Pretzels at the Aquarium

Chip and the boys came to visit at the beginning of this month, and we took everyone to the Aquarium. It's dark in there and not really worth trying to take pictures unless you are a talented photographer and have an amazing solution for low light. I don't bother trying anymore. I did bust out the camera phone when we stopped for a snack at the high-up snack bar. Love the backdrop!

 

Tree peace

Liam's mom shared these pics she took of Hannah and Liam enjoying a nippy November afternoon at Cylburn Arboretum.

Photo courtesy of Jeanne Stafford

Photo courtesy of Jeanne Stafford

A yard would be nice, but in lieu of that, proximity to Cylburn will do.

Hmm...face painting, soccer, and an apothecary photo shoot

Oooo boy am I behind!! I'm living in the weeds these days so the best I can do at the moment is post a few unrelated pictures.






Hannah got a pretty interesting face painting at this year's HampdenFest. I'm not sure what it is--vampire butterfly?? It goes well with the blue flower barrette that one of the vendors gave her for free.

It sucks to have no backyard, but you can't beat our back porch! Best back porch around! And come March/April, there will be another baby hanging out on that back porch...Yay!

Hannah's awesome school started a complimentary after-school soccer program this year. Love complimentary!! It's especially awesome at this age when kids have no idea what they will and will not like, and you end up forking out dough for them to try something and then having to deal with them complaining about going which is what Hannah does every Saturday morning when it's time for dance class. All summer she asked to dance and said she missed her dance friends. We switched her to Peabody this year (and so did the friend she kept asking for), but she is not liking it...I'm hoping it's just because it's new and that she'll adjust and like it, but if not, we won't sign her up again in the spring. In the meantime, I've explained that she has to follow through with it.

We stopped by Jenny's apothecary a few weeks ago to pick up some post-partum tea for Terrill (yay for new babies!) and Hannah managed to spot the random hats Jenny had laying around, including this pink cowboy hat with glitter.

September ended with our annual visit to the Maryland Renaissance Festival...post pending...and we rang in October with a camping trip--Jacob's maiden voyage--another post pending!

Aargh!! All hands on deck!

Baltimore's Urban Pirates family adventure cruise rocks. Seriously. We had so much fun! Granted, I did not have terribly high expectations, I mean, I LOVE kitschy activities more than the average Joe, but I also recognize that a great deal of said activities are often only moderately entertaining at best (thinking specifically of Frontier Town which totally sucked and was obviously being enacted by people who hate their jobs). Not so with this one. Urban Pirates FAR exceeded my expectations. The crew was full of fun activities, and they had amazingly silly attitudes.

Hannah brought her own pirate hat and sword, but her and Addison happily accepted a marker mustache and beard and mermaid fake tattoos.

The crew kept the kids going non-stop with fun, silly activities, starting with learning some pirate lingo (e.g., all hands on deck, which was translated literally, and avast, which means freeze). There were a few different dance parties, one of which taught me some sweet new moves (e.g., swab the deck, raise the sails). 

Hannah, Brody, and Addison took the stories very seriously.

In the beginning, I was part of what they called "the shade brigade." (Love it! Totally stealing that term, along with "check yourself before you shipwreck yourself." There were more that I fully intended to incorporate into my daily speech, but I forget them now.)

The ship sails around the harbor for an hour, and at the far end near the Science Center, the kids got to spray the water canons at strolling tourists who paused to smile at the spectacle and take pictures (we didn't get close enough to actually get them wet).

No pirate sail is complete without a conga line followed by a game of limbo.

I disbanded the shade brigade to conga with Hannah.

At various points throughout our ride, Madman Mike, the rogue pirate who stole the treasure, would appear in his little dingy and circle the ship fake menacingly. When that happened, the water canons were turned back on and the kids tried to soak him.

Toward the end, at the insistence of the crew to return the treasure, Madman Mike offered to trade it for Hannah's sweet hat, but she said no way. The crew huddled the children together to come up with a plan: trick Madman Mike! They let him think they were going to give him the hat, so he handed over the treasure, but Hannah held onto her hat.

Before debarking the ship, the kids got to pick two things from the treasure box. Hannah picked over the little plastic toys and grabbed two gold doubloons. (She's recently acquired an obsession with Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and they're always collecting and counting gold doubloons...)

