Samma and the Swan Boats

One of the best parts about living in Boston is the scenery and the perks that comes with is. For 130 years the Swan Boats have been peddling around the Boston Public Gardens, bringing joy to young and old. We had been talking about bringing Samma for about a year, but it was definitely something I wanted to be a part of for her first experience, but because of timing, schedules, and weather, we never got a chance to go until this past Sunday.

Since we weren't able to get together with the McCarthy clan for Mothers Day the weekend before, we took advantage of the awesome day and spent it in Boston with the ducks.

Samma's favorite part was throwing the bread to the ducks as they swam by... we even saw a few ducklings, which was wicked cute. And of course we couldn't walk away from this momentous occasion without buying Samma a t-shirt (and a stuffed duck) to commemorate it!

The next stop on our Boston Common adventure was towards the carousel by the Frog Pond. This isn't a permanent fixture, so it was fun to be able to take advantage of it while the weather was good and the lines weren't insane. Not to mention, despite the $3 ticket, Samma had a blast, and when it was done she was ready to do it again!

The only downer was we were so ready to move on from the ducks and start our walk towards the carousel that we didnt get a chance to take pictures on the world-famous Make Way For Duckling statues...

I mean, sure, they've been there since 1987... it's not going anywhere... but still!

The one last stop we were going to make on out Tour de Boston was the water fountain in the North End. We tackled this bad boy last year when Samma was just beginning to walk, so we thought it would be fun to let her run through them on her own... sadly, however, the City of Boston decided that the weekend before Memorial Day, regardless of how warm it was, was not the time to turn on the water fountains. Bummer.

Regardless, a great time was had by all, and as always, I look forward to our next Samma adventure. :)

Mothers Day 2012

I don't think I could have asked for a better Mothers Day. :)

It just worked out that it was Chris' morning to wake up with Samma, so I was able to "sleep in" until 9am... crazy, I know. We had some cuddle times while I opened my presents, and then we were on our way!

We began the day with a trip down to Plymouth, MA for breakfast at The Blueberry Muffin, a little breakfast place known for their homemade muffins and donuts. Being so small, they didn't take reservations, especially on a day like Mothers Day, but we arrived a little after 11am, waited for maybe 15 minutes, then were seated at a booth in the comfy little restaurant. Other than Samma being fussy towards the end and Chris taking her outside to walk around, breakfast was really delicious. And, being a mom, I received a white carnation on my way out the door!

From there we drove over to downtown Plymouth. Despite forgetting Samma's stroller and the strip being more desolate than I imagined, it was a nice day for a walk. If we have thought of it we should have driven one block down and walked along the waterfront while playing tourist around Plymouth Rock, but alas... I did, however, get a delicious iced Almond Joy Mocha from Kiskadee Coffee so it was worth it.

Later in the evening we had dinner with my family at Burtons in Hingham, which also happens to be one of our favorite places... at least it was. I don't know if it was the overbooking for Mother's Day, or if they were just losing their touch, but there were $50 worth of mistakes comped from our bill during this one sitting... it may be a while before we go back again.

End the Sunday evening with an episode of Game of Thrones, and I don't think I could have asked for anything more!

Easter 2012

I wish I had a better picture to post (read: one that didn't have me in it) but I'm still waiting on Easter pictures from various sources.

Anyway, this was the first time Samma was exposed to the concept of an Easter Egg Hunt, and it was pretty awesome. We had dinner at my parents' house, and as it was a chilly April morning, we decided to hide eggs around the first floor at Samma level. At first she was unsure of the concept, but once we showed her that you get treats when you open up the eggs, it was game on!

And before anyone gets judgey, her eggs included two of her favorites - Pirate Booty:

... and Mots for Tots fruit snacks:

My husband and I actually had a discussion about how we were going to approach Easter with Sam, seeing as neither of us follow our once-Catholic roots, nor did we have Sam baptized for the same reason. I could try to lead her down the more Pagan, Spring Equinox path, but taking a step back and looking at the commercialization of the Holiday, I think society has done enough of that already, so we decided to stick with the Easter Bunny and chocolates and eggs and leave it at that. Happy Spring!

18 months

Samantha hit the 18 month mark on Tuesday, March 20th but her 18-month appointment wasn't until this past Friday, March 30th, and that was because a) we needed to space her shots out evenly from the last time she had them (and that ideal date would have been March 26th), and b) I would rather wait a few extra days to have the pediatrician I like and trust over the one I don't and despise. So, taa-daa!

Everything's looking good! She's weighing in at 25lbs 11oz, 31 1/2 inches and a 18 3/4" head circumference (some of these numbers might be off - I'm just going by memory at this point).

There really wasn't much else I felt I needed to address at this appointment. I asked about her teeth, and the doctor said she didn't need to see a dentist until she was 3, so we'll just stick with her fluoride treatments, brushing (now with a fluoride toothpaste) and trying to floss if she'll let us. She's really good about it too -- she loves brushing her teeth, and is getting pretty good at hitting all the right spots. The only thing we need to work on is the whole spitting part, but we'll get there... we have time!

Her eczema keeps flaring up, so I ran down the routine we were using for treatment -- we're switching it up to Hydrolatum for extra moisture, and trying to get in a bath every or every other night, patting her dry, then putting it right on. The change of the seasons and the weather really hasn't been helping, but I'm crossing my fingers the warm weather will be back sooner than later to give my poor girl some relief.

And she received two vaccinations this time around - DTaP and HepB (or HepA... I'll have to check). She did relatively well - a little bit of fussing but nothing that an Elmo bandaid couldn't fix.

And you know... it's funny. I just Googled information about 18-month vaccinations and people are STILL worried that the shots are going to give their children Autism. *insert eyeroll and headshake here*

And that's it. Next appointment isn't for another 6 months when Sam's turning 2. And that's scary.

April Fools, Indeed

As with every April 1st, I had a couple ideas floating through my head as to what I would do this time around, and as always my brain drifted towards reposting one of Samma's ultrasound pictures and allowing the populace to arrive at their own decisions. My husband thought this would not be the best of ideas, so I refrained... and apparently this was a good thing because I've seen quite a couple FB status today about people playing the pregnancy trick.

At the other end of the spectrum, however, I've also seen people threatening to defriend anyone who pretends to be pregnant.

Harsh? Or justified?