The BBG

Welcome to...

...our new favorite hideout in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.  

The Children's Garden has a selection of hands-on activities, like a stream, a water pump, a water table with floating aquatic plants, and a compost pile with worms and shovels for digging, plus fragrant plants, butterfly plants, and flowers that tower over even me.

Exploring the rest of the gardens provides an escape from city living as we walk among tall trees and through open spaces.  Our favorite places so far include the Japanese Gardens for the koi and turtles swimming in the pond, the Native Species Garden for the ten foot tall walls of thick prairie flowers, and a little tree cave that covers a portion of a stream running through the middle of the gardens.  

One of the things I love most about our neighborhood in Brooklyn is that we're surrounded by playgrounds.  We have more than I can count within a one mile radius of our home- at least 10 or 12.  We can stop for a quick climb on the way home from running errands or have Tye ride her scooter to one without worrying about her tiring out on the way home.  We could easily visit a new one each day of the week.  The playgrounds provide Tye with a great opportunity to climb, run, jump, hang, and usually interact with other kids.  

Recently, though, I've begun to feel playground overload hitting.  Maybe it's just the end of summer, or maybe we need to walk further and explore some new locations.  Maybe we really have spent too much time in the chaos of kids running, screaming, tumbling everywhere we look.  Whatever it is, I feel like the BBG provides exactly the opposite- peace, greenery, quiet, opportunity to explore- while also outdoors.  

The Gardens have boulders for Tye to climb and jump from, open spaces for running, and stairs to tromp up and down.  I can put Etta down in the grass.  We can all engage our senses smelling flowers, leaves, and dirt, looking at the colors and shapes and light and space, feeling the water and plants, and listening to the sounds of nature- which Tye points out by saying, "Do you know what I hear, Mommy?  A jungle!"  

Do you know what I hear? Imagination growing.

Things I've Learned This Summer- A Summer Summary

We're back!  I'm typing to you from my new laptop- a tiny little 11" beauty that will soon be outfitted with covers and protectors on almost every inch, and will never, ever, ever be placed on the same table as a glass of water.  

After a few weeks of being unintentionally unplugged, and with Labor Day approaching, I thought a list of things I've learned this summer felt really appropriate.  Hope you enjoy catching up with our new knowledge as much as we've enjoyed our summer. 

This summer, I learned...

How to carry Etta in a woven wrap on my back.

Younger siblings really do reach some milestones more quickly than their older siblings- like pulling up to standing.  Wow, Etta.

When fishing in Prospect Park, you're more likely to catch turtles than fish.

Target is always hot.  The local grocery store is always cold.  I should dress us appropriately.

Although it may sound counterintuitive, the more people who share an air mattress, the easier it is to sleep.

Real men wear non-toxic blue toe nail polish.

Each adult entering a NYC public pool is required to have a padlock, and all children under 4 need to wear a swim diaper.

This recipe for coconut flour zucchini bread is just as good as regular zucchini bread.  Really!  (Cook's note: drain the shredded zucchini first and add a generous amount of dark chocolate chips.)

Tye thinks I look like this- and, apparently, that I have a mustache.

Any chux absorbable pads left over from a home birth make easy toddler mattress protectors.

Cheap travel spray bottles from Target make awesome replacements for water guns.

Breastfed baby sweat smells strikingly similar to breastfed baby poop (at least, Etta's does- do I just have a stinky baby?).

The Bronx Zoo's Asia Monorail ride provides the perfect opportunity for a 20 minute nap.

BabyLegs makes mesh versions with SPF to keep baby's legs cool and protected.  Genius!

No matter how many flavors of ice cream she tries, Tye's favorite is always "white."

Hot dogs are delicious- when they come from our CSA and are made from local 100% grass-fed beef.

It wasn't that Etta didn't like baths or water.  She just didn't have the right company until recently.

Stonyfield Farms Yogurt Squeezers, those plastic tubes of yogurt marketed to kids, can be frozen to make super easy frozen yogurt popsicles that happen to be Tye's favorite food right now.

Cornstarch and water, combined to form that solid/liquid goo, keeps Tye entertained for literally hours- but some will always end up in her mouth, so spending money on organic is justified.

