Inwood Hill climbing

Inwood Hill climbing, originally uploaded by rvelez127.

Thanksgiving 2012

The Platt family visited NYC for 2012 Thanksgiving, keeping us company up in sunny Inwood. We were able to get all the touristy adventures in, Empire State Building, Times Square, Museum of Natural History, Parade Balloon Inflation, P364 Carnival, Union Square Market, and a visit to New Jersey. We met up with the Tzaks at the Museum,Balloon Inflation, and Carnival. Lots of good eating at Carmine's, Zen Palate, and the Old Mill Inn in Jersey with the rest of the Velez familia.

Some super heroes visited the apartment
Of course Elmo showed up in Times Square
Fortunately, there's lots of fun playgrounds in NYC

Some food and fun at the Old Mill In
And no trip to New Jersey is complete without hanging out in a parking lot

For the full Flickr album
for the fun roll in the grass video

Riding the dirt jumps at Highbridge Park

Ramon is having fun on his push bike, riding around the park and neighborhood. We went to Highbridge Park's dirt jump park and he was loving it. He did get a bit distracted at the end with a rock in the dirt, but the park is great.

spiders

spiders, originally uploaded by rvelez127.

happy birthday Veronica

happy birthday Veronica, originally uploaded by rvelez127.

Two parties

Adventures in Potty Training

Ramon had his first really large poo in the potty today. It was like 2 feet long. I kid you not. He got really excited when he got off the pot to admire it.

He yelled, "Look, Mommy, it's a wormy poopy!"

I agreed that it is really cool to do big poos on the potty. I wasn't thinking about the large, messy poo I had to clean off his legs and shorts last night in the Francisco's bathroom, I promise.

As he washed his hands afterwards, he looks at me and says, "I'm gonna be dreaming about that tonight, Mommy....that big, wormy poopy."

Barnard 15th Reunion 2012 with Spiderman - Sunday, June 3

Veronica Walking June 25, 2012

Since the blog is a good place to help us remember big life events, here's video of Veronica walking:).

Fun at soccer

Mommy and Veronica watching soccer practice, originally uploaded by rvelez127.

fun at soccer

idylic spring

idylic spring, originally uploaded by rvelez127.

Doctor Visit

Ramon weighs about double Veronica...he's 36 lbs and she's 17lbs 13 ounces. He is 41.25 inches tall and she is 27 inches. He is well above 95% in height and around 75% in weight. She is 75% for both height and weight. Vaccinations knocked Veronica out at first but then gave her a fever and diarrhea last night and into today. It is only a mild fever but made her really cranky last night. She is happier today but still pooping a lot.

We go back in two months for another Veronica visit. 

I learned two new things. The reason bananas sometimes cause constipation is that they are high in pectin...the stuff that makes jelly and thickens fruit pies also thickens poo :). Until about age 6 kids stand arched. So Ramon measured 41.25 inches lying down but 39 inches standing. Around 6 they straighten out a bit. Our doctor loves facts and figures and reading research. He is a talker and a teacher...Doctor Charles Gordon, MD on Cabrini Blvd in Manhattan in case you are looking :).

Untitled, originally uploaded by rvelez127.

Six months?!?!

I can't believe it has been over six months since my last post. The parents who told us that 2 kids mean more than twice the work are right :). I think I kept waiting to post until after I wrote our birth story but that is requiring more time than I thought so I'll skip it and come back to it. The punchline...it went well and recovery was way easier than the first time around :).

So Veronica Rae Velez is growing so fast and is so excited to catch her big brother that she is sitting really strongly and insisting that we walk her around by holding her hands pretty much all the time now. She already has two cute bottom teeth and is a voracious eater. She got so clearly insulted when we ate in front of her that we started feeding her avocado at 4 months instead of 6 months as we did with Ramon (though for him it was blueberries to start).

She is also quite the talker (and screamer...just check out this video):


I also swear that she is a very clear sleep talker. In the middle of the night I once woke to hear her say very clearly, "Veronica!" Then she rolled over and went back to sleep.

Ramon is very sweet to her as well. When she first came out and was crying he went to get his Spiderman toy and tried to give it to her. "This will make her happier," he said. One of his favorite things to do is to make her smile and laugh.


The sweetness is balanced out by the occasional, "Can you put her back in your belly?" Especially when she is crying while he wants attention.