Baby News

Finally after waiting 25 weeks we had an ultrasound done today. We had to wait this long because we moved to another state and had a hard time getting our insurance switched, but luckily that headache is over :)

The great and most important news is that the baby looks completely healthy. I always convince myself beforehand that something horrible will be wrong with the baby so it was a tremendous relief that everything looks great. The bad news is that the baby was in an awkward position for detecting it's gender. The technician was really nice and patient and after poking and prodding for quite a while she seemed fairly confident that it is a girl. They are going to do another routine ultrasound in a month so hopefully they will be able to tell for certain then, but for now we're thinking it's a girl.

We are really excited! David and I have been hoping for a girl because we already have the clothes, toys, etc and I especially have been hoping for a girl because I have no idea what to do with boys. I do hope that someday we will have a boy, but for now I will enjoy basking in the frilliness of my 2 girls.

Of course, that being said I may need to rescind this post if they find a few little extra parts at our next ultrasound :)

Boo at the Zoo

Since we live so close to the city we decided to take advantage of one of the best things Philly has to offer kids...the zoo! The Philadelphia zoo was the first zoo in the US and it is pretty incredible. Not only do they have tons of animals, they also have a lot of other things to do, including a zoo balloon (a hot air balloon that is anchored to the ground), horse and pony rides, camel rides, a train, a new carousel and a few other things for older kids. We bought a yearly pass that includes all of the rides, every time and will get 2 visitors in free each time as well. We are pretty excited about it if you can't tell :)

Gigi and I went last week for the first time and while we were there we found out that on the weekend before Halloween they have something called boo at the zoo where they encourage you to dress up in costumes and they provide additional activities, prizes and trick-or-treating booths. David went with us and we had a lot of fun.

Here are some of the extra-fun things that we did:

Gigi got her face painted like a flower. She loved getting her face painted a few months ago so since it is close to Halloween we splurged and she got her face painted again. This time she handled it even more professionally. She sat just how she was told to sit and held still the entire time. Too funny!



She got a ton of treats at the booths and of course saw many animals, but she was most excited to see the elephant. Last time the elephant wasn't out so this time I was really hoping it would be, especially since she dressed up like an one.


Because of the season they had pumpkins in with some of the animals. Check out this cougar digging into one, it was pretty funny:




The highlight of the day was when she was able to be in a parade with some other kids, including a sweet little girl named Liliane that was dressed up like Mulan. She seemed to really think this kid was Mulan and was thrilled to hold her hand and be in the very front of the parade. Ever since David took Gigi to a 4Th of July parade Gigi has done a lot of imaginative play about parades, so it was pretty cool for her to be in one in real life.



A radio station was there and their mascot, a bee, danced with the kids. Gigi really got into it!



After the parade Gigi rode the brand-new carousel. She and Liliane held hands all the way to the carousel and even rode together on an alligator. She smiled and waved the entire time.


The only bummer about the day was that it was a bit rainy so the other rides were closed. Last time Gigi was able to ride on a horse and she was very excited to ride on "Boo" with Daddy, but she handled her disappointment very well. David was pretty bummed to not be able to ride the camel and I was sad that the zoo balloon wasn't open again (it is closed if the weather is at all questionable, which it has been both times that we have gone). Other than those small things we had a perfect day at the zoo!

Our poor little elephant really wore herself out!


So here is yet another reason why you need to come visit us in Philly :)

Friend in Philly

Our good friend Brad from Illinois came out to New Jersey for a job interview this week, so we showed him the town. The company gave him a rental car, but we helped him find a good parking spot at 30th street station so he could just enjoy seeing the sites.

We started with a drive to the other side of the city to help him experience Philadelphia's unique flavor. We went to a great place for cheese steaks, then headed to the famous Rocky steps at the Art Museum. He loved it!


Angelique was hilarious. She wanted to run up all of the steps all by herself. And at the top she knew to jump around with her arms up. She even started yelling "I'm like Rocky!" (I swear I don't watch the movie that much!) It was awesome.


After this, we drove past the Pennsylvania Penitentiary. It was the first prison in the US that attempted to reform prisoners instead of just, well, imprison them. It dates back to the 1700's and even has gargoyles on the front. It was still a functioning prison into the 1970's and Al Capone stayed there.

Then we finished off the night, of course, with the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. The Bell is surrounded by large windows, so even at night when the building is closed you can see it fine. Independence Hall was pretty cool, too. We tried to look philosophical, but I don't think it worked. (It was Brad's idea.)


The best part was just having a good friend visit. Hopefully, Brad will get the job and they will move out here. The place he would work is just on the other side of Franklin Bridge, so it would be easy to hang out often.

Cindergigi

I haven't been the best parent about getting Gigi to help me around the house. At first she was pretty interested, but because it was such a hassle I sort of stopped. For example, I got really sick of folding laundry 5 times because she kept unfolding laundry and insisted that she was "folding" it. I eventually resorted to picking up when she was sleeping. I often wonder if she even notices that the house magically is clean after every nap, but she has never commented :(
This last week I started feeling guilty and decided to enlist her help. She actually was able to fold a few washcloths for me and did not destroy my piles of laundry when I explained that they were already folded. She even helped me clean.
When we moved here we got rid of our mop and decided not to buy one here since we have so little moppable space. Anyway I just get down on my hands and knees and do it. I asked if she wanted to help and she eagerly said "YES!" After a few minutes she decided that she wanted to get her own bucket. She took off and I figured she just went off to play, but a while later she emerged with her own bucket, full of water from the bathroom sink and went to work. I have now decided that she is my Cindergigi and will slowly get her to do all of my work :) Just teasing, but really isn't that why we have kids?

Oh and by the way, she's pretty good with a tractor if anyone wants to hire her.

Family Home Evening

One luxury that we have been enjoying is weekly family home evening. When I was working it seemed like we could never fit everything in and we would often not get around to having it. Now that I am home all of the time we have been having it every week without fail.
This last week we painted pumpkins. Gigi had a blast...well actually we all did :)

Welcoming in a new decade

This is a bit late, but my husband is officially 30. I have to say that this has been weirder for me than for him. I didn't like turning 25 and the idea of being married to a 30 year old was just a bit strange. I have to say though that David is still just as handsome and fit as he was at 29 and really, men typically have the advantage of getting better looking as they age.
Because this was such a monumental birthday I wanted to do something special for David. However, he didn't really want a party, which was good since we have basically no money and few friends here, but it also meant I had to think a little harder.
His birthday fell on a Sunday, which was perfect because we could actually spend the day together. The Philadelphia Art Museum is free on Sunday so we invited Tony and Candy to celebrate by going there with us. Tony drove, which was really awesome since it is a bit confusing and frustrating driving in Philadelphia. David LOVED the museum and he kept commenting on how much his dad would love the museum, so Don if your reading this, please come visit us and we'll just drop you off for a few days at the museum and then pick you up when your done :)


The gang outside the museum.

I had to post this picture because David got in trouble for taking it. He didn't realize the flash was on and the guard not only got mad at David, but he kept following us around the museum...too funny. The paintings done by Monet here were beautiful!
Afterward, we went back to Candy and Tony's for a wonderful steak dinner, compliments of the Rombola's. It was a simple, but great way to celebrate my amazing husband!