A Stroller Hike around Radnor Lake

Cayne and Ethan on the road by Radnor Lake.

Today we decided to get out of the house and into the sunshine with a walk in the park.  We wanted to go somewhere new so we went to Radnor Lake, a park where some of the moms in Ethan's Kindermusik class go on weekly hikes as part of the Bambino Brigade.  It sounded like a nice place (a few other friends had mentioned it to us, too) and we couldn't let something so close to our house stay a mystery for too much longer!

It was a little crowded (we parked along Otter Creek Road in the overflow parking because the visitor center parking was full.  We walked along the road around half the lake before cutting over to the Lake Trail for our trip back.  We should have taken the Bambino Brigade baby carrying motto to heart because we really should have carried Ethan on the trail rather than taking the stroller.  That said, our Graco Quattro Tour Sport lived up to the "Sport" in it's name because it did a great job on the rougher terrain, all things considered!  The Lake Trail was an easy walk and Ethan got out of the stroller to explore the woods and see the lake (and he even cautiously touched a tree).  I'm sure Radnor Lake will be a beautiful place to walk this summer...and I'm definitely going to need to paractice my baby carrying so that maybe sometime soon I'll be able to do the "strenuous" Ganier Ridge Trail with him!

There's a turtle swimming in this photo -- can you spot it? 

Walking through the woods.  

Our stroller did an OK job on the trail!

Consignment Shopping

In his new S.P.UDZ coveralls.  

On Thursday night, I headed over to the New Moms Pre-sale at the Little Sprouts Consignment Sale, after having had a very unsuccessful experience at the Encores and More sale the weekend before.  I wasn't sure what to expect (other than pretty nasty weather outside) but I wanted to give consignment shopping another chance.

This sale only gave passes to the first 300 new moms who registered online so I hoped that unlike the Encores sale, the lines wouldn't be too long.  It also promised "Upscale and Boutique" items... clothing that I love the look and feel of, but not necessarily the price-tag on.

I got to the sale about 5 minutes early and parked in the back because there were a good number of cars in the lot (it's a smaller warehouse and smaller parking lot).  There were quite a few moms waiting outside in a line ready to shop (not 300, though).  The people at the door were super friendly and so were the workers picking up the discarded clothing from the end of the racks, etc.  There weren't many toys but I got Ethan a super cute exersaucer (a Safety 1st 2-in-1 Discovery Farm set) for $25 that once he grows out of the exersaucer part can be converted to a little train that does a figure 8.  It's missing a couple parts -- small toys to be used on the "shape sorter"...but I figure we can find other shapes that will work for that...and the $25 price tag was well worth it.  Plus, the company emailed me a PDF of the instruction manual after I sent them an email asking if one was available (I received the manual less than 2 hours after contacting them -- AMAZING considering they haven't made this product for a few years!) so now we know how to use it safely!

The best part of the Little Sprouts sale (other than the friendly people) was the clothing!  It was all too cute!  The average price of most items (for boys) was $10 but instead of trying to find something nice, the shopping was really more about trying to decide which things I thought were cuter than the rest.  Lots of Gymboree, Janie & Jack (one of my favorites), and Gap but also Kissy Kissy, Patsy Aiken, Tea, and more!  I probably overshopped a little but ended up with 20 new outfits for Ethan for the upcoming Spring/Summer seasons.

There was a line to get out, but it wasn't very long and they had a pretty quick system for getting everything priced and paid for.  Plus, they had cute giveaway bags from Art & Soul full of advertising (the bag is really cute).  And have I mentioned how friendly everyone working the sale was?  The people at the checkout were especially nice!  This was 100% a better experience than the Encores sale.  Now, I can't speak for the other days of the Little Sprouts sale (when it was open to the public) but the presale was FANTASTIC!  Maybe this makes me a Consignment sale snob, but I'll take that title if it means I get lots of cute clothes, and exersaucer, a few small toys and a huge bag full of bibs and burp cloths for under $190!  I will definitely be at the next Little Sprouts sale.  Oh -- and if you're in TN, tomorrow (Sunday) is the Little Sprouts 1/2 off day (the last day of the sale) if you want to check it out.

Here are a couple more outfits I got at the Little Sprouts sale:

This is from Gap, with cute embroidered palm trees all over it. 

Crazy eyes for the camera!

Ethan is 4 Months Old!

Ethan turned 4 months old today...just in time for the after effects of his shots to finally wear off.  He gets more and more curious everyday and even discovered his alphabet blocks while I was trying to take his picture today. I thought we would get a few more months out of those but I guess it's only going to get more and more challenging from here on out!  Here are some quick facts about Ethan, the 4-month old:

He weighs 15 lb, 4 oz and is 25.5 inches long.

