Thank Goodness for Sisters!!!

Aunt Becky's new nickname is "Beck". While I am working Beck has been exploring DC with Ian and Emma. They recently went to the National Cathedral where Ian played with tree branches on the Cathedral lawn. They visited the train exhibit at the Botanical Gardens where Ian played on the fountain ledge outside. They ate muffins and sipped tea at Dean and Deluca in Georgetown. And Beck brought Ian a bike which is the new love of his life. It took Ian about a week of intense training to figure out how to peddle and brake and he is now a pro on the bike. He seems so big and grown up now. Forget about the stroller. We now BIKE to the park. I am always in awe of how many mini stages kids go through. Once you think you have one under control (Ian wanting to walk to the park holding on to the stroller) another one emergse (Ian wanting to bike to the park). New worlds are continually being forged.

I feel like we have gotten into a better sleep routine these days. Ian is still not going to bed until 9pm but he is not waking up in the middle of the night as much anymore. Thank goodness for that!

Ian is really into trains these days. We may have to invest in an electric set for around the Christmas tree. We are also working on Ian's sentences. He currently leaves out his prepositions and what we call "nice words" (like Please, and thank you) saying, "Come play me" so we are making him repeat his requests and sentences. Ian is also amazing us once again and potty training himself. He now wakes up with a dry diaper and runs into the bathroom to go in his potty. I probably should jump on this opportunity to fully potty train him but he is still resisting wearing "big boy underpants."

And Emma...Emma is Emma. She is still a great sleeper, and is starting to interact more and more. She loves standing up. We tried feeding her rice cereal last night and she had no clue what to do so I am thinking I will hold off on the food for a bit as she seems satisfied with milk. She still loves sharing a room with her big brother and even does a great job not waking him up in the mornings.

My posts are completely out of order these days...sorry! Here are some more pictures of our trip to Richmond for the beautiful wedding of Andrew and Clair Stewart. Ian and his second cousin Conner could not have been more adorable. Emma was snuggled the entire time by the Stewart clan. Chaos ensued during breakfast...but what is not chaotic about 18 people eating breakfast in a hotel lobby? Again, I was completely shocked at how well Ian and Emma traveled. It makes me think that trips to Chattanooga and Carmel are not impossible!

Just had to post this picture. It makes me laugh. Are we really a family of four now? Flying seemed so daunting with one child, but two...I still can't believe we survived. Ian is still full from the four pieces of gum he swallowed.

Ian's Sleep Saga

I can't tell if Ian is turning into a jokester, or if he is just being your typical two year old. We have been following Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and Dr. Weissbluth's suggestions to attempt to turn Ian into a better sleeper. Dr. Weissbluth suggests the following: If Ian comes out of his room after we say goodnight we are to pick him up (without looking at him or talking to him) and put him back in his bed. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Dr. Weissbluth says that after doing this for three nights in a row the child should get the picture and start to stay in their bed and go to sleep on their own. He has obviously never met Ian...


The first night Ian came out of his room 111 times before falling asleep. The second night he came out 76 times. The third night 38 times. Now on average he comes out 10-20 times before finally falling to sleep on his own in his bed. He tries several tactics a night to get us to react or play with him before going to sleep. One night I was changing Emma's diaper in our bedroom and I saw a book fly by me and land on the bed. Then a few seconds later Ian comes charging into our room and in a suprised fashion says, "Oh, my book. I found my book." It took everything in me to refrain from laughing. Pick up, do not make eye contact, place in bed, repeat.



Despite falling to sleep at an earlier hour on his own (well kinda), Ian is still waking up several times from the hours of 1am-4am and is now up for the day at 6am. We are still having issues with him falling back to sleep on his own when he does wake up in the middle of the night and since we have been traveling so much lately and don't have a set routine we are just letting it go. Since we are up anyway though I have started putting Emma in Ian's room after her night feeding. They don't seem to be bothered by one another and sleep through the other's crying and wakings.



Our sleep sagas aside, we are enjoying this fall weather. I really can't believe that Thanksgiving is next week and then the Christmas season starts. I am not sure if I am ready for the Christmas carols yet. We have been having such warm weather here in DC it just doesn't seem right.

We have been seeing a lot of our yoga mamma's and babies recently. The boys are finally playing together which is so fun to watch, and the little ones are such sweet happy little babies.

Yoga Mamma's and kids minus Charlie.

The new additions: Emma, Diego and Caitlin

Halloween with yoga mamma's, dads, and kids. Ian refused to dress up so we put on his camo pants and said he was Uncle Matt.

Granola

I am currently addicted to granola. I eat it at all times of the day. The recipe below is my favorite by far...adding lots of cashews and almonds. Once you make it a few times you realize you don't really have to follow the measurements that carefully. We just add whatever we have and whatever we are craving that week, including lots of pumpkin seeds. Granola has been added to the weekly list of things we make. You can never have too much granola!

To Die For Granola...may be adapted from Alton Brown...
Preheat over to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl combine:
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup cashews
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup pumpkin seeds
3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

In a seperate bowl combime:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup (I always add a touch more)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (canola oil works fine as well)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins
Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.
Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins and mix until evenly distributed.

Richmond Wedding

We traveled to Richmond this past weekend for a Stewart wedding. What a great time we had! Ian finally got to meet his second cousin Conner (they are only a week apart). They had a blast terrorizing the Westin and running around at the reception. I was so giddy to stay in a hotel room for one night. No Pippin hair to clean off the floor, no dishes to clean, king size bed...I felt like I was on vacation. We even got to spend some time in the indoor pool and hot tub. Ian loved the hotel almost as much as I did. He was amazed by the "real" phone in the room so much so that he dialed 911. Room service threw him for a loop though. He didn't quite understand how I could order the food over the phone and it arrived at our door sometime later. Regardless he enjoyed his toast and berries!

