Summer Time, Summer Time

Summer Time, Summer Time

It's 90 degrees in DC today! In honor of that, I give you this little 1960s song about summer and a little picture of Peter playing with the water hose today! I hope you have as nice a day as we do...wherever you are!

Summer Camp - I can't wait!!!

I’m having a stressful day today and my 2 year old is NOT helping matters. So, thanks to the response of my cousin to my Facebook status reminding me that summer camp is just around the corner, I am now dreaming and looking forward to my 2 year old’s up-coming summer camp! Woohoo!

Uhoh! And I’m also reminded that the stack of papers, forms and doctor releases are still stacked up on top of the radiator waiting for me to fill out and return to the camp ... gotta get on that!

Also among those stacks of summer camp papers is a list of things my son is to bring with him EACH DAY to camp:

Diapers
Lunch (no peanuts or nut products!)
Sunscreen
Towel
Swim suit
Full change of clothes (including socks)

So, I’m thinking this one through and realize I should probably put my son’s name on his belongings. Now, I could just whip out the Sharpie and write his name on everything. But why do that when I have this awesome opportunity to have some fun?! Check these out: http://www.mabel.ca/mabel.php?n=clothing+labels Cute huh? Or what if I went with this: http://www.lovablelabels.ca/Label.aspx

Oh the possibilities. Thank goodness my husband doesn’t read my blog, he already thinks I spend money on senseless stuff and this would DEFINITELY fall into senseless. Especially since that Sharpie is already purchased and sitting with all the other writing utensils.

Any other ideas out there? How about summer camp warnings and tips...anything I should watch out for or do to make this whole first-timer's (for both me and my son) trip to summer camp as organized and painless as possible? Oh, and it's not the typical "camp" where he's sent off somewhere to sleep overnight for a month. No, it's a 3-day a week 9am-1pm type "camp".

Postpartum Yoga Mom

Image taken from: http://www.gregoryangell.com

For any of you that practice yoga, you know the benefits - I don't need to get on a soap box about how amazing it makes you feel. For me, it has always, always made all the stress in my back just go away.

So, after having done NOTHING to stay fit for over 2 years, since the birth of my first son, and used the pregnancy of my second as an excuse to continue to do nothing...I'm back on the yoga wagon!

So...imagine my surprise at how very different the moves all felt with this gigantic belly I have right now! Ugh..I'm still limber enough to sit with my legs out straight and fold all the way down with my forehead touching my knees...but what gets in the way is my huge freaking belly! Where did that come from?! Thanks Peter...thanks Paul! : OK...and another thanks to Ben & Jerry's! double grin! or double chin...whatever.

I'm doing it as best I can. I was always a stickler for trying to get the poses exactly right and now, thanks to my new shape it's damn near impossible.

So I'm on the road to recovery...my body needs it. It's amazing how many body parts hurt from sheer weight. I have constant water retention (my ankles ... well, are gone), my back always hurts, my knees hurt, my arms swing (no not down by my sides while I walk... I mean the bottom part of my upper arms. When I wave bye I almost give myself a black eye!). My husband is a saint! He's still in the house with me, makes no remarks and I guess I should wonder if he's even noticed...whatever..I don't feel bad about my weight because of him...only because of me! As it should be.

I hiked up a steep hill today with the 12 pound baby strapped to my chest and thought I was going to die of a heart attack...those poor calf muscles haven't seen that much work in ages! I may start sprinting up the stairs in my house every time I have a moment to get a jump start on things! I kid...

I've only been cleared for yoga (so ignore that I hiked today up big hills ... shhhhh) but I'm aching to get down on the floor and crunch out some sit ups! Ah well...stay tuned...I'm taking before and after shots of my bod but I'm not posting them until I see some results! Wouldn't that be embarrassing to post the before now and never reach any kind of noticeable result?! yikes! depressing...won't happen.

stay tuned...

