Let's Get Talking

John had his first speech therapy session this past week, and it went great. His therapist is so sweet and he warmed up to her really fast. She was able to get him to purposefully make the "b" and "m" sounds (we still have to work on exactly how he uses his mouth to produce these sounds, but still!).

He has made the "m" sound before. But I had only ever heard it when he said "mama," and that only ever happened when he was upset (except this past Wednesday when he said "mama" when I asked and without being upset - miracle). He also said the "b" sound when he was about a year old to say "bye bye." But that only lasted a few weeks before the "b" sound disappeared from his speech entirely. Until Thursday when his speech therapist helped him make the sound again!

I'm so excited that John is able to receive this help. And for the extra guidance for Will and me for how we can help John learn to talk. We now know a little bit more about exactly what's wrong (most significantly, he doesn't have any fine motor control with his mouth - he's only making wide, sweeping motions to produce sounds which is similar to what a 6-9 month old would do). And we're learning ways to help him develop these fine motor skills.

Watch out, world! This little guy is going to be talking up a storm before you know it.

Life with Three (Part 2)

I typed this beauty up a LONG time ago. Not sure why I never published it. Oh well. Hope you enjoy the pics of the boys anyway :)


Will's first day back to work I took all three boys to Toys R Us and bought a baby pool in the hopes that I'd be able to relax in the backyard while the older boys wore themselves out. They seemed to enjoy the pool well enough, but weren't quite as tired as I had hoped.
Joseph was a bit timid about getting in - he doesn't like getting messy.

Will indulged my request to go to Fuddrucker's a few many weekends age. The boys, of course, love the fact that they get to "play" with the arcade games after dinner.

John likes to wear Will's hat when Joseph and Will are wearing theirs. It's a little big, so I finally got him his own hat (picture will come eventually).

Joseph and John showing off.

We went to story time at the train station/museum a few weeks ago with some friends and a train went by right in the middle of story time. Naturally, all the kids had to go out to watch it go by.

While eating his ice cream from Chick-fil-a:
Me: Is it yummy?
Joseph: Mmhmm. And dewicious, too.

I look over at Joseph who is sitting in his Elmo chair on the couch (his usual perch for TV watching) - it's still only 10am. I ask what he's doing and he responds "I'm waiting for Mickey Mouse." Too bad for him I had already told him there would be no Mickey Mouse until the afternoon before his nap (when he typically gets his one show per day).

Life with Three (Part 1)

Will has been back to work for a week now. I knew I would need to keep us busy this week for my own sanity, and luckily the week has gone fairly smoothly.
I also recently got a new phone that a) takes reasonably good pictures and b) connects to the internet so I can upload them to Picasa. So, here are some recent pictures and a little rambling from me :)

I love this picture of John. A friend brought over chili for dinner one night and John loved it. This is him after dinner as happy as a clam.

Will took Joseph to a Frederick Keys baseball game for his birthday...without John. John was not pleased. I took this picture shortly after Will and Joseph left. Notice he's holding his shoes and a baseball hat indicating that he's ready to go to the game, too. Poor boy cried for a good 5 minutes before I gave him (diluted) apple juice to calm him down (worked like a charm).

Will's sister, Tiffany, came for a visit last week. We all really enjoyed visiting with her, and the boys loved having someone new to play with! Here's John with Aunt Tiffany at the National Air and Space Museum Annex (Joseph refused to be pictured for some reason).

Shortly after Joseph's birthday party John took a shorter than normal nap. So he was wandering around/playing downstairs trying to figure out what to do with himself while Joseph was sleeping. I had gotten the ice cream cake (from Joseph's birthday party) out to have a piece and left it on the counter. John found his way to the cake and drove the "noisy truck" right through it knocking it off the counter. Fun times in the Rayel household.

