The Silverman's Farm

This week we didn't have our preschool playgroup as it was spring break for the local schools... so we all still wanted to do something enriching for our little tots and Natasha had mentioned a local petting zoo!  So we decided to give it a go!

Silverman's is quite the farm!  

Here are some pics..

Maggie learns the importance of feeding from your palm when her little fingers got nibbled.

 Checking out the chickens!

 Attempting to feed the chickens...

 Oooh buffalos!

 Maggie such a cutie!

 Maggie trying to give the lamb a kiss!

 Having fun in the play area!

A little trailer for your viewing pleasure! The farm has a good variety of animals, plus some fun "farm" themed play areas and even a maze! All of our tots enjoyed everything it had to offer including the gravel on the path! After we went through the petting zoo we crossed the street to the Market, where I bought one of their homemade pies... I must say it was tasty but Seana and I agree both our Moms make a better pie... It must be the love they throw in at the end! They also have some local honeys available so I got a couple to try. It was a great day!

The Beardsley Zoo

One of the great aspects of being back in Connecticut is my zoo membership hasn't expired and I still have a free pass up my sleeve!  So we decided to spend part of our Saturday going to the zoo as a family!  The parking lot made it seem like everyone had the same idea!  As we were trying to find a place to park I spotted a spot, and also spotted another car coming the other direction who had a better angle and beat me to the blinker!  

Let me just preface that we know about 4 people/families outside of Seana's work so the chances of running into someone we know are scarce.... but wouldn't you know it the family I gave up the parking spot for we KNEW!!  It was Miles with his Mom & Dad!

So once we were ready to head in the zoo we opted to go say hi and we unanimously decided that we should go through the zoo together!

Here are some pics...

Maggie in wolf house

Maggie looking out and "touching" a wolf (great camera angle work by Muti!)

Maggie being cute (Miles' Dad in the background)

Miles & his Mommy and Maggie & her Muti checking out the Otter!

Sir Otter!

Miles & Maggie tolerating this photo shot!

Miles & Maggie checking out the alligator (well Maggie is really just checking out the ground)

Maggie sporting a super cute twist hair do (yes I am proud)

Maggie Measuring up!

Maggie Measuring up last summer for comparison!

On the move!

Maggie & Muti having fun at the Zoo!

It was a great trip to the zoo and the fact that it serendipitously became a group outing made it twice as fun! We can't wait to hang out with them again!

Easter, Egg Hunt, Ear Infection E! E! E!

Easter has now come and gone, but we actually did plan a little egg hunt for Maggie, complete with her own new Easter Kitty!  I have to thank Dora the Explorer in preparing Maggie for the egg hunt, we actually bought a Dora DVD for our trek to CT and one of the episodes is an egg hunt.  This completely prepared Maggie for a what an egg hunt entails, mostly it taught her that when you open eggs there is a treat inside!

Warning Side Story about to unfurl!  A week or so before Easter I was going to make Maggie a scrambled egg, so I pulled out an egg and placed it on the counter.  Cue Maggie wandering into the kitchen pointing at the counter "Egg, Egg, Egg" "OPEN!!!"  I then preceded to pick Maggie up and explain to Maggie that this is a real egg that there is no "treat" inside just her breakfast that has to be cooked, which turned into me attempting and somewhat succeeding in cracking the egg one handed into the pan and cooking one handed while she watched on my hip.

Back on TOPIC!  We went out an got the little plastic eggs to put treats in and picked out some Hershey's chocolates, and a big Easter Egg with a toy inside.  We then took Maggie to Build-A-Bear where she in her own fashion picked out her Easter Friend.  This ended up being an orange kitty.  She held on to him while we explored the mall after and then when we got home we put him back in his Build-A-Bear box and set him aside for her Easter Gift. (1st thing we won't be able to pull off next year)

On Easter, in a very unGodly fashion chose breakfast at Cracker Barrel over attending Church (Which by the way was a great time to go, the place was empty!) We then came home and relaxed and I loaded up the eggs with their treats then took them out and put them in the yard for hunting. (2nd and 3rd thing we won't be able to do next year)  To spell out that would be:  2.  Wake up and do anything before the egg hunt  3. Do the prep work for the egg hunt at my leisure)

Maggie did great with her egg hunt and we put together a short trailer and a longer video of her Easter Egg hunt:

All in all a great Easter for Maggie's first experience.  In the future we want to incorporate more Jesus and maybe a planned meal!

