2009_06_30 Tuesday

The NY Hardwicks joined us in our new kitchen for dinner. Steve and the kids came over early, and Vicky and Dave took the train here. The kids had a great time playing together. They colored Jonathan's club house (the microwave's box).

2009_06_28 Sunday

Over the past few days, Dave has taught Jonathan how to blow bubbles...and catch them! He's so excited when he actually catches one. It's a riot. And, he's learned to "dip," "drip," and "blow." His blows are with his front teeth over his bottom lip, so it's not all that much of a blow, but he's getting there. Dave said it was really cool to see him realize what he had done the first time.

We just got back from dinner out. I had a martini (weeehhheee!) and Dave a Guiness. What a night!

We spent the day hanging pictures and paintings on the first floor. We also bought two chairs and a large mirror for the living room. That, and the den, are 99% finished now.

2009_06_27 Saturday

We went to the Nature Center today for their FrogFest. What a riot. Jonathan got to show Dave all around and specifically where the froggies are (in the frog pond). He did a handful of activities that involved frogs (jumping like them, chirping like them, and coloring frogs). It was finally a nice day, so we really had a nice day.

2009_06_24 Wednesday

We had our final nature class this morning. We had our normal nature hike, played with some frogs and tadpoles, and checked in our our 4 robins, who are now mostly mature. While we walked, we picked up some colorful nature items for our art project. Jonathan had a great time smashing a rock into the wax paper that held our nature items. Basically, it stained a piece of cotton au natural. Cute and easy to do. Then, we had a story and a short picknick. Jonathan gave Mrs Barbara a hug and said thank you before we left.

Then we picked up his 2nd birthday pictures from the mall. They are adorable...thankfully, after having to go twice! We'll get them out in the mail asap.

He's a superstar with his alphabet and Twinkle, Twinkle now. We're still working on some colors; brown seems to be a real toughie for him. He's mastered swinging a bat at a ball; now we just need to connect the ball to the bat. We also played red light/green light on the way to pick up Dave from the train station...as we dodged more rain drops.

2009_06_23 Tuesday

Today was sort of a blah day. But, we got motivated after breakfast to visit a local farm, Alstede Farm. It was fantastic. Jonathan got to feed and/or pet peacocks, chickens, roosters, piggies, goats, donkeys, sheep, horses, a cow, and rabbits. After that, we actually went into the fields and picked a pint of strawberries. I paid for them (a whopping $1.08!) and then we ate them all and split some ice cream.

2009_06_21 Sunday

Happy Father's Day!!

We got Dave a photo frame with three pictures: one says "Happy" and Jonathan drew all over it, the second is a photo of Jonathan doing the sign for father, and the third says "Day" and Jonathan drew all over that one too. awwww.

After breakfast in bed, we went to the Whippany Railway Museum. They were having train rides on the hour, but they were sold out for 2 sessions, so we skipped it. Instead, we walked around the grounds and saw some cool train exhibits. Maybe we'll try next Sunday. On the way home, we passed the mall, and Dave wanted to take Jonathan on the ride-able panda/giraffe/elephant. We got a couple of good photos of that. We also ran into Sharon/Marco there! And, we had a very late lunch at Applebee's. The boys are napping now, and I snuck out to get 3 yoga VHS tapes from my Freecycle buddies. Will start with them in the morning! wahoo.

2009_06_20 Saturday

We had breakfast at the diner today. Jonathan got to charm the ladies, especially Donna.

Then, we headed off to Jen/Chad's for Cory's birthday party. We were there from about 2-8. It took a long time to get there b/c of the rain and traffic. Glad that I got to drive! ugh. But, Jonathan had a blast chasing after his cousins (Cory, Ryan, Catherine, and Bobby). He's getting really good at catching balls now. Dave threw a ball to him, and he really got the hang of catching it! He also got a kick out of their kiddy work bench, and hammered away on lots of things. And, they had a little trampoline with a handle bar that he bounced on like crazy. That was fun to watch him do since he giggled hysterically when he jumped. I changed him into his pjs before we left, figuring he wouldn't last too long in the car. Sure enough, he fell asleep quickly: sheer exhaustion.

