Where Have We Been? (Part 2)

Every few days the past couple weeks we've gotten a teaser of spring.  A day in the 40s or 50s.  But so far each nice day has been followed by days of snow or freezing temps or a morning of snow and sleet (like today).  I think I've been saying this for months, but we are SO DONE WITH WINTER.  Come on spring!!!

We have utterly exhausted all indoor activities for toddlers in the Saratoga area.  MiniM.E. has also lost interest in the majority of toys we have for her to play with inside.  Of course, the few things that I cannot stand playing with still make a daily appearance (oh, inventor of play doh accessories: why make things kids can't use by themselves?)

In addition to our cabin fever, I have reinstated the NAP.  Most days this is achieved by conveniently being in the car around 2pm.  Other days I throw in a DVD from the library on repeat and make MiniM.E. lie on the couch with me until she falls asleep from boredom.  This has its benefits and drawbacks.  Benefit: I get a nap.  Drawback: MiniM.E. is up until all hours of the night.  Conclusion: She will play with Daddy in the evening- NAP WINS!!

I have NOT been good at planning fun seasonal art projects.  I have NOT been good at finding fun new activities to keep her entertained during the day.  Most days I try to keep us busy out of the house in the morning and muddle through the afternoon.

We have been spending a lot of time out with friends.

This has NOT been a good month for feeling like Mom-of-the-Year.  Forced naptime.  Unhealthy diet (hello sharing-sized boxes of cheddar bunnies and mac and cheese).  No fun projects or activities.

lots of "quiet time activities"

BUT, I have an excuse.

Lazyness + naps + diet of unhealthy junk food like Pop-Tarts + going to sleep as soon as MiniM.E. is out + no photos and blog posts can only mean one thing...

MiniM.E. is going to be a big sister!!  We are beyond thrilled (though my level of excitedness will increase dramatically when the first trimester symptoms fade).  MiniM.E. can hardly contain herself- I am 100% sure she is the most excited of the three of us.  She is constantly referring to the baby as "her baby" and has already declared it a brother.  Despite her excitement, she refuses to make me a cute Baby#2 is on the way announcement video or even let me take a photo of her with an ultrasound picture.  Oh well...

Crazily, Baby#2 has the same due date as MiniM.E. so she's getting just what she wanted for her birthday.

We're past week 12 and I was hoping to be gleefully entering the honeymoon phase of pregnancy. Instead I'm still nauseated, starving, cursing heartburn, rocking the stretchy maternity pants over my Pop-Tart-Bump and counting minutes until I can fall into bed at night.

It's all okay though because I'm growing another itty bitty awesome human.  MiniM.E. will totally understand when she looks back at the start of 2014 and there are only seven photos of her, right?

Our Week In Photos

pretend clipping toenails with Daddy

kitty cuddles 

hugs

breakfast with friends

bouncing with friends

sliding!

making Mommy eggs

bath!

a walk in Congress Park

puddle jumping

and splashing

watching the ducks

feeding the ducks

first backyard swing of the year

first bonfire of the season 

with Daddy

Is It Still Winter?!?!?

MiniM.E. has been constantly saying, "Mommy, I'm tired of the snow," "Mommy, I'm tired of the cold," "Mommy, is spring tomorrow?"

I totally feel the same way.  This has been a long cold winter and MiniM.E. and I are ready for some sun and warm weather.

We've been getting back into the routine since coming back from NH and have been trying to keep busy.  Our week so far:

Cakepop at Starbucks

Throwing rocks in "the stream"

Pedicure turned nap 

Finger painting 

the mall

"Big" carousel at the mall 

little carousel at the mall

Bathtime!

at the TreePaad

collecting balls for the ball cannon

On the agenda for this weekend: baking a cake for Mommy's birthday.  MiniM.E. has been talking about it all week.  In case you were wondering, it will be chocolate with "bannilla" frosting and lots of sprinkles, per MiniM.E.'s request.

What a Beautiful Day!

After we came home from skiing we had to take advantage of the warm weather and go out and play in the snow.

And take a dip in the hot tub.  MiniM.E. loved melting the snow in the warm water!

Today it's back to NY.  Thanks for having us Gram and Grumpy!

New Hampshire & Ski Trip #2

This week is school vacation in NY and all our activities were cancelled for the week so it was the perfect time to visit Gram & Grumpy in NH.  We haven't been to NH since Christmas and MiniM.E. has been asking about it for weeks.

Coming to my parents is always a nice break for me because while we are here MiniM.E. wants absolutely nothing to do with me.  Half the time I am not even allowed to be in the room ("I don't WANT Mommy in here!!!").  I'd say I was sad about that but that would be an outright lie.  I love MiniM.E. to pieces but sometimes I just need the break.

So, instead of having tons of photos of MiniM.E. playing here, I have um... one?  I mean, it's awfully hard to take photos of your daughter if you aren't allowed in the room...

MiniM.E. at the dinner table

Today though, instead of playing at home, we took MiniM.E. to Pat's Peak to go skiing on the bunny slope.  

Dancing in the van

Ready to go!

Her second time on skis she did a lot better keeping her balance and standing on her own.  It was a little more short lived than our first skiing adventure- we only made it up and down twice.

The best part of the day for MiniM.E. was sitting in the lodge by the fire and eating this big cookie... In fact, before we even got the skis on she started saying, "I'm so chilly, I want to go in and sit by the fire and eat a cookie."

Two is More Fun than One

This weekend Bob is visiting his brother in Long Island.  Usually, I like a little mommy-daughter time, but lately our days have been looooonnngg, and I have to say I was a little worried about having MiniM.E. all to myself overnight last night (Gram came to the rescue today!!).

To top it off, I also agreed to baby-sit one of MiniM.E.'s friends while her parents went out for a Valentine's dinner.  Again, usually would sound like fun, but MiniM.E. has been quite demanding... add to that her newfound anti-sharing sentiments and I was more than a little concerned about how our evening would unfold.

A. was a little timid at first, but MiniM.E. immediately stepped it up and instead of insisting that A. went home right away (as I expected), she went right over, cradled her cheeks and said, "It's okay, your mommy and daddy will be back to pick you up soon."  Then she brought her in and showed her around.  Dinner was first on the agenda, and once the girls were full of yummy dinner (brought by A.'s mom), they played and played.  Lots of water was involved...

All in all, I have to say having two two-year-olds was much easier than having just MiniM.E.  They kept each other occupied (I washed the dishes after dinner!!) and laughed and giggled and were in great spirits the whole time.  Thanks for coming over, A.!  You made the night much easier for MiniM.E.'s mom :)

Oh, Winter...

Seriously?  For one, this is too much snow.  I mean, I love snow, and MiniM.E. is pretty into sledding this year, but bring on spring.  I could use some playground weather.  Or at least puddle jumping...

It's snowing now AGAIN.  And we're in for a foot or so... exciting to watch, but not so exciting when it means being stuck inside with your antsy toddler.

And secondly, give my kid a break!  She gets over the flu, has a week of feeling good and you give her the stomach bug....

At least we had a good few days of fun in the middle.  And she's finally returning to her normal self after a rough day of throwing up last weekend.

We tried out open gymnastics at the YMCA at the beginning of the week:

And went sledding with friends yesterday:

We made a bunch of Valentine's Crafts while Molly wasn't feeling well, but I am not cut out to be a craft blogger and as much as I thought I would photograph the materials, process and finished products, I have nothing to show for the time we spent.  Oh well... we had a good time!

Happy Early Valentine's Day!!