I n B l o o m

My Muppets Take Manhattan!

"The Muppets Take Manhattan" was one of my favorite movies as a kid. And now I got to take my little muppets to Manhattan to adventure all around the city yesterday. And we had a BLAST! We took the subway into the city, which was so exciting to Avy that she almost died of a glee overdose. It was the first time she has been on the subway since she's old enough to know what's happening. So here is our photo journal of our fun trip yesterday. To see the pictures full-sized, just click on any of them. Enjoy!

Here Avy is enjoying her train ride
(Also, note her super-awesome "Sun Day Afternoon" sunhat from The Nesting House!)

 

And here's Violet literally hanging out on the train

We got off the train at 50th Street so we could overstimulate the girls in Times Square. It worked.

(thank you, Hipstamatic iPhone app...)

(this is Violet's overstimulated face)

Then we went to the M&M store, which also overstimulated everyone -- in a good way
(even though we didn't have any chocolate, Avy's face in this picture is objectively terrifying!)

After that we went to the new flagship Lego Store in Rockefeller Center. That was exciting but no pictures were taken, sadly. We were too excited about all the amazing Legos. After that, we headed to St Patrick's Cathedral, which was amazingly beautiful. Upon entering the building, Avy said "This place smells like the Birth Center" (referring to the incense smell, which we burned a lot of when I was in labor with Violet.
It's moments like this that I really adore Avy) :)

 

After that we headed toward Central Park where we had big plans to spend the rest of our day at a little amusement park for kids called Victorian Gardens. More on that in a minute.

 
Here's Avy cutely hitching a ride from Grampy.

While on our travels, we met Elmo who - from afar - Avy wanted to hug, but when she got up close and he asked her to give him 5, she death-gripped me and started crying. So much for Elmo love.

Then we got to Victorian Gardens where Avy went on her first "roller coaster" ride and laughed and squealed with joy the entire time. I was so thrilled! A girl after my own heart! Woo hoo!

 

We told her to make a funny face for the cameras. Here was her face:

I even got her to put up her arms. Here's her doing with with Allen (we went on 4 times).

So we had a great time in Manhattan yesterday. Everyone slept SOOOO well last night. It was great.

Florida, Snow Storms, and Trippy Dreams

So I found this old post that I had saved as a "Draft" in my 35th week. I thought I'd post this one before I updated with post-birth blogging! The title, "Florida, Snow Storms, and Trippy Dreams" never got its fulfilled post; it says nothing about Florida (where I had just taken my last trip as a pregnant woman) or Trippy Dreams (which I had an abundance of in my last months). But now that I've actually had the baby, I have less time to write about those things (to complete the entry, that is) on top of the post-birth updating that is WAY overdue! So you'll have to settle. Here it is...

Well, here I am at 35 weeks (tomorrow). My midwives say I am showing signs of possibly going early, which I am ALL for! This poor little thing is getting cramped and bored in there. As you can see she's not such a little thing anymore, either. She has her feet up in my ribs now, and more than occassionally I get kicked in the stomach so hard it feels like the Terminator's in there. Sorry ... I mean, the Governator. Last night I had just fallen to sleep and all the sudden WHAM! I got a foot right in the left side and then it took me a while to fall back to sleep.

Right now I'm at my parents' house having a birthday sleepover with my mom & dad for my mom's St. Patty's Day birthday. We rented a bunch of movies, bought a LOT of comfort food, and we are officially snowed (and iced) IN. There are about 4 inches of nasty snow & ice outside that's been coming down all day. It's pretty sketchy out there. People have been skidding down the street all day. Allen's in Virginia with his dad speaking at a men's retreat. I, of course, have this terrible anxiety that I'm going to go into labor when (a) it's the worst storm (and road conditions) of the winter, and (b) Allen's not in town and has no way of getting back here quickly. I think I'll be fine, but these worries cross your mind when you're more than 8 months pregnant and your husband's out of town.

Lest Anyone Wonder ...

I have, indeed, visited (and extensively played with & imagined a baby inside of) our new stroller and car seat combo in person ... Nothing short of AMAZING! I've spent too many days playing with strollers in the stores. The lady who works at Right Start (Priscilla) now knows me -- it's like Cheers. Some may say that's a wee bit frightening, but I don't care. I got me a stroller and car seat!

I did it!

I finally settled on a stroller and car seat! So now is your chance to tell me if you think I've gone horribly wrong (though, I have to say that my research and the reviews I've read have all produced very happy and safe results -- so I'll put up a fight). I just want to celebrate! Okay, so here's what I picked ...

Car Seat
the Inglesina "Compass" Infant Car Seat

I picked this one because it was very affordable -- especially at Right Start (only $99!), it has amazing safety ratings (it's made from the same material as bike helmets), it has LATCH compatibility as well as regular seat belt compatibility, it's light-weight, it has a one-pull system to tighten the whole 5-point safety harness, it's a little roomier than most car seats so it'll last longer before having to graduate to a toddler car seat (yay! money saver!), and it's very easy to get in and out of the car. It's also compatible with my favorite stroller ...

Stroller
the Inglesina "Zippy" Stroller

This stroller is light-weight, compact, has an actual one-hand-folding system which locks and stands alone when folded, has a five-point safety system of course, reclines all the way back to a flat position (for infants) with a squeeze handle to help you adjust the angle (not a rope, which scares me!), and has a removable front bumper and sun shield. It is a perfect -- not to mention stylish! -- fit with the "Compass" car seat. And with the sun shield removed and the car seat clicked in, the stroller kind of resembles a bassinet stroller or a very simple travel system:

I really love it.

You can view a product demo at the website, too if you'd like. Just go here, then click the link right under the stroller name that says, "View Product Demo." It's kinda fun. You can see all the features in action.

I'm so happy with my choices, and it feels so good to finally be decided after so much researching!