Miami, Your-ami: Everglades

We just got back from a trip to Miami today.  We had fun basking in the sun.  Andrew was so funny, the whole time, we’d say, “We are in Miami.”  And he would say “Yup, we’re in your-ami”.  I don’t think he ever got it right, but it sure was cute.

Tuesday evening, we had an uneventful flight (boys slept through our flights to and from Miami – we never even needed our DVD player), but it was late, so we didn’t get to our rental car place until like 10 pm!  We were all exhausted and it seemed to take forever.  We had never rented a car before (that is a new experience) and was pretty confusing.  When we finally found where our car was supposed to be, we were a little confused because, instead of like an Impala or a Corolla, we had a ….

yup, a bright blue Mustang convertible.  It was super fancy.  At first, we were concerned, but YES, it does fit two car seats (just for future reference).  Around the Miami airport was a mess, but we finally found our way to our hotel about 30 minutes away next to the Everglades.  We still hadn’t eaten dinner, so we grabbed some McDonalds and went right to sleep.

Wednesday morning, we ate a delicious breakfast at our hotel (which actually was pretty nice for a Travelodge, too bad it was just one night).  Then, we drove to Walmart and stocked up on bug spray, sunscreen, and lots and lots of food for the rest of our trips.  Then, we’re off to the Everglades.

We really enjoyed the Everglades.  It was definitely worth renting a car for.  The entire time Andrew wanted to know where the alligators and crocodiles were.  It was like he thought it was the zoo.  We went to the visitor center and then went to the first little hike.  This was definitely the highlight.  About 10 feet onto the trail, we found this just a couple feet away:

yup, a mama alligator.  And here are the babies:

We saw some more baby alligators:

And spent some time with our babies on the trail, trying to keep them from running too close to the alligators.  Andrew REALLY wanted to see an alligator eat a bird like in the movie we watched, but alas, they just sat in the water the whole time.

By this point, the boys were hungry, but we wanted to see all the landscape (we had watched a movie and read books about the Everglades and we thought it was really interesting).  So, we drove to Flamingo (the other end of the park).  We drove through all the environments: the saw grass, the pine and hard wood forests, and cypress mangroves and the ocean.  Flamingo was a little bit of a disappointment – mostly there to take boat tours, but we didn’t think the boys would have the patience for that.  We ate some sandwiches and looked for crocodiles and manatees, to no avail.  Then, we drove back, both boys fell asleep, Katsu explored another trail a bit while we waited in the car, and we finally left our fun adventure in the Everglades.

Seth is 15 months old

Seth will be a month older soon, but I am posting early since we will be in Miami part of the week with Katsu.

New things for Seth … 

• A new high-pitched scream whenever he doesn’t get his way.  It is SO loud & high, I swear, I lost hearing for a minute or two at church today as we were wandering the halls.
• He is throwing more fits.  They are kind of different though.  He gets really upset, maybe tries to hit you, and then runs off to hide in the boys bedroom or my bathroom and screams there.  I am not sure why he hides, but it sure makes the fit easier to deal with because I just feel so bad for him.
• He can GALLOP!  And does it all the time.  I just can’t believe it.  He seems really young to do it.  But he does it half the time when him and Andrew are dancing.  He still loves to dance with Andrew.
• He really loves singing – he tries to sing along at church at the beginning of songs and will do hand motions for “Twinkle twinkle” and “If you are happy and you know it”
• He loves to be outside.  He will run and get everyone’s shoes (to the point, where Andrew refuses to leave until Seth brings him his shoes … ugh!).  He wants to go outside all the time no matter the weather.
• He loves art, but throws and chews everything.  I left him with crayons in his high chair the other day for just a minute or two and I came back and he had eaten lots of crayons and then starting throwing them up.  Yikes!
• Seth can completely navigate even the 5-12 yrs playgrounds.  He is too fast for me to try to navigate on the playground with him, so I usually spot from below.  I think other parents think I’m crazy, but the only other option would be not going to the park at all.
• Seth falls A LOT because he is always taking risks and falling/jumping off the furniture.  He probably has about 5-6 bruises on his face at a time.  I am getting worried he is going to lose a lot of brain cells or something, but the kid will not be restrained.  He is pretty tough, though, and rarely cries, even when he is bleeding.
• Seth talks more, but mostly the same words.  Katsu says he says “tora”, his first Japanese word beyond peek-a-boo which is the word for tiger.
• Speaking of which, Seth has started growling and loves to look at pictures of tigers and lions.
• Seth says Jesus whenever he sees a picture of him and is also learning about prayers.  He will clasp his hands together at the beginning of a prayer and then clap excitedly at the end.  He loves prayer (well, not so much the middle part, but we’ll get there).
• He loves extra time just with me while Andrew is at preschool.
• He is getting much better with utensils.
• He plays pretty well with other kids and was kicking and throwing balls with other kids at the balloon festival.