Now, Maggie has been fighting a cold since the beginning of April, so last Monday I took her in to the Dr since her cough was sounding more wet and not clearing up after almost 2 weeks!!  We also noticed her playing with her ears, so we went in and after a long wait we got to see the Dr.  He did confirm she had an ear infection in her right ear and that she is at high risk for bronchitis since the "flem" seems to headed toward moving into her chest.  So we were told to give her Children's Mucinex for 4-5 days and amoxicillan for 10 days.  Well today is the 10th day, she still has a cough when she wakes up but is fine the rest of the day, she is still playing with her ears... so I am not sure if she is completely out of the woods.  Her follow up appointment is on this Monday so we will see how we look.  I am still worried!

This blog has been brought to you by the letter E!

Stepping Stones with Miles

One of our first outtings in Connecticut was to the Children's Museum "Stepping Stones" with Miles and his Mommy, Natasha!  We had a blast in Tot Town where we explored and worked on our stair ascents and descents! 

Maggie checking out the Fish!

Taking a ride on the school bus!

Miles joins in!

Fishing or rather sitting in a fishing boat!

Tot sized staircase fun!

Here is a video of Maggie showing off her stair climbing abilities!!

 Cooking in the kitchen!

Off to the Energy Lab for wet water fun!

We get to wear a lab coat!! A water resistant lab coat!!

Water!

Stop taking pictures Mommy!!!

Miles showing us how it is done!

Yummy Brushes...

Levers!

Maggie showcasing her lab coat well next to the water tub with dry ice!

The little tots in action!!


It was a great day for tots and Mommies alike!  It was fantastic having some one on one time with Natasha during the drive to and from!  She is a blessing to have met!!

18 Months!

DAILY ROUTINE:

Your routine has not been the best since we have been doing all that is involved in moving.  You have been watching a LOT of television.  Which I am so sorry about!! Luckily in our first week back in Connecticut we have done two outtings!!  You have gone to toddler preschool and we went to the children's museum "Stepping Stones".  We have also taken you to the mall play area a few times.  So a better routine is in your future!


In terms of eating and sleeping.. you wake up between 8 and 10 eat breakfast and a snack/ lunch then nap at around 2 or so, then wake up around 4ish then eat a snack then we have dinner around 7,  then it is bed time around 9-10.  
FOOD:

You eat what we eat, with exception to red meat, we typically do not give you red meat.  You are weaned and you drink 2-3 10 oz sippy cups of milk a day. 

We still supplement your meals with veggie and fruit purees especially during the move, we haven't been eating the most healthy foods and want to make sure you are getting your fruits and veggies. 

You are a great eater! And you would rather feed yourself than be fed!

SLEEP:

Not much has changed since 15 months... You still do not sleep through the night.  But you usually only wake up when you lose your pacifier... such an easy fix for now and it is usually only once a night.

But we have gotten into a routine! And you are going to bed between 9 and 10 now instead of 11! 

You are also self soothing pretty well, I am sitting by your door now when you go to bed! Some days are better than others as you are teething from time to time!

Your Muti and I have discussed removing your pacifier altogether.  We have already removed it from use during the times you are awake unless you are having a huge melt down.  And have decided that once our home in Connecticut is less chaotic and we have re-established your routine after the move interruption.  We are going to get rid of it.  Starting with your Naps... Once you Nap without it a few days we will then put you to bed without it.  However, we are okay with giving it to you if you wake up in the middle of the night but will promptly remove it in the morning.  Our thought is that you will at some point sleep through the night and then will make it all night without it.

MILESTONES:

Every day you are more and more toddler and less baby.  In fact I now refer to you as my little tot.  You walk and even "run" (speed walk).

You pretend read your books and stack blocks.

You have started showing interest in using utensils when eating.

You add new words to your vocabulary every day and have even said a couple "phrases".  

One example is I turned on PBS while you were in a different room and you heard Elmo's voice and ran in and stated "watching Ehmo!" and hurried yourself to the living room to see the TV.

You have started to understand peeing and pooping, and have even stated you were peeing when you peed.  So potty training is in the very near future!!  

