Philly Art Center

Well, we haven't actually been there yet, but the renowned Fairmount Art Center has now opened a branch in Queen Village (Queen Village Art Center) and it looks intriguing! They  have classes for both adults and children. The adult classes range from more traditional classes (still lifes, figure drawing, etc. to jewelry making and knitting)! The children's classes (six week session) include art for ages 2 and up and music for babies 3 months and up. The new studio sounds gorgeous. They also offer fairly priced summer camps (age 4 and up), vacation day camps, and after school care. Also birthday parties! We are very loyal to our music class, and art doesn't seem to be Jeremy's "thing" yet, but I would love to try it out at some point. They have various discounts for enrolling for multiple sessions, siblings, etc. I love how Queen Village is blossoming all the time!

Youth/Tot Soccer

I am trying to compile a list of soccer options for toddlers in Philadelphia. This isn't even for Jeremy (yet), but I hear a buzz about people wanting to sign toddlers up for soccer. Here is some preliminary research:

• Friends of Clark Park has a program for children 5 through 11. It appears to be spring and fall, outdoors.
• Fairmount Soccer Association has a program for children 4 and up. Registration for fall has already begun. Soccer for the young set (4 year olds) is new.
• Soccer Shots is new in Philadelphia. It accepts kids as young as 2! They have a week-long summer program, a fall program, and a winter season.
• Capitolo Youth Soccer has a blog which indicates that the new season should be beginning soon (3 to 5 year olds and 6 to 10 year olds).
• I don't know much about this, but I found the following: The South Philadelphia Soccer Club is having sign-ups for soccer, ages 4 to 6, to be played Saturdays in the fall. E-mail spsctotsoccer@yahoo.com.
• I am fairly sure that Starr Garden (6th and Lombard) has soccer for young children, but I haven't been able to find much information on it yet: 
• Finally, the brand new Nest (review to follow when we finally get a chance to check it out!) has a nice-looking non-competitive soccer program called Bend It Like Beckham which is Fridays 4:00-5:00 for 3-5 year olds.

Zoom Dance!

We discovered Zoom Dance over a year ago. It is a very interesting concept. Sarah (and the other teachers) lead an active class focused on a book. The children dance/act out the story. It's very creative and reasonably priced, too. We bought a five-pack of classes last summer/fall, but we haven't used them up yet. I love how they don't expire. Jeremy didn't take to it as well as I would have liked and then we had a busier than expected fall. I am looking forward to continuing this fall -- She plans to open Society Hill and South Philly locations. They currently have classes in Rittenhouse, Fairmount, and West Philly. The classes are geared for children 1.5 and up. She is having mini-camp sessions in August for three to four mornings each -- $90 for a three-day session ($110 for the four-day). The themes are James and the Giant Peach, The Wizard of Oz, and the Lorax. See the site for more info! They do neat birthday parties, too!

Jeremy Goes to the Movies!

We just took Jeremy to his first movie, Winnie the Pooh! This new version of Winnie the Pooh is old-fashioned animation (i.e. no Pixar, 3D, etc.) They combined several of the Winnie the Pooh stories into a quasi new one. It was funny, clever, and adorable and appealed to Jeremy and his parents! We went to Loews in Cherry Hill, where it turns out they have a stack of booster seats right outside the theater door.  Same at United Artists Riverview on Columbus Boulevard (although not my favorite theater.) It played at several times so we went at 4:50 after his nap.  Lots of children were attending their first movie! The movie was only 69 minutes and Jeremy sat very still -- he loved it and watched it very closely. During the previews he kept asking, "Is this the movie?" The next day he recapped the story for us and told us his favorite parts. After the movie we went to a very child-friendly diner, as many are! Right next to the theater is Silver City Diner. Upon entering, every child receives a colorful cardboard car (which we quickly learned how to reassemble). The menus (for children and adults) include many healthy and organic farm-to-table options. Jeremy's grilled cheese came with strawberries! The service was quick. We bought a song on the juke box for a quarter (Sesame Street) and we were in and out before it even came on! A very successful adventure and so exciting to watch Jeremy watch his first movie!

Professional Photos

We recently had our first professional family photography session...and the results are phenomonal! (Well, we had one little session at Babies R Us when Jeremy was nine months old and one at Sears when he was two years old, but this is a whole different ballgame.)This time we wanted to have outdoor, on location portraits. I found Tricia Ebarvia and boy were we lucky. She has three boys, the youngest one day older than Caleb, so she knows kids. Her business is relatively new, but she has been an amateur photographer for years. Her calendar is already nearly full for the summer --- word of Tricia must be spreading! She met us for an hour one morning in Washington Square Park and we had a field day. She works so well around naps and kid-related things, while still aiming for the best time of day photo-wise. She captured so many beautiful moments, expressions, and combinations of the four of us. We wound up purchasing the CD -- too hard to decide which prints to buy. I just ordered the professional quality prints on mpix.com. I can't wait until they arrive!

Swim Lessons

Now that Jeremy is 3 we decided we would try out swim lessons. There are a few options in the city; we enrolled him at the Christian Street Y (17th and Christian). The five-week session of thirty-minute group lessons is a bargain at $38. You also have to pay $12/month for a program membership. Another option is to join the Y annually (I think $112/year) but then the swim lesson price was a bit higher. The downside was in-person enrollment, but then you can sign up for future classes online. The parent/child classes are for 6 months to 1 year, 13 months to 3 years, and 2 to 4 years. Then they have several classes where the parent doesn't participate. I didn't attend the first class, but I heard the teacher was great. Jeremy is still "adjusting." It is a lot of singing, fun, and getting comfortable with the water. I hope he likes it! Sweat Fitness (Broad and Arch) also has an aquatics program, but much more expensive. Also, 12th Street Gym and the University of Pennsylvania offer private lessons for children. A further away option is the Aquatic and Fitness Center. Here's to happy swimming!

Lunch Box

I usually don't do a product review, but I have to say I am really happy, so far, with Jeremy new lunchbox from Pottery Barn Kids. He has the Mackenzie Classic and the bento box insert. The lunchbox is adorable and very durable. As for the insert, we no longer have to waste ziploc bags or tin foil -- so much better for the environment -- plus it's BPA and phthalate-free. I enjoy the challenge of coming up with 5 items for his lunch everyday! It isn't perfect -- the clasp isn't wonderful and I don't trust the section that closes, but so far so good! They currently have free shipping now on "gear" which includes lunchboxes.