Up! Down!

Last weekend while we were in Lexington we took all the boys to Gattitown, a pizza place with an arcade, bumper cars, carousel and lots and lots of overstimulation. First we ate from the pizza buffet and salad bar (not bad for $8 bucks), and then the bigger boys raced off into the game area, and I hardly saw them again before we left. The smaller boys, however, enjoyed "driving" the race car games (I wonder at what age they'll start wanting coins to play the actual game), shooting basketballs and wandering around the various machines, sounds and lights.

In the center of the room is small carousel, and we took the boys for a ride. I'm not sure about Jake, but this was Adam's first carousel ride. I sat him up on his horse, and he immediately started grabbing for me and wanted off his steed. Then the ride started. Up and down and around and round. I wasn't sure if he liked it or not but he stayed in place for the entire ride.

Once dismounted, he resumed his wanderings around the arcade but kept coming back to the gate, stepping up on the rail and staring at the ride again. Finally, I couldn't resist his stares and took him for a second ride on the carousel. We were the only ones on board. This time, he reached for his horse, I buckled him in, and we were off. As the ride spun he kept saying Up! Down! in sync with the movements. I daresay he loves the carousel!

The Uncles Josh

Last weekend Aunt Angie commented that Adam already needs another trim. I groaned, because just a couple of weeks ago we took him to Great Clips for a long-overdue haircut. It was a disaster. No haircut with Adam has been without tears, but this time around he was super anti-haircut and we managed to get his bangs and the hair over his ears trimmed, tossed money at our hairdresser (and surely over tipped) and got out of there as soon as we could. Not a good day. He did let me trim a little more the next morning while he was enthralled with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. This guys does not like anyone touching his head and is especially spooked by the clippers.

Enter Uncle Josh and Uncle Josh, collectively known as the Uncles Josh. Adam and I went down to Lexington since Michael was away on a business trip. Both the Uncles were ready to take charge over Adam's tresses, and before I knew it, we were strapping Adam into his highchair and pulling out the clippers. I was concerned that the clippers would make his hair too short so after some discussion and much reassurance, Uncle Josh V got to work while Uncle Josh M held his head (when required) and captured the moment in all its (lack of) happiness.

Here's his before...

The during...

Ok, so it wasn't always so bad...

And the After!

Thank you, Uncles Josh, for making our boy so handsome! Honestly, he managed considerably better than his past haircuts. I think the clippers (though the sound is scary) is the trick -- just get the hair off quickly. This boy comes by this, fast-growing hair honestly!  And the best part? Cost me $0. Guess we'll be back in a few months weeks for his next trim-up!

New Routine

Our boy is growing up! Our munchkin has reached the age where during the week he could benefit from more interaction and socialization with other kids, more stimulation than his toys, books and DVDs can offer, and more outdoor play during the day. With me working full time and Michael heading into busy season, we decided that the time had come to enroll Adam in Daycare.

We looked around the area and first found a Center within 3 miles of our house (and within a mile or so from my new office opening in October). Right off the bat we were impressed. The staff, the curriculum, the hot meals, the air filtration systems and the video camera access were all huge selling points for us. Since the day we took our first tour, they've recognized us and know Adam by his name.

Last week we officially enrolled him and dropped by the center to submit our paperwork. It happened to be Open House so we were able to go into Adam's room and meet his teachers. As we were chatting with them I looked over, and Adam had the most pathetic, pouty look on his face. The next thing we knew he burst into tears. Did he recognize what was going on here? Did he relate this playroom with the church nursery rooms and realized what happens in such places -- he gets left! It broke my heart, but fortunately we really love the center and the caregivers and know he's going to do be treated well.

Monday was his first day, and Michael and I both brought him in so we could learn the drop-off and pick-up routine. No tears! (Well, at least for Adam.) He was very alert and had a worried expression as he looked around at everything, and as we walked away (Moms, I recommend NOT looking back) I could see him struggling to see around his teacher to see where we were going.

Thank goodness for the video cameras! I mentioned that the center has cameras in his room, and we can log in any time during the day and watch him at play. (Even Gramma and his aunts peek in.) The good news is that I can watch him remotely; the bad news is I can watch him remotely -- it's addicting! Every day I log in as soon as I get to work and rewind to the drop-off time to see how he does and how well he adjusts. Monday morning he stood at the wall and cried for about 10 minutes. Broke my heart! All day long he followed one of the teachers around and just wanted to be held, which was expected, and he only took a 20 minute nap. By 4pm we threw in the towel and rushed to 'rescue' him. I was sure he'd get right home and fall asleep but each day he's not been interested in napping and stays awake until his normal bedtime.

Each day has been an improvement, and his naps are now up to 1 1/2 - 2 hours long. I think just before nap time is my favorite time to watch as they each climb on to their little cot, get snuggled up, and the lights turn off. Adam is usually one of the last kids out of his cot when the lights come back on.