Fun Things this month

• St Louis Art Fair
• Japanese Festival
• Great Forest Park Balloon Race
• Our upcoming vacation to Miami …
• Long walks through Clayton, especially the park, the library, and the bagel store (aka St Louis Bread aka Panera).
• Zoo & Science Center & Botanical Gardens
• Dancing around the house.
• A new haircut

 

Andrew’s First Day of Preschool

Andrew had his first “real” day of preschool.  Not too much to say.  Andrew was excited to go.  You drop off / pick up the kids from the car, so it’s pretty easy.  Seth threw an ENORMOUS fit the first day we dropped Andrew off.  Andrew was just grinning and Seth was just screaming.  Andrew was an “angel” according to his teacher and just smiles all the time.  They send home a little sheet each day which says what they played with, the books they read, their snack.  Plus a folder of all their activities.  And Andrew gets a literature bag each week with a stuffed animal and a few books to enjoy.  This week he got Biscuit.  He goes Monday and Tuesday mornings and then we have him all to ourselves the rest of the week.  I think it is a good transition.

Katsu got Andrew a bag of his favorite candy, M&M’s, as a celebration treat, which he has been savoring all week.

Great Forest Park Balloon Race

St Louis has an amazing number of festivals and activities, almost all free, every weekend.  It’s hard to choose and they all sound so fun.  This year, we had to experience the Balloon Race.

We got there several hours early to find a parking space by the Art Museum.  Then, we walked a VERY long way through the park to where the balloons were taking off from.  Andrew promptly feel asleep and probably would have been content to sleep the whole time, but after many tries, we finally woke him up (I swear, that kid has slept though more culture than most kids ever see).

We picked up freebies and balloons at the booths and walked around and saw the Purina dog (we didn’t get to see the show because it was later).  We also picked up our Energizer bunny ears.

Then, we got to get close and see the balloons.  The boys were mostly interested (but I still don’t know if it was worth that walk …. many we won’t do it next year).  The favorites were the popcorn bag and also the Pepsi can one (which Andrew insists is coffee).

We took the long walk back, dropped the stroller off at the car, and went to the Art Museum.  We saw a few works of art, but mostly went to the bathroom, got a drink, and cooled off in the AC.  Then, we met up with some members of WUSPA (Washington University Spouses of Professionals Association ?? maybe) right by there to watch the action.  There was about 2 hours before the balloons started (well, till when they actually started, since they got off late), but the boys had tons of fun, running up and down the hill with the other kids and playing ball.  We were so worn out just chasing them!  If you can’t tell, this is ONE big hill.

Finally, we saw the Energizer bunny balloon peeking its ears over the trees!  This is the lead balloon.  I think it drops something and everyone else tries to drop a bag closest, or something like that.

But then the bunny got stuck in the trees right close to us.  Which was sort of anticlimatic (there wasn’t so much wind, so it wasn’t unexpected, I guess).  But it was good, in a way, since then all the balloons stopped close by.

We were SO worn out after many hours of being outside.  We went out for a little dinner and then home.  A fun evening.  Hopefully, better wind next year!

St Louis Art Fair

The St. Louis Art Fair is just a few blocks from our house.  So, a week ago, we decided to check it out and see how it compares to Ann Arbor’s art fair.  Obviously, it was much smaller, but otherwise pretty similar.  I even recognized some of the same artists!  There also seemed to be a lot more drinking in St. Louis.

