Rainy Day at the Gardens

It pretty much poured all day, so obviously, we went to Longw.ood Garde.ns!

The original plan was to enjoy all the Christmas decorations and see an ice skating show.  But, since the ice skating is an outside show, we decided to skip it and stick to exploring the Conservatory.

Our first stop was the Childr.en's Garden, where McColley showed Grandma and Grandpa all his favorite things:

The whole Conservatory is decked out for Christmas, so we took an opportunity to get a family picture (the red behind us is a pond of cranberries!):

We then continued our walk around the Conservatory... and I turned B into a pack-mule:

One of the many displays were mini-trees decorated by area elementary schools.  McColley really enjoyed the one decorated with sea animals:

Our next stop was in the room with two 'Christmas Trains'.  Of course, McColley needed to sit down to enjoy them:

The train room is a large square and in order to walk all the way around Grandma had to lead McColley on a Train Trek:

In another lovely room we took a moment to sit down.  

In order to get McColley to move on, he needed to have a mission - he needed to carry Grandpa's camera bag:

We returned to the main area of the Conservatory, where McColley got to throw some pennies in the fountain.  However, he refused to believe we were out of pennies... so B had to prove it:

Our last stop was at the Organ Sing-a-long.  We got into the ballroom about 15 minutes early, so we explored the Pipes Display Area.  This included a display that let you push buttons to explain how a pipe organ works:

The Sing-a-long lasted about half an hour (and the organist was VERY good).  Afterwards, McColley had to go up and tell the organist 'Thank You':

We then braved the rain to walk back to the car.  We were all quite wet by the time we got there.  However, I was probably the wettest.  Since my jacket can't close around my tummy, I had a wet triangle from about my belly button down... oh, the joys of pregnancy.

'Train'ing Day

McColley and Grandpa Maguire both love trains, so today we fueled their passion.

We headed to Stras.burg and bought the All-Day Pass with the Dining Car upgrade.

Once inside the gates, we had to hit up the railroad shop and get McColley appropriate headgear:

Then we rode one of the rides, which is a kiddie ride steam engine from around 1920:

Then it was time to go and wait for the full size steam engine:

Once on board the dining car, McColley enjoyed watching all the farms go by:

We ordered lunch and McColley quickly ate his potato chips and hot dog... however the apple sauce was not going to happen:

As we headed back into the station, the hat had to go back on!:

Of course, Grandpa needed to take pictures of the engine... so I had to take pictures of Grandpa:

There were a few other rides for little kids and McColley jumped on the chance to do the hand cranked cart (twice).  He was actually really good at it and required minimal Daddy Power:

After a quick run through the gift shops, we made a stop at a model train display and then we headed to D.utch Wonder.land which is decked out for Chris.tmas and only open in the evenings.

McColley wasn't all that excited about the rides... but we got to do yet ANOTHER train ride followed by driving remote controlled cars.

Daddy and McColley had fun running their car in reverse... but Grandpa couldn't get his car to work at all:

Other than the train, the only other ride we could get McColley on was the carousel, where B proceeded to take pretty much the worst family picture ever:

McColley was excited for dinner at that point, so we ended our Train Day at the very crowded Rub.y Tuesd.ay's.

B.lack Frid.ay at The Mall

Today was our 'Free Day'. B and I got to do anything we wanted...

And, brilliantly, we decided to go Chri.stmas sho.pping...

At the second largest mall in America.

It was a bit busy:

We only got to sit down once, and no, it was not while we ate lunch.

However, we did manage to take a few quick breaks from the walking:

We walked the entire first section of the mall...

and then trudged outside with the masses to go into the second half of the mall:

However, we are now almost completely done with Chr.istmast shopp.ing, so that is good.

On the flip side McColley, Grandma and Grandpa went to the Plea.se Touch Muse.um, saw the Libert.y Bell, walked around the Inde.pendance Visito.r's Cent.er and took a horse drawn tour of Phila.delphia.  (All the pictures are on B's parents camera... which I'm not sure we have the cord for.)

We all met up at 5:30 at a really good italian restaurant on the south side of city hall.  Then, after filling ourselves to the brim, we got home about 9pm.

I'll admit, I was a bit jealous of McColley's day... but isn't shopping on Blac.k Fri.day at the second largest mall in America a cultural experience of it's own?

4th Thanksgiving

Yesterday was our 4th Anniversary. However, it was a bit overshadowed by that whole 'Thanksgiving' thing...

But, we still got the chance to commemorate our anniversary in interesting ways:

1)  Using a wedding gift for the first time!

This roaster was actually the first wedding gift we received, we just haven't had a kitchen big enough to use it before.  It was worth the wait though... the turkey was AMAZING!

2) Eating cake!

Grandma Maguire and McColley made cookies out of a cake mix.  They used a chocolate cake mix and added white chocolate chips.

3) Being impatient for the big day!

McColley helped me make a pumpkin pie the day before Thanksgiving.  You can only imagine his bitter disappointment when I told him he would have to wait a day to actually eat it.  (Yes, he does like all things pumpkin.)

4) Opening presents!

