zoo – Mothering Millie

Baby

Summer 24

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We kicked off this summer with an, ‘A Kid Again’ adventure to the Columbus Zoo and Zoombeezi Bay. We all wore our matching, A Kid Again shirts; I had to cut the long sleeves off of Crosby’s – he won’t fit it during the winter months anyway. Millie and Wells wanted to ride the rides first, which was included with our event tickets. Due to their height, they couldn’t ride all of the rides but they were able to ride on the Macaw Spinner and the Swinging Gibbon (swings). We were given a meal time so between 4-5pm we went to the pavilions for dinner; veggie burgers, chips, cookies, drinks, and uncrustables for the kids – all included.

We were able to ride on the train through North America, something we have never done before at the Zoo. One little boy screamed the entire ride and due to the construction in that area, the train ride was not very scenic; we saw a lot of wooden fence. I was grateful we didn’t have to pay for that experience. We continued to Africa where we all fed a giraffe; another included activity. Millie and Wells were pros, they knew exactly what to do. Chris held Crosby while he fed Ootoo but Crosby backed his body into Chris’, he didn’t seem to like feeding the giraffe.

We headed over to Zoombeezi Bay as the sun was going down. This was the best time for the boys to experience the water park, when the sun wasn’t so harsh. After getting everyone changed into their suits (it was an experience trying to get the two bigs to change without touching the wet, bathroom floor) we had to wait for the day time life guards and night event life guards to change places. They informed us that they were not opening the toddler area for the evening (which was insane to me considering the amount of kids with needs that could have utilized a developmentally appropriate swimming area). We enjoyed our time in the wave pool even though the water was frigid!

Wells was shivering and Mills lips were purple so we knew it was time to dry off and go. As we were leaving, A Kid Again volunteers were passing out fiber optic, light-up wands to each kid. There were three colors to choose from; orange, green, and blue, so each of my kids got a different color. They enjoyed swinging them around – even Crosby! Chris didn’t particularly care for the wands when he mistaked them for police lights in his rear view mirror.

The next day, Millie and I went to her Senior Prayer Buddy’s graduation party. She has absolutely loved spending time with Kennedy this year. She brought her a card, got to take pictures with her, highlight a scripture in her Bible (she chose one from the book of Psalms), and eat a cookie decorated like a graduation cap. Millie got to see her kindergarten teacher at the party and Mill spoke with Kennedy’s mom about doing Bible Quizzing in the fall. The party was being held at the park across the street from my Dad’s house, so after we said our goodbyes, we popped over to Papa’s house to see him. My Dad lives next door to a student of mine and when the student saw me she said, “Hi, Mrs. Doyle!” Millie said, “Why are you calling my mommy, Mrs. Doyle?!”

To end the first weekend of summer vacation, we went to the Troy Strawberry Festival. We have never been there before but it reminded us of the Circleville Pumpkin Show – but strawberries. Millie wore a strawberry dress and purse for the occasion. She was astounded that the fountain in the middle of town had been dyed pink! She wore her sash and crown to make an appearance out of the event; she passed out strawberry candies and stickers to other little girls. There was a gag-band playing through the streets of the festival and when they saw Mill, they played a royal tune; she was flattered and took a picture with them. We ate delicious strawberry kettle corn and drank strawberry lemonade.

Throughout the week, we crafted necklaces with shrinky-dinks, celebrated Maw Maw Bev’s 77th birthday, played in the water table, completed math and reading pages, and went swimming in Maws pool – twice! The bigs swim independently (with their puddle jumpers) and I am able to hold Crosby in the water. We tried him in a float that reclined back but when he would sit up, the float flipped him straight into the water, head first. Maw took the float back the next day and told costumer service that it’s an unsafe floating device and that they should pull it from their shelves. While we were swimming, Wells told a tanned, mixed girl, “Your skin is boo-ti-ful!” He is such a special kid.

Saturday, Millie and I spent the morning at an ARB Pageant Workshop to help prepare for Nationals! Before the event started, some pageant queens were passing out their title cards with QR codes to take you to their website. Mill loved getting cards from everyone and she was upset that we didn’t have any to give out. They were given notebooks to keep notes in and Millie loved writing and drawing in it. Millie would play hand clapping games with her friend, Goldie while they would wait for their turn to work with the specialists. She was given runway advice and suggestions to make her introduction stronger.

After her workshop, we were super hungry so we had a mother-daughter lunch at her favorite restaurant; Olive Garden. Instead of playing games on the table-top tablet, she found the books app instead and we read while we ate. She had buttered noodles, broccoli, salad, and a few breadsticks. A waitress heard us reading and said, “I’ve never known there to be books on that thing! What a better option!” Millie will always opt to read.

The whole fam and my in-laws went to the Columbus Arts Festival. We got lemonade, stickers, sorbet, and free Nutcracker tickets! This is our second year “spinning the wheel” at the BalletMet booth and winning tickets; Millie was the lucky spinner last year and Chris spun the tickets this year – even though we were pretty sure Wells’ first spin was going to land on the tickets but Chris stopped the wheel and they made him re-spin because “the wheel hadn’t spun all the way around”. You could hear our exasperation. Thankfully, Chris redeemed himself when he spun and won the tickets on his turn.

Wells found an artist that he really liked who painted pictures of fish in unique places. The bigs enjoyed coloring at the zoos booth (Mill colored a purple and yellow Tasmanian devil). Mill tried tap dancing on a piece of wood and tap shoes. Crosby was fascinated by the helicopter flying above us. After the festival, Mill went to stay the night with her grandparents because they were going to take her on her June adventure; hiking. (They walked two trails in Hocking Hills and had a picnic lunch.)

Wells was disappointed he wasn’t going hiking with Mill so while we waited for our dinner to be ready for pick-up (we ordered Indian to-go) we let Wells play on a fun playground with swings and four slides across the street from the restaurant. It was so sweet, he ran up to the swing set and yelled, “Hi everybody! My name is Wells!” It reminded me of the first time he introduced himself to a stranger at the Newport Aquarium. Wells has worked so hard for his words and I am so incredibly proud of him.

The next week, our evenings were occupied with Vacation Bible School. This year’s theme was, “Team Jesus” because of the summer Olympics starting soon. Wells was able to attend VBS this year and he was super excited (although he was a little disappointed that the pre-k shirts were yellow and not blue). Millie was placed in a group with some of her friends from school. I didn’t feel like the message was as engaging as last years. Last year, Mill would come home everyday wanting to talk about Jesus and what she learned but neither kid did this week. On the family day, neither kid was singing along to the praise song; hopefully next year they’ll feel more connected. We all had a good time at the celebration to end the week. The bigs went down an inflatable water slide, jumped in a bouncy house, raced each other in a blow-up obstacle course, and ate shaved ice.

Millie was so excited to play tennis this summer. Even though the flyer said 2nd grade and up, the coach let Mill sign up because of how eager she was to learn. Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10am-12pm we walked over to the tennis courts for Mill to practice her serves across the net. The coach was so kind and patient with her. It was exciting watching her improve. On the last day, the coach let each kid fill a bag full of tennis balls to take home to practice with. Mill was able to cheer the kids out on the last day, “One, two, three, go Dawgs!”

Then my friend Rebecca passed away. Then my MawMaw Bev passed away. I was in survival mode and the kids played a lot on their own.

One of my best friends, Sarah, came and took the bigs to see Inside Out 2. She said that the kids were the best behaved kids in the theater. She also said that she took Wells to the bathroom and she was relieved when he said he didn’t have to poop (he still can’t wipe on his own quite yet). She brought back Chipotle for dinner and it was the nicest thing in the entire world because she’s the nicest person in the entire world.

We needed something happy so we celebrated Shark Week. I bought special balloons and shark hand puppets. Each night, we watched new Shark shows on t.v. We went to Outback Steakhouse because they had a special drink called the Sharky Temple. The kids had sprite with a Shark full of red grenadine. When they dunked the shark in the pop, the drink turned red like a shark attack.

For my dad’s 56th birthday, we planned a trip to see the Chicago Cubs play in Wrigley field. Dru and Katey graciously took the bigs putt-putting the Thursday before we left so I could get everyone packed. To split up the drive, we stayed one night in Indianapolis, Indiana before heading to Illinois. We woke up early on Friday, packed the car, and made it to the Indianapolis Zoo before 1pm; we rocked out to SpongeBob the Musical and Crosby slept the entire ride.

