From Olin's teacher, that is, to let us know that he has "passed the test" and that she wants to officially start his potty training at school next Monday. I didn't realize it until this morning, but this is apparently a very big deal for these little guys. This so-called test is a series of things that indicate to his teachers that he is ready and this morning he passed the final part. When ready, each child gets a potty training "buddy" of the same gender, but because none of the other boys in the class are ready yet (just the girls are potty training right now), Olin will have a potty training "mentor", which is his friend Theo, who is the only boy in class already trained. Theo is one of the older ones (almost 3) so I am sure that he will be a great mentor for our little one. Isn't that just the cutest thing ever?
Olin's teacher said that she is very surprised that he is ready so early (for a boy) - I am not sure if that is something to be proud of or not, but given the late age in which he started walking and talking, we'll take it!
Anyway, we have to begin the process at home this weekend (get ready Josh!) and I have specific instructions from his teachers on what to do. And in the coming weeks, he will need 6 pairs of extra underpants, 6 pairs of extra pants, several pairs of extra socks and an extra pair of shoes at school at all times! Wish us luck - I see a lot of laundry in our future. Thank goodness we held out for an apartment with a washer and dryer in the unit!
And for everyone's benefit (including Olin's), I don't have any cute pictures of little mister to go along with this post!
Happy Thursday everyone!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
At Home With Pink Eye
I am not going to lie, yesterday was not the best day. Olin had to stay home from school due to the pink eye and I have come down with a cold myself. A strange cold in fact... I have an incredibly sore throat and every time I swallow I get this blinding pain in my right ear. I was sure that it was strep throat or an ear infection or both and that I wouldn't be able to treat it with antibiotics because of the baby. And then I did what I always tell myself not to do... I checked my symptoms on WebMD. The first result of my search... esophageal cancer. Well, that kicked my hypochondria into overdrive as WebMD searches usually do - what is wrong with that site? Why must cancer or something equally terrifying always pop up first in their potential diagnoses? Luckily, I went to the doctor this morning and he confirmed that it is in fact just a cold and prescribed me two different nasal sprays to hopefully relieve this awful pain in my ear.
Anyway, trying to entertain a 2 year old without leaving the house (for fear of spreading our pink eye and cold germs to an already very sick city) and not feeling so hot myself proved to be a challenge. And as luck would have it, Olin didn't nap well and was only interested in doing things he wasn't supposed to be doing (namely, putting CD's in and out of my laptop, unwinding the toilet paper in the bathroom and repeatedly flushing the toilet). He had a melt down each time I told him "no" or when I suggested something else like playing with his toys, working on puzzles, or reading books. The minutes passed like hours and as the day went on, my fear of having two of these little guys around the house put me in an all out panic.
But then, the events of the day were nearly completely erased from memory when at 5pm, Olin ran over to me and gave me a tight squeeze around my legs and when I bent down to give him a hug and rub his back, he so carefully said in his sweet little voice "I love you, mommy" and then gave me a big kiss on the lips. Now how can it get better than that? That little guy seems to make my day every day no matter what.
And the highlight of Olin's day... hot chocolate in a "daddy" mug. Okay, not really hot chocolate, half whole milk and half chocolate almond milk. Lucky for me, he doesn't know the difference...
Anyway, trying to entertain a 2 year old without leaving the house (for fear of spreading our pink eye and cold germs to an already very sick city) and not feeling so hot myself proved to be a challenge. And as luck would have it, Olin didn't nap well and was only interested in doing things he wasn't supposed to be doing (namely, putting CD's in and out of my laptop, unwinding the toilet paper in the bathroom and repeatedly flushing the toilet). He had a melt down each time I told him "no" or when I suggested something else like playing with his toys, working on puzzles, or reading books. The minutes passed like hours and as the day went on, my fear of having two of these little guys around the house put me in an all out panic.
But then, the events of the day were nearly completely erased from memory when at 5pm, Olin ran over to me and gave me a tight squeeze around my legs and when I bent down to give him a hug and rub his back, he so carefully said in his sweet little voice "I love you, mommy" and then gave me a big kiss on the lips. Now how can it get better than that? That little guy seems to make my day every day no matter what.
And the highlight of Olin's day... hot chocolate in a "daddy" mug. Okay, not really hot chocolate, half whole milk and half chocolate almond milk. Lucky for me, he doesn't know the difference...
