It's Friday Already?

Dang lordy! Where did the week go? We've been so busy doing all kinds of stuff this week (and not blogging until now). Monday was the beach, Tuesday was a trip to IKEA, Wednesday was Mountain Lakes, Thursday was Washing Machine Day, and today is RECOVERY.

These pictures are from our random trip to IKEA on Tuesday. I got the new catalog in the mail last week and have been DYING to get up there. Trenton is now tall enough to go in the play place and it was wicked hot and humid that day... I was a bit hesitant to stick them in the car, drive an hour, play for two hours, and drive back... but it all worked out. The darn store is under construction, though, so about half of the displays are new, and the rest are behind some crazy draped tarps... lots of noisy workers, too.
Oliver loved crawling around in the model bathrooms! Tried to eat the dust bunnies... He is very into pulling himself on ANYTHING he can reach. Above, he does this with a front-loading washing machine.
We desperately need to update our bathrooms at home... I think I like the one below the best.

Trenton had such a blast in the ball pit. I never usually let him go in those things (cesspool of germs, but I'm pretty sure there were no snakes). He was SOOO SAD when I came to pick him up. They only let you leave them for an hour. He made several friends (who we kept running into later on in the store). Kids meals were FREE this week (sweet!) and we ate lunch while watching the planes fly into Newark.

We make it a point to visit Jim's grandmother each summer. This week we spent time with her at her home, enjoying lunch together and dinner out at a local restaurant.
Nice picture Jim took above, no?

Trenton and Ollie like the old toys that Great Grandma still has for them to play with. Amazing to think that generations of Wilsons have probably done the same thing that T is doing above.

In addition to the high-chair, Great Grandma also had a smaller chair with a tray, back from the days when her two middle daughters were small enough that they both needed to be seated at the same time. Works for us!

As Ollie and Jim napped, Trenton and Great Grandma read If You Give a Moose a Muffin. I had brought supplies from home to create sock puppets (as the moose does in the book). It kept us entertained and quiet for awhile.

These last few pictures are from a local park. The day was hot, muggy, and overcast... but we were still able to enjoy the outdoors.

Below, Trenton watches as a guy does a wicked flip.

Next week: Bluesteens are here. This can either mean EXCESSIVE pictures and much blogging or NO blogging due to crazy schedule... Stay tuned... and pray for us parents with 6 boys in one house...

NYC With Friends

Drove into the city for this trip. Going in on a weekend means no commuters and lots more street parking. We met up with Mina & Maya, Bridget, Adam, Libby, & Logan, and Jennifer, Brayden & Barron at the Vesuvio Playground. Our only plan was to avoid Midtown and to explore what the Tribeca and SoHo area had to offer. We ended up taking it at an easy pace and discovering some great (free) things to do in the city.

It seems as though all the good parks have spraygrounds. The boys were happy to have their swimsuits on and to cool off in the water. The weather was remarkable-- no humidity, nice sunshine, cool air.

Lunch/brunch was at Bubby's. We actually fit 11 people into one long table-- ha! The kids were really well behaved. I had a lamb burger, Jim ate an asparagus and goat cheese omelet, and T had pancakes. Ollie ate the heck out of some biscuits. I forgot a bib for him (doh!) and my CELLPHONE (bigger doh!)
I think we were inside when this happened. So unfortunate. But we did see NYPD helicopters in the sky and boats in the Hudson all afternoon.

After lunch we decided to walk south alongside the Hudson River to see if we could get a good glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. We somehow wandered over to Rockefeller Park-- which was fortunate, as it was definitely the highlight of the day. Everyone was out there taking advantage of the wonderful weather. The Parks & Rec people man a building that houses every board game and outdoor toy you could think of-- and you can 'rent' one for the price of a valid ID. Above, Jim and T play Hungry Hungry Hippos. Below, Trenton makes the shot into the kids' basketball hoop and rides on a scooter.