WHAT'S FUNNY:

You still love peek a boo and chase but you also have started chuckling when the TV is on... The dogs are a constant source of entertainment for you although we have had to work with you on being gentle with the dogs... you have found humor in hitting the dogs with whatever you have in your hands which is not so joyful for the dogs although they tolerate it well.

YOUR FAVORITE TOY:

You love your Scout, slides, stacking blocks, cars and you have found a new love in a Magna Doodle.  I think you will be quite the artist some day!  You have started requesting shows on TV like Elmo (EHMMO) and Dora (DOOREE)!!

CLOTHES SIZE:

You are now wearing 12-18 month clothes, some of the pants are still too long and some are too big in the waist, It really depends on the brand Carter pants are the right fit but some other brands are bigger or smaller... just like all other clothes size depends on brand!  Plus you are my skinny mini, most clothes are loose around the waist for you!

HAIR COLOR:

The brown tips are still there but you have to really look for them, I know once you get your next trim they will be gone since they are only about an inch and half in length.  Your hair has gotten much longer it is past your shoulders, you can now wear it in a pony tail although I don't typically put you in one since it would get in the way during nap time!

EYE COLOR:

Your eyes are definitely blue and pretty as can be!

STATS:

Birth: 9 lbs 8 oz (99th percentile), 21 1/2" long
3 Months: 14 lbs 3 oz (90th percentile), 24 3/4" long (97th percentile)
6 Months: 17lbs 12 oz (83rd percentile), 28 1/2" long (99th percentile)

9 Months: 18lbs 14 oz (56th percentile), 29 3/4" long (95th percentile)

12 Months: 19lbs 5 oz (21st percentile), 29 1/2"* long (67th percentile)

15 Months: 20lbs 10 oz(50th percentile), 31" long (87th percentile)

18 Months: 22lbs 8 oz (50th percentile), 33" long (85th percentile)

*Don't worry you didn't shrink, measuring your height isn't very accurate as they lay you down and mark off the end of your feet and the top of your head with a pencil then measure.  Chances are your 9 month measurement was off or your 12 month you had a bend in your knees or something.  

We have MOVED!

Well we did it again!  We have moved! We are back in Connecticut!!

This is a big reason the number of blogs have really decreased, packing up an entire house is a job in itself so almost all other "activities" have fallen to the wayside.

We are renting our home in Indiana to what seems like a great family.  They seem very excited about making the home theirs which couldn't make us happier!  We love our home but Seana's work requires us to be away from it, potentially forever.  Given that, we have agreed to our renters having an option to buy our home.

We found a cute little place in Trumbull, it is a 2000 sq ft 3 bedroom 3 bath home.  We lost 800 sq ft with this move but we chose to just downsize our belongings and got rid of some big furniture items like Seana's 8 foot LoveSac with a few other LoveSacs (upscale bean bags)  as well as our sectional couch and our trundle bed.  The trundle we passed off to family so if we ever need it again it is available!  We also got rid of our kitchen table, some area rugs, and our pub table and chairs.

We are loving our new place although we still have a ton of unpacking to do!  We decided it needed paint, the walls are/were very scuffed up so we spent the first couple days in our new place painting.

I have to say that I am very thankful for my Mom, who flew out over her spring break and helped us move!  The timing couldn't have been better, we were packing up the truck and trekking east the same week of her spring break!

I think she had a blast, she got a lot of time with her granddaughter and "got" to pack, clean and paint!!  If you know my Mom these are tasks she finds joy in!  Which we needed some joy mixed in!! I enjoyed all the time we got to spend together!

Here are some pictures that span our move!


Maggie repurposing a packed box... we were couchless at this point!

 Maggie using a roll of packing foam as a chair....

 A contained Maggie during truck packing day!

A stop at Cracker Barrel for a meal on our way to Connecticut!

 My Mom <3

 Once we arrived in Connecticut we needed to get a kitchen table... so here are some pics from our trip to IKEA to buy a inexpensive okay to get banged up table!  Maggie and Grandma played it up in IKEA!

 We bought Maggie her first pillow on this trip since she really got a kick out of this kid bed peek a boo session!

I think I will try to provide some before and after pics of our new home once everything is all finished!