The table cloth and napkins were my gift to B.  He got me a box of God.iva Truffles.  The 4th Anniversary 'theme' is fruit and flowers... which are a bit hard to do in November.

Plus, we used our wedding china!

5) Sharing family traditions!

As I said earlier, the turkey turned out amazing (it was the moistest turkey I've ever eaten).  So, we got McColley to try it:

And he promptly spit it out and then attempted to pick the remains out of his teeth.  His dinner ended up being olives, carrots and broccoli... however, when we gave him the broccoli that B had steamed, he spit that out too and would only eat the leftover uncooked broccoli.

We are very thankful that B's parents are here.  It was a really fun Thanksgiving... and they're entertaining McColley today so B and I can hang out as just a couple!

(And, I remember Mom and Dad... call BEFORE the movie.  :P)

Cleaning the Teethers

Pointing at my arm, McColley asked "What is in there?"

I answered, "Inside your arm is bones, muscles, veins and arteries."

Very seriously he shook his head and swore, "I don't have any of that."

****

Yesterday he had a dental appointment. 

Luckily, this time it was just the six-month cleaning.  Unfortunately McColley vividly remembers the last few times we pulled into that parking lot and walked into that building, so sobbing commenced before the car was in park.

When the appointment started I laid down in the chair and coaxed McColley to lay down on my chest.  He was still crying, but didn't put up a fight when the hygienist put the little bib on him or when I put on some sunglasses to protect his eyes.

The tears continued through the brushing of his teeth, however, he cooperated fully with the hygienist and she was able to do a thorough cleaning.  

Next, she painted his teeth with a fluoride polish.  Once again he was unhappy, but compliant.

Since he had done so well, she told him he could get up and pick out a toy from the 'Treasure Box'.  While he was choosing out a snake, the hygienist asked me if I thought he would allow them to take an x-ray to check out the situation on his permanent teeth.  I said it was worth a try.

When he came back to the chair, I told him he was going to get a special picture taken and he actually got excited.  We walked over to the room for the x-ray and all was good until he found out that I wouldn't be holding him through his picture.  He started sobbing and clung to me, but when a second hygienist came over and asked if she could hold him through the picture he agreed after being told that I would be the one taking the picture.

The second hygienist held him on her lap and the first hygienist showed him the camera and draped the heavy apron over him.  Next she got him to hold the film in his mouth by explaining that she was taking a picture of his nose.  As soon as the film was where she wanted it, I pushed the button and heard the click.

The hygienist quickly pulled the film out and got McColley to bite down on a second film by explaining that she was taking a picture of his chin.  Once again, as soon as the film was placed, I pushed the button.

Once the pictures were taken, he walked back to the original dental chair with me and was actually excited about having taken the pictures.  Right when we got back to our chair, the dentist started examining the boy sitting next to us.  We were able to watch how that exam went, so McColley wasn't scared when the dentist came over and did his exam.

The dentist completed his exam in about 30 seconds just to keep from pushing McColley past his point of comfort.  After that exam was over, McColley got to go and pick a second toy from the 'Treasure Box' while the dentist talked to me.

It was all good news!  McColley is showing just a bit of wear on his teeth, so we need to be very vigilant about brushing the bite surfaces (which we are trying to do already) and the hygienist told me to start introducing flossing.

By the time that was over McColley had picked out his second toy, a 'snapping' tooth (it's a tooth that opens up so you can put things inside).  Then the dentist gave him a little squeaky airplane for being so good and the hygienist gave me the bag o' dental goodies (toothbrush, floss, etc).

Next, we walked out into the receptionist area and McColley said, "We have to pay now."  So, he was totally calm and quiet while I scheduled his next cleaning in six months.  And, luckily, we didn't have to pay anything!  (Our insurance has had some weirdness in the last few months and the co-pay just got dropped... but we weren't sure if that had happened yet or not.)

Sleep Bonding

Yesterday we got verification that our cats like each other...

Keira climbed right up and laid on top of a sleeping Orlando:

Their cat nap only ended when McColley decided to climb onto the couch and pushed on the cushion... so both cats came tumbling down.  Luckily no kittens, cats or toddlers were harmed (although McColley did complain when Orlando landed on him).

Tonight Keira and Orlando just cuddled together, instead of on top of each other, and McColley fell asleep on the couch too.

It was rather cute:

B and I finished our Childbirth Education class today.  We talked about c-sections, post-partum and got a tour of the hospital.  We got all our questions answered and feel better prepared.  Also, our names got spelled correctly on our certificates (unlike with McColley's class where we were the Macquire's).

Post-Dinner Snack

Of course, as soon as I post about how there's nothing worth taking pictures of... McColley does something picture worthy.

Umm... why is McColley eating a box?

Because it's not a box... it's a Cheese Holder!

But placement is tricky, so you must check the cheese often.

What's up...

So, we actually have been doing things over the last few days... just nothing really worth taking pictures of.

So....

Here's a picture of McColley from about five minutes ago.  Needless to say, he ate dinner tonight:

In other McColley news, he is basically spending the weekend at T's house.  He was there last night from 6pm to 8:30pm, today from 8:45am to 3pm and tomorrow the same as today.

