March Madness

After returning from Mexico Tim and I had some dear friends and family visit: my childhood friend Danielle, her husband Jay, and their son Riley; and Tim's brother Matt, his wife Elisabeth, and their daughter Olivia. We went to the National Harbor with Danielle and Jay. The weekend seemed to be threatening rain but cleared up midday on Saturday and we were able to get outside, walk on the piers, and let the kids play in the sand. We also made some great meals in the evenings after the kids went to bed, sipping wine, and just catching up!

We had a great time with Matt and Elisabeth as well. We went to the Natural History Museum and walked through the butterfly garden which was definitely the highlight! The weekend was beautiful so we spent the majority of the time outside in our backyard, grilling and making yummy Mexican food.

Ian is completely obsessed with babies these days and wouldn't leave Riley or Olivia's side when they were here. From the moment he woke up in the morning he wanted to know where they were, what they were doing, and why they were doing it. The only pictures I have from the weekends are Ian attached to Riley or Olivia. After they left, Ian begged me to have another baby. He desperately wants a baby brother and wants to name him Finnean.

Mid-March we traveled to my parents for a mini-Spring break. My sister Sally and her kids were there as well as my sisters Becky and Abby. Ian and Emma played hard with Will and Cate all day long; playing LIttle House on the Prairie and Cops and Robbers on their bikes. The weather was amazing and the kids played outside all day. Ian crashed at 6pm every night on the couch while we all ate dinner, falling asleep while siting up. Ian loves workshops and my parent's neighbor Joe has a great one. Ian worked with Joe, standing by his side as Joe made birdhouses and bat houses. Joe also made the kids a campfire so they could roast marshmallows. I tried to get all the kids to listen to a tape player one afternoon and I was shocked that it actually worked! They listened to an Adventures in Odyssey for 45 minutes. I couldn't believe it. My attempt to get them to do "school" in the morning wasn't as fruitful however. It ended in Ian and Will running around the house gluing pieces of paper to my parents cabinets.

Since back in DC, the last two weeks were spent dealing with Ian and Emma's awful sleep habits. Ian, after many sleepless nights, is now sleeping in his bed ALL NIGHT!!! We have a few funky nights here or there, but I am confident in saying that he is cured of crawling into our bed during the night. We took down Emma's crib and have moved her to the basement where she sleeps in the pack and play. She is finally sitting still long enough to listen to a book, so we read to her a few books before putting her to bed. She sleeps like a dream in the basement- usually for 12-13 hours straight. After getting over the initial feeling that I was an awful mother for banishing my daughter to the basement, I am excited about the extra sleep we are now getting.

Ian and Emma have both been on a growth spurt lately. Ian went to bed one night with his pajama shirt fitting fine and woke up to it an inch above his belly. Emma is completely obsessed with crocs and spends most of the day playing with the five pairs we have laying around the house. Ian is now using body parts to express his feelings, "My throat is saying that it needs chocolate, " and "my heart is saying, Can you please give me two cookies." I have no idea where this one came from, but I have to say, it is clever.

Playa del Carmen

As you can see I have been traveling quite a bit recently with Ian and Emma. The day after Valentines Day we all got in our tiny car again and drove to my parents house. This time however, Ian and Emma were staying with my parents and Tim and I were traveling ourselves! For five days Tim and I sat on the beaches of Playa del Carmen and did absolutely nothing. We stayed in an incredible condo with a rooftop deck. It was wonderful, blissful, heavenly, you get the point. Tim and I were able take a deep breath and catch up on life. We read, walked through the town, and ate some amazing Mexican food. Our best day there was spent at Al Cielo, a private beach club with superior food, including a whole fish encrusted in sea salt served table side.

Valentines Day

Tim and Ian got Emma and me roses for Valentines Day. They were beautiful and a wonderful surprise. Ian arranged the roses delicately in a vase. On top of being a chef when he gets older, Ian may also have a knack for arranging flowers. I couldn't have done it better myself.

One of my favorites!

February Road Trip to Sewickley

A week later I took Ian and Emma to visit Tim's family in Sewickley, PA. We missed the new babies Finnean and Olivia so much and just had to see them. Ian and Emma did awesome on the trip and we had a great time hanging out with Tim's parents (Nina and Grandpa); Matt, Elisabeth, and Olivia; Susannah; and Cate, Mark and Finnean. The weather was mild so we were able to spend time outside. Ian also got a special trip to the science museum with Nina that he is still talking about!

On the trip home I started to feel lightheaded while driving and no matter what I ate I just couldn't stop feeling like I was going to pass out...so I ended up pulling over to the side of the road and calling 911. I was in a major snowstorm in the middle of Pennsylvania and had no idea where I was. The 911 operator was able to patch in Tim who was able to locate me on his i-phone (amazing!) and the ambulance and police were on their way. Ian and Emma were amazing, and Ian got to talk to his first 911 operator as he was being informed how to unlock the door and what he should do if I became completely unresponsive. After the ambulance arrived they tested my blood sugar, blood pressure, heart, etc and everything checked out. I was still not feeling great so they followed me to the nearest exit where Tim's dad and brother met me. Tim and our friend Nate came from the other direction to pick me and the kids up. It was quite a day and after being in the car for over 9 hours it was great to be home. I still am not sure what caused me to feel lightheaded (maybe a mix of exhaustion, anxiety, and low blood sugar?), but I am thankful that I chose to play it safe and call 911 instead of passing out (which I have been known to do several times in the past) on the road with Ian and Emma. Despite feeling somewhat lame and embarrassed for having family drive so far to rescue me there were some very funny parts of the day as well, including some Ian quotes while talking to the 911 operator and the EMT.

