Dat 514 | Bird Feeder

Robbe and I were back at Whole Foods again today for one of the Half Pint Kids Club (his first solo class!). Although we had a lot of fun decorating wooden birdhouses and covering the roof with peanut butter and birdseed (Robbe was so so proud of his creation), we got sad news. The director of the program got laid off in the Whole Foods downsizing and the classes will only continue through October. I'm so bummed about this! I even emailed a complaint to the store...that'll teach them, I'm sure.

So, we'll try to take a couple more classes before we say farewell forever to such a fun activity. Sniffle, sniffle.

Day 513 | My Little Shadow

Robbe has been *extra* into being close to me lately. Sometimes this is a sweet sentiment but often it's a little exhausting to be the sole object of his affection.

It's gotten to the point where he is very vocal about expressing his displeasure when I'm not able to focus all my energy on him (the thought of having to cook or clean, the horror!). And he doesn't talk yet so expressing himself means crying, loudly and frequently. 

I had a breakthrough tonight, though: while washing dishes and listening to Chris try to calm him down (unsuccessfully), I told him he could stand next to me quietly while finished the dishes. If he did that, I would pick him up as soon as I finished. And he did it! I bet it was a good five minutes of him patiently waiting a foot away from me while I cleaned up dinner. I don't think he's stood still for that long ever. 

Although there was a bit of success involved in tonight's experiment, I'm hoping this phase passes quickly. 

Day 512 | A Weekly Schedule

As we were settling into our new routine after school starting, it became apparent that our sweet 3.5 year old was a bit confused about what was going to happen on a daily basis. Enter this simple and fun weekly schedule chart.

Chase thoroughly enjoys moving the clothespin every morning and seems to be excited about whatever the chart tells him he's doing. It's been a big success.

Day 511 | We're Back

And couldn't be happier to be spending our days with this guy again.

Day 510 | Thanks MI

Aside from two sick babies, Michigan couldn't have treated us better. Thanks to Grace, David, and family for being such welcoming hosts. Chase just keeps saying, "I'm still sad we're not in Michigan."

That means it was a good trip. 

Note: that teeny tiny car was our "compact" rental car. Compared to the minivan, I felt like we were driving around in a matchbox car. 

Day 509 | Feeling Friendly

These folks are just the best. Our whirlwind tour of Ann Arbor continued today as we ventured out for more entertaining outings this morning: an impressive library, a cute cafe, and a tour of sweet Rose's preschool.

This afternoon consisted of lots of quality playtime, singing time, and snuggles. Sounds pretty amazing, right? It was. 

We'll hang out for a bit tomorrow morning and then we're off to the airport. In time for a recovery day on Sunday before jumping back into our everyday life. Happy thoughts for a easy and uneventful travel day, please! 

Day 508 | Four Kids

I have to say entertaining, feeding, soothing, bathing, and parenting four kids (under five) in one house has been so much better than I would have guessed. It helps that the kids are all angels, obviously. And it helps that there are two moms, double obviously.

The kids are having a total blast together. It's very sweet to see Chase and Robbe interact with children closer to their own ages-their peers-for the extended period of time. And I can't complain about actually getting to catch up with Grace. We haven't touched on everything yet but we still have time!

Oh, and the photos above? Most are from the amazing Ann Arbor Hands On Museumhttps://www.aahom.org/ here in Ann Arbor. I feel like kind of an expert when it comes to childrens' museums and I can give my five star recommendation to this one. So much to see and do. We were there for 1.5 hours and saw maybe a tenth of the exhibits. What a perfect outing!

Day 507 | We Made It

Two under four years old on a flight with just mom?  Nailed it. Ok, so it wasn't my most favorite few hours of travel. And the boys weren't perfect by any stretch but you know what? We made it to Ann Arbor without any big problems and to that I say: success!

We spent a wonderful afternoon with my dear friend Grace and her two super sweet daughters: Rose and Paige. We're all looking forward to spending lots of quality time together over the next few days. 

Day 506 | Mr. Nate!

He's back for another visit and we couldn't be happier! Just some quality time with Robbe and me this morning. But Chase is super excited about spending time with him next week (when we both return from trips).

Think happy thoughts for us tomorrow morning as the boys and I (sans Chris...uh oh!) head to Michigan to visit a friend. I need all the help I can get!