The wine fridge makes a great overflow storage option for farm share vegetables that won't fit in our compact kitchen refrigerator.

Sometimes the hardest part of toilet training a toddler is convincing her wiping is an important step.

This tree is called a Rose of Sharon and is a type of hibiscus tree that thrives in urban (read: poor) environmental conditions.  We have four in our backyard and they are blooming all over Brooklyn.

During early summer, Rose of Sharon trees attract aphids, which attract ladybugs.  Ladybug larvae do not survive in bug jars, even when supplied with aphids.

Lightning bugs do survive in bug jars, for over 24 hours if supplied with a variety of leafy herbs from the garden.

Tye's favorite playground doesn't have a slide or swings.  Just bars to climb.

And, I saved the best for last---  I'm going to have a niece!  And Tye and Etta are going to have a cousin!!!  Tyler's sister is due with a girl in December.  This little girl is already a member of our family and we can't wait to meet her.  I'll finally be Auntie Em!

Prospect Park Zoo

We've lived in Brooklyn almost 4 months, but it wasn't until yesterday that we made the mile trip to Prospect Park, which includes the Prospect Park Zoo in its 585 acres.  The tiny zoo has some great exhibits and even houses some creatures I don't remember ever having seen before, like red pandas.  We spent a long time feeding the water fowl.

Tye was able to see a male baboon up close- very close.

But the highlight of the day, hands down, was feeding the sheep and goats.  Rows of gumball-style machines dispensed a handful of pellet food for each pair of quarters, and we donated a decent sum in quarters by the time we left.  

 As they used their soft lips to nibble the pellets out of our fingers, the goats and sheep had Tye cracking up.  Feeding the animals made Tye's day.

Officially Etta

Etta's official documents arrived in the mail this week!  A year ago, I would have thought you were crazy if you had tried to tell me I would have a baby with a "City of New York" birth certificate.  I may have been equally surprised to know that the "home delivery" box would be checked.  Life is a crazy journey.

 

Even though Tye was born in a hospital, applying for and receiving her birth certificate and social security card was a months-long process that I only hurried along because we needed her own passport when she was several months old.  This time, our midwife sent in the paperwork for us and the documents arrived before Etta was seven weeks old.  Another unadvertised perk of homebirth with a midwife.


Along with her SS card, NYC sent a pamphlet titled "Your New Baby."  Alongside information on the importance of well-baby doctors visits, methods to soothe a baby and the importance of not shaking it, and the vital importance of window guards, was some really great information on breastfeeding, including a nursing mom's legal rights.  Apparently new moms can also call 311 to receive information on where to find help breastfeeding.  

 I especially love that according to NYC, you should "Breastfeed as long as you and your baby want- six months, 18 months- the longer the better."  Since many new moms haven't thought about the duration of their nursing relationship, this is a great introduction to natural-term breastfeeding.  Way to go, NYC.  Etta officially approves.

Presents and Cupcakes and Candles, Oh My!

We had a wonderful birthday celebration for Tye!  My parents came in to visit Sunday afternoon and were here until this afternoon.  Sunday after Tye went to bed, Tyler and my dad, who Tye calls Coach, decorated the living room with banners, streamers, and balloons and we prepared all Tye's presents.  Like most two year olds, Tye didn't understand what it meant that her birthday was coming, but we would make sure the next day would be special.

When Tye woke on the morning of her birthday, I got to greet her by singing Happy Birthday.  As we walked out of her bedroom, she let out a huge gasp when she saw the decorations.  We said good morning to Coach and Gram and since Daddy was still home, we started opening presents one by one, pausing in between to play with each new toy.  

Other birthday highlights included a walk through Fort Greene Park soaking up the beautiful 60 degree weather, playing The Big Piano at FAO Schwarz,  riding the subway to dinner at Eataly followed by hazelnut gelato, and blowing out the candles (again and again) on pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon-maple whipped cream.

Tye might not remember the celebration when she grows older, but for the rest of us celebrating Tye and the anniversary of becoming parents and grandparents, it was a really special day.  Happy second birthday, Tye!

Snow Day in Brooklyn!

Saturday, we received our first snowfall of the year.  Tye awoke from her nap to a wintry wonderland.  From reading books and watching movies, Tye knew of snow, but I don't know how much she remembered from last year.  As we walked outside, she gasped and commented on how cold it was.