Emma claimed the bed for her own and slept through Ian playing Angry Birds on the i-pad. When she finally woke up she was as happy as could be and ready for a brother/sister photo shoot.

I love Fridays!!! It is my one day home from work and

I get to hang out with Ian and Emma all day.

How can I get out of this thing...

Still a great sleeper!

Always happy!

Homemade yogurt

Last week I visited my friend Katie and she was making yogurt...in a crock pot! I could not believe it. All things milk usually gross me out but I decided to try it myself. It is SO easy! We are still getting a little used to the taste. You have to add a little honey since there is no sugar added. Most yogurts you buy in the store are loaded with sugar. I figure we will save each week though in making our own yogurt. Just $3.25 for a half gallon of milk compared to the $10.00 we usually spend on yogurt.

Here is the simple recipe:

Heat a half gallon of milk (skim, 1 percent, 2 percent, whole...take your pick) in a covered crock pot on low for 2 hours.

Turn the crock pot off, unplug, and let sit covered for three more hours.

Then ladle two cups of the milk from the crock pot into a bowl. Whisk in a 1/2 cup of store bought plain yogurt (once you make the yogurt though you can just use a half cup of homemade plain yogurt). Then pour the mixture back into the crock pot.

Cover with a heavy bath towel for 8 hours or overnight.

What you will get is a much creamier and somewhat "watery yogurt" compared to Yoplait or a comparable brand. If you currently get your yogurt from a creamery it is pretty much the same consistency. Simply add fruit, honey and granola.

Schlagel Farms

I have been wanting to take Ian to a farm since the petting zoo at the National Zoo is his favorite. I wanted Ian to see the animals in their real habitat. So we wandered on down to Schlagel Farms which is about 45 minutes southwest of DC in Maryland. Their farm is totally geared toward children and Ian loved it! The tour starts out with playtime in a great big box of corn. Ian was a little apprehensive at first but soon dived right in. The hayride was the next big attraction followed by a maze and petting farm. Ian loved petting the animals and would still be there feeding the goats and pigs if I hadn't picked him up kicking and screaming and carried him to the car.

Forgot to add a picture of Emma's cloth diapers. They are so cute! Bulky, but cute.

And here is one in case you are having a bad day...

The weeks are just flying by. I can't believe I have already been back to work for a month now. Becky is still watching Ian and Emma during the week while I work. Have I mentioned how wonderful it is to have her around? The house seems so empty when she leaves to give herself a break on the weekends. And I miss all of her wonderful treats - cookies, muffins, granola...yum!

Life has been a little crazy lately as Ian is going through somewhat of a transition. I am not sure if it is the "terrible twos" or it is a reaction to me going back to work, but he has been awful at bedtime. So sweet during the day but come bedtime and he starts whining and crying. He does everything to stall and if left alone in his room will scream until he throws up. After I found myself cleaning his comforter for the third time at 9pm at night I decided we had to take a different course of action. We have slowly been getting back to normalcy (Ian going to bed on his own after we read him a book and say prayers). I think we are about halfway. We still need to stay in the room with Ian for about ten-fifteen minutes and then we say, "I just have to go check on something and I will be right back to check on you." He usually buys it. Sometimes he doesn't and bedtime takes a little longer.

Emma is growing up so quickly. She is already in six month clothes! She is rolling over - both ways- and is so fun to play with. If you smile she will smile right back at you. She loves to be outside, and loves to watch Ian. This past week was Emma's first week in cloth diapers. Overall I think it went well. Tim refuses to put them on her so I still have to buy disposables. Becky is slowly coming around. I love the cloth diapers and think they look so cute on Emma. They are a little bit more work but in the end will hopefully save us a lot of money. I am even using my Mom's old diaper pail- thanks Mom for holding on to it all these years! I can't help but feel so "green" everytime I change Emma's diaper.

Ian and Emma have been hanging out a lot lately, taking baths, and even sleeping in the same room one night!

FUN AT THE PARK:


BATHTIME:

WHAT USUALLY ENDS UP HAPPENING HALFWAY THROUGH DINNER:

Two Trips to PA in Two Weeks

I spent the week before going back to work at my parent's house in Pennsylvania. It was great timing as I got sick the day I left. It was wonderful to have my family there to help me take care of Ian and Emma while I had the flu. My mom let me sleep in every morning. I didn't want to leave! While at my parents house we took Ian to a creek nearby. He loved splashing around in the water. It was so beautiful out as well. Ian and Emma also got to spend more time with their great-grandparents which is always so special!






This past weekend we traveled to Pittsburgh to meet Matt's wife Elisabeth. Matt is in Afghanistan right now so Elisabeth traveled to Pittsburgh on her own to meet the family. Elisabeth is amazing and it was great to meet her. She spent five hours in the kitchen one day making dinner for all of us. She held Emma for me during the entire church service. And she is so fun to be around. We spent most of the weekend catching up with family. Hannah and Brock drove down from Cleveland. Hannah is going to be the most amazing mother. She attached herself to Emma for the entire weekend, so much so that I even had a chance to read a book. Imagine that! We spent the weekend preparing for fall and even roasted marshmallows over a fire one night. Emma finally got to meet her Chapman great-grandparents (Grand mamma and Grand pappa). Thank goodness for these wonderful times with family to get us through the work week!