Making dirt look good

Update: It seems the "something" they got into was one of my potted roses. Maybe they recognized that I did not take care of the roses at all this year and they were helping the plant escape? Click on the pictures for maximum dirt. And to see a mosquito about to bite Grady's face. Yes, I did put bugspray on them.


Aunt Karen's oldest, Greg, had a shirt that said "I make dirt look good." That shirt was the first thing that popped into my mind when I went outside to check on the boys playing in the backyard while I got dinner started. It seems they got into something.

Vacation with Babies: Pictures now online

We're sorted and picked our 200 favorite pictures from the Chicago trip. You can see them online on our BabiesSquared picture site. Enjoy!

Vacation with Babies: Day 4

We had grand plans for the final day in Chicago. We only had until about 11am, but wanted to squeeze in a quick swim in the indoor hotel pool and a shopping trip to the HUGE Macy's to see if we could find me a "Chicago" t-shirt. Oddly enough we didn't see any shirts like that on sale anywhere else, so we thought Macy's might have some. We stopped into the Macy's on Day 1 to pick up our Go Chicago cards, and made a mental note to come back. It's 9 stories tall [I think that's right....] and a whole city block big, and filled with gorgeous architectural details. This is a picture Keith took inside of Macy's that day.

See all the floors of shopping just waiting to be done?? The interior of the building has Corinthian pillars (no, I did not learn that on the Architectural cruise, that pure genius is all me) that were begging to be photographed. Yet another reason to return. So we set off for the 1.4 mile walk to Macy's only to get there and realize that it only opens at 10am. It was 9am at the time, and according to the Ellerman Day 4 Travel Agenda we had to be back at the hotel by 10:15 to start heading to the airport. Boo! So no Macy's for us. Instead, we talked around for a while and admired the window displays. This was a good one.

Then, like a beacon of light at the end of a tunnel, we saw a TJMaxx! Oh how I love TJ. Keith humored me by going inside. I think he really wanted to feel air conditioned air, but whatever the reason, I'll take it. Here I am admiring a gorgeous leather jacket.
It took all of my willpower, but I managed to make it out of the store without buying anything.

With a final loving glance back at TJ, we pointed the strollers back towards the hotel and walked. 20 minutes of whirwind packing later we emerged with 2 strollers, 2 backpacks, and 2 rolling suitcases. Public transportation, here we come! We had to walk a few extra block to an El station that we thought was handicap accessable, only to get there and realize that we're screwed and would need to carry everything up a steep flight of stairs. Thanks to the guy who carried my small roll-on up the stairs so didn't have to leave Grady unattended. Day 4 was a hot & humid morning in Chicago, and we were drenched in sweat by the time we got through the turnstiles and onto the platform to await the train. By walking the extra blocks to the El we avoided having to switch trains, so now all we had to do was sit and wait for the Midway station and [hopefully] let our shirts dry. I'm not kidding when I said we were super sweaty.

The rest of the pre-flight was fairly uneventful. Our flight was grounded before take-off for an hour and a half, giving us more time to roam about and play. Thankfully we had not boarded yet when they made the decision.
We were a little worried about the flight being delayed since it meant the boys could possibly be hellians on the flight, but the extra time they ran about just made them more tired and they slept most of the flight. Nice job, boys!

Once we landed we made a quick trip to Peachtree City to pick up Madam and Elvis from their vacation at Nana & Grandpa's, then headed home. Nothing feels as good as coming home!

While we can't say that this was a restful vacation, Keith and I loved being out and about with the boys. They did so much on the flight than we expected and seemed to really enjoy being schlepped all over Chicago. Makes me wonder... what city will be explored together next?

Vacation with Babies: Day 3-Continued

We're back home! The travel gods were good to us, and we're home safe and sound. And a little cranky, but that's to be expected, I guess.

So like I was saying, Day 3 was good. The morning was the Wrigley Field Death March, then the nature museum, Lincoln Park Zoo, and the best bus ride ever. What made the bus ride so good? We weren't walking! I would like the chance to tell the almost-bald lady on the bus that it is rude to stare, even when the cute little [not so little?] boy with brown curly hair is shoving crackers in his mouth by the fistful.

Here are some pictures from the rest of morning. Playing together at the nature museum.About the enter the zoo.After the busy morning and then eating some toast as part of their lunch, the boys went for a long nap. I was shocked that Cole slept at all, considering he got his hands on Dada's diet coke.

