St. Louis Visit

During our time in St. Louis, we tried to see nearly every person we know, and visit as many children’s activities and parks as we could squeeze in.  Highlights were baseball games, pumpkin picking 3 times (and still not getting a pumpkin), tractors and trains anywhere we could find them, the zoo, lots of friends and family time, and an early Thanksgiving dinner.

The long flight went pretty well, and Ben took full advantage of us letting him watch all his videos, instead of his normal quota of one per day.  By the time we were on the second flight from New York to St. Louis, he still hadn’t slept, and was getting pretty tired and cranky.  He finally fell asleep after we landed in StL, as we were taxiing to the gate.

Our first day after arriving, we went to Eckert’s Orchard to pick apples and pumpkins.  They had a nice play area with a couple tractors, and Ben was captivated.  When we finally headed out to the fields on the tractor/wagon ride, Ben loved it.  We had about 30 seconds of apple picking, in which Ben never actually picked an apple, before we had to go back to the tractor.  The workers were really nice and let Ben sit on a tractor as long as he wanted, and we never could get Ben to go back out to the fields to get any apples or pumpkins.

A quick attempt.

That evening we went out to Okawville to see great-grandma.

We went to a Cardinals NLDS game on Friday with some friends.  The game didn’t go so well, but we all had a great time.  It was Federica’s first game!

On Saturday, we met Laura and Jeff at another pumpkin patch.  Ben had a great time on the tractor.  We made it out to the field, but Ben had no interest in picking a pumpkin.

 

The next weekend, we got to spend some time with Uncle Brandon and Aunt Missy.  We went to Suson Park and saw some animals and tractors.

Tim was out of town, but I got to go to a Cardinals NLCS game with Danielle.  It was a fun time and a winner, in a very long game!

The next morning I got up early to go to Baby Mania with my mom.  I got a year’s worth (or maybe two) of clothes and shoes for Fede, but poor Ben only got about 4 shirts.  I made up for that later at another sale in Cape.

 

The next weekend Tim was out of town again at another bachelor party.  My parents and the kids and I went to the National Museum of Transportation.  They had trains, cars, a boat, and more trains.  Some you could walk through, some you could ring the bell, and some were just unbelievably big.  They also had a tram, a mini train, and a trolley that you could ride.

Not sure why Elmo was there, but Ben loved meeting him.

I guess a Pirate ship is a mode of transportation too!

Okay, this one is just our car, but Ben loved driving it!

On Sunday, we met Nick and Trish at a pumpkin patch.  We walked through the field, but again, Ben had no desire to pick a pumpkin.  He was, however, really happy to ride the little barrel train.  We tried to take family pictures after, but Ben preferred their family over me.

We met up with Monica and Laura at Powder Valley Nature Center.  Ben was enjoying the little animal exhibits until he saw the helicopter, then we had to play there for awhile.

Ben dressed up as Elmo for Halloween.  I think he really liked it.  When I showed him what he looked like in a mirror, he got a big smile.  Federica was a flower, which she didn’t like much, I think because it was pretty hot.  We went trick-or-treating, but it was windy and raining a little, so we only went to a few houses.  We were so proud of Ben for saying Trick-or-Treat at every house.

 

We also went to Suson Park with Laura and Ceci.

Spending more time with Jessica's parents.

 

We met with our birth group one morning.  It was so fun to see all the babies together as toddlers.  And the new babies, all four of us have since had our second!

On our last day in town, my mom cooked a Thanksgiving meal, and Tim’s parents came up.  After we ate, we all went to the zoo.

 

I had one last pumpkin spice latte at the airport (the Italians who would never disgrace their coffee this way are really missing out). The flight back went okay, but Ben still didn’t sleep much. 

Grandma McCord comes to visit

Nonna McCord arrived when Federica was about 6 weeks old.  Fede was still smaller than I was when born.

Enjoying her grandbabies!

Nonna got to give Fede her first bottle.  She took it like a champ.

Nonna also enjoyed her gelato!

At the pool again!

Grandma Robert comes to visit

Grandma Robert arrived when Federica was about a month old.  She even brought toys for Ben!

Enjoying time with her granddaughter.

We went to Oasi farm, and the tigers were really active, pacing, playing, and even jumping at the glass.

We found time to play card games when the babies were sleeping.

And we had fun at the pool.  Ben loved swimming and jumping.

Federica at 8 weeks

Federica is growing very well, but she is still tiny.  She wore a newborn sized outfit on her 8 week birthday, though it is probably the last time she will be able to wear it.

She was smiling for real by 5 or 6 weeks, much to the delight of Nonna.

 

She took her first bottle from Nonna around 5 weeks.  She took it perfectly, without any spilling, but then she had a rough night and didn't want to eat later on.  We are continuing to do one every week, so she will be ready for baby-sitters and daycare.  Ben got to help give her one of her first ones.



She is pretty good, but definitely has fussy periods most days where she wants to be held and sometimes bounced.  She still sleeps most of the day, and is usually only awake for an hour or two at a time.  On some of her fussier days, she just takes lots of cat naps, and doesn't want to be set down for a long nap.  When she is awake, she likes to look at our dark door frames, pictures on the wall, or her black and white books.  She smiles and coos a lot, especially when you talk to her and make vowel sounds.  She does really well in the night, usually getting up around 4 and 6am to eat, then I bring her to bed with me and we wait for Ben to start calling for me around 7am.



 

Ben still likes her, and he gives her lots of kisses.  He tries to help by giving her the pacifier or rocking her bouncy seat.  He even offers her food when he is eating.  But, he sometimes cries and wants to be held when she is crying and wanting to be held.  He is not specifically jealous of her, but we can tell that he sometimes misses having all the attention.  Luckily, he doesn't take it out on her.  He has been going to daycare still, so he hasn't had to fight for attention much, but starting now he will be at home with me two days a week.  Our first day had some rough patches and meltdowns, but I'm hoping it will get easier.





I am feeling really good.  I started working out and jogging some.  I thought I was going to die the first day, but it has been going surprisingly well since then.  Like the Italians, I have been doing more walking in general, and I think that helped keep me in shape during the pregnancy.  I'm still dealing with separated abs (still from Ben), and doing exercises from a physical therapist.

A family photo with neither kid looking.

And Tim is growing a goatee.

Love these little shoes.  Her feet are finally big enough for newborn size.