Day 136 | Sunday Shopping

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What a wonderful Sunday morning. We got a bunch of morning snuggles from our sweet six month old before his older brother woke up. We enjoyed a low key, relaxed breakfast (Robbe even participates now). And then Robbe got to take his morning nap at home before heading to church. Chase had a blast at the church's nursery and Robbe seemed to have fun during the service thanks to all the solo attention. We also stopped for some yummy papusas for lunch on the way home. Whew...sounds busy!

The title of today's post and the photo above comes from the morning breakfast discussion we had with Chase while Robbe was sleeping. We were looking through the paper and Chase was intrigued by the ads for toys (surprise, surprise!). He ended up selecting toys for all his cousins. He's so generous. I'd say he made a lot of good decisions...the outlier being his choice for his cousin Eli. Hope you enjoy the selections from a toddler. :)

*You'll notice I used first names (instead of middle names) for the cousins. I didn't want there to be any confusion and I figured since no one is pictured, it was the right call.

Day 135 | Lincoln's Cottage

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We discovered a new historical attraction really close to our house: President Lincoln's Cottage. To be honest, we visited the grounds of the cottage and not the cottage itself. You need tickets for that tour...and it's an hour long. Not exactly what we had in mind for today.

Instead, we participated in the family day. There were fun "civil war games" (like giant bowling balls and pins?), two storytimes, card making for veterans (not Chase's favorite activity...I guess we need to start teaching him more about patriotism), reenactments, and a petting zoo (Chase even petted a duck, rabbit, goat, and guinea pig...but not the turtle). And, much to my dismay (mostly for the sake of a photo), Chase would not make a stovepipe hat. Urgh, what's wrong with that kid?

We had a lot of fun even if the rain tried to ruin it for us. I look forward to touring the cottage itself at some point, but for now this introduction was perfect.

*On a side note, Robbe had his first official forward crawl this morning. He really wanted Chase's water bottle. More updates to come as his crawl becomes more efficient.

Day 133 | One of My Favorite Places

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I have a confession: 

I think, taking into consideration all the amazing places I've been, my bed is on the top three list of my favorite places.

Is there really any better feeling than crawling in between soft sheets and resting your head on a cool pillow to make your soul happy? Of course, it helps that I get to share it with the love of my life (my husband, that is, and not the little guy pictured above, thank goodness!). 

I've recognized my love affair with my bed, and sleep as a whole, has grown dramatically with my nightly baby wake ups and feedings. One of my favorite moments of the day is putting a happy, zonked-out baby back in his crib and walking as quickly (and quietly) as possible to be enveloped by my blankets once more. Ah. Just thinking about it brings me to a happier place.  

Day 132 | Train Watching

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Every now and then we do something blog-worthy after naptime (usually I blog our morning shenanigans). Can you believe it?

Since I had dinner in the slow cooker yesterday (it was delicious, by the way!), we busted out of the house to do some up-close train watching. We only had to cross two streets to get to this prime viewing spot. Chase enjoyed helping me count the train cars (although he always ended up with five) while eating his snack and Robbe was just happy to be outside enjoying the scenery and his toys.

Day 131 | A Long Over-due Morning Date

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It's been 14 months (!!) since I've had a minute of time in the morning to myself during the week. Today, I had 45 glorious minutes of me-time with Chase at preschool (his second day went amazingly well) and Robbe taking his morning nap (I actually managed to coordinate it!).

Eventually, if this trend continues, I promise to take advantage of the down time for some relaxing, but today, the goal was to get as much accomplished as possible:
  1. Prep dinner: This yummy meal is in the crock pot as I type.
  2. Prep lunch: There's not much time for meal prep when Chase gets back from preschool.
  3. Make baby food: Today's menu was spinach and avocado.
  4. Drink tea: I managed to sneak in a little something for just me.
Whew...the 45 minutes went by really quickly (shocking!), but I enjoyed every second.

Day 130 | The Countdown Has Begun

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We booked a vacation to Cape Cod! I couldn't be more excited to break out of our rut (the days all seem the same lately), spend some quality family time (yay for Grandma and Grandpa M joining us!), and see my dear, dear friend in her own environment.

We're a little over a month away from departure, but Chase is buckling down early to get ready for the trip. He needs to hone his foosball skills if there's any chance of holding his own against his dad (there's one at the house we're staying at). 

He kept saying the red guys were "broken," though. We need to work on the concept of the game, I guess. 

Day 128 | Chase's Choice

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When we woke up this morning, I gave Chase the choice of what to do today: go swimming or visit a museum. His choice (in case it's not obvious from the photos)? Museum...he's such a DC baby. He selected the Air and Space Museum even though we've visited this one a lot. His reasoning? Daddy needed to go. So kind of him to be thinking of others.

Chase had an absolute blast. He was running from exhibit to exhibit so fast he was sweating. Down right giddy. And so fun to watch. 

Day 126 | The First 1st Day of School

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He looks so grown up, doesn't he?!?
We celebrated a big (huge!) first in our house today. It was Chase's first day of 2 year old preschool.

The morning could not have gone better. There were no tears (from anyone) and he was the only one in his class who got upset about leaving. He wanted to stay and play longer. I'm trying not to take that personally.

On the car ride home, Chase asked if he could go back to school tomorrow. I guess that means he had fun, right?

Day 125 | The New Look of Lunch

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Yep...here it is, the new and improved lunchtime routine for this trio. Notice I said improved and not simplified. However necessary the solids-introduction is, it is not the easiest or enjoyable process (or maybe that's just my perspective). It will get easier, I know that and for now I'll just appreciate how sweet it is that Robbe couldn't be more excited about expanding his diet.

And for those of you keeping track, Robbe had his six month well visit today and here are the stats: 
  • Weight: 17 lbs, 15 oz (60th percentile)
  • Length: 28.25 inches (98th percentile)
He's happy and healthy and even showed off some of his new skills to the doctor: sitting up, getting up on all fours and moving back to sitting up from the crawling position. Pretty impressive!

Day 124 | Going Places

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Today is the day: this little peanut is six months old! I wouldn't say he's been a barrel of fun so far today but he's got the afternoon to make up for it. 

Robbe fun fact: he's the best snuggler. One of the many benefits of nursing is that I get to experience the extra-sleepy, extra-snuggly version of sweet Robbe. His little head fits just perfectly between my cheek and collarbone, melting my heart every time.

*A couple of notes:
1. This photo was taken before our trip to the library. I swear I did strap him into the carseat before we left.
2. The reason he wasn't strapped in yet was to show off his new District of Columbia onesie. It outlines all the District's neighborhoods and I'm obsessed with it. 

Day 118 | Read about Robbe

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Aside from the last two days, Robbe goes highly underrepresented on the blog. I know! Poor little guy.

To remedy that, for the week leading up to his half birthday (woohoo!), I'll be posting photos of him and attempting to include a little tidbit that helps you get to know this little guy better. 

Today's fun fact about Robbe:

He loves/is obsessed with his dad. He gets a bit cranky at the end of the day before dinner lately and I think it's just because he's sick of me. Chris walks through the doors and he's all smiles again and is happy to sit and hang out in his dad's arms. It's very sweet (and I'm only slightly jealous).