Saturday, January 29, 2011

67. Ride the people mover Downtown

Jason has cabin fever...bad. He really wanted to get out of the house today, so we decided to take the boys downtown and ride the people mover. Jason has taken Jack to ride it before, but I've never been on it. It's nothing big. Just a small two car monorail that runs between three hospitals downtown. But it was something for us to do together as a family and free.

People mover approaching the station

A momma and her boys

Now we can cross number sixty seven off my Indiana "bucket list".


Friday, January 14, 2011

Bucket List

So...one of the girls from Jack's birth board posted her list of 100 things she wants to do in 2011. You can see it here.

Anyway...my friend Cecilia has inspired me to write and complete my own list of 100 things to do in 2011. I've been working on it for a while now and it's still not complete...so it may just have to be a work in progress...but here is what I have put together so far. And as I complete each one...I will be sure to blog it as well. Enjoy!

1. Run the Indianapolis Mini Marathon
2. Take the boys to the 500 Festival Parade
3. Leave Jack overnight with Mamaw and Papaw
4. See a play at the Indianapolis Reparatory Theatre
5. Give blood
6. Help plant this year's garden
7. Plan out our summer flower beds
8. See a movie at the IMAX
9. Ride in the hot air balloon at Conner Prairie
10. Picnic at Oliver Winery
11. Visit a new state
12. Host a Halloween Party for friends and family
13. Write an apology letter
14. Ride the Polar Express at Christmas
15. Fly a kite with the boys
16. Visit a new festival
17. Start sewing
18. Walk the Canal downtown
19. Road trip to Entertrainment Junction
20. Do a chocolate fondue for dinner
21. Volunteer at school
22. Read 10 books on the Pulitzer list
23. Picnic at an Indian's Game
24. Drive through Brown County to see fall leaves
25. Backpack overnight with Jason
26. Complete a service project with Jack
27. See the butterflies at White River Gardens
28. Take a photography class
29. Participate in a family bowling night with grandparents
30. Go camping with the boys
31. Take a carriage ride downtown
32. Write a letter to Santa and deliver it to the mailbox on the Circle
33. Participate in an exercise class
34. Have ice cream for dinner on July 4th
35. Go to a concert
36. Visit grandparents at the cemetery
37. Write a monthly letter to Jason's grandma
38. Hike in Eagle Creek
39. See the Planetarium at the Children's Museum
40. Participate in River Watch and maintain a stream
41. Run a 5K benefit
42. Plan a GNO at Wine & Canvas
43. Pay someone's order in the drive thru
44. Eat something fried at the Indiana State Fair
45. Take boys to the Brownsburg Homecoming Parade & game
46. Swim in Beaver Dam Lake
47. Kayak with Jason in the lake
48. Catch lightning bugs with the boys
49. Save money for an eReader
50. Spend the night at Story Inn in Brown County
51. Repell Hemlock Cliffs
52. Picnic at Symphony on the Prairie
>53. Hike in Deam
54. Paint pottery with my mom
55. Teach Jack to spit watermelon seeds
56. Go to Indianapolis' Earth Day Celebration
57. Get up for a sunrise
58. Walk the Indianapolis Museum of Art's 100 Acres
59. Eat ice cream at BRICS (Broad Ripple Ice Cream Station)
60. See "The Giant" in Pendleton
61. Partake in Bean Blossom's Bluegrass Festival
2. Take an art class at the Indianapolis Art Center
63. Take Ashley to the Wizard of Oz Museum in northern Indiana
64. Plan a couple's Cracker's Comedy night
65. See an outdoor movie at Holiday Park
66. Watch the lighting of the Christmas Tree on the Circle
67. Ride the people mover downtown
68. Implement "Slow Cooker Sundays"
69. Make a baby with Jason
70. Send in for Graham's birth certificate!
71. Get Graham his own library card
72. Eat a pretzel at the Indianapolis Zoo
73. Climb the steps to the top of the War Memorial on Monument Circle
74. Bake more cookies
75. Lose weight for myself
76. Have a family pillow fight
77. Attend the St. Patrick's Day Parade
78. Obtain CPR certification
79. Donate to PBS
80. Get my hair styled
81. Play a family round of mini golf
82. Buy ice cream from the ice cream man
83. Walk the Monon and eat at Bub's Burgers
85. Get a foot massage at Foot Finesse
86. Do a couples dinner at The Melting Pot



So...I have 25 more to go...I'll keep you posted...
20
14

Sunday, January 2, 2011

1 vs 2

So my last post really got me thinking about how I compare the boys. That lead to me realizing that while I compare them I totally treat them differently. It's not been on purpose, but looking back here's what I've noticed:

First Child / Second Child
Slept in our bed until 9 months / Slept next to our bed for 7 months
Didn't leave the house for 4 weeks / Was at the bowling alley at 2 weeks
Was read to every night / Didn't see a book until 3 months
Eating purees at 4 months / Didn't like purees, tried at 4, 5, 6 months
Eating solids only by 7 months / At 7 months eats whatever here and there
Did what it took to put to sleep / Laid him in bed to fall asleep on own
Cloth diapered for 1 year / Never saw a cloth diaper
Never watched TV until over 1 / Watched TV since he came home
Started signing at 6 months / Jason's tried a few signs out

So this is my short list...those of you with more than one...feel free to add what you've done differently the second time around...consciously or not.


Milestones...

Having two boys born in May, it's very easy to compare their milestones...and just as easy to forget that Jack was born three weeks before Graham in May. So while I'm not "supposed" to compare babies and their milestones, I just can't seem to help myself...nor help myself from always feeling like poor little Graham is "behind".

When we went to Tulsa for Christmas when Jack was an infant Jack could get into a sitting position on his own, get on his knees and bounce, stand holding onto objects and he started crawling on Christmas Day. But Graham...poor little Graham couldn't do any of that and although he'd been rocking on his hands and knees for weeks he was no where near crawling. But at Christmas Jack was getting ready to turn 8 months while Graham had just turned 7 months so again I have to remind myself that Graham is not behind, Graham is not behind, Graham is not behind.

Well...in true "their own time" fashion...Graham proved he's not behind and really showed off some of his skills. The day before Christmas Graham started moving. Not a crawl on hands and knees...but a slow painful looking "dead man's crawl" as Jason coined it. But he started moving and 3 weeks before his brother. Once we got home from Tulsa, Graham just seemed to flourish. He started staying on his hands and knees and taking small movements forward on them and he started getting into a sitting position on his own and is now pulling up on anything and everything he can get his pudgy little fingers around!

So now we see him going in circles on his belly, getting on all fours and chasing after toys or Jack. Or simply sitting up to enjoy the crazy antics his brother has in store for him. So see...Graham is not behind!