Sweet Ride!

What a way to end the weekend! We drove north to Maryland to finally get to meet the gorgeous 2.5-year-old twins of Mike's co-worker Kristen and her partner Allison. The little ones, Levi and Miriam, were so full of energy and certainly kept our kids on their toes. They loved dragging Katie around to play with and read to them; and they giggled mightily bouncing on their beds with Michael. We all played at a nearby playground, walked through the beautiful downtown Bethesda, and ate a yummy lunch. But the best part was yet to come.... Toward the end of the playdate, we all went down to their basement where there were...gasp...some of the coolest toys we had ever seen. Just take a look at the sweet ride Katie was pedaling around! Even though we had gotten to a point way past the younger kids' nap time, it was hard to tear everybody away. Thanks again, Kristen and Allison!

This Weekend is a Blur!

Whew, this weekend has already been a blur of activity; and we still have one more day to go! Yesterday, we went to an Open Swim at a neighborhood pool to see if we might become members this summer. Katie was in seventh heaven, swimming for hours, meeting new friends, playing on the playgrounds, even enjoying a free members' picnic. Michael...well, he's not much of a water baby, so we'll see how he adjusts this summer...

Today, we had an even busier day! We got up early to get over to our church neighborhood so that we could watch the annual "Rolling Thunder" of motorcycles that rally at the National Mall every Memorial Day weekend. Katie was a bit scared by all of the noise, but Michael was thrilled by the spectacle. He even gave the bikers some waves as they drove by. Next, Katie and Traci headed to a super-fun pool birthday party at one of her preschool buddy's. Finally, we dined on some fabulous BBQ dinner at our wonderful friends' house (Jim, Kim, Patrick & Colleen). As always, the food was awesome and the hospitality was second to none. The kids are at the age where they go off and play on their own for long stretches. Just look where we found them tonight....holed up in the guest shower. Don't ask us, ask them.

Anyway, we have another fun day planned for tomorrow: a playdate in Maryland with some of Daddy's work friends and kids. We'll let you know how that goes. Hope you are having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend as well!

Safer Waters

As a contrast to yesterday, we found much safer (non-snake) waters available at our good friends' house. A big thanks to Maureen, Connor (almost 4-year-old!) and Madeline (14-months) for letting us take a dip in their baby pool. The kids splashed around, watered the grass, and ate popsicles and chips while the moms lounged in their chairs. It was as it always should be! Ahhhhhh....here comes summer!

Snakes in a River

Phew...it feels like mid-August out there already! We're trying our best to beat the heat, but the pools and spraygrounds around here don't open until this weekend. So, we figured we would head to the next best option: the river just minutes down the road! (Can't beat the price!!) Katie was so psyched about getting in the water that she ran down to the river, even as Traci was back at the car situating Michael. Finally, Traci & son walked down to the river's edge, only to come across the scariest scene imaginable (at least to Traci)...a frightened water snake gliding as fast as it could away from us. Traci very nearly had a heart attack and just yelled, "Whoa, whoa, whoa...outta that water NOW!!" Katie didn't want to get out, and Michael was complaining about not even getting in at all. After lots of pleading and whining, Traci finally decided to allow the kids back into the water way upstream. All was going fine. (Well, if you define "fine" as Traci's heart pounding through her chest every time she saw a stick float by. Or, if you define it as her searching every rock and crevice for sign of snakes.) All, until Katie asked, "Mommy, is that another snake??" Traci looked over, and it was a dead snake, snagged by a rock, just taunting us in the water. GAME OVER FOR THE RIVER!!!!!!

Good thing for us, there was an air-conditioned nature center just minutes away. We camped out there, looked at icky snakes safely behind glass, and had fun in other ways. Here is Michael trying on one of the Center's many animal masks.

Needless to say, Traci is relieved that Memorial Day brings nice, chlorinated, monitored Swimming Pool Season!!! Now onto the nightmares this evening...

Royal Wedding Redux

 

A big, big thanks goes out to our buddy Kim (and family) for hosting the best darn Royal Wedding party ever to be held a month after the fact!! All of us girls loved the first event so much that we were clamboring for more. So, Kim threw together a grand spread of scones, cookies, pastries, cheese, crackers, and tea and invited us over to re-watch a bunch of the wedding specials. We had a blast dissecting the ceremony, the outfits, and the guests. Oh, and we just gabbed about our families as well. Special mention has to go out to Kim for getting us all "William & Kate" flags and making us fascinators (the crazy British hats) to wear. Cheers, everybody!

First Day, Last Day

We are so very proud of our Katherine Reese! She finished her first year of preschool today. Yes, you can point to all of the tangible things she learned this year, such as how to write the letters of her name or to paint beautiful pictures. But we are more excited by all of the intangibles: the new friends, the excited love of learning, the willingness to share and take turns, the respect and admiration for her teachers, the increased confidence to step away from her parents and create her own experiences. (OK, that last one was a bit rough on us, but we know it's what needs to happen.) We couldn't be happier with her experience; and we know she feels the same way. For today's picture, we've placed her first day and last day school pictures side-by-side. She does look pretty much the same, but, believe us, she's changed! Not only has she gained a pound and grown an inch (according to school records!), but she has what it takes to move on to the BIG 4-YEAR CLASS. Yeah, Katie!

Finally, all of the parents got a super surprise from Katie's teachers today in the form of a CD full of all of the pictures taken in the classroom throughout the year. It was a perfect gift to us, letting us a be a fly on the wall just for a second into our children's burgeoning independence. Please take a look in the album to the right at some of Katie's antics from the year.

Obstacle Cord

Every once in awhile, Katie just gets in the mood for a good evening-ending "obstacle cord." And, nobody puts together a better course than Daddy! Tonight, he put together variation after variation, which both kids loved. Here is the first course, expertly navigated by Super Girl. Each course got more and more complex. By the end of the night, they were weaving, jumping, throwing, pushing, and running all over our house. Fun stuff!

