Day 41 | Back to Reality

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Sweet photo of the boys.
My mom left today so it's just me and the boys once again. Always a rough transition back after having such great help. Somehow the boys seem to sense they have to go easy on me, though, and for that I'm grateful.

I won't be getting as much accomplished at the house the rest of the week, I'll be a little more exhausted at the end of the day (maybe that's not even possible!), and everyone will be a little more starved for attention (including me and Miga) now that my mom's gone. The one upside is that I am forced to spend more of my energy focusing on the boys instead of my to do list when I'm here alone. I've missed them even though I've barely left their sides. Crazy how that happens when you get wrapped up in being extra busy. 

Day 40 | Exhaustion Ensues

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We all feel this way.
Moving is exhausting. Surprise, surprise. 

We're making good progress at settling in and are loving the house but there's just so much to do. I'm beyond thankful for my mom's willingness to be here and help with the kids, the laundry, the meals, the unpacking, the organizing, the random projects, the Target run...seriously, what have I been doing?!?

It's times like these that I'm almost too thankful for naptime. I need to get stuff checked off the list (slower than I'd like), the babies need to wind down after all this chaos, and sometimes sneaking sweets while the toddler sleeps is the only option.  


Day 36 | Farewell Capitol Hill

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Chase and Caroline enjoying the day.
Today is our last full day as Hill residents. We couldn't be more excited about our move tomorrow but we will be sad to leave this neighborhood, our friends, and the house we brought Robbe home to.

In celebration of our last day on the Hill, we took advantage of the proximity to the Capitol and the gorgeous day to pay a visit to the ducks at the Capitol reflecting pool. Chase and his friend Caroline had a blast feeding the ducks until they literally swam away because they couldn't eat anymore. I didn't know that was possible!

Day 35 | Up and At 'Em

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Robbe bright eyed and full of smiles this morning.
Both boys were up early this morning (as in 7:30). Apparently they were just too excited about Chase's last day of playgroup to sleep any longer.

I'm so glad I stumbled upon this group. We met some very sweet people who we'll be sure to stay in touch with once we move off the Hill (Friday!) and have enjoyed having this relatively low cost and low key activity every week. We will miss our CHLG friends. 

Day 33 | Happy Baby

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Robbe: 3 months
Robbe full of smiles.
Robbe is three months old today. He's probably the smiliest baby you've ever come across. It's one of my favorite things about him.

One of my not-so-favorite things? The speed at which he's growing out of his clothes (more specifically, his perfectly timed brother's hand-me-downs). At three months he's already fitting comfortably in 6-9 months. That's no joke.

Day 31 | A Little Slice of the District

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We visited our new house this morning. I wish it would have been more of a permanent trip, but we'll take a couple hours there for now.

The house is perfect and we couldn't be happier or more excited about this next step in our lives. We're lucky to be able to afford such an amazing house, in a city we love, with room for our boys to grow and explore. 


Day 30 | Wisconsin Adventure: The trek home

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Well, we're back at the airport. Turns out a week goes by really fast.

The solo trip with two kiddos has gone smoothly thus far. We made the drive to the airport with less napping than I would have liked, but there was napping. We had no issues with security: one baby in the backpack, one baby in my arms. Robbe is enjoying our plane-viewing vantage point and both boys are having a quick snack while we watch our plane pull into the gate. Calm before the storm or a vision of how the rest of the trip will go? Only time will tell. Think happy thoughts! 

Thanks to all our family and friends for a lovely visit. We always leave wanting to stay longer and spend more time with all of you-just the way it should be!

Oh...and we're officially home owners!  Chris signed on the dotted lines this afternoon and we'll head to the house tomorrow to spend some time in our little slice of the District. Big day for our little family. 

Day 29 | Wisconsin Adventure: Cousins are the best

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Cousin time
Cousin time!
Chase and Robbe are amazingly lucky to have the world's best cousins. Even luckier? They got to spend time with almost all of them while we've been in Wisconsin.

Chase has been especially spoiled by the attention from Isabelle, Ann, and Lane. Those girls can make him giggle just by looking at him and constantly help him discover new ways to play. 

Lucky, lucky boys.  

Day 28 | Wisconsin Adventure: Exploring Strum

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This morning, we packed up the stroller, threw Chase in the backpack (didn't bring the double stroller on this trip), and headed out for a Strum adventure.

We played at the new playground (which consisted mostly of being entertained by the wood chips), waded in the water of Crystal Lake (ok, only one of us was willing to take our shoes off), walked down to admire the waterfall (ie the dam), and attempted to cross the rickety foot bridge before realizing it was a little unstable and turning around halfway across. The adventure wrapped up with a stop at the grocery store, of course. We needed to refuel after all that sightseeing!

Day 27 | Wisconsin Adventure: Grocery store shenanigans

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Fun at Robbe's
Who knew a grocery store could be so much fun?
Chase is in love with Grandpa Paul and Uncle Brian's grocery store.  He walked the whole way down to the store this morning (.5 miles) and kept repeating, "Chase go grocery store, Chase go grocery store." Think he was excited?
It might be the tiny shopping cart or all the attention he gets, but my bet is that it's because Grandpa Paul stuffs him full of all the fruit and snacks a little boy could dream of. He did pay for his samples by helping Grandpa put out produce. I'm just not sure he worked quite hard enough to overcome his debt.

Day 25 | Wisconsin Adventure: Robbe gets baptized

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Robbe gets baptized
Robbe gets baptized.
Big day for Robbe.  Huge day.  He was welcomed into God's family at church this morning.  The little guy did great.  Slept for the beginning part of the service, woke up just in time for the blessing, and smiled as the Pastor held him up for the congregation.  Cooperative boy, that one.

It was a lovely morning all in all.  The service went perfectly and our family picnic at the park overlooking the lake could not have been a better celebration.

Feeling very blessed.