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.
Summer and strawberries came early this year since we were having 90 degree weather in April! We spent the last couple of weeks frequenting Schlagel Farms and using the picked strawberries for smoothies to cool off in the afternoons. I always think picking strawberries is a cheap outdoor activity...until Ian picks $40 worth of strawberries in about 15 minutes.
