Babies R Us

Last week big guy and I went to the babies r us. I have this theory about the babies r us. It's the best and worst place on the planet. It's the best place, because it essentially has everything you need for your baby/child. Even things you never thought you could need are there. It's amazing. It's the worst place on earth b/c you'll go and find something. Then the next week you'll go back and the entire store is rearranged. Grrrr.

Big guy and I were there to buy the shopping cart cover and new car seats. Big guy has grown out of his infant car seat. I'll miss it b/c when he fell asleep in there, I would just pop it out and let him continue to sleep. No longer. There was a wide selection of the next step up in car seats. I immediately liked one, it looks like a seat that he could launch into space with. They are so huge. I asked the salesgirls for help, as I obviously have no idea. They were very helpful and big guy of course flirted with them. I even told one of them some stupid story about big guy. Half way through telling it I thought, why am I telling her this, she doesn't care. Oh well... I'm one of those moms.

I went with my original car seat choice, as it is mostly black but has green circles- which I thought would be mesmerizing to the big guy. Also, it goes up to 40 lbs facing backwards and 65 lbs facing forward. Ah, longevity.

Humorously, hubs put one of them in the next day (I bought two, as big guy starts going to the nanny in two weeks). Apparently, there was a lot of cursing, injuries, and sweating. Hubs also seemed to lose all his clothes. Hopefully none of the neighbors witnessed this!

Toes are Tasty

Big guy discovered his toes this week. Now, whenever he is on his back, he grabs his feet. It's really quite adorable, especiallly when I'm trying to put a diaper on- kidding. Not only does he grab his feet, he also puts them in his mouth. When he first accomplished this, he made a face. Kind of like, "ew, where have these things been?" Which is a really good question, since he walks barefoot everywhere. The cutest development in toe grab-bage is during our book reading before bed. Hubs reads two books while I'm putting on his bed time clothes. "Urban Babies Wear Black" and "That's Not My Monster" are read on his back. He grabs his feet and then puts hands and feet into the books. As if the feet are necessary in order to read.

Stretching

Big guy is incredibly stretchy. My favorite stretch is when big guy throws his head back and puts his hands behind his head. Then he pops his booty back and arches his back. Then he purses his lips out. It's like he's a model. Invariably, he does this when I am picking him up, so his legs are scrunched up. I hope to one day catch a picture of it.

New Diapers- bye bye swaddlers

Big guy has grown out of his "little" baby diapers- they were called swaddlers. Could the name be any cuter? They were super soft and had little baby big birds, elmos, cookie monsters, etc. I was stretching out him wearing them by ordering online size 2-3. But, since he has started to try to crawl, I figured it was time to move onto the cruisers. Since he wants to move, it seemed appropriate. Now cookie monster is bigger and on the backside of all the diapers, holding bananas and apples. So sad about cookie monster- cookies are never just a sometimes snack! And strangely, the cruisers have purple all over them. Not that I prescribe to color stereotypes, I mean big guys swing was mostly pink... It was just an odd observation. My little dude is growing up.

Target

We went to the target today. As I have yet to purchase the fabric covering to put in shopping carts, I was stuck carrying big guy, all 20 lbs of him! We were in search of pjs, diapers, and a cover for shopping carts so big guy can sit up. While we were unsuccessful in all of these endeavors, I did pick up a cute new onesie, red stripes with a robot. The best part was big guy turned to face the cart and put his hand out onto the handle to help me steer.

Swinging

Last week hubs, big guy, and I had dinner with a neighbor down the street. She has two daughters who are two and and the other is a month older than big guy. We sat outside and enjoyed some pizza and fruit. Big guy finished off his oatmeal. After dinner, we walked to the back of her backyard to put the big guy in a swing. One of those bucket seat swings. I plopped in the big guy and grabbed onto his hands, pulled up, and let him go. Back he flew and as he was coming forward, he looked at my and grinned! It was really cute. He absolutely loved it.

We didn't push it too far and only stayed in for a few minutes. The next day we went to the park and went back in the swing. It was even better than the night before. I would make funny faces when he came towards me, grab his feet, and we went up pretty high. Then he freaked. But overall, a very successful swinging encounter.

Morris Arboretum

Saturday brought with it another great weather day- what is that like three this summer? Hubs and I decided to go to the Morris Arboretum, kind of like Longwood Gardens, but owned and operated by the University of Pennsylvania. I must say I was pleasantly surprised that it was so close. And I instantly knew where I was when we got close. It's right past Valley Green and this awesome restaurant called Bruno's. Side note... when I was younger my dad (Grandpa J) and I would go running in valley green every weekend and then go eat hoagies and french fries at Bruno's. So, it has a special place in my heart.

The arboretum itself is up a hill. We drive up and arrived a little after 10am. Big guy was still awake. We went to the gift shop first, naturally. We have been on the hunt for a rain stick. Hubs doesn't believe me that it's a 1995 toy. The arboretum has this really cool "bird's nest." It's all wood and metal and is really high above the ground. Then there is a giant replica of a blackbird's nest that you can stand in. Big guy was really impressed!

We then walked through the grounds, visiting the rose garden, Oak Tree Alley, and tried to stick to the shade. Big guy reached down and grabbed at some flowers. Continuing our trend of destroying the foliage. Around eleven Big guy got ornery and I had to buckle him into his car seat to get him to sleep- he kept freaking out!

Then hubs and I walked over the hills for another hour to keep the stroller strolling. After exhaustion finally hit us, we got back in the car and drove to Bruno's. We had a lovely meal and then big guy and I strolled to Valley Green and found a bench to eat on. Big guy really enjoyed Valley Green, but found it very distracting while eating. Too many people running by. Following our meal, we walked down to look at the river. It was so peaceful and quiet.