One thing that is really special about the St. Louis Art Fair is how many activities there are for kids.  There are crafts for kids at most of the main advertising booths (like the TV & radio stations, etc.) and then there is a whole entire craft section for the kids with like 10 different crafts – they could even throw pots!  There is even a similar albeit smaller section for the adults to make crafts in the evening.   Andrew made a couple crafts, but was mostly interested in the music.  They had a nice African music group playing by the kids craft area that both the kids loved.  We had a hard time dragging them away.  Then, when Andrew saw another stage, we had to wait (even though it was 30 minutes more!) to see them perform.  They were very good, but was most interesting was this hysterical women who was performing just below the stage.  She was a riot and took her dancing very seriously.

We had a lot of fun and I can’t wait to go again next sure.  I am sure Seth will be old enough to get in on the craft action while Andrew watches the performances.

Andrew is 3 yrs 4 months old!

Another month, more adventures.

I just love this age – Andrew will sure talk your ear off.  He has SO much to say and he absorbs everything like a sponge.  We were watching March of the Penguins on Labor Day and he kept saying, “Is this their nesting ground?”.  I have no idea where most of his vocabulary comes from.  Sometimes, he’ll say something and I’ll think – wow, I say that word like once a year.  He always is saying funny things.  A few examples -

• Last week, I was getting dressed and Andrew came in and said, “Mom, your butt is cute.  I like butts”.  I wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or disturbed.  I can only wait another 12 years … yikes!
• In church, he said in a very loud voice just as everyone quieted down for the meeting to start something about bugs having a certain piece of genitalia.
• The whole time we are at the zoo, “Mom, where is the zebra’s poop?”  “Mom, where is the penguin’s poop”.  Heck, even when we watched March of the Penguins.  The questions won’t stop until the excrement is found – WHY do I have boys???
• Andrew talks over and over about how he is growing and something is making him strong.  He likes to talk about how any kind of exercise is making him strong (“Dancing makes me strong, now”).  He is convinced that all food makes him strong and is full of vitamins (“Mommy, cookies have Vitamin C, right?”… hmmm, we’ll have to work on that.
• We cut his hair on Labor Day and were sweeping up the pieces and Andrew said, “Is that from when I was a girl?”

Speaking of which, Andrew is really trying to figure out gender permanence and where babies come from.  He keeps saying things like “when I was a girl” or “when I’ll be a girl”.  He is not convinced that he will be and always has been a boy.  He is also very interested in breasts and likes to put things under his shirt to pretend that.  He asks me many many times last week about when “me and Seth were in Mommy’s tummy” and wanted to know how they got in there and how they got out.  He seemed to accept the idea that women have eggs (though he wanted to know when he would have eggs).  He was incredulous that I had pushed them out of my body (although after the 4 hours of pushing Andrew, I was pretty incredulous, too).

Andrew is one of the sweetest little guys I know.  He has so much compassion.  He gets the sweetest little smile and loves to tell me and Seth and Katsu how much he loves us and give us hugs and kisses.  I love watching him play with Seth or try to comfort him or call for him (Where’s my buddy?)  or (Sweetie, it’s okay).  So, cute.

Andrew is still really really into music.  I finally bought a new power cord for our piano (they broke the last one), and you should see how excited the boys are to dance to it again.  Andrew takes his dancing VERY seriously.  He throws many fits and gets upset when his music isn’t just so, when people are in his, when his CD starts when he doesn’t want it.  Andrew also makes up these impromptu songs that aren’t terribly musical and just go on and on (and are quite loud).  One last week went on about “We all go to church and take the sacrament” and most of the songs end saying something like “And we are all supposed to love each other.  Yes, we do.  Don’t you know that.  We all love each other”.  He also is really into America’s Got Talent, which sometimes Katsu and he watch together when Andrew takes a late nap and is not ready for bed at a normal bed time.  During the day, he acts out crazy routines in his room for “America Talent” – I think he’s trying to be like the bike guy.

