Pretty in Pink.

 The things that make Grayson a happy boy can be listed on one hand.  He loves Lego's, his brother, super heroes, weapons of all kind (think toy guys, sticks, bow and arrows,) and the color PINK.  If we were listing them in order, pink would definitely be on the top.  I don't know what it is, but the kid just loves it.  I saw it once with my girlfriend's 5 year old daughter, the everything needing to be pink, and probably inappropriately, I chalked it up as a "girl" thing, remembering how my little sisters were the same.  Well, when it's your almost three year old boy who only wants things to be pink, that can be a different story.  I'm going to start this off by saying I'm not someone who consciously plays in to gender stereotypes, and when it comes to parenting we are definitely on the liberal side, but looking back, we certainly have a majority of male targeted toys and clothing, much to Gray's dismay. The Little Man never asked for anything pink or purple, and honestly, they are my least favorite colors, so I never pushed it. 

About 90% of what Gray gets, comes from his older brother.  He is more than okay with this, and actually gets pretty excited when the big Rubbermaid bin of hand-me-downs comes out.  The first thing he does it tear through it, desperately searching for anything with a superhero, and anything that is pink.  Typically he scores on the first, but is left empty handed on the second.  One day, after a meltdown of meltdowns, I told him that he can pick out whatever new things that he may need, that we don't already have from his brother.  So far, we haven't really needed much, but the kid is in desperate need of some new water shoes for the Summer, and knowing how much he hates new shoes, I decided to let him participate in the picking out of his shoes. 

You all know where this is going.

Of course, he picked the pink pair, and not just a pink (like salmon) but the pinkest, pink of them all. What I like to call Barbie pink.  After a quick call to my husband for approval, we decided to stand by our motto that the kids can be who the kids want to be, and I made my toddler happier than I have ever seen him when I ordered him these. 

Now, I have absolutely NO issue with my kid wearing pink.  None whatsoever.  We are fully supportive of his unwavering love of things the color of cotton candy, and his big brother actually thinks it's the greatest thing ever, since he now has someone to give all the pink whatevers to that come in a box.  BUT I do have to say I get a little nervous about what other people will say.  Not necessarily to him or me, but I feel like my kid wearing pink shoes is automatically going to make some people around here roll their eyes, and think that we (as his parents) are pushing some sort of agenda.  Kind of like how the LM wants to be a vegetarian (essentially by deciding that he hates meat) but I keep trying to get him to try every animal product under the sun, because I know that people will assume that we are pushing our eating habits on him, when the opposite is actually the case.  I realize that this has more to do with me, and obviously I need to grow thicker skin, and in thrush in the end we always do what is right which means the LM eats a lot of beans, and Gray gets pink shoes, a pink birthday cake, and this pink gun (which basically combines all things holy in his world.) 

I remember meeting a Mom once, who had a son that liked to wear dresses.  It wasn't because of gender confusion (that she thought) but instead it was due to his obsession with his older sister, and wanting to be just like her.  She said she fought it somewhat the beginning, but then decided to go with it, even allowing him to dress however he wanted for school.  I remember thinking how bad ass she was, the way she fully embraced who her son was, so I'm going to try to channel a little of her if the time ever comes when I feel a little judgement. I'm pretty sure this is just a phase for Gray (like the LM and his nail polish) but if not, I guess all of us are going to have to get used to a little more pink, in this sea of blue.

Random Randomness.

 I didn't realize it until my mom texted me last night, but apparently The Bachelor is back. Normally I would be like, "yay Monday nights are back on," and instead I'm meh. I think the Ben, Ashley, Emily disasters have cheapened the show for me (as if that's even possible) but that coupled with the fact that the main man is a blond, and as a blond I'm ashamed to say, blonde's just don't do it for me. That being said, you know I'm going to find my way to my DVR this week, so there is still hope for some Bachelor talk around here. HOWEVER, speaking of men that I do find over the moon attractive, I jumped so high I almost hit the ceiling when my hubby told me that Californication is coming back next week. Cue my renewed Karen obsession, and incessant talk about David Duchovny (swoon, double swoon, swoon again.)

Since we are talking about all things delicious, I have to tell you that I can't stop thinking about this mushroom pasta that I had at the restaurant L'Artusi, while in NYC over the weekend. It honestly is the best thing that I have ever tasted. Ever. I'm trying to sort of recreate it tonight, using this recipe, but topping it with Ricotta Salata vs Parmesan. I can only hope it is 1/10th as good as the original. If you ever in the area you HAVE to try this restaurant!

Oh, and don't even get me started on our weekend in New York. I've been to the city quite a few times now, and after staying with a friend in TriBeCa, I could finally envision raising kids there. That part of town is so family friendly, and kid oriented, my mind was literally blown. Our kids spent their days scooting up and down the empty sidewalks, hanging at the park and skate park, and eating very very well with our first trip to Shake Shack, and dinner at a place when they were served by "real" Ninjas. The Little Man hasn't stopped talking about it ever since! Beyond the amaziness of the city, and of course spending time with friends, my trip was made when we learned that Gray + a pack n play + a dark bathroom = 14 hours!!!!!! of sleep a night. Houston, I believe we have a traveler, which means things are about to get global. Fast.

