Atlanta Botanical Gardens

Yesterday we took the kids to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. I had been told by other mommies that there is a super cute little kid's garden tucked away on 2 acres separate from the big gardens. That these 2 acres afforded the kids a chance to run wild, play outside, and enjoy natural beauty. I have been wanting to take Sophie since she started walking, but could never round up anyone to go with me. The weatherman forecasted a beautiful weekend - a forecast that I decided was just perfect for a visit to the gardens. I finally asked and begged enough that John gave in and decided to go with me.

Since we were driving down to Atlanta and the gardens are half way between our house and Tara's, I asked her if she would like to join us. I knew that Sophie would just be overjoyed to see her Aunt TaTa and to run around like a maniac with Justin. With a little prodding and the promise that the garden wasn't going to be lame that she though, Tara also gave in and agreed to meet up. So we piled everyone in the car - me, John, Sophie & Tripp in ours and Tom, Tara, Justin and Summer in theirs - and headed to the Gardens. Of course, like usual, there were road closures and detours and a bunch of other annoying mishaps on 75, but after a long round-about way, we got to the gardens around 11:30. Weather was beautiful - sunny and 63. Good you even ask for a more beautiful day in February? I think not! And, it was our lucky day! Bank of America customers entered for free. Awesome! Great start to a perfect day.

The children's garden is just awesome! It wasn't in bloom - at all - but I didn't expect it to be. I can only imagine how beautiful it will be in spring; I am already planning our trip back. In fact, the kids loved the gardens so much, as did I, that I think we'll buy season tickets. Our first stop inside the gates was the potty. I must just insert here that I was very proud of Sophie. She poopied in the potty while we were there. She's really doing a great job with the potty training. So after the potty we ate (a very overpriced not so yummy meal). There was a little water feature that the kids hung around while we waited for food. I took some really great photos of them playing by the water. They had such a great time just running around the courtyard and playing by the water, I could just see their excitement bubbling over and they could barely stand still!

You have to cross over a little walkway to enter the children's garden. We were walking on the walkway when Justin decided to sit down and take his shoe off. Apparently a few little rocks had made their way into his shoe and he didn't like that. LOL. It was really cute. I took a picture of this, because he plopped down and everyone just stopped and watched him while he emptied his shoes. I don't know why, but it was just funny to me. When you enter the gardens, there is a beautiful "roof" of veins overhead. There are sunflower sprinkler heads wound through the vines. In the summer they have the sprinklers on and the kids can play in the water. It's cute. If you look just beyond this, you can see the tops of some of the hi rise buildings that are downtown. I thought that was pretty cool. This garden is a little piece of heaven in the middle of downtown Atlanta. If you follow the path, it winds and wraps like a little maze through various play areas. The first is a big fish (possibly a bug, not sure) that leads into a caterpillar looking thing that leads into a butterfly area. After butterflies you find an area with a small dinosaur and a sandbox where you can "dig" for artifacts. The kids loved this! There was a little slide built into a cave, which if I had to rate, would have been the highlight of the day for the kids. Other little areas included a house that was supposed to simulate where an American Indian might have lived. There was little benches where they hold story time (we will be attending those one day!) and frogs on benches throughout the park. There were a few little ponds that added a nice serene touch and finally a 3 story tree house.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I cannot wait to go back when Tripp is walking. I am sure my little wild man will terrorize the gardens with the best of them. LOL While I do wish the gardens were in bloom, I could really have asked for a better day with the kids. They ran and played and laughed and yelled. The truly just got to enjoy being kids and enjoy being with their family. I absolutely loved yesterday. Sounds funny when I say it like that because I love every day with my kids, but I guess yesterday was just an extra special day with them.

Tripp at 11 months

A little late on the post - again! I forgot to do a 10 month post so this is for 10 and 11 months.

Tripp is such a joy. He is so active. Not that Sophie wasn't active, she was just more laid back. Their personalities are very similar, yet so different. Tripp is constantly on the go. If we are sitting, he's not happy. I've tried to contain him in the family room by blocking him off with the ottoman, but the kid can actually squeeze through the smallest little crack in the road block and get loose. He's my little wild man, for sure!