Joseph is absolutely in love with Michael. He frequently asks to hold Michael, and loves to tend to his needs or let me know what it is that (he perceives that) Michael needs. He's such a great big brother! :)

I was finally able to catch a picture of all three boys. Of course, none of them are looking at the camera, but I still love this picture.

I'll break here and end with a Joseph-ism (part 2 coming soon!).

I asked Joseph to go to the basement and clean up the mess he made earlier in the day. After returning from cleaning up the toys he declares "The job is done!"

Welcome Michael Benedict!

Michael Benedict made an early arrival on Sunday, June 22 at 2:23am. It's a good thing he came early because he managed to weigh in at a solid 8lbs 12oz and was 21.5inches long.

Will brought Joseph and John to meet their brother last night. They enjoyed meeting Michael, but were more impressed by the privacy curtain and all the buttons in the room.

Welcome baby Michael! We're so happy you're here!

It's Spring!

We've been busy enjoying spring and watching the boys grow. Most of these stories and pictures are from a month or two ago. I have lots more to share - hopefully soon! - but I'll start with these. Enjoy :)

The first really nice day of spring. Yay for park days!

Joseph has been interested in money and where it comes from ever since a recent trip to the bank. These two conversations happened in the same night.

As Will walks in the door coming home from work.
Joseph: Hi, daddy! Where you been?
Will: At work.
Joseph: Why?
Will: To make money for the family.
Joseph: Ooooh! Wike mommy?

"This is mommy's vacuum..." "Oooooh! I see. How interesting."

At dinner:
Joseph: Daddy work at monies?
Will: Daddy works for money.
Joseph: Oooooh! Daddy works five money.

I'm a "fun mom"... on occasion.

See? So. Much. Fun!

I spent many months stressing about and planning for potty training. I had made minimal attempts to potty train Joseph in the past, but had been unsuccessful. With the arrival of baby #3 only months away I knew it was time to just bite the bullet and do it. To my great surprise and delight it went much smoother than I anticipated.
The first couple days Joseph was pretty upset that I wouldn't put a diaper on him. And at least one time he sat on the changing table crying for a diaper. But his requests for diapers waned, and by day 4 or 5 he was on board and was saying "we're all done wiff diapers, wight mommy?"
Within about a week Joseph wasn't having any accidents and often wakes up dry from both naps and night time sleep! Woohoo! I was a little wary of using treats to coax the potty training process along, but it definitely worked and he rarely asks for them anymore (only 2 weeks since we started).

John loves when I sweep. I think it's one of his favorite things to do - watch me sweep. He especially likes to squat over the dirt pile and search for treasures. I wish I had a picture of it, but every time it happens I'm - you know - sweeping...and trying to keep him from ingesting any of the dirt (although when there are legit pieces of food it's possible that I look away).

Breakfast with Grandpa.

One morning before preschool co-op I spilled half a box of Cheerios on the floor (one of the large boxes. No exaggeration.). Cheerios were everywhere. It was already a frantic morning. Joseph slept late and co-op mornings are already stressful enough trying to get everyone dressed and ready with lunches packed and out the door on time. And I believe I was teaching preschool this particular morning, so extra fun for the morning. It was one of those "of course this would happen this morning" moments. When it happened it was so surreal. I don't think I even got upset. I just looked at it and thought "mmhmm. There is no possible way this is getting cleaned up before we leave, so there's not reason to stress about it."
What did I do? I let John down from his booster seat and let him have at it. Breakfast? Taken care of.
I then went to get Joseph out of bed and let floor Cheerios be his breakfast, too. It actually bought me a little time to get lunches packed without the boys underfoot. Win for me :)

The boys were thrilled. A million Cheerios on the floor to sit in, play in and eat? So. Awesome.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 54)

1) John is now officially a walker. I think New Years Day is the day I officially deemed him a walker because that's when he made numerous attempts to walk across the room without being encouraged to do so. And he can make it across the room sometimes. Yay!

