Winter Fun!

Earlier this past summer, I sat down one evening to compile a pretty epic (if I do say so myself) list of fun summer things to do, so aptly named "Summer Fun".  I gathered 30 different ideas - places to go, things to do, etc.  We used this list all summer when we needed an idea for things to do during the week.  It was great and Alexia loved crossing things off the list that we accomplished...I may have helped instill this love of check-lists in her...

Now I will preface this post and say, one of the things I LOVE about living in Maryland are the seasons - defined times of the year in which we experience different temperatures, different elements, different smells, different appropriate activities.  Spring brings new flowers and crisp mornings but warm afternoons.  Summer brings all things related to water, snowcones, and shorts. Autumn brings pumpkin-spiced everything, breathtaking trees changing colors, and warm days but cool nights. 

This brings us to winter.  

I am a fan of winter, don't get me wrong. I love a good snowfall, hot chocolate, and cozy fire more than most people. BUT, having children has tainted my view of winter. Now when I think of winter, I think of the sun going down at what feels like 2pm 5pm, threats of the flu, strep throat, and basically the bubonic plaque when I even THINK about venturing out of the house, and afternoons that can't be passed by simply playing in our backyard baby pool or hulahooping the moments away.  Winter calls for a bit of planning, even more so than Summer Fun.  I think anyone with kiddos understands the trepidation I feel when thinking about what winter has in store for us.  

This inspired me to create a Winter Fun list - with 30 different activities uniquely designed to be completed during the cold, horrible, dreadfully long winter months of December, January, and February.  While this list pertains directly to things to do in Baltimore, many cities offer great resources if you take the time to find them!  

As with Summer Fun, my list is outlined below, complete with links when available. Enjoy!

• Storyville
• Port Discovery 
• Fireman Museum
• Bowling
• Earthtreks Climbing Gym
• Baltimore Aquarium
• Home Depot Kids' Projects
• Arundel Mills Mall
• Trains at Kenilworth Mall
• Leakin Park miniature train ride**
• Fells Point water taxi**
• Carrie Murray Nature Center Insect Zoo
• Ice Skating 
• BWI Observation Deck
• Skyzone
• Maryland Science Center
• Walters Art Museum
• Gymnastics open gym
• B&O Railroad Museum
• Operation Christmas Child**
• Cylburn Arboretum
• National Building Museum, DC
• Baltimore Maritime Museum
• Baltimore Streetcar Museum 
• Longwood Gardens
• Make Playdough 
• Shape hopping
• Indoor hopscotch 

Please note, that while I hope to utilize this list starting in December, I did not include any Christmas/holiday related activities.  We will be doing many of those, but most likely, as a family, and I wanted this list to capture things to do Monday-Friday.  And the holiday season always flies by as it is!  

**Also, some items are best completed BEFORE December, either because of scheduled closings, or the weather.  

I hope this list helps any other stir-crazy mamas, papas, sitters, aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas out there this winter! - says the village idiot 

Happy 10 months Cecilia!

You are almost one year old.  stop it.  stop growing so fast!!! 

But seriously you are so stinking cute that we will allow it to continue.

Likes - waving at everyone, smiling, going up the stairs, standing and cruising around EVERYWHERE.  She has also discovered a recent love of toilet paper - specifically taking every free moment of freedom and hightailing it to the bathroom to work on her task of pulling the entire roll of toilet paper off the roll...I learned this the hard way.  Twice.    

Dislikes - getting wiped down after eating 

Favorite things about Cece - she is SO smiley

Weight - 17 pounds

Height -  26+ inches

Clothing size - 12 months 

Feeding - nurses in the morning, once in the afternoon before naptime, and at night before bed.  She now also eats real food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So.much.eating.

Sleep - Sooooo, a bit of a regression this week...she still sleeps from 8pm-8amish, but this week she has started waking up sometime in the night (sometimes 1am, sometimes 4am, sometimes who-knows-when) to eat and then she goes right back to sleep.  She also takes a morning nap for an hour, and an hour+ afternoon nap.

Milestones - I don't even know what to consider a milestone at this point.  I feel like every day it is something new - dancing to music, climbing stairs, taking a few tentative steps with a walker, basically she will be applying to college next fall.

We love you dearly Cecilia Rose.  Our hearts are so full as we approach your one-year birthday.  You are a dream and we love you to the moon and back! - says the village idiot 

Happy 9 1/2 months Cecilia!

