Day 337 | Egg Hunt

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Since Chase and I had our mommy and me morning a couple of weeks ago, Chris and Chase took their turn today. Even though I wasn't present, I needed to highlight Chase's first real Easter egg hunt.

I got glowing reviews from the boys upon their return. The festivities at Saint Luke Lutheran Church were perfect for our little guy: songs, crafts, donut holes, and the egg hunt with a plethora of eggs. Sounds like Chase was pretty entertained by all of it. I'll look forward to going back with the whole family next year!

Day 336 | Daffodils

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Aren't spring flowers the best? It seems as though I always need this sign to help me realize that we've made it through another winter and that there's hope for warm temperatures ahead.

This year has been even more enjoyable as our new house has blooming spring flowers! What a happy surprise.

Side note: Robbe was ok today. He still wasn't himself, but much better. Hopefully tomorrow will lead to further improvement for our little man.

Day 335 | Fifth Time's a Charm

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We had some enjoyable lunchtime entertainment today. The dishwasher repairman was back (for the fifth time, if you're keeping track). And, for the moment, the appliance is working again (which was not the outcome after the last two visits).

This process could not be more frustrating (you'll notice I'm not confident enough in the fix to put that statement in past tense). Dealing with one incompetent and bureaucratic company(Samsung)for the warranty and an incompetent and unorganized company for the actual repair has been enough to drive me batty.

Here's a breakdown of what's been going on:
  • 1 broken dishwasher 
  • 6 weeks of minimal/non-functioning use 
  • 5 five-hour appointment windows where the boys and I sit home and wait 
  • 10+ calls to Samsung (all 20+ minutes, of course) 
  • 2 homeowners sick of doing dishes 
  • 1 toddler who now plays "doing the dishes because the dishwasher is broken". I couldn't make that up. 
Let's hope this saga is over

Side note: did you notice that I didn't post this yesterday? I had it mostly typed up and then went to finish it last night when a very sick baby (Robbe) changed my evening plans. After a ton of soothing, a call to the doctor, and a dose of Tylenol, he fell back asleep. As you might have guessed, the blog wasn't my priority at that point. He had a restful night, though, and is still sleeping now. Hopefully that's a good sign. I'll report back later today about how our peanut is doing. Poor guy. 

Day 334 | Expensive Play Equipment

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The boys playing "row, row, row your boat" this afternoon.
Remember the loveseats we waited forever for? I was a little worried we wouldn't get much use out of them since they weren't going to be placed in the basement family area. Fast forward six months and these couches are the favorite attraction in our house. 

In the last couple of days, the couches have been transformed into a spaceship, a row boat, a train-viewing platform, and a jungle gym. And Robbe has successfully taught himself how to climb up and down from the couches. Quite an impressive accomplishment for a 12 month old, I have to say. 

Day 333 | Picture Day

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Chase has his first-ever school picture today. He was well prepped in striking a cheesy smile (see photo above) and claimed that he listened to the photographer to capture the perfect photo. Only time will tell. :)

On a side note, I cannot believe how expensive these photos are. This is my first go-round with this type of of thing. Is this the pricing for all school photos or is Chase's little preschool opting for high-end photographers? Seriously, $35 for 2 5x7s? Crazy! And $135 for the "Best Value"? Haha, yeah right.

I'll post his professional shots as soon as I have them in my possession!

Day 332 | Baby Teeth

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I know it's not the best photo of his new teeth, but it's hard to capture teeth buds. Just take my word for it, they're there.
I don't remember teething being this bad with Chase. Maybe I blocked it out.

Robbe has not been the most enjoyable little guy to be around for the past week or so. He's waking up early (and no one, including him, is happy about it). He's generally cranky (except when we're with other people...ie he's distracted). He needs to be held constantly. And he's just not comfortable. You can tell. 

I'm pleased to announce that his top two middle teeth finally broke through this past week and another bottom tooth popped out today. Current total teeth count: 5. Number of baby teeth still needed to accumulate in the next year or so: 15. 

Let's hope they aren't all this painful. 

Day 331 | Losing the [School] Lottery

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I've let the news of the school lottery set in for a few days. The initial shock of our terrible pick (see above) has turned into two emotions that seem to have stuck: disappointment and rejection.

1. Disappointment: I had managed to stay pretty optimistic (this rarely happens) through the lottery waiting game. This is what I get for trying to be optimistic. We had faith in the process and we were hopeful that we would at least get a somewhat decent waitlist number at our number one pick. Not so much.

2. Rejection: After about a day, I realized that this was the emotion that was sneaking in. Even though we had no control over the process (none!), it still hurts when someone tells you you didn't make the cut. Ouch. 

Where do we go from here? We're working that out currently. There's a small chance we will make it into one of these schools eventually (think: late next school year) but that's questionable. And we could enter the second round of the lottery (they'll post schools that still have openings), but we're pretty sure that's out of the question. We don't want to expand our search too much, mostly because expanding our search means lengthening our commute. Not something I'm willing to deal with five days a week. So, our plan remains what it was (as a back up) from the beginning: Chase will stay put at his preschool for another year, two days a week. We'll remain on the waitlists and hope there's a ton of movement. If there's not (which we're not exactly holding our breath about), we'll reenter the lottery for the 4 year old class a year from now. 

I continue to remind myself that "whatever happens is meant to be" and am working on letting go (a constant struggle for my control freak tendencies). We'll find the perfect school home for Chase (and eventually Robbe), I know that to be true. 

