Bits and Bobs

Ian got his first stomach flu last night. It was quite interesting. He made it to the toilet/bathtub a few times, but not so much several other times. I was doing laundry all night. Ian was so pathetic it was quite cute. He is still a little sick and I am shocked that I have time to blog amidst all of this, but I don't really have much to do but sit around and wait for him to get sick again. Ian kept crying for water all night long and I wouldn't give it to him for fear he would just get sick again. At one point I must have dosed off because I woke up and Ian was up on the sink in the bathroom trying to drink water straight out of the faucet.

My friend Kate sometimes does a rundown on her blog called "bits and bobs" from her days in England. Since we have an impending royal wedding which I am getting quite excited for I thought I would list our "bits and bobs" from the last couple of weeks.

1) Tim had a board meeting in Palm Beach at the beginning of April and I got to tag along. Poor Tim had to wear his suit and attend meetings all day but I got to sit in the sun and order fruity drinks for three days. My parents and siblings took on the task of taking care of Ian and Emma. Ian and Emma had so much fun at their grandparents house they didn't want to leave at the end. Ian cried from his carseat as we backed out of the driveway, "I don't want to go home."

2) My mom thinks that Ian is destined to become a politician. I am not sure where he has picked it up but he he this is how he asks for things these days, "Mom, you are so nice. Can I please have a lollipop?" Or when at my Mom's house, "Mom-Mom, I love being at your house. Can I please have some candy?"

3) Emma...oh Emma. How do I put her personality into words? She is a bruiser. She gets knocked down and gets right back up. She is climbing up stairs and yesterday I caught her trying to climb out of the crib. NINE MONTHS people! I am not ready for this. She is SO into Ian. She loves everything about him, including pulling his hair. She thinks she can swim but she can't. We also call Emma the Slimer. She constantly has stuff oozing out of her nose, eyes, mouth. She is just disgusting, but in a cute way. She is eating us out of house and home. She eats EVERYTHING in sight.

4) We went to Sewickley to be with Tim's parents and family for Easter. We had the entire third floor to ourselves and the kids did great. We were able to capture a few shots of the weekend, but all in all Ian and Emma had a blast tearing apart Nina and Grandpa's house and hanging out with the family. Ian got to plant strawberries with Nina. Tim and I got to go to a hot yoga class which we loved! Susannah taught the class and did an amazing job. Ian had his first Easter egg hunt and was so excited to find his Easter basket up in a tree!

5) It is SO hot in DC right now. I was not ready for the 90 degree weather. Where did the spring go?

6) I finished up my first full month and a half of consulting work. Becky and my Mom were awesome and came down to watch Ian and Emma while I went into work. I now have a two month break before the next filing project in July.

Sometimes they just need to be separated:

Found it!

Easter shot:

Tuckered out from church:

Nothing like a cinnamon bun at church to get one to listen:

Our sweet Emma:

Ian the tree climber:

Love those athletic legs:

Our days seem to be completely governed by the weather, which has been very hot and cold lately. It will be almost 80 degrees one day and then back down to 40 degrees and raining the next. We are taking advantage of the nicer days though and exploring DC, going to the zoo, and playing at the various local parks. As for the nasty rainy days? We have been painting A LOT as well as trying out some new art projects that include potatoes, string, and pasta.

The cherry blossoms are out and gorgeous! I fear they won't last long though as you can see from some of the pictures the petals are already starting to fall. Emma loves crawling around at the park and trying to pull herself up on everything. She has been playing really well by herself and has a tendency to become fixated on one toy. As you can see her eyes are still goopy and her tear ducts are still blocked. She does not seem to be bothered by it at all but I really wish they would clear up.

The newest yogi baby was born last week and Aidan has a new baby brother, Shane. Although I don't have any pictures of Shane who is so adorable, I do have some pictures of Ian and Aidan playing at the park. Ian and Aidan are frenemies and love to nag each other. Ian refused to pose in a picture with Aidan, and Aidan chose not to get dirty and muddy with Ian at the park despite Ian's pleading.

Tim flew to Palm Beach this morning and we got to go on the runway and watch him take off. I have never seen Ian so excited. I thought the loud noise would scare him, but he wanted to get out of the car and watch Tim take off. The takeoff took forever though so we ended up watching from the car, but it was still pretty neat. I leave on Friday to meet Tim in Palm Beach and get some R&R while Ian and Emma get to spend the weekend with my parents, sisters, and brother.

Friday Winnie the Pooh quote

If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.

Winnie the Pooh

Eeyore, Pooh's Little Instruction Book

These days I feel like Ian is not hearing me at all. Or maybe something is getting lost in translation. Or maybe he is hearing me but just choosing not to listen. Or maybe he is listening, but just choosing not to obey. Are these the terrible twos?

At the risk of boring you to death, I am using the blog to chronicle Ian and Emma at each stage of their life. In lieu of a baby book which I seem to be awful at updating.

Ian at two and a half

- repeats the same thing over and over again.

-has at least one temper tantrum a day...doesn't kick and scream, just cries very loud and says, "Mommy" over and over again

-has started picking up Emma when I am not looking and moving her from room to room

- is really into lacrosse, yoga, and wrestling right now. Tim is teaching him moves in all three.

- loves swimming with me on the weekends

- talks SO MUCH

- is still into robbers and shooting bad guys

- loves Bob the Builder right now, although he sometimes calls it Tom the Builder. It is the only show he will watch. I overheard him talking on his cell phone the other day as he was hammering a chair, "Hi Bobby, you have a job for me?"

Emma at eight and a half months

- is eating so much! loves all types of squash, lentils, carrots, oatmeal, apples, pears, grapes, peas, spinach, potatoes

- does not like bananas

- is always on the move

-loves to pull herself up on EVERYTHING. Thinks she can stand and walk by herself so she will let goand then fall. Balanced for a few seconds on her feet yesterday

-LOVES Pippin. This is an understatement. If Pippin is in the room she just stares at him. Does not like it when he barks though.

- Is putting EVERYTHING in her mouth. Ian didn't go through this phase so it is new to me. I constantly have to watch Emma to make sure she isn't trying to swallow anything.

Pippin at four and a half years

- is still a curmudgen that likes to sleep on the guest bed during the day and has recently took to sleeping in the nursery at night

- still barks at everyone who walks by our house

- favorite mailcarrier is Cassandra and like Ian is a fan of Tyrone the exterminator

- does not like UPS

- still is on the heavy side...probably from eating too many sticks