In typical NYC fashion, we spent some time on the stoop when we were there a few weeks ago. I thought some of these pics captured that well.

Gia and Pappou got to see Mara walking…and more of a toddler than a baby. They were so impressed. We celebrated Thane’s birthday while we were there too, for like the 300th time, on his actual birthday. I think even he was over-birthdayed by the time his birthday actually rolled around!

We got to celebrate my birthday too. Gia and Pappou babysat the kiddos while Jay and I got a date night to Sex and the City 2. I also got blue toes…GiaGia was not a fan.

Mara got spoiled as usual. So did Thane, but you know how it is for Gia and Pappou’s koukla. We met up with Nouna and Daniel after some shopping in the city and a visit to the Central Park Zoo.

On the side of the road on the way to Louisville is a giant dinosaur.

I have always wanted to stop. We did once but did not go in, they were closed, we were in a rush, or whatever.

A few weeks ago Justin and Rachel suggested a tour of both Dinosaur World and the Lost River Cave. We were game. 4 kids, 4 adults, 2 sights…NO PROBLEM…we even debated doing 3! We will hit the road at 7 am and be good to go.

When I woke up at 5 am…Jay was still in the living room…working. He had yet to go to sleep. His work finally finished around 8, just enough time for him to shower and change (not shave) before heading on the road at 9:30. OK…not so bad…we roll with the punches. Just outside of Bowling Green…work emergency halts us for close to an hour.

OK..back on the road. Stef only mildly irritated. On ly mildly because I also got a work call during our stop…thank goodness for the iPad and 3G.

We finally hit the dinosaur museum just before a Fossil Dig! The kiddos got to sift through sand and find dinosaur bones…shells, teeth, amber…and keep 3 pieces. Thane thought this was a great opportunity to shovel sand into his keepsake box. Mara thought it was a great opportunity to shovel sand into mommy’s purse. We did manage to get our 6 fossils though.

I truly felt like we were on the Jurassic Park island. We were all dripping with sweat within minutes of foraging through the forest. Life size dinosaurs surrounded us. Everyone did really well, despite the heat and lack of sleeping, oh and Mara staying behind to look at the Wooly Mammoths. I was actually thinking there might be some tears over the dinosaurs but there were none…Except for walking very fast away from the Spinosaurus…neither Madeleine nor Thane likes that episode of Dinosaur Train.

After that, we headed back to Bowling Green. I texted Gail to find out a good local spot to eat. She recommended Cracker Barrel..I should have known…thanks G!

The kids slept on the too short drive (less than 30 minutes) and then we went to O’Charley’s to cool off and recharge. Problem was…we missed (or thought we did) the last boat tour for the cave…the whole purpose of the trip! Obviously our first foray into day tripping with the kiddos was a success…just not on the schedule we set up… You would think with 4 kids between us, we would have learned THAT lesson by now!

Thane and Mara had their 3 years and 18 month appointments. It is so much easier to do it all at once and while they were on break.

Thane had a real doctor’s appointment, complete with an eye test of shapes instead of letters. He did really well listening to the instructions, speaking loudly and identifying the right things. He did call the birthday cake a boat once and tried to inch away from the eye cover when we got to the very last line. He also had to give a urine sample. Sounds like not so much fun but Thane thought it was a hoot to pee in a cup.

As for measurements, our giants are apparently evening out a little…(or the nurse that took the measurements is not super accurate, so they could be way off and Thane was not super understanding of what to do when standing at the ruler).

Thane
Weight: 35 pounds 80th percentile
Height: 39 inches 74th percentile

Mara
Head: 36 cm 35th percentile
Weight: 26 lbs 6.8 oz 80th percentile
Height: 32 1/2″ 75th percentile

Thane also had his last Hib (Haemophilus Influenzae Type b) shot. We told him he was going to get a shot like Corduroy to make him stay healthy and he had to go first to show his sister. He did not utter a peep before, during, or after the shot. He was quite the trooper and later told his sister, it is ok. Later that night he did wake up saying his leg hurt. My brave boy.

Mara had two shots and was not so mild mannered about them. She pretty much wailed through both. She had her last Hepatitis A shot and the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

We still opted not to give Thane (and now Mara) the MMR. We decided to wait until 4. Our doctor was ok with that, he is very willing to listen to our input. We assured him we are getting it, we are just pushing it out.