Keith went to get us some lunch. Keith LOVES hot dogs, and I don't ever buy them because I think they're the nutritional equivalent of a black hole, but I conceded and we got Chicago style hot dogs for lunch. I'm willing to admit that it was pretty tasty. So tasty that we had hot dogs again for dinner.

After naps we headed back to the Navy Pier in hopes of riding a few more rides and finding a few souvenirs. Ride we did, but came home empty handed. We did walk all the way to the end of the pier to look at the lake and to feed the noisy seagulls.

And finally, the Navy Pier Ferris wheel.

Final recap coming tomorrow, and I'm also working on uploading the entire lot of pictures to the Shutterfly site. No promises, but maybe tomorrow.

Vacation with Babies: Day 3

It's the end of day 3, and WOWZA, my feet are sore. It seems we just aren't fast learners and walking the 7 miles yesterday was just not enough, we logged another 6.5 miles in this hot and muggy city. Aside from a few wrong turns, we can't complain too much- we got to see a lot of sites and loved it all. And the boys were GREAT! They caught up on sleep last night and during today's nap and were in rather jolly spirits today.Before I tell you about today, I omitted a little about last night. I forgot to mention that we went to the top of the Hancock building to check out the views. On the way there we ducked under an awning to escape a thunderstorm.

Once the rain let up we headed on to the Hancock building and up to the observation deck on the 94th floor.Where we all oohed and aahed over the views.

Grady and Cole noticed a few spots on the outside of the windows, so they volunteered to do a little cleaning. Don't worry, we made sure they were harnessed properly.

Now about today. We were up early. I'm not too sure why I even bothered mentioning that since it's rare to not be up at 7am nowadays. Since we're an hour behind Atlanta time, Grady was kind enough to wake us at 6AM instead of 7AM, and after a few minutes of playing in our bed, we all got dressed and hit the hotel breakfast. A bowl of fruit loops, yogurt and toast later, we hit the road to explore the Lincoln Park area. Our goal was to go to a few of the museums in Lincoln Park, but since Wrigley Field was so close, Keith wanted to walk there to see the stadium. After an hour of hot, hot walking, we made it to the park, took one picture and headed back. A lot of build-up for one picture. When you come to our house, please check the walls for a framed picture of the Wrigley Field marquis, we worked hard for this.

Now at this point we're already a little tired and decided to ride the El back to Lincoln Park, or at least to a station close to it. We learned quickly that the public transportation in Chicago- both the elevated train and the Subway, is not handicap-friendly. Which means its also not stroller friendly. We've carried the boys in strollers up more flights of stairs than I care to count. It rained this morning, so the stairs were wet, we were hot, and people are not exactly patient. I really like Chicago overall, but for public transport, I have higher expectations. D minus, CTA.

Next up today was the Nature Museum. A great museum with lots of insects and other critters to see. Grady was enamored with this guy. BEAAAAAHHH!!
Cole spied some more sishes.The rest of the morning involved the Lincoln Park Zoo and the zoo's carousel, then a busride home, and a great nap. Well-rested, we headed to the pier for a little duckduck watching, a ferris wheel ride and some more walking. More pictures from this afternoon coming at ya on Wednesday. Tomorrow morning we're doing a little shopping, swimming and flying home!

Vacation with Babies: Day 2

Day 2 was another good one. We got the boys into bed at a more reasonable hour today, and Keith and I are enjoying a little TV watching and relaxing [that nap we hoped for never happened this afternoon]. Instead of a full blog post, I'm leaving you with pictures of day 2 and a few captions. Talk at ya tomorrow!

Headed out bright and early! Walked the 3.5 miles to the Museum Park. Since it was so early it wasn't crowded and we felt like we [almost] had the city to ourselves. Here is Dada and the boys on Michigan Avenue, crossing over the Chicago river on a bascule bridge. [learned that fancy work on the architecture tour yesterday. impressed?]

Looking south on Michigan Avenue.

Made it to Millenium Park, where Cole helped hold up the Bean.

And Grady ran with glee.

My boys in front of the bean.

After passing through the park we walked along the lake towards Museum Park. Here I am with boys and boats. Beautiful views for our walk!

At Museum park we first stopped at the Shedd Aquarium to see some "sishes".

Look! Sishes!! SISHES!

So much to see, Cole's not sure where to look next.

The big wall was a hit. In addition to sishes, we also saw sarks!

