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".

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

84. Visit Carter's Toy Museum

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

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!