A bit further down in the park was an enclosed playground and sprayground. Ollie napped while Trenton ran around. Above, he plugs the hippo's nostrils. Ha!

Our gang: Mina, Bridget, Jim and the boys, Adam (where are Libby and Logan?), Igor, Maya, and Kevin, who joined up with us after I was FINALLY able to track down his phone number.

For dinner, we went to a pizza place in SoHo with Jennifer, Andy, Brayden and Barron. Trenton pretends to hold the menu above. With all his thumb-upping you think he would have posed like that... but no.
Then we briefly hit the Scholastic Store. No qualms with thumb-upping there.


Jennifer kindly let us bathe the kids before packing them up and heading home. Ollie absolutely loved teething on the faucet. Barron is doing some teething of his own now, too.


Our attempt at a group shot. ;)

No Humidity

Niiice!
After three days of unbearable humidity, it was so nice to wake up this morning to 75 degree weather that didn't feel like a sauna!
Jim took Trenton for a jog around the reservoir while I ran errands with Ollie.
Above, they stand beside our fig tree. That thing has certainly grown. It is very tall, much taller than I ever thought it would be. Could be due to the rainy June? Or pruning? We are seeing some small green figs emerge, but nothing to eat yet. Last year they all ripened around September.

Trenton was actually singing a fingerpainting song (that he made up) when I took this picture. So sweet.

"I want to paint too, Mommy!"

Little Man Oliver is all about pulling himself up and standing nowadays. I took the following pics as I held onto the chair with one hand-- otherwise he would have toppled over. My favorite is the one-handed hold where he's just barely secure in standing.
Still not much in the way of crawling. He finds it very easy to drop down to the ground from a sitting position and then to just roll everywhere he wants to go. Gets up on all fours, but then plops back down. Soon, very soon!

What's Running Through My Head

Hm. Seems as though the rules have changed, again.

The AAP now recommends that your child stay in a rear-facing car seat until age 2. Good summary about it here:
http://greenkiddos.blogspot.com/2009/08/aap-recommends-rear-facing-until-age-2.html

I can remember with Trenton thinking that his legs were getting long and hanging over the edge, and changing him into a new car seat as soon as he met the weight and age requirements (age 1).
But I will say, Ollie truly enjoys the rear-facing position, as he gets to watch Trenton while we drive. Maybe that will make it easier to keep him in this position as he grows up?

***
This one is for all of you non-parents out there, especially the ones who get all squirmy when you read about breastfeeding. Perhaps you'd rather I call it nursing, so as not to refer to the actual BREAST. Or those who think that it is indecent and should just be done in private. Because it makes YOU uncomfortable.
http://greenkiddos.blogspot.com/2009/08/breastfeeding-is-offensive-you-have-to.html
Mmm hmm. Now do you get it?

***

A follow up to our discussion on corruption in New Jeresy. Here, Jon Stewart (a Jersey native), tells it like it is.
http://news12.com/articleDetail.jsp?articleId=233548&position=6&news_type=news&rand=87960970

***
Trenton was in a funk today when we went to the grocery store. Absolutely tantrum-y and whiny. He didn't want me to put the groceries in the cart (he wanted to go in instead). I never allow him to go in, due to safety reasons and because where would I put the groceries? I always bring cars, snacks, etc. to keep him occupied. But he was having none of that today.

As I was giving him a mini-time-out at the end of an isle, I had an older woman come up to us and plead with me to "Just let him go in the cart". She kept saying, "Awww, don't cry" (sounds like some grandparents I know...) She tried to reason with me that she had three kids, and that she always let them in the cart, and that I could just put the groceries around him. I tried my best to bite my lip and just carry on... Ten minutes later (still whining), I did put him in the cart. The whining decreased a bit, and he did a good job of punching the bag of chips, kicking the grapes, and poking a hole into the bag of peaches. The cold ice cream on his legs was the last straw-- he wanted out. And then proceeded to continue to cry and compain on the outside of the cart. My plan for the entire trip was to get what I needed -fast- and get out. Mostly I ignore the tantrum, speak calmly, and rush. But it sucks.