Thursday was a great day for him. He cried a bit in the car when he realized where we are going and when I left him, but each time I checked on him he was actively playing. He still plays mostly by himself, but I'm hoping in a couple weeks he'll interact more with all the little buddies there. When I picked him up (my favorite part of my day) he even told all his teachers "Bye, Bye."

Here's the view of his room during circle time (second from left):

And another view -- can you find him?

And here he is playing with a pull-toy.

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All in all, I think he will do very well here. His classroom is 18-24 months, so he's one of the younger ones in the room. In this class they work on some developmental things, like drinking from an open cup, sleeping on cots, and introducing the potty. They also teach some basic sign language, and there's a special teacher that comes in once a week to teach more sign language, Spanish, Japanese, and more! (We'd better keep up with him!) And I like the variety of meals he's getting for lunch, too. At home he'd likely be having chicken nuggets or grilled cheese, but at school he gets chicken quesadilla pizza, fish sticks, and pasta. And each day when we get his progress report it tell us how much he ate (and he's been eating very well) and how long he slept.

His teachers keep telling us how impressed they are at how well he's doing for a first timer. And I'd like to think I'm doing pretty well for a first timer, too.

FoodieLand

Well, folks, we found it. Forget the Children's Museum, Findlay Market, Great American Ballpark, Paul Brown Stadium and even Kings' Island -- we discovered the area's best tourist attraction in... a grocery store. Yes, you read that right, a grocery store. You can keep your Whole Foods and Fresh Market; we have Jungle Jim's, the craziest, yet most comprehensive supermarket I've ever been in. According to its website, it's "a 300,000-square-foot food extravaganza and tourist destination!"

For starters, it's not your hum-drum supermarket entrance. Not pictured is a waterfall and a monorail. Yes, a monorail.

And the inside is filled with all sorts of silly decor, such as a full-size fire truck by the hot sauces, a 40-foot boat in the seafood section, animatronic cereal mascots playing in a band, an animatronic Elvis-impersonating lion in the candy aisle, a Sherwood Forest with Robin Hood in the English food area, and much more wackiness.

But with all the silliness aside, the store really is about food. It's almost overwhelming as to the sheer magnitude of food types -- you can get dizzy from all the options. It's like a hundred different specialty stores all in one. Michael calls it the Ikea of grocery stores. 

Cheese you need? There are thousands.

One of 3 cases this size

You need olives? Plenty of those. 

These, plus 2 more whole cases

Butter on your list? 

Who knew there were so many types of butter?

How about hot sauce?

The "Adult Oriented Hot Sauces" are behind tinted glass.

Fresh Fish? Got that, too. They farm their own, even.

Plus, a 1.5 acre produce section, an impressive meat/deli counter, hundreds of honey, olive oil, and vinegar selections, significant gluten-free and organic sections, and a huge international market divided up by country. What struck me the most were the shoppers. Living here in "middle America" you don't see much diversity, but in Jungle Jim's we saw so many shoppers of differing ethnicities and nationalities. I am pretty sure you can find anything you need here. Our Kroger doesn't carry a few things that we used to buy in Publix, but Jungle Jim's has them. (Mom, I looked for buckwheat pancake mix for you but turns out it's been discontinued by Aunt Jemima.) 

Oh, and I almost forgot the bathrooms, voted #1 in America!

Rest assured, there are real bathrooms behind these doors,
though I expected something more interesting than a standard restroom.

There's a second location being built in SE greater Cincinnati and the long-term goals also include a Food-themed Amusement Park! Watch out Disney!

Fastest Kid in Town!

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Daddy and Mommy signed me up for my first race! It was the Fastest Kid in Town race last weekend in Lexington. They signed me up and I was given a bib (not the kind I'm used to, this one is a paper number) and a tshirt that will fit me some day. The race was divided into age categories, and they even had a group for 1 year old boys. That's me! We were the very first group to go. Daddy had been training me practicing with me at our house to listen for the "Ready, Set, GO!" and then start running forward. I have a unique vertical, knees-up, tippy-toe run that was sure to make me super fast! This course, however, was much longer than we'd been practicing. This was going to take some endurance.

We lined up with Mommy and Uncle Josh and Jake at the start line and Daddy at the finish line. He was far, far away that I couldn't see him on the other end with all the people. Jake and I were right beside each other. I was really antsy but when I heard the man say "Ready, Set..." I was focused. When he said "Go", I did! Mommy and I took off forward, fastest off the line. This race was OURS. We were trucking right along and all these people were on the sides cheering for ME. Hey, they're clapping. I know how to clap, too! And wait, I know that guy, it's Uncle Rich. Wow, so many neat people and... oh, right, I'm supposed to be FOCUSED. RACING. Mommy regroups me and again we are jogging to the finish line. This race is 3 times as long as my living room. Whew. There are 2 or 3 other kids well ahead of us by now, but that's ok, I'm sure they are, like 23 months, or something. Practically 2-year olds. Neither Jake or me won, but it was a blast, and you can be sure we'll be training for next year!

