Rocking the boat

Our gym closed. Foreclosed, actually. We got back in town from the wedding in NY to find out our gym was closing in two weeks.
You may think, so what?! Find another gym, not a big deal!

But THIS is why it was SUCH a big deal.

Gladys.
My kids love Gladys, and Gladys loves my kids! Emma went to the daycare at the gym everyday (except Fri & Mon) for nearly a year. Gladys and 2 other women were there everyday, pretty much every shift! It took Emma about two weeks to warm up to the idea of being without me for 1+ hours/day. At first I would drop her off, she would be screaming for me, and Gladys would hold her in her arms and tell me "go, she will be just fine."Hesitantly, I left.

In the beginning, Gladys reassured me that after a few weeks, Emma would come running to the door wanting to play in the daycare. I thought that was a bit of an exaggeration. And sure enough, each morning as soon as the elevator doors opened to the floor of the aerobics room & daycare, Emma took off in a full on sprint right up to the daycare room, and jumped into Glady's arms.

And me? Well, I liked it there too. Believe it or not, my non-social self actually became friends/acquaintances with the women in the classes there! Yes, the gym looked like it was an old warehouse, ceiling tiles were falling down and garbage cans were strategically placed to catch the leaks during a heavy rain. We had to bang the rusted spin bikes with a dumbbell to get them positioned correctly, but it was where we belonged! The instructors had been teaching there for over 10 years...the same classes....10 years! The same people came to class each morning, we knew names, and each other's children. And so, it is understandable that on the last day of class, people were crying. (also understandable that with no new members, the place closed!). I held back tears until Emma had to give Gladys a hug goodbye.

But, on the bright side, we did get to bring home some of the gym with us! These toys were in the daycare and Emma was always playing on them, so upon hearing of the closing I quickly asked if we could work out a deal for these goodies!!!

So now, we are at our new gym. Levi is happy there, not realizing he is pretty much being ignored in the "infant" section. Emma insists on wearing her sunglasses there, and my "special" bracelet. And again, each morning, they have to peel Emma out of my arms, screaming and crying. They have lots of different staff, and shift changes. I have to ask them to come help me with her at drop off, and usually, when I pick them up, they both have dirty diapers. So our days start out stressful, the exact opposite of what I was hoping for. Perhaps I was spoiled before, where the daycare staff treated my kids as if they were their own. I'm confident that all will be perfectly fine in time.....I guess I am just disappointed!

The new gym is huge, 5000+ members, crowded, and the women in the classes are cutthroat! There is a mad dash to get your "spot" in the class when doors open. And you are out of luck if you are 1 minute late! I'm no stranger to big fancy gyms, and this one is growing on me, but I will always appreciate the hometown feeling of a family-run gym.

I think I have also become "that mom". Ya know, the one that the staff dread showing up each morning. The overly concerned one, asking questions upon pick-up about how my kids did. I even called the gym and asked if they would hire the staff from our old gym. And sure enough, they said they were already working on it, and one of the staff was working there the next morning (Gladys's daughter, she ran the daycare there)! Emma still cries, but is greatly comforted by her familiar face.

I keep telling myself that it is just a gym, and I feel so stupid making such a big deal out of it. But then I realize, it isn't just a gym. The workout itself is probably the least of my concerns. It is my routine, it is my hour (and opportunity to shower) alone, it is what I base the rest of our days' schedule off, and it is a place that I (should) know my kids are well-taken care of and having fun without being by my side! It is this devoted stay-at-home momma's baby steps towards dropping her kids off at a real preschool one day!

4 Months!

Baby Levi. 4 months old already! It makes me sad and happy at the same time.

Sad, because I can't believe my 2nd baby is already 4 months. Happy because at 4 months he is so much happier!!! In fact, I would even describe him as a happy, laid back baby!!!! He looks at us, waits for us to talk to him, and smiles. He watches his sister in amazement...but he does the same thing to the dog....so I'm not sure what to think of it yet!
He is more than happy just to be part of the crowd, sitting on my lap taking it all in. And just look at him. My son is a little stud!!!