Day 505 | No Street Cred

Remember that time when I would walk around with two babies and every time I'd run into a mom with similarly-aged children we could commiserate and share what the experience has been like? And remember when pregnant moms with an older child would sometimes stop me and announce their soon-to-be second child and ask how it really is having two? I swear both these scenarios happen on a regular basis.

Not anymore. Now, to the mom at the park, I'm just the mom to this adorable 18 month old in a single stroller (still not an easy task, I'm well aware!). I've lost all my street cred since Chase is no longer in tow. Devastating, I know. 

Maybe I'll make a t-shirt that explains my situation to strangers and wear it everyday. Maybe...

Day 504 | Fair-ly Amazing

I call this, "recovery from too much apple dumpling."

It was the perfect fair day today. Seriously...perfect.

The weather was lovely (even a little cool when we arrived!) and we got to see all the highlights in exactly the amount of time we had (animals galore, tractor-climbing, 4-H exhibits, kiddie rides, and food, of course, food, all in three hours).

There were a ton of adorable photos from the day: Chase on his favorite new pastime: carnival rides (I never really understood why parents paid money for them, until now), Robbe "driving" a tractor, Chris and the boys savoring the yummy fair food (corndogs and apple dumplings = amazing!), etc. I went with the image above, though, as it was just too perfect to pass over. This gem was snapped as the boys and I waited outside one of the bathrooms. The bench was quite a hit and was one of the day's best attractions (talk about a dark horse).

Day 503 | Fun with Friends

I'm happy to announce it was a friend-filled day today. We spent the morning with one of Chase's good friends (they played together so nicely!) and then we had a first birthday party for another sweet little guy this evening. It's nice to be social.

Day 502 | Closing Out Summer

It was 87 degrees in the District today. Urgh. Have I mentioned how I'm so over summer? Well, I am. Where are the cooler temps and does this mean we're going to go from 90 degrees to 40 degrees without anything in between? That better not be the case. 

In honor of the never-ending summer, I'll post my favorite warm-weather cocktail. We came up with this gem after having strawberry puréed baby food leftover when Robbe stopped needing purees. See? Having kids is totally worth it!

Here's the recipe for strawberry gin and tonics:

• 2 oz gin (use more or less depending on your taste preference)
• 10 oz tonic 
• *Two strawberry ice cubes (they dissolve while you drink it = delicious)

*To make the strawberry pureed cubes, just blend up some thawed-out frozen strawberries (we find they are actually a bit better than fresh ones) and freeze in ice cube trays. No extra ingredients, super easy.

Day 501 | Catch Up

It was a recovery day around here: laundry, cleaning up, grocery shopping, house tidying, etc. That type of day, however, does not lead to a very exciting blog post so as I'm playing catch up with everything else, I'll play catch up with the blog, too, and post a photo from yesterday's outing so you're up to speed with all our latest activities.

On our way to drop my parents off (sniff, sniff) at the Dulles airport, we made a quick visit to the National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center. No, this isn't the ordinary Air and Space Museum that we visit frequently, this is the massive wide-open facility where you can see real planes and a real space shuttle (among lots of other things with wings). We rarely make the trip out to this fantastic attraction so the special excursion was enough to let Chase play hooky from school for the first time to make the trip with us. Full disclosure, we also were going to have a hard time getting back in time to pick him up from school. It was the right call once we saw the traffic we had to contend with on the way home.

Day 500 | 500!

Somehow another 100 days have come and gone since my last team update. 100 days...that's a little over 3 months, a little over 14 weeks, and 2,400 hours. It's so cliche, but where does the time go? I see these boys grow little by little but until you step back for a minute and realize another 100 days have gone by, it all sneaks up on you.

Name: Sara

Favorites: starting to sleep a little bit better (and it's not completely the babies' fault anymore), visitors (September and October visits are making me very very happy), cooler temperatures (and I am not jumping on the “I love Fall bandwagon", it’s always been my favorite), purging (I spent an hour going through old work clothes this week and boy did it feel good to fill bag after bag for donations)

Biggest hurdle to overcome: reworking my schedule. There’s been big changes around here: Chase is in school five days a week (which means breakfast/getting moving/naptime is earlier), I’ve started working with my dear friend, Mary Catherine (which I’m loving!), and we’ve been having lots of visitors (see above). All of that means, less time for me to get myself organized and feel like I’m on top of everything. I’ll get there, I just need to figure out what I can ease up on a bit.