Tye loved watching her boots leave footprints as she walked.  Almost immediately, she picked up a small chunk of snow from the seat of her bike and put it in her mouth, then giggled as it melted in her mouth.  

Our little play time on the back deck didn't last too long before Tye became really cold (Mama has not yet found snowpants or waterproof mittens for this winter) and we quickly came inside to warm up.  


After that, we embarked upon a family trek to search for a pumpkin during the hardest snowfall of the day.  The wet, icy chunks falling from the sky turned out to be pretty miserable- our faces stung as they were pelted with heavy snow, and our clothes were quickly soaked.  I resorted to keep Tye dry in her stroller with a garbage bag.  We can say we made an effort, though, and we did our best to enjoy participate in the snow.  


As soon as we found what turned out to be the last pumpkin in Fort Greene (and it was therefore, the Charlie Brown Christmas tree of pumpkins), we returned home, warmed up, and carved our pumpkin as the snow continued falling.  This was one snowfall best enjoyed with a mug of spiced cider and a bowl of freshly baked pumpkin seeds, wearing warm slippers and "jamas."  So yes, we enjoyed the snow, after all.

City Living

Hi Friends!  I'm writing you from our tiny kitchen in Brooklyn, or as Tye says, "Book-wyn."  The past week feels like a whirlwind, and packing up the moving truck a week ago seems as if it happened a lifetime ago.  We arrived to NYC Wednesday night and stayed in a hotel so we could move in early Thursday.  

I don't know how much you all know about living in NYC, but one of the many differences between Chicago and NYC is it's dog-friendliness.  In NYC, owners of dogs 25 pounds or less are set.  Anyone with a dog over 30 pounds is limited, and no one owns a dog over 50 pounds because a) you can't live anywhere with a dog over 50 pounds, and b) you can't go anywhere with a dog over 50 pounds.  After many attempts, we finally found a hotel in Brooklyn that allowed dogs and was willing to make an exception to their weight limit policy (thanks to Tyler's hotel status acquired from traveling with his last job).  Can you imagine what the hotel staff were thinking when we walked in with a 100+ pound dog and a toddler?  I'm sure they quickly made certain no one was rooming next to us.

Thursday, movers stuffed boxes into every square inch of our apartment and left us to figure out where everything would eventually belong.  I wish I had a photo of us in that stage, boxes piled high with nowhere to move them, but I was so daunted by the task of unpacking them I didn't think I could bear photographical evidence.  Since then, we've been slowly unpacking boxes and finding nooks and crannies for most of our items.  "Most" because we are certainly donating and selling more items now that we're here, even after reducing our belongings by a significant amount in Chicago.  Salvation Army is celebrating our move.

When we began unpacking, I focused my efforts on Tye's room first, which proved to be a very good idea.  Once we loaded her shelves with her toys and books, she began to happily pass the time by taking inventory.  As she began pulling books off her shelves, she excitedly identified each one.  "Puppy book!  Bunny book!  Daddy book! Duck book!"  Clearly, the familiarity was important to her.  I think it helped her feel at home in our new, still chaotic space.

We took a break from our unpacking yesterday to make a practice run down to Tyler's office in Midtown.  What a needed rest!  Tye was ecstatic to finally ride the trains she's been hearing rumbling below the grates in the sidewalk.  It was a quick, easy trip, just as we had hoped.  

Since Tyler works next to FAO Schwarz, Manhattan's famed toy store, we stopped in with Tye.  She was in awe.  

Every time Tye found something she liked, she gasped as she ran towards it full speed, stopped long enough to barely investigate, and immediately, her eyes were caught by something else. She ran around the store gasping, running, gasping, running, until we found one that kept her attention- a cowgirl puppet.  

As soon as she put it on and figured out how to make the mouth move, she was enchanted.  What a great souvenir to remind us of our first family outing in Manhattan.

Today is Tyler's first day of work, so I'm sitting here as Tye naps surrounded by more boxes, furniture we're trying to sell, and more boxes.  I keep wondering how unpacking can take so much time.  We don't yet have a couch to sit on or chairs for our new tiny kitchen table, so I'm sitting on a stool next to the mobile island.  I haven't been grocery shopping yet and we've almost depleted our stock of snacks, so Tye and I will probably walk to share some lunch when she wakes up.  We'll share photos of our space eventually, but we have a lot of work to go before then!