Oh, but he can cry.....boy can he CRY!
Dirty diaper? Forget it!!!!! Emma will walk around with her diaper falling to her knees, soaked through her pants, without a care in the world. But if Levi has a little drop of pee pee in there....he is one unhappy camper! Hungry???? I can't get my shirt up fast enough before he brings out the ear piercing screams. And don't even get me started if he is tired!!! Luckily, these are pretty much the only reasons he cries and we have become quite good at figuring out how to make him all better!

And....once we make it all better, we immediately get this:

And we are in love!

He is fun and sweet and looks just like Felix. He smiles, and grabs at us, and has just started to stick out his little tongue...too cute! Current nicknames are lovebug and Levi Love. My favorite part of the day with him is in the morning, when he is lying next to me and I look over at him and he just giggles and smiles and gets so excited that we are about to start our day.

I can't believe he is 4 months already.

Bedtime, and then some.

Bedtime is always an adventure each night since Levi has been added to the mix. Usually around 6:30pm I start quickly putting together a plan of action based on the temperaments of my two little loves. Who should go down first? Both at the same time, or is one too cranky for company? Or perhaps we should all just stay up on the couch until you both pass out while Mommy eats ice cream! (we haven't done the last one yet, but it sure sounds good to me!)

Usually, Levi is happy enough to sit in the bouncy seat in Emma's room while we get ready for bed, read books, sing songs, and I carry Emma into her crib. Sometimes, he wants to join us in the chair- forcing Emma to stand up after songs and wait for me to put Levi down before I put her in the crib....allowing her a moment of freedom to make her move if she so dares!

But the love! The love of these two little snuggle bunnies squished in my arms on the rocking chair is absolutely the best. And look! They are holding hands!


Not sure....but Emma MIGHT be getting a little 'curious' about all of Levi's toys. Jealous is too strong of a word!
Levi spends quite a bit of time playing in his playgym on the floor. I was in the kitchen and looked over to find he scooted around and got himself wedged between the mirror, totally focused on Barney on TV! And Emma....well, when there is a will there is a way! She was determined to get herself into his exersaucer, even though it was collapsed and locked shut.

I put Levi in the bumbo seat to try it out, and Emma came right over with "Daddy's Backpack", and actually climbed in it all by herself. She sat in there next to Levi for about half an hour before calling for me to get her out!

A Parade, Southwick Zoo, & Davis Farmland

The nice thing about living in New England is that we do in fact, have change of seasons. And with that brings lots of different things to do, in addition to never taking outdoor activities for granted! Pair that with getting to be close friends with some natives who know all the cool things to do, and our list of fun activities is endless!

Columbus Day Weekend we brought Emma to a parade. After seeing how much fun she had at her first mini-parade in NY, I thought she would love this one. The press bragged about how it is the best in town.

"Look Daddy, Cookie Monster!"

We arrived early to get our spot. We thought we were only 30min early. We waited for about 2 hours until the first band marched by. After cookie monster, we left. Ya win some ya lose some!

A better time was had at the Southwick Zoo yesterday. Personally, I don't love zoo's, but Emma is definitely a fan so I make it a point to go for her. Levi is always happy just being strapped to me along for the ride!
We met up with our friends Keri & Samantha, and we did have a good time. It was not crowded at all and the weather was a little cool- but certainly not too hot! The animals were out for us to see, and they had a really cute chimp exhibit. At one point the mama chimp took the baby chimp, threw it over her knee, and started to clean her bum. It was really cute to see them doing something other than lying around!
Our favorite part was the bird cage where we were able to go in and feed them food on a stick. I was freaked out by it, especially when they all landed on my arm with their creepy little claws, but Emma went right for it at first, so I tried to put on a brave face.


Brave Face. Eventually, they got a little wild, even for Emma!


Samantha & Emma. Feel the love!
Last week we went to Davis Farmland with little Sam and her mommy, where the goats roam free and all the animals are begging for food. It was a first for us, and it was pretty cool!

Keri pulled the girls around in the wagon during the rare moments they would actually sit still. This farm was crazy! A lot of the animals really do just roam free!!

Emma's favorite part? Putting pigtails on the donkey. I couldn't pull her away from this guy, she kept brushing his hair and putting ponytail holders in! Then we found this cool donkey swing on the playground. So fun!