Someone needed to be held for a little bit.

All those sishes can wear a guy out! Grady passed out during the walk back.

Cole stayed awake and pointed out every duck, boat or airplane we passed. Here he is showing me a helicopter. He gets quite excited about the helicopters.

Roundtrip our morning walk covered over 7 miles! We were tired when we got back to the room for lunch and nap [attempt], but we did manage to squeeze in a little diapered baby playtime.

Vacation with Babies: Day 1- Updated with Pictures

Chicago!
Navy Pier Ferris Wheel.Dada and Grady on Navy Pier carousel.Grady in park next to Navy Pier.Cole at park, with me chasing Grady in the background.View from architectural river cruise boat.While on vacation, we eat dinner in the tub.

A local brew.
Great way to end a day!

So, here I sit in our hotel room at the end of a very long day sipping my $4.99 Pinot Grigio (gotta love that a Trader Joe's is near the hotel) awaiting Keith's return with a Chicago style pizza. A great end to a good, but very busy day.

We got up early-I was nervous about the flight and was up since 5am. I am surely turning into my mother because the first thing I thought when I woke up was "I really should make more snacks to take along". So I did, and I am glad I did, because the two waffles I toasted and took along were devoured later. [Along with a boatload of other snacks]. We did our normal morning routine and were out the door by 7:09, which was six minutes ahead of schedule. So far, so good.

Uneventful ride to the airport, a little bit of a wait to check one bag, and then we proceeded to checkout. We were given access to the special stroller line, designed for families with small children. Great idea, except that the genious who designed the stroller line paired it with the handicapped/wheelchair line. I don't mean to seem insensitive, but the only thing that moves slower than a family with little kids and a boatload of luggage is an overweight person in a wheelchair. What this meant for us is that the strollerline-already slow because many parents who seemingly have never flown before, much less with kids-was constantly stopped to let aforementioned wheelchair people into the line. Always ahead of us. Amazing to me how quickly the disabled person could leap out of their wheelchair and move unassisted through the line when they're told they can jump ahead. I have said this many times before, but I mean it. Being fat is not a disability.

[deep breath, sip of wine]

Ok, what were we talking about? Oh, right. Security. It took forever because of the above issue. Thankfully this Momma made those two extra waffles, 'cause Cole and Grady gnawed on theirs the entire time. They seemed much less irritated by FatDisableds and their families cutting the line than I was. Because security took so long we made it to the gate right as they boarded. The only downside to that -and this is important later- is that I did not get to heat up the milk we bought the boys. We boarded and got settled. Cole and I were in seat 14D, Grady and Dada in 17C. Full flight, and so damn hot before we took off, Momma was sweating like a wh*re in church. I love you, air conditioning!

The boys really did very well on the flight. Cole has lots of practice sitting and relaxing with Dada on the couch, and that really paid off on the flight. Grady had one or two [what I like to refer to as] strong-willed moments, the worst of which occurred when he wanted the milk and the milk was cold, and the flight attendant took the milk from him [at mom's request] to get it heated. Grady likes to tell us when he is not happy, and let it be known that he was not happy for about 10 minutes. Before the flight I was worried other people would be irritated with us if the boys had meltdowns, but I think they mostly pitied me since I was wrestling in a very small seat [Dada and I switched babies somewhere over Tennessee) with a boy who is 18 months and already more than half my height and freakishly strong. Anyways, we landed, and I am so impressed with how well the boys did on the flight.

We rode the El into town, got checked into the hotel, I raised some hell about the pack and plays not being available when we were told they would be [I got my way, we now have 2, and the boys are sleeping nicely in them, thank you], and all 4 of us squeezed in a short nap.

After the nap and a brief [but intense] period of crankiness from Cole we loaded up and headed to the Navy Pier. Ever been there? Very neat, and I really must say that I am liking Chicago a lot. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something about the city that reminds me of Boston [altime favorite city to visit, and not just for the whales]. There's a lot going on in this city this weekend: the Cubs are in town, an airshow, and a Turkish Festival. So, it's crowded. CROWDED. We spent a little time at the Navy Pier and rode the Carousel with the boys, and then played in a little park for a bit. Mostly we tried to stay out of the crowds and tried to give the boys a chance to walk and run. While we were at the Navy Pier the Thunderbirds flew overhead several times [part of the airshow]. For me it was a reminder of why I do not like to go to airshows, but the boys loved it! The fly-bys triggered a serious bout of pointing at the sky. The boys were so excited about that they continued to point to the sky and said "aye-paine" when sea gulls [lake gulls?] flew overhead.