Happy 9 1/2 months Cece!!

Likes - Eating, Playing with EVERYTHING Alexia is playing with...

Dislikes - Getting smotherhugged by Alexia 

Favorite things about Cece - She is so stinking cute!  She is so easy going and very adventurous 

Weight - 17 1/2 pounds

Height - 26 inches 

Clothing size - 9-12 months

Feeding - Nurses around 8am, eats breakfast at 9am, nurses again at noon, then real-people lunch, nurses to go down for her nap at 2pm, dinner at 5pm, nurses to sleep at 8pm.  

Sleep - 2 naps during the day, and nighttime sleep from 8pm-8am.  

Milestones - Dedication to the Lord on August 23rd at Horizon Church of Towson; She is starting to crawl! She now has 4 teeth - 2 on top and 2 on bottom; She is also standing up on everything!  

It is going by TOOFAST! Slow down time, please, I beg of you! - says the village idiot 

Happy 8 months Cecilia!

So I am a little more punctual with this month's post!

Happy 8 months little one!

Likes - Laughing at her sister. Sitting up. Playing with toys. Bath time. Basically she loves life. 

Dislikes - She is starting to develop a personality and this involves crying for .2 seconds when I am keeping her up to play when she would rather be sleeping.

Favorite things about Cece - Oh my goodness, she is just so stinking cute!  We love everything about her! Her sweet smile, her appetite, her easygoing nature, we love it all!

Weight - 16+ pounds

Height - 25+ inches

Clothing size - 12 months

Feeding - Every 3-4 hours during the day

Sleep - Nurses to sleep at 8pm and sleeps until 8am the next day.  

Milestones - Sitting up!  JUST starting to crawl.  Eating more and more real people food.

It is hard to believe the summer is winding down, and with that our baby is nearing the 1 year mark.  It is FLYING by.  All parents say it, but it is the TRUTH!  Having little kiddos is such a joy and such a blessing.  - says the village idiot 

Happy 7 months Cece!

In true second-child fashion, here are Cece's 7th month stats...2 days before her 8 month birthday...oops.  The summer (and time in general) is just going too quickly for me to keep up/slow down and write!  

Likes - Everything!  She still loves nursing, though she has started to try new foods like watermelon and cucumber.  She likes riding in the stroller, playing in her office, and watching Alexia. They get each other laughing and it is the cutest thing. 

Dislikes - ...I'm drawing a blank at anything she doesn't like

Favorite things about Cece - So easygoing.  So smiley.  So chunky!

Weight - 17lbs +

Height - 25 inches +

Clothing size - 12 months

Feeding - Every 3-4 hours during the day

Sleep - She eats one last time at 8pm and sleeps until 8am the next morning.  Phew.  

Milestones - Rolling over a ton, not crawling yet, but possibly soon. She loves to scoot backwards. 

We love you with all our hearts Cece and can't wait to see more of your sweet personality! - says the village idiot 

DC Zoo and Natural History Museum

A few weeks ago we did some DC sightseeing and visited the DC Zoo, as well as the Natural History Museum.  Both were a little more crowded than we expected due to school field trips, but we had fun and got to see many animals and exhibits.  (Just to clarify - we did not visit both on the same day - that would have been brutal!). 

Growing up close to DC, we visited the museums downtown often.  It was a lot of fun to be able to go there with my kiddos!  The Hubby was especially excited to see the "big cats" aka. the lions and tigers.  They did not disappoint!  I had also forgotten how cool their monkey house is - with wires crisscrossing the zoo allowing the monkeys to climb overhead.  That was my favorite part! As much as we love the Baltimore Zoo, it was fun visiting a the DC Zoo with different animals.  

A few days later, we decided to tackle the Natural History Museum.  I wasn't quite sure what Alexia would like the best, but after visiting each exhibit, she found her favorite in the gems room...a girl after my own heart.  She loved seeing all the different rocks and gems, and the countless shapes and colors.

We drove down into DC both days and found parking pretty easily.  Even though the DC Zoo is free, the parking is $22.00 so definitely carpool if possible, or the metro is another option.  Summer Fun continues! - says the village idiot  

Popsicle Making 101

One of the edible items on our Summer Fun list included making popsicles.  I have memories of making popsicles with my mom growing up so I was very excited to do this with my kiddos.  What made this Popsicle Event even, ahem, sweeter, was making the popsicles using strawberries we picked ourselves.  