Two-Zero, Baby!

Since Michael is now a nice, round 20-months-old (!), we figured we would update you on the little dude...

LIKES:
Reading; Clomping around in his sister's princess high-heels; Dancing; Spending time outdoors; Swinging; Mimicking his sister's every actions; MILK!; Squealing; Playing chase; Watching himself pee on our floors/himself (!)

DISLIKES:
All foods not in the dairy, bread, or sugar food groups; Diaper changes; Sitting in one place for very long; Not getting his way; When his sister leaves for school; Having his hair washed; Separating from his mama

LATEST SKILLS:
At least 30 words/animal sounds; Walking up and down the steps like a big boy; Retrieving items when prompted; Adequately eating with his fork and spoon

How Does Your Garden Grow?

We had three very active gardeners tending to our beautiful, new flowers this afternoon. Mike, the fearless leader, did most of the dirty work, scooping the dirt and setting the flowers just so. Katie, ever the precise one, carried each individual flower to Daddy, chose where they went into the planters, and finished the watering. Michael, the troublemaker, plucked petals off of the flowers, threw dirt around the sidewalk, and kicked empty flower containers around. Guess that is what you do when you are 20-months-old!!

Wheeee-Ooooooh!

One more from last night...Daddy and Katie up, up, and away on a flying fire engine! This was the same ride that made Katie fall in love with carnivals at her first one two years ago. Michael didn't make the height cut this year, so we'll try again next year!

Carnivale

Tonight, we surprised the kids and took them to a local carnival that is in town for two weeks. Katie has been once before, but did not remember it; thus, seeing her face as we pulled into the parking lot was worth the rather expensive cost of each ride. Pure excitement! Anyway, once the anxiety of the loud carni games had passed, Katie had a blast on the train, fire truck, buggy, and carousel.

Here, Katie takes a helicopter ride with Mommy. Daddy was a bit disappointed that she chose the Apache over the police helicopter, but Katie assured him that she chose only by color!

Michael did not appreciate the carousel ride as much as his big sister! After this photo was taken, I don't think his head was seen detached from his Mom's shoulder the rest of the night. Still, all in all, a successful evening...

My Throne

Hey everybody, Michael here. Ladies and gentlemen, check out my new throne!! Daddy pulled it down from that upstairs place (the one I like to climb the ladder to) this weekend, and I have been perched on it ever since. You can often find me here with a stuffed animal, my blankies, and a paci. Every once in awhile my darn big sister takes up some space on it, too. I like to practice sitting up and down on it, and then I love to roll on it when it's laid flat. I have no idea what the pictures are (since I don't watch Sesame Street), but I like to practice my animal sounds by pointing at the duck, fish, etc. I think I look like quite the handsome, little prince, don't you?

Role Reversal

Isn't it the young one that is supposed to conk out on the drive home from the playground?

We're Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo....

Since Mike had to work on Sunday (sniff, sniff) and had today off, we celebrated a late Mothers' Day with a trip to the National Zoo! Highlights for Michael: His beloved elephants (cue his strange trumpet-trunk sound), the orangutan walking around with a box on his head, the roaring lions, and the baby gorilla picking his snacks out of a ball.

Katie's highlights: The monkeys eating, the apes swinging overhead on their monkey bar lines, the octopus (in honor of Daddy's Redwings hockey team), the lemurs, petting a goat, and the giant tortoises.

As for Mom and Dad? They just enjoyed watching their kids have a blast with minimal tantrums or complaints. What more could we ask for?

Camera's Back!!

Yay, we got our camera back from the Canon Repair Shop!! What better way to capture what we've been doing lately than with a picnic shot! Our weather has been absolutely perfect here (mid-70s, sunny), so we've been spending most of our time outdoors at playgrounds and various birthday parties. Katie even has the scars to prove it...check out the scratches all over her face from a nasty fall off the monkey bars. Daddy is off from work tomorrow, so hopefully we can get some nice pictures from a day at the zoo!!

Step Aside, Fred and Ginger!!

Hooray!!!! Katie's dance class had a surprise recital for the parents, and she actually danced!!! If any of you don't know the history of our daughter and public performances, you may not recall Katie's first two disastrous recitals: tears, tantrums, and non-performance. Well, today she danced her heart out; and Mommy and Michael got to see her in all of her glory. Way to go, girl! (NOTE: This is a sorta long video of both the ballet and tap performances. We didn't cut it down for the grandparents' sake. Feel free to breeze through, if you would like!!)

See Food???

 

Hmmm....would somebody teach these unruly kids their manners? Ahem...our kids have had a lot of fun lately "showing each other" their grossly eaten food. They get the biggest kick out of it. Mom and Dad just sigh and shake their heads...for now.

On another note, we don't know how so many people have given up their real digital cameras for their camera phones. The picture quality from these camera phones just doesn't compare. We can't wait to get our real camera back!!!

Don't Jump!!

The four of us had the great pleasure of meeting up with some dear, old friends this afternoon! Traci's childhood buddy Becky, her husband Jeff, and son Kai (21-months-old) flew into the area from California for a family celebration and luckily found some time to play with us. We needed a spot that could withstand the crazy energy of young children, so we met up at Great Falls National Park to view the massive falls and run around silly. The kids loved the wide-open spaces, beautiful scenery, and gigantic vultures (really!) that were scavenging through the park's garbage cans. (We'll leave out the obvious jokes about spotting vultures inside the Beltway...) Fortunately, Mike snapped a few pictures of our kids with his camera phone, but we are kicking ourselves for not getting any of our guests! (We'll hope that they send us some of their group pics???)