Monday, August 31, 2009

Larkin's 15-month Doc Appt


Larkin went in for her 15 month doctor's appointment and she got a clean bill of health, which is always a blessing to hear. She liked playing with her doctor's stethescope (she has a play one of her own at home)! Larkin got her Hib and DTaP vaccines, as well as the flu shot. Her doctor wouldn't give an opinion on the swine flu vaccine yet since it's still in testing, but we're a bit worried about the pandemic we're potentially facing!

Okay, the important part...Larkin's stats! As Larkin's Growth Chart shows, Larkin weighed in at 23 lbs. 14 oz. (60th percentile), her height was 30.5 in. (52nd percentile), and her head was a whopping 19 in. (96th percentile)! Brian has said that her head sometimes looks nearly as big as mine! Maybe it's just all that thick, curly hair she has! :)

I'm a Penguin!

Larkin is officially a Penguin! Here she is posing for her first day pic as a Penguin at the Goddard School. Doesn't she look excited!

Most of Larkin's friends are a few months older than her, so she was ready to move out of the Infant room and be with them again in the big kid class. The kids range from 12-20 months or so and it's meant for early walkers. This particular class group has more girls than boys... let's see... the girls are Larkin, Ella, Cecilia, Riah, Lila, and Addison and the boys are Carter and Duncan. Larkin's best friends are Ella, a mother hen-type girl who takes care of Larkin, and Duncan, a boy who loves Larkin, but she's not ready to commit to him yet!

We really like the Goddard School philosophy on early learning and Larkin really has fun there. Below you can read more about the Goddard approach to learning and what her daily curriculum is like.


Sunday, August 30, 2009

Chunk from The Goonies?



I mean this with all the love in the world, but don’t you think that Larkin kind of looks like Chunk from The Goonies in this picture?! Like her Mama and her Dada, Larkin loves pizza, as the picture of her so clearly proves!

Multi-tasking!




What else is a girl to do when she wants to push her truck, drink from her sippy, hold a ball, and pull back a window shade all at once? Multi-task, of course, and hope that she's coordinated enough to pull it off! :)

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Deanna Rose Farm

We had a blast this past Saturday taking Larkin to the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead for the first time. This place is unbelieveable for young children and we were shocked to find out that it's FREE! The descriptor from the official website sums it up well: "The Farmstead is a 12-acre park that has almost 200 farm animals and birds of prey, vegetable and flower gardens, a one-room schoolhouse, a dairy barn, an old time fishing pond, horse-drawn wagon rides, pony rides, and more." The "more" includes an Indian tee-pee and hut village, a water mining adventure to sift for treasure, a petting zoo where you can feed baby goats, a mini-tractor driving track for kids, as well as several playgrounds. They are currently in the midst of building an old-fashioned life-size Main Street with a period Farm House, a Bank, a General Store, etc. This farmstead is truely a sight to behold. I can't say enough good things about it.

Larkin has heard us make various animals noises for many months now (moo, quack, baaa, maaa, etc), but now she actually got to connect the sound to the real thing! Larkin got to see cows, sheep, goats, swans, rabbits, horses, you name it. The highlight for all of us, though, was when Larkin got to touch a friendly goat. Check out the first video below to see Larkin meet the goat, it's so adorable. Larkin kept calling the goat "doggie" (probably because she's never seen a goat before and the goat was about the same size as our dog, Sera), but the goat didn't seem to mind! What a fantastic day we had together.... We'll definitely go back.






Sunday, August 23, 2009

Extreme Mammals at Dan and Dorit's Wedding

We had a blast at the fantastic wedding of our business school friend, Dan, and his fabulous (and gorgeous) wife Dorit! The wedding was out on Long Island, but we took the train out and back so we could spend some time in the city with my family (see previous post) and spend some quality time with our dear friends, Colleen and Mike. We loved every minute of it.