The Indianapolis Zoo is privately owned however, they still gave a discount on our entry for being Columbus Zoo members. After our tickets were scanned, the entrance to the zoo was through a beautiful garden which set the tone for the entire zoo experience. There were fountains with animal sculptures and actual parrots in the trees. We are used to a cluster of people, bubble wands, and annoying photographers trying to snap a picture; this was completely different. There was a greenhouse with exotic plants and what seemed like a million butterflies. It was better than the Franklin Park Conservatory’s butterfly exhibit and this was included with the admission to the zoo. The only issue was Crosby was having a rough time with his light sensitivity so we made sure that he was wearing his hat and sunglasses and tried our best to stay indoors.

We went into the ocean exhibit and there was an electric eel swimming out of the coral. It was squiggly and creepy looking. Wells was so excited to see the “touch pool” that had epaulette sharks, sting rays, and two dogfish sharks. This was actually the nations largest shark, touch pool. The water was deep and the wall was tall so Wells had a tough time reaching far into the water. It took some patience but eventually he was able to touch both sharks and many sting rays! With Chris’ support, even Millie touched a shark. Wells was so happy and proud of himself for being brave.

In the oceans exhibit, there was a section with different penguins. When Crosby saw them he said, “duck”. He was so proud of himself. There was a seal enclosure where the seals were diving in the water and swimming around. Chris asked the kids, “Do you know what’s making all those bubbles? The seals are tooting.” To which Wells replied, “That’s my favorite part.” Chris said, “What is?” Wells said, “The tooting.”

We were super impressed with the plant based options at the grill; Wells and I got veggie dogs, Mill got a pb&j, and Chris got vegan chorizo tacos. They even had chikn tenders and black bean burgers (It’s not often we get food choices). Crosby was struggling with his photophobia; the sun was super bright even with his sunglasses, hat, and stroller visor to help protect his eyes. While the rest of the family ate at an outdoor picnic table, I took Crosby into the gift shop where he was much more comfortable. While we were in there, I picked out a shark sticker for Wells’ suitcase and a Christmas ornament that said Indianapolis Zoo.

After lunch, we watched the Gibbon monkeys and that was a real treat. The mother monkey was pooping and the baby was grabbing the poop as it came out of its mother’s butt. It was disgusting but of course the kids thought it was hilarious. The baby monkey threw the poop on the ground – praise because I thought it was going to eat it and I would have barfed on everybody. We were pretty upset with the zoos newly added Chimpanzee “complex”. We saw it advertised on their website and social media. It was supposed to be this cool, interactive way to experience the chimpanzees however, it was more like hanging, metal dog crates. The chimps were no where to be found until we saw one at the bottom of a stairwell banging his head over and over again into the steps. It was hard to see.

We saw two, brown bears active in their enclosure. They were massive. One was taking a dip in the water and the other was walking around and even on its hind legs at one point. Crosby called them, “og” like dog – it was cute. The rhinos were sunken into a mud bath and when they raised up the suction sound was thick. The rhino walked to a large rock to scratch his underside and then let out a huge toot that made his tail fly! It was so gross!

There were wildebeests, ostriches, and kudus all in the same habitat. There was a large, ostrich egg just lying in the middle of the kudus. It was making me so anxious – all the hooves around the egg and the kudus kept sniffing at it. The ostrich looked down right haggard and was hissing at the kudus. It was national geographic at its finest.

Our favorite part of the Indianapolis Zoo was the dolphin show. I felt like we were at the Georgia Aquarium again. They had a huge indoor space with the water as the stage. We sat in stadium seats and were in awe of what these eight dolphins could do; jump, splash, turn – all on command. They showed a video about dolphin conservation and the dolphins that were critically endangered or extinct. Wells started to cry. He was so emotional about the dolphins. He loves ocean animals so much, bless his heart.

After our time at the zoo, we checked into our hotel for the night. It had two, queen size beds so Chris and I divided up; the boys slept with me and Chris had Mill. It was a quick stay. We packed up the next morning and spent the day at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. We were blown away by the size of the complex. There was a parking deck attached with a four story tall Anubis, an outside sports area sponsored by the Pacers, and a “life -sized” brontosaurus climbing through the window. Wells was amazed by the transformer, Bumblebee in the lobby.

The dinosaur exhibit was spread out on all four floors of the museum. Like the Children’s Museum in Dallas, Chris and I were impressed with how many bones were actual fossils versus casts. The fossilized skull of the duck-billed dinosaur was really off putting to say the least. Millie “smelled” what the dino would smell like to a T-Rex and she said it was disgusting (how would we know what they smelled like?). The bigs colored pictures of dinosaurs and scanned them onto a projected screen, much like what we did with the fish pictures at the Newport Aquarium. It was neat, each new dinosaur that was scanned would hatch out of an egg and walk across the wall. Wells was coloring in the lines!

My favorite part of the museum started on the bottom floor and was over 40 feet tall; a masterpiece of blown glass by Chihuly. The kids could make their own sculpture with plastic pieces made to look like blown glass. The ceiling was covered in different glass pieces with a slow spinning ottoman in the middle of the room that you would sit on and it gave a kaleidoscope effect. There are many Chihuly pieces at the Franklin Park Conservatory and I always remember how my much grandma loves them. I FaceTimed with her throughout this part of the museum so she could see the amazing art, too.

There was a Greece exhibit where it actually looked like you were in a villa in Sorento. Mill and I learned a traditional Grecian dance by an instructor and Wells rescued turtle “plastic” off the coast. We also enjoyed the Ninja Turtle exhibit (this is only there a limited time) and the kids got to shoot foam pizzas into windows. Another awesome art piece was many miniature doll houses; I wish I could’ve lived inside them, they were so beautiful. If you pressed a button, holograms of period people would walk around the houses. It was so cool.

On the top floor of the museum was a restored carousel. It broke down and was stored in someone’s barn for decades. There were all different animals; tigers, horses, giraffes and they were so intricately painted. We all rode on the carousel as a family. Millie wanted to ride a giraffe but they didn’t move up and down so she sat behind the giraffes on a horse. Wells didn’t want to go up and down so he sat on a giraffe. Crosby was not a fan so he stayed in my arms. As we were riding, I looked up and the top of the carousel was painted like the night sky – it was really beautiful.

There was so much more to do and explore in the Indianapolis Children’s Museum however, we were on a time crunch to get to Chicago before 5PM. On our way out, we got the kids a soft pretzel and to my surprise I hear, “Mrs. Doyle!” Two of my students were also at the museum and saw me there. I gave them hugs and told them to enjoy the rest of their vacation. It was neat seeing students in a different state experiencing cool, new things. As we walked back to the Jeep, we promised the kids that we would be back again.

The kids all napped during our drive to Chicago; I’m sure they were wiped from the museum. The bigs were awake when we entered the city so they could see the skyline. I saw a sign for Louis Vuitton and Wells repeated me in the sweetest French accent you’ve ever heard. Our first stop was to the American Girl store. Millie brought her doll, Isabelle, and woah was she excited (Mill, not the doll – the doll had seen better days. Her hair was a mess.) Millie was like a spinning top in the store; looking at everything and wanting everything. She cracked up seeing a doll scene of a bathroom. She especially liked seeing her dolls set ups; Kit and Isabelle. Chris and I both prefaced this shopping trip that we were going to spend $150 and that was all. A lot went into the shopping bag but when it was time to checkout, she was very good at deciding what she wanted and what she didn’t. She ended up getting matching shirts for her and her doll, a pajama outfit and slippers, a doll carrying bag, and Isabelle a new hair style.

Isabelle was looking raggedy. I didn’t know that prior to our trip, Mill had taken out Isabelle’s hair. Thankfully, the doll salon was open with not much of a wait, so we let Millie pick out a new hair style for Isabelle. Chris and the boys wondered off. I watched Millie as she lit up in amazement. She talked to the stylist and picked out ribbon colors. She chose two French braids with red and blue ribbons for the Cubs game we would attend the next day. She listened to the stylists instructions about how to keep her dolls hair nice and Millie hung on to every word.

We left the American Girl store and the kids rode on an escalator for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised by how well they did stepping off. We went to the Lego store for Wells and he and Chris chose different sets to put together. Crosby was having so much fun. He kept running behind the counter and the cashier said, “I should go grab him an application!” Millie saw a woman with my similar hair and build leave the store hand in hand with another man that was not her dad and she was very confused. She yelled, “Daddy! Mommy’s leaving!” But I was not leaving – I was chasing Crosby around.