2) John can also climb up and  down the stairs by himself (but don't worry, I still spot him just in case - he's not that good yet). This has been helpful because it was getting old (and exhausting) carrying him up and down the stairs all the time - especially if I had a load of laundry under one arm and him in the other.

Christmas morning breakfast

3) Joseph isn't one iota interested in potty training and I'm not gonna lie - I'm starting to get a little nervous. We had a short spurt of interest several months back and had a few successes, but now every time I ask if he wants to sit on the potty he gives me a very clear "no!"
I'm learning that his short-lived interest in potty training is just a part of his personality (he is classified as an "impulsive child" according to a test both Will and I took at the beginning of the potty training book I'm reading). I believe the description they used said impulsive children will go "gangbusters" at the beginning of training then quickly lose interest. That pretty much describes what happened with Joseph.
I've also been a bit amused by the book because all of their descriptions of what an impulsive child is like are spot on. So much so that I actually laughed when they said the houses of impulsive children are "baby-proofed to the hilt" and that parents of impulsive children are "unable to hold a conversation with another adult because they can't take their eyes off their kid." True and truer.

4) What other nouns were used to describe my impulsive child? Energetic and active - yep (but really how many toddlers aren't energetic and active?). Early walker. Check (he walked at 9 months + 1 day). Bodily risk-taker. I think (willfully) slamming his head into walls, people, couches, etc. along with having zero fear at playgrounds qualifies him for this one. "Enjoy rough-and-tumble play, and frequently are the children who take this too far and, without intending to, end up hurting a playmate." I believe tackling his brother, random kids at play areas and adults holding babies at formal events qualifies him for this one. Happy and adaptable. Definitely. Pretty much everything they had to say about impulsive children related to Joseph. Now I just need to figure out how to get the boy potty trained before......

5) ...the next baby arrives...

...some time around July 6 :)

6) So far the pregnancy has been fine. A little harder than the others, but manageable (it would be pretty hard to be easier than my other pregnancies). The exhaustion is harder to deal with simply because I have two other little people to look after all day. And this time around I've had afternoon/evening sickness which I've never had before. Really all this has meant is that the bare minimum has been getting done around here - laundry gets done, meals are (usually) on the table, boys are alive. This is one of the reasons the blog has basically been ignored. It's also the reason that I took exactly zero pictures over Christmas, so I'm relying on my sisters for pictures of Christmas 2013 (the ones in this post are from my sister - thanks Julia!).
I'm finally about to enter my 2nd trimester, so I'm hoping to do a little more blogging (but I make no promises). Maybe I'll even take some pictures of the boys this month :)

John and Frances are enamored by the train tracks

7) We're excited to be adding another sweet baby to the mix, but I'd be lying if I said I'm not even a little bit nervous to have 3 under 3 3 two and under (that sounds scarier, right?) for a few days. Buuuut, we're getting a minivan (no more manual locks! or manual windows! and I'll get cruise control! and spaaaaaace!) so all will be right in the world...or something like that.

Thanks for an easy way to re-enter the blogging world, Jen!

You Know You're In the Rayel Household When....

...you hear:
          "don't eat the floor"
          "don't eat the wall"
          "mmmmmm! carrot!" (said the same way Cookie Monster says "mmmm! cookie!")

...doggie is included in most activities that go on - especially our evening rosary. Doggie is learning to make the sign of the cross. Joseph is his most excellent teacher.

...you see Joseph hijack John's monthly photo shoot.

...you see John's face light up when we go get Joseph from his afternoon nap.

...you see Joseph's face light up when John opens the door to get Joseph from his afternoon nap.

...the boys willingly pose for pictures together. Say "cheese!"

...you see John crawling around with one sock on his foot and the other in his mouth ... and then you see Joseph imitate his little brother.

...in the middle of saying our prayer before meals Joseph looks over at John, realizes he has a Cheerio in his mouth, leans over and says "first we pray!"

