Month: March 2013

I recorded this video of Theo a couple weeks ago. It’s long but I love it.

A visit to the gigantic, glorious and newly re-opened Fairway supermarket in Red Hook happened on Friday with our friend, Kellie.

We saw lots of brussel sprouts…

Live lobsters… (poor guys)

We were having so much fun that we decided to stay for lunch. They have a great cafe with lobster rolls (I must’ve eaten Mr. Lobster’s cousin from above) and cones full of fries and most lunch time staples that a person would want. It’s complete with an outdoor patio looking onto the water, a fairly close view of The Statue of Liberty (Theo preferred watching the IKEA water taxi), and lots of sunshine as far as the eye could see. Kellie’s boyfriend (and our longtime friend), Kevin, works nearby at the local Stumptown Coffee Roasters. We stopped in for a visit to learn all about roasting coffee.

He, of course, LOVED seeing all of the machines and watching the beans spin around and be transferred from one giant vat to another.

When the roaster opened the big door to dump the newly roasted beans into the big, spinning vat it was, “wow! that is SO coooool! so silly!”.

We scored a free bag of beans and sipped on some delicious freshly brewed (and roasted!) coffee! Well, me and Kellie anyways… Theo smelled it.

Theo and I planned a visit to the Children’s Museum of the Arts on Wednesday this past week. This place has so much to offer and we will definitely be back another time when the NYC schools are back in session. I foolishly forgot it was spring break this week so, naturally, it was kind of a madhouse and we didn’t get to try as much as I would have hoped. It was fun, though!

We visited the “Wee Arts Studio” room several times for a little painting, sand box playing, and block building (and tossing).

They had several other areas set up for making a variety of other art projects, like gluing shapes on cardboard, which I personally enjoyed.

We visited “The Ball Pond” during the 2 – 4 age slot and Theo got a kick out of that.

That area was cool because you could run down this hallway, there were a few steps, and there were different headphones with a wide variety of music for kids to listen to and explore. There were big comfy seats and big open windows to look down to the floor down below.

There is a music studio where bigger kids can make music with a sound guy, there’s a “Clay Bar”, which we hope to visit next time, and there is a lot of other artistic opportunities, as well as a big water area to play in sinks and make a mess. Next time!

On a whim we then decided to hop on the train a few more stops and meet Daddy for a pizza lunch and a walk on the High Line. It was a gorgeous day so it was nice to just enjoy ourselves and not rush back home. After Daddy went back to work, we stayed at the High Line for a bit, watching street musicians, and jumping on the benches. We were auite beat when we got home but an adventurous day in the city well spent.

Theo is amazing me every day with his language development, his sweet heart, and his silly sense of humor. My heart is exploding with more and more love than I ever thought possible.

There have been so many phrases he has said lately that I have loved and have wanted to write down so I can remember. Some are regular occurrences, and some I’ve just heard recently once or twice.

“Oh, I seeeeee!”

“Are you kidding me?” (Adorable. He thinks this is so funny. And it is.)

“I have an idea!” (One of my personal favs. I love that he gets this as a concept.)

“Actually…” (He loves to use this one.)

“I must be hungry!”

“Let’s get comfy, cozy, and comfortable!” (The other night in bed getting ready for stories.)

“What’s this one?” (This is hysterical all day, every day. Usually when reading a book he points to the same objects and/or people that he always does. He waits for me to say what it is, even though he already knows. If I don’t say what he thinks it is, he will eventually tell me, or correct me.)

“I’m carrying all my stuff!” or “Let me get all my stuff!” (Meaning… monkey, hop, his construction light, Daddy’s head lamp, Mater the Car.)

“Let me put my juice down so I can listen.” (When I’m reading to him.)

Then there is, “I need some juice so I can listen.” Ohhh, do you Theo??

This morning in bed… “There are toys and couches in the living room, let’s go see them!”

“I need something to do.” (Last night when I heard him by the bedroom door after I thought he was in bed sleeping!)

Do you want broccoli for dinner? “Yes, and barbeque sauce for dipping it in.”

And in other news, he’s been going pee on the potty again. About once, or twice, per day. It’s just been naturally happening so that’s reassuring. Mostly because of the cool duck potty that plays a song when he pees. I just ask every so often when I’m going and he says, “yes!”. Not talking about it much otherwise and when it does come up I make sure to remind him it’s up to him. Then, yesterday, he went on the regular toilet twice with Sarah (his babysitter). Not sure why he chose the big one. Later he told me, “I go on the big toilet with Sarah and duck potty with Mommy”. I said, “ok, Theo, whichever one you prefer.”

When I got a text from my friend, Tess, this morning saying that the firehouse across the street from her building was having an open house, we pretty much dropped what we were doing at home and headed over there. It’s only 2 blocks away and Theo always love when we visit Declan for a playdate because from their living room window you can see the fire station. Every time the sirens ring, they run over to watch the garage open and the fire trucks peel out of there. We were so excited to get to go in and see the firemen and the trucks!