He sleeps through the night (about 8.5 to 9 hours).

He fights going to sleep most of the time.  Who can blame him, considering there are so many interesting new things to see in the world!

He tries to get everything into his mouth.  Sometimes, he succeeds.  More often, he get frustrated.

He likes to grab his pacifier out of his mouth and then try to put it back it.  It usually goes back in sideways.

He went to the zoo for the first time.

He enjoys his Kindermusik class and starts smiling whenever I play him a song from class.

He has a new jumperoo and is enjoying discovering all the toys on it.

He still babbles...lots...with a few squeals in there still.

He has rolled over from his back to his belly a few times, but at the moment he seems to have forgotten how to do any rolling.

Sometimes he rolls from his back to his side to nap.

Every morning when he wakes up, he has the biggest, cutest smiles waiting for me when I peek into his crib.

I'm not very happy about this picture thing.

Oh!  What are these?

Doo Do Dooo...

Wait!  Something's not right here.

Haha!  Maybe pictures are fun!

When napping, sometimes Ethan likes to...

Sleep on his side.

Pull his hat off and try to eat it.  

Take off his socks (with his mouth or his hands).  He only recently "found" his feet.  

Try to eat his Ikea rattle.

Jumperoo!! Jump! Jump! Jumperoo!!

I had big plans last weekend to go to the Encores and More consignment sale (the "new moms" presale, that is) in Franklin to buy Ethan some cute clothes and new toys.  Most importantly, I wanted to get him an exersaucer and/or bouncyseat.  So, I woke up bright and early on Saturday morning, fed the baby, and headed to Franklin.  I got to the sale a little after it opened at 9am and found the parking lot and warehouse absolutely PACKED!  It's amazing that there are so many "new moms" in Nashville/Franklin! But I also found some wonderful toys at great prices.  I was a little disappointed in the clothing selection for baby boys (mostly Target and Wal-Mart brands and many looking very, very used), although most pieces were only $3-$5.  Anyway, once I had made my selections, I went to get into the very, very long line.  I was getting hungry (I, unfortunately, hadn't eaten very much for breakfast) and figured the line couldn't take too long.

Well, I waited about 20 minutes and moved about 10 feet.  Most people had cartloads of stuff they were planning to buy and the line was really long.  When someone came to the back of the line and told people that the folks in the front of the line had been waiting 2 and a half hours (back when the line was much shorter than when I joined) I had some serious thoughts about how good of a deal these toys and clothes were.  Based on how long the line looked, and how slowly I had been moving, I decided that it wasn't worth my time to save $70 on a used exersaucer.  So I put my purchases in the "discard" pile and left to get an early lunch.  I guess I'm not cut out for consignment shopping.  Or else those people who would wait over 2 and a half hours are crazy!  Needless to say, I'm going to try again at the Little Sprouts new mom sale tomorrow.  At this one, they only let 300 new moms in and they say that the clothing is boutique clothing.  Hopefully this will be a more successful experience!

On a brighter note...Cayne agreed with me that my time was worth more than the $70 savings so when he was at Target a few days ago, he bought Ethan a jumperoo.  Ethan LOVES it.  He's just a tiny bit too short (or too light) for his toes to always touch the ground, but once he gets bouncing, he has fun...and he has already been experimenting with the new gadgets attached!

4 Month Check-up

Yesterday, Ethan had his 4-month doctor check-up.  Dr. Freeman said Ethan was looking perfect, which is always good news to me (since I think he is perfect anyway).  He is 25.5 inches long and he weighs 15 pounds and 4 ounces.  Such a big boy!  Ethan was full of smiles and giggles for the nurses and doctor...until it was time for him to get his shots at the end.  He did OK -- just cried a bit but by the time I got him dressed and back in his carseat he was happy and fell right asleep.  

Unfortunately, his sleeping didn't last very long.  Once he woke up at home, he was obviously tired but nothing Cayne or I could do would put him back to sleep.  Then he started groaning.  Honestly, he sounded like an old man lying in bed groaning in pain.  It was strange though because he didn't have a fever and if you looked at him or played with him he would burst out a smile or start laughing with you.  We did get him to sleep for a couple of quick naps between groaning/playing/eating.  Here is a video of him playing with Cayne before dinner:  

In the end, we wanted to make sure he was comfortable and that he got some really good rest (it's a lot of work to produce all these antibodies, after all) so we did give him some Tylenol (his first dose!) and fed him some more, which put him to sleep for the rest of the night.  Today, he is a little sleepy and had a teeny tiny fever so we gave him another dose of Tylenol and he is sleeping soundly again.  