When life hands you change...

I can look back at my life and see certain points in which my journey suddenly took a new direction.  Tyler's military deployment, which led to our earlier-than-planned marriage and our move to Germany; a chance interview and a teaching position in an integrated classroom, which unveiled my calling in Special Education; that first unplanned pregnancy that, though lost, awakened our desire for children; that moment in which Tye emerged from my body and I was instantly overcome with fierce love for her in a way I could never have imagined.  Intense, life-altering times of transition.


I'm standing on the brink of one of those moments now- or perhaps smack dab in the middle of it- and that awareness is unnerving. 


We're moving our family.  We've decided to pack up what is most important to us, leave our entire extended family and the majority of our friends, and head to New York City so Tyler can take a new job that will allow our family more time together.  I feel simultaneously terrified and relieved.  Since we moved to Chicago four years ago, Tyler has been consulting with a firm that has required him to travel at least four days a week.  We never planned for him to continue in this position as long as he has, but right when we had hoped he'd be able to leave, the economy took a nosedive and we were grateful he was employed.  


Now, Tyler has found a position in Corporate Strategy that is not only an opportunity to leave consulting but is also with a company that excites him.  I'm over the moon for him to have a job he enjoys more and that won't leave him dreading each new workweek.  And to see Tyler every day?  A dream come true!  After all, living together was part of the plan when we married.  For Tye to see Tyler each day will be even more exciting.  She has reached the age in which she is sad when Daddy leaves each week, and she spends much of each Monday talking about Daddy leaving.  It's heartbreaking.


Of course, this move terrifies me.  Our family plays such a huge role in our lives that I can't imagine how we'll survive without them sometimes.  Each Sunday, our siblings and their significant others join us for Family Sunday Funday, which pretty much consists of cooking and eating delicious food together.  Adapting to Sundays without them is going to be really painful.  We see both sets of our parents regularly, too, sometimes even both on the same weekend.  They've been our go-to babysitters for Tye, for which we've been extremely grateful.  


And of course, we're leaving just months before our second child is born.  When I discovered I was pregnant, I instantly thought of my amazing support system- family so closeby, and all my amazing like-minded mama friends, who I knew would ease my transition into a mother of two.  My heart breaks when I think of leaving everyone.  I've cried over and over as we made this decision.  But then I see something like this:

Isn't this enough of a reason to make a change?  Our family unit will be together.  We'll have each other, and I fully expect this move to bring us even closer.  From our past experiences together, Tyler and I know we can face anything with each other.  Heck, we're moving to a place where I speak the native language- we're going to be just fine.  


This weekend, Tyler and I are flying out to NYC to look at apartments, hopefully with a move-in date of early October.  Did you catch that? (No, not the early October part, even though that is insanely soon.)  Tyler and I are flying- without Tye.  Tye is going to stay home Saturday night with GG, Tyler's mom.  Between the flights there and back, a full day of in-and-out of a car and in-and-out of apartments, and a night in a hotel room, I honestly believe this will be easier on Tye.  But maybe not easier one me- this will be my first night without Tye since she was born, and I'm super emotional about it.  I know she'll be with someone she loves dearly who will be able to comfort her in my absence, and I truly believe this is in her best interest.  But I'm going to miss her like I'd miss my right arm.  Maybe worse.


We have a lot of changes coming up- a new home in a new state, a new job and family schedule, new friends (hopefully!), new midwife care....  There will be a lot changing in a short amount of time.  Having experienced changes like this in my past, I've learned enough to be excited for myself.  I know that I'll survive, and that even if it's really hard, I'll come out better for it.  However, this is my first time making a transition of this magnitude with Tye.  I'm hoping and praying that we can make all these changes as easy as possible for Tye.  I hope to support her ability to adapt, her confidence, and her resiliency by taking full advantage of the strong attachments she has developed with us.  Hopefully we can re-establish our routine once we arrive in our new home and create as much stability as possible even as the changes continue.  After all, it won't be long before an even bigger change arrives in January.  If nothing else, this is going to be a REALLY exciting six months.