Ian handed me a piece of paper today and said, "Here is a text for you." Boy, times have really changed, and Ian is really growing up. He picked out his first Highlights magazine at the store the other day and we have been reading through it. For Ian, who is incredibly interested in how things work, this magazine is great. For me, who never really paid much attention in physics or any science class for that matter, this magazine is allowing me to learn all over again. I am consistently amazed by what Ian picks up from conversation and what he can deduce from things and people around him. While I am watching in amazement as Ian grows up, Ian is having a much harder time with it. When asked, Ian insists that he is still two. While driving back from Michigan two weeks ago, Ian noticed hair on his legs. He got so upset and attempted to rub the hair off of his legs. The other day he asked me if I could pluck the hair off of his legs with, "the scissors you use on your eyebrows."

As Ian grows up he is also becoming more adventurous when using the bathroom. His attempts to "aim " at all sides of the toilet frequently fall short. I feel like I am constantly cleaning the toilet and surrounding area.

Our sleep sagas continue as Ian still wakes up once or twice a night. He either stumbles into our room and ends up in our bed or on the floor, or gets lost in the bathroom while sleep walking and can't find his way back to his room. Emma usually is able to sleep through some of this but is such a light sleeper and 9 times out of 10 wakes up as well. However, when not bothered, Emma has been known to sleep through the night.

Two weeks ago while in Harbor Springs, MI Emma got a bad cold and decided she was done with nursing. So that was that. However, she hates milk. She is really trying to like it but just can't seem to get down more than a few sips a day. This is such a change from Ian who only drinks milk and water, and goes through 2 gallons of milk a week on his own.

We just got back from a great trip to the beach with my family (will post pictures of that trip and our trip to Michigan shortly) and I feel like I have nothing to offer Ian and Emma. They had a blast in the pool and on the beach. Caffeine and trips to the zoo, Theodore Roosevelt Island, and the Arboretum are getting us through this week as we are all a little depressed returning from our two week vacation stint.

Some cool things happened while we were gone though: we got new doors on our house and Tim was on TV!

Summertime!!!!

Beach house, check
Boat, check
Private island, check!

Emma at ONE

We have a crazy girl in our midst. Seriously, Emma is out of control. I can't even explain her personality....but she has one, and it is HUGE! Ian was always very much attached to me and quiet, Emma on the other hand is independent and has some spunk. She currently has one tooth up top (which makes her look even more crazy), two teeth on the bottom, and crazy hair....it curls a bit, is very stringy, but mostly just looks like she has bed-head all day long. She has recently started screaming to get her point across and gets very (VERY!) upset if you take anything away from her. She loves to pull Ian's hair and is in to everything he does. She is also WALKING! Wow, somewhere along the way she hit this major milestone. One day last week Tim and I looked at each other and said, "Ummm...our little girl is a walker." Emma is still a charmer though and will come very close to your face, smile, and then pull her head back very quickly. It is her air kiss. She also loves to cuddle and adores Tim. She waves hi and goodbye, but her only word right now is "hi." It was her first word and her only word. I am not sure if we ever really sang to Emma on her birthday, (Ian blew out enough candles for him and Emma combined) but alas she is ONE and such a fun little girl to be around.

So about a month ago now Ian, Emma, and I made our way up the East Coast once again. We stopped in Havertown, Pennsylvania to celebrate my sister Emily's birthday. Then hit the road again and drove to West Hartford, CT. We always have such a great time with Sally, Seth, Will and Cate that I forget to take pictures... (but mostly because it is just pure madness the entire time). It was cold and rainy, much different than the weather we experience in DC, so it was actually really nice. We went to their amazing library again and also went to an indoor playscape. I had never been to a playscape before, these things are insane. Ian and Emma loved it though (after Ian realized that he wasn't going to fall through the tiny holes in the rope several feet above the ground). Ian and Emma had a sleep over with Will and Cate while I continued my trek to Beverly Farms, Massachusetts for Laurie's wedding. Her wedding was gorgeous, right on the water and was wonderfully New England. It made me miss the Vineyard terribly! The wedding was also right down the street from Gordon College where I went to school so it was very nostalgic being there.

Before heading back home with Ian and Emma, Sally and I took the boys for munchkins and then stopped by Elizabeth Gardens which is right down the street from their home. The roses were gorgeous!

The finished patio!

Ian's new friend

Happy July!

Wow, I can't believe it is already July. Ian is THREE and Emma turns ONE next week. We have been over the river, through the woods, to Grandmothers house, Grandmamma's house, Mom-Mom's house, and Aunt Sally's house. Will post on all those trips soon...once we stop enjoying our new back patio which is FINISHED!!! YAY!!! We have so much to be thankful for...a newly painted house, a new patio, great trips to visit family, and two new babies - Olivia and William Meffen. YAY!!!

Hope you all are having a wonderful summer...

Just Because...

So, I am doing things a little backwards, but at least I am including everything! Back in May we had the opportunity to go to Ocean City, Maryland with some friends while Tim was off on a golf weekend. Ian had a great time playing with Jackson and living near the beach. It was also in Ocean City that we discovered Emma's obsession with rocks. On the one cloudy day we had we tried something new and rented a surrey on the boardwalk. A very interesting experience!

Over Memorial Day weekend my sisters and brother came to visit. They were troopers and put up with the dust and grossness in our house. We had to stay out of the house the majority of the time because of the dust and work being done so pretty much everything we did was outside despite the hot and humid weather. We had a great time going to the pool, eating at Eastern Market, going for walks, and making yummy meals.

