2014: Year in Review

The most exciting news of the year won't arrive until 2015: we're expecting a new baby (a boy this time) in April!

But that wasn't all that happened in 2014. It was our first full year back in Ohio, and I think we're finally back in the swing of things. We have new friends and new schedules, filled with playgroups, story times and days at COSI. Edith finally took her first steps in March, and now we can't slow her down. That was followed much later in the year by her first haircut in October and then (gulp!) her second birthday in November.

Of course, we fit in some travels this year as well, both near and far. We took a day trip to nearby Yellow Springs. In June, we spent a week visiting our old haunts in Brooklyn and throughout New York City. And the last week of October found us on our first cruise, stopping in Mexico, Belize and Honduras.

What will next year bring? More milestones, more fun and certainly less sleep! No post on Wednesday. Happy 2015!

Merry Christmas!

Best wishes to you and your family this holiday season. The blog will be back next Monday following the Christmas holiday!

Photo Friday: Edith in Glasses

2014 Family Photos

I am lucky to have a talented amateur photographer as a sister-in-law. That means we get great family photos even when we procrastinate and don't get around to getting them done until nearly Thanksgiving.

So thanks to Becky for these wonderful pics of us and of Edith!

The rocking chair is a family tradition -
my sister and I each had our photo taken
in it when we were 18 months old.

Hungry All of the Time

I now eat approximately seven times a day.

I am hungry all of the time. You would think it would be fun to eat whatever, whenever you want. And the only time you can do that without judgement is when you're pregnant. (Not that it's ever stopped me before.)

But it's not fun. I'm always eating or thinking about eating. My meals/snacks go something like this:

• Breakfast (cereal and orange juice)
• Second breakfast (usually a Toaster Strudel)
• Lunch
• Snack #1 (toffee ice cream bar)
• Snack #2 (currently chips and salsa)
• Supper
• Bedtime snack (nowadays, milk and cookies)

 And if I skip any of those, chances are I'll feel yucky and won't want to eat anything. It's tiring.

At least I have the Christmas smorgasbords to look forward to. I'll be taking advantage.

Photo Friday: Edith Plays in the Snow

Nov. 17, 2014

Why Infant Clothing Infuriates Me

With a boy on the way in April, I have to shop for an almost entirely new baby wardrobe. I have a few gender-neutral outfits from Edith's infant days, but not many. Now that I've shopped for both a boy and a girl, I can easily understand why.

If a piece of clothing was made for a girl, it can rarely be worn by a boy (at least not without a few stares). That's because most girl baby clothing tends to fall into a few motifs:

• Pink
• Flowers
• Ballerina
• Cats

And by clothing, I mean almost anything that touches any part of their body: onesies, sleep-and-plays, shirts, pants, socks, shoes, pajamas, whatever. Now that I'm shopping for pull-ups, I've even noticed that those are decorated for gender. Why pee-catchers are boy- or girl-specific, I'll never know.

Boy clothing, on the other hand, features:

• Monsters
• Dinosaurs
• Cars and trucks
• Camouflage
• Airplanes
• Space themes

For some reason, it's easier for a girl to wear boy's clothing. I got Edith a pair of monster-themed pj pants long before I knew we were having a boy. Why can only boys like monsters? And can only boys dream about becoming an astronaut? It's infuriating.

Luckily we thought ahead and purchased our large baby items (stroller, car seat, swing, bedding, etc.) in neutral greens, grays, blacks. But don't get me started about gender-specific toys! Our son has quite a few pink blocks in his future.

Great Fun at Graeter's Indoor Playground

Paul and I wanted to do something special on Edith's second birthday, but plans earlier in the day meant that the "something special" had to wait until after supper. And there's not much to choose from on a dark, cold November day.

So we decided to check out the Graeter's play space a few miles from our neighborhood. Graeter's is a Cincinnati-based ice cream shop with several locations in Columbus. But only this one location in the city has an indoor playground.

It was a good choice. We ordered our ice cream first, but as soon as Edith saw the slides and other toys, all thoughts of ice cream went out the door. We were there almost two hours as Edith had a blast with the other kiddos in the closed-off space.

Edith's fun exponentially grew when a girl a few years older than her took her under her wing. She helped Edith up the stairs and went down the tunnel slides with her -- something she certainly couldn't have done on her own.

We'll be back -- Edith for the fun, me for the raspberry chocolate chip ice cream.

Photo Friday: Edith's Second Visit to Santa

Edith's second visit to Santa on Tuesday went just as well as her first visit last year. That is to say, not well at all!

This little photo collage sums it up well.

Video: Riding NYC's Roosevelt Island Tramway

In the odds and ends department, I realized I never posted this video I took of us riding the Roosevelt Island Tramway during our visit to New York City. It's such a neat experience that I'm ashamed that I've only done it twice -- once when we lived there and this time below, as a visitor. Absolutely beautiful views.

Finally, a Christmas Tree

Christmas came early in our household.

After seven years without a full-size Christmas tree (six treeless holidays in New York, followed by a tabletop tree last year) I couldn't wait to put ours up. So up it went, earlier than I can ever remember: November 14.

I was determined to have a tree that was taller than I was. Since I'm six feet tall, that's no easy feat. But someone was miraculously selling a 7 1/2-foot tree in July, so I snatched it up. With the angel on top, it towers above us. The hardest part is getting the angel on straight. She always looks ready to fly away.

At night, I ask Edith if she wants to help me turn on the tree lights. She stands next to the tree as I plug it in, and then touches a few lights and tries to name the colors. She mostly leaves the ornaments alone now, but we aren't taking any chances -- the breakable ones are displayed on the buffet.

Although our tree has already been up for more than two weeks, I'm not tired of it yet. Still a month to go!