travel

a first and biting the bullet

Wednesday, July 31, 2013


Both kids had eaten, J was done first. He was completely covered in cooked carrots and I quickly realized that a wet washcloth was not going to cut it. So, in the sink he went for the first time. He loved it! By the time he was finished I was completely soaked myself and there was a puddle of water on the floor.
See? SO much fun.
Oh, and I finally took the plunge and got my hair chopped! I'm really loving it so far and I'm so glad I did it.

J: Ten Months

He:
...cruises on everything.
...loves to share your food.
...has a laugh/cough that he thinks is so funny.
...climbs stairs.
...waves.
...never wants to miss out on any of the action.
...thinks he can walk (but can't!)

Sunday, July 28, 2013

That is all.

Happy Sunday! 

the night I bathed my kids in soggy cereal

Saturday, July 27, 2013

The end of my day was nowhere as dreamy as the picture above. Like the title says, my kids ended up bathing in a bath full of soggy cereal. But, I'll get back to that.
Everything started as it does normally. J woke up first, then S. I picked J up out of his crib, then together we enter S's room and are always greeted by an enthusiastic, "hi!" Diapers are changed, kisses are given and I ask S what she dreamt about the night before and I pretend to know what she's saying. We are usually the first ones up.

I scooped them both into my arms, and I carefully descended from our rooms on the third floor down to the first. We had just made it to the first floor when I looked over to the room to the right. It's technically called a "butler's pantry" but rest assured, there is no butler here. It's basically a small room with glass cabinets and cupboards stored with dishes and small appliances. What had caught my eye was the beautiful light coming in through the window. S had already broken free from my arms to run to the sunroom to say hello to all her birdies. I walked into the butler's pantry with J to take a picture of the flowers in front of the window. I set J down and noticed that he was just fascinated by the shadows and the light on the wooden floor. 

S came in soon after, walked into the light and yelled, "butterflies!" She was referring to the dust particles floating in the air that seemed to dance around in the light. I then was faced with a decision...do I tell her they are not butterflies, but rather, dust particles? Or, do I let her believe they are butterflies? I chose the latter. I then said, "Yes, baby! Go get them! Go catch the butterflies!" 
She then proceeded to run back and forth over and over again grabbing at the pieces of dust with her chubby little fingers, and all the while yelling, "I did it! I did it!"

It was such a perfect moment. One of those moments that make being a mother the very best thing in the world.

Now, fast forward to the end of the day. With C gone, I am again, shorthanded over here. It was 5:30, and I had thirty minutes to finish feeding them, get them bathed, dressed, read to, and down to sleep at 6. My kids are the type that if I wait too long to get them down, they are wired for a long time afterwards. 

So there I was, scrambling scrambling away. What did S end up having for dinner? A banana and a bowl of peas. I GIANT bowl of peas. And that was it. (She loves peas. She's been known to ask for peas for breakfast.) I felt bad because I worried that the giant bowl of peas and banana, albeit healthy, would not be enough to sustain her through the night. And now I start laughing as I write this. I grabbed a large handful of cereal, pour it into a paper cup, grab a baby in each arm (with the cup of cereal balanced between my teeth) and trek up the stairs. I strip them down and throw them in the tub. 

Now, for some reason, S is no longer a fan of baths. It's bizarre. It began during our time in England, but now she's just hit or miss on whether she'll enjoy her bath that night of not. So there we were. Kids in the tub, me shoving cereal in S's mouth in between soap scrubs, (at this point J is looking at her like, "Why you cryin', sis??") when all of a sudden, S let's out a giant sob and out flies tiny bits of cereal from her mouth. Like, tons. Enough that it made her stop crying immediately, and she pointed to the floating cereal and exclaimed, "yuck!" 
It was such a funny sight. I figured it was too late to re-fill the bath, so whatever. I just gave her the cup of cereal and she ate that happily in the bath. J did, too, as he grabbed the random floating pieces and put them in his mouth. You pick your battles, ya know?
The rest of the bedtime process went by pretty smoothly, except the point where I came thisclose to smearing diaper creme all over S's face and arms. (I thought it was her baby lotion.) I suppose that wouldn't have been too terrible.