Celebrations!

We finally have our house back, sort of. The painting is all finished and the brick has been exposed. We ended up exposing a bit more brick than anticipated due to some water damage. The majority of our walls, windows, and trim has been patched up and fixed. Boy, what started as a simple paint job became a total of 3.5 weeks of work. I am exhausted and I didn't even do anything. Trying to keep Ian and Emma away from the house all day in 95 degree weather was NOT fun. The last couple weeks are a blur of walks around the neighborhood searching for shade, trips to the grocery store to stand in the freezer aisle, and drives to far away places to try to pass the time while Ian and Emma napped. I am SO thankful to have our house back.

Despite the chaos in our house we were able to celebrate some pretty major things over the last couple of weeks. We had a shower for my friend Cynda who is expecting TWINS!!!; celebrated my brother's graduation from high school; and Owen's 2nd birthday. We also FINALLY got to meet Samuel and Riley and gave them lots of hugs and kisses. Oh, and I turned 31 and went to a Zac Brown Band/Kenny Chesney concert to celebrate.

Emma is 11 months now and is still a darling although she has bursts of very loud screams. She still EATS EVERYTHING! We have started putting barrettes in her hair and she looks so adorable. Emma has taken two steps before falling but is very determined so we think she may walk soon. Some things Emma loves: Ian, her daddy, her pacifier, bath time, putting things in her mouth, and playing with gravel and rocks.

Ian is almost 3 years old. I cannot believe that! He really loves books about firefighters and fire trucks as well as police cars and police men. A policeman on a bike gave him a jr. badge in the park the other day and he has wanted to go back ever since and get another one. He immediately put it on his shoulder and would not take the badge off. Ian is still waking up at least once a night and coming into our room. He ends up sleeping on the floor at the foot of our bed and seems to sleep much better there than in a bed. He moves around a TON in his sleep and usually ends up falling off his bed so the floor is best for him now. Ian is 100 percent potty trained except for nighttime. We tried to go without a diaper at night and needless to say Ian did not make it to the bathroom in time. So, back to the diaper. Some other things Ian is obsessed with: "doing work", balloons, butterflies, and eating chicken on the bone. We have a carnivore on our hands!

How it all started...

Ian meets Riley!

Darling Riley.

Owen teaches Emma and Samuel all about trains.

Ian eating a cookie at my birthday lunch at Ted's Bulletin

Celebrating Owen's birthday

Just a little bit of chaos...couch in the kitchen = extra seating

Tim and me at the concert

The family at Greg's graduation (minus Tim)

Love taking pictures of Emma!

Late night ice cream treat on the back deck

Trying to deal with the dust...at least we still had our kitchen!

Emma meeting Grandmom for the first time!

Emma at 10 months, strawberry picking, and house projects!

We have had a great last couple of weeks here at home. Work officially finished up for me at the end of April so May has somewhat been back to normal. We had a great weekend with Tim's mom (Nina) a few weekends back and then a quick but fun trip to PA to see my family for Mother's Day weekend. We have gone strawberry picking twice because it is such a fun activity for the kids. I love that they can run and play at the farm without me constantly having to yell, "Stay away from the street," or "watch out for that person walking down the sidewalk," or "don't throw your ball in that person's yard." I made jam with the 40 pounds of strawberries we picked. I must say, making jam gave me a new sense of accomplishment. I commented to Tim that I think I am now ready to live on a farm :)

The spring has given us a renewed desire to finish some house projects. We are finally going to brick our backyard, giving up on the hopes of grass and a garden. As one person commented, "your backyard is the Ritz Carlton for mosquitoes." It is true. Our backyard does not drain well and does not get much sun so it is pretty disgusting for most of the summer. We are excited to get it done and "add another room" to our house. We are also working on exposing some of the brick that has been covered up, patching our roof and skylight, and repairing some plumbing issues that come along with having a 1902 house. Lastly, we are going to re-paint our entire house...and by we I mean Isaac the painter. It has been fun picking out paint colors and fixing things up a bit.

Emma went in for her nine month check up last week, but was four weeks late so really I guess it was her 10 month check up. She came in at a whopping 15 pounds, just slightly in the 2nd percentile. She is so tiny we just have to laugh. When she is wearing cloth diapers she is in 6-9 month clothes, but if I put on a disposable diaper she can still wear her 0-3 and 3-6 month clothes. Emma's eye also seems to be doing a bit better. She has had a good eye week and we are hoping that the tear duct is unblocked for good. Our little petite pea continues to amaze us however with her eating ability. Some new foods this past week are eggs, yogurt, strawberries, pumpernickel bread, chicken and black beans.

Ian, or should I say "Ian the builder", has somehow turned our house into a construction zone. He finds a way to make everything a project that needs to be fixed from the couch to his bed, to the stairwell. He has a new found love for string and these days our house usually looks like a scene from Parent Trap. Ian has also had a blast watering our pots every morning and watching his own strawberries grow. We have also been chronicling the growth of our pomegranates, peaches, and grapes. Ian's godfather Nate came to visit this past weekend and I don't think Ian left his side the entire time even waking him up every morning. Sorry Nate!

The kids and I head to the beach this weekend with some friends while Tim goes on his annual golf trip. We are looking forward to some time in the sand.