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 

Summer Fun

A few weeks ago after the kiddos went to sleep, I set about creating a "Summer Fun" list - a list of 30 places I wanted to go this summer/things I wanted to do.  To compile this list, I sought help from Pinterest (obviously), as well as other Baltimore Moms who could impart some local spots to explore.  I thought the list turned out pretty well! I was initially inspired to create this list after seeing some friends on Facebook posting about #100daysofsummer - doing something fun/memorable every day of summer - 100 days! 

I decided that if I made a list of 100 things, it would become a chore, as I would insist on waking up every day and choosing something to "check off" the list that morning.  I didn't want the summer to become a check list, so my list only includes 30 things.  There are some things I chose not to include, but it is a no-brainer we will do them often this summer, such as blowing bubbles, playing with chalk, going to the playground, etc.  Some lists I saw on Pinterest included those things, which are great! But not things I felt the need to "check off" doing this summer.  

Here is the breakdown of our Summer Fun list in case anyone wants to copy, or join us! I tried to include links to everything I could in case anyone wanted to check it out as well.

• Ladew Gardens
• Hampton Mansion
• Ocean City, MD
• Go Camping
• Glen Echo Park (specifically to see a puppet show)
• Plumpton Park Zoo
• Miniature train ride
• DC Zoo
• Natural History Museum
• Marshy Point Nature Center 
• Irvine Nature Center
• Baltimore Zoo
• Clark's Elioak Farm
• Oregon Ridge Lake*
• Adkins Arboretum  
• Jones Farm
• Rocky Point Park
• Broom's Bloom Dairy Farm
• Hybridoma Farm
• Swim at Aunt Linda's
• Take a bike ride
• Make homemade popsicles
• Eat snow cones
• Go to State Fair
• Make water balloons
• Belvedere Square Friday night concert
• Library Summer Reading Program
• Jolly Rogers
• BWI Observation Deck
• Gymnastics

*After creating this list I learned that the Oregon Ridge Lake is actually closed this season.  Instead of swimming in the lake, we plan on going hiking on their great trails. 

I will try my very hardest to blog about the places we go and keep everyone up-to-date as we accomplish checking everything off the list have a great summer! 

- says the village idiot 

Happy 6 months Little Cecilia!

Happy 6 months to our sweet blue-eyed beauty!! We CANNOT believe how quickly this past 6 months have gone (minus the first 2 months which felt like an eternity).  

Likes - So many things! She is "playing" more with toys, aka. putting them in her mouth; She is still nursing almost every 3 hours during the day so I would say she still loves to eat! She loves sitting up, rolling over, and playing in her exersaucer, aka. "the office".

Dislikes - We started solids this past weekend and surprisingly she didn't seem that interested!  So far she has held a cucumber to her mouth, touched an apple, and gagged on some yogurt. Maybe we will try a banana tomorrow...

Favorite things about Cece - She is so easygoing. I am know I have said that before but she really does have the most easygoing personality.  She is fine being held, or sitting in the stroller.  She likes to eat every 3 hours, but doesn't mind being stretched to 4 or even more.  She rarely cries and overall just goes with the flow.  

Weight - 16 lbs 5 oz!

Height - 25 inches

Clothing size - 12 months!  Her chubby legs are just too big for anything else! 

Feeding - Still eating every 3 hours during the day, but since we have started solids, I expect that to lengthen out a bit

Sleep - I start to nurse her to sleep at 8pm and she is usually in her bed by 8:30pm.  She sleeps through the night, usually waking up in the morning around 8am.  Thankfully Alexia sleeps in until 9am most days so I have an hour with Cecilia in the morning, just the two of us. 

Milestones - Rolling over all the time; reaching for everything; starting solids; pushing herself up and learning the motions to start crawling! 

Go ahead Cecilia, you eat the owl. You're 6 months old now. - says the village idiot