So, while my night did not end up as dreamy as my day had started, I still thank my lucky stars for these two babies that have made my dreams come true. 

***
In completely different news...S and her pacifier break-up has begun. We have been down to pacifiers just for sleeping times for a while now, but have yet to cut it off completely. Today, I told her that they were going bye-bye. And since I was already lying to her, I found myself telling her that all her pacifiers were going away on a plane. (Noooo idea where that came from.) She looked at me like I was nuts. Like, why on earth would someone take her pacifiers and put them on a plane?? She then looked at me with sad sad eyes, as if I had just told her Dada was never ever going to come home. Yeah, THAT heartbroken. Wish us luck. I may not be sleeping well for a few nights. 

first mixtape


Mom's heartbeat: First Mixtape
This shirt was destined to be mine his.

I love him I love him I love him I love him.

**Shirt found here.**

last of...

Friday, July 26, 2013

The last of our Brooklyn pictures...
Jane's Carousel is a gorgeous carousel with equally gorgeous views of the East River and the city. It's such a beautiful work of art that dates back to 1922. It has been painstakingly restored and that easily shows. J was the only one brave enough to try it, but didn't crack a single smile because he was just so sleepy. S didn't want to have anything to do with it. That's okay, though. We'll try again another time :)
Such a daddy's girl. I don't even mind that one bit.

smiles for miles

Thursday, July 25, 2013

This girl had a smile on her face for seven and a half straight minutes. I was cracking up at how much she LOVES Pocoyo. (Seven minute long episodes about a little boy in blue pajamas, and his friends, Pato the duck and Ellie the elephant.) She hadn't seen it in a while and you would've thought it was Christmas morning! 

stair-master

Wednesday, July 24, 2013


Late last week I decided to put J on the stairs because, what the heck, why not? Figured it was about time to start learning. I put him on the bottom step, showed him how to pull himself on the first step, and then he was off. He climbed the entire set of stairs three times. As you can tell, he was pretty proud of himself.

C and I often talk about how different he and S are. J seems fearless in so many areas, but then gets startled if you come into a room too quickly. He also cries at the slightest bump or fall. (Fortunately, the crying only lasts a few seconds.) On the other hand, S will fall on her head and when I ask if she's okay, she'll respond with an eager, "Yay!" But, she is very cautious in new situations.

I love that they are so different. Now, slow down, my boy!

Liberty State Park

This morning we went to Liberty State Park to check out the gorgeous NYC skyline and let our girly get her wiggles out. The weather here has been simply a-mazing this week, and we are looking at an equally amazing rest of the week. 
They built a September 11th memorial there that we stopped to look at. What was extra special about the memorial is that it was placed in the spot where the World Trade Center Towers used to appear in the skyline. As we walked in between the the walls of names, I was reminded that even though I have my day-to-day worries and struggles, they are nothing in comparison to what the families of those who lost loved ones have been through. It's been almost twelve years since the attacks and it still feels so raw.

I wonder how we'll teach our children about that day. I know lots of people worry about bringing their children up in this day in age. But you know what, I'm not! Yes, there are bad things out there, but there always has been. And I think there is SO much good out there, too. I'm so glad that I get to raise my kids at this point in time.
This girl is turning into such a chatterbox. She loved waving to all the boats, airplanes and trains.
"Mama, do you really have to kiss me all the time?" Yes, my dear boy. I do. Till the end of time.

Help!

Monday, July 22, 2013

There's a Pato tickle monster on the loose!

The Joneses Go Ivy

With C in town with us for a few days, we thought we'd make the hour drive to check out Princeton University. It was an almost perfect day (a tad bit too humid for my taste) to walk around the campus. The old architecture was beautiful. My campus love affair with Yale, however, still has yet to be matched.
C and I agree that we love ivy, but not when it overtakes our house. Because it is eating our house alive back in VA.
Good looking guy #1 and Good looking guy #2
Next time we hope to go in the fall. Isn't everything more beautiful then?

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