After shopping, we made our way up to the highest floor of the mall to eat at Harry Carey’s. Both Mill and Wells did really well navigating the many escalators. Harry Carey’s TVs were playing the Cubs game but I didn’t get to watch much of it because I spent most of the time in the restroom instead of at our table! First, I had to go to the bathroom and as I was walking back, Wells was running towards me saying he had to go. Then, Mill had to go! Millie’s American Girl got to sit in a special high chair. We were so impressed with Wells, it was the first time he colored a picture inside the lines!

After eating dinner, we walked around the city for a bit before heading back to our car and going to our hotel for the night. The drive to our hotel was eventful. We drove past a road named, “Wells Street”. While we were on the highway, we saw a motorcycle up in flames and someone giving CPR on the side of the road – we found out later that the motorcyclist had died. When we got to the hotel, we met up with my dad and stepmom. They had already spent one night in Chicago celebrating my dad‘s 56th birthday. It was late, so we discussed plans for the ballpark the next morning, Millie dressed Isabelle in her new jammies and slippers, and went to sleep.

The next morning, we walked down to the hotel lobby for the complementary breakfast. I had Crosby on my hip when I walked over to grab a bowl of cereal, and I heard a man say to his wife or partner or female friend, “That’s one ugly ass kid.” If my kids weren’t present, I would’ve had some choice words with this man however, I chose to grab breakfast and go about my way. Who says something like that about a child? It honestly had me mentally messed up all morning. After breakfast, we all dressed in Chicago Cubs gear and loaded the Jeep headed to Wrigley Field – the kids and my Dad’s first time!

When we arrived in Wrigleyville, I gave my Dad a big, blue, birthday hat that he wore for a picture or two and left in a tree by our parking garage. I wore Crosby in the baby carrier and Chris carried Wells on his shoulders. As we walked closer to the stadium, I watched my Dad’s face as he saw places he had recognized from WGN broadcasts. The smile on his face when he saw the Wrigley Field sign was priceless. He took pictures under the sign and next to the new, Ryne Sandberg statue. We went into a Cubs team store and bought my Dad a red, baseball hat to match his outfit, for his birthday.

Millie got so many compliments on Isabelle. Many workers reminisced about their little ones and their dolls. We got the kids and my Dad, “first time” certificates and pictures. We got food and found our seats (apparently my Dad almost choked to death getting his hot dog). Our seats were underneath a seat deck which made the sunny day so much better on my Dad and the boys’ eyes to be sitting in the shade. A 92 year old, lifelong cubs fan threw the first pitch and the National Anthem was performed by a father-son, saxophone and guitar duet. We were ready for some baseball!

Crosby sat up in a seat by himself and drank water from his Clark the Cub sippy cup. Wells ate French fries and fell asleep on Chris’ arm while watching baseball. Millie was actually invested in the game and asking intelligent baseball questions. My heart was so entirely full. During the ninth inning, my Dad, the kids, and I walked behind the ivy to prepare to “run the bases”. One Sunday a month, kids at the ballpark can run the bases on Wrigley Field. Each kid could have one adult with them so my Dad and I also got the opportunity to be on the field. Finishing the game through the Ivy was surreal. Cubs won in extra innings and we got to sing, “Go Cubs, Go!” with my Dad on his birthday.

Walking out onto Wrigley Field felt like a dream. Wells and Mill ran out in front of us as my Dad and I tried to take everything in. Cubs players were conversing with their families out in the outfield. The grass was so incredibly green. I gave Mill my phone to video record while she and Wells ran the bases. They started the kids at first base told them to, “go!” So Mill took off towards home plate and she had the whole lot of kids going the wrong way. Her and Wells ran to home plate, to third base, out to left field, to second base, then they were finally turned around by a field volunteer, hit third base, and ran to home plate again. They definitely got my money worth, running around the bases!

Walking back to the car was tough because the kids were so tired. Millie was embarrassed that she ran the wrong way around the bases. My Dad’s foot was killing him from all the walking he’d done in Chicago. We made bets on if the blue, birthday hat would still be hanging in the tree by the parking garage. Wells was the only one to say, “I think so.” We all freaked out when we saw the hat, in all its glory, still hanging in the tree.

On the ride back to the hotel, we chose a restaurant while Crosby entertained us with his best rendition of, “Go Cubs, go!” We ate at a delish, hole in the wall, Mediterranean place called Backyard Grill, celebrating its 20th year in business and reminisced on the amazing weekend we had. We went back to the hotel and presented my Dad with a chocolate brownie cake that we made for him with the candles 5 and 6 for his birthday. The kids were begging us to take a dip in the hotel pool so before bed, we swam for an hour. Chris and I were amazed because Millie was jumping in and swimming underwater for the first time!

The next morning, we said goodbye to my Dad and step-mom as they left for home. We checked out of the hotel and drove back into the city of Chicago to take the kids to the Chicago Aquarium. The Aquarium is right on Lake Michigan; it’s beautiful! The kids and I enjoyed sitting by the water before and after our excursion – Chris wasn’t about the detour. Wells loves everything about the ocean and we found out that the Chicago Aquarium has white-sided dolphins, a species that we had never seen before. I was so impressed with the architecture of the building; the ceiling tiles had carved ocean creatures and the crown molding looked like waves. The kids loved playing on the indoor playground at the penguin exhibit. I was so impressed with Millie as she read so many of the informational texts next to the tanks. Before we left, I threw some seagulls some pretzels. The kids loved watching the birds swarm. Chris wasn’t so enthused.

The next weekend, we made our way to Cincinnati for Millie’s beauty pageant nationals. (More on this in its own blog post!) My friend Sarah stayed the week with us – the kids love it when she’s around. She reads books to them, does crafts with them, and brings them gifts. We spent some time at Mawmaw’s pool and with Lindsey at her brother’s pool; Millie and eventually Wells too, were jumping off the diving board!

I remember back to last summer thinking how Crosby would be walking by now and how different everything would be – but it wasn’t different. It felt just right. Every day is a gift. Every. Single. Day. If losing my sister (and my step-dad, and my cousin, and my grandma, and my friend) has taught me anything, it’s that we aren’t guaranteed anything. Writing these posts help me to not forget the gift I was given; time.

Baby

Atlanta

Featuredby motheringmillieLeave a Comment

Wells absolutely loves aquariums; he is obsessed with sharks and has been for years. After watching “The Aquarium” on Disney+, I knew we had to take him to Atlanta to see the Georgia Aquarium. Chris had zero interest in a trip to Georgia so I had to a bit of convincing to get him on board.

My key points:

Atlanta is less than an eight hour drive; if we left before breakfast, we could be there by dinner.

We had a goal before Millie was born to take her to as many states as possible before her 18th birthday and none of us had ever experienced GA (other than flight layovers).

There is more to do than just the Aquarium, (which btw is no. 1 in the nation) Olympic Park, a Children’s Museum, the Chattahoochee River, The Coca Cola Museum, etc…

Basically, he wasn’t thrilled about the trip to Atlanta but he surely didn’t want to be left behind. Spring break 2024 was when we booked our trip. Wells counted down the days until our vacation. “Saturday, Sunday, A-wanta!”

Chris’ grandfather was in poor health, had fallen, and was hospitalized two days before our trip to Atlanta. Grandpa was unresponsive when we left. Unfortunately, while we were driving to Georgia, he passed away. I read chapters of his memoir out loud while Chris drove into the night. There was a full moon. It was a very tearful drive.

We didn’t know we had entered the state of Georgia until we stopped at a rest stop and the floor mat said, “Welcome to Georgia, Y’all!” We needed gas so we stopped at the infamous, “Buck-ees” and we were amazed at the store. There were beavers everywhere; on bathing suits, hats, tee-shirts, fanny packs, athletic shorts, travel pillows, even onesies. Crosby was not thrilled about being placed in a pile of Buck-ee stuffies for a photo op. The workers yelled encouraging call-and-response anecdotes to each other working behind the counters. Chris was super impressed with his veggie burrito.

The Atlanta skyline was so bright and long; the city seemed like it went on forever. Our hotel was right off the freeway and our room faced the Georgia Aquarium’s parking deck that had a huge image of a whale shark. Wells was disappointed that we weren’t going to the aquarium right then (it was after 9pm).

