Shannon's World

I haven’t had much of a workout routine since we moved to Zionsville 1.5 years ago.  The long walks I used to take before and after Libby’s birth have come to an end because Libby has a hard time sitting in her stroller for an hour unless I have a huge supply of snacks in her stroller tray or there are hundreds of dogs/cats/birds on our route.

That being said it was time to start working out.  I’ve gained 3 lbs since I stopped breast feeding (considering I ate my way through Houston, Baltimore and New York is really not that bad) and I’d like to loose those 3.  Monday night I went to Zionsville’s own Simply Yoga.  I went to yoga twice a week when we lived in Aurora and I loved it.  Tuesday’s class did not dissappoint.  I was a little nervous because I went to Advanced Vinyasa and when you look at the description it says RIGOROUS – yikes!  The class was great and for the most part, I was able to hang with the big dogs or should I say big yogis.  Tonight I’m headed back and going to a class called The Rocket – should be interesting.

We just got back from the Dr and Libby did great.  She weighed 25 lbs 3.5 oz (90%) and stretched out at a whoping 32.5 inches (off the charts!  Dad: we’ll keep working with the basketball!).  Libby is right on track developmentally – she made animal sounds for him, shared her sippy cup and doll with him, showed him how she uses a spoon.  The Dr. also commented on Libby’s sunny disposition (I’m sure she gets that from me – LOL!).  We only needed 1 shot this appointment and Miss L did not even cry when she got it.  The nurse was amazed, as was I.  Libby just sat there, winced a little and gave the nurse a dirty look!  Not too shabby – our sweet girl continues to amaze us each and every day!

We do need to work on two things: (1) trying to get Libby to drink more milk from a sippy cup.  She generally drinks a few ounces througout the day, but the Dr. would like to see her drink more.  Libby seems to think milk should only be drunk from a bottle (she only gets one at night), so we need to keep trying with the sippy cup.  (2) At our office, we get a little paper everytime we go that describes Libby’s age.  This paper indicated that Libby will show impatience, get easily frusterated and have temper tantrums when upset or not getting her way.  It said to ignore them and they will gradually go away as he realizes they do her no good.  That’s a hard one!

That’s right, our sweet girl has finally cut her first tooth!  I need to look in the Guiness Book to see if we’ve set some kind of record for oldest baby to get first tooth.  This picture was taken last week, so the tooth is really showing now.  Libby likes to run her tongue back and forth over it. 

Have I mentioned that she also bables non-stop??  Libby literally does not stop talking all day.  It’s so fun to hear the different sounds and entonations she makes.

We go to the Dr today – I’m sure I’ll have lots to report tomorrow.  Wish us luck – I think we have 4 shots coming and I made the mistake of making the Dr. appointment during Libby’s nap time – DOH!

Last year the hydrangea bushes in front of our house did not bloom and I was so disappointed.  But this year – they’re looking great.  The color is just gorgeous - white with a hint of pink on the outside of each petal.  I was suprised to see blooms this spring because we had to dig up 2 of the three hydrangeas when we built our front porch; they seem to have adapted to transplanting well. 

I had a great time in NYC celebrating Eliza’s pending nuptuals and her last days as a single gal.  Here’s a brief recap:

Friday we arrived to cooler but nice temperatures.  Did some shopping.  Had lunch at ‘witchcraft – delicious…the avocado goat cheese sandwich is amazing.  Lunch was followed by more shopping (it seems as though the Steve and Barry’s in NYC was designed for SJPs Bitten line – they had a huge selection).  We made our way back to Times Square to check out what was available at TKTS and decided that we’d better not do a play that night, as we were going on 3-4 hours of sleep.  We went back to the hotel to freshen up and headed to the East Village to S’Mac…awesome!  Eliza, Joanie and I each got different options and shared.  It was so good and a really small, cute, fun place.  I recommend it.  After dinner we headed to Dylan’s Candy Bar for Candy and Dessert.  The space is underconstruction and I’m interested to see what the final result looks like.   Currently, the bottom floor is all candy and the top is set up like a dessert bar.  We tried the cupcakes, ice cream and smoothies – they did not disappoint.

Saturday morning started later than anticipated as we slept in until 9 am – I can’t tell you the last time I did that!  It was so nice!  We got ready, ran over to TKTS (btw – the cooler temps were gone and the heat arrived – it was hazy, hot and humid at 10 am…in the shade) and got tickets to Boeing Boeing.  We hopped in a cab and rode down to Greenwhich Village.  There was some traffic so we had our cabbie drop us off, so we could walk the rest of the way and he just happened to drop us off at Magnolia Bakery.  After loading up on the world’s best cupcakes and banana pudding we dined at Spotted Pig.  I’ve recommended this place to many people but hadn’t dined there myself.  It was outstanding!  Bleeker Street was closed down and lined with vendors - it worked out great because we had some time to kill before Boeing Boeing.  We walked along the street fair and made a stop at the famed front stoop on Perry Street.

We headed to the Longacre Theatre to see the star studded cast of Boeing Boeing.  The play was hilarious and it was fun to be in such a small theatre with so many celebrities.  The cast includes Bradley Whiford (I heart him/Josh Lyman), Christine Baranski, Mary McCormack (she’s one of my favs),  Gina Gershon and Kathryn Hahn.  We went to the stage door and patiently waited for Bradley Whitford but he never left!  We did grab photos and autographs of Christine, Mary and Kathryn.  SO FUN!

After dinner we freshened up and headed to Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill and enjoyed another outstanding meal…probably the best meal I’ve had in a while.  I had the cactus pear margarita and we all shared the goat cheese fondito (YUM!).  I had the porterhouse lambchops (they were huge), with a potato side (I forget the exact name) and a goat cheese tamale (OUT OF THiS WORLD!).

After dinner we headed to Flute – a swanky champagne bar with its own DJ spinning tunes.  We enjoyed a flight of different flavored Kir Royales…YUM!

It was a great weekend.  I missed my little girl (who spent the weekend with Mike and Grammy and Grandpas) but it was nice to carry a purse around instead of a diaper bag for a few days!

A few notable points:

- we got Libby a pool to put on our back deck, she went in it for the first time yesterday and had a blast

- Thanks for the pool shoes, Nana (I could not find pool shoes small enough to fit Libby…Nana to the rescue!)

- I told my Dad over the phone that Libby could walk and kick her ball like she was playing soccer to which he replied “She needs a basketball” or something like that (maybe it was she needs to be putting balls in baskets not kicking them).  TA DAAAA…here’s Miss L and her basketball. . .she’s almost ready for Bloomington’s Little Dribblers!

I am back from the Big Apple – had a great time…more details soon.

Libby got these super cute PJs for her birthday and I can’t get over how grown up and fancy she looks in them.

P.S. HAPPY 38th ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!  LOVE YOU!

I gotta wear shades.

If I zoomed in on L’s mouth, you’d see the small tooth beginning to show!!