Our day ended with a architecture river cruise on the Chicago River. The cruise was fantastic!

I would tell you more, but Keith just showed up with the pizza, and it smells pretty damn good. Pictures and more updates tomorrow night. Or naptime, if the boys cooperate.

Highlights for Day 1:

• Grady LOVED the elevated subway.
• Cole loved being held 90+% of the day
• Dada's favorite was the architecture tour-at least the part's that Grady let him hear.
• Momma liked when a random family stopped and helped us get the boys, the strollers and the luggage up a flight of stairs at the subway when no escalator or elevator was in sight. Those are some good people.

Low-Points:

• A few Strong-Willed Moments.
• Losing a [just purchased] 3 day subway ticket....no names being mentioned, but it wasn't me...
• Personal satisfaction I felt when ramming the stroller into the fat ankles of the bi-atch who cut me off on the sidewalk. Don't cut in front of me when my bloodsugar is low and think I'm gonna care if you get hit! It's not nice, I know, and that's why it's included in the low points.

Interesting to Note:

• Chicago also has a lot of hot Russian chicks. Very Vancouveresque. Is it the similar climate?
• Everyone is really tan.

18 Month Appointment w/ Update

Today at 10:30 we'll be paying a little visit to our doctor's office for the boys well-visits. We're due for two shots, the usual weighing and measuring. Our doctor's office asks you to complete a little survey for each well-visit. The survey asks questions like how much milk does baby drink, how much juice, what is he/she eating, etc. It makes sense, really, these are all things the doctor needs to ask you so its probably better that you just write it all down and they don't have to spend forever asking questions. Then during the 5 minutes you see the doctor they go over your answers with you. Easy enough.




The part of the survey that I have always thought was ridiculous was the section with questions on development. This section leads to a discussion I like to call Things Your Child Should Be Doing By Now, But Aren't Yet. That section has a list of things baby should be able to do, and as the parent I have to check the "yes" or "no" box next to the item. At each visit so far, our boys have never been able to do all of the items. We know this because they were early, spent time in the NICU, and are male. Settle down there, men, it's nothing personal, y'all are just slower to develop. We know the boys will be just fine, I mostly just think this discussion is comical.

Let's take a look at the check-list: My thoughts in blue.
1. Can walk up steps. (I've spent the last 18 months trying to protect each boy from falls, scrapes, attacks by his brother, his own sharp fingernails. Surely you do not expect me to allow a stumbling little thing to walk up steps unassisted? So yes, I'm sure he could go up the steps, but I'm for damn sure not going to let him). I check "Yes" anyway.
2. Run. This one is easy. I check "yes". Would be more accurate if it said "Runs and then falls down", but whatever.
3. Kick a ball. I really wasn't aware that I should be playing soccer with the boys yet. I do know that Grady can kick, 'cause he kicked me right in the eye when we were playing, and I know both boys have given Dada a few accidental kicks when wrestling on the floor, so again, I check "yes."
4. Throw overhand. But what if they prefer a slow underhanded pitch? Just kidding. Both Cole and Grady emptied their soft building blocks container by picking up each block and lauching it into the closet using an overhand throw, so I check "yes".
5. Use a fork/spoon. OOH! We do this. I check "yes".
6. Remove some clothes. Cole has been known to take his pants off in bed. Hasn't done it lately, but when he first figured it out, I'd always walk into their room to find him half-naked. "Yes"
7. Stack 2-4 blocks. Hmmmm. In our house we play a little game. I sing "build a tower, build a tooower, build a tooooooowweeeer, who's gonna knock it down?", and usually when I get to "who'se gonna..." one of the boys smacks the tower I built down and squeals with delight. (As I typed this, I realized I'm raising them to be quite destructive, and that explains why Keith has had to replace screws on both cribs.) So needless to say, now that the boys could potentially stack blocks, it's virtually impossible to get more than 2 blocks on top of each other before someone knocks it down. I still mark "yes".
8. Socialize. I believe temper tantrums are a form of social interaction, I mark "yes".
9. Say 5-10 words. YES! We're building quite the word bank. Mama, Dada, doggie (oggie), cookie, truck, car, ball, Cole (Grady says Cole in the cutest, CUTEST way. It sounds look cool, and very high pitched, and he always smiles when he says it. Awwww.), Nana, Grandpa, and my favorite, Aye-p-aine. That's airplane, if you don't speak Toddler. Juice, cup, eye are also goodies and if the mood is just right, they'll both repeat any short word you say.
10. Follow simple commands. You might recall the "shut the door" entry from before, so I mark "yes".
11. Point to named objects. "Yes" We're pointing up a storm, and almost poking eyes out as we point to those.
12. Imitate behavior of others. "Yes", if you count imitating dogs.
So, on paper the boys really are doing very well, don't you think? This list has been the most reasonable list of all of our appointments. At 9 months they asked something like "drinks from open cup", and I definitely marked "no". They might as well have asked "composes music" or "writes soliloques". I'll report back later on how much Coley and G-baby weigh, how tall they are, and how ridiculously big their noggins have become.
Update: Grady weighed in at 31 lbs, 9.6 ounces and 34 inches, and Cole was 25 lbs, 9.6 ounces, and is 32 inches. Babies are happy and healthy all around!
Update #2: I'm not sure how I forgot to mention this before, but our [dreamy] doctor said they were the best behaved 18 month olds he's seen in a long time. Of course they are, Doctor, I wanted to say.

