Cold Spaghetti

We woke up Sunday morning and decided to take Will to see the sharks. We weren’t going to let the deluge falling from the sky stop us! We were bold. We got the kids through the rain to the car and drove downtown.

Only to turn around when, after 15 minutes of walking through the Hilton Hotel, realized we couldn’t get from their parking garage to Riverwalk and the Aquarium without going up or down 4 different sets of stairs with Kate’s stroller. (The Hilton lot is one of the only places to park that is validated by the Aquarium.) Screw it, we said, ticked off that Hilton Hotel doesn’t have to follow ADA compliance rules, but Abeona House can’t open until it has a handicap ramp and wheelchair access to a bathroom.

We explained to Will that the sharks were closed due to the rain. Rain, rain, go away, we said. Then we came up with the idea of going to the Children’s Museum. Will was thrilled at the suggestion. Two minutes later, we were outside the doors of the Museum… which were locked, because it was closed. Damn.

Trying to redeem ourselves, we tried to talk up the fun of going home, making forts, and — wow — eating lunch inside the fort! Will was so impressed by our offer that he promptly fell asleep.

Three hours later, Will woke up from his nap. The first words out of his mouth were: “It’s not raining. Go see sharks.”

So for the second time that day, we set off for the Aquarium.
This is Will watching one of the divers feed the fish in the “walk through” tank.
Visiting his friend the moray eel. I have a picture of Will at this display when he was about 14 months old. Apparently, the fun of watching the eel pop out extends into several age groups.
Checking out the otters. In this picture, Will happens to be watching otter-butt.
Petting a SHARK. Whoa. 

Thanks for your visit! Sample videos are here, here, here, and here. And Paul juggling is here.

Skip, Emily, and my Mom visited on Saturday! Our day included: walk to neighborhood bakery for morning muffins, Abeona House for Will and Kate’s Music Together class, lunch from Whole Foods, drive around town while Will slept, Audubon Park for Paul’s juggling group, dinner at Jacque-Imos, games at home, and hanging out with the kids. Pictures below!

We are a co-sleeper family. We co-slept with Will for all or part of the night until he was 2. Currently, Kate is so-sleeping with us. We’ve started to let her sleep in her crib for a few hours each evening, bringing her in with us when we go to sleep. The kids are sharing a room, so we figure this is a test in Will’s ability to deep-sleep. If he passes, maybe we can re-start hosting those wild parties we were so famous for before he was born.

Until then, we’re sticking with co-sleeping. As a breastfeeding mom, I love co-sleeping because it means I barely have to wake up to comfort my hungry child and I never have to wake up to the sound of a baby crying. It also means I sleep incredibly lightly and rarely ever have deep sleep. Of course, my light sleep isn’t only because of sleeping with a baby. I now know that part of being a mother means you always sleep with one eye open, no matter what. And people wonder why we mothers are so easily pushed over the edge.

I’ve also realized that I don’t sleep soundly because everyone in our family makes horrible bed partners. Paul snores. Will sleeps side-ways. Kate is a bedtime rock star. Although I’d like to believe I’m the perfect bed partner, I imagine that I’m no great fun, either. Since we’re all incapable of sharing, perhaps one day our family bed will turn into four separate beds. Maybe the Brady parents were on to something with the twin beds in the Master Bedroom.

For now, we’re going with the low-on-sleep, high-on-cuddle family bed arrangement. Even with the kicks, punches, feet-in-face, snoring, farting, rock star nights… the mornings (as seen in these pictures) are really fun.

…if only that shutter moved a little bit faster without the flash!! *sigh* Little Kate just can’t keep that head still yet.
This one is my second favorite, done in portrait mode with flash and some color editting in Picasa. Any photographers out there have comments on these to help me as I learn?

… get thee to this website!!

And to the artists of the world: get to work in your chosen mediums. Glorify our unique shapes, colors, and textures. We are Mothers — these are the bodies that make the world.

Except for the feeling I get when I look at my kids, nothing has made me feel better in my skin than this wonderful site.

We went on down to the Audubon Zoo, and they all axed for you…

Today was Michelle’s last day babysitting on her regular schedule with us, so we went on a special trip to the Zoo this morning.

It was HOT.

Despite the heat, Will had a great time checking out the animals.

The white tigers and lions were out… although asleep. When I told Will I was disappointed because I couldn’t remember what they say, Will was happy to remind me: “Rroooaarr!”

The heat knocked Kate out for most of the visit. I was a Bad Mommy and forgot her sunhat, so I spent most of the visit wheeling her from shade patch to shade patch. (She was protected by her car shade, too… I’m not that bad of a Mommy!)

Most of the animals were ready to show their best sides.

The elephants, in particular, were quite content with our visit to their back-ends.

Will showed us some sweetness, too. Especially when, 90 minutes after our arrival, Little Man asked to be picked up and taken home. Even after his nap, Will was still dragging. We figure that this is a new level of pooped… after a trip to the Zoo, Will is Zooped!

Step One: Look Cute Step Two: Kick
Step Three: Grunt for Effect Step Four: Celebrate… I’m on my side!
 

I left Kate to play on her activity mat while I did dishes. Her coos and goos and woos were so darn cute, I had to stop mid-pot and find out what all the excitement was about. Apparently, the excitement was her! She was just smiling away, happy as can be… looking at herself in the mirror.