Month: July 2014

Far Rockaway is always our favorite beach to visit. It’s also a lot nicer since they had to do some rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy. I took the kids by myself last week on a day that was a bit cloudy and much cooler outside. A perfect day since a hot, sunny day wouldn’t be good for the baby. On our way there, though, the sky cleared a bit and it was really nice. Also not crowded at all since it was a weekday and not super hot.

Ruby’s first visit!

Theo spent a lot of time looking through the beach telescope.

And not pictured, the outside showers. We ate at the newly renovated snack bar…french fries, of course!

This summer we decided to make a list of our summer goals. Meaning, places we want to be sure to visit before summer ends. Some of them are obvious, like Coney Island, Rockaway Beach and a couple city pools, but others are new places we haven’t been. Places like the Highlands Natural Pool in New Jersey, the Central Park Zoo, Intrepid Museum and to go fishing! We have been making our way through our list and this past weekend we did both Coney Island and the Highlands Natural Pool with Daddy. Great accomplishments before our two-week departure to Cleveland.

The Highland Natural Pool was so great. We visited on Sunday afternoon and I hope we can get back there soon. Might be a good weekday trip with some other mom friends and kiddos. It felt like you were visiting a family campground. The owners and staff were super friendly and it’s in the middle of a forest with trails all around and a big field for picnicking and barbequing.

The kiddie end has little tadpoles swimming and salamanders crawling around. There are nets for the kids to catch tadpoles, and then they have to let them go after three minutes. Theo got to catch a frog, too! He really enjoyed it. There was a sandbox, too, for playing once he was finished with the water.

We also threw caution to the wind late on Saturday afternoon and surprised Theo with a trip to Coney Island. We promised him a few rides and french fries on the boardwalk. He was SO thrilled. Theo seems to have graduated from the typical first kiddie rides to anything that spins like crazy. He went on the Tilt-a-Whirl and the Dizzy Dragons, amongst others. Luckily Daddy was up to ride on these with him while Ruby and I watched on the sidelines. As soon as we got there, though, Theo wanted to ride the Wonder Wheel with Daddy.

Although blurry, here are just a couple action shots from the rides…

I forgot to note Ruby’s developmental milestones. She is in the midst of achieving some big gross motor skills, such as sitting up! She can sit up on her own for short periods of time. She very much still needs soft pillows around her, and to be propped up with her legs spread for a good balance. She really likes being upright like this so I assume as soon as she can do it better, and on her own, she will be like this from here on out.

She is reaching for EVERYTHING. We already can’t have much within her reach as she will grasp it with a strong grip. Food, plates, cups, flowers, whatever. She can bring objects closer to her from quite a distance. And everything goes directly in the mouth.

Ruby “talks” to us much more now and responds to her name and any interaction. She just wants you to play with her. Smiles and cuddles are #1. She lights up when she sees Daddy and, as always, Theo.

This is what might happen after we move the car in the morning in our PJ’s.

Ruby will be six months on Thursday. Have I mentioned we love her? So, so, so.

We visited her pediatrician yesterday. Ruby is:

Weight: 14 lbs, 2 oz (15%)
Height: 25 in (17%)
Head circumference: 43 cm (75%)

She is on her own curve and I’m happy to see her percentile increasing. She is doing just fine. Everything checked out great and she received a couple more second rounds of vaccines. We talked a lot about sleep during this appointment. And also starting to introduce solids, which we are thinking about getting started very soon. As Ruby grows, her digestive troubles seem to be improving. She eats pretty well (er, better) and is still majority breastfed (yay for us!). Morning naps are getting more routine and the subsequent naps are sort of fly by the seat of our pants, but they still exist. I was having both kids asleep by 8pm, which I feel quite proud about (most days, that is), but now I am putting Ruby down first by 7pm and then doing stories and bedtime with Theo.

Generally, Ruby is always happy and smiling!

Hanging in the beach parking lot can be pure joy.

Theo completed his first week of camp last week. It’s called “Summer in the Park” and it’s through his preschool, Play by the Park. He attended Monday – Thursday from 9am – 2pm. He did very well and seemed to have a blast. The highlight for him was riding a REAL school bus two times! The kid was very excited. They did lots of park and nature exploration, water play and playground fun, a bus trip to Manhattan Beach and a bus trip to the Red Hook pool. The first day he came home and said, “camp is looong”. So despite being extra tired, and acquiring a couple blisters from his new(ish) and mandatory $50 Keen’s (which I scored on eBay brand new for $20 thank you very much!), it was a successful week. And because camp begins at 9am Daddy was able to take him in the morning, which was an extra bonus for everyone.

We had a break this week and he will have one more week of camp next week before we are off to Cleveland for two weeks. Summer is flying by too fast.

I just love these photos of Ruby, albeit slightly blurry. She has recently been exploring some board books. You know, gazing at images and eating them.

In a rare stroke of luck, Theo got a Pre-K spot at another school where he had been waitlisted. A better school. I’m thrilled. We dropped by to register last week and explored the playground a bit.

We went back for more playground action yesterday, too. It’s about a 15 minute walk from our place. A bit further then our zoned school, but directly next to our local post office that we visit frequently, so a walk we are very familiar with. I hope, hope it is a good fit for Theo. I attended the open house there a few months ago and was impressed with the school. Tremendous multi-cultural student body, strong academics and lots of parent involvement. It’s still a half-day spot, which honestly I’m happy about. Another milestone transition to tackle. Attending school 5 days/week.

I can’t believe how quickly the summer is already flying by. I’m starting to get sad and anxious about the school year beginning.

But we are really enjoying ourselves and I’ll post some fun summer updates shortly.