Andrew seems to be in a stage where he is really having a hard time with tantrums and meltdowns.  But he really is trying hard and I can seem him working on self-discipline.  I think that is one of the parenting parts I like best – watching my children work at and master something.  When I tell him “we don’t talk to Mom like that”, he works really hard, even when he is hysterical, to calm down and tell me something in a better voice and ask calmly.

Fun things this month:

• Japanese Festival at the Botanical Gardens.  Huge – tens of thousands of people, seemingly half of whom dressed up like scary anime people.
• Hiking at Bangert Island and walking around St. Charles.  (Andrew is getting so proud of his hiking skills – it was nice and flat half the time and the boys loved running ahead, though we had to make sure Andrew didn’t run straight into the Missouri River … the other half was very sandy and hilly and eventually we had to carry Andrew at the end, but he was very good).
• Getting a new-to-us play kitchen from Freecycle (woo hoo!).  Andrew loves to cook meals for his giraffe, who loves lettuce and also, curiously, Oreos.  All of which need to be play nuked in the microwave.
• All kinds of free meals and snacks for Mom’s birthday (Andrew loved the VERY spicy noodles I got at Noodles and Co.  I didn’t realize they were spicy until Andrew took a VERY big gulp of water after each bite).
• Weekly trips to the zoo and botanical gardens (all the kids are back in school, it’s less crowded, and finally not so hot!).
• New favorite books after Grandma and Grandpa’s house – Magic School Bus.

Andrew’s Visiting Day at Preschool

Yesterday was Andrew’s visiting day at preschool to meet the teachers and figure out the routines.  The whole family came.  In the morning, Andrew wanted us to just drop him off, since that is what we keep talking about.  But, he was a little clingy at first when we got the classroom.  Once he saw all the trucks to play with, he was much more excited.  There are 9 kids in Andrew’s class and 2 teachers!  There are 4 boys and 5 girls within about a 6 month range, with Andrew just barely being the oldest.  They meet for 3 hours on Mondays and Tuesdays.  We are excited to start his first day on Monday.

Labor Day – Japanese Festival

For Labor Day weekend, we visited the Japanese Festival at the Botanical Garden.  This is a huge festival with like 25,000 people coming.  It was a little pricey in my mind, I guess cause I am used to going to the gardens for free.  It reminded me of the teeny tiny one that Ann Arbor does but much bigger and in a much bigger space.  Anyways, Japanese shops and booths.  Bonsai trees (nothing to compare with the ones we saw in Japan, of course).  Ikebana.  Martial arts.  Ice sculpting.  A summer festival parade.  Taiko.  Singing.  All those weird people dressed up like anime and manga and video game characters.  Lots of ceremonial (ha ha ha) sake drinking.  Banraku (?) puppet shows.  Origami and calligraphy.  Overpriced Japanese food, mostly yakisoba, okinomiyaki, sushi, and barley tea.  Water yo-yos.  Candy making.  And, believe or not, sumo!  It was a long day and both the boys fell asleep on the way home.  My favorite part – the procession and the sumo, of course.

First, Seth in his normal state – squatting.  He can do this FOREVER.  He is truly Asian.

The procession:

Other pictures:

Visit to Texas and Wedding

I didn’t think we had any pictures from our trip to Texas, but lo and behold, when I got pictures off our camera, there they were.  Not many and not great ones.  So, here is a shout-out to everyone (you know who you are) to send me copies of your pictures from the trip to Texas so I can do our scrapbooks, thanks!

We had fun in Texas, though it was SO SO SO hot and the boys had to stay inside, which is a tricky business in a place that is not totally baby/kid proofed.  We went on some fun outings – Chuck E. Cheese, the Aquarium, the park, shopping, the wedding, eating lots of pizza.  Seth only threw up once from the heat.  Andrew loved feeding the ducks every morning – he wants to feed the geese here now, but thankfully, I haven’t seen them in a while.  The wedding and reception were very lovely.  Katsu missed the wedding so he could watch super separation anxiety Seth, but I enjoyed it.  We had great great fun spending time with all our relatives.  I miss them all.  Hopefully, we can visit Utah in not too long.

Without further ado, a few pictures:

Of course, the real point of this post – send me your pictures!!!!