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 53)

1) A Wegman's is opening near us, and I just signed up for my Wegman's card today. Word on the street has it that I should be excited ecstatic. I guess I'll have to wait for our store to open to see how I feel about it, but I have a feeling I'm going to like this little enormous store :)

2) John is growing like crazy. He is now crawling all over the place, pulling up and stealing Joseph's toys. Joseph is fine with the first two accomplishments, but isn't too keen on having his little brother take his toys (even the ones he isn't playing with).

I guess it won't surprise you that one of Joseph's current favorite words is "mine!" We've been working on sharing a lot around here. Very often Joseph will say "mine!" then he'll look at me, realize I'm watching, tentatively offer the toy back to John and say "share." It's a work in progress. Sharing is seriously hard business.

3) Most of the time, though, the boys play well together. It's especially sweet when Joseph tries to play games with John. Recently he's started crawling really fast across the kitchen and John giddily follows. They go back and forth and back and forth laughing the whole time. It's really cute to watch.

Joseph decides he needs to have his picture taken, too.
He jumps in during John's "6 month photo shoot."

4) Our mom's group took a little field trip to the fire station a couple weeks ago. All the kids loved it. Here are a couple pictures from the trip.

 

5) We went to a train museum near us for Labor Day and Joseph loved it. When I say loved I'm not even a little bit exaggerating. It was a small museum that had one large room with a display in the middle and one small room with a fairly large lego display. Granted, the displays were interactive in that you could push buttons to make the trains or people or various objects move, but still it was only two rooms. We spent two and a half hours there. Crazy. We met up with some friends at the park afterwards and one of them said "I can't believe you were there for two and a half hours!"

6) Joseph started Preschool last week. We joined a homeschool co-op that meets once a week for a few hours. So far he's loving it (not surprising). I'm excited for Joseph to have this opportunity. And, as much as I balk at the idea, it's been good for me to have a little more structure to my week.
Sadly, I was a terrible mom and didn't take the obligatory "1st day of (pre)school" photo. I didn't even dress him in particularly cute clothes for his first day. Ah well. You live and learn. Maybe next year.

7) We've been enjoying a few of the warmer days at some local fountains. So much fun!

Thanks for hosting, Jen!

For My (Not So) Newly Pregnant Friends

I started this post about six months ago when I first found out that one of my best friends was having her first baby. Fast forward six months and here I am realizing that she's due in one week!!! I needed to finish it ASAP so all my sage wisdom ramble-y thoughts wouldn't go to waste. The post got long, so I've split it up into two posts. This is my "opinions and thoughts about everything but sleep" post. I hope it's helpful to my first-time mom friends!

If you plan on using disposables, Target diapers are the way to go. I love them because they're cute, inexpensive and work as well or better than every other disposable diaper I've tried. The only caveat to this is I prefer Pampers diapers for the newborn stage simply because they're "green line indicator" works much better than the Target "disappearing blue dots indicator." But once they're into size 1 diapers you don't need the indicator anymore - you're going to know when they peed.

Joseph is all smiles while sporting his
adorable cloth diaper :)

I have a love/hate relationship with my cloth diapers. I love them because they save me money and contain blowouts infinitely better than disposables. And did I mention they're adorable on baby bottoms? They are. BUT! They do require more work. You have to change them more frequently (those disposables can hold a lot) and you have extra loads of laundry. The laundry really isn't a big deal to me - I don't mind doing laundry. The extra changes were a big deal to me...until I recently discovered hemp liners. My hemp liners have helped me fall back in love with my cloth diapers. Before I discovered the hemp liners I had to change each cloth diaper ever 1-2 hours (basically every time one of the boys peed which meant changing 2 diapers every 1-2 hours....that's a lot of diaper changes in one day!). Now they can go 3-4 hours without being changed. This makes a huge difference when you're trying to diaper a toddler who doesn't want to sit/lay still for any diaper changes. I didn't use our cloth diapers for many moons because I got tired of fighting Joseph to change his diaper. Now I'm back into it, and since I discovered the hemp liners I haven't looked back.
Note: I do still use disposable diapers at night and when we're on vacation and sometimes when we're going to be out all day simply because they're so easy to use. But I'm trying more and more these days to use our cloth diapers as much as possible - especially if we'll just be out for the day.

