Day 845 | First Day of 4K

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I'm happy to report that today was a resounding success. Our little four year old could not have impressed me more. He walked right into class, grabbed his carpet square (as directed), and basically shooed us out the door. That's my boy. 

Robbe offered some whimpers but otherwise everyone was all smiles at drop off and pick up. Chase, as expected, barely acknowledged me when we showed up to collect him. He wanted to stay (like I told him he would), and I had to peel Robbe off the playground (where Chase ends his day). Chase even announced that he wouldn't mind if this school was a full day. Best compliment ever!

Day 844 | So Excited

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Our sweet Chase starts 4K tomorrow. I know, about time, right? We attended an open house at his school today to meet the teachers and some of his new friends. Most importantly, Chase got to test drive some of the new materials he'll be able to play with four days a week.  

After being a bit skeptical about school starting (he misses his old friends and school), today got Chase really excited. Plus, he's only going in the afternoons so he's pumped that he's not going to miss anything with Robbe and me (it's just naptime after all). 

Think happy thoughts for a smooth drop off and successful first day tomorrow!

Day 843 | Wrist Update

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It's been a little over two weeks since my wrist surgery. Chris told me I couldn't post the really gruesome pre-stitches-being-removed photo but it's healed enough to not horrify anyone at this point...at least I hope! 

It seems to be healing pretty well and hasn't been nearly as painful as I feared + anticipated. And even though it's still a couple of months ago, I cannot wait until my first yoga class.

In the meantime, I'm just focusing on the little everyday accomplishments. It's definitely getting stronger and less inhibitive, but man it's been cramping my style. 

Here's a top twelve of my least favorite activisties during my recovery process:

  1. Closing + opening ziploc baggies
  2. Clipping fingernails
  3. Manipularing transformers (the toys)
  4. Opening the fridge
  5. Gripping the steering wheel
  6. Pushing a stroller
  7. Handing things into the backseat
  8. Using a hair tie
  9. Installing a car seat
  10. Twisting off bottle tops
  11. Putting on little socks
  12. Popping the top on our toothpaste

I can't complain too much, though. My family, especially my two favorite sons, have made this process as easy on me as I could hope for. 

Day 842 | Bunk Beds

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Big day for our big guy: we assembled his bunk bed. He's been dreaming of this day for so long. Unfortunately, we don't have mattresses to put on the beds quite yet (who knew the bed would arrive so quickly?!?), so no sleeping there tonight...but soon! 

No mattresses didn't keep the boys down, though. We threw the toddler bed mattress up there and the two kiddos spent a significant amount of time going up and down. Up and down.  

Lots of happiness in the house today.  

Day 840 | Bridge Adventure Day

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I woke up the morning itching to take advantage of the beautiful weather (after two days of rain). To the bridges! Remember that I mentioned there are lot of bridges here? 

We visited two new ones today...and they didn't disappoint. High Point Bridge was especially impressive with views of a roaring river pouring through the dam. 

And, although I'm not a huge fan of driving over big bridges, my stomach only got a mild "funny feeling" (as I described to the boys) during today's excursion. Success! 

Day 839 | Beaver Creek Reserve

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The rain couldn't keep us down on day two. We busted out of the house to explore the Beaver Creek Reserve nature center. It was renovated this summer and is fantastic. We were there for over 1.5 hours and I had to peel the boys away. 

Some highlights:

  • wearing butterfly wings (obviously)
  • watching animal feeding time (snapping turtles can really take care of minnows, for the record)
  • crawling through the cave
  • exploring the lightbox with different rocks and animal images
  • peeping at the birds at the feeders outside with kid-friendly binoculars
  • testing out various puzzles, blocks, books, etc.

Add this to our list of much-needed cold weather outing ideas. Why yes, we will join as members. 

The best part? We didn't do any of the outdoor activities (two playgrounds + hiking trails galore), so once the mosquitos settle down (we got eaten alive on our way in from the parking lot), we'll be back before the snow hits.

Day 838 | Just the Three of Us

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It finally had to happen: Chris started his job today. Back to real life and that means just me and the boys. I wouldn't say it was our best day, but it could have been a lot worse. That's a success, right?  

As glorious as the last five weeks (!!) have been, I think we're all ready to see what life in our new house in our new city is really going to be like. We've been in a constant state of vacation since we left the District on July 13. Whoa. 

Oh, and Chris's first day went well, for those keeping track. Everyone seems really nice and his commute alone (less than ten minutes) is enough to keep him happy for awhile. We've got a good feeling about this. 

Day 835 | Treasures

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There have been some unexpected surprises that have popped up since our move to Wisconsin. One of these surprises is how many treasures our children seem to discover every time we visit one of the grandparents. Today's discoveries include two sets of awesome headphones and a kids record player from the 80s. Lucky, aren't we?