- The Postpartum Yoga Mom

A soccer genius...of course! :)

Today was Peter's very first soccer practice. No, we aren't paying for our two year old to get soccer lessons...there are free lessons at a local park. It was just the cutest thing ever! I have no anecdotes to share...just photos! I've added a few here and all 115 photos we took are here: http://kushnirgoldenfamilyphotos.shutterfly.com/759

Peter will be attending these free lessons as long as they offer them every Saturday morning. If you are local, you should check it out. It's every Saturday morning all Summer and Fall at 10:15 am at Stead Park on P street between 16th and 17th streets. It's not necessary to register, you can just show up and play.

No Boys Allowed!!

Here's Peter at the Zoo watching the fish in the pond:

Today was just great! We had a blast! We headed out the door after breakfast around 9:00am and didn't get home until about 3:30. We went to the zoo, ate at a favorite Greek deli, and wrapped the day up with a trip to our favorite playground. I got in tons of walking - which was desperately needed exercise!

Peter was just adorable at the Zoo today. We have a pattern, of sorts. We always walk to the Zoo and go in the back entrance near the parking lots. Near this entrance is a pizza playground - essentially a giant foam padded plastic pizza with movable "toppings" for the kids to play on. Peter loves it. But today instead of heading straight to the pizza playground he said "no mama, moo!" and ran straight for the cows and the petting zoo. :)

Peter at the Pizza playground, playing with the Olive Tree that explains where olives come from:

After our walk through the zoo and out the front entrance we stopped for Gyros at Byblos on Conn Ave...good eats! Then walked from there (the long way so I could get Peter to take some sort of a nap) to the playground. Peter and a boy his age (that we've seen at the playground since Peter was born) played soccer...or as best as 2 year olds can play soccer.

Before the soccer game commenced Peter was playing on a fort with a slide where a group of older girls were pretending it was a hotel. One girl stood at the entrance of the fort yelling "NO BOYS ALLOWED!!" Peter thought this was quite funny and started helping the girl out by yelling NO BOYS!!!! and then exaggeratedly laughing over and over again. I'm not sure if he realizes that meant him too or not - but why interfere? He was having a blast!

Finally it was time to go home for a popsicle. It was a 70 degree day with sun and a slight breeze and lots of really good attitudes...PERFECT!

More Fish watching:

We couldn't get him to leave the fish! We're walking away and he couldn't care less!

Peter's beloved fish:

Finally, here are a few shots of Peter at the playground today:

Yankers! - Again

I know... I already posted about these awesome one pieces for baby...but I just got my 0-3 month size in, washed and on the baby and I have to say - after a day of Paul wearing this outfit it has lived up to all my expectations! Such a cute little onsie with it's wide legs at the bottom (so 70's - love it!) and ... the best part is the no buttons, snaps, velcro, zippers etc. The whole deal with these "Yankers" is you yank them down and off the legs, change the diapers and yank them back up and it really is that easy! Fabulous!

The material is soft too - Paul seemed happy and I loved holding him in them - was super-duper cuddly! Now I wish I could get one in each color, but the combination of cost ($36 a pop) and the quick growth of my baby (already at 12 lbs at 1 month old), I'll have to maintain control and just get two colors in the 3-6 months size!

BIG time thumbs up on these! Here's the link: http://www.babywit.com/baby-yankers.html

Vive le Pepé!

I had been so proud that my son never had a “lovey” or, in my eyes, some object to replace the loss of affection he is starving for from his parents. Yes, this is what I actually thought was the reason so many children out there had toys, blankets and dolls that they had to have with them everywhere they went and could not be separated from! To an extent, it’s true. But the thing is, there is no person on Earth that could give the level attention these babies want…constant! If you’re not a parent, then please understand that word, constant, is not used lightly it’s meant to be literal.