I wore my psi bands to keep the motion sickness at bay, and they worked pretty well, and I was only slightly uncomfortable.

Bottom line: if you haven't been, you should totally go. We had a Groupon which sweetened the deal (I think full price is $20/ticket for everyone over age 3), but now that I know how fun it is, I'd pay full price (unless, of course, they run another Groupon deal, in which case, I'll happily take the deal). This is definitely something we'll do again!

When city girls need space

The city was closing in on us one Sunday a few weeks ago so we took the kids to the trail at the north end of the Robert E. Lee park where every Fido and Bingo in the surrounding area convene with their owners to run up and down the trail and chase tennis balls in the river. We walked until we couldn't hear the traffic on Falls Road and then exhaled deeply and let go of the madness. We followed the trail to the river where we traipsed around and watched the dogs play. Hannah found a nice muddy spot to sit down and build a mud drip castle.

That little Zen activity of hers was a pretty messy affair so she rode home naked, and I made a mental note to start carrying extra clothes for her.

Jacob goes to the aquarium and the new Blacktip Reef exhibit

Jacob has had a lot of firsts in his short little life that have gone undocumented, including his first (and second and third and...) time swimming, and he's experiencing these firsts far sooner than Hannah ever did, which I guess is just what happens with the second kid. They have older siblings who are swimming and running around the aquarium so they've got to buck up and keep up.

Some weekend ago (2 maybe?? I can't keep track of the days, I just know I'm behind), we took the family downtown to the aquarium to check out the new Blacktip Reef exhibit. It was newly opened then and since the animals have to be introduced slowly, we didn't get to see the sharks, but we were happy to watch Calypso, our favorite three-legged sea turtle, and marvel at all the amazing coral. According to the link I provided, above the sharks were introduced today so it looks like it's time for another visit!

I put Jacob in the carrier to trek him around the aquarium for the first time, and Hannah carried her Pinky Pie doll in the baby doll carrier we bought her when Jacob was born (her big sister present). I'm glad she did because I've been itching to get a pic of the two of us together with our babies tucked into our baby carriers. (I've also been meaning to share a picture of Jacob's mullet/rat tail/fur patch--mission accomplished.)

The new exhibit is really pretty. They replaced some of the cement walls with glass so that shorter viewers don't need to be lifted up to see what's going on. They also built all this coral around the hole that leads down to the viewing windows beneath, and each window has different coral and therefore a different view from the window before. We studied each and hung out there for a long time. They also have computers set up down there that tell you about all the animals you're looking at. Hannah and I had fun playing with that for a while. The pictures Eric took from that view are all a bit blurry so you'll just have to take my word on how nice it is because I can't prove it.

Hannah wanted to see the dolphins next so we hiked over to the amphitheater and caught the tail end of one show and then sat down to finish lunch and wait for the next show.

It was too long of a wait though so we abandoned ship and headed to the jelly fish exhibit, but there was a huge line of people waiting to get in there so we flattened a penny in the machine and printed a picture of dolphin on it and then left and came home. That's the nice thing about being members--you can go just to say hello to Calypso, stare at some reef, and get souvenir penny and not be upset that it was too crowded (or that you were too tired) to do anything else.

No trip to the aquarium is complete without stopping to run around Pierce Park. I want Eric to build us one of these tunnels someday when we have a yard...so fun.

The closest thing to a snow day in 2013

The rain that took over midday turned our one and only snow day into a bit of mess, but we enjoyed it for a few hours before everything turned into a soggy mess. Hannah and I started our day by building a snowman on the back porch (there was more snow back there than out front).

We came inside to warm up for a bit, and then I took her over to Kylie's house to play in their backyard and build another snowman (and a baby snowman). I went home to sit down and relax my very sore lower back and hips, and Kevin sent me this super cute pic of the ladies and their finished products.

After that it was off to the parking lot of The Rotunda for some city rat sled riding. I suited back up, grabbed the camera, and walked over to meet them. Adrienne stood at the top of the hill and helped the girls onto the sled, and Kevin stood at the bottom and caught them before they tumbled off the curb onto the parking lot, which was just wet and not at all snowy. I was only there for two runs and didn't manage to get any good pics during either, but I'm sharing two anyway.