Why, you may ask?  B and I are attending our Childbirth Education Class.  Yes, we've already had a childbirth... but BELIEVE ME there are differences in attitude/procedures/expectations between Kenn.ewick and Do.ver.  The class is helping make me comfortable with a much more restrictive environment.  Tomorrow we actually get to tour the hospital.

The other big bonus is that today during lunch we finally found the german bakery!  Everyone keeps telling us about how awesome this bakery is, but we never knew where it was.  Turns out, it's right across the street from the hospital's education center.  We got a really good lunch and brought home an almond poppyseed cake.

In other news:  It snowed yesterday and today.  It stuck yesterday, but not today.  Just a bit is still around:

It's been right around freezing all weekend, so it was very odd to watch the Apple Cup and see people in only sweatshirts.

However, how awesome was it that the COUGS WON!!!! WHOO HOOO!!!  WE'RE #9!  WE'RE #9!

Pictures and Tops

So, despite the title... no pictures with this post.

What I am referring to is that we went and had maternity photos taken today.  If the photographer posts any preview shots on her blog, I'll link it.  But so far... no idea what the pictures turned out like (although they should be awesome).

And we just got home from seeing Tops in Blue perform.

They are the Air Fo.rces' show choir and they are really good.  It is a free show that lasts 90 minutes.  They are performing in Spoka.ne on December 1st and in Taco.ma on December 4th.  

McColley loved it and his favorite song was 'Men In Black'.  (They do a movie theme song montage).  He was rockin' out!

If you get the chance, I totally recommend going to the show!

Kickshaws

The Recipe for Kickshaws:

Make puff paste, roll it thin, and if you have any moulds work it upon them; make them up with preserved pippins: you may fill some with gooseberries, some with raspberries, or what you please: then close them up, and either bake or fry them; throw grated sugar over them, and serve them up.

Can you see how these might have required a bit of trial and error?

Here is what our first batch turned out like:

For the second batch we put in less jam, rolled the puff paste thinner and cut the squares smaller:

But we still had some 'puffing' problems:

Eventually we got them to turn out rather prettily (notice the right versus the left):

And they made the dessert table at work!:

From Nov. 17 to Jan. 2 we put up a display of colonial desserts for the holiday season.  All the docents at the museum make the desserts... however due to using historically accurate recipes there is a lot of trial and error that goes into eventually making something worthy of the table.

Man Toast

This is how A Man eats toast:

And it tastes even better when you steal it from Daddy after he used the last piece of bread in the house:

Nap Time

Today was one of those days when pretty much nothing happens.

Literally.

We napped.

McColley and I woke up at 8:15am.

My nap started at noon.

McColley's nap started at 3:15pm... B knew it had started when he heard snoring from the playroom:

B re-centered the cushion, got the diaper retightened and McColley got more(?) comfortable:

Even the cats got in on the nap action:

In fact, B was the only non-naptaker.  I think he enjoyed the quiet time. :)

Z-O-O and C-E-C

We had another Zoo Class today and the focus was the alphabet.

Unfortunately, due to traffic, we were a bit late. We walked in during the middle of the craft (making a snake), but still got to see today's up close animals (a snake and ferret... not at the same time) and hear a story.

Then we headed out into the zoo to look at the condors and four kids (including McColley and T) stood together to show how big the condor's wing is:

And then the kids tried to get the condor to dance (I missed where they actually got the condor to hop):

Of course, as soon as the class was over, everyone raced to the tiger's cage to say 'Hi':

We looked at a couple other animals but about half the animals weren't in their outside cages because it was too cold.  So, we convinced the kidlets it was time to leave to eat lunch... and weirdness ensued:

After a quick bench-break, we 'flew' out of the zoo:

And walked up the 'heavy' leafy hill to the car (yes, it really is fall):

Part of convincing the kidlets to leave the zoo was by promising them lunch at Ch.uck E. Chee.se.

It's interesting to go to C.E.C. and not ride anything or play anything 'interactive'.  All McColley wants to do is push buttons (which usually means ticket-related games... we left with 119):

However, this C.E.C. is up north and MUCH bigger than the one in D.over, so this one had the full stage set-up and all the C.E.C. crew.

But, this is about how close McColley wanted to be to the animatronics:

Tuesday with Daddy

Gotta love federal holidays on a Tuesday!

This is the first time that Daddy has gotten to join us on our Tuesday routine, so McColley needed to show off his mad skating skills:

And then McColley realized how much fun you can have with a non-pregnant parent:

And, T's dad got to come too... so MonkeySee, MonkeyDo commenced immediately:

But we did hit a bit of a snag during the 'Chi.cken Dance':

T went into the center of the circle and rocked it out with other girlies and McColley didn't want to leave Daddy behind:

Luckily, all was well soon after.  'Ghost.busters' heals all wounds.

After skating I had my pre-natal appointment.  Today I am 33w6d (and rather big):
Everything went well at the appointment and I got quite a few questions answered.  Next one in two weeks and then it's time for weekly appointments... AGH!