Trip to the Nashville Zoo

Today, Ethan and I headed out to the Nashville Zoo to meet some of the moms (and a nanny) from our Kindermusik class.  I had never been to the Nashville Zoo before but I love zoos and decided this would be a fun way to go for a walk with Ethan -- and having animals to look at on the way was an added bonus!

Ethan wanted to be the tour guide.

Ethan got out of his stroller to see the Schmidt's Guenon and the Red Panda.  He particularly liked the Red Panda because it was moving around in front of the viewing window so when I held Ethan up to it, he tracked the panda with his eyes (and head) all the way around the pen.  Our group only did the jungle loop before stopping for a rest and then heading home.  The other babies had lunch during our rest, but Ethan decided it was a better time for a nap.

Looking? at the flamingos

The zoo was full of moms (and dads) with their children, but not too crowded for a Thursday morning.  I decided that all these other parents must know a good thing when they see it so I went ahead and got us a family membership to the zoo.  Now I can take a guest with me and Ethan anytime we go to the zoo (so Nashville friends, let me know if you are interested!) and we also have reciprocal membership at zoos across the country (so friends in cities with zoos, we can take you too!).  I figure that the Nashville zoo is so close to our house about a 12 minute drive) that Ethan and I should go for zoo walks regularly this year.

Ok mom, it's time to go home!

Storytime!!!

Fun while reading Tickle Tickle!

Corduroy Bear

Ethan loves his Corduroy Bear stuffed toy he got from his Aunt Sarah for Christmas.  I think part of it is because the bear is so cute and part of it is because his bear is so easy to grasp (because of the overalls).  Here are some photos of Ethan playing with Corduroy a few days ago.

Hilton Head, South Carolina -- Road Trip!

On the Dunes at Hilton Head, SC

Last weekend (Jan 28-31) , Cayne and I took Ethan on his first ever road trip to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.  We stopped off for a night in Atlanta for some business meetings that Cayne had to go to.  That worked out great for me, because Ethan and I got to spend a fun evening with Laura and enjoy true Neapolitan-style pizza at Fritti in Inman Park.  Ethan was very talkative during dinner and flirted with our waitress.  Laura and I had fun telling stories about conferences and travels.

I gotta go...where there ain't any snow!

I gotta go where it's warm!

Waitress, I need two more boat drinks!

Playing in our Atlanta Hotel

A quick sleep before the drive to Hilton Head.  

Friday morning, Cayne had a couple of business meetings but we finally got out of Atlanta at 1:30 to make our way to Hilton Head...where none of us had ever been before.  It was a long drive, and it was very dark when we got there so we didn't get to see much on our way in...but the condo we got to stay at was very, very, nice (thank you, Mitch!).

First in-car diaper change.  

Whew!  It's almost finished...with no mess!

First night in the condo

Rolling onto his side

In the morning we woke up to beautiful views of the ocean and a cooing baby.  It was a gorgeous and warm day.  We had a leisurely breakfast out, bought some groceries, and had a nice long walk on the beach before grabbing some seafood take-out to enjoy while watching the sunset.

The condo where we stayed.

Sunday was another leisurely day...we drove around Sea Pines and stopped at the Marina and Harbortown.  It's the off-season so almost everything was closed except for a few resturants.  We grabbed a late afternoon lunch at The Smokehouse, which had delicious food but unfortunately, but the time we got there, Ethan was hungry again so it wasn't exacttly a relaxing lunch.  Luckily, we had a great waitress who kept our food warm until I was finished feeding and changing him.  After that, it was time for another walk on the beach -- this one was a little colder but Ethan still slept while we walked.

Talking with daddy about what he wants to do today.

Ethan with the pelicans.

It was a long lunch.  This photo cracks me up!

Getting ready for a walk (aka "nap") on the beach.

We drove home on Monday --- it took us about 10 hours to get home, which wasn't too bad.  We had actually thought about stopping for the night in either Atlanta or Chattanooga but we were home by 8:00 pm and neither of us were too tired when we hit either of those places.

Fighting sleep through Atlanta traffic.  

At a rest stop just outside of Chattanooga. 

Ethan, we promise, this is the last time you have to go in your car seat...
on this trip anyway!

Ethan was a real trooper on his first road-trip.  He's now spent the night in both Georgia and South Carolina (and slept while driving through both states too).  He even slept well at night in his Pack N Play and didn't fuss too much when we kept having to put him back in his car seat for more driving.