Which leads me to travel. I did tell you this was random randomness, right? So, as you know, my husband and I have been planning a trip to Chile for quite some time now. I'd like to say a year, but really this has been in the works for as long as I can remember. We had been emailing a surf touring company that we wanted to use, and they were taking forever to get back to us. We started trying to map out the trip on our own, and were getting overwhelmed. Christmas, we began thinking of a totally different trip, to the Maldives, and were soon planning a week long boat trip cruising around uncharted surf destinations. And then we got real. Actually, my husband did. Obviously, we have all been affected by the Newtown tragedy, and for us it made us realize there there is no way we can be halfway around the world, without our boys. If they get sick, we just can't be floating on a boat in the middle of nowhere. With them? Yes. Without them? No. So, Chile, Maldives, Australia, South Africa... these are going to have a wait a bit, until Gray can handle the flight. Until then, it's going to have to be a mix of Europe, Central America, and the Caribbean. Yeah, things could be a lot worse. 

Now, we were back to square one on the travel front. I basically said, I don't care where we go, I just do not want to go back to the same place in Costa Rica. We are already spending a month there, again, over the Summer, and this will be our 15th (or more) visit. Don't get me wrong, I love it there, I was just kind of excited about the idea of a new adventure. We started looking at places like Panama, and Nicaragua, but long story short, we soon realized that no where was better than where we go in Costa Rica. The bottom line is, if we only get a week to ourselves, why risk it on a sub par vacation. Also, after some convincing, I get that this is not going to be the same vacation that it has been since the little man was born (and coming with us.) The trip itself is so easy, and the idea of reading, lounging, surfing, eating dinner at an normal hour, is so inviting, that I'm actually getting pretty pumped for the trip. Best part? We are three hours outside of Miami. Done and Done. We leave in early March, my in-laws get to spend the week cuddling with the kids, and I am already dreaming of sun and surf!

My last little tidbit has to be about Gray. Gray, my love bug. My buddy. My perfect little boy. These are words that I would not have used to describe my kid from age 12- 17 months. Dramatic, whiny, (dare I say slightly annoying???) squiggly... those would have fit the bill better BUT, something happened. The same thing that happens with almost all toddlers... one day they just wake up and they are nothing but lovely, a joy, perfection. This is what the last few weeks have been like with Gray. He has begun to talk, eat like a human, play independently, play with his brother, cuddle... you name it, man, he is doing it. AND IT'S WONDERFUL. Sure, I know we are going to have toddler moments, but his growing up has made my daily life so much easier (and way more enjoyable) that I almost have forgotten how hard the last few months were. Almost. 

Whew, there you have it. For those of you who didn't fall asleep, that's a little bit of what's been going on around here. I'd love to hear any of your random randomness that you would be willing to share!

P.S. Tomorrow I'm going to cut another inch inch/half off the hair. I'm obsessed and still loving my new look! 

Still Here.

Dear Blog (and Readers),

I am still here.  I haven't forgotten about you. I really do miss you very much.  I definitely underestimated how difficult it would be to juggle two kids with VERY different schedules, and the LM's epic 5th birthday party, and trip to NOLA (and subsequent recovery) took up more of my time than I imagined.  Then I got so sick, and now Gray has what ever I was fighting. This is no excuse.  I want to come back.  I will come back tomorrow, and I promise to never let three weeks pass again, without a post. I think I was a little burnt out and found myself searching for material. This is no longer the case. Life seems settled again, and I can't wait to share what we've been up to. This is my diary, and I can't allow entire months of my life to go missing. I hope you can forgive me. To show you how sorry I am, I brought you a little present. Gray finally fits in the jammies that I bought him in Paris. They have a little flap for his diaper. It is so cute it makes me cry. I hope it makes you smile.

Did it work?  I sure hope so ;).  I promise to never leave you again.  Thanks for being patient with me.

Very Truly Yours,

Robin

xoxo

Sick Baby.

Graybeans woke up last night having trouble breathing. I took him to the Doc this morning and it turns out he caught a little cold from his older brother (the first of many I presume) which quickly moved into his lungs. After a few treatments with the nebulizer he's feeling much better, but still needs to be monitored early and often. The goal is to keep him out of the ER this weekend, so I have to wake him every few hours to check his chest. I think he will be fine, and looks a lot better already, and I'm just glad they were able to get in front of this thing before it got any worse.

Poor bunny, even when he can't breathe he still smiles up a storm.

Back soon.

That's All She Wrote.

I wish I had a real post for you all today, but since I look kind of like this:

And it's hot as this outside:

All I can seem to muster up the energy to do is lay in the AC, eat pretzel bread (my new obsession,) and watch things like A Baby Story, Bringing Home Baby, and Baby's First Day (sense a theme?) Oh, and at 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant, I find myself sobbing uncontrollably every time this commercial comes on (which during those shows is a lot!)

I went to the doc today, she says I "should" go into labor sometime before my induction date, which is Friday at 4. I think she was just being nice... or she's a liar... either way I'm pretty sure I am going to be pregnant forever! It is not lost on me that I tried for years to just get pregnant, and now I can't seem to get  un-pregnant. Guess I really wanted to get it right this time!!!!!

3 more days... I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...