Happy 4th in NY

We've left the city and have been in the Adirondacks for about a week now. It took a few days to get here, we drove...don't ask what we were thinking - we're not quite sure. I'm so glad we did the trip to Cinci in the spring though - that was great practice, especially for me since I went solo on the outbound trip and had figured out how to drive and entertain a 3 and 1 year old. So having Daniel around made it that much easier. Still the whining got old. There was a LOT of whining and crying on the 15+ hour long drive. Plus a few requests to turn around and go home from the talking child.

He's happy now, fishing and hanging on the beach with gramps (digging for worms, and other critters, too) and various activities with oma, baking, shopping, hiking.

These pictures are of the drive to VT but gives a snapshot of what our drive was like.

We went to the bookstore that day and the kids had a great time.

We also went out to lunch and walked around church street in Burlington.

We walked up Mt. Defiance - what a walk!I was sweating the whole way up...Xavi was a trooper most of the way but...

Requested to be carried the rest of the way. Carolina was just grumpy because she had to stay in the stroller. In this picture she says "NO!" to me when I ask her to say cheese.

The view from near the top kept us going.

Carolina becomes happy once we let her out of her stroller.

All goes well for a while, then tiredness kicks in and it falls apart.











We tried to take a family picture at the top but the kids were not willing participants. It was worth a shot and looks ok, as long as you don't look at their faces too closely...

the last month

Here are random pictures from the last month. I've really fallen off! Neither child lets me wander far from them these days so I can't take a quick blog break anymore. I have to do it while they're both sleeping. Here are pictures from the last month. Starting with one playing together...Some 'tude...

She says cheese now. And ball, milk, more and the other day, we swear, she said "don't do that"

Thinks she can write...and read sometimes too...actually she thinks she has full blown conversations with everyone. This was her oma's mother's day card...
Follows her brother everywhere and wants to do everything he does...even jump in the mud! Yikes! (Wow! Her hair did get long in the last month!)

Pictured with the other accomplice - don't they look proud of themselves.

little penguins

We made the mistake of telling Xavi about our summer plans and now he asks every day, twice a day, when will he see his cousin Connor and his oma and grandpa. There isn't a whole lot of pressure on Connor, just play and hang out - maybe go to the beach and swim. Xavi seems happy with those plans. Oma and grandpa have a LOT to do. Oma has to bake cupcakes and cookies with him and grandpa has to take him to the camping, to sleep in a tent and on the boat to go fishing to catch the big fish! It's the first thing he says some days when he wakes up...like this am. 4.5 weeks and counting...as my friend Jenny would say, oy vey zmir!

As you can see he's talking a lot...and he pays attention to everything we say. Like when I told Daniel that I'd done a new workout routine at the gym and I kicked my butt. Xavi turned to me, very worried, and asked "Mami, why you kicked your own butt?"

Or when Daniel was wrestling with Xavi and said he was making a Xavi sandwich as he laid on top of him. Xavi laughed and asked me to be the chicken and Carolina to be the cheese because there was no stuff in the sandwich.

And he's taken to pointing out Daniel's white hair and letting everyone know that Daddy has white hair because he's old. Love it. Mami has none!

Carolina, on the other hand, just says no a lot. But it's darned cute when she says it. She actually says Xavi, crackers, Daniel, Daddy, Papi, Pauline (her best girlfriend at daycare) and a bunch of other words. I've heard her say mami a few times, but it's not often. She had her 15 month check up today and here are her stats: height- 30 1/4 inches (75%) and weight - 23lbs 1 1/2 oz (50%). I got her 12 month stats so I'll post them on the side bar.

This weekend we went to the reopening of the Oceanarium at the Shedd. It was fantastic. I highly recommend it. The penguin exhibit itself didn't change much but directly across it is a new play area that very closely resembles a penguin habitat. Rocks that kids can climb, an "iced" over sled, and a cave/tunnel. Kids can dress like penguins and waddle around or look for eggs to take to the nest! They have to take them between their feet! SO cute! Xavi loved it! Carolina threw the egg...like a ball...The eggs open to reveal newborn penguins (the baby penguins can not be removed from the egg, however, or they would be home with us now). There are tables across the dolphin exhibit so you can eat while you watch them. GO!

best mother's day present