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Half Way
At our ultrasound last week, the doctor informed us that she currently weighs about 13 ounces. In our pregnancy book, it says our baby should weigh about 9 ounces at this point so I am immediately panicked by the fact that I seem to be carrying Baby Heuy. And poor Josh has always had this irrational fear that when we had kids, any boys would be my size and any girls would be his size. Well given that Olin is already on the petite side, Josh heard the size prediction of the baby and said "great, it's happening". The doctor assured us that her weight is totally normal and that the book is wrong - but the book is written by the Mayo Clinic so it is hard to write off its information as erroneous. Anyway, it is entirely not an issue, and actually great news in fact that she is thriving and growing so big. We have had some good laughs about it over the past few days though!
Oh, and Josh took this picture of our pantry this morning because he thought it was so funny. This baby can't seem to get enough dried fruit... especially dried mangoes. With Olin, I LOVED turkey burgers and with this one, dried fruit, seems stereotypically gender specific huh?
Monday, January 28, 2013
A Snowy Monday Morning
Finally, something good has come from these frigid temperatures... snow! The pretty kind too. Here are some pictures of Central Park that I took on my walk to yoga this morning...
Happy Monday everyone!
My Monday was really off to a great start, but then after yoga, while still in my zen-like haze from class, I checked my voicemail only to find that I had to pick up Olin from school immediately because he had come down with pink eye (apparently it's going around the school). Just another one to add to our list of ailments this school year. Oh, and on my way to the school, that pretty snowed turned into sleet.
Please wish me luck trying to give a 2 year old eye drops 3 times a day for the next 7 days - this could get ugly!
Please wish me luck trying to give a 2 year old eye drops 3 times a day for the next 7 days - this could get ugly!
Happy Monday everyone!
Friday, January 25, 2013
Channeling Martha
Earlier this week, Olin's teachers asked that we photograph Olin dressed in an outfit representative of part of his ethnic heritage. Their intention is to use the photos of the children in these outfits to teach them about various countries of the world. So I headed to Michael's and we put together this little number to represent little mister's German heritage. Pretty cute, huh?
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Taxi!
Our little one is really becoming a little New Yorker. Over the weekend, he assumed all taxi hailing responsibilities. Now, every time we go outside, he sticks out his little hand and yells "taxi!" Perhaps he feels it's his responsibility or perhaps he is just so cold that he is desperate to get in a cab rather than walk! It really is frigid here this week. It's so cold that I did yoga in a turtleneck yesterday and I am writing this post today from our bed, under the comforter, with a wool hat on! Here's hoping for an early spring.
In other news, Josh and I saw baby girl this morning at our second ultrasound. Everything looks great and she even touched her toes for us... looks like she is already a little yogini.
Happy Thursday everyone! Stay warm!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
The Little Baker Man
Years ago, Grandpa Carl gave us a kitchen timer in the shape of a little baker and since he has been in our home, he has lived a relatively boring life in our kitchen... until now. This little guy has really saved us over the past couple of weeks. The little man has been redeployed from the kitchen to the bathroom, where he alerts Olin when it's time to get in the bathtub and then out of the bathtub.
The problem was that we let Olin sit on his potty to "practice" before getting in the bathtub every night. And does this little boy like to sit on his potty! He would sit there all night if we let him and talk and sing and giggle. So now we set the timer and the little man tells him when it's time to start his bath. The other "problem" was that Olin also loves the bathtub and could stay in there for hours too. Again, the little man tells him when bath time is over. It's amazing how Olin will listen to this little timer, but not Josh and me!
He has become so infatuated with this little guy that he even wanted to sleep with it. Hey, at least he is listening to someone! Thanks Grandpa Carl for the invaluable gift!
The problem was that we let Olin sit on his potty to "practice" before getting in the bathtub every night. And does this little boy like to sit on his potty! He would sit there all night if we let him and talk and sing and giggle. So now we set the timer and the little man tells him when it's time to start his bath. The other "problem" was that Olin also loves the bathtub and could stay in there for hours too. Again, the little man tells him when bath time is over. It's amazing how Olin will listen to this little timer, but not Josh and me!
He has become so infatuated with this little guy that he even wanted to sleep with it. Hey, at least he is listening to someone! Thanks Grandpa Carl for the invaluable gift!
Have a great weekend everyone! Grandpa Greg and Grandma Peg
arrive in NYC in just a few hours so we are looking forward to a fun
one around here!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Bliss
I know this is Olin's blog, but I had such a lovely day yesterday that I couldn't resist writing about it.
Olin woke up a little stuffy so he joined Josh in the shower to help his little nose unclog. I spent the entire time listening to those two giggle together while they played in the shower and thought about how incredibly lucky this little boy is to have Josh as his daddy and how incredibly lucky I am to have both of them in my life.
