Despite the cold, we came, we saw, we zoo’d! Just trying to maximize our annual family membership. ? The snake house was the family favorite! Andrew liked the giant python and everyone else liked the warmth!
And of course we rode the train, fed some goats and played in the prairie dog habitat!
Ps
PS- we saw a Komodo Dragon! Papa and Coco traveled all the way to Indonesia to see these. Who knew they could have just gone to West Orange, NJ! 
Within a week 2 separate Nor’easters have come through Bernardsville! Last week was mostly rain and really high winds that took down a lot of trees and knocked out power for large percentage of town. We were among the lucky in town who never lost power but others were less fortunate and were out for 5+ days. Today’s storm brought snow- and a lot of it! It’s still precipitating but I bet there’s at least a foot, but likely 18 inches of really wet, heavy white stuff.
Andy’s out in CA so it was just me, the kiddos and mother nature. So what did we do to pass the time?!? Andrew and I made paths and played in the snow early in the day while Teddy napped. I thought our shoveling would help later on. Boy was I wrong. Talk about drop in the bucket. But we enjoyed some Mommy-Andrew time nonetheless! 
We baked cupcakes for Daddy’s birthday! Andrew is getting really into cooking and baking.I love that he’s able to ‘read’ and understand recipes. As you can see, we’re still perfecting our skills. 
Teddy and Mommy played in the basement while Andrew napped. Teddy was a brave boy and tried something for the very first time!
As the snow piled up Mommy started to get nervous that she’d be trapped in the house. I tried to shovel a bit but realized that I was NO match for at least a foot of heavy wet snow and driveway that seemed 17 miles long and the size of a football field. 
So…. we called a plow and returned to watching movies and enjoying some quiet time with each other. But we’re ready for school to be open and Daddy to come home. Both of which I’m only mildly convinced will happen tomorrow!
Work has been totally crazy for me the last month and Andy’s travel has picked up again. So I’ve been trying balance the boys and a hectic schedule this week solo. This picture seems about right; just subtract the dog and add another kid.
But this morning I woke up and realized that I had a few meeting-free hours in front of me. While there was still a lot to get done, there was the tangible possibility that I could drop the boys off and treat myself to a latte at Starbucks (dream big). So we did our normal routine; baba, breakfasts, diaper change, clothes, hair, snots (they can’t blow their own noses yet), shoes, jackets, etc.
We were 6 seconds (!) from walking out the door. I was putting the last velcro strap on Andrew’s shoe when Teddy (who had been surfing the kitchen chairs) slipped and smashed his face precisely on the base of our stone kitchen table. Screams, tears and a gigantic, instantaneous GOOSE EGG on Ted’s head! You can see his head but here’s what was going through my head, ‘F*@K!! What do I do?! Ice? Pediatrician? ER? I haven’t read this chapter in my mommy books! Where’s my calm husband when I need him because I’m loosing my sh*t! I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know and Google’s not helping! I broke Teddy! Worst mom ever!’
So I’ll cut to the end… a $30 copay and visit to the pediatrician later I learned that Teddy is 100% fine. And energetic boys with no fear have a propensity to injure themselves a lot. The next 18 years just flashed in front of me and it involves an exorbitant number of cuts, bruises and bandaids (and that’s if we’re lucky!)
Love you Teddy Bear! But can we please leave the heart attacks for when daddy is home next time?!
Oh by the way, this is 100% what we looked like by school drop of this morning:
On Saturday we celebrated Teddy’s first birthday with a ‘teddy bear picnic’ themed party! We had gummi bears, Teddy Grahams, bear shaped peanut butter sandwiches for the kids and anything else bear shaped I could get my hands on. The paper plates were even shaped liked bears (thank you Amazon!)! We’re so happy everyone could join use to celebrate this special milestone for our little family!
And what birthday party would be complete without a cake!? Mommy was inspired/fooled into believing (thank you Pinterest) that she could bake a bear shaped birthday cake for Teddy’s cake smash. [Note: I consumed about 12,000 calories in cake and frosting trying to make a bear shaped cake that in the end looked a lot like a deranged Chewbacca]. We started out with some smiles and excitement as the cake got close but I’ll let the photos below speak for themselves as to whether he ‘liked it!’
Happy 1st birthday Teddy Bear! You may have hated the cake but you looked pretty stinking cute while doing it!
On day 2 of our whirlwind weekend we visited Animal Kingdom, affectionately nicknamed ‘Mickey’s Zoo!’ We went on ‘safari in Africa’ to see the animals, visited Nemo and Dory, rode flying dinosaurs and hung out with some 3-D bugs. Mommy, Daddy and Kiki even snuck in some adult sized roller coasters! 
But the highlight of the day for Andrew was certainly dinner. We were visited by some very special friends; Mickey, Donald, Daisy and Goofy! Andrew was very excited to get the characters to sign his autograph book, give them high fives and knuckles. While the picture don’t always show it, he was a very happy boy!
As always Mickey and friends delivered up some special memories we will all cherish for years to come!
Last weekend we visited ‘Mickey’s house’ aka Disney World! While it was surprisingly cold, a bit crowded and totally exhausting, we had a great time! It’s such a privilege to experience these special places with kids and see the magic and wonder through their eyes!
‘Half the fun is getting there!’ Andrew was particularly excited to break in his new Lightning McQueen suitcase. He did really well and rolled it 90% through the airport himself. It’s nice to see the boys starting to carry their own weight….literally!
First stop on Thursday evening after we arrived, Hoop De Doo Revue! A Kleinfelter favorite! Both boys got really into the dinner show, especially twirling your napkins and banging on the washboards. Andrew was also quite pleased when he realized he could just bite right into the corn bread! 
We were up bright and early to spend the day at Mickey’s Castle with Papa, Coco and Aunt Kiki. After some obligatory photos in front of the castle where neither boy looked at the camera, our first stop, was the Speedway! Anyone shocked that Andrew wanted to ride the race cars first?! He loved it and Mommy may have a mild case of whiplash from his driving! 
After that we were on a roll! I’m really proud of Andrew and his willingness to try new things AND his ability to wait patiently in line (for the most part…). Teddy seemed to get really into it to! We rode roller coasters, tea cups, trains of all kinds, flying carpets, boats, carousels; just about everything they could go on! 
It should come as no surprise that Andy and I pushed two very exhausted little boys home in their strollers that night!
After Christmas in Maryland, the Kleinfelter clan left warm and sunny Florida for frigid single digit temperatures in New Jersey; proof that grandchildren can make you do ANYTHING! Amongst lots of family time and hanging out, we took a ride on the Polar Express. [Note: I saw on Facebook that a local train company does a reenactment and bought tickets for everyone.] It was awesome and really well done! What you have to appreciate is that the Polar Express is Andrew’s favorite Christmas movie and book (Santa + trains = instant hit). So that fact that he got a golden ticket, had it punched by the conductor, drank hot cocoa, sang the songs, ‘saw the boy’, traveled to the north pole with dancing elves, got a silver bell (‘the first gift of Christmas!’) AND was visited by Santa…WOW. Win, win, win! I see a new tradition in the works!
Once he got a ticket, he never put it down…for days!
After the dust settled on Christmas, Aunt Kristi took Charlotte to get her nails done for the first time! ❤️ While I love my little boys, it was really fun to do something girly with my one and only niece! When given a choice of colors, she promptly said, ‘Rainbow!’ So we painted each nail a different color, enjoyed the time together….and then got donuts! Can’t wait to do it again!
It’s a PB&J Christmas! We had a great and busy 5 days at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. So much family, excitement, wrapping paper, toy cars, energetic children and love under one roof! 