The main attraction was a vintage looking fire truck there for the kiddos to climb on and explore. I wasn’t sure what/where it was from and then we quickly learned it was the Engine Co. 343 that was formed in memory of the 343 firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11. I’m sure I’d heard that number before, but hearing it again was a reminder of the magnitude of those who sacrificed themselves that day to save others.

Theo was thrilled to play with the bell, run around inside the station and see all of the uniforms and equipment ready to go, as well as the pole they slide down. He was given a balloon, a firefighter’s hat, and a FDNY ball! When we were back outside, he gravitated to the ambulance. When the EMT invited him on, Theo nearly fainted. There were many gasps and gleeful moans that followed. He was thrilled to press the buttons inside, watch the lights go on and, again, just to see all of the equipment.

Then he let Theo go in the front! He showed him the buttons for the sirens and lights. It was awesome. I was worried we weren’t going to be able to get out of there without a fight but he was a good boy and listened well.

It was way passed our lunch at this point so we whisked him out of there and headed home for lunch and nap time. What a fun, impromptu way to spend our Sunday morning.

After his nap Jay found a great, old video on Netflix all about NYC fireman. What they do, what they wear and why, and how they fight fires. Obviously a bit advanced for Theo, but it was short and elementary and interesting and I’m pretty certain Theo learned quite a bit. Especially since we were talking about what they were doing as they were doing it. Afterwards we got Theo suited up as a firefighter, as best we could, with what we had in the house.

He was very adamant about the oxygen tank on his back, hence monkey backpack. And, of course, his trusty light, and his “cell phone” doubled as his CB radio.

“I’m a fireman!”, he giggled. He stopped at one point to say, “I have to tell you something… I have my coat, and my light, and my phone, and my hat, and my oxygen tank”. He had a blast of a day with firetrucks.

What a difference a poop makes! Don’t you (five people who read this) love how I keep talking about poop? Theo woke up this morning needing to go since I gave him the “Little Tummy’s” laxative drops for the first time last night before bed. It’s supposed to take 6 – 12 hours to work, so they recommend before bedtime. The whole bath/bedtime routine was so sad last night because he just wasn’t himself. I hate to watch him in pain and struggling but I’m also trying to keep a balance between not making a big fuss/pressure about it and just reassuring him that sometimes it hurts but the more you go, the less it hurts and just letting him know I’m here to help him feel better. It eventually happened but he was still trying to hold it back this morning. And then, here’s the happy boy eating breakfast after he was all cleaned up. Back to normal!

Jay decided to take the day off so that I could have a “mental health” day and him and Theo could have a Daddy/Son day. It was great to hang out the rest of the morning together and then I headed out for some errands. I also picked up a special construction worker’s light that Theo has really wanted, bought myself a couple things (that’s good for mental health, right?), and spent a couple hours at a coffee shop catching up on Independent Adoption Center, CSA, and wedding party planning work. It was really helpful to have that time. I felt refreshed and excited to spend the rest of the afternoon with my guys. We snacked and played music and made homemade bean burgers for dinner.

Theo was in such a great mood all day and had a blast hanging with Daddy. They played hockey at the playground behind our building before lunch and when I came home he was just waking up from his nap. He was thrilled to get his new light! He proceeded to kiss it and snuggle it, as he does with most things he really likes. It accompanied him for his afternoon cereal snack, as you can see.

Theo was majorly rocking out on his guitar tonight. He was going through the entire Music for Aardvarks playlist, singing and strumming. He doesn’t play his guitar without his pick these days.

We were looking at photos this evening and he proceeded to point to every photo and tell me exactly what he was doing and/or where we were. Seriously, some of these I couldn’t believe it. For instance, a photo of him in his car seat from a couple months ago. He says, “driving to Claire and Olive’s house!”. There wasn’t any real reason why he would remember that photo and know that was where we were going! His memory is so keen.

And then we were all getting on the bed tonight for stories and he got monkey and hop, and his new light, pulled up the covers and said, “ok, let’s get comfy!”. Such a nice way to end the day.

There is my sweet boy yesterday smelling the flowers I bought to spruce up the dreary day on Tuesday. He was so happy when I came home from working with flowers! It was really sweet. And then the next morning during breakfast, voila! He was sniffing away and enjoying the view. He mowed down a good sized serving of oatmeal with blueberries, and 2 eggs, and then he asked for another egg! That was one big breakfast!