The hotel room had a sliding door to the bathroom and Mill pinched her finger; thankfully, the ice machine down the hall fixed the tears. Millie and Wells slept on the hide-away bed with lots of extra pillows. We watched an episode of Bluey, the kids requested it and even though we explained we didn’t have streaming on the hotel TV and couldn’t guarantee Bluey was going to be playing, it indeed was. Our point was mute and they still don’t understand cable television.

We woke up and ate the complimentary hotel breakfast; nothing special but the bigs liked going down with Daddy to get the food (although Chris said Wells was more of a hindrance than a help). We loaded up the double stroller, that has a platform on the back for Mill to stand on, and left for the Atlanta Children’s Museum just a few blocks away. I guess I assumed since I was on spring break, everyone else was too however, there were many elementary field trip groups at the Children’s Museum so we had to navigate through lots of kids, teachers, and parents. Millie and Wells enjoyed painting on the walls, doing nature yoga (Wells broke out of his pose to dance and Mill all but tackled him down to the ground and said he was embarrassing her.) Millie and Chris built a butterfly house together out of recycled materials, and Wells dug for fossils in the sand. Crosby and I hung out in the baby section crawling around and watching the big kids play.

Thankfully, I struck up a conversation with a mom in the baby section about the Georgia Aquarium and how that was our next adventure. She mentioned that she and her daughter were there the day before and the dolphin show was their favorite part. She showed me how to reserve tickets for the dolphin show, which proved to be amazing. It was fully reserved by the time we arrived so I was grateful for the advice.

After the kids had tried all the things at the Children’s Museum, we walked through Olympic park to get to the Georgia Aquarium. Along the way, we stopped at a playground for the kids to climb and enjoy the fresh air. Crosby liked crawling in the tube. It was drizzling and Millie slipped trying to climb on the equipment; thankfully, she wasn’t hurt. Once the rain started to pick up, we made our way to our next destination.

Entering the aquarium looked like an atrium of a shopping mall and it was crowded. We were all hungry so the first thing we did was order lunch at the cafe; they had a delicious, vegan burger and fries. The dining area was super busy but we were able to find a table in the back corner so I could nurse Crosby inconspicuously. A family was waiting for our table while we were wrapping up our meal so we quickly cleaned up and went exploring. We checked out some crocodiles and frogs and passed a window that showed the top of the largest tank in the aquarium. It was the first time we saw a whale shark and it was amazing; the size of the fish was unreal.

When it was time for our scheduled dolphin show, we, as well as hundreds of other people, were escorted into a large theater where instead of a stage, was a large tank. We found seats close to the front but upon closer inspection the back of the chairs read, “soak zone”. We prepared the kids for the inevitable dolphin splash as best as we could however, Millie was freaking out about it. She was bringing up getting splashed every ten seconds (maybe every 8 seconds) When the dolphins swam and jumped high into the air, they were spectacular. The trainers said that dolphins feel like wet hotdogs and that stuck with Wells. Of course, we got soaked by the flick of a dolphins tail; Crosby cried but the big kids thought it was funny. It was a fin-tastic show (Chris would appreciate the pun.)

After the dolphin show, we went to see the crown jewel of the Georgia Aquarium, the Ocean Voyager exhibit. This tank has over six-millions gallons of water and home to not one, but two whale sharks! This aquarium was breathtaking. I truly do not have the words to describe how it felt to look under the oceans surface. The manta ray was majestic. The rare, beaked stingrays were fascinating. But the whale sharks stole the show; their size, their spotted backs, and their wide mouths were just outstanding. We could have sat at this exhibit all day; we watched the fish for a long time while Crosby got out of the stroller and crawled around.

I gave Wells my phone and let him take pictures. He said, “You have to send those to Aunt Mollie right now.” We had visited our Aunt Mollie just two weeks prior to this trip when she was placed in hospice care and she told Wells how much she loved the ocean and sea turtles. It was so sweet that Wells remembered that on his own and wanted her to experience the aquarium too.

We explored the Arctic exhibit and it was the first time we saw beluga whales! (Raffi’s Baby Beluga song is one that I would sing to the kids). The whales were so entertaining; it was cool to see them in real life after watching them on TV. The four belugas took turns swimming toward the glass, flipping and swimming upside down. Their body shape and muscle structure looked so interesting – Chris said it looked like a person in a white suit swimming around. They looked so happy to be swimming together.

The shark tank was absolutely terrifying. There were 19+ sharks swimming around including giant hammerheads swimming in tanks above our heads. Wells was watching the sharks when he let out a loud fart. I was so embarrassed and of course everyone around us just chuckled, including Wells. Chris pulled him aside and told him that wasn’t polite. We checked out the coral reef tank that held really beautiful, colorful fish. We ended our aquarium adventure at the gift shop where we let each babe pick out a stuffy; Millie chose a purple, sparkly dolphin, Wells picked a blue, tiger-striped shark, and we got a whale shark, “Yushawn” for Crosby. I picked out a Christmas ornament and $500 dollars later (not actually 500 but a lot of money was spent) we left the Georgia Aquarium and headed back to our hotel.

We napped at the hotel and when we woke up, we were all hungry. We checked out this completely vegan restaurant called, Cafe Sunflower in Buckhead- maybe a 15 minute drive from our hotel. The area was super “hip” and we were so impressed by the menu options. Chris and I couldn’t believe we could eat everything on the menu; we felt normal for once! We got potstickers and brussel sprouts for appetizers – delicious. Wells ordered noodles, Millie had a cheese quesadilla, Chris had sesame chick’n, and I had chick’n parm. The food was unbelievable. The kids were well behaved during dinner; we played Micky Mouse on the phone for Crosby. For dessert, Chris and the kids ate a decadent chocolate cake (Wells and Mill practically licked the plate) and I ordered the carrot cake. We told the host, which happened to be the owner, that it was the best dinner we’ve had in six years. He said, “Every culture has vegan dishes, I just put them all on one menu.” We were so impressed.

When we went back to the hotel, the bar was showing the Ohio State vs Georgia men’s basketball game on the big screen. The game was in Columbus and here we were in GA, but there were other Buckeye fans at the bar. The Buckeyes took a loss but we struck up a conversation with the bartender who took a liking to the kids and she gave us some suggestions of fun things to do with them in Atlanta.

We took her advice and went to the Museum of Illusion the next morning. The museum was on the second floor of an outdoor shopping mall; it was a beautiful location. Educators got in the museum for free and both kids were under age limit for a ticket so we were able to experience this activity for the cost of Chris’ admission (everything’s expensive so it was nice to get a cost break). We walked through the exhibits and took pictures in different poses. The kids really liked the peg board that you could imprint your body behind and it would show up on the front side. They tried to spell out O-H-I-O but Millie’s belly got poked and it actually broke the skin.

We ate lunch at the mall but of course everyone wanted different things; I made a delicious salad at Salata, Chris got Indian food, and the kids got Asian noodles. We ate outside at a picnic table. Wells picked a beautiful flower for me from a nearby bush. We stumbled upon a “fairy door” heading back to our car, which we found out were placed all around Atlanta. You scanned the QR code next to the small door and Instagram showed you what it would look like to “open” the door. This door had bright butterflies flying out. Millie loved this and as luck would have it, we’d find two more doors on our trip.

Thankfully, our Columbus Zoo membership has reciprocity at many other zoos in the nation and the Atlanta Zoo was one of them. It only cost us $36 dollars for our family to get in. We saw a baby rhino (we participated in a naming bracket for weeks post-visit and our favorite name was chosen, Zuri!) and met a family from Miami vacationing in Atlanta to get away from the “spring-breakers”. We saw African elephants (we have only ever seen Asian elephants) their ears were much larger and they were more orange in color versus the grey we were used to seeing. We saw the biggest owls we have ever seen; they were as tall as my leg. There was an awesome jungle- gym play area that the kids got to explore. We were too late for the rope obstacle course but maybe next time we visit we can add that to our adventure list.

Our highlight of the zoo was seeing the pandas. There were three that we could see and two were awake! Yang-Yang, the oldest panda at 27, had an orange tint to his back. The keepers explained it was because he loves the taste and smell of hot sauce so sometimes they give him some and he rolls around in it. Wells and Mill both got little panda stuffies that hugged a lollipop (Millie’s is now affixed to her backpack strap – the stuffy, not the lollipop).

When we were viewing the giraffes, Wells realized he had forgotten his sunglasses in a pretend birds nest in the bird enclosure we had just left. Wells and I raced back to the exhibit and unfortunately, his glasses weren’t there. I said, “Sorry bud, someone must have picked them up.” And a man with his son who was standing behind us said, “Are these what you’re looking for?” Wells was so happy to have his sunglasses back – the little boy who found them was not so happy to give them back.