When you become a parent, you are needed CONSTANTLY! For instance, since my son has been mobile and able to get about the house on his own volition I haven’t had a private moment. If I go to the bathroom, my little two-year old is right behind me wanting to flush the toilet, or his latest favorite, he asks to brush his teeth. If I take a shower, he’s in the bathroom with me throwing all his bath toys into the shower with me. I use bathroom examples because that’s when people expect to have the most privacy (at least non-parent lay people); but the constant need doesn’t stop there…if I’m cooking, he needs to be in there with me playing with the bowls, if I’m nursing the baby suddenly he needs a hug and sits almost on top of me (this, I admit is more sweet than clingy), it goes on and on. So it’s inevitable that they will have needs you can not fulfill and therefore the lovey comes into play – that constant companion who is never too busy to bend to your will.

So, Peter’s lovey is Pepé. This is his name for the used-to-be-white blanket he lugs around everywhere he goes and has had since before he was born. It was a blanket my Mom bought for him the day I told her I was pregnant. I don’t think he has named his blanket; it’s just his attempt at saying the word blanket. My husband and I thought it was such a cute mispronunciation that we started calling the blanket by the name Pepé.

Peter will very rarely go anywhere or do anything without Pepé. His need for his blanket has been steadily increasingly over the past weeks. It's the end of the world if it's not in bed with him. He often comes down stairs from his nap with the blanket in tow. He has started asking to bring it with him when we leave the house for errands...so far he has agreed to leave it behind, but very hesitantly.

We've washed this blanket so much that it's started to pull apart at the edges. I do hope Pepé stays with us long enough for Peter to have warm fond memories of it. Vive Le Pepé!!!

I finally bought my double stroller!!!

So I guess every parent that enters into the blog world eventually ends up writing about their experiences shopping and comparing strollers (or carriages as my husband calls them). With our first born I researched until I was dreaming/having nightmares of strollers in my sleep! We finally settled on the Peg Perego Pliko P3 and got the travel system to match. We never regretted the choice, not once! We traveled quite a bit with the stroller and my husband even took it out during an unusual dumping of snow/ice! I will say the stroller was NOT designed for this type of outing but it survived my husband shoving it through the mess beautifully! The stroller was used every single day of it’s existence. I don’t have a car during the day since my husband takes it to work so every outing my first son and I had was on foot and with the stroller. So, BIG THUMBS UP from this family if you are considering this one.

Here's Peter (10 months old) in his Peg Perego:

Now that we have baby #2 in the house and since our outings are never shorter than 2 hours, a double stroller is necessary. Our oldest is 2 years old and can definitely walk for short outings, so for these I strap the baby on my back and head out the door. But for our typical daily outings – a new double stroller was needed. I won’t lie, I was very excited about getting to buy a new piece of equipment and had been eyeing the new Phil & Teds whenever I was at the playground. I was determined to like this stroller and buy its latest greatest sleekest version, the Vibe. I had my husband convinced it was the only stroller for us. Living in the city the sidewalks are narrow and more importantly, our door to our 100 year old house is narrow (as are the steps leading up to it). I needed something with a small footprint so-to-speak. So off we went today to get my awesome swanky and sleek Phil & Teds Vibe with all the extras (a rain canopy, a sun canopy, a snack tray, a mommy tray as I call it – yep, all of this must be purchased ala cart)…our bill for this stroller was expected to reach $1000.

Now, for the local moms and dads, I have to say if you are in the market for either a stroller or a car seat then Great Beginnings out in Gaithersburg is the only place you need to go. The salesperson that helped us knew everything about every stroller and demonstrated every feature. It’s my understanding, through talking to other moms, that this has been their experience too. Don’t think for a minute that all this training their employees go through requires they work on commission – it does not! What this means is they are truly suggesting strollers they think fit your particular needs rather than pushing the most expensive one in their store. I am proof of that. I walked through the door with a few minor questions I needed answered before I bought my new Vibe. The man who helped me couldn’t be quicker to answer: Is it true, I asked, that the Vibe does not come with all the attachments and extras such as a sun guard and rain canopy that the Sport comes with? True he answered, and he even went so far as to explain that I most likely would need the “Dash” over the Vibe or Sport versions. The Vibe and Sport models, for those that don’t know, are the two most expensive in the line. Further, when he started explaining that second seat doesn’t get any sun protection at all (this is where the baby would be sitting/laying) I started to falter on my determination to get the Vibe or even a Phil & Teds. Finally, he explained the weight limits on the stroller…the bottom seat in the Phil & Teds, at best maxes out at 40 lbs. If I were to consider a side-by-side stroller I could push that maximum weight limit to 50 lbs.

