Day 159 | Growing Boys

Chase is 2.5 years old today! Such a big guy.

I did manage to finish my growth pole project in time for the inaugural hash mark. Chase is 35.5 inches tall according to our new birch bark tree growth chart. I hope you can tell what it's supposed to be!

And, to celebrate Robbe's latest accomplishment (he pulled himself to standing today), we measured him, too. Unofficially, of course. He's measuring in at 28 inches.

Hooray for growing boys.

Day 158 | Playgroup Pandemonium

Can you spot my boys? They are in there somewhere.

We ventured out on this beautiful fall day to try out a new playgroup in our area.

The group meets at Heffner Park Community Center and was pure madness (see photo above). It was 20 toddlers squished onto a 10x10 rug all fighting over (I mean, sharing) the same toys. My boys seemed to totally rise above the madness...better than me for that matter. Robbe's ability, in particular, to be enveloped by the kids and noise without being the least bit phased was shocking to me. 

Having said that, the playgroup was more organized than some I've been to in the past. It had an agenda: free play, then storytime/singing, then outdoor play. I can get behind that. It's also super flexible and relaxed so a late arrival (perfect because of Robbe's nap) is no problem. 

The verdict is still out about whether we'll return. I liked a lot about it but the shear number of people in that little room might be enough to dissuade me. That, and the fact that I have to drive (I need more walkable activities!), make me lean towards no, at least not on a weekly basis. Luckily, we can drop in whenever we want without making any sort of commitment (and it's free!). 

Day 157 | Takoma Park Street Festival

Our new neighborhood has their very own street festival. Fun, right? We explored booth after booth of unique crafts, activist sign-ups, nursery schools (Chase's favorite), and lots more. The nursery school booths had fun activities for the kiddos so we took advantage of a lot of projects. Chase made bubbles with a wand, decorated a "thumb-body special" picture frame (using his thumb print), drew a fun picture (kind of a big deal because he's not into coloring right now), and even got a blue balloon dog. Big day for that guy!

Day 156 | It's So Nice To See...

I've realized that I don't give the appropriate number of shout-outs to my husband on this blog. I could never list everything he does for our family in one post but the most impressive thing about this man, to me, is his desire and ability to put his family first no matter how exhausted/overwhelmed/drained he is. Chris always has energy for the boys, sometimes I honestly can't figure out how he does it.

He asked me yesterday if it bothers me that strangers come up to him (not infrequently) and make a comment like, "It's so nice to see a father spending time with his children." Kind of an odd statement in my opinion and I have never, no surprise, had anyone say something similar to me as a mother. I could honestly say that it doesn't bother me in the least. 

Instead, it just makes me feel even luckier that I call this man my husband and that our boys call him dad. Not everyone plays the role he does and not everyone can rock at it the way he does. 

Enough sappiness for one post. Hope you don't mind the love note. And, with that...Go Badgers!

Day 155 | The Zoo!

I woke up with a great idea: we should spend the morning at the National Zoo. So that's just what we did. Our goal was to get out of the house at 9am (rarely happens) and we locked the door at 8:55am. Why thank you, I will take a pat on the back for that.

It was the perfect perfect activity this morning. The weather felt very fall-like, the crowds hadn't descended yet, Chase really got into seeing the animals, we splurged and got coffee on the way in (thanks, Mom!), and Robbe even slept in the stroller (usually I put him in the carrier to sleep). See? Perfect.

A couple of long naps and an evening with dear friends will round out the day. I'm feeling very lucky.

Side note: You'll notice Chase is holding his toy Thomas train in the photo above. We've been telling lots of stories lately about the adventures of Chase and Thomas (even though he's a train, he enjoys doing the same things as Chase). We just told him the story of "Chase and Thomas Go to the Zoo" earlier this week so it seemed necessary to take Thomas with on this field trip today. He enjoyed seeing the animals, for the record.

Day 154 | Putting on a Happy Face

*Not every day is a dream.

It's been a rough day around our house. Robbe was up early: 6am...what's that about? Usually he sleeps until closer to 8am. Hopefully it was a one-time fluke or this girl is going to lose it.

That got the whole day off on the wrong foot. The boys have been fine, really, I just can't seem to shake my negative attitude. I pulled it together for the selfie above.Why isn't it that easy to change the trajectory of the day...one quick smile and all the crankiness slides away.

Fingers crossed for good naps this afternoon to turn the day around. Naps solve all problems.

Day 153 | Happy October!

It's October! I love October....and this October, specifically: my good friend Mary Catherine is visiting, we're taking a family trip to Cape Cod with Chris's parents, and my mom's coming over Halloween. Could I (we, I mean) be any luckier? 

Because of all this anticipation, I was in the fall spirit a little early this year. I got the boys involved in the festivities, too. 

Chase used a potato to stamp "pumpkins" on the card pictured on top (idea from one of his favorite magazines) and I traced both boys' hands for the bats (idea from this catalog). As it turned out, the crafts turned into more of a solo project for me than a bonding time with them (no surprise!). 

Hope the grandparents like the seasonal fridge decorations.

*Update: we now have another visitor booked! My brother is coming in October as well. The good luck streak continues.