- Personality: strong, daredevil, curious, sweet, rough and tough, cuddler, happy, smart, fiery ... ALL BOY!
- Weight: My guess is around 22 - 23 lbs
- Height: You are the length of your changing table pad and that is 30", so I'd say you are at least 30"
- Head circumference: Still a little peanut head.
- Wears Still wearing 12 - 18 month clothing and some 18 month clothing (mostly shirts and one pieces), size 4 shoes, and size 4 diapers.
- Doing everything except walking. Can even do squats, yes squats! LOL
- He loves to hold onto my fingers and walk. He really doesn't use my help, he just thinks he does. He held my pinky finger the other day and walked from one room to another. That's pretty far for just holding on to a pinky finger. He's taken a few steps on his own, but as soon as he realizes he's walking he plops down.
- 8 teeth. 4 on top, 4 on bottom. I can already tell his teeth take after me. His bottom teeth are crooked! Poor little dude. He's going to need braces.
- Still nursing 3 times per day.
- Now drinks from sippys and holds his own bottles. Drinks water and juice and really seems to like white grapefruit juice.
- A very good eater! OMG, he pretty much eats anything. Likes green vegetables and has even eaten and liked pickles. The only foods so far that he doesn't seem to like are cabbage, sauerkraut, and eggs. I can't believe he doesn't like eggs. So weird! Won't even touch them. He has started to tolerate mashed potatoes. Also, doesn't seem to be fond of meat. Will eat it, but maybe not all that we give him. Definitely loves his veggies.
- Loves fruit - bananas, watermelon, grapes and blueberries are his favorite.
- Has the cutest smile we have ever seen - ever!! He smiles in such a manner that he shows his teeth. But they show in a weird, cute way. I really can't explain. I'll have to post a picture.
- Loves making noises. Makes different noises depending on what he's doing. When we hold him he sometimes makes a purring type of noise. HA. When he's crawling he likes to click his teeth and flick his tongue.
- Claps, gives high fives, loves to point, blows kisses and occasionally waves hi and bye.
- Awesome sleeper - 12 hours pretty much.
- Napping is still pretty hit and miss. Today he took a 2.5 hour nap and we had to wake him up so we could take the kids to the park. Generally takes a good nap in the morning - 1 to 1.5 hours and he needs a nap in the afternoon but doesn't always take it. If he does take it, it's usually around 4. I've been trying to keep him up a little longer in the mornings so that he takes a late morning/early afternoon nap. Seems to work better for him.
- Takes all of his baths with Sophie. He's a nut in the bath, it's actually kind of scary. We give the kids a bath in our big tub because he was just too wild in the small one. He can walk in the bath tub and he likes to slide down the angled part of the tub. Yes, I know that is not safe.
- Seems to like t.v. more than Sophie does. Loves Yo Gabba Gabba!
- Likes to dance and actually has a little rhythm!
- Is drawn to "boy" toys - balls, trucks, cars, bats, etc. That amazes me. At Christmas we were at Tara's and there were all kinds of toys, all kinds. Tripp went right for Justin's new firetruck and tractor ... he start pushing them, "driving" them, all around the family room. It was like he just knew he was supposed to do that.
- Still not a fan of the car. 3 more weeks and we can turn him around. Thank God!
- Says ma-ma in the correct context. Says da-da, but not generally to John. Just the other day he said da-da when John walked in so maybe he does get it now.
- Loves peek-a-boo, being chased, anticipation of anything (kisses, tickles, etc), throwing balls, standing up, and cruising around. Loves climbing on anything - especially Sophie's PBK chair. Also loves all push toys. If it moves, he will push it.
- Has almost figured out how to do a somersault. If Sophie is doing them, he starts trying to do them.
- No more paci!! Not for him or Sophie :-)
- Tripp is such a momma's boy! LOVE it!!

Say What?

Oh my gosh, Sophie, you say some of the funniest things I have ever heard. I have to start writing them down because I forget so easily. This one is just to funny to pass up (no pun intended hahaha). I just have to document it.

The other night we were getting ready for your bath and you had some, ahem, gas. Yes, you my sweet little baby doll, had gas. LOL Anyway, you tooted and it was really loud. I looked at daddy and then you and then back at daddy and said "was that Sophie?" Really, I wasn't even sure because it was that loud. You had this quirky little smile on your face. You knew I was talking about you. You smiled and proudly said "I burped in my diaper mommy!" I almost died laughing. Really. Actually, I'm still laughing as I type this.

You bring so much light to my life Sophie. Gosh, I just love you! You really are a pretty funny girl.

Tripp at 11 months

Happy 11 month birthday, Tripp! I cannot believe that you'll be ONE in just one month. Wow! I have lots to report about so I'll be back in the next day or two to update on what you are up to these days. I love you baby boy!

Face Like an Angel

I have so many things to document about you Sophie. You are almost 2 1/2 now and you are growing and developing every day. It's amazing! I'm going to document some things soon, I promise! Just know that you are so fun these days and I have so much fun playing with you, talking to you, and just being around you. You are the sweetest little girl with a little bit of sass built in. You truly are the light of our lives.

