Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Another Year Older
You know how when you were a kid you couldn't wait for your birthday to roll around and it seemed to take forever to get here? Yeah, that's not the case anymore. They seem to be coming fast and furiously these days. This past Sunday ticked off yet another one. I'm now officially moving towards the tail end of my 30's. Damn.
It wasn't a terrible way to mark off growing yet another year older. Saturday J and I got all gussied up and headed out for a nice (kid-free) dinner at O-Ku, a fancy sushi restaurant downtown. It was nice to be able to eat a meal on our own time and not have to worry about keeping the toddler entertained or rush through trying to finish before the baby woke up. We had some edamame, some delicious sushi rolls, and a yummy green tea cheesecake for dessert. I washed it all down with a couple fruity liquor drinks while sitting back and relaxing.
After finishing up there we headed a few blocks down King Street to a bar to grab a couple beers and watch some football. Back in the day we would have headed out for some dancing or something, but both of us would rather sit and relax some. We got home close to midnight, I pumped and we headed to bed. Unfortunately I didn't fall asleep until almost 3:00 - what the hell, body???
Fortunately for me, J let me sleep until 9:30 on my birthday. Then he came upstairs with Andrew bearing a card and gift. He and the boys got me two more cute charms for my knock-off Pandora bracelet - a cute little frog and a little clam shell (it even opens and has a little pearl inside). We hung out and played before getting ready for my parents to come down to visit. My dad hadn't seen Elliot since we came home from the hospital so he was excited to see him. We hung out on the porch for a while watching Andrew play and catching up. Then we headed out for lunch at a sports bar so we could watch football. My parents stayed until about 4:30 and then wanted to get on the road so they didn't have to drive the entire way in the dark. I relaxed with all my boys the rest of the day and tried not to be too bummed about hitting 37.
All in all it was a very nice birthday weekend spent with some of my favorite people. I won't be too sad if 38 takes it's time getting here, though ;)
It wasn't a terrible way to mark off growing yet another year older. Saturday J and I got all gussied up and headed out for a nice (kid-free) dinner at O-Ku, a fancy sushi restaurant downtown. It was nice to be able to eat a meal on our own time and not have to worry about keeping the toddler entertained or rush through trying to finish before the baby woke up. We had some edamame, some delicious sushi rolls, and a yummy green tea cheesecake for dessert. I washed it all down with a couple fruity liquor drinks while sitting back and relaxing.
After finishing up there we headed a few blocks down King Street to a bar to grab a couple beers and watch some football. Back in the day we would have headed out for some dancing or something, but both of us would rather sit and relax some. We got home close to midnight, I pumped and we headed to bed. Unfortunately I didn't fall asleep until almost 3:00 - what the hell, body???
Fortunately for me, J let me sleep until 9:30 on my birthday. Then he came upstairs with Andrew bearing a card and gift. He and the boys got me two more cute charms for my knock-off Pandora bracelet - a cute little frog and a little clam shell (it even opens and has a little pearl inside). We hung out and played before getting ready for my parents to come down to visit. My dad hadn't seen Elliot since we came home from the hospital so he was excited to see him. We hung out on the porch for a while watching Andrew play and catching up. Then we headed out for lunch at a sports bar so we could watch football. My parents stayed until about 4:30 and then wanted to get on the road so they didn't have to drive the entire way in the dark. I relaxed with all my boys the rest of the day and tried not to be too bummed about hitting 37.
All in all it was a very nice birthday weekend spent with some of my favorite people. I won't be too sad if 38 takes it's time getting here, though ;)
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Two and Through
That's where we stand. We weren't one of those 'one and done' families. After having Andrew I knew I wanted him to have a sibling so I knew that we would be having another baby. Of course all throughout my pregnancy with Elliot I was stressing out about being able to love him as much as I love Andrew (I do) and my ability to be a good enough mom to two kids (I hope that I am).
Now that Elliot is here and we are relatively settled into our life as a family of four we are getting the inevitable "Are you going to try for a girl?" question. (Seriously people - Elliot's only 2 months old!)
