The Zoo

Jack is having trouble adjusting to Justin being away (or wait, maybe that's just me!) so this morning I decided to take him to the Franklin Park Zoo (set of this new movie, coming soon! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1222817/) It was a great idea...but thankfully I came prepared. It was 32 degrees when we got out of the car at 10:30am and it climbed up to 35 by the time we left! Phew. It really was bitterly cold, but that didn't stop our little man from enjoying himself. He loved the zebras (now one of his favorite words), the wildebeasts, and the peacocks. He also enjoyed the petting zoo and the pizza lunch :)

We have many reasons that we decided to move on to California, but the weather was definitely up there on the list. Days like this remind me why. It was beautiful, sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and so windy and bitterly cold that we both were shivering!

Just chugging along...

Right now things are a bit crazy in the Crosby house. We are preparing to start a new job, leave old ones, and say goodbye to lots of things that we've had for awhile, including George and Maggie. We love these cats and they are really fantastic companions, but a 6.5 hour trip to California to live in a 1,000 sf apartment would have been pretty torturous for them (and us.) We took a chance and actually found them a great home with an old Bose coworker of Justin's. They have three small children and their cats recently died. George and Maggie were going to be their surprise when they got home from school yesterday. They really are cat people and they loved our instantly. We are very thankful and lucky to have them go to a good home.

On Thursday night, their last night with us, Justin gave them a treat of soft food. They NEVER got soft food and this was a big deal. Jack wanted to share his "special treat" of green beans with them...we both almost died laughing because it was so sweet of him and so funny at the same time! 

"Here George, have a green bean!"

"No really, please eat my green beans."

 This morning we celebrated Daddy's new job by going out to breakfast. Jack was a coloring fiend! He loved coloring Elmo, Big Bird, and himself with markers.



Jack These Days...

 

Our little man sure does have a personality of his own...and likes to do things his way in his own time. I guess the terrible two's are upon us before he hits 2!! :)

Sky cots!!

So I am freaking out about a lot of things lately, and one of them is the 6.5 hour flight to California with Jack. He has always done pretty well traveling, but this is considerably longer than any flight he's ever been on, and most likely the red-eye. I was trying to think of ways to get him to sleep in his carseat, or on Justin and I, where he would be comfortable and able to sleep on the plane (without drugging my child or having a screaming, exhausted toddler for extended periods of time.)

In doing extensive internet research about ideas for toddlers on airplanes, I came across the "sky cot" or "baby basinette" that many airlines offer. (But they sure don't advertise!!) It's an amazing contraption that connects directly to the bulkhead. This is another blogger's picture from her last flight on Virgin America:


I am so excited about this option and I wish I had known about it before! It gives the baby a comfortable, normal place to sleep and gives Mom and Dad a break, especially on red-eye overnight flights. I wish they made something like this for adults!!

The Road Goes On Forever...

Last week, we made our formal decision about moving to California. Over the past week, the reality of it is finally settling in! We are now wrapped up and innundated with details about the move, timing conflicts, selling our house, getting everything ready to be moved (and getting rid of junk that we don't need!), organizing our temporary housing, plane flights, shipping cars, selling one car and buying a new one, etc etc etc.... it's a never ending cycle of craziness! But it's worth it. We are really excited and I know that Justin is looking forward to getting there and starting his new job.

We are very sad to leave some things behind. These include:

• Our wonderful friends here in New England. Through work mostly, we have made truly great friends in the five years we've been here. Justin is very bittersweet about leaving Bose and I am so sad to leave my coworkers at CBRE as well. We've both worked really hard to build good professional and personal networks here, and while we know we will be able to do the same in Silicon Valley, it is very hard to leave those we love.
• Mountainside. I have always said that Jack goes to one of the best daycares in existence, hands down. Several of his teachers got teary-eyed when they found out Jack was leaving. I will be sad to take him out of such a wonderful environment where I know he is safe, happy, challenged, and truly cared for everyday. While I am excited about the prospect of spending more time with my sweet baby boy, I am also a bit nervous that I will not be able to provide him with this same level of stimulation and education every day at home.
• Our house. Sure, it has been the subject of much stress and sometimes I get frustrated and feel it's too small or too old. But it's our first home together, and it's the product of blood, sweat, and tears. It's where we spent months hoping and wishing for Jack and where we finally brought home our firstborn child. It's where we spent beautiful New England days walking the neighborhood, playing outside, planting things, and enjoying homeownership. I feel very nostalgic about it and I am sad that I will say to Jack one day, "remember our house in Massachusetts?" and he will say, "no Mom, not really."