For now, I'm just going to post the sweetest picture of you that I have ever seen. I took this picture over Thanksgiving when we were visiting Grandma and Pop Pop in Florida. We went to the Children's Museum with your cousins, Donovan and Evan, and your Aunt Beth. It was the first time you had your face painted. Look how beautiful you are my sweet girl! You truly have the face of an angel. I love you baby girl!

Quote of the Day

This is an awesome quote and appropriate today since it is Martin Luther King Day.

"The time is always right to do what is right."

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

It's freezing!

Just for posterity sake, I want to document this day. At this very moment, at 9:30 a.m. on a bright sunny day, it is only 11 degrees. With the wind chill it is 0 degrees - as in ZERO degrees. Did you get that friends? 0 degrees!! Yikes.

I think today is the coldest day I have ever experienced living in Atlanta. It's absolutely without question the coldest day of both Sophie and Tripp's lives. I think that's pretty neat that I can say that. I am even including the day we left the hospital to bring Tripp home. That day was tremendously cold, it even snowed! But it wasn't anywhere near 0 degrees!

I only remember being in colder weather one time. That was when we visited our friends Pat & Mikki in Chicago in January. When we flew into Chicago the pilot told us it was set to be the coldest weekend of the year. That scared me, but not knowing Chicago very well I thought "how cold could it really be?" Um, really cold!

Our friends are true Chicagoians and so they are used to the cold weather. The weekend we were there, the Bears were hosting and playing in a playoff game. Pat & Mikki took us to the stadium to meet up with some of their friends to tailgate. Oh.my.gosh was it cold. The stadium was located next to the river at that time so not only was it cold, you also got the wind (ahem - the "windy city") from the lake. It was below 0 degrees with the wind. I think it was in the -10 to -20 degree range. The thing that amazed me was the amount of people running around with no shirts on. Are you kidding me? Sure, they were doing shots from ice scupltures, but I'm not sure any amount of shots could make me run shirtless in -10 deg weather. It might, however, make me dress up like the smart dude who was wearing the full-on, head-to-toe, furry Chewbacca suit. Classic! I can't imagine how the shirtless people felt when they sobered up, because I was dressed properly and I swear I still got frostbite on my toes. I could not move my toes! Mind you, I had 2 or 3 pairs of socks on and boots and I still felt like I couldn't move my toes and that I had frostbite. People donated me their gloves. I had 3 or 4 pairs on. It was so cold, I couldn't even drink a beer - or even hold one with the multitude of gloves I was sporting. It was a "nice" thing to be a part of, but it was so freaking cold that I'm not sure I could ever do it again. I'm not even sure I'd ever visit Chicago in the winter again. Wow, it was cold.

People up north and in the midwest are just plain crazy. I'm not sure how anyone lives in that type of weather. Of course, my dad is from Jersey and I'm pretty sure he used to tell us that he shoveled snow before school when he was 5, drank a cup of coffee because they didn't have hot chocolate back then, and then walked uphill both to and from school. You know parents! LOL Thankfully my mom and dad don't like cold weather so they raised me in sunny Florida!

First steps?

The fear of a working mom is that her babies will do all their "firsts" at school and away from her. People always try and reassure me that the "firsts" won't happen there, but with the way things go in my life they usually do. For instance, I remember clearly the first time Sophie waved "bye bye". It was at school when we were saying bye bye to her teacher. Sophie smiled and waved and me, being the spaz I am, jumped up and down like I had never seen anything so cool. Nicole, the teacher said, "oh, she's been doing that for like a week." Oh, well, ok. Burst my happy little bubble why don't you.

So yesterday when I picked Tripp up from school he was hanging around an empty high chair that was facing the door. As soon as he saw me, his face lit up and he started smiling as big as I think possible. Have I ever said how much I love picking the kids up from school? I think it's the best part of my day! I absolutely love it. Anyway, I looked at Tripp and told him it seemed like he was going to just let go of that high chair and run right over to me. It really did seem that way! Then, his teacher Autumn, dropped the bomb on me. She happily told me that he took a step. By step she really meant 2! She said he was holding on to the side of the changing station, saw a toy, let go of the wall, moved one foot forward then the other and then plopped down and hurriedly crawled to the toy. Ugh. He indeed took his first steps at school.

I wonder if it's better that way? Now I will be more prepared for him to walk, I'll be expecting it, right? Maybe I won't cry at the sight of it. A mixed cry, of course, because he's old enough to walk and because I'm afraid to have two walkers in this house (afraid in a good way - is there a good way? LOL). Or, maybe it's the reward for the teachers who love on him and watch him 8 hours a day while I'm working? Either way I look at, no matter why or when it happened, my baby took steps. Unbelievable, my baby took steps.