We stopped to rest on a bench so I could feed Crosby and a large carpenter bee kept hovering over us. Chris was irritated with it and he swatted it out of the sky with his hand. The bee fell to the ground, we presumed it died, and the kids thought it was hysterical. Then, we were all freaked out because after we had a good laugh, the bee was gone!

We left the Atlanta Zoo and took a walk through Olympic park. The kids played duck, duck, goose with a group of kids outside the Coca-Cola museum. Wells’ laugh was incredible. We were proud of our kids for picking each other during the game so that neither one felt left out. Mill proceeded to tell another mom how she thought she had pink eye (she didn’t, she was just oversharing).

We continued our adventure to the fountains and watched as a lady posed to take pictures inside the water display. When the water went down, Wells ran into the fountain and copied the lady’s poses. It was fantastic; even the lady laughed. Millie wanted to get into the fountain so we told her that when the water went down, she was to run in so she didn’t get wet. Of course, Mill and Wells ran at the same time and collided into each other. They got soaked when they were laid out on the pavement and the fountains splashed back up. No one was hurt but they were both wet and cold.

We could’ve turned around and went back to the hotel but we were hungry and weren’t ready for the night to end. The Atlanta Margaritaville was .1 miles away. I got the bigs new, dry shirts and Crosby a mimicking parrot from the gift shop. The kids ate French fries and veggies (not a whole lot for us to eat there) and Chris had black bean tacos. We all got colorful drinks and took fun pictures. We were absolutely exhausted walking back to the hotel; Crosby fell asleep in the stroller.

The next morning we packed up the jeep (we would be staying at a different hotel that night) and headed to the Georgia Museum of Natural History. The humongous dinosaur skeletons in the atrium were outstanding. In the spider exhibit, the bigs enjoyed playing a large, bug eating game similar to Hungry, Hungry, Hippos. They were talking so encouraging to each other it made my mama heart happy.

We saw an amazing seashell exhibit and Millie found some shells she just knew were assembled by mermaids. I tried to put Crosby in a 300lb clam shell for a quick pic but Chris would not let me. Anytime Crosby saw a taxidermied animal he’d say, “og” really loud. I’m pretty sure he was trying to say dog and it was adorable. The kids loved the outdoor playground and elevated pathways. While the kids played, I struck up a conversation with another mom who told me about other adventures we could explore the next time we go to Georgia; the Lego museum, the balloon museum, and the ventriloquist museum (probably would skip that one). Once bigger kids started taking over the playground, we continued on our way.

Along the path, we found another fairy door and when you scanned this one, dinosaurs walked out. There was an obstacle course with climbing parts that the bigs went through with Chris (he had to turn around when he found he couldn’t fit through the tunnel). Before we left the Natural History Museum, we stopped at the gift shop and found swords on sale (what luck!) so we bought two in preparation for that nights activity, Medieval Times. Heading back to the car I asked the kids, “If we come back to Georgia, who should we bring with us?” Wells quickly replied, “Definitely Grandma”.

We checked into our hotel room and took a nap before the show. The outside of Medieval Times looked just like a castle even though it was attached to a shopping mall. The woman at the ticket counter sat us in the “yellow knights” section and Chris asked her if it was okay to switch us to the “blue” knight for Wells; she said the seats would be further up but we didn’t care. Wells wouldn’t have accepted any other color but blue and Millie was okay with it because pink wasn’t an option.

Wells was devastated that his sword that we bought from the museum did not light up like the swords they were selling at Medieval Times. As we waited to be seated, we got the kids water in light up cups that looked that a castle tower but the lights ended up being too bright for Wells’ eyes. Chris and I were both irritated with how often people walked around trying to sell us things for the kids; roses, swords, light up wands, etc. (of course the kids wanted everything and had mini meltdowns every time we said no).

The vegan options at Medical Times were delicious; hummus plate, corn on the cob, bean soup, and Italian ice. The kids enjoyed watching the horses, the swords spark when the knights fought, but their favorite part was the falcon flight around the theatre. The blue knight did not win but Wells didn’t seem to mind. Chris was so happy the kids were into it – this was his addition for the trip. As we were leaving, we checked out the picture they took of our family and to my surprise, it was awesome (it can be difficult getting three kids to look in the same direction) so we bought the picture as a souvenir.

The next morning, we packed up our things and ate Dunkin’ Doughnuts for breakfast. Our final stop was the Chattahoochee River. We had been singing, “Way down yonder at the Chattahoochee” for weeks before our trip (the lyrics are pretty inappropriate, we didn’t let the kids listen to the actual song, just our ‘made up’ version). Crosby was asleep by the time we arrived so Chris stayed in the car with him while I got the bigs into their rain boots and experienced the “muddy water”.

The kids danced and jumped in the water. We laughed when I had to dump half the river out of Wells’ rain boots. The kids laughed when I said, “You have the Chattahoochee in your boots!” We saw people in row boats, ducks, people walking their dogs, and others eating lunch by the water. We walked down to a dock and walked the length of it. The water was really high and fast moving. Millie wanted to walk back through the water and while she was trying to step over a tree root she fell into the Chattahoochee. Thankfully, I was able to grab her up quickly and she wasn’t hurt, just soaked. We changed Wells’ socks and Mills entire outfit before getting back on the road.

The ride through Georgia was stunning, which was nice while we sat in the notorious Atlanta traffic. Purple wisteria was in bloom all through the trees along the highway. I was stabbed in my head, neck, and shoulders many times by the swords of my knights from the backseat. Wells said, “I wish we could live here.” I told him that, that was a sign of a good trip; when you don’t want to leave. We have plenty more exploring to do in Georgia and will definitely be vacationing back there again.

Baby

Summer of 22

June 11, 2022August 20, 2023by motheringmillieLeave a Comment

Adventures from June-August; kinda like a list, more like a diary entry. A post to remember this summer.

We kicked off the summer with a trip to Louisville, Kentucky. We were visiting friends, Kristin and Kyle (Wells’ Godparents), and planned to see a botanical garden along the way however, it poured down rain. We changed plans to an indoor adventure instead. We stopped at the Louisville Slugger Museum to see the worlds largest baseball bat. The ivy on the wall and the hall of fame stars on the sidewalk were super cool. Millie picked out a pack of Chicago Cubs baseball cards and Wells loved swinging his blue, souvenir bat. We stayed the night with the Merkle’s, where the kids loved playing baseball in the basement with Uncle Kyle, and in the morning we left for the Cincinnati Zoo.

We used our Wonderfold Wagon at the zoo. There were a lot of hills so Chris was the one doing the pushing. Many people complimented our wagon and asked us questions about it. Millie and Wells have the freedom to move around while also being safe; I love it and wish we would’ve bought it sooner. We fed the giraffes expensive pieces of lettuce, ate at the food court, and saw the sifakas jumping around. Both kids love Fiona, the premature hippo who’s basically a celebrity now that Cincinnati needed some positive press after the death of Harambe (R.I.P).

The next weekend we went strawberry picking. I was inspired by a friends Instagram story; I never knew Ohio had strawberry fields. Chris has fond memories of strawberry picking as a kid and both Millie and Wells love to eat strawberries so I figured this was something fun we could do as a family. We were given two buckets and were told the best area for the ripest strawberries. We were surprised by how small they were compared to the strawberries we buy from the store. Wells was not interested in picking but he was interested in eating them! He sat down in the strawberry plants and turned the caboose of his khakis, pink. Millie was not enthused about touching the berries, especially the over-ripe ones that felt “squishy”.

Unfortunately, both Millie and Wells started this summer with a nasty cold; the snot was never ending. We seem to catch every germ. We wanted to play with friends and explore new places but we also wanted to keep everyone safe. Monday, Wells took his first bath in the sink. While Chris and I attempted a tile reno, I sat Wells on the counter to play in the sink water. Before I knew it, Wells had sat in the sink, fully clothed. I stripped him down and let him play in the water. On Tuesday, we roasted marshmallows using our tabletop fire pit. Neither kid enjoyed the taste of burnt marshmallows. Wednesday, we went to the thrift store and bought a water table, two ladles, and a new bathing suit for Millie. Wells tried to feed me octopus soup! We had a great time playing outside and eating strawberries! Thursday we ran errands, Millie had a fever, Aunt Lindsey came over, and Grandpa came into town. Friday we went to the library and signed up for the summer reading program. Wells very clearly said, “library”. I am so proud of how hard he’s working to communicate.

