A Girl Named PJ

A quick trip to the Omaha Zoo

August 14, 2012

Last Friday, Levi and I took a quick trip to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, the number one zoo in America, according to TripAdvisor. I’m not kidding when I say quick: We literally walked around for 45 minutes, just enough time to look at the gorillas, orangutans and tigers. Unfortunately, nobody told the tigers that we were coming, and nearly all of the inhabitants of the Cat Complex were asleep!

Levi’s favorite animals to watch were the monkeys swinging in their indoor exhibit (I don’t know if they were chimpanzees or small orangutans). He squealed in delight as they performed acrobatic feats behind glass. Too funny.

I’m pretty sure that the time it took to drive to the zoo, find parking and drive home equaled the 45 minutes we spent inside the park, but it was a gorgeous day in the mid-80s, and I thought it was important for Levi and I to both soak up a little bit of sunshine. I also wanted to take advantage of our family membership more frequently; I see more short weekday visits to the zoo in our future!

Does your little one have a favorite zoo animal?

{all photos taken at the Henry Doorly Zoo on August 10, 2012}

Ideas for toddler photos (13-24 months old)

August 10, 2012

I asked for opinions, and you voiced them! Thanks to everyone who left a comment on the blog or on Facebook yesterday regarding Levi’s 13-24 month photo shoots. There didn’t seem to be a consensus, though; many of you like the idea of using a singular location but dressing Levi in a variety of outfits for the next round of pictures. Others think each monthly photo should document Levi doing something different, perhaps showing off a new skill or favorite toy, in various settings.

Still torn, I decided to seek out inspiration on Pinterest. Here are some collages of more clever monthly baby photos…… READ MORE!

A look back (and look ahead) at Levi’s monthly baby photos

August 9, 2012

I had only planned to take monthly photos of Levi until he turned one year old, but the sentimentalist in me feels compelled to continue documenting Levi’s developments through monthly letters and pictures. Like babies, toddlers change so quickly, and I want a record of Levi’s milestones at each and every stage.

However, I’m not sure photographing Levi next to his blabla doll in our white Eames rocking chair is the way to go for these next twelve pictures. It got increasingly difficult (and borderline dangerous) to get my squirmy little boy to sit still in a chair that moves, so taking his photo became a two-person job. Since I’d prefer to not rely on JB being home in order to take these pictures, I’m considering a change of scenery. But where? Should it be the same setting every month?

Part of me loves the idea of continuing the series the same exact way so his growth is super obvious. However, it might be fun to mix things up for our second year of monthly photos. Perhaps he doesn’t even need to be wearing the same white onesie in every shot. Maybe showcasing his favorite outfit every month would be more fun.

As I suffer from paralyzing indecision — and because Levi’s 13 month birthday is quickly approaching! — I turn to you for advice. Should continue taking Levi’s monthly photo in the white chair with Socks the Fox or should change it up for months 13 – 24?

Please leave a comment below!

{see all of Levi’s monthly photos here}

What I bought at IKEA

August 7, 2012

Since several of you asked, I thought I’d share some of my IKEA purchases. I challenged myself to create a collage in Photoshop. Yikes! I wonder how much faster an actual graphic designer could put something like this together…

clockwise: plant pots // fake plant // more fake plants // plant pot // colorful frames // colorful straws // storage boxes // corkscrew // set of 3 containers // step stool // basement storage // living room storage // pillow // pillow

24 hours in Minneapolis

August 6, 2012

For those of you who follow along on Facebook or Instagram, you might have already guessed that my little family of three took an impromptu road trip to Minneapolis this weekend. This was our first time driving such a long distance with Levi, and it was terrible. Because of all the bathroom and snack breaks we needed to take, each 5.5 hour leg took nearly 7 hours, and Levi did not nap going either way. He’d start to doze but would wake himself up almost immediately and begin whining and crying.

Eventually, I moved to the back seat (on the hump–the worst seat in an SUV!) to try to soothe him. But since he was mostly uncomfortable in his car seat and just really overtired, there was little I could do except suffer along with him. (What was JB doing? Listening to his Game of Thrones audio book while driving. Lucky guy.)

Although we were desperate for a change of scenery after these last few stressful weeks, our primary reason for traveling to Minneapolis was to shop at IKEA. Specifically, we were looking for toy storage for our living room and basement, as well as inexpensive organizational and home decor items. To make our 24-hour visit feel more like a romantic getaway, we booked a (surprisingly) affordable suite at the super swanky The Hotel Minneapolis. (It used to be a bank!) We wanted to set up Levi’s pack-n-play in a separate room so that we wouldn’t be forced to go to bed when he did, but what really cinched the deal was the photo of an amazing soaking tub on the hotel’s website next to the description of the room.

Well, imagine my disappointment when we learned upon arrival that the photo was actually of the hotel’s Presidential Suite and that our room didn’t have a tub at all. No tub! Super bummed, we suggested to the front desk that they update their website, and they compensated us with a free breakfast. I would have rather eaten IKEA’s $1.99 breakfast and been moved to the Presidential Suite, but the hotel manager did not seem inclined to kick out the bride and groom already staying in it.

Despite been a pill in the car, Levi was mostly a good sport while we were out and about. (I felt like such a bad mother for completely ignoring his nap and bedtime schedule, though.) He discovered two new skills: making quasi-fish faces and drinking out of straw. At the suggestion of some of my Twitter friends, we ate our one meal out at Convention Grill in Edina, chowing down on chicken noodle soup, hamburgers, french fries and a hot fudge malt. I was so stuffed that I didn’t even want to order something sweet from room service back at the hotel, and I never turn down dessert!

Oh! And Levi learned one another new trick: How to tear out the flaps from his lift-the-flap books. JB says that it must be a “boy thing” because, he claims, boys are more destructive than girls. *SIGH*

I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling like I need a vacation after my “vacation.” But there’s probably no such thing as having a relaxing vacation when traveling with kids, right?