If you have a boy make it a habit to put a wipe over his "master of surprises" as soon as you take his diaper off. You may still end up with a puddle under baby to clean up, but that's a heck of a lot better than trying to find the pee that spewed across the room and/or in their (or your!) face. You will probably only need to do this for the first few weeks, but until then....beware!

A fussy baby isn't necessarily a hungry baby. There are so many reasons babies cry. Many of these reasons are obvious (dirty diaper, hunger, tiredness), but others aren't quite as obvious (gas, over stimulation, too hot or too cold).
An easy way to deal with gas is by pumping baby's legs in a bicycle-type motion to help the gas move through their system. Burping baby during and after each feeding will also help with gas.

It's ok, John. Joseph won't hurt you :)

Feeling baby's ears is a good way to check baby's temperature (or so I've been told).
Knowing whether your baby is too hot or too cold can be hard to figure out. I will often feel my boys' ears and hands (and sometimes feet) when I'm trying to determine if they're too hot/cold. Either extreme can make baby quite fussy or interrupt their sleep (the worst!).
Over stimulation can be a big cause of fussiness in babies. I didn't learn this lesson very well until we had John. Sometimes John would be fussy and I would go through a mental checklist as to why he could be fussy and then I'd think - "hmm, he slept recently and is fed and changed, but Joseph has been running around like crazy and making a lot of noise. Maybe he's just over stimulated." Sure enough as soon as I took John upstairs for some quiet time with mommy he would settle down. It was nearly instantaneous. So, especially during those first weeks/months be aware of baby's stimulation. Less is more in their world.

If you plan to breastfeed...
        1) Don't let baby fall asleep at the breast. This is one of those things that is easier said than done, but it is so important - especially in those first few weeks when baby is developing their sleep associations. It's probably going to happen now and again, but do your best to make sure baby doesn't fall asleep at the breast otherwise you'll have to break the habit later on (which can be a painful habit to break!).
        2) Nursing is going to hurt (for a while), but don't let that dissuade you from breastfeeding. I know lots of lactation consultants say it isn't supposed to hurt, but I have yet to meet a mom who breastfed who said they had no pain in the beginning. Give yourself a few weeks to adjust and the pain should start to alleviate after a few weeks. Until then, you just have to grin and bear it :( I recommend using Lanolin to help protect the nipple and once the pain subsides you can also express a drop of your breast milk and coat the nipple with that - it has similar protection as the Lanolin (and is so much easier and more convenient). I've also heard great things about cold compresses (like this or this), but have never used them myself.
        3) Pacifiers are not the devil - use them if you want. From my experience (and that of my friends) it won't affect your breastfeeding success.

"Don't even think about taking my paci." - John

With Joseph we had to greatly encourage the pacifier. He was nursing something like 8-10 hours a day and not sleeping and super fussy. So, after about 2 (or 3 or 4??) weeks of being a human pacifier and me reaching pretty close to my breaking point (because Joseph almost never slept more than 2 hours at a time - even sleeping 2 hours straight was rare for him) my dad suggested we try giving him a pacifier. Oh - we had tried to give him one before, but he wanted nothing to do with it. But, we kept offering it...over and over again we would offer it. And he did eventually take the pacifier. He gave it up around 5 months, but by that point he was at least consistently sleeping in 2 hours chunks - sometimes even giving me 4-6 hours of (broken) sleep each night! Woohoo!
John was the complete opposite. From the moment we offered the pacifier he loved it. If he felt it near his mouth he would reach for it/your hand and pull it to his mouth.
Both boys have been great nursers and neither have had "nipple confusion." Needless to say, I'm a fan of pacifiers.