Some things that we are looking forward to:

• NO SNOW!!! On the positive side, if you know me at all, you know that I hate/despise/detest winters in New England. They are too long, too cold, and too snowy! Everyone keeps saying "wait until it's summer all the time; you sure will miss New England winters!" I can honestly say that no, I will never ever miss the snow!!
• Lots of outdoor activities. In the same vein, Justin and I are both thrilled that we will be able to take Jack to parks, ride bikes, go to the beach, and go swimming many months out of the year. In fact so many things in California are "open air" that we will be spending lots of time outdoors! I know this is good for our physiques, our state of mind, and Jack's health.
• The excitement of living where it all started. Justin's a high-tech guy, and I am proud of my roots at Georgia Tech. I am thrilled to be moving to the technology center of the world! It really is neat to me (geek that I am) to be right in the middle of the headquarters of Apple, Cicso, Adobe, eBay, Facebook, Google, HP, Intel, Oracle, Symantec, and Yahoo...just to name a few!

We both have lots of mixed emotions right now but we are confident that this is a great move for our family. It will be the most stressful and crazy six weeks ever, but once we get out there enjoying the laid-back California lifestyle, it will all have been worth it! :)

I think he spent too much time with Gigi while we were in California.
Now whenever someone points a camera in his direction,
he smiles really big and says "cheese!!"



We don't have battles over food often. I try to be laid back but his
choices are crazy!! Tonight: chicken pot pie, mac n' cheese, and cherry
tomatoes, all dipped in hummus.



This boy looooves his puddles....

California, Here We Come!!!!

In case you haven't heard...the Crosby family is making their way to California! I can't believe it, honestly. It's been a long time coming. Apple has been "in talks" with Justin since before Christmas, and we have been mulling this decision over and over since then. But we finally made the trip and fell in love with the area (and the weather!) and we will be California-bound shortly.

Justin and I were lucky enough to take a visit out there in late February. Here are some pictures to let you know how beautiful it is, and how much we are looking forward to living in paradise...

Sonoma County, Napa Valley area, north of San Francisco

Sonoma County

Beautiful!

Muir Woods, Redwood Forest on the Coast

Does this even need a caption?? Just see the entrance to Full House...

Redwood Forest...

I'm loving it...

So the official details...Justin will be working for Apple as a senior audio engineer on their Cupertino, CA campus in the heart of Silicon Valley. His official first day is March 28. Jack and I will be hanging around Boston until the end of April tying up loose ends and getting the house ready to put on the market. We hope to make the trip to Cali on or around April 28. More details will come, but this was a big decision for our family and we are really excited about the possibilities it will present!!

18 Month Checkup

Hi friends and family! I was a little late getting Jack's 18 month checkup, but we went and visited Dr. Hunt yesterday. She was very impressed with our little man! He's developing perfectly, and he took the opportunity to show off his skills. He colored for her, he picked out a green crayon when she asked, and he told her a lot of the new words he's learned recently ("green," "paper," "Nemo.")

Here are his stats:

• 32" tall (25th percentile)
• 24 lbs, 12 oz (27th percentile)

Poor kid!! He's short, but his weight is proportional to his height. And, she was very impressed with his belly :)

We were lucky not to have any shots at this appointment. He is now good until the age of 2!

We also visited Dr. Hom, his dentist, yesterday morning. Jack did great! He let her clean his teeth in the big boy chair without Mommy's lap, which was very impressive. He got a fluoride treatment and even flossed! He has 9 teeth with three more popping through as we speak. He's a regular chomping machine!

We are thrilled with his progress and we look forward to his next round of well visits!

Toddler Two Gazette

Jack moved from the Toddler One class to the Toddler Two class last week. We just got the newsletter from his new class - here is what he's been up to in school!

"February was a fun-filled month and thankfully we saw a lot less snow! We celebrated Daniel M's second birthday and we welcomed new friends Aiden and Jack.

During creative project time we experimented with various ways of painting. We used cars to make tire tracks with black paint. We painted on transparency sheets for the first time which was lots of fun, and then we hung them across the windows like sun catchers. We made a creamy paint with liquid water color, glue, and shaving cream. We also painted with sponges, paint brushes, finger paint, cotton balls, and sand.

We have been practicing our balancing skills in the gym crossing the balance beam. We are looking forward to warmer weather so that we can go play outside!"