While I know that J would love a little girl it's just not in the cards. I do feel a twinge of sadness that he won't get his daddy's girl, but when I look at our boys I feel complete. I don't feel that I am missing out by not having a daughter. That might sound strange, but I've always been a bit of a tomboy. I just relate better to boys. My mom seemed a little taken aback when I commented about not being sad about not having a daughter - probably because I'm one of three girls and she thought I would want one.
Even though I feel that our family is complete, we didn't want to take any permanent measures just in case. So this past Tuesday I went in to get my Mirena. I was a little nervous heading into it, but in all honesty it was no worse than an annual exam. Some mild cramping that afternoon, but nothing that even warranted taking some Motrin. It's a relief to not have to worry about taking a pill every day (I kind of sucked at remembering all the time) and it's such a low dose of progestin that it should have no impact whatsoever on my supply so nursing Elliot should be fine. It is a little weird knowing there is a little foreign body down there, but it's nice to not have to think about it on a daily basis.
So yeah, I'm 99.999999999% sure that we are two and through. As it stands, they're a pretty awesome two:
Now that Elliot is here and we are relatively settled into our life as a family of four we are getting the inevitable "Are you going to try for a girl?" question. (Seriously people - Elliot's only 2 months old!)
While I know that J would love a little girl it's just not in the cards. I do feel a twinge of sadness that he won't get his daddy's girl, but when I look at our boys I feel complete. I don't feel that I am missing out by not having a daughter. That might sound strange, but I've always been a bit of a tomboy. I just relate better to boys. My mom seemed a little taken aback when I commented about not being sad about not having a daughter - probably because I'm one of three girls and she thought I would want one.
Even though I feel that our family is complete, we didn't want to take any permanent measures just in case. So this past Tuesday I went in to get my Mirena. I was a little nervous heading into it, but in all honesty it was no worse than an annual exam. Some mild cramping that afternoon, but nothing that even warranted taking some Motrin. It's a relief to not have to worry about taking a pill every day (I kind of sucked at remembering all the time) and it's such a low dose of progestin that it should have no impact whatsoever on my supply so nursing Elliot should be fine. It is a little weird knowing there is a little foreign body down there, but it's nice to not have to think about it on a daily basis.
So yeah, I'm 99.999999999% sure that we are two and through. As it stands, they're a pretty awesome two:
Friday, November 1, 2013
Trick-or-Treating Fun
As I posted about yesterday, Halloween kind of started out with a bang with both kiddos melting down when I put their costumes on them. I didn't have overly high hopes for trick-or-treating last night based on the morning's fiasco, but we decided to give it a whirl anyway.
J and I got Elliot dressed back in his Robin costume and put him in the stroller so we could walk over to daycare to pick up Andrew. We figured we could just go trick-or-treating on the way home. When we got there Andrew was in other clothes so we needed to put him back in hispajamas costume so we could go. When I got out the cape and asked if he wanted to put it on I was pleasantly surprised when he said "Yes!" and turned so I could put it on him. Excellent!
We got him in the stroller and headed out in search of houses that were giving out candy. It was only 5:30 and still light out so we couldn't just base it on houses with their outside lights on. We took a roundabout route towards our house and stopped at a couple houses where the owners were sitting outside with their candy bowls. For the first couple houses Andrew was very shy. He didn't want to walk up to the people and was hesitant to even hold out his pumpkin. At one of those houses he got a mini tootsie pop and as soon as he did he held it up to me saying "Open for you!" (He mixes up his pronouns and says 'you' instead of 'me' all the time). I relented and opened the lollipop for him. He sucked on it pretty much the entire rest of the time that we were out there.
Before we headed home we swung by the neighborhood next to ours because we know there are a lot of kids in that neighborhood so we figured there would be lots of people handing out candy (our own neighborhood is lame and no one bothers to come to it for trick-or-treating). Once we got into the neighborhood we let him back out of the stroller and headed to the first house. Pretty soon he started to get the idea and would run up to the next house with his little pumpkin. I was trying to keep up with him and steer him in the right direction and would walk up to the doors with him.
He would never actually say "Trick or Treat!", but he's shy around people he doesn't know, so I'm not surprised. Everyone thought he was a cute little Batman, even without his mask.