2009_06_19 Friday

Today is the first day in memory that didn't have rain! So, we headed to the Reservation for our weekly Stroller Rollers. I was disappointed that no one joined me, but since we were there, I thought I better do it. We started out watching the dogs at the dog park. There were lots of big dogs to enjoy today. Then, Jonathan walked a lot of the path. We saw two turkeys, and he knew what they said once I identified them for him. And, on the way back, I found a tiny snake, which he hissed at. The walk typically takes about 45 mins; this time, it was closer to 90 mins, but it's not like we were in a rush.

Of course, then he napped like a champion. I got over 3 hours from him. That was perfect, since I mopped the entire first floor to get rid of the obvious dust. I was wiped out after that. We finished off a Father's Day present when I got him up. And, then we walked into town to the post office and the bank.

He's talking so much now. I tell him where we are going, and he asks all sorts of questions about our destination and what we pass en route. In the wagon today, he kept asking "what was that?" after each bump.

2009_06_18 Thursday

This morning, we went to Nana's Playgroup at the local retirement community. I really do enjoy going to those. We ran late, and it was pouring out. So, we only made it for about 30 mins, but better than nothing. They did the butterfly art project that I had recommended to them.

While Jonathan napped, I started an ambitious house cleaning project. Now that the contractors are gone, it's time. Boy, it's a lot of work!

I woke him up around 2:30 to hightail it to the train station. We went into the city for Dave's company pizza party! We actually missed the train I was trying to catch, but there was another not too far behind. Jonathan actually walked most of the way!! Impressive, especially since it was raining and close to rushhour. It was really fun; they had a guy who did facepainting and balloon animals and made cotton candy! Plus, it was neat for Jonathan to see more kids. Most of them were fairly close in age. He stole someone's Wii paddle to use as a phone. Lots of people got a kick out of that. He did great on both legs of the train ride; I had packed a backpack for him that was completely unnecessary!

2009_06_17 Wednesday

We got lucky; Jonathan hasn't tried to climb out again. Then again, he's still asleep (at 9:30). I woke him up so we could attend a Mommy & Me class at Whole Foods. We made a boat out of paper and then glued it to stock paper. A great Opa's Day art work! Then, we picked up Dave's drycleaning. Our animal control officer stopped by to pick up our new squatter raccoon (and I heard more commotion, so I'm guessing there's a second! ugh).

And, this afternoon, we went to PA visit Oma/Oma/Gambol -- but not the chickens or peeps, unfortunately -- at the 1/2 way-ish marker. The real reason was to drop off all of Jonathan's old clothes for his new cousin, Shawn. Jonathan was super excited to see Oma and Opa. He rode on all of those rip-off rides, although we didn't pay for them, and the escalator. We walked around an outlet mall and then had a late lunch/early dinner at a local microbrewery. He conked out before I got back on the highway.

2009_06_16 Tuesday

Dear me. Jonathan has figured out how to climb out of his crib. I filmed him doing it for the first time today, and it was a piece of cake for him. I guess it's time to take off the front panel and put the guard rail on. Tonight should be interesting, although I'm hoping he knows that his bed is for sleeping in, not climbing out of.

We went to the park this afternoon. His speech amazes me. "I want to go through the tunnel...I can't go on the tunnel...Mommy, throw me the ball...I can hit the pink ball with the stick (which he can't really do)..." And, on the way to pick up Dave from the train station, he sang his ABC (along with Baa Baa, Pat-a-Cake, The Wheels on the Bus, and The Itsy Bitsy Spider (which he still can't say right)) with no trouble.

2009_06_15 Monday

Ah, alas, I'm back home. The boys had a nice weekend without me (Bugmania at the Newark Museum, the indoor playground with Kyle/Steve, Conner's baptism and all his cousins!). I'm just glad to get back into our routine again.

Even being away for one night, I'm amazed at Jonathan's vocabulary and speaking. He can really form sentences and express himself well. Of course, he'll cry for no good reason too. At the grocery store today, he told me that his tummy hurt and pointed to his tummy.