I tell you this story, because at the end of our trip, I had ANOTHER older lady come up to me and say "Don't you give into his whining! I have a son whose Italian father always told me to 'give him what he wants' and now he is COMPLETELY spoiled and doesn't know how to do anything for himself!" Made me feel a bit better about my actions. And you know what? Once we got to the check-out counter, he was all fine-and-dandy! "Look, Mommy! A Bumblebee balloon!"(obsessed with Transformers) Go figure... ;)

***
He's been asking a lot about visiting characters that are on TV, about going into the TV set to see them, and about which ones are 'real' and which are just drawings. Today, during Barney (yes, he is still on), our conversation went like this:

Trenton: Mom, I wanna go meet Barney. What planet does he live on?

Me (hesitantly) : Honey, remember how we talked about that there are people who dress up in costumes? And they walk around? That's what Barney is.

Trenton: But Mom, I don't wanna dress up in a costume. I just wanna meet Barney!

Apparently, it is hard to wrap your mind around this one ;)

***

Daddy's Home

And all is right in his world.
;)


***

If you have the time, view this video here. Around :34 seconds, you'll see Jim, as he runs on the course for the White River 50 Miler in Washington last week. Gray & white shirt, white hat.
Jim then ran the Elkhorn 50K in 7 hours and 25 minutes the following Saturday in Montana.
Challenging and in a very remote location... his feet look good, no injuries to report. So happy to have my man back home!
Still has that beard, though...

Solo Saturday

Pack the kids into the car and head to North Jersey solo-- no prob! Thanks to good tunes on the radio (Trenton learned the names Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Miller Band, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) the drive wasn't so bad. All I had to do was look at all the crazies on the southbound-side of the Parkway. Seriously, didn't they realize that driving two hours to the beach on a Saturday morning in August would be suicide?

Anywho, we spent the morning with the Georges and Great Grandma Wilson. Lots for the kids to do to keep busy. Popular afternoon siesta had everyone (except Chrysanne and myself) napping in various parts of the house. Oliver banged the heck out of their table. And Carolyn took the time to convert footage of our wedding from VHS to DVD format-- such a nice anniversary present!

In the evening we went to Melissa's 30th birthday barbeque. Trenton loved the fact that there were other kids there AND that we stayed outside late enough for him to catch lightning bugs. I've read him Fireflies several times (one of my favorites for teaching writing to my third-graders) and he'd still yet to capture some.

"Don't you even THINK of taking this away from me.
No, I don't care that I'm biting on the white rind.
Tryin' to get a new tooth in, OK?"

No! No, no, No!

:(
The Blogosphere cries today, as we say goodbye to one of the finest.
That's right. Brain from Looky Daddy! is ending his run as a parenting blogger.
I first heard of him in a Star Ledger article that highlighted his blog. After reading one post, I was hooked. He will always be the BEST parenting blogger I've ever read. Wicked sense of humor, fantastic choice of topics, adorable girls... and he lives in New Jersey. I've often wondered if I'll turn into this when T starts preschool in the fall...

So why is he doing it? Here's a bit from the post:
"Blogs are incredibly time-consuming. Or at least they are if you spend thirty minutes writing a post and then two days obsessing over it: Reading the comments, rereading the comments, reading the post, wondering if you're still funny anymore, calling your mom to ask her what she thought of the post, scanning the Internet for blogs that say the post changed their life. It's the very definition of irony: Letting your kids watch TV so they won't bother you as you search the web for references of what a good dad you are. And don't even get me started about Twitter."

Ain't that the truth. I wonder when I'll find time to blog once the boys have given up their naps.

But for now, I'll be Google-ing the web looking for future writings from the guy who got me hooked on it all, Brian Sargent.