Day 699 | Finally Spring

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After weeks of cooler temps (at least it has felt that way), I picked Chase up from school in 70 degrees today. We broke outside for some fun in the sun before dinner. The boys entertained themselves happily with bubbles (Chase even refilled their bubble dishes by himself) while I tested out their mini kites and entertained Miga.

Then, while I cooked, the boys once again entertained themselves by making a total mess in Robbe's room. My most braggable parent moment from the day? The boys cleaned this disaster up by themselves before we all sat down to eat. Woohoo!

Day 696 | Guitar

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Robbe and I have been taking a music class since January and he's finally starting to get into it. Today he even wanted to wait in line to play the musician's guitar afterward (up until now he's been too shy). That's big. He waited very patiently for his turn and then walked up without hesitation to pluck away at the strings. And, although, he's not talking much yet, he kept bringing up the experience all day. So cute.

Day 695 | And He Turns Four

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I know you've been waiting for this...

Top 10 Best Things About Four-year-old Chase
  1. His compassion: this kid has the biggest heart you can imagine. He's amazingly thoughtful and generous and understanding. Much more so than you would expect from a four-year-old.
  2. His intellect: he's a little smartie, that's for sure. His little brain is just a sponge picking up so much from school (and a little from us). My current favorite example? Often he interjects in normal conversation, "hey, that's alliteration!"
  3. His deep interest in space: books, toys, videos, anything space related is a big hit. He told me yesterday that he probably can't fly to the moon until he's eleven, though. 
  4. His love for vacation: yes, we've taught him well. This kid definitely knows the appropriate amount of excitement, enthusiasm, and anticipation to exhibit when a vacation rolls around. 
  5. His super-expressive, unwavering love for mommy and daddy: he often turns to Chris and me out of the blue and says, "I love you, mommy/daddy." Other iterations are "I love you so much I believe in you" and "I love you so much and I like you so much" and "Mommy/daddy, you're my favorite (a family saying)."
  6. His love for school: sending him to full day three year old preschool was a tough decision. A tough decision. Man, was it the right one. This kid loves being a Bulldog (their classroom mascot). He loves all his little Bulldog friends. And the Bulldog teachers could not be better (not exaggerating). Not only has his mind expanded with all this classroom time, but socially he's made leaps and bounds this year (our biggest hope when sending him). 
  7. His imagination: this part of his brain is working in overdrive as of late. He loves acting out stories, coming up with new games, and including any/all of his family members in the productions.
  8. His kid-isms: kids say the funniest things, right? This guy is no exception. My latest favorite occurred when a penpal of his (thanks for coordinating, uncle Matt) sent him foreign currency in her latest card. He opened it and looked up at me in surprise and said, "How did she know I like money?" Hahaha. 
  9. His natural ability to be the big brother: we couldn't have asked for a better role model for sweet Robbe. Chase has already shown an interest in helping his little brother navigate life a little easier. He's patient with him, gentle towards him, understanding of his shortcomings, translates as well as I do, shares his toys, and genuinely wants him around. It's the best.
  10. His rule-following: yep, still going strong with his impressive ability to listen and follow rules. It's pretty amazing from a parenting perspective. And luckily he takes it with him to school, too. Not to brag but he's the only Bulldog to not have used the "take a break chair" (where you go when you need some time to compose yourself) at school yet. Fingers crossed he can make it to the end of the year. Maybe he'll win an award!

Almost exactly four years ago (to the minute), we welcomed this little baby into the world that changed every second of our lives moving forward. We couldn't be more proud of our amazing 4-year-old and the little gentleman he's becoming. We love you, Sweet Pea.

Day 692 | Moon Sand

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Birthday party prep is well underway for our fourth (and final) birthday in the last 7.5 weeks. Today's activity? Making a trial batch of Moon Sand for the big birthday party. I had envisioned making a couple of patches and then putting it out in a big tub for kids to play with and then put in to-go containers as part of their party favors (collecting Moon Sand, get it?).