Side note: have no fear, I'll keep you posted as our waitlist numbers change (and they will!). Who knows? Maybe I'm wrong and we'll have better luck than I currently think possible.

Day 329 | Mommy and Me Morning

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Chase and I busted out of the house this morning without Robbe. Woohoo!

What did we choose to do with this super special quality time? We took the train (request #1) to hang out with his buddy John (request #2). And we dyed Easter eggs. 

Chase had a blast and kept repeating, "I like riding choo choos," while we were on the metro.

Side note: The DC school lottery results came in late last night. Let's just say I'm pretty disappointed (ie Chase is wait-listed everywhere). I'll provide a full-debriefing on the topic when I've figured out exactly how I feel about all this madness. Stay tuned.

Day 328 | Healthy as a Cat

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What did we do to fully take advantage of today's high 70s temperature? Head to the vet with Miga, of course.  I need to start checking the long range forecast before making these appointments.

You'll be glad to hear Miga is purrfectly healthy. Chase was concerned about the amount of meowing in the car so he kept reminding her that "everything will be ok." So sweet. 

Day 327 | Talk About Pressure

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I'm sure you recall from previous posts that I cut Chase's hair. Until this point, it's been pretty low stress. If I screw up (which I haven't really, shocking!), I know I can always go a bit shorter or just wait a few days and it'll be fine.

Not this haircut. Chase has his first-ever school photo on Tuesday. As humorous as it would be to have him look like a misfit child, that's just not an option. So I took to the clipper and scissors very mindfully today. Not too short. Not too noticeable as a "I-got-my-haircut-for-school-pictures" cut, no straight across bangs (lesson learned). 

And here's the outcome. I'm pretty satisfied with it, all things considered. There might be some minor tweaks but it's a definite sigh of relief. 

Day 326 | The Price You Pay For Crafting

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This is Robbe's hand this morning after yesterday's (that's right, yesterday's) handprint craft. Needless to say, the ink was not "washable" or "kid-friendly" but I really didn't think it would turn my baby into a hulk look-alike.

The saddest part? The ink is only gone on his thumb...where he he has been sucking it. Mother of the year award for allowing my one year old to ingest green ink (it's non-toxic, though!). The pigmentation continued to fade all day, thank goodness, and disappeared after tonight's bath. 

Sometimes you end up with green hands after a good craft. Just the price you pay. 

Side note: Chase's blue ink wiped right off. Thank goodness. The toddler in our house would not have been able to ignore his new skin tone quite as well. 

Day 325 | How to Raise a Snuggler

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One word: thumb-sucker.

In my vast experience (two babies), the way to make your baby a snuggler is to get him to suck his thumb. Robbe is possibly the sweetest, snuggliest boy around and I'm convinced it's because his favorite soothing devise is right there when he's being held. It's probably also because he loves me so much (I'll keep telling myself that). 

I know thumb-sucking is not ideal for a lot of reasons. But it is one of the cutest things ever. 

So there you go, now go tell your baby to start sucking his thumb. Haha, good one, right?

Day 324 | Sunday at its Best

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We did something crazy this morning: we went out for breakfast. Crazy, right?

Robbe slept a bit late so we had enough time to eat out and get home before nap. Breakfast was delicious, the kiddos were super well-behaved, and we made it home with time to spare before nap. Woohoo! 

We've spent the rest of the day playing as a family, planting spring flowers (I'm hopeful warm weather is actually on the way), and just hanging out. It's been lovely. 

Day 323 | Noyes Library for Young Children

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I've been trying to visit the Noyes Library for Young Children for months now. They're closed on Fridays and Sundays and the timing just never seemed right. Until today.

We ventured over to Kensington, MD, to visit this one-room library. It's full of children's books and there are lots of toys to entertain the wee ones with as well. I'm uncertain if we could have loaned books from this library since we're not Maryland residents. A question for next time, I guess. Just so everyone's expectations were in line (ahem, Chase), we built the destination up as a "library museum" so there wasn't a breakdown about walking out without a Thomas book. 

I'm sure you can see that Chase found the train table and spent most of his time there. Surprise, surprise. He did get into several books as well, though. 

Robbe was more into working the crowd (and it was super busy) and checking out every nook and cranny of the place. Again, surprise, surprise. 

I'd say we'll definitely be back...but probably on a week day so we can have a calmer visit. Yay for new places to play!

Day 320 | Spring for a Day

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Yesterday was such a beautiful day that I've decided to focus on that instead of dwelling on the downer of a 30 degree day today.

After nap, the boys and I ventured out to enjoy our snack near the train tracks (remember this post?). Chase was super excited to be up close and personal with the trains, of course. But what was an actual surprise was how much Robbe seemed to enjoy it. He kept pointing to the trains as they went by and squealing with delight. As they ate their snacks, Chase kept one hand on Robbe's leg to make sure he felt safe (can you tell in the photo?). 

I think it's safe to say we might be spending lots of time near the tracks this summer. 

Day 319 | Chase's Breakfast

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Chase has been eating green oatmeal practically since he started eating solids. He still eats his oatmeal every other day but, as of late, he's been opting for a *slightly* more complex breakfast option on the off days. This morning's meal was particularly excessive.

The snack (usually eaten before he sits down at the table): two prunes, a scatter of raisins, a full banana, a handful of cheerios

The main course: four mini blueberry waffles and yogurt with raspberries, blueberries, and strawberry granola

He asked for orange juice to go along with his water and I said no way. Seriously, where does he store all that food? I guess I shouldn't complain. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.