After school drop-off, baby girl and I had our first prenatal yoga class together... heaven. It's been too long since my last yoga class and it felt so great to stretch, breathe and be reminded to be present (something I struggle with on a daily basis.)
It was cold and rainy yesterday so after yoga, I made myself the most incredible tofu, vegetable and soba noodle soup. I am always searching for noodle bowls without meat and mushrooms and haven't had much luck. Looks like I should have been making it myself all along!
And then I had this for dessert... ah, Nutella.
And if this weren't enough, when I picked Olin up from school, his teachers were so excited to tell me that he used the potty! So proud of him, they even took pictures (a little weird, I know, but so appreciated by this mommy.) Have I mentioned recently how great his teachers are? We really lucked out with them!
And to top it off, I made this blueberry, pecan and Greek yogurt parfait for Olin's after school snack, which he rejected for a bowl of prunes (go figure), so I enjoyed it as my snack.
Really, nothing monumental happened (and I know it's just a lot about what I ate), but it was one of those days that reminded me to always be grateful and I had to share. Thanks for reading!
Olin woke up a little stuffy so he joined Josh in the shower to help his little nose unclog. I spent the entire time listening to those two giggle together while they played in the shower and thought about how incredibly lucky this little boy is to have Josh as his daddy and how incredibly lucky I am to have both of them in my life.
After school drop-off, baby girl and I had our first prenatal yoga class together... heaven. It's been too long since my last yoga class and it felt so great to stretch, breathe and be reminded to be present (something I struggle with on a daily basis.)
It was cold and rainy yesterday so after yoga, I made myself the most incredible tofu, vegetable and soba noodle soup. I am always searching for noodle bowls without meat and mushrooms and haven't had much luck. Looks like I should have been making it myself all along!
And then I had this for dessert... ah, Nutella.
And if this weren't enough, when I picked Olin up from school, his teachers were so excited to tell me that he used the potty! So proud of him, they even took pictures (a little weird, I know, but so appreciated by this mommy.) Have I mentioned recently how great his teachers are? We really lucked out with them!
And to top it off, I made this blueberry, pecan and Greek yogurt parfait for Olin's after school snack, which he rejected for a bowl of prunes (go figure), so I enjoyed it as my snack.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
A Day of Playdates
This past weekend wasn't all about art appreciation, Olin played a lot too. He had 3 playdates on Saturday. The first was part of our preschool application process (the last step, thank goodness!), where a subset of the prospective families bring their children in at a specified time to play together while being observed by the school's faculty members, the director of admissions and the head of the school. It could have gone better.... our normally social butterfly was incredibly timid and clutched on to Josh or I for the first 10 minutes and then once he warmed up, he got too excited playing with the sand and accidentally got sand in a teacher's face. He pulled it together for snack time though (he's a Burgher) and ended the playdate as perhaps the most well behaved and even cleaned up after himself, so I think we may still be okay. (I didn't dare take pictures at this playdate, but it was very cute to see all these children that have never met before play together so effortlessly.)
The second playdate was our church's monthly families with young children get together. The highlight for Olin was that he ate three Fig Newtons (the most unhealthy of the snacks they had that morning) and the low point was when one of the older kids threw a giant beach ball at Olin that knocked him on the ground, which I guess is to be expected when you have a bunch of kids in a relatively small room.
The third and final playdate was at baby Andrew's house. Andrew has THE BEST toys so I think this was Olin's favorite of the day! I didn't get great pictures, sorry - it's hard to get good photos of little ones this age because they never stop moving! Thanks Lisa and Brian for having us over!
After all that playing, we went out for Persian food at Shalezeh on Saturday night and to our surprise Olin loved it! He really liked my split pea and eggplant stew and Josh's rice with fava beans and dill... he must have really worked up an appetite from all that playing!
The second playdate was our church's monthly families with young children get together. The highlight for Olin was that he ate three Fig Newtons (the most unhealthy of the snacks they had that morning) and the low point was when one of the older kids threw a giant beach ball at Olin that knocked him on the ground, which I guess is to be expected when you have a bunch of kids in a relatively small room.
The third and final playdate was at baby Andrew's house. Andrew has THE BEST toys so I think this was Olin's favorite of the day! I didn't get great pictures, sorry - it's hard to get good photos of little ones this age because they never stop moving! Thanks Lisa and Brian for having us over!