Yep, he probably took his first steps at school so as not to shock me into a hysterical fit. I guess we'll see over the next few weeks if these steps are really a gateway into walking - toddlerhood, I should say - or if they are just a fluke. My money (and sanity) is on it's a fluke! Love you my handsome little dude!

"I a princess"

Sophie baby, you said the cutest little thing today that I just had to document it. You've never really been into picking out your clothes and you don't seem to care what I put you in. Shoes are another story, but so far you are ho-hum about your clothes. You have been telling me lately when you think something is pretty and you are starting to gravitate a little more towards pink, sparkly stuff. You still aren't really into princesses - you have 2 tutus, 2 princess dresses, and a beautiful pettiskirt. They were all gifts, but you never want to wear any of them! I will say that you did ask to wear your new blue and green tutu the other night. It was a Christmas gift from Aunt Mary and it's the prettiest tutu you own!

Our routine was a little different this morning. Normally I get Trippy ready for school and daddy gets you ready for school. I usually lay out your clothes the night before, because sometimes daddy is a little challenged in the dressing Sophie department. If it were up to him, you'd wear all of one color - all red, all pink, all blue - just a monochrome look. LOL! Can't be too hard on him. I am just happy he tries (he even tries to put your hair in pony tails!) :-) Daddy was busy working this morning so I got both of you ready. I hadn't picked out your outfit the night before, so I did it while you were watching. I picked out a pair of jeans that Aunt TaTa gave your for Christmas (very, very hip jeans!) and a shirt that Aunt Julie gave you. I asked you if the outfit was ok and you said yes.

I proceeded to get you dressed. Even though the shirt is slightly too big, you wanted to keep it on. You helped me pick out an accessory for your hair and I put it in a half ponytail. We put your shoes and socks on (you like to help) and stood you up. We went into the bathroom to brush your teeth and you saw yourself in the mirror. I can only imagine this is how you knew what you looked like. I'm not sure what it is about the outfit that you particularly like, but you like it. Maybe the silver rhinestone type things on the belt of the shirt? Anyway, when we started to walk down the stairs to go eat breakfast, you looked at me and said "Mommy, I a princess!"

OMG, I almost died! Daddy heard it and yelled "Did she just say she's a princess?" We both could have just melted right there on the spot. You are the sweetest thing on this earth!!!! I had to take a picture to document the first time you said anything remotely about a princess or being a princess. I'm glad you felt so pretty that you would say such a thing (even after an entire night and morning of NO passy). I just love you so much and you are OUR princess! You totally made my day today!

No passy?

Is tonight the night? Are you going to give up your passy? Sophie, I am amazed! It's 10:49 p.m. and dare I say that you are going to make it through this entire night without a passy? The most amazing thing is that this is only the second night we have tried no passy.

The first night was a few months ago, we were just testing the waters. You did okay for about 10 minutes but then you clearly needed your passy. Or, truth be told, we needed you to have that passy so you'd stop crying! But tonight we actually gave it a shot. We were determined to see how long we could get you to go without your passy. We have been planning to take the passy away with the start of 2009 for a few months, but you were sick so we let you have it until today.

I should tell you that you don't have a passy at school and you have not for months. By months I mean like 8 or 9 months, at least! From the minute you walk in this door, though, you want it right away. You are usually really tired when we bring you home from school and that's why I think you whine and cry until you get it. Today was different. Today I picked you up at school and you were really happy. Not tired at all, just happy and silly. You didn't ask for your passy when we got in the car. You didn't ask for your passy when you walked in the door either. You were just to worried about me giving you a snack. When daddy got home from work around 6 pm he asked me if you had the passy yet. I said no and we decided then, no passy for the rest of the night.

You did fine. You requested your "purple passy" and cried a little right after your bath, but daddy was able to distract you somehow. Like usual, I put Tripp to bed because I'm still nursing him and daddy put you to bed. You asked daddy for the passy and he told you that you could sleep with your Care Bear and your kitty instead (both of which were given to you by your grandmas). When it was time to turn the light of you said you wanted your "passy passy." Daddy told you it was broken. He said you seemed fine with that and you said you "wanted to go" ... as in "go to bed." Sometimes you just point to your crib when you are ready to go to sleep, other times you say "I go night night" ... tonight you said "I want to go."

We've only heard one peep out of you so far. That peep came at the same time that Tripp's peep came, so we disbursed - I went to Tripp's room, Daddy went into your room. He said you were sitting up. You lost your kitty kat in your bed and you wanted it. Daddy helped you find it and you laid right back down and went to sleep. You are still sleeping. This is amazing! I hope it lasts. We are so proud of you right now. This is a big, big step for you. You LOVE your passy like no other and you really do not have any other lovies. That is why we feel so bad for taking it away. We love you baby cakes!