Going to that neighborhood turned out to be a great idea. Most houses had tables at the end of their driveways where the person was handing out candy. Parents were walking their kids around, many with beers or glasses of wine in their hands (the parents, not the kids). It was a nice festive atmosphere and Andrew was really enjoying himself.
He did great about walking up to the candy givers and looking cute. If they had tables set up he would normally walk up and put his pumpkin up on the table.
If the person held out the candy bowl to him he never grabbed a handful. He would look at it carefully and then select the one thing he wanted (he apparently has an affinity for lollipops). It was so much fun and I loved seeing how excited he was getting.
We kept going until almost 7:00 and then decided to head home. Elliot was starting to get riled up (he demands that we start the bedtime routine around 7:00 and last night was no exception). We headed for home just in time for it to start raining. Luckily it didn't last long and Andrew didn't seem to mind. We got home, got both kids in the bath, and got them off to bed. Everyone was tired from the night out so we all wanted to hit the sack. So what started out as a rough morning ended up being a successful Halloween. I hope you all had a wonderful time as well!
J and I got Elliot dressed back in his Robin costume and put him in the stroller so we could walk over to daycare to pick up Andrew. We figured we could just go trick-or-treating on the way home. When we got there Andrew was in other clothes so we needed to put him back in his
We got him in the stroller and headed out in search of houses that were giving out candy. It was only 5:30 and still light out so we couldn't just base it on houses with their outside lights on. We took a roundabout route towards our house and stopped at a couple houses where the owners were sitting outside with their candy bowls. For the first couple houses Andrew was very shy. He didn't want to walk up to the people and was hesitant to even hold out his pumpkin. At one of those houses he got a mini tootsie pop and as soon as he did he held it up to me saying "Open for you!" (He mixes up his pronouns and says 'you' instead of 'me' all the time). I relented and opened the lollipop for him. He sucked on it pretty much the entire rest of the time that we were out there.
Before we headed home we swung by the neighborhood next to ours because we know there are a lot of kids in that neighborhood so we figured there would be lots of people handing out candy (our own neighborhood is lame and no one bothers to come to it for trick-or-treating). Once we got into the neighborhood we let him back out of the stroller and headed to the first house. Pretty soon he started to get the idea and would run up to the next house with his little pumpkin. I was trying to keep up with him and steer him in the right direction and would walk up to the doors with him.
He would never actually say "Trick or Treat!", but he's shy around people he doesn't know, so I'm not surprised. Everyone thought he was a cute little Batman, even without his mask.
Going to that neighborhood turned out to be a great idea. Most houses had tables at the end of their driveways where the person was handing out candy. Parents were walking their kids around, many with beers or glasses of wine in their hands (the parents, not the kids). It was a nice festive atmosphere and Andrew was really enjoying himself.
He did great about walking up to the candy givers and looking cute. If they had tables set up he would normally walk up and put his pumpkin up on the table.
If the person held out the candy bowl to him he never grabbed a handful. He would look at it carefully and then select the one thing he wanted (he apparently has an affinity for lollipops). It was so much fun and I loved seeing how excited he was getting.
We kept going until almost 7:00 and then decided to head home. Elliot was starting to get riled up (he demands that we start the bedtime routine around 7:00 and last night was no exception). We headed for home just in time for it to start raining. Luckily it didn't last long and Andrew didn't seem to mind. We got home, got both kids in the bath, and got them off to bed. Everyone was tired from the night out so we all wanted to hit the sack. So what started out as a rough morning ended up being a successful Halloween. I hope you all had a wonderful time as well!
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Happy Halloween?
This is what happens when I try to dress up my little cuties:
What in the world was I thinking having costumes with masks???
Elliot seemed to like his yesterday when I tried it on him:
Andrew hasn't been a fan of the mask or the cape. I did get him to wear the cape this morning by pinning it to his shirt, but I ended up taking it off after his Halloween breakfast at daycare. We'll try again tonight.
Oh, and Andrew's "costume" is actually Batman pajamas. I needed a two piece costume for potty training purposes and most kids Halloween costumes seemed to be jumpsuits. Plus this way he will get a lot of wearings out of it instead of just for Halloween.