After all that playing, we went out for Persian food at Shalezeh on Saturday night and to our surprise Olin loved it! He really liked my split pea and eggplant stew and Josh's rice with fava beans and dill... he must have really worked up an appetite from all that playing!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Already a Sweet Big Brother
I found this video of Olin from Christmas while going through our video library last week. He really is the sweetest little guy...
Oh, and please no comments about the size of my belly at a then 16 weeks! I keep telling myself that it's just because it's my second baby and the pace of growth will slow eventually, right? With this baby, I also seem to be gaining weight in my face...ugh! So in the coming months, if there seems to be a pregnant looking teenager in our photos, don't worry, it's just me.
Oh, and please no comments about the size of my belly at a then 16 weeks! I keep telling myself that it's just because it's my second baby and the pace of growth will slow eventually, right? With this baby, I also seem to be gaining weight in my face...ugh! So in the coming months, if there seems to be a pregnant looking teenager in our photos, don't worry, it's just me.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Oh, That Video!
Well, this video has really become my nemesis. I learned over the weekend that it wasn't working for all of you. I think that I have fixed the issue - you can try it again here...Le Chanteur video. Let me know if you are still having trouble with it.
Work of Art
If you can believe it, Olin and his class learned about Jackson Pollock in school last week. They even tried their hands at a Pollock-esque painting of their own and no offense to Mr. Pollock, but the 2 year olds' work looks very similar. Their piece is lovely, but it is definitely not the neatest method of painting. In addition to their Pollock work, the children also painted with their feet and made a project with paper mache so it was a very messy week for us and unfortunately several items of clothing did not survive all the fun!
In honor of his art history lesson, we took Olin to the Met yesterday to admire some of Pollack's work in real life. I am not sure how much he appreciated it... he seemed to enjoy the bench in front of the painting more than the painting itself... but it sure was fun for me and Josh.
And before the museum, we had brunch at Via Quadronno, which was a completely different kind of art... delicious!
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
In honor of his art history lesson, we took Olin to the Met yesterday to admire some of Pollack's work in real life. I am not sure how much he appreciated it... he seemed to enjoy the bench in front of the painting more than the painting itself... but it sure was fun for me and Josh.
And before the museum, we had brunch at Via Quadronno, which was a completely different kind of art... delicious!
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Friday, January 11, 2013
Le Chanteur
Success! Here is that headache of a video edited down to an appropriate length, which, by the way, took only a few minutes this morning (ah, what a difference a new day and a fresh perspective can make!) We took this right before bedtime Wednesday night and thought it would be nice to share the musical stylings of little mister that we have been enjoying around here lately. Sorry that part of little mister's head is cut off in a lot of the video - Josh had the camera display turned to Olin so that he could see himself, but I think it is cute nonetheless. He has got the tune, we just need to work on the words...
Happy Friday everyone!
Happy Friday everyone!
A Day of Frustrations
I have received requests for more videos and we took the perfect little one of Olin Wednesday night that I tried to post yesterday. The problem was (or is) that the video is too long and won't load to Blogger, plus I don't want to bore you all with an obnoxiously long video of our child. So I spent hours yesterday trying (unsuccessfully) to cut it down. There were 2 computers and 1 phone involved as well as countless uploads and software updates... nothing worked. And then, to add insult to injury after nearly two hours of working on it, our Internet went down.
The Internet issue was just as well because I needed to pick up Olin by that time and we had an appointment at his doctor's for a second round of his flu vaccine, which has been a whole other issue. Back in November, his doctor mentioned that he may need a second dose, but would need to look it up to confirm and would get back to us. Well, he never did so I called and left a voicemail to follow-up. They never called me back. I called again on Wednesday and they said that he does need a second dose. So we hurried the twenty blocks down to the doctor's office yesterday after school, waited to see the doctor with a bunch of coughing, sneezing, wheezing children (presumably with the flu) and then the nurse came out to tell me that he doesn't need the second dose this year. Agh!
However, in the spirit of not dwelling on the negative (because honestly, none of the above is really that bad), yesterday morning was pretty great because I saw Ina Garten walking down Madison. I adore Ina, so it was a thrill to see her. I also spotted Kelly Rutherford a few minutes after my Ina sighting, but Kelly also loves our same Le Pain Quotidian and so we have had breakfast with her (okay, near her) several times but it's still always fun to see a celebrity. And most importantly, Olin was so sweet yesterday and we treated ourselves to rugelach at Zabar's after our unnecessary trip to the doctor and had a wonderful time together.
So I am going to work on the video some more this morning and fingers crossed, I will be able to post it by the end of the day!