On Saturday night, after a yummy dinner at Sambuca's, Colleen, Mike, Brian and I went for a stroll around the Upper West Side. Here are a couple of pictures of Colleen and I posing in front of the Natural History Museum....check out the sign behind us in the first pic! :)


The wedding was midday on Sunday and it was a beautiful ceremony. Dorit looked amazing and both she and Dan were so cute together. We're so happy that they finally got hitched - they make a great couple. Here's a pic directly after the ceremony (it's a little blurry, but you can get the idea).

The reception started with a cocktail hour and then the dancing and dinner followed. There was so much wonderful food and it kept coming... I don't think I've eating for 4 hours straight like that in a decade! We loved the mini-business school reunion... there were probably 20 of us there! The remainder of the pictures are of us having fun at the reception.

These pictures are me and Brian, Colleen and Mike, and the girls... me, Kathy, and Colleen.



These pictures are of Brian with the groom Dan, and then the boys...Bryan, J.P., Dan, and Brian.


Finally, back to the girls... there's a pic of me with J.P.'s wife Mary (it was so great to meet her - we really hit it off!), me and Chicky (you'd think she was an actress playing a doctor on TV, but she's the real deal... she's probably the most beautiful pediatric dermatologist on the Eastern seaboard), and then me and Col (we are two peas in a pod). It was a great trip!



Saturday, August 22, 2009

NYC Central Park Carousel Ride

Brian and I went to NYC for the weekend in order to attend a business school friend's wedding on Long Island. Since it was a quick trip, we left Larkin at home with her beloved Grandma and Papa Hittle to look after her. They had a blast... here's a picture to prove it.


Meanwhile... Brian and I also had a blast in NYC! We got to see some very good b-school friends and spent some wonderful time with my family. Below are some pics of Brian and I hanging out with my Dad, my sister Dana and her husband Greg, and my nephews Gavin and Luke.


We took a long walk through Central Park and Gavin indulged on a 300 calorie vanilla ice cream bar from a stand near the Carousel. How do I know it was 300 calories, you ask? Well, believe it or not, New York has passed a law that any chain sort of eatery must post all the calories of each meal. So, yes, that means that even the menus at restaurants state how many calories are in each meal! It does wonders for helping you pick the lower calorie option. I think it's a great law. To show you what it looks like, I took a snapshot of the ice cream menu with the prices and calorie counts displayed. And, btw, I realize it's a popsicle, but is anyone else grossed out by the idea of eating the SpongeBob treat?




The big treat of the day was our ride on the famous Carousel in Central Park. According to the historical record I read, there has been a Carousel running in that location since 1871! It has hand-carved and hand-painted horses that are 3/4 of a real horse size, unlike any other carousel in existence. Another interesting fact is that when it was first in service, the Carousel was drawn by a blind horse and mule! The ride costs us each a very reasonable $2 and I can tell you from my first-hand experience that this is no slouch Carousel ride... it is fast! Watch us enjoy the ride below (warning... the video is long as it lasts the entire ride).


Saturday, August 15, 2009

MRI Family Day


We had a family day at work and Larkin and I had a lot of fun. After introducing her to several of my work colleagues, Larkin got to run around (behind her push-truck) the parking lot where there were outside games for the older kids (think huge moon bounce, bungee-run, etc). She went all out while we were there and crashed in the car on the way home... she was asleep before we pulled out of the parking lot! Fun day.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Family Picnic at Park

We enjoyed the perfect weather (sunny, 80's, and a light breeze) on this Sunday afternoon by having a family picnic by the lake of our local park. We picked up Panera sandwiches and situated our picnic table right down by the water. Larkin loved looking at the trees rustle in the breeze and Sera loved smelling everywhere. Brian and I loved the relaxing time together as a family. After our lunch, we took a short hike in the park before heading home. Here some pics to remember the day.






Saturday, August 1, 2009

Fun Around the House

Here are a few pictures of Larkin having fun around the house from late July to early August. She LOVES walking behind her trucks and being silly. And, check out all of her curly hair!