Can't wait to see how trick-or-treating goes tonight...
What in the world was I thinking having costumes with masks???
Elliot seemed to like his yesterday when I tried it on him:
Andrew hasn't been a fan of the mask or the cape. I did get him to wear the cape this morning by pinning it to his shirt, but I ended up taking it off after his Halloween breakfast at daycare. We'll try again tonight.
He was saying "Baby's not crying." because Elliot stopped crying once I got the mask up on his head. He doesn't mind wearing it as long as it doesn't cover his eyes.
Oh, and Andrew's "costume" is actually Batman pajamas. I needed a two piece costume for potty training purposes and most kids Halloween costumes seemed to be jumpsuits. Plus this way he will get a lot of wearings out of it instead of just for Halloween.
Can't wait to see how trick-or-treating goes tonight...
Monday, October 28, 2013
Afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch
For weeks Andrew has been all excited about the pumpkins that he is seeing everywhere. I kept telling him we were going to go to the pumpkin patch so Friday we decided to keep our promise and take the boys for a little afternoon outing. Last year we went after work so we didn't have time to do anything besides walk around the pumpkin patch and take pictures. This year we took a half day so we could get their earlier and do some of the other activities.
First up was the "hay" ride. There was no hay to be found anywhere, but that was ok. It took us for a loop around the plantation and Andrew was excited to see all of the displays. He kept yelling "Look at that!" every time we passed something. It was so fun to see his excitement and watch him take everything in.
After the hayride we decided to do the corn maze.
We took one of the maps with us and set off. Andrew was hot on his daddy's heels for most of it:
but he would sometimes run ahead trying to lead the way:
Once we made our way out of the corn maze we headed over to the petting zoo area. I had a feeling that Andrew wouldn't be overly excited about it and I wasn't wrong. He was a little freaked out by the animals, but they spent some time in there looking at them at least. He didn't feed any of them, but at least he didn't cry:
After that we headed over and let him climb on the hay hill. There was this little girl on there that was having a blast jumping off of the top and landing in a pile at the bottom. I was kind of surprised at how cautious Andrew was being - I'm used to him being a rambunctious little kid and figured he'd be diving off of it.
There was also a giant play tower for the kids with a big slide and a rock wall. Andrew tried his hand at the rock wall and I almost died laughing at him clinging there:
By then both kddos were getting a little restless so we decided to head over to the pumpkins and make our way out. Elliot had been snoozing in the Baby K'Tan, but he wanted out so we tried to get some pictures. Unfortunately he did a couple face plants in the hay, but he didn't seem to mind too much.
First up was the "hay" ride. There was no hay to be found anywhere, but that was ok. It took us for a loop around the plantation and Andrew was excited to see all of the displays. He kept yelling "Look at that!" every time we passed something. It was so fun to see his excitement and watch him take everything in.
After the hayride we decided to do the corn maze.
We took one of the maps with us and set off. Andrew was hot on his daddy's heels for most of it:
but he would sometimes run ahead trying to lead the way:
Once we made our way out of the corn maze we headed over to the petting zoo area. I had a feeling that Andrew wouldn't be overly excited about it and I wasn't wrong. He was a little freaked out by the animals, but they spent some time in there looking at them at least. He didn't feed any of them, but at least he didn't cry:
After that we headed over and let him climb on the hay hill. There was this little girl on there that was having a blast jumping off of the top and landing in a pile at the bottom. I was kind of surprised at how cautious Andrew was being - I'm used to him being a rambunctious little kid and figured he'd be diving off of it.
There was also a giant play tower for the kids with a big slide and a rock wall. Andrew tried his hand at the rock wall and I almost died laughing at him clinging there:
By then both kddos were getting a little restless so we decided to head over to the pumpkins and make our way out. Elliot had been snoozing in the Baby K'Tan, but he wanted out so we tried to get some pictures. Unfortunately he did a couple face plants in the hay, but he didn't seem to mind too much.
Andrew liked the big tractor
I asked Andrew if he would sit next to his baby brother but this is as close as we got.
Love these boys!