2009_06_09 Tuesday

We visited Joey/Amanda today and we finally got to meet Olivia. She's tiny; Jonathan was never 7 pounds, so it's very strange to hold such a small baby! Amanda let Jonathan hold her for a few minutes. I was nervous about it, but Jonathan was extremely gentle and soft with her. I was really proud, and he was really cute patting her head. He and Julia played pretty well together too. And, toward the end, Amanda got pretty tired, so I took the toddlers on a nice long walk in their wagon around her neighborhood. That gave Amanda about 30 mins of rest.

2009_06_05 Friday

The contractors showed up here before 8am today! yikes. But, since it has been raining all night and all day, the floor in the kitchen/stairwell hasn't dried enough yet! ugh. So, they may stop by later tonight to try again, but given all this humidity, I don't think it's going to happen.

Because we can't be in the kitchen, off we went (yes, I drove!) to the diner for breakfast of "pancakes and sausage." It was unusually crowded, and we had to wait for a booth. Jonathan charmed all his lady-friends, as ususal. But, since it was so full, we missed our first 'date.' Sir Topham Hatt (STH), of Thomas the Train fame, arrived at our little train station this morning, in the pouring rain. Instead, we met up with him at the local library for story hour. Jonathan actually got STH's attention when he walked in because he was in a very serious (non-smiley) state. Then, STH pointed both of us out later on because they are both baldies (and something about me being his lovely sister! ha), and J2 wasn't quite sure what to make of the attention. They raffled off some chachkies, and then I tried to get a photo of the two. Jonathan was having none of it. He was fine with STH at a distance, but not close up. As we left, he did keep asking "where's Sir Topham Hatt?" or something pretty close. The adults (read: nannies) were awful, though; it was very hard to hear STH at all over all the chatter. Poor man was pretty frustrated/disappointed, but a good sport nonetheless.

We're going to the mall in a bit to get some lunch, and I need some new jeans.

2009_06_04 Thursday

I couldn't be prouder of Jonathan. plain and simple. He's so amazing.

We met Grisel/Lucas today to start a 2yo playgroup. Grisel is very nice; her house is insanely gorgeous; and Lucas and Jonathan seemed to get along as well as any 2yos would. Amy/son also attended, and they were also really nice. Laura/son came toward the end, but I hardly got to talk to her b/c I was on the phone with contractors by then. Jonathan did a great job sharing and taking turns. It was neat to see. We stayed for about 2 hours before coming home.

The contractors were here finishing off the floors, so we can't walk on them until they dry (Saturday?). There's a second coat coming tomorrow. The house is pretty dusty again, but now I can't even access the vacuum!

Since I can't access any kitchen items and Dave was going to be late today, I decided to visit a higher-end restaurant for a nice, relaxing dinner. Jonathan was fantastic. We sat outside to ensure his attention was engaged (and we didn't bother any other patrons). I had a lobster gnocchi that was to die for. Jonathan had a very fancy gormet pizza with olives, which he can now say. He waved at anyone walking by, and he blew kisses to our waitress and the manager and chef. He said "thank you" to the busboy for water for me, bread for us, etc. He even said something very close to "I want to take this spoon [the restaurant's] in the car." He was a perfect gentleman. And, our waitress and 2 patrons commented to me how amazingly well behaved he was. It absolutely made my day, and I felt like I was glowing from the inside with pride.

2009_06_01 Monday

Still at Oma/Opa's house. Oma had to work this morning, so we entertained Opa until about 12:30, when Jonathan took a nap. The boys visited the chickens and the peeps, and Jonathan and I walked around outside while Opa had a conference call to attend. Then we had lunch and Oma returned home. Oma took me (and Gambol) on her 'sunrise hike' around the property line, and we dug up some ferns to transplant to NJ. Seems like a good trade for NJ lily of the valleys.

Once J2 wakes up (soon), we'll head over to a new kiddy store...just to see what they have. We not only visited one, but three, kiddy stores and one kitchen store. We also picked up BBQ on the way home. And, to top off the day, Jonathan yelled out "Home Depot" on the way home.