Here were some of their favorite reads:

No Pants by Jacob Grant

1, 2, 3, Jump! by Lisl H. Detlefsen

Goldfish on Vacation by Sally Lloyd-Jones

The Flower Man a wordless book by Mark Ludy

June went by entirely too fast. The kids enjoyed finger painting, chalking, and bubble blowing. We saw lots of family members at my cousin Carson’s graduation party and afterward both kids got to order their own pizza from Mod (Millie says she won’t be putting cucumber on her pizza again). We went to Hobby Lobby to get a decorative welcome mat for my mom who just bought a condo in Ohio and while I pushed Wells in the cart, he scared an old lady who was passing by! He said, “Ah!” and pointed at her as soon as she turned down our aisle. He’s a rascal. My in-laws came to town and we went out to eat at BrewDog to celebrate the closing of their new home. (The kids are getting ready to have all of their grandparents in Ohio!) Millie ate a vegan hamburger meal and Wells ate a soft pretzel. Wells enjoyed playing ladder toss, outside, after the meal.

July started with COVID. I went to a worship concert, unmasked, and another woman I went with tested positive after, too. The worst part of it was we were sick during the Fourth of July and my cousin Donaven, who’s currently serving our country in the Navy, came home to visit. Thankfully, we still got to see him (from six feet away). The kids watched Red, White, and Boom on the T.V while eating banana splits in their sleeping bags. Our town set off fireworks at the local high school that we could see from our backyard, too!

We have season passes to the Franklin Park Conservatory and explored the children’s garden with Lindsey, Logan, and Ben. The kids enjoyed pushing the hula hoops down the hill, watching and performing puppet shows with mangy-looking puppets, playing restaurant with the plastic food in the mud house, and pretending like they were birds making a nest of sticks. Wells spent time at the koi pond watching the fish. He was fascinated by the toy train. Wells was apprehensive about wading in the sandstone creek and wouldn’t let go of my hand but he grew confident and explored on his own.

Food competitions are regularly watched in our home – we’re currently undertaking Master Chef. We decided to have a baking competition of our own. Millie, Wells, and I mixed the cupcake batter and of course, they licked the beaters. We’re vegan. No raw eggs were consumed. Mills were topped with hot pink icing and Wells’ were blue. Of course the icing stained their lips and teeth. I let them add sprinkles and we tasted both cupcakes. It was decided that Millie’s tasted better because her sprinkles were less crunchy than the ones that Wells used. The cupcakes were served on Mickey and Minnie Mouse plastic party plates that the kids wouldn’t let me not buy at the store.

I got the feeling like we weren’t doing enough with the kids this summer. (Now that I’m typing everything out I can see that was absurd and just my anxiety.) I think because last summer we spent a week at the beach – financially, that wasn’t in the plans this year, I still wanted to do something special. I looked for activities relatively close so that we could plan a day trip. I had friends go visit the Ark Encounter in Kentucky and really love it. Chris was on board with the trip so we left on a rainy, Saturday morning. What better weather to visit the Ark? The car ride was three hours long but the kids rode perfectly. We took Noah’s Ark books to read along the way and we ate Tim Hortons; they love the birthday sprinkled Timbits.

When we got to the Ark, we had to take a charter bus to get on location. Wells thought he was hot stuff getting to sit in his own bus seat. Millie was so excited to see the beautiful, bright rainbow arch (Gods promise) entering the complex. The Ark was insanely massive; bigger than I could’ve ever imagined (the dimensions are actually listed in the Bible). I thought the kids would be overwhelmed by the size but they were excited to see the different exhibits inside. Millie thought the ancient animals (wax models) in the cages were creepy.

There was a petting zoo on location with lots of goats. Millie did not touch the goats (I don’t blame her – poop pellets were everywhere.) We got to watch a live, animal show with a scorpion (which glows under a black light – who knew?) a sugar glider (which made us miss Cooper), and a pig named, Festus that the kids got in stuffed form at the gift shop on the way out. The buffet on location was delicious and super accommodating to our vegan diet. There was a really awesome playground but Amelia got knocked over and the fun was over. Both kids fell asleep as soon as they were strapped in their car seats and slept the entire way home.

The next week of summer vacation was packed with fun activities. Millie and Wells made crown crafts from the library and decorated them with gems and stickers. We went to the pool and Millie went under the water with MawMaw (she did not like it). We took a trip to the Columbus Zoo with my friend Katey and saw the elephant baby, Frankie for the first time (He was so fuzzy!). Uncle Nick’s girlfriend came to town and we all went out to eat at CapCity Diner; it was our first time eating there, they gave us a private room, and the food was delicious!

Our last weekend of July was spent in Ligonier, Pennsylvania with our friends, and Millie’s Godparents, Jane and Todd and their two children, Maisey and Luca. Of course Mille and Wells were excited about Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood but they were most anxious to see their friends. The night before we were supposed to leave, Wells tripped in his crocs while helping me water the neighbors flowers. I could tell by his cry that he was in a lot of pain. He wasn’t bearing any weight on his left foot. Immediately, I knew he could have a toddlers fracture. We let him sleep it off and examined him the next morning. He was putting weight on the injured foot but was still limping. We decided to go forward with our PA trip and keep him mostly in the stroller. If his foot got worse, we’d have no choice but to get it checked out.

To start our road-trip, we grabbed Tim Hortons and I entertained the kids by putting Mickey Mouse characters on Chris’ seat (it’s the little things). Once we got there and met up with our friends, we went to the water park and the girls immediately ran to the kiddie splash area. Maisey wasn’t afraid to put her head under the water but Millie wasn’t trying it. Maise ended up drinking a lot of the water and was sick later in the evening, poor girl. Wells and I ended up standing under a bucket that poured an intense amount of water on my back. We had a great time swimming together. Luca dirtied a diaper and we put on dry clothes to enjoy the amusement park.

We grabbed a soft pretzel and some lemonade before watching the end of a Daniel Tiger show. There was a meet and greet afterward with Katerina and Daniel – Wells stayed on my hip and Millie was just curious enough to wave to them from afar. We rode on Trolley through the neighborhood (Millie informed Maisey that all the characters were made out of cardboard) and the weather shifted. Just before the sky opened up, we ran back to the parking lot and managed to stay dry while it stormed the rest of the afternoon.

After a thirty minute drive, we checked into our hotel. We met up with Jayne, Todd, Maisey, and Luca for dinner at a restaurant called, Sharkys. Wells loved their aquarium and we loved the food. That night, we all changed into our pjs and played games in the hotel lobby. The kids exchanged gifts, colored My Little Ponies, played with clay, ate sprinkled popcorn, had a dance party; it was awesome.

In the morning, we shared a breakfast table with the DiMascio’s and said our goodbyes. We left for the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum where they had a Daniel Tiger exhibit. The exhibit was amazing; it looked just like the show had come to life. We saw some of the original puppets from Mr.Rodgers’ Neighborhood and Mr.Rodgers’ red sweater. Wells enjoyed building Daniels neighborhood with blocks. Millie added a leaf to the “thank you” tree. The kids loved the interactive clock shop and the musical radio.

The rest of the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum was also loads of fun for the kids. Millie climbed up a super tall rope web, they launched balls on a track with a pulley system, they made car ramps, and created a musical assembly line. Wells and I went into a room at an angle. I literally ran us both into a wall (my knee caught the brunt of it.) Millie loved playing with the sand art and Wells liked the seesaw that blew bubbles. We grabbed a snack at the cafe before we left; Wells loved the bite-sized pancakes. The yellow bridges leaving Pittsburgh were cool. We definitely will visit PA again.

August was a blur. I started to have back-to-school meetings and by the 22nd we were all in. I tried to make each day we had left together, special. We visited the Columbus Zoo with my dad; the kids always have a great time with Papa. He rode on the carousel and bought them blue and pink cotton candy. Wells tried to feed the baby gorilla popcorn and the baby fell backwards! It was so sweet. We went to the Ohio State Fair with Chris’ parents (Grandma and Grandpa), his brother (Uncle Nick), and my friend Shauna. Both kids enjoyed riding on the rides and eating pineapple whip! We even watched a pig race. We swam a couple more times at Mawmaw’s pool; Millie was brave and went down the water slide! At home, we made cement garden stones, played with modo (a fragrance free play-dough), baked banana bread, and completed craft kits.