Friday, October 25, 2013
Don't Wish It Away
All too often I have found myself saying things like "I can't wait until he's sleeping longer." or "I can't wait until he can play with Andrew." or a handful of other things. Yes, I'm looking forward to those things, but I need to stop wishing for the future and enjoying the present.
Too soon he will be doing those things. And while I look forward to him sleeping through the night, once he does I won't have our 3:00 AM time together. I mean yeah, it would be nice to get a full night's sleep with no interruptions, don't get me wrong. But there is something about that time when it's quiet and it's just us. After I change his diaper and re-swaddle him, he lays on the pillow across my lap and grins up at me. At that moment it doesn't matter that it's 3:00 in the morning. I have this sweet little baby gazing into my eyes and grinning at me and my heart feels like it will explode. I don't want to give up those moments.
Or the moments when I'm burping him or rocking him and his soft cheek is pressed up against mine. I feel his soft breath in my ear and hear his little squeaks as he gets settled in a comfy position. His fuzzy hair tickles my cheek and I smell his sweet baby smell. I know eventually he won't want to cuddle like that with me. He'll be too eager to get down and explore and go play with his big brother. I want to remember those moments forever. To remember how it feels to hold his little body against mine while listening to his rhythmic breathing while he drifts off to sleep.
So yeah, I look forward to what the future holds, but I don't want to miss what the present has to offer. That's all the reminder I need to not wish life away.
Too soon he will be doing those things. And while I look forward to him sleeping through the night, once he does I won't have our 3:00 AM time together. I mean yeah, it would be nice to get a full night's sleep with no interruptions, don't get me wrong. But there is something about that time when it's quiet and it's just us. After I change his diaper and re-swaddle him, he lays on the pillow across my lap and grins up at me. At that moment it doesn't matter that it's 3:00 in the morning. I have this sweet little baby gazing into my eyes and grinning at me and my heart feels like it will explode. I don't want to give up those moments.
Or the moments when I'm burping him or rocking him and his soft cheek is pressed up against mine. I feel his soft breath in my ear and hear his little squeaks as he gets settled in a comfy position. His fuzzy hair tickles my cheek and I smell his sweet baby smell. I know eventually he won't want to cuddle like that with me. He'll be too eager to get down and explore and go play with his big brother. I want to remember those moments forever. To remember how it feels to hold his little body against mine while listening to his rhythmic breathing while he drifts off to sleep.
He's already grown so much from when this was taken
So yeah, I look forward to what the future holds, but I don't want to miss what the present has to offer. That's all the reminder I need to not wish life away.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Two Months
"Yeah, that's right - I'm two months old!"
It feels like it's gone by in the blink of an eye - Elliot is already two months old. It's crazy that it's already been two months since his speedy arrival. Two months since we went from a little family of three to our little family of four. Two months since I was afraid I couldn't possibly love another child as much as Andrew to now feeling my heart expand in ways I never knew possible.
All around it's been a pretty good two months. We're getting through the newborn exhaustion and seeing a light at the end of that tunnel. I'm learning his cues and it's getting to where I can anticipate some of his needs before he gets too riled up. Elliot is different from Andrew in that he is not a night owl. By 7:00 every night he is getting cranky and ready for the bedtime routine. As soon as I notice him start to get cranked up we get him in the tub. He loves his bath and is so content to just sit there in the warm water. He doesn't make a peep, just wiggles around and stares at me with this cute expression on his face:
We've been giving him a 3 oz bottle of pumped milk before bed, just to make sure he has a pretty full belly. I feed that to him, change his diaper, swaddle him up and then nurse him. He's down for the night between 8:00 and 8:30 and has been waking up every night around 3:00 AM for his nighttime feeding. I know that technically that could be considered STTN and to be totally honest I'll take it. I try to get to bed by 10:00 so if he gets up at 3:00 I'm getting five straight hours. We're normally up for 30-40 mins at that feeding and then he's back down until 6:30 or 7:00. This is such an improvement over where we were just two weeks ago and I'm very happy with it.