There are many pick-your-own fields in Baltimore and I try to take advantage as often as possible!  A few Saturdays ago, I called to make sure the fields at PeachBerry Farm were ripe for picking, and we headed out for some strawberries.  PeachBerry is a farm in Glen Arm, owned by Weber's Cider Mill Farm.  

We picked about 6 pounds of strawberries in 30 minutes, with Alexia eating her fair share while we were there.  

I wasn't planning on making popsicles, but after a couple days of eating strawberries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I realized I needed to do something before our bounty went bad. (For those that Can, I hear you.  I would love to pick and can my own strawberries someday soon - maybe next year). 

I got out my blender, and Alexia got out her stool, and we began the process.  I found some recipes for popsicles on Pinterest, and decided to make several variations of strawberry popsicles.  We used molds like these from Ikea.  I bought them several years ago so they look slightly cuter now!  We used about 8-12 blended strawberries to fill each mold.  Some variations we made included some with Greek yogurt, some with honey, and some with both yogurt and honey.  

We put them in the freezer for 24 hours and enjoyed them the next day after lunch!  The strawberry-only pops were definitely not as sweet as the other variations.  The pops with yogurt were slightly smoother in texture but also not as sweet.  The pops with yogurt AND honey were sweet and smooth!  All 3 variations were actually very filling and a pretty substantial dessert!  

From growing our own veggie garden in the backyard, to picking our own fruit and veggies at local fields, I love introducing my kids to where our food comes from, aka THE GROUND, not just the grocery store.  

Last but not least, a family selfie taken after the hard work of picking strawberries! - says the village idiot 

Hampton Mansion - A must-see in Towson!

Several weeks ago we checked off explored our first Summer Fun item - Hampton Mansion - a beautiful historic home with expansive gardens, including well-preserved Slave Quarters.  This National Historic Site is less than 3 miles from our house, and completely free! A definite summer (or winter/spring/fall) must-see.  

We explored the slave quarters first, then headed to the main house.  

There are guided tours offered of the home which we will definitely need to do next time we visit.  We then visited the gardens and contemplated why we can't seem to grow such beautiful flowers in our own yard at home. 

It blew my mind that this exists in Towson - so much land and beauty tucked into a Towson neighborhood. - says the village idiot 

Clark's Elioak Farm

Today we visited Clarks Elioak Farm in Howard county.  The farm is open from April to November and costs $6 per person to get in (kids under 12 months are free). We arrived at 10am, when they open. 

It was definitely much bigger than I expected. The website explains they have a petting zoo, hay ride, cow train, pony ride, and many of the refurbished fairytale structures from the long closed "Enchanted Forest" on route 40. 

It was stroller friendly but there are lots of hills, and the structures and animal pens are very spread out. I wore flip flops and I wish I had worn tennis shoes. I put Cecilia in the stroller while we were there but by the end, Alexia was crying to get in too. 

There are places of shade but come with sunscreen and hats. I would consider it the perfect place to bring a lunch and have a picnic as there are several pavilions and lots of table and benches. 

Note - if you want to feed the animals, bring quarters! All the animal feed comes from candy dispensers which require quarters. Luckily I had some in my wallet and it only took about $0.50 of change to get our full of feeding the goats and sheep. Also, while the cost of entry is $6.00, the pony ride, cow train, and hay rides are each $2.00 per person. I didn't want to buy a bunch of tickets at the gate and then find that Alexia didn't want to do any of the add-ons, but they told me I could just give the people at the stations $2.00 instead of buying a ticket in advance. This leads me to say - bring dollar bills also! 

In my opinion, the hay ride and cow train were worth it. Both were very long and enjoyable. Alexia initially wanted to ride the pony but changed her mind when we ventured closer. Had she wanted to ride it, I definitely would have let her, but for $2.00, all they do is walk the pony around a small circle one time. Use your best judgement as to whether that is worth it to you!

All in all it was a cute place and we will definitely return. 

Also, on a side note, while we were there, a friend mentioned Certifikid - a daily deal emailed to you with kid-related activities and memberships. We noticed several families entering with their certifikids. I have since signed up and am excited to receive my first daily deal! - says the village idiot