For my 30th birthday, Chris took me to Chicago. This was the first time that I spent a night away from Wells and we were gone for more than 48 hours. Chris’ parents stayed at our house and we FaceTimed them often. Both kids slept well for them! I was so impressed. My babies are growing up and it’s hard to believe that they won’t stay 4 and 2 forever.

lifestyle

Fall Fun 21

October 5, 2021May 24, 2023by motheringmillieLeave a Comment

Before I can start writing about winter (it’s December 27th) here is a blog about our Fall.

Millie started ballet classes through Ballet Met. She is a “Mini Mover”, a class for 3 and 4 year olds. Maw, Mill, and I went to Opening Night, a store that sells dance attire, to try on and purchase her dance uniform; a pink cap sleeved leotard, a pink skirt, white socks, and white ballet shoes. (We got a sequin dance bag and a pink scrunchie, too.) While a sales woman was helping Millie try on ballet slippers, Mill was talking her ear off about the catfish in our backyard. The owner heard Mill talking and peaked out the dressing rooms, “I just had to hear who was saying that!” I was mortified. She must have thought we were such hillbillies. We found out that her feet are two different sizes; a half size difference. Millie leapt around the room when she had on her full uniform on and she was glowing.

1 day a week Millie attends dance class. There are 6 students total, all girls. Her teachers name is Miss. Sarah and they have a pianist that plays their rehearsal music. I asked Millie what the piano players name was and very matter of factly she told me, “Issac”. Come to find out his name is not Issac at all. It’s Gabe. The students are encouraged to wear masks during class. I thought this would be an issue for Millie but she never fusses about it and keeps it on. A month into classes, I asked Miss. Sarah how Mill was doing to which she responded, “Mia has a lot of great ideas.” This told me that Millie is probably trying to teach the class herself. She likes having “Mommy and Millie” time together after class when we get doughnuts or run errands. This ballet season has been really special.

We walked over to the high school to attend a Friday night football game. This was Wells’ first football game. Members of the OSU marching band who were GC alumni performed at half time. The kids enjoyed the music and clapped when appropriate. Wells wanted to sit independently between Chris and me, instead of on our laps. Once the game started, Wells wanted to be up and moving. He made a loop; down the stairs, under the bleachers, up the stairs, through the bleachers. He did this probably five times and when he’d hit a straight away, he would run. We bought a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and snacked on the way home.

Maw took a walk with the kids one fall afternoon and Millie took note of the many houses that were decorated – ours wasn’t one of them. That weekend I took both kids to a farmers market where I pulled them around in a wagon and they got to pick out their favorite pumpkins. Wells loved the mini pumpkins and Millie loved them all. We also got a delicious bag of apples and two bundles of corn for the columns on our front porch. The stalks barely fit in the Jeep; they were probably 7ft long! The kids laughed on the way home as they played with the corn above their heads. They helped decorate the porch and Wells cried when he realized we were leaving the pumpkins outside.

We went took our annual trip to Zassys Vendor Markets and brought Lindsey along with us. The kids tried kettle corn for the first time and they ate it up! Millie flossed to the live music. I bought way too many plants including Millie’s first plant, a pink algaonema that we put on her book shelf. She named the plant, Leafy and sang it Happy Birthday. We came home with way too many kids in the car after picking up Lindsey’s boys.

We took our family Christmas pictures at the end of October. My cousins boyfriend is a great photographer and doesn’t mind coming to us to take pictures. Millie wore a green dress that paired well with mine. The ribbon belt that came with my dress looked perfect around her waist. Wells looked so handsome in his sweater, jeans, and boots. Wells was beyond his nap time so we didn’t get a lot of smiles out of him however, we were able to get a couple shots for the Christmas card. We quickly changed into our Halloween attire and took pictures on the front porch dressed as Wendy, Captain Hook, Tinkerbell, and a lost boy (skunk). We like to get into our costumes and take pictures before Halloween because the night of trick-or-treat is always so busy and the lighting is always terrible. Maw and I tweaked Mills costume and I bought Wells’ from an Etsy shop. Millie was so excited to blow “pixie dust” out of her hands and Wells was excited to throw his slingshot around. Thankfully, the pictures turned out super cute and Christmas cards have been mailed out.

On a rainy night in October, we decided to brave the Circleville Pumpkin Show. Neither Chris or his brother, Uncle Nick (who now lives in Ohio) had ever been to the pumpkin show in Circleville. We parked where we could find a spot, a few blocks away from the festivities, then Chris pushed the double stroller down the city sidewalk as I admired the architectural elements of the quaint houses. Wells wanted to walk around on his own so Chris and I stayed close to him as he explored freely. His smile was contagious; he was so happy to be out on his own. At the end of the night we watched a parade with floats, terrible sounding bands, and tons of beauty pageant queens. A man running for Congress asked Millie her name from his float, she told him and he waved back and used her name; she was on cloud nine.

This was the first year our family has participated in going door to door for Trick or Treat. Millie helped pass out candy her first Halloween. The weather was awful for her second. Her third Trick or Treat was canceled due to COVID. This Halloween, Uncle Nick came over and passed out candy so that we could take the kids to a couple houses. Beggars night in Ohio is the absolute worst, so of course it was raining. Millie dressed as Tinker bell carried her candy bag and an umbrella. Wells, happy to be walking independently, was a drenched skunk by the end of the night. Millie was very polite to the neighbors passing out candy and Wells was mostly interested in their dogs. Most of the candy in their bags was chocolate so we swapped the candy bars out with vegan candies.

Then Millie turned four. (I seriously don’t know how time has moved so quickly. She was wiping her mouth with a napkin the other day and I was like, “How does she know to do that?” I took the day off of work so we could spend her birthday together. We kicked off the day by icing some of the cookies for her birthday party. Then, we went to see a movie and it was the first time Millie had ever been to the movie theater! We had slim pickings on the movie choices but we decided on The Addams Family 2; we watched the first Addams Family the week before so she was excited to see the sequel. We ordered popcorn, pretzel bites, and fries – most of the food was gone before the movie even started. The movie was showing in theater number four, which of course was super special for the newly 4 year old. We had the theater all to ourselves, I guess no one else wanted to see The Addams Family 2 at one o’clock on a weekday. After the opening credits, Millie asked if she could sit on my lap. I reclined the seat back and we snuggled during the entire movie. What more could a mama ask for? It was the best.

The movie ended and per Millie’s request, we got doughnuts at Krispy Kreme. She picked out her favorites from behind the glass and even got a birthday cake doughnut. I let her eat a mini doughnut in the car and after she finished it, she fell fast asleep in her car seat. She had an awesome birthday and couldn’t wait for her cat themed birthday party with her friends and family.

Millie and I watched the musical, Cats together and were both equal parts mesmerized and creeped out. When I asked Mill what party theme she wanted, she was adamant she wanted a Gabby’s Dollhouse party, a children’s Netflix series about cats. Gabby products were difficult to find with Christmas right around the corner so the party was a more generic, “cat” theme. Kitties on the table, cats on the cake, felines in the flowers, and kittens on the plates! I ordered some decor off of Etsy and had the kids decorate kitty faces onto cookies. Millie got so many presents including a ballerina sleeping bag, a backpack full of craft supplies, new clothes, new crocs, and leg warmers.

We saw two spectacular light shows; Conservatory Aglow at the Franklin Park Conservatory and Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo. The conservatory had animal topiaries wrapped in lights and both kids were amazed to see their favorite animals, the elephants (Wells) and giraffes (Millie). They both enjoyed the rainbow arch, walking through a candy land house, and playing on the ropes in the children’s garden. We knew it was time to leave when we caught Millie laying down on the sidewalk by the wooden xylophone. We grabbed free cookies and a craft at the exit. The cookies were eaten on the car ride home and the ornament craft was created that night but destroyed by morning.

We went to the zoo lights with Uncle Nick, his new girlfriend Megan, and our engaged friends Dru and Katey. Both children fell asleep on the way to the zoo. We barely made it through the front gate before Uncle Nick bought them both flashy, light up wands. Santa was there but because of COVID, the kids couldn’t sit on his lap (I’m not sure the kids would’ve wanted to anyway). Millie was not a fan of the elf that introduced her to Santa. They continued to ask her if she was from the North Pole and she did not like that at all. When Santa asked her what she wanted for Christmas she very definitively said, “A Gabbys Dollhouse” to which Santa replied, “That’s a very popular present this year”. Wells signed, “thank you” to Santa and then blew him a kiss. It was the sweetest thing I’d ever seen and Santa said he’d be giving Wells a very special gift under the tree.