He is still nursing on demand during the day. I'm still working from home so I'm able to feed him whenever he wants. I'm also trying to pump at least an extra 5 oz a day to go into the freezer to build up a stash for when I go back to work at the office. It will be nice to have a reserve so I don't have to stress out every day about pumping enough for the next day like I always did with Andrew. I need to test out some frozen milk with him again (he's had some already) to make sure he will drink it with no issues. So far I have 60 oz in the freezer and would like to have 200+ oz in there by Dec 2nd.
He has started to enjoy his playmat and is content to lay there looking at the hanging toys and kicking the musical pad. It's nice to have somewhere that I can put him down where he is happy to play for more than 5 minutes. It makes getting dinner ready a little easier.
Andrew likes to play with him on the mat
I've had to pack away all the newborn sized clothes and get out the 0-3 and 3-6 month sized ones. I'm really sad every time I pack something away because that will be the last time they are worn. I was super sad when I realized he never even wore the froggy footie pajamas that Andrew came home from the hospital in. I had wanted to get a picture of him in them and by the time I got around to it it was too late.
His two month well check is this afternoon and I can't wait to see how big he's gotten. He's eating like a champ and has really filled out so I know he's packing on the weight. I'll come back and update once I have his stats.
Update: Here are his stats:
Weight: 11 lbs 6.2 oz - 27th percentile
Length: 23" - 50th percentile
Head: 15.25" - 37th percentile
All in all it's been a great two months and I look forward to seeing what the coming months bring.
As for me, my two month postpartum body isn't exactly what I was hoping for. I still have 12 lbs to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. My stomach is still really doughy and my hips butt and thighs need a lot of work. I have only myself to blame, though, because I feel like I am constantly eating - and not always healthily. I really have to get my eating under control and I definitely need to make healthier choices. I know my body will hold on to some weight while I am breastfeeding and that's ok. I just want to get back to being toned and not feeling so bad about how I look. Finding time for the gym is harder now with two, but I'll figure it out. I need to start doing my ab workout while Elliot is napping and maybe pick up some weights so I can do a little toning then, too.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
More Soggy Than Crunchy
We don't use cloth diapers, circ'd both boys, do all vaccinations on time, never even considered a home birth, neither boy ever slept in our room much less in our bed, and we aren't exactly organic. I do breastfeed and will until he weans or my supply tanks. Actually, I'll backtrack on that statement. With Andrew I made it to 14 months and I thought that was a good time to stop. I could never go all Mayim Bialik and breastfeed a 3 year old. I know if other cultures that's the norm, but it's just not for me.
Anyway, there is one other aspect of 'crunchiness' that I'm giving a whirl - babywearing. Not all the time, but when he wants to just be held and nothing else is wrong. Or when we're out and about and don't want to have to take the big double stroller.
With Andrew the only carrier we had was the snuggli one. It got some use when he was a little guy, but we didn't use it very often. This time I've decided to branch out and bought a Baby K'Tan. I figure it might be beneficial for the evenings when Elliot is being particularly fussy and wanting to be constantly held. And maybe it will help me to actually get to eat a hot meal.
It came in the mail last week and I immediately tried it on. I popped Elliot in it when he was already sleeping and he cuddled right in and continued to snooze. Score.
Trying out the Baby K'Tan with my little photo bomber
The real test would be putting him in it while he was awake and hoping he'd settle down. We went to the park on Sunday and after getting there he got a little fussy in the stroller. I put on the Baby K'Tan and got him in there. At first he protested a little, but I got him positioned and rocked a little and then he settled right down. Before long he was asleep and he stayed that way the entire walk back from the park. He even stayed asleep while I took it off and laid him down so I could go to the store:
I'm a little worried that I should have gotten a larger size because he seems a little snug in there, but when I read the instructions on the site it says it will stretch out so now I'm thinking we should just use it more and it'll stretch to where we need it. I need to start using it around the house more when he's fussing so I can comfort him while still getting some stuff done around here.
So while I will probably never fall into the category of a crunchy mom I guess I can at least get a little more crispy. And maybe eat a hot dinner soon.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Family Time
This past weekend, in the midst of our zombie state of sleeplessness, we decided that we needed to get out of the house. It was the perfect opportunity for some quality family time.
