The Boy took group lessons at the Rec Center this year with Mr. Danny and Miss Kaitlyn. This was a little different than his previous lessons because they made him swim on top of the water. He did fairly well for the two weeks, though, and "graduated".
After that he had some private lessons with Miss Sarah. I think by the end of next summer he'll be swimming safely on his own with my 0n-the-verge-of-a-heart attack supervision.
The Boy went fishing for the first time yesterday. They didn't catch anything, but isn't that exactly how fishing goes?
This is amazing for two reasons. The first is that after a year of sleeping in a Pack 'N' Play (because I'm a good mother like that), the Girl finally has a crib.
The more incredible thing is that it has all four bumpers. The Boy was deeply attached to his long bumper, which we called a "night night". If you've seen Mr. Mom, the Boy's night night was like his woobie. You may remember from this post that I tried to take it away from him before the Girl arrived - knowing that I would eventually need them. Unfortunately he found where I stored it and I didn't have the heart to take it away from him after she came.
As I was putting together the crib last month (finally), I decided she would be fine with three bumpers. I mean...she's a year old. When I was all finished, without prompting or request, the Boy brought his night night in from his room and put it in her crib. When I told him he didn't have to do that if he didn't really want to, he said, "She can have it. She needs it to be safe."
I thought that was a very big, mature step for him. Once in a while he does ask for it back. I decided to compromise with him. On occasion now, you may find him inside her crib, snuggling his night night.
The Girl took her first step today at church right in front of the bishop. I guess she's trying to make a good impression. She kept trying and trying after that - this little one has tenacity.
St. Louis really does have a lot to do. We tried to take advantage of that before The Man had to start into work.
We hit the arch, of course. I thought it was more amazing from the outside than from the top.
We went to the children's museum here called The Magic House. It doesn't hold a candle to Strong, but I'm grateful for it all the same. The Boy did a little fishing in the river there.
We checked out the "free" zoo. By "free" they mean admission is free and everything else (including parking) will cost you an arm and a leg. It was incredibly hot the day we went, but we enjoyed it enough. I have no idea where my pictures of that trip went.
The Botanical Garden here is amazing and we got in on a totally free day (unlike the zoo). They even have little places here for the kids to get wet. I was sorry we didn't get pictures of that, but we will definitely go back. There was so much to see we weren't able to get it all in.
Fourth of July was celebrated solely by The Man and the Boy. They went to a little festival where he got to play in bubbles and make colored sand bracelets. Then he posed for a few phots at the neighborhood park before the fireworks started. This same park has a children's aquatic center only for residents of the three adjacent suburbs. How great is that? We are sure to make it there this week.
Liking the area quite a bit so far.
Here are the pictures from the Girl's birthday party in Arkansas. She had a wonderful day right up until party time. She woke up from her nap whiny, sad, and not feeling well.
Guncle managed to snap a picture or two between cries, but she spent most the time in my lap a sad little diva.
Icing cures many ails, luckily.Neither one of us has never had a new car right off the lot. After hanging on to my 1994 Toyota Celica purchased when I was in high school and our 1998 Honda Accord that we bought in 2002, we decided it was time to ditch them both in New York. It probably had something to do with the fact that the mechanic declared them something near death traps. So after much delibertation here's what we came up with.
The Man's 40 mpg commuter 2012 Honda Civic in very manly grey. Nice, huh? I like driving this little guy.
And my really dark blue (I really wanted white but they weren't out yet) 2012 Hyundai Sonata. Deciding on this one was a real pain from the year, make, and model right down to the color. I drove a lot of cars before getting to this one. I think we are both very satisfied, though. *sighs*
And I wish I could have made a really big deal out of this like I did with the Boy, but with moving and all, there was just no time. She did, however, get to celebrate twice. Once in Arkansas (pictures to come later) and then once with just our little family here in St. Louis.
The Boy always gets a birthday crown on his day. The Girl will be sporting a birthday sash. I felt the tiara was just too much for my diva radar to manage. Aunt Jo Jo made her this one.
I got these cute cupcakes from Walmart of all places. The one here is "upscale" if there is such a thing as an upscale Walmart. The red one with the candle is supposed to be Elmo, but the 10 pounds of icing caused his face to slide off.
More, please. All in all, a very good and messy first birthday for my little girl. She has so much personality. She loves to make her brother laugh and she gives the best loves. Sweet and boisterous. We love you so much, Midge!
Here we are. New city, new house. One floor, which means no stairs for little crawlers, no creepy basements, and same floor laundry! Also no garage, but in exchange I get an extra room where I have shoved all the kids toys. I can shut the door and not have to look at it. It was a little hard cramming 1500 square feet and a basement into 1100 square feet, but we purged and made it. I think we'll be very happy here for a year.
Every night when I put the Boy to bed we talk about his favorite part of the day and his sad part of the day. Sometimes he asks me mine, too. Last night he said,
"My favorite part of the day was playing with all my friends and my sad part of the day was having to leave."