On Thanksgiving, we ate biscuits and gravy while watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Chris accidentally turned off the tv during the Rockettes routine! Millie was excited to see the balloons. We went over to my aunts house and saw my dads side of the family. Then, we went over to my grandmas house and saw my moms side of the family. Facebook marketplace helped us find a Gabbys Dollhouse (triple the retail price) and Chris picked that up while we watched football. After a full day of traveling, we enjoyed a vegan Thanksgiving meal the next day.

toddler

Sweet Summer Time

October 6, 2019September 19, 2021by motheringmillie1 Comment

“PSA to parents – you only have 18 summers with your children, so make them count.”

Talk about pressure.

I don’t know where I heard that quote but it has definitely stuck with me. I love that I can spend fourteen weeks of summer with Millie but here we are, two summers deep and I already can’t remember what we did during our first summer together! Thankfully, this blog helps to jog my muffled, mommy memory. Leaving Mill every weekday is rough. I love teaching music and the start of a new school year is always exciting but I miss our snuggle time in the morning, eating lunch together, and I especially miss taking mid-morning naps. So, here’s a post to commemorate our summer (because God knows I will forget by fall).

Millie’s favorite breakfast was a bowl of multigrain Cheerios with almond milk and a side of fruit, usually strawberries or blueberries. She’s gotten really good at using a spoon! Her go to lunch was veggie chicken nuggets (dipped in ketchup), steamed broccoli, and black olives that capped her fingers before they went into her mouth. She breastfed twice a day; before her afternoon nap and bedtime.

It was impossible trying to keep the living room clean. I’ve heard, “You can have a clean house when the kids grow up and leave the house but once they do, you’ll miss them in your house, messy and all.” and my OCD does not care about that for one second. Every time one mess would get organized, Mill would have two more activities out, while playing with something totally different! Then inevitably, it would be meal time and I’d have to walk away from the mess in the living room, just to make a new one in the kitchen! It was definitely one step forward and two steps back when it came to cleanliness this summer. It was best just to clean everything at night, after we put Mill to bed, so we could start fresh the next morning. BTW- she started sleeping in her own bed, in her own room, and through the night this summer..so there’s a win!

Traveling to Texas and Washington DC were easily some of our most memorable adventures this summer. (You can read all about our Texas vacation in the previous blog post.) We went to the DC Zoo with my mom, step-dad, and sister. We drove about two hours, braved the heat, and saw pandas for the first time! Mill loved them. Her paw-paw Kev got her a panda book and stuffed animal panda bear. She’s gotten pretty good at saying their Chinese names, too! On an episode of Daniel Tigers Neighborhood, (that’s a regular show in our house now) there was a quick clip of an actual panda playing in his enclosure and before they said the bear’s name or even the name of the zoo, I was able to identify both. Needless to say, we got a little “panda crazy” this summer.

“Pool?” Mill’s little voice would ask constantly because she loved being in the water this summer. She rotated between a striped, watermelon bathing suit and a hot pink, pineapple suit. To dry off, she used the cutest, hooded Daniel Tiger towel. We set up a small, blowup pool in our backyard, which ended up being more work then fun; it would only stay clean for a day or two before getting slimy and gross, the hose water was freezing, and the pool killed our grass no matter where, or how much we moved it. Next year, we’ll be getting a sprinkler. Mill loved going to her Gam’s pool while we were in VA; she would play with other kids, go under the sprinklers, and go swimming in the deep end with her Aunt Nani. At Zoombeezi Bay, a waterpark connected to the Columbus Zoo, Millie enjoyed going down the water slides (she was too little for some of the slides and would end up with a face full of water). On two occasions, Mill got to play in splash pads. Although she loved it, I was a nervous wreck with the possibility of her slipping and falling on the wet concrete; thankfully, that never happened. She liked playing in her water table, especially on the day that her dad and I attempted to power wash the house; we all got soaked.

We did another session of Zumbini this summer with an instructor that Mill loves. The class was early on Monday mornings and every week, Millie was excited to get dressed and go. Mill surprised me with her dancing and instrument playing; she can play the triangle with great technique and started to twirl and stand on her toes. Frustrating to me, some mothers would bring their newborns with them to class, which of course distracted Mill because she loves babies. She would want to touch the babes and play with them instead of listening to the instructor. And sometimes the moms would get irritated with Mill wanting to see their baby – hello don’t bring your newborn to a toddler class. My grandma made Mill a scarf like they used in class so she could continue to practice her Zumbini dances at home. This girl loves to dance.

Millie loves people, being outside, and anything loud so we decided to take her to our community’s firework show. Her patriotic outfit was absolutely adorable and her pigtails had sequin bows. She rode in her wagon and waved at children we passed finding the ultimatum viewing spot. Mill and her daddy kicked around a soccer ball while we waited for the sun to go down. Once it got too dark to see the ball, I tried my best to explain to Millie the loud booms the fireworks would make. I showed her a fireworks video so she would know what to expect from the show. During the fireworks display, she bounced between mine and Chris’ laps, completely unafraid. Mill was interested in the fireworks for the first three minutes and then asked for baby videos; she loves babies.

We found out in July that we will be having a baby, expected in March! Good thing Mill has taken such a liking to them. Next summer will be different but I’m sure just as memorable.

Baby

Millie Met Mo’ana

July 13, 2018May 7, 2020by motheringmillie1 Comment

We are so fortunate to live close to the amazing, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Because I teach and have summers off, Millie and I have been able to go on daily adventures – the zoo being one of her favorites. She loves looking at all the children and is captivated by the fish at the aquarium. During the week, especially on days with spotty weather, the zoo isn’t overly crowded and we have the opportunity to talk with the staff that works directly with the animals.

The Columbus Zoo works closely with Western Lowland Gorilla conservations. I was encouraged upon learning about their success increasing the gorilla population. Stephanie, the gorilla expert, told us the names of all of the gorillas and their ages. She was knowledgeable about their relationships with one another and their individual personalities. She informed me that “Mac”, the silverback in the enclosure, is the grandson of the infamous, Colo. Colo was the first gorilla to be born in captivity and is practically a celebrity in Columbus, Ohio. The large and in charge, Mac, knows he’s handsome, will pound on the glass whenever he feels like it, is a surrogate dad, and is busy raising his two year old, rambunctious son, J.J. J.J. acts like any other toddler; he prolongs nap time, copies everything his daddy does, and plays about the enclosure. The gorillas habitat was observed and approved by Diane Fossey, one of the greatest mountain gorilla conservationists of all time. Stephanie says that these gorillas have it made at the Columbus Zoo, like the animals in the movie, Madagascar.

I learned that the female gorillas take birth control pills once a day, the same way a female-human would. The female gorillas are tested each month to make sure that they haven’t gotten pregnant by mistake. A “board” meets to determine which gorillas can breed according to their DNA compatibility. Because the gorillas at the zoo are promoting the conservation of their species, the board wants the bred outcome to be the best gorillas. Even with this board acting in the role of God, some gorillas do not come as planned.

Kinyani, a beautiful female gorilla at the zoo, was bred and born in captivity. She is deaf. She stays up high in the trees so that she can see the activities below and no one can sneak up on her (For his own enjoyment, Mac will sneak up behind her to smack her in the head.) Her deafness was not planned by the board however, Gods plan supersedes.

Mo’ana, is a seventeen year old, female gorilla at the zoo. She was born and bred in captivity and she has a mental disability. Her body didn’t grow normally so she looks different and she has arthritis. She sits right at the glass of the gorilla enclosure and tries to feed the children hay when they sit across the glass from her. Again, her disabilities were not planned, however her gentleness is a gift from God.

I have always loved gorillas and I felt especially close to them after learning that Colo, the beloved gorilla – may she Rest In Peace, her parents were from Cameroon. I was not familiar with this country until earlier this year when I looked it up; 3% of my DNA is from Cameroon, according to Ancestry. I also learned that Colo’s mother’s name was, Millie.

Twice, I have sat Millie by the glass to interact with Mo’ana. She seems timid as she looks at the gorilla and then turns her face into my chest. She doesn’t cry but she doesn’t smile at her either. I tell her all about the gorillas when we visit their enclosure. I hope that one day she will share the love that I have for these beautiful primates.

Tag: zoo

Summer 24

Atlanta

Summer of 22

Fall Fun 21

Sweet Summer Time

Millie Met Mo’ana

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