What better place to go on a Saturday afternoon than the aquarium? With this visit we covered the expense of the annual membership. With a few more visits we'll come out ahead.
So we got the munchkin ready and threw the carrier in the car for Elliot and we were off. The whole way there Andrew was happily exclaiming "I go see fishies!". We got down there, found some free parking, got Andrew into our cheap umbrella stroller, I strapped Elliot to me and we headed to the aquarium. On the way in they take a picture of each group that you can purchase on your way out. Normally I don't buy it, but this was our first trip there as a family of four so I got it:
J went to store the stroller while Andrew and I hopped on the escalator to go upstairs. He was a little hesitant to step on, but once we got going he was fine. J joined us at the first exhibit - the eagle:
We headed in to see the otters, but they were sleeping (again) so they weren't very interesting. Instead we headed over to the touch tank so Andrew could explore some sea creatures. Last time we tried it he showed no interest in anything in there, but this time he was all about it. He picked up a hermit crab, poked a starfish and looked at a sea urchin:
Then we headed outside to look at the stingrays and fish out there. Again, other times he showed little interest in any of them, but this time he was intrigued. It was so fun to watch him running from tank to tank and exclaiming "Look at that!".
We made our way through to the little play area for kids and he begrudgingly sat on a turtle for a photo op:
Then we walked over to the Great Ocean Tank and they sat and watched the sharks and the other big fish:
I loved the fact that Andrew as more into it this time. Sure, we still had to chase him around a bit and he spent some time climbing on things and jumping off, but he was genuinely excited about watching the fish. I think our annual membership is good through March, so I see several more trips there in the future.
On the way out we let him run around a bit in the sun and get out a little more energy. I could resist putting him up with this frog so I could snap a picture. The expression on his face cracks me up:
All in all it was a great trip exhaustion notwithstanding. And as an added bonus Elliot slept through the entire thing so there was no squalling newborn to contend with. We even made it out to dinner that evening with no meltdowns and were able to go browse at Hobby Lobby afterward for a little bit. It was a nice day spent as our little family of four and it made me so grateful for everything in my life.
What better place to go on a Saturday afternoon than the aquarium? With this visit we covered the expense of the annual membership. With a few more visits we'll come out ahead.
So we got the munchkin ready and threw the carrier in the car for Elliot and we were off. The whole way there Andrew was happily exclaiming "I go see fishies!". We got down there, found some free parking, got Andrew into our cheap umbrella stroller, I strapped Elliot to me and we headed to the aquarium. On the way in they take a picture of each group that you can purchase on your way out. Normally I don't buy it, but this was our first trip there as a family of four so I got it:
J went to store the stroller while Andrew and I hopped on the escalator to go upstairs. He was a little hesitant to step on, but once we got going he was fine. J joined us at the first exhibit - the eagle:
We headed in to see the otters, but they were sleeping (again) so they weren't very interesting. Instead we headed over to the touch tank so Andrew could explore some sea creatures. Last time we tried it he showed no interest in anything in there, but this time he was all about it. He picked up a hermit crab, poked a starfish and looked at a sea urchin:
Then we headed outside to look at the stingrays and fish out there. Again, other times he showed little interest in any of them, but this time he was intrigued. It was so fun to watch him running from tank to tank and exclaiming "Look at that!".
We made our way through to the little play area for kids and he begrudgingly sat on a turtle for a photo op:
Then we walked over to the Great Ocean Tank and they sat and watched the sharks and the other big fish:
I loved the fact that Andrew as more into it this time. Sure, we still had to chase him around a bit and he spent some time climbing on things and jumping off, but he was genuinely excited about watching the fish. I think our annual membership is good through March, so I see several more trips there in the future.
On the way out we let him run around a bit in the sun and get out a little more energy. I could resist putting him up with this frog so I could snap a picture. The expression on his face cracks me up:
All in all it was a great trip exhaustion notwithstanding. And as an added bonus Elliot slept through the entire thing so there was no squalling newborn to contend with. We even made it out to dinner that evening with no meltdowns and were able to go browse at Hobby Lobby afterward for a little bit. It was a nice day spent as our little family of four and it made me so grateful for everything in my life.
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