The Internet issue was just as well because I needed to pick up Olin by that time and we had an appointment at his doctor's for a second round of his flu vaccine, which has been a whole other issue. Back in November, his doctor mentioned that he may need a second dose, but would need to look it up to confirm and would get back to us. Well, he never did so I called and left a voicemail to follow-up. They never called me back. I called again on Wednesday and they said that he does need a second dose. So we hurried the twenty blocks down to the doctor's office yesterday after school, waited to see the doctor with a bunch of coughing, sneezing, wheezing children (presumably with the flu) and then the nurse came out to tell me that he doesn't need the second dose this year. Agh!
However, in the spirit of not dwelling on the negative (because honestly, none of the above is really that bad), yesterday morning was pretty great because I saw Ina Garten walking down Madison. I adore Ina, so it was a thrill to see her. I also spotted Kelly Rutherford a few minutes after my Ina sighting, but Kelly also loves our same Le Pain Quotidian and so we have had breakfast with her (okay, near her) several times but it's still always fun to see a celebrity. And most importantly, Olin was so sweet yesterday and we treated ourselves to rugelach at Zabar's after our unnecessary trip to the doctor and had a wonderful time together.
So I am going to work on the video some more this morning and fingers crossed, I will be able to post it by the end of the day!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Grammy's Visit to NYC
It seems that the less I have to do, the more I procrastinate. I know it's not logical, but nonetheless, here I am nearly 3 weeks late in posting these photos! Anyway, Grammy Marion came to NYC for a long weekend just before Christmas and Olin had so much fun with her. Here are some of the highlights of her trip...
Lunch at Alice's Tea Cup, which Olin loved so much that he let me and Grammy drink two pots of tea! And I loved their tea list - it's pretty incredible.
Grammy and Olin baked Christmas cookies and Kuchen together and I lost track of how much batter he consumed that day. At one point, when he wanted back up on the counter to help stir, Grammy asked if he would stop eating the batter if she let him help and without even thinking he said "no!". Hey, at least he's honest. Even with the batter sneaking, little mister was much more helpful than his mommy, who fell asleep on the couch... I blame the baby!
Dinner at The Mermaid Oyster Bar, which was so wonderful that Josh and I have already decided that we must come back for a date of oysters and champagne in June to celebrate the arrival of baby girl.
We ordered Olin the sweetest little fish tacos, which he passed up for the Goldfish crackers that our waiter brought him. The highlight for him though was the chocolate pudding for dessert... that look of pure delight in the photo below was after his first bite of it. Which means, his dinner that evening was comprised of Goldfish crackers and chocolate pudding - that would not have been my first choice for him. I guess that is what our daily vitamin is for.
And finally, a good-bye brunch at Le Pain Quotidien. If you ever come to NYC to visit us, you can probably expect at least one visit here. Between afternoon coffees and teas, on-the-go snacks and this brunch, I think we brought Grammy here 4 times in one weekend - we really do love this place. Our obsession with it makes me think we should live in Brussels someday!
We had such a great time with Grammy and only wish that we could see her more often!
Lunch at Alice's Tea Cup, which Olin loved so much that he let me and Grammy drink two pots of tea! And I loved their tea list - it's pretty incredible.
Grammy and Olin baked Christmas cookies and Kuchen together and I lost track of how much batter he consumed that day. At one point, when he wanted back up on the counter to help stir, Grammy asked if he would stop eating the batter if she let him help and without even thinking he said "no!". Hey, at least he's honest. Even with the batter sneaking, little mister was much more helpful than his mommy, who fell asleep on the couch... I blame the baby!
Dinner at The Mermaid Oyster Bar, which was so wonderful that Josh and I have already decided that we must come back for a date of oysters and champagne in June to celebrate the arrival of baby girl.
We ordered Olin the sweetest little fish tacos, which he passed up for the Goldfish crackers that our waiter brought him. The highlight for him though was the chocolate pudding for dessert... that look of pure delight in the photo below was after his first bite of it. Which means, his dinner that evening was comprised of Goldfish crackers and chocolate pudding - that would not have been my first choice for him. I guess that is what our daily vitamin is for.
And finally, a good-bye brunch at Le Pain Quotidien. If you ever come to NYC to visit us, you can probably expect at least one visit here. Between afternoon coffees and teas, on-the-go snacks and this brunch, I think we brought Grammy here 4 times in one weekend - we really do love this place. Our obsession with it makes me think we should live in Brussels someday!
We had such a great time with Grammy and only wish that we could see her more often!
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