Museum

Addy and I had been planning on doing some Mommy-and-Me Exercise, but when the host's daughter came down with a fever, we opted to head to the Children's Museum instead. Luckily, it was a Mom's group meet-up, so we rode on the coattails of someone else's pass, and got in as free guests. It was slightly chaotic; one of the moms who is a regular said that it was much more crowded than normal.

  Our buddy Jackson

Sorry, PlaySpace. My kid likes to lick the stuff you CAN'T put in the "dirty toys" bin.

We hung out in the Playspace for a while until the babes got cranky (Addy and our new little buddy, Jackson), then Jenn and I strapped the kiddos into their Ergo's and headed out in search of lunch. The babies napped while we waited... and waited... and waited for our sandwiches. Of course, it was totally delicious when the food finally came, but it was a very crowded little sandwich shop (too crowded for me to take my camera out), with about 50 people crammed in and breathing on each other.

By the end of our lunch, the babies had finished their power naps, so we went back to the museum for a bit of bubble fun.

I have such a weakness for big bald-headed baby boys named Jack

All in all, the Children's Museum was a roaring success, even if we did only make it to 2 of the rooms. I'm still on the fence about buying a membership - although next week, when Addy turns 1, we'll have to pay full admission for her ($12!), so it will probably be worth it.

Next on the hit list is the Museum of Science. Chloe went there on a field trip a few weeks ago and has been begging to go back, since she only saw about a quarter of it. She has a half day next week, so I think we may go. It will be a big week - SOMEONE is turning 1, so we're going to the Aquarium to celebrate, and she will party hard on Saturday with family and friends. So many pictures to take, so little time!

Breaking Out

I have started to question the logic in our decision to move north to Boston, instead of somewhere like Florida. I follow the blog of a mom in Florida, and she has had pictures with green grass, and started talking about Spring arriving back in February. We are grim and determined to at least pretend that Spring may be coming, and have been going to walk around Horn Pond a few times each week. It's been cold, and the wind coming off the pond bites at your cheeks and takes your breath away. But we get out there and trudge around the pond and wonder how the dozens of geese, mallard ducks, and the pair of swans can stand the frigid water.

And even when we aren't out at the pond, we can still get lots of cute sister pictures by standing near the one window that lets sunlight in.

I have finally really made some mom friends, so much so that we are planning lunch and play dates, and have some playgroups that Addy and I regularly hit up. It's amazing how far a little "people really DO like me" validation can go to make you feel human again.

I also have started working on the cake for Allison's baby shower next weekend. I wish I could post pictures, but it's more fun when it's a surprise. I'll post some after she's cut into it!

Worth It.

Every once in a while, usually when the bills from the laser treatment start rolling in, I wonder if it's worth it. Of course, in my heart of hearts, I know it's worth it, but every once in a while, the doubt creeps in. A picture is worth a thousand words, and I take a thousand pictures. So here are two - a simple before and after. In just a few months, baby, how far we've come.

But we still get asked about her face just about every other time we are out; a reminder of how far we have yet to go. We hope nature takes care of some of it, darkening her skin a bit, making her blue nose look less like a bruise. There is still the angiogram that will tell us what role, if any, sclerotherapy may play for her. And, eventually, as a teenager, makeup will help what nature and lasers do not. I wonder sometimes if she will be self-concious in a bikini - will she be able to embrace the spider veins that course along her abdomen, or will she prefer to keep them hidden? Of course, we have a solid 10 to 15 years before we will scratch the surface of teenager-dom, and there may be more cosmetic options at that point.

Here are another few thousand words...

Sometimes less is more. Less color, more impact.

...and some naptime fun

So worth it.

Mother Nature's Mood Swings

We got a taste of Spring last week. Warm, delicious, almost 70 degree days. Which meant that we had to shrug tradition and grill hot dogs on St. Patty's day instead of stinking up the house with corned beef and cabbage. Plus, I don't like corned beef or cabbage... hot dogs and Corona's are Irish enough, right?

And Addy got to sit the in grass. She was not too pleased in the beginning...

...but eventually realized the grass was OK, as long as there was a lap to sit on.

Friday evening called for a long stroll around the pond

We had a quiet weekend of playing with the breeze coming through open windows...

...and teething. We are oh-so-close to having at least one front tooth. We can see the white line of the tooth pushing down, and each morning it gets brighter and longer than the one before. Each morning I hope this will be the morning that it has finally popped through. She seems in great spirits about it, chewing anything she can get her hands on, and drooling up a storm.

We spent plenty of time outside, and by the end, Addy realized that this whole grass thing isn't so bad.

Of course, if everyone didn't already have a case of the Monday's, today would do it - by 10am, it was that raw-to-your-bones cold, and snowing. So now that great lawn of grass is covered, and we are back to throwing on more and more layers. A cruel reminder that it is, in fact, only March.

One of Addy's favorite playthings are the bracelets I've collected in support of my patients. Just a quick shout-out to let you know I am still with each of you in spirit.

Playing catch-up.

Goodness, I have been blog-slacking. Sorry.

This past week, Addy was seen by the allergist because of her egg allergy and the contraindication for the flu shot. All went well, no reactions, and she got the flu shot. She was also praised as the "best behaved baby ever." I have to agree.

The last few days have been a bit rough. Addy is not sleeping well, and I am not sleeping well. There is a light at the end of the tunnel - her two front teeth are so close to breaking through, we can see the white through her gums. But until then, it's lots of crying, and fussing, and waking up at night. But also a lot of snuggles, so we can't complain too much.

Addy would like to remind everyone it's almost bathing suit season. Are you ready?

All of a sudden, Addy's hair has had a growth spurt, and she is sporting the "bullet" (pronounced buhl-let, as in baby-mullet) look. We're just going to have to embrace it, as she pulls any and every hair clip or headband right off.

Cloth diapering is going WONDERFULLY! We have only had to use 1 disposable all week, right in the beginning when Addy had a nasty rash, and my CJ's BUTTer hadn't arrived yet. BUTTer is a cloth-diaper safe diaper cream that is made by a stay-at-home mom in the mid-west. And smells DELISH.

My Best Bottom diapers arrived, which are an All-In-2 system.
So there is a shell:

And a fitted liner:

Which snaps into the shell, so it doesn't move or bunch:

And looks darn cute!

What I like about these diapers is that they are considerably less bulky than the bumGenius ones (they are just as slim-fitting as a disposable!) but more absorbent. So Addy can wear jeans again, and there is less diaper bag bulk. The other cool thing is that when you change the diaper, you just unsnap the liner and snap a new one in. You keep using the same shell until it gets soiled. It took me a few days to get the hang of the snaps on the Best Bottom diaper, but now I've got it.

We took a girls' trip to Stone Zoo this weekend while Pete went off on a long run (he's training for a half-Ironman. I think that makes him a full-Crazyman). Stone Zoo is a small zoo about 10 minutes from our house. It was a little chilly, but fun, and good to get some fresh air.

As you can see from the timestamp, I'm suffering with a bit of insomnia. **sigh**

Spring is scheduled to make a guest appearance Friday. We are going to find a playground, and Addy is going to go in an outside swing for the first time. I promise. 

Sweet dreams everyone...