Baby Contraptions

This post is somewhat of a continuation to my Baby Stuffs post. A couple of my friends are pregnant for the first time and have asked for my advice/thoughts on various baby topics. I decided to write up a few posts explaining all my thoughts and opinions for them.
So - without further ado - all you ever wanted to know about tripping hazards baby contraptions.


There are so many baby contraptions available nowadays that it can be overwhelming trying to figure out what you need when you're having a new baby. I have a couple friends currently sorting through what they want/need for their soon-to-arrive babies. I love me a good baby contraption and I love to talk about the pros and cons of each. I'll try not to bore you too much, but here are some of my thoughts on what to consider when purchasing some baby contraptions of your very own.

I think when you are trying to decide what (large) baby items to buy you first need to consider how much space you have. It is so easy to let your house be overridden by baby stuff (just ask my husband). But if you think ahead and plan you can keep the clutter at bay.

Baby contraptions seem to fall in a few different categories - there are lots of different ways these could be broken up but this is how it makes sense in my head.

Are you lookin' at me?

First, there are the bouncy seats, rockers and bassinets. All of these serve a similar purpose - they are a safe place to lay and entertain baby. Some of them will have mobiles or toys attached. I would recommend getting at least one item from this category as it's super helpful to have somewhere to lay baby when they're sleeping or when they're just happy to watch you as you go about your chores. Keep your eye out for these on craigslist or at baby sales because you can find them at a fraction of their retail price and it's super easy to clean their covers.
I have this bouncy seat and this rock 'n play. I bought both used and have been happy with both. If you buy a used bouncy seat just make sure that it still sits up at a good angle. The seat will begin to sag as it gets used more and more (and as baby gets bigger and bigger).
I have friends who LOVE their rock n' plays, but I'm a little partial to the bouncy seat because it has the vibrator and toy attachment. I just recently bought the rock n' play when I found it for a good price. I wanted something to keep upstairs so I wouldn't have to lug the bouncy seat up and down the stairs all the time. Some of my friends even use the rock n' play as their bassinet for the first couple months before they move baby to the crib. So, if you're looking for an item that can serve double duty you should definitely take a look at the rock n' play.

Once baby wants to sit/stand more you move into the realm of jumpers and exersaucers. These allow baby to do a little more standing and a little less laying, and they have lots of toys attached to entertain baby. Baby needs to have very good upper body control - especially head control - to use these. Most of my friends would say getting something from this category is a must as it allows you to get things done around the house while baby is awake. However, space can be a big concern with these, so if you're tight on space I'd go with an exersaucer or a jumper that hangs in the doorway. If you have a little more room you can go for one of the larger jumpers.

Fun for all ages!

Another great baby contraption is the swing. I've heard some people say their babies didn't like the swing, but both my boys have loved theirs (and John still does!). Joseph slept in the swing pretty well but generally wasn't interested in it otherwise (except for about a 1 month span when the mobile kept his attention). John loves the swing, but isn't quite as interested in it lately. He used to *literally* sit in the swing for 4-5 hours a day and he would cry if you took him out - he LOVED it - he would sleep for a couple hours, wake up, watch the mobile or enjoy his reflection in the mirror, go back to sleep, wake up, repeat. This is the swing we have, and I love it. I splurged and bought it new, but I was looking for a swing that I could plug into the wall so I didn't have to constantly replace batteries. I also like that you can change the direction the seat is facing and that the seat has two different reclining positions. I also happen to be pleased with the songs the swing plays. If you have the space I'd definitely recommend this swing, but I wouldn't recommend our swing if you're tight on space. There are plenty of other space-conscious swings out there that you could look into.


There are other miscellaneous play items like a play mat or a Bumbo. I really like our play mat and would recommend it to others, but definitely don't feel like it's a necessity.
I also like the Bumbo, but if I'm to be completely honest it doesn't get used all that much. I'm really glad I only paid $18 for it at a baby sale. The Bumbo is certainly something you can do without - especially if you have large babies. For smaller babies it can be great, but the overall consensus among my friends is that they're a waste of money (unless you plan on using it to feed baby, then it *might* be worth paying full price).