Dreams for the future: enjoying the now-limited quality time with my babies. With Chase in school and Robbe being schlepped here and there constantly, our once frequent “down time” has all but vanished. I need to start building in more of that to bring everyone down from the current high-energy level.

Name: Chris

Favorites: stalking his fantasy football team, thinking about vacations, watching the Badgers, not paying for haircuts anymore (it's my new hobby)

Biggest hurdle to overcome: convincing Robbe that his dad is super fun to play with. Chase gets it. He really gets it. Robbe, on the other hand, is very content to do his own thing most of the time. It'll happen, I promise! If you see Robbe, maybe you could put in a good word for Chris as a playmate.

Dreams for the future: eating his body weight in fair food this weekend (corn dogs and apple dumplings with ice cream, specifically).

Name: Chase

Age: 3.5 years

Favorites: Paw Patrol (books, movies, toys, clothing, anything), school (he's a big fan), breakfast for dinner (I mean, who doesn't love it?), pretend play (he can do it forever), visitors and vacationing (hmmm...where does he get that from?), keeping anything he's playing with away from Robbe

Biggest hurdle to overcome: napping at school. This little guy needs to nap at school. There's really no question. The days he doesn't, you can tell immediately upon first glance at pick up. We're working on it. I'll keep you posted.

Dreams for the future: planning out Christmas and birthday presents and his birthday party theme. These holidays are three months and seven months away, respectively. Oh, and also to drive a car. That was his response to the question, "What's your dream for the school year," at school last week. I'm not sure that's attainable, but he's quite a go-getter so we'll see.

Name: Robbe

Age: 1.5 years

Favorites: his mom, his cat, this Planes Go book, attempting to play with anything Chase is playing with, eating (he remains the hungriest he's ever been at every single meal), seeking during games of hide and seek

Biggest hurdle to overcome: teeth. Yep, they are still torturing him. Still! Just four more teeth away from a little break in this whole teething nightmare. The kid just can't catch a break.

Dreams for the future: becoming a better listener. This may be more of a dream for me than him, but I'm confident he'd be a happier little peanut if he spent a bit more time working with me instead of pushing his limits. Seems reasonable, right?

And, if you're interested in looking back over the past year and a half of team blog posts, here's your chance:

• Day 400
• Day 300
• Day 200
• Day 100
• Original posts: Chase, Robbe, Chris & Me

Day 499 | National Building Museum

Another check on the DC tourist list for my parents today: the National Building Museum. We didn't visit the exhibits but the building itself is worth the trip. Robbe and I hung out in the Building Zone (one of our favorite outings) while the folks explored the museum. It was a nice little morning.

Day 498 | Still More to See

After all of grandma and grandpa's visits to the District over the last eight years, we're still finding new (and exciting!) things to see and do. Yesterday: bus tour. Today: the super fun ball drop. Tomorrow: another new outing planned (stay tuned).

It's hard saying goodbye to Chase when we drop him off at school while the grandparents are here for quality time but he never complains or asks to stay home. He must be having enough fun on his own!

Day 497 | Double Decker Bus Day

That's right. After eight years of living in Washington, DC, we went on a double decker bus tour! The three year old in our group was beyond excited. A triathlon put a kink in our plans of seeing most of the monuments but we were really in it for the bus ride so we accepted a discounted ticket and hopped on to enjoy the wind in our hair.

Oh, and did I mention that it was glorious weather for the first time in a very long time? Yes, it was overcast. Yes, there were a few sprinkles. But 70 degrees after weeks of 90+? There will be no complaints from me. 

And the final verdict from the little man? He loved his first experience on the double deck but said, "it was kind of a long drive," at the end of our 1.5 hour tour. I guess we should have clarified what a bus tour really entails. Haha!

Day 496 | Lazy Morning

We're already missing the lazy mornings around here. Good thing we can still cherish them on the weekends. 

Sorry this didn't get posted yesterday! My parents arrived last night and I was too excited to remember. 