By this point the falling snow was incredibly wet, and in spite of snow pants and a snow coat, Hannah was soaked through. When the girls got to the bottom of the hill on the second run that I was present for, they all slid slowly over the curb and toppled to one side while Keven struggled to get one hand out of his pocket and catch them. Hannah stood up and said, "I'm fine. Mommy, can we go home now?" So we came home, and she warmed up in the bath tub and then had some grilled cheese and tomato soup.

The snow turned to rain, and the snowman spent the rest of the day drooping and sagging. His button eyes sunk back into his head, and his carrot nose catapulted forward into the ground in front of him. The fun was short-lived, but I think we can say that we sufficiently sucked the marrow out of that snow (half) day bone!

Body art: The prenatal bucket list

With the help of my very awesome therapist, I managed to focus my priorities where I wanted to during the tail end of this pregnancy rather than putting my energy on the things that matter far less in the grand scheme of life and then feeling sad/angry/guilty for not treating this pregnancy like the last pregnancy that it is.

Since this is my last opportunity to experience pregnancy and birth the way that I want, I'm having a home birth, even though it's costing us A LOT more money and I have to drive A LOT farther to my appointments. To compliment that home birth and also to increase the odds of a calm and peaceful birth, one that Hannah can be present for if she chooses to, I read through the Hypnobirthing book for the second time (the first was when Hannah was in utero) and then signed us up for classes. I watched some Hypnobirthing and Hypnobabies videos on YouTube and LOVE how uneventful and boring they are. I am not going for an Oscar on this--bring on the boring!

I intended to focus more on Hypnobirthing with Hannah's birth, but my midwife at the time said that first time moms have a harder time with it and suggested I use The Bradley Method instead. We learned a lot in Bradley classes, but now that I've learned more about Hypnobirthing, I wish I'd stuck with it the first time around. The philosophy is a lot more empowering, and the concept of teaching yourself to go into a deep state of relaxation at the drop of a hat and let your body do its thing seems more useful in this circumstance than an understanding of all the potential drugs and interventions that hospitals use (although a brief understanding of that stuff is useful as well).

Classes accomplished and practice routine set up, I moved on to my next bucket list item: turning my big ol' pregnant body into a work of art by getting a prenatal henna tattoo and some artsy-fartsy, black-and-white, tastefully nude photographs. See, in spite of being incredibly uncomfortable with this extra 35 pounds pulling at me from the front, I am totally amazed by my body right now. It's unreal and amazing to me that it can look like this, and I wanted to capture it so that I never forget. I wanted to be art, if that makes sense.

I really wanted a prenatal henna tattoo when pregnant with Hannah, but I didn't prioritize it, and the one time I was at a festival where I could have gotten one spontaneously, I was wearing a dress...this made access to my belly a little difficult. I did my research and then a photographer fell into my lap  while putzing around Soft and Cozy Baby picking up some prefolds. Jill Mills of Heartlove Photography works there on Sundays and is always incredibly helpful when I have questions, and she's incredibly sweet so when she mentioned that the prints on the wall are hers, I got her business card and we started emailing.  She recommended a henna artist, and I managed to line up appointments for henna, haircuts, and photographs in a 2-day time period last week.

On Thursday, Hannah and I drove to Christalene's house of Crystalooneys Creative Arts and spent the afternoon being decorated by Christalene and hanging out. Hannah's first henna! And mine too! It was a really fun afternoon. These are the pics that Christalene took with her phone after applying the paste.

On Friday afternoon, Hannah and I got our first haircuts since September and then drove to Jill's studio. I haven't seen all of the pics yet, but here's a preview of what she provided:

Pretty cool, right!! She sent me two others that I really love, but they are a bit more revealing, and I know a lot of family members read this blog so I figure I'll share those on an individual basis with people who are not weirded out by nudity/my nudity. I'm thinking I'm going to have them all printed in a book, like a coffee table art book. See, if they were pics of someone else, I'd want to decorate with them, but since they're me, it seems a little conceited...and also, it would really freak out my brother, so for his sake, I'll keep the nipple shots in a book.

Jill also took some straight-forward belly shots for Christalene to use in her portfolio and to print in a magazine that she has advertising space in. Here's what the henna looks like now that the paste is off:  

    

And there it is--I checked off everything from my to do list, I tackled my bucket list, and I blogged about both! Bring on the baby!!

