Day 145 | Big Things for this Little Guy

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It's official. We have a crawler.

As I've mentioned, I'm not one to declare milestones lightly. Over the weekend, the crawling really took off and, as of yesterday, he was chasing a ball (albeit, slowly) around the hardwood floors. That's serious work.

He also started clapping yesterday. It's not on command at this point, but you can tell he's proud of himself. As silly as it seems, clapping was one of my favorite developments with Chase. There's something very sweet about babies expressing their excitement in this way.

Now, if only he can get his tummy troubles under control so he can fully enjoy his new diet (why do solids have to cause such a shock to the system?) and sleep a little better. Yep, still struggling with that one. Some day, friends. Some day.

Day 144 | A Visit to the Dentist

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I just might have the most cooperative, patient toddler in the whole world.

Chase's first visit to the dentist could not have gone better. The Berenstain Bears did a great job of preparing him for what to expect (not to mention planting the seed entirely). And the dentist and her team were beyond sweet and accommodating. Chase went in with a smile on his face and left even more excited. Robbe even managed to melt a few hearts with his smile while we were there.

*The bottom right photo is just part of Chase's loot after his perfect patient performance: a balloon made out of a latex glove (hysterical) and a toothbrush. Yippee!

Day 143 | Tennis Pro

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Chase has been asking us to play "tennis ball" almost every time we walk by the courts on the way to tree park. We picked up a mini racket yesterday so today was the day to make all his dreams come true.

The morning played out less like a training camp and more like free play with a racket and new type of ball, but I guess you have to start somewhere. Chris and I even managed to play a little bit while Chase ran after his ball and Robbe entertained himself in the corner of the court.

I don't think we're raising the next US Open champion, but you never know.

Day 142 | Little Swimmers

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Chase started his swimming lessons today. Turns out they are not as much "lessons" as they are "just get in the water and entertain yourself while lifeguards tell you to blow bubbles." Still, it was a worthwhile Saturday activity and it'll be nice to get both boys around the water more.

Chase had a blast at the pool and didn't hesitate to get in or jump off the edge. He's come a long way! 

And even more impressive was how happy Robbe was to be playing in the kiddie pool. He crawled a little, practiced going back forth between sitting and crawling, and did lots of splashing. He had the biggest smile on his face the whole time. It was fun to watch.

Day 141 | The Great Frederick County Fair

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And great it is.

After a rough night (Robbe will grow out of it eventually, right?), the fair is exactly what we needed to restart the day. 

It was the perfect day for fair-going. We managed to squeeze in all the animals, 4-H exhibits (my personal favorite), tractor playtime, and, of course, yummy food, in just two hours. 

And, good news: Chris has discovered the perfect corndog. He even went back to give the workers accolades. This is the real reason we keep making the trek to this fair...the corndog and the apple dumplings. We'll see you again next year, good friends. 

Oh...and the fair isn't the same without you, Jason and Erica! We have continued to take the photo in the trunk to keep up tradition. 

Day 140 | Feeling Crafty

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I've made a decision. I'm going to dedicate my child-free Tuesday and Thursday mornings to crafting. It's only about a half hour of time, but I'll take it. I finished a secret project on Tuesday (to be revealed at a later date) and I started a new one today. Any guesses what it is from the above photo?

I'm working on a growth chart for the boys. I'm still finalizing the design concept but the first step is painting and today was the day. My goal is to complete it in time for Chase's half birthday in October (I figure I'll try to make a hash mark every six months). 

As I wait for the first side of paint to dry, I'll sip my chai latte (have I mentioned how this was the best purchase ever?) and enjoy this comfortable, overcast day. Ahhh...it almost makes up for the fight the three of us got into over breakfast. :)

Day 139 | Corn Crafts

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*Me: Knock, knock.
Chase: Who's there?
Me: Corn
Chase: Corn who?
Me: Corn crafts!
Chase: hahahahahaha

We spent another morning at Whole Foods crafting...this time with corn, popcorn that is. Which, for the record, is Chase's favorite corn (he said so last week). Robbe even got in on the action today. He just tried to eat the paper, but I think that counts. We were even lucky enough to have John join us for the fun. The boys had a blast running around a new park afterward, too. Such a fun morning. 

*Chase is really into knock knock jokes lately. The more random (example above), the better. I'm pretty hysterical to a two year old, it turns out.

Day 137 | The Evening Lineup

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Chase has been allowed to choose which one of his stuffed animals he sleeps with for awhile. His choices are always very interesting and he rarely chooses the same "friend" twice in a row.

Lately, he has been asking to line up a second friend and sometimes a train or two on the chair next to his crib. When I went in last night after I put Robbe down, this is what I saw: four stuffed animals and a train (hard to see in the photo) all lined up, staring at him through the crib. It's a little creepy to have all those eyes on you when you're sleeping if you ask me, but if it makes him happy...

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?