Today we visited the last preschool I plan to visit. Theo did really well. He seemed to blend right into the environment and jumped into a few activities and then followed the direction that the class took. It was really nice to see and reassured me that this is a great next step for him. Not that I didn’t think it would be. I was a little worried this morning when he seemed a bit cranky how he would be going into a foreign environment. He was really happy when we were there. Now to wait to hear from the two remaining schools. (We were already waitlisted at the Montessori Day School)

However, once we got home, and he saw his babysitter Sarah waiting for us, he flipped out. He really loves Sarah a lot so I know it has nothing to do with her. The past week he has seemed to have developed a bit of separation anxiety when I’ve gone to work. I’ve been pretty surprised since we’ve luckily never had to deal with this before. He threw a pretty major fit saying, “Sarwah gonna leave, I no like Sarwah!”. Obviously something is going on. Is it all the preschool talk? Is it just developmental? He was okay after I left but he was definitely off today. More pooping issues to worry this Mama 🙁 Ho hum. We are trying really hard to get through some of these bumps that are going on right now. Trying to stop and smell the roses. Remembering the adorable little things like last night when I asked Theo what he wanted for dinner and he said, “enchilada tonight?”. I said “yes!” enjoying that I will only have to heat up last night’s leftovers and then he said “I love you!” in the sweetest of ways. Or tonight when I was singing “Only Love Can Break your Heart” to him before bed and he was singing the words along with me.

My sweet boy.

I can’t wait to make this for Theo! I just ordered some orange curtain sheers, and an embroidery hoop, so once those arrive I can get to work. I also love the idea she mentioned of installing an Ikea spice rack on the wall to use as a mini bookshelf. Theo will love this in his new room! Yay for sharing great ideas!

We stumbled upon a box of goodies on a brownstone stoop yesterday morning. I usually brush past these because you seem them all the time and I rarely feel like we need to add more “stuff” to our apartment. However, when I saw this Melissa & Doug mailbox, I had to stop. Theo’s friend Sam has the same one so he’s admired it before. I checked it out and it was complete with the wooden key for locking and unlocking the mail door (a must for Theo!) and several pieces of wooden mail in varying sizes to fit into the appropriate slot on top. They even came with little wooden stamps that velcro onto the mail. Very cute! And, if that weren’t enough, we also scored a Little Golden Book, Toy Story! Could that be anymore meant to be? We also got a Sesame Street book about tools, which honestly was also perfectly suited for us. We quickly proceeded to get our groceries and then lounge at the coffee shop for what must’ve been 45 minutes? Theo just played away with his mailbox and I sat back and chatted with him as we shared a muffin. That was a great Monday morning.

I often think about what my dear friend, Diane, once told me about parenting… the highs are really high and the lows are really low. This can easily apply to life in general, too, I suppose. The past few days I’ve been wanting to post about what we’ve been up to as a family, my usual daily photos of Theo, and to talk about all the adorable and smart things Theo has been saying and doing lately. But you know what? Life has been really tough lately and I’ve been exhausted.

The light of every day is obviously Theo. Waking up to that sweet smile, and those amazing and silly morning conversations can’t be beat. They almost always melt away other worries, cares, grogginess. And I’m thankful for that. My god how I’m thankful for that and for him every second of every day.

I looked back at the blog to this time last year and I noticed (and remembered since I lived it!) that this time of year was tough then, too. Is it just me? Is it the awful, dragging on of chilly temperatures and gloomy skies leaving us a little stir crazy and out of sorts? Maybe. I’m sure it contributes. It’s not just the parenting exhaustion that comes from having a young child who is back on the nap protest train again, or the constant parenting vigilantism that requires me to constantly remind Theo how to ask me for something, how to talk to me in his regular voice, that he can’t drink juice all day long, that we need to do X in 5 minutes, and then in 2 minutes, and to chase him to get his pajamas on half the time, and to sometimes have to (still) guess what he wants for a meal, and all the while also loving him 100% and making sure I’m saying things the right way, being empathic, making sure he knows that I understand how he feels when his enchilada spills all over the floor because the stupid kid-friendly fork sucks. I get it, parenting is HARD work.

Lately, though, we’ve been thrown for more loops. Mice. We have killed seven in the past two weeks. Yes, it’s disgusting. Yes, we are moving. We started looking right away and now we’ve pulled back a bit to look for May 1st. It makes sense for us for many reasons. Still stressful. We thought we resolved the issue but about every other day a new one is caught on the glue trap. So then we are faced with the looming challenge of finding a decent 2 bedroom in this insane NYC market. Honestly it makes me doubt why we live here. Do you know I look at an apt that had no living room for $2000/mo? I almost punched this guy in the face. Still awaiting two preschool responses in two entirely different neighborhoods so that weighs on where we look.

And all the while I’m working part-time, juggling a couple different things, planning a gigantic wedding reception party for me and Jay in June, and hoping to get pregnant in the midst of all of this. So, there you go. The realness of our life these days.

The good thing is that Theo is none the wiser about any of it. Despite him saying (with his arms and hands in sort of a shrugging motion), “we have a mouse problem”, he doesn’t seem to care much or notice any big deal about it. I cherish my life with him very dearly but I think it’s important he knows there were struggles, too. We are doing pretty much everything to create a happy, fun life with endless possibilities. I know he feels it but some days you have to stop and admit you’re not perfect, admit that this job is tough. I’m more exhausted than I’ve ever been doing anything. Maybe it’s my age? Or maybe it’s just the truth of the highs and lows in life, and in parenting.

Either way, thank you Theo for being the light in my life despite the challenges. I will take those high-highs any day even if we have to share with the occasional low-low.