After today's trial, I think I'm going to have to reevaluate. The recipe was super simple (just flour and baby oil [and food coloring, if that's your thing]), the boys enjoyed "dumping" all the ingredients, and they had a total blast playing with it. That doesn't seem surprising unless you consider that neither of my boys really prefer to get their hands dirty (I have no idea where that comes from). However, it was messier than I think I can justify for an indoor birthday party.  I'm not giving up on the idea...just brainstorming other options/tweaks.

Here's the recipe I used for it, although I did a half-batch and ended up using a lot more baby oil to reach the consistency I wanted.

Enjoy!

Day 691 | T-shirt Hack

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I made this pretty sweet gift for my niece's 11th birthday gift. I cut up a too-large t-shirt. Here's what I did:

  • I cut out the neck so it's more of a scoop neck.
  • I cut off the sleeves and then rolled them up and tied them with t-shirt scraps.
  • My favorite element? I cut three strips up each side and then braided down to bring the sides in so the shirt would actually fit.
I hope she actually gets some use out of it. I heart DC!

p.s. Sorry for missing my post yesterday. I have no excuse. We did literally nothing yesterday. I guess that's the problem, I just didn't have anything to report on and it didn't register to me that I missed it. My bad.

Day 690 | So Long, Farewell

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Chase: I'm excited and sad. 
Me: Why's that?
Chase: I'm excited we're going home but sad to be leaving Wee-sconsin. 
Me: I feel the same way. What are you going to miss?
Chase: I like seeing the grandmas and grandpas more. 
Me: What do you like about them?
Chase: They do nice things for me. That makes me happy. 

Special note: Both (both!) boys napped on the plane. I don't think Chase has napped on a plane since he was 3 months old. It was a Christmas (in April) miracle. I guess that proves how exhausting our week has been. I have to say, almost a perfect travel day from start to finish. 

Day 689 | Grandma & Grandpa Time

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Grandma and Grandpa M were sweet enough to drive across the state to hang out with us for a couple of days before our flight back tomorrow. We loved seeing them (as usual) and the boys were overjoyed to spend time with both sets of grandparents during this short trip.

The boys even got a special parent-free time with Grandma and Grandpa this morning. Those lucky ducks (and Chris and I weren't complaining either). 

Thanks again to both sets of grandparents and all the other friends and family that made this spring break trip such a success!

Day 685 | More Birthday Business

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Robbe was nice enough to help Grandma blow out her candles.
It's my Mom's birthday! Lucky us we got to celebrate her special day in person. Woohoo!

We showed up at her office to tour her construction site and surprised her with a ballon then brought her home and surprised her with an Elsa ice cream cake. Robbe and Chase were pretty excited, as you might have guessed. 

Let the birthday celebrations continue!

Day 683 | Sugar Overload

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Busy day around here. We met the Easter Bunny (for the first time) and found eggs during the egg hunt for a candy reward (first round of sugar).

Then my mom and I enjoyed some lovely pedicures and some kid-free time (thanks, Chris!). After a quick round of naps, it was family birthday party time (also for the first time, I think). We were celebrating Lane's 11th birthday and Chase's 4th. Yippee! There were m&m's (round two), jelly beans (round three), and scrumptious homemade cupcakes (the fourth and final round of sugar) to keep the boys soaring on their sugar high. 

As you might expect, they had the time of their lives. So many giggles and jubilant smiles to fill one day. It makes my heart happy. 

Day 680 | Cherry Blossoms

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Ahead of our spring break trip, we needed to make a quick stop down to the Tidal Basin to check cherry blossom progress. Even though the Park Service declared today as peak, it was far from it. There were some fully-blossomed trees (see photo) and it was a lovely morning to be taking in the beauty and chaos of this season in the District, so no complaints when all was said and done. 

Day 679 | Thank You Art

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Check out this fun art craft I did with Robbe for his birthday thank you notes.

I used a regular sheet of computer paper, "wrote" the word thanks with painters tape and then had Robbe use our dot markers to cover the tape and surrounding area. Then I removed the tape and scanned in the art to be able to print off the right size.

Super easy and super cute (at least I think so!). Hope all of you that received one felt the same way.