This high chair has 3 (three!) different trays layered one on top of the other.
It was great for those days where I just didn't seem to get the
tray cleaned before the next feeding time.

Speaking of feeding there are so many options for high chairs, booster seats, Bumbo seats and so on. You should really look at how much space you have in your kitchen. If you don't have extra space for a high chair you should consider getting a booster/high chair that attaches to one of your kitchen chairs. Also keep in mind how easily the chair/tray can be cleaned - because you will be cleaning it. A lot. I got this high chair after one of my friends (Hi, Julie!) recommended it. She did a lot of research and by the time I was ready to buy a high chair I just didn't have the energy to analyze all the different options. We had extra space in our kitchen for a full high chair, so this worked for us. I love that it has so many different options for seating your child. We actually keep the booster portion of the high chair at my parents house for when we visit (although I may take it back if we ever have a need for 2 boosters + a high chair).
The only thing I don't like about this high chair is the fact that the sides of the seat cushion can be unattached....by a baby. Once Joseph figured out how to undo the seat cushion he did it at every. single. meal. Since then, he's been banished to this booster seat. I originally bought it for extra seating when my sister was coming to visit with her toddler because it was so cheap, but I LOVE it. It definitely isn't for babies who are learning to sit because it doesn't have the shoulder straps, but it's really great for toddlers and super easy to travel (in a car) with. We even take it with us to pot-lucks at church - because an un-contained Joseph at meal time is not a pretty sight.

Cute baby. Awesome stroller.
Magic Kingdom here we come!

We're all about containing small children in our household - so let's talk about strollers. Oh strollers. There are so, so many options here. Do you want a snap-n-go? An umbrella stroller? A jogging stroller? The list goes on. Unfortunately, your budget probably doesn't, so you really need to evaluate your needs here.
A snap-n-go stroller is really nice for small babies who sleep a lot. The ability to transfer them in and out of the car without having to wake them is a huge benefit. Snap-n-go's are also generally inexpensive (although when I just looked them up they were much more expensive than what I remember), very light weight and fold up compactly - but this kind of stroller will only last you as long as baby is still in their infant car seat.
If you plan on running with baby, then it's probably wise to look into jogging strollers. Just be aware that these strollers tend to be very heavy and bulky.
Umbrella strollers are nice because they're generally inexpensive, lightweight and fold up very compactly. The one major drawback to these is that they generally don't have much room for storing baby paraphernalia.
My parents graciously bought us our City Mini with the car seat attachment. I loved the snap-n-go capability with Joseph. I took him on walks and out shopping a lot, so I really liked that I could just transfer him from the car to the stroller or vice versa (I didn't use the car seat attachment with John at all - I just reclined the seat all the way back). I also love that the stroller is lightweight and folds up compactly (and can be folded with just one hand!!!). The stroller also steers really well. I loved my City Mini so much I ended up getting the Double City Mini when John came along. I could be a sales rep for Baby Jogger and sell City Minis - that's how much I love this stroller. I feel it's the best of all the stroller worlds - lightweight, has snap-n-go capability if you buy the attachment (for about the same price as a snap-n-go stroller), folds up compactly, and has plenty of storage.
I do have lots of friends with various other strollers, and they're all happy with their choices so don't let my blathering on fool you. There are other strollers in this universe.

Finally, we've got pack n' plays. I don't have too many thoughts on pack n' plays other than they're great for travel or having an extra place for a baby to sleep when a friend with a baby comes to visit. I've never used ours for playing, but I suppose you could do that - it is called a pack n' play after all. Bottom line - get a basic model for travel. You don't need all the extra stuff that will only drive up the price. Something simple, like this, will do just fine.