She LOVES animals!

We were able to enjoy a private hayride around the farm with our friends.

When the ride was stopped by the cows, they all came up and ate the hay off the trailer. Definitely the closest I have ever been to a live cow without a fence between us!

This cow, however, was not real, but we still took a picture with him anyways!

Then we found the playground on the farm. It had a bunch of mini stores, climbing structures, a bouncy house....so much to do!



This guy in the green sweatshirt was walking around with the goose, or whatever it is, carrying it like it was a little child! He bent down for Emma to pet him. Weird. And then Emma got to milk a goat!

Fun times. And tonight, we are off to another zoo for a special Halloween display where they light up all the pumpkins at night. Emma asked if we can bring nemo (her fish nightlight) since it will be dark. Too cute!

Aimee & Brian's Wedding in NY!

The beautiful, happy couple!

We went to NY two weeks ago. We- as in- Me, Emma, & Levi. Felix was there as well, but was with the team so we didn't get a chance to see him. He also arrived in style on a charter bus, missing out on our minivan roadtrip adventure. The drive there was extremely easy with two sleepy well-behaved kids, neither of which arrived in dry pants since I refused to stop for diaper changes and risk disturbing the peace!
We were lucky enough to arrive early and enjoy dinner with the Zuckerman clan. It was a hectic dinner in the hotel suite, but so awesome to see everyone again and watch the kids play. I was just a guest, so I actually enjoyed sitting back and watching all the chaos. I'm not sure others would say the same!
Mom & Dad joined us in our own hotel room a few hours after our arrival, and Emma loved sleeping in the hotel bed with mommy. I use the term sleeping lightly. Levi slept in his carseat for part of the night and then all three of us snuggled together in bed. I played the role of the gatekeeper, making sure neither of my children tumbled unexpectedly onto the floor. We all had a fabulous time and banked about 15 hours total of sleep during our 3 night stay!

We were invited to enjoy a parade with Danny & Beth before the wedding. This was Levi & Emma's first parade. She liked to clap for the participants.


When the parade was over, we walked to Starbucks. Emma marched. She made her very own parade.

Then she passed out from exhaustion, so I parked her in the corner in the shade and enjoyed some nice pizza & adult conversation with everyone as Levi was loved on by Jeremy (who scored a goal)!


Wedding time!!!! We hung out in the lobby during the reception and then joined everyone for cocktail hour. The wedding was beautiful, the bride was beautiful, the food was delicious, and we had a great time. I had a brilliant plan to wear Levi in my baby carrier during the cocktail hour so I could follow Emma around easily without maneuvering the stroller through the crowd.

Unfortunately, I underestimated how uncomfortable it is to wear high heels after a 2 year hiatus and could barely walk, let alone even see my short little 2 year old in the crowd. This is when I began to panic and realized what a stupid idea it was to bring my 2 children to an evening wedding. Here is my panic face, mixed with a no sleep face. Lookin' good!

Luckily Mamare & Saba, and Bubbe & Grandaddy were more than willing to help. They are trying to convince Emma to take a snooze in the stroller during cocktail hour. No easy task when there is unlimited amounts of food she knows she can get her hands on!

But I have to say- she is quite the cutie sitting in her highchair in her party dress at the fancy table during dinner, admiring the bride & groom dance!

She spotted Aunt Carole across the room and said "My Aunt Carole is here! I want to see her!" and ran right over and danced with them. Oh the love!

Levi enjoyed the party too, lots of snuggling and dancing, until he finally passed out in the stroller. I think he is really starting to look just like Felix!

The wedding was fantastic, so nice to see family that we haven't seen in years. Although I felt that I spent most of the time running back and forth to the bathroom to either nurse or change a diaper, it was all worth it!

And....the brunch the next day. Always the best part! They let Emma play with Aimee's dollhouse and we were able to spend wonderful quality time with the family.


....and Emma showed off her mad skills on the ipad!

Our drive home went just as well as the way there, and we were lucky enough to have Aunt Carole & Hymie along for the ride. Aunt Carole sat in the back and played the role of binkie keeper for Levi and I talked Hymie's ear off in the front. All in all, we had a wonderful trip!!