Bowling with Brandy and a belly shot to boot!

After reading about our annual bowling fiasco, Brandy said she wanted in on some Kellogg family bowling action so we set up a date and, miraculously, made it to Stoneleigh Lanes twice in one year! Our timing was pretty rad because early last week they sent out another Groupon which we promptly scooped up. Who doesn't love half-price shoe rentals, lane rentals, and bowling alley pizza?

We started our morning at the BSO family concert. This one was Musical Roots: From Africa to America and featured an awesome percussion performance by the OrchKids and a few seriously amazing and super fun performances by local beat boxer, Shodekeh. I loved this song best and am thinking I need to order it from iTunes.

We went straight from the concert to the bowling alley (getting ourselves dressed that morning for those two back-to-back activities was a bit of a conundrum) to meet Brandy and Tim, sling some duckpins, and eat some pizza.

For those of you who have been harrassing me because I have posted very few belly shots (ahem, Autumn!) check out this pic in which my super huge belly dwarfs the miniscule little duckpin ball. I'm pretty sure I'd dwarf ten pin ball as well.

The adult-to-child ratio on this particular bowling fiasco was 4 to 1 which meant that the adults actually played a full game. I don't know the last time I played a whole game...it's been years for sure. Unfortunately, we had no idea how to keep beyond simply marking down the number of pins that we knocked over with each turn so my two spares were ignored. I mention this because I think that should we have been able to calculate in what to do with spares, I might not have come in dead last....

Eric came in at the opposite end of the score card befuddling us native Marylanders and putting us to shame. I grew up lobbing the occasional duckpin with my dad and so did Brandy and Tim, but Eric had never even heard of duckpin until he married me let alone lobbed one down a lane. In spite of being humbled by my Michigander husband, it was a super fun game and a super fun day in general.

We even ended up with a family picture, courtesy of Brandy! That makes two very rare shots in this one short post. Thanks B!

Photo courtesy of Brandy Washington

Mason's belated birthday celebration at Port Discovery

Hannah's cousin, Mason, turned 1 earlier this month, and since we couldn't make it to Hagerstown to celebrate on the actual day, we bribed them with lunch and a trip to Port Discovery to get them to come to us the following week. Note to self: Saturday afternoon is not an ideal time to visit Port Discovery...the place was a madhouse. 

At Hannah's insistence, we headed straight to The Wizard of Oz traveling exhibit on the third floor first thing. Hannah has been obsessed with all things Emerald City since my mom and I went to see Wicked at the Hippodrome back in the fall (and she stayed home crying hysterically about being left out--sorry Kathryn!!). I picked up the original book the last time we were at the library, and we all read it together as a family in about a week. Now we're anxious to pick up the sequel when we trade in our current books for new ones.

Clay putting felt facial features on the scarecrow.

Mason walking around the spiral start of the yellow brick road (after knocking down the rainbow).

Hannah and Clay collecting eggs (presumably part of the farm where Uncle Henry and Aunt Em live??).

When Mason's running started to extend beyond the exhibit, my mom and Kim and I took him to Tot Trails where he was a bit more contained and us pregnant and overweight people (Kim excluded from both categories) could sit down and rest. While we did that, the daddies took the 3-year-olds to the Kid Works exhibit to run off their insanity.

Eventually, they all made it back to Tot Trails, and Hannah and Clay entertained themselves in the sand box for a while.

Clay was mesmerized by the falling sand...

When Hannah saw me snapping pics of Clay she tossed down her sand toy and cuddled up to her cousin, who remained mesmerized by the sand. She's really turned into quit the ham!

We ended our visit enjoying the plastic spaghetti-pork chop-cantalope sandwiches that the kiddos brought to us in the Tony's Diner exhibit.

Of all the kids I know, Mason makes the funniest faces. This one is not even a great example of some of the hysterical ways in which he contorts his cute little face, but it gives you a bit of an idea.

Soooo....if anybody ever wants to go to Port Discovery with us, we ended up upping our membership to get in 6 people (instead of 4) because it was cheaper to do that than it was to buy everyone individual day passes. If you want to get in our membership and help us take advantage of it, we always love company, especially if you, or your kid is willing to keep up with Hannah because I am moving slooooow these days.

Happy belated birthday to Mason!