Day 495 | Making Friends

Don't think for a second that Chase is the only one making new friends in this new school scenario. Robbe is branching out and rediscovering a new friend, too. Luckily, Miga has been fairly attention-starved lately (about the last 3.5 years, actually) so she's not minding the pets, squishes, smooches, etc. At least for now.

Day 494 | Continuing the Trend

The year of Robbe continues with another selfie. Hope you don't mind.

Lots of errands with some fun mixed in for this little duo today (including a delicious scone which left evidence on Robbe's face in the photo). Even after 2.5 weeks I still find myself opening up both doors to get both boys out. 

Day 493 | Year of Robbe

It was Robbe's first solo circle time today at the Takoma Park Library. I don't think he was exactly sold on the idea. More skeptical, I'd say. He seemed to warm up towards the end, though, so hopefully that's a good sign for future visits. Hard to believe when Marshall was this age we were going all the time to various storytimes, circle times, playgroups, etc. Sorry, #2 child, that's just how it goes sometimes. We'll make up for it this year, my friend. We'll call it the Year of Robbe!

*Special note: In case you're keeping track, here's the last time we visited the Takoma Park Library (on the Maryland side). Such little peanuts.

Day 492 | Bye Bye

Shout out to Andi for another amazing pic.

One more quick cousin pic before the trip to the airport. Love these kiddos.

Day 491 | Tree Park with Cousins

Photo credit to Aunt Andi. Thanks for sharing.

We showed off Tree Park to another set of cousins today and everyone approved (no surprise).

It was a lovely (but too short) visit with these crazy cats. Christmas can't come fast enough to be reunited with such good friends...both the kids and adults!

Day 490 | Family Fun

It was museum day for our visiting family. They managed two Smithsonians in one day: the Air and Space Museum and the Postal Museum. The boys and I joined them for the first leg of the tour and then headed home for some much needed rest and back-resting.

Have I mentioned how much I love it when family visits?

Day 489 | Big Helper

It's been such a crazy couple of weeks, I haven't even had time to get excited for our visitors coming tonight. Luckily, Chris handled housework along with child rearing like a champ and the house is looking pretty decent for his brother and his family. Can't wait to spend oodles of time with them!

But there were a few odd jobs that Robbe and I had to take care of today. As you can see, Robbe did most of the work while I supervised. 

Day 488 | Good Company

Another day of rest for my back. Another day of me going crazy because I can't check things off my list.

At least I had good company...and he tried to be as gentle as possible. 

Day 487 | Enough

As if weeks of fighting summer colds and the corresponding limited sleep wasn't enough. As if dealing with a cat with a UTI wasn't enough. Today, I finally reached the enough point. 

I can barely move from some crazy back pain. Poor Chris had to stay home and manage everything related to the boys, me being sedentary, and taking care of meals. Luckily, he's amazing and did all that without complaining once. 

In hopes of a brighter tomorrow, today's photo is from our trampoline park visit a couple of weeks ago. Remember that time when I could frolick on a trampoline (not to mention just stand up successfully)? Someday, someday. 

Day 486 | Just Yelp for Help

The shadow of one of Chase's Paw Patrol toys. Artsy, right?

If you're ever in trouble, just yelp for help!

That's the catch phrase from Chase's newest obsession: the Paw Patrol. It's a cartoon that he has watched exactly four times. But he was hooked after the first episode (and a few books). It's a sweet show and Chase thinks it's fall-off-your-chair funny. Oh, and the main puppy is named Chase. Amazing!

So after hearing Chase repeat the slogan "...yelp for help," why did it take me three days of no naps at school to do just that? I needed the help of the Paw Patrol to incentivize (not bribe!) this much needed rest time. This morning it dawned on me how powerful this cartoon was as I told him that if he napped today at school he could watch a Paw Patrol episode (a reward usually reserved for haircut time...which makes him ask for haircuts all the time now, by the way). He immediately was on board. He was even so confident that he said he wanted to take a video of him watching the episode and send it to his dad so he could see him.

The verdict? He slept! And boy was he proud of himself, not to mention a wee bit excited to watch his show when he returned home. Incentives do work wonders, don't they? Now I just need to figure out how to keep the momentum going. I can't bribe him with a show every day, after all. I'm just hopeful that now that he's done it once, he has a better understanding of how to calm himself down quickly and check out.

In conclusion, thanks, Paw Patrol. I'll never doubt your power again.