911 operator: Ian, do you know how to unlock the doors when the ambulance arrives?
Ian: I want to play with my Daddy

911 operator: If your Mommy falls asleep Ian, can you stay on the phone with me?
Ian: My Mommy just drank all of my apple juice

Ian (post EMT pricking my finger): Mom, you are doing great. You didn't even cry!

Philadelphia- West Hartford - Boston - and back to DC!

In late January I took Ian and Emma on another tour of the east coast, visiting family along the way. My final destination was Boston where I was meeting Tim for his induction into Gordon's Hall of Honor. After leaving DC, I met up with Tim part way in Philadelphia for a Heritage conference and got to spend a night at the Four Seasons and even went on a run down to the Art Museum before picking Ian and Emma up at my parents and continuing my journey north. We also stopped at my sister Sally's house in West Hartford, CT for Will's birthday party- superhero themed. The party was spectacular for the kids! Sally made capes for all the boys, they could decorate them, and get their face painted so they could be a superhero too!

Gosh I LOVE this Girl

Emma is 18 months going on 18 years. She is one tough cookie. And I love her so much. I can't seem to get enough of her these days. She still is only saying a few words: please (I put that one first to make myself appear to be a good mother), dog, Ian (pronounced E), dad, and yep...that is about it! But, she definitely lets us know exactly what she wants though..and when she wants it, usually five minutes ago. Emma finally passed the 20 pound mark and can still fit in her infant carseat so that is where she is riding these days. She has learned to keep her pacifiers in her crib only for nap and nighttime. She caught on quite quickly actually. Her favorite thing to do these days is pull Ian's hair. She loves playing with Fisher-Price, and according to Emma, people "moo," "baa," and "quack." Emma's hair is all over the place and she usually looks as though she has just been through the ringer, or at an all night bash, but we love her anyway!!! Emma has the best laugh ever: deep, whisky, and full of gusto.

The tale of the lightsaber

My sister Sally got both Will and Ian a light saber in their stocking....

Will opens his light saber first...still trying to figure out what it is

He figures it out

Ian opens his next

A duel ensues

Emma sneaks in and tries to take the light saber from Ian

Emma stands triumphant

Some of my favorite Christmas shots

Do you think we need a new car?

Hanging out with the soon to be newlyweds on Christmas Even

Ian was literally IN LOVE with his presents

Lighting luminaries with my Dad

The four grandchildren on Christmas Eve...best picture we could get

LuxUmbraTerra

Since getting our new camera Tim has taken up a new hobby- taking pictures and then editing them in photoshop. He started a blog to display all of them. Some of the recent ones of our neighborhood are great!

Check out his blog at : LuxUmbraTerra

Thanksgiving:

Ian chopping wood

A view of half of the Thanksgiving table

Grandmamma swinging with Emma

The Chapmans

Because of a somewhat slightly disturbed portion of my brain, I am not able to blog about this year without recapping the end of last year. October, November, and December were very interesting...fun...joyous...and eventful. Let me explain.

October 25th I am determined to run some errands. I throw Ian and Emma in the car and take off for the grocery store. I swing by the pharmacy. I am on a roll. Why not get gas on my way home and really cross things off the list. I should have just gone home. As I turn around to grab my receipt someone opens my front passenger side door and steals my purse and my phone out of my car. Ian saw the whole thing and still talks about the robbers. Emma had no clue what was going on but gave me big hugs when she could tell that I was upset. Needless to say the rest of the week was quite interesting...life with no phone, no money, no drivers license, no library card, no Harris Teeter card, no health insurance cards....quite interesting. I have to say that I think I am still recovering from everything and from the gazillion trips to the bank with Ian and Emma. We pretty much shut down everything that we had in our names and started a whole new life.

Fast forward to that weekend...my sister's bridal shower. We did a wine and cheese cocktail reception. It snowed ALL day...in OCTOBER! It was a beautiful, comforting, and delicious event. I make cake pops and vow to never make them again.

Ian reaches an all time high when it comes to whining around the beginning of November. It is a trying month. I question whether I am a good Mom, whether I have what it takes, whether we should send Ian to boarding school at age 3.5, and whether I should go back to work full-time. Instead another part-time job that will start in the new year falls into my lap and I take it.

Then Thanksgiving comes. We drive to Pittsburgh and meet the two new additions to the Chapman family: Finnean and Olivia. They are so precious and teeny tiny. I immediately want another baby. We spend a few days in Ohio with Tim's grandparents. Ian gets up close and personal with some deer eating at the waters edge and some geese. He also learns how to chop wood. We use our time away to recover slightly from the "wrath" of the Fall...post October 25th.

December comes with a bang. We throw our annual Christmas party. This year's theme is Christmas in Paris. I make 25 loaves of brioche bread. My friend marinates salmon in 2 cups of grapefruit zest for three days. We have an amazing yet exhausting weekend with friends and family. I take a trip to my parents to recover from the party.

And then it is Christmas. Tim, Ian, Emma, Pippin, and I travel to my parents on Christmas Eve. We have a few hours to spare and then off to church, back home for tons of laughter with the Reimold clan, and then off to bed. Christmas is slow and fulfilling. Ian and Emma make out big time. We all rest up after a traditional dinner.

Emily's wedding festivities begin the next day...bachelorette at Limoncello in West Chester (the best spare rib raviolis ever!), pedicures, fittings, hair appointments, reminiscing, a really neat rehearsal dinner in a wine cellar, and then the wedding. Ian walks down the aisle, Emma won't. The ceremony is lovely, sweet, and most importantly short. The reception is wonderful, fabulous, a blast. We get to catch up with family and friends. Ian and Emma attempt to dance and then decide that they want to cling to Tim and I instead. I remember looking around and realizing that we are blessed with so many incredible family and friends. It is a perfect way to end the holidays and the year.

We got a new camera. The kids are not amused.