Look at me go, with Uncle Rich cheering me on!

Aunt Kim took me and Jake home to go to bed -- running is exhausting -- and everyone else stayed for the big race, the Midsummer's Night Run 5k, which has to be at least 1000 times the length of our living room. Uncle Josh (M) ran with Kevin, Kyle ran with Uncle Rich, and Mommy and Aunt Angie ran together. It was Mommy's first time running since her 5-mile race in February and she was looking forward to this being a kick-off to her running again. (And it worked! Mommy ran 3 times this week!)

Another really really great thing about being in Lexington is that we got to see Aunt Kim and Uncle Josh's new house. It's really fun and pretty, and it's only a nap away from our house (roughly an hour and a half, Daddy says). And it's super close to Aunt Angie's house, too, so we got to see everyone! I can't wait until we go visit again or maybe they can come see us. It's only a nap away!

Adam's Room

Since we moved in a month ago I've had every intention of taking photos of our house to show you. Initially I was waiting until we hung pictures but now I'm mostly waiting until I have the time to a) clean the rooms,  b) take the photos, c) download the photos, and d) post the blog. So, instead of doing one post of the whole house, I'll do several posts room by room.

Let's start in Adam's room. I love that he finally has his own space. In our condo we had his crib in the second bedroom, which was also Michael's office and our guest room. Here he gets a bedroom to himself, and I have loved decorating it just for him.

We really enjoy watching him play on his own in here. He'll sit in front of his bookshelf and just flip through books by himself. Lately, though, his new favorite activity in his room is to take all the toys from the basket and the toys in his drawers and the books from his shelves and throw them all into his hamper. Each night I chuckle when I see the hamper piled high with toys and cups and book and blocks, and each night I empty it out and put all the puzzle pieces and things back away just so he can have a fresh start in the morning.

He doesn't just do this in his room. The other day I found his musical magnetic barn in the kitchen trash can, and since I am missing one of the animal magnets that goes in that barn, I have a strong suspicion that someone had a good time hiding it in the trashcan on another occasion without us realizing. Let's just say I've taken to examining our trash bins when they are emptied.

I think his room is my favorite room in the house. Come see it for yourself!

Population 850 (+3)

One huge benefit Ohio has over Florida is that we can literally drive half a day in any direction and be in a dozen other states, as opposed to South Florida when you drive for five hours and you are in... Florida. We are wanting to take advantage of opportunities to take mini road-trips on weekends, and last weekend we did just that.

Adam's godparents Bud and Abby moved with their 3 boys to Illinois last winter and live on the outskirts of a tiny, tiny, tiny town. I am terrible at guessing quantities and distances, so when I predicted the population of their town, I guessed 3,000. Whoa, that would be a sprawling metropolis compared! The official population is 850 (make that 853 for the weekend), and it's funny to think that when their family moved to town the population jumped .5%!

After miles and miles and miles of corn and soybean crops, we found their house easily, though I'm quite convinced that if we had been lost we could have just stopped anywhere and asked anyone where Bud and Abby lived. In fact, just by having our cars in their driveway no doubt brought attention to the whole town.

All kidding aside, we had a wonderful weekend! Their cute house is a mere 35 feet from the lake's edge where a dock and inner tubes are waiting.

All day Saturday we were by or in the water -- swimming, boating or borrowing the neighbor's rope swing. If there was any flaw to it is that we didn't spend enough time just hanging out, talking, and catching up. There was too much to do!

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And as a perk, my sister Kim, Josh and Jake were enroute on their move from Illinois to Kentucky and crashed in for the night. Jake and Adam have finally hit the age where they interact with one another, and it usually provides endless entertainment. The highlight was when Jake was given an ear of corn, which Adam (who LOVES corn on the cob) proceeded to steal from him. So we split the ear in half and gave them both an end, and Adam then stole Jake's half as well. While Adam was 2-fisting his corn Jake kept trying to shove Adam's pacifier into his mouth between bites. Jake just wanted his food back! I so with we had video but photos will have to suffice.

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Before our departure on Sunday, we all drove 20 minutes to the nearest open restaurant (aside from the town's Dairy Queen) and treated our friends to a Mexican lunch. It was the least we could do for their hospitality and fun-ness all weekend long. We are already trying to plan future visits -- maybe in autumn they'll come see us and in the winter we can return when the lake freezes over, because we just can't let too much time go by without seeing some of our favorite people!

Thanks, guys!