the sign out front and ride through the next couple of months without going nuts about Open Houses and the official realtor listing thing. Then maybe come fall we'll list with my mom...We'll see what happens. Sure would be great to sell it on our own though---We've been told by several people (including local realtors) that it's priced right/well, which is good to hear. Now we just need the right person/people to come along. Wish us luck!

As for the new baby, kicking up a storm in there! Quite the active little peanut for sure! The belly is sticking straight out about now, perhaps two or three feet it seems, and there are still 2 more months of growth to go!! Egads! Aside from feeling round and watching my scale numbers a little more carefully, I'm doing good. Sleeping decent most nights, although I do occasionally get those restless legs which drive me nuts. And the hips have only now begun to bother me in the night, but not horrible by any means. I'm hoping to avoid the numb fingers/arms thing I had with Keller. That was uncomfortable and last a few weeks after he was born, too...weird. Keller is seeming to be more aware of the "baby in the belly" and will give it kisses (or shakes/squeezes/pinches) which I'm sure will continue once the real baby is in front of him, too:) I love my little boy so much and I love spending time with him and hanging out. I hope the transition to two little ones to love goes easily enough for us both (oh and Trav, too;) Getting closer:)

O

A Year and a Half!!

That's 1 1/2 years old today...my big baby boy! What a piece of work the little guy has certainly become. His personality is so visible, his silliness, his wise-guy-ness, his stubborness, his playfulness, and his cuddliness, all neatly packaged into one compact little toddler with chubby toes, a cheesy grin, and lengthening limbs--for climbing things, clearly!

Keller has been loving the nice weather and begs to go to the "pork" on a regular basis so he can go down the "side....weeeeeee!" He gets up the stairs with ease and can use the slide independently if he goes on his belly backwards, (which he'll announce as he's turning over, "beh-yee" or slide down sitting up just fine and go flying off the bottom if no one is there to catch him... When we go to the park down the block, he also likes to see the ducks and will retell his experience feeding the ducks crackers any chance he gets. It goes something like this: "Pooork, ducks, wah-ter, crah-kers, eat-it..." all the while nodding his head as if to say "This really happened, remember??" Of course I remind him how nice and fun that was for the lady to share her kids' crackers with him but that ducks aren't really supposed to eat crackers...

He's also been big on just being outside to "pay" with his "shu-boh" and pail in the dirt and try tricks on his bike. Last weekend we went to the beach for a little while and he had a blast playing in the sand, picking up sticks, dumping sand out all over him, and then finally he discovered the water...inevitable, right? So first he was throwing sticks in from a decent distance, then would pick up a rock, take a step closer and throw, pick up a rock, take a step closer, you get the idea...The cold didn't seem to phase him in the least! But he is no doubt Mr. Outdoorsman which I'm glad for:)

Now as far as eating goes, we were so very proud of our little boy for being such a neat eater from early on, eating pretty much whatever we put in front of him and with a great appetite. Well, things seem to be changing in that front a little bit. The word "no" seems to arise a bit more often when it comes to eating. He is far more likely to play with his food now. He went from being Mr. Proper--use a fork so as to not soil the hands from early on, to request a "mapkan" to wipe his hands in the event that they touch a moist food substance, to fork??? Why would I use that when I have my hands, or else he'll use a spoon to eat say yogurt but then follow the spoon into the mouth with his other hand...ugh! AND if he is not supervised 100%, he will certainly take advantage of the opportunity to immerse the entire hand into the bowl or to "hide" handfuls of dinner behind his high-chair pad (which by the way has been permanently removed as of yesterday). So yes, a bit of trouble in the eating department as of the moment. Veggies all of the sudden are of less interest, peas are removed from meal and squashed on the tray;) green beans are spit out into small piles on the tray, etc. Last night we were out at a restaurant and he had been sitting in the carseat for a good while as we drove around checking out some houses, getting lost, etc. and then was put into the highchair (leave it to the mom to make excuses for her baby), and was doing a great job eating and drinking out of his topless cup with a straw, when he hit a wall and his time was clearly up. I gave him a piece of bread, naan, so a nice, flat, pita-like bread which he immediately took a bite of quickly, then another, and another, and another after which his mouth was full and he proceeded to open it to let all the bread come back out...then wanted to try it again. He was removed from the table by his Daddy for the first time after continuing to be a little freshy, and Mommy giggled a little at the antics, knowing he had been a really good baby for as long as he could swing it...but alas, it's not okay to spit your bread out at the table when you are dining in a restaurant (or at home for that matter;)

"Puddohs" are a bit of an obsession and so I bought him a pair of $3 old school rubber boots from a consignment shop. They're a little big and we haven't yet tested them in an actual puddle, but wearing them around the house seems fun enough for now---Very cute:)

Easter Pics

Keller rests up on the way to our first Easter stop.

After a nice lazy morning home playing with Easter eggs filled with "O's", raisins, and little smiley face snacks, eating bagels and scrambled eggs, and painting (or spilling water) in the new water-paint book from the Easter Bunny, Keller crashed in his carseat not 2 minutes away from our house on the way to Cousin Coleen's house.

Once all the cousins had arrived, we set out for the backyard egg hunt. Keller found an egg or two for his bucket and added a handful of rocks, as well. Once we made our way over to the swingset area there was instant change of subject from eggs to TOYS. And our little Mr. Independent played with all the toys and the sand that he could while everyone else wasted their time away on silly plastic eggs;) Clearly he's got priorities!

"Sharing" Easter Chalk with cousin Samantha.

As is our habit on the holidays, we left Coleen's just as everyone was getting ready to eat and headed to "BeeBee and Papa's" (Trav's parents') house. Keller talked our ears off for the entire hour long drive, well, that is after dropping, I mean "dumping" as he would say, his bag of O's all over himself in the carseat.

An attempted family picture.

Easter Egg Hunt #2

Got it...

Blowing Bubbles with Daddy.

Hanging with cousin Piper.

It was a great day and a nice end to a great weekend spent mostly outside with my family:)