Gearing Up

Today is laundry day, as is every Wednesday. Not sure why I picked Wednesdays, but I prefer to just do all the laundry one day, and be done for the week. You need your jeans washed on Saturday? Too bad, nothing's getting washed till next Wednesday. On top of laundry, it's also packing day since we are getting ready for a long weekend in Chicago with the boys. We are really excited to be taking them to the Windy City. Museums, the Navy Pier, Lincoln Park Zoo- so much to see, and hopefully not so many temper tantrums. While I am running about getting things organized, here are what Grady and Cole are doing:

Grady, feeding himself yogurt while holding onto Beahhhhhh. (Bear). Remember- you can click on the pics to make them bigger!


Cole, doing such a good job of cleaning his room that he put himself into a container.

18 Months

Our boys are 18 months. I can hardly believe it. I am not exaggerating when I say that there was a time we'd never make it through the first year, and then once we did, time started to fly. Just this past weekend I commented to Keith (as we were laying around doing nothing during the boys almost three hour nap) how different our lives were one year ago. Taking care of the boys is still hectic at times, but we have finally found our groove and (knock on wood) it's all more fun than work at this point.


So let's take a look at what 18 month old boys like to do:

1. Shut doors. Any door that is open must be closed. I can be in any room and say "come shut the door!" and one or both boys comes running. I've also figured out that the quickest way to stop a temper tantrum is to open the fridge door, get a bottle of wine out, pour myself a glass and then yell "oooh, the door is open!" while I am putting the wine back. While I chug the wine Pissy Baby becomes enamored with the door and forgets what he was mad about. Here is Cole, shutting the pantry door.

2. Crawl under cribs. For months the boys have watched Madam Fannie take refuge under their cribs. Madam loves her alone time and when we humans get on her nerves she either hides in the closet or under the cribs. C&G used to peer under the crib skirt at Madam, but at some point figured out how to army crawl in there with her. Needless to say, Madam does not go under the cribs much anymore, but look who does!

I love, love a fat baby thigh.

3. Feed himself. Sort of. We're working on this one, but we've definitely made a lot of progress. Messy, messy progress.


4. Find things he should not be using as a toy. Admittedly, all babies do this from the time they can start holding onto items, but this was the first time Grady explored the toiletries in the blue bathroom. Thankfully the cap didn't pop open and spray soap all over the place. Grady was not eager to give up his new found chew toy, but after I opened the pantry door again and remarked (loudly) how the door was still just hanging open and how I would surely appreciate someone shutting the door, he dropped the bottle in favor of the door. Disaster averted!

5. Pretend to be a dog. We took our boys over to the Freeman's for happy hour to catch up and see baby Alex, and what do they do? Act like dogs. I hope this doesn't mean they're going to start peeing on the furniture* and barking at the mailman. Here is Cole, sitting in the Freeman's dog, Ginny's bed. His mouth is open because he is panting like a dog.
6. Roam Naked. Who needs clothes? Not us after a bath! There have been a few peeing on the floor incidents because of naked time, but the Contos reassured us that this is good for potty training in the future.


So there you have it, 18 months. I have to say I love this age, and from what I've heard from friends, it just gets better and better!