So, I moved on to examining the side-by-side strollers. Now, anyone that remotely knows me knows that I have long “decided” that the side-by-sides were just too wide and cumbersome! I had long ago decided the Phil & Teds was our stroller, so for me to move away from that was/is a big deal! So, what did I come home with today? The City Jogger Mini.

Here's my husband pushing our sons in the Double stroller:
(And no, that is NOT the way you are supposed to strap your baby in the fully reclined seat...it's my husband's way of doing it!)

We took it out for it’s maiden voyage to the DC Cherry Blossom Festival today. It was just a dream to drive. Peter looked soo much more comfortable in it and the sun shades that come with it are so sufficient I didn’t feel the need to purchase the sun cover that wraps around the carriage. I did, however, purchase the rain cover. Not so much to shield against rain as to shield against high winds. The sun canopies that come attached to the stroller come so far down I couldn’t see needing extra protection from rain – unless it’s a major downpour. So that’s it woohoo!!! So the cost of our double stroller, including my rain cover and mommy tray was $399!! My husband was sooo, sooo happy we didn’t spend $1000!

Here's a shot of a beautiful tree in downtown DC from our outing today. It's NOT a Cherry Tree

Happy stroller hunting!

Paul is 1 month old!!!

Well, he's a month old on the 5th, but he had his 1-month check up at the doc's office today.

How we've made it a month, I have no idea. I can hardly believe it's been a month already! Paul still has his nights and days mixed up and everything I read says not to try and fix it by waking him up. So I'm just sticking to moving him downstairs with our lights and noise during and the day and at night moving him to his nursery where it is warm, dark and quiet.


The nights have been very rocky! He battles some pretty bad stomach pains, but so far no sign of the infamous acid reflux babies seem to have these days...he has just plain old average new baby tummy ache associated with gas.

The kid can eat! He nurses constantly and I've finally been able to determine his signs for true hunger versus wanting to eat because he's upset or tired.

Paul's one month check up went well, he was measured, weighed, poked and prodded and it was determined he is healthy and growing perfectly. He also received his Hepatitis B shot; the first in a long, long succession of shots to come! He cried horribly, but before he cried he had this little pouty turned down frown and seemed to kind of look up at us - it was such a sad little face that even the nurse said "awwww". :( I nursed him for comfort after the shot and all was forgiven.

To round out Paul's 1 month check up day we carted him over to our local Post Office to get his passport photos taken - amazing right? Passport photos for a 1 month old!!! The US government requires passports for infants and because Mark's family is in Canada we needed to get a passport for our little guy. The really funny thing is the passport is good for five years. Peter's passport photo is of him at 1 month old too, he's now 2 years old and looks absolutely nothing like his photo. It will just be ridiculous by the time he is five years old!

So Paul's stats as of today:

Weight: 10 lbs. 5 oz
Height: 23 Inches
Head Circ.: 15 Inches
Adorability factor: OFF THE CHARTS
I added that one, the doc's office doesn't do that test! **GRIN**

Here's a video of Paul cooing and working himself up into a fit. The noise you hear in the background is his "Rainforest" toy that makes cricket sounds...

Yankers!

I gotta have these! GOTTA!

How ingenious!

And they're sold out of every size except for 2-T... I'll be hovering on their site until at least the 3 month size is available!