So then he asked me mine. And I said,
"It's the same as yours. My favorite part was seeing my friends and my sad part was leaving them."
And then, of course, I cried because I knew we didn't really mean the same thing.
As promised after a tearful blog post or two. Here is what I will not miss after I move.
7 Months of Winter. 'Nuff said.
My house. Yes I realize it's also one of the things I'll miss, but sometimes I wonder why anyone buys a house...ever. What a pain in the arse. And I won't miss the office, a.k.a The Man Cave. I always felt like there should be a deer head mounted on the wall in there. I once tried to get the Oprah show to come make it over for me.
The wind. And along with that, my vote for the Rochester City motto, "This would be a nice day if it weren't for the wind."
The taxes. Ohhhhh the taxes.
$10.50 for a movie. It's probably as expensive where we're going, but I just wanted to vent that frustration.
Paying the plow guy who tore our lawn up every year.
The high electric bill that comes along with the cold.
Not being near a Sonic, Chick-Fil-A, or Long John's. Five Guys just can't make up for all three.
Roxy. Because we're selling her with the house.
Potholes. Am I right, people that live here? In 9 years I've popped two tired on potholes. Do you KNOW how big a pothole has to be to pop a tire? If you're driving down the narrow lanes of Mt. Hope avenue on a busy day, you can't go around them either.
Not being able to buy caffeine free regular Dr. Pepper.
Residency. Can I get an amen from the doctor's wives?
And finally a quick rant about the NY State gun laws. Don't read this part if you're not a fan of the NRA. I fully support my constitutional right to own a gun. When I moved here with my .22, I complied with NY state law to turn it in until I received a permit. The ridiculous amount of time, money, and effort I had to go through to get said permit was insane. I refused to do it on principle. I just called the Sheriff's Office to find out how to retrieve it now that I'm moving. I was informed they destroyed it. They did it without my permission. They mailed ONE letter to the WRONG address. It was returned to them and they still destroyed it. They encroached on my right by setting up the absurd process by which to obtain a permit, then they destroyed a $500 piece of my property, and I have absolutely no recourse. For this reason alone, I'd like to give the government of New York the proverbial middle finger.
Okay I'll step off that box. I did mention the winter, right?
Adios, Rochester.
We're leaving soon. In a week actually.
I wanted to write down some of the things I will and won't miss about this place that we've lived in for the past 9 years. I'll start with the teary, weepy What I'll Miss post and follow it up another day with the negative, buzzkill What I Won't Miss post to stop the tears from flowing. So...what I'll miss:
My house. The secret attic room, both my bedroom and the nursery that I got to decorate from scratch exactly the way I wanted them, the windows in the living room, the dogwood tree in the spring.
My street. Where I started to love running. It's perfect for it: almost exactly a five mile run to the end and back and almost completely flat. Lots of pleasant "alone time" was spent on this road.
Book Club. For getting me to enjoy something I never did but always wanted to: reading.
Strong Museum. How I spent many a Friday or Saturday night entertaining my oldest and getting 1/2 priced milk shakes from Bill Gray's for dinner.
My OBGYN. Is that weird? My friends get it. He hugged me at our last appointment. I almost cried. So did our pediatrician. He was great.
Highland Park. Especially in May.
Wegman's. I didn't shop there often, but if I needed something amazing or amazingly odd, I knew Wegman's would have it.
Being this close to NYC.
My neighbors. And the free slurpies he would give us. And for never complaining about our rotten dog.
Knowing with near certainty at which friend's house I would spend each holiday and which would be celebrated here. Who will be in charge of the Superbowl and pumpkin carving now?
The libraries. So many branches within driving distance.
Being in a decent sized city that didn't feel big at all.
The Boy's friend's. The thought of putting him into a regular pre-school somewhere else terrifies me.
And of course, my friends. Like Nicole, who is one of the strongest people I know. Here are the ones I have pictures of, but there are more that I will miss, too. In their life, everyone should have someone who:
...is an example
... is a calming influence
...let's you be yourself, flaws and all
...you can count on for anything
... is a life line
...gives unconditional love
I love you women so much. Thank you for being my friend and teaching me how to be one in return. Because of you, I am better.
On this very rainy day, this quirky song I found last night made me smile. Thought I'd share it with you.
The Boy wanted to show you all that he has learned to cross his eyes.
I just took the Boy to the mall to get him a new hat and an Easter shirt. While we were there he wanted to throw a penny into the fountain – so I gave him a penny. He was about to toss it in when I reminded him that he needed to make a wish. And here it was…
”I wish I could throw this penny into the water.”
What do you know? It came true.
It's over. Finished. Through. Ended. No more breastfeeding for me, ever. Once the girl grew in her top teeth, it became impossible to nurse. So as of today, she is on the sippy cup. I am not the least bit sad about it. 
She also learned to do this... 
The mohawk continues to get taller and taller. When we are in public people often comment on it. Most are surprised to hear that it is au naturel. 
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These will always be my friends.