However, in all seriousness, we're so thankful to have such loving and generous grandparents closeby that have already aleviated our child-based stress tremendously. I guess these new "treasures" just go along with the territory. Seems like a good trade.  

Day 834 | MN Fun

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What a perfect day for a trip to St. Paul to see some of our favorite people and visit the Minnesota State Fair (a first for us!). 

The weather couldn't have been better, the three boys handled the chaos (and sugar) of the fair like champs, and man did we accomplish all the goals we set for our short visit.  

A few highlights: 

  • Racing vegetable cars down a ramp.  
  • Viewing the seed art  
  • Petting several baby animals  
  • Meeting the 1200 pound pig 
  • Walking through the 4-H buildings (favorite exhibits include an art piece of cats made out of rocks and a diorama entitled "Humanity's Worst Day" as scene by an elementary-age child...it was dark)
  • Taking a trip down the giant slide
  • The food. Oh, the food. In a period of about 3.5 hours our group managed to eat the following: apple cider freeze pops, roasted sweet corn, cheese curds, corn dogs, mini donuts, pretzel-wrapped hot dogs, ice cream cones, and a snow cone.

Well done, team. 

To top it off, we got back to our friends' house in time for Robbe to nap (which he did instantly) and some quality low-key hang out time before we ate a yummy dinner and hit the road to head home.  

Today might just be in the running for best day ever. :)

Day 833 | A New Blog

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I've been hinting at this day for a long time. My new blog (and website name) are revealed!

Small City | Big Days seems like the perfect continuation in documenting the daily life of our little family. I'll be redirecting visitors from the District Day Dreams website for a bit, but update your bookmarks to www.smallcitybigdays.com to make sure you don't miss anything moving forward.

And now, the other really big news of the day...the Water Street Bridge is open! You might not fully appreciate the excitement surrounding this development but you would if you knew that every night for the past week we've been making trips to check it's progress. The bridge is about two blocks from our house and opens up an even easier walking path to a bunch of restaurants + bars + local stores. Woohoo! 

Above is a collage from today's ribbon cutting + first walk across as well as a few photos from the in progress excursions we've taken along the way. See? Big day.

**Side note: I never realized how many bridges Eau Claire has. I think there have to be at least 300. Ok, not really, but there are a ton. I guess that's what happens when two rivers converge in the middle of a city's downtown. Perhaps I'll do a blog post with photos of all (more like, some of) the bridges some day. Stay tuned.

Day 832 | Chase's First Movie

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It's been a long time coming but Chase finally went to his first movie theater movie last night. Big deal, right?

He and Chris saw Finding Dory at the budget theater that's walkable from our new house. The best!

Before the movie, Chase was the most excited version of himself. He could not keep it together. And, from first hand reports at the theater (from Chris), he was the sweetest version of himself through the whole thing. 

For any of you that have watched an in-home movie with Chase, you'll be interested to hear that he didn't close his eyes, ask to fast forward, request to leave, or bury his head at all. I've never been more proud.

Day 831 | My Wrist

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I realized after a couple of inquiries that I probably should have elaborated on the story behind my wrist surgery. Sorry about that! I hate not knowing the back story behind things just as much as the next guy and yet I did it to all of you. To make things right...

A brief overview of my current wrist situation:

  • Last fall, I started noticing a small bump appear on the inside of my left wrist (most likely from how I've been holding the babies for the last 4.5 years). 
  • After Christmas, I met a friend for yoga (which was really painful) and she told me that she thought it might be a ganglion cyst. Google it, if you're interested. 
  • Soon after, I had it checked out in DC and the diagnosis was confirmed and it was drained. I was given a 50/50 chance it wouldn't come back.
  • No luck, fast forward several months and the cyst had become much more painful...the packing + unpacking didn't help. 
  • I decided to have it checked out here to see what my options were. After another trip to the doctor and a MRI, it was determined that surgery was necessary (the cyst was becoming a bit too friendly with my ulnar nerve). 
  • Surgery came and went uneventfully last Friday and now I'm on the road to recovery. 

There it is, the whole *abbreviated* story. Now I'm stuck with this wrist splint until next Wednesday (AHHH!). It's already starting to drive me crazy. I think I'll make it, though. 

And, just think, it's possible that in a few months (maybe more...) I'll be back to yoga. My heart smiles just thinking about it.

Day 829 | Festival in the Pines

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It's been a surprisingly busy weekend around here. Today we spent a good chunk of the day at the local Festival in the Pines event. Although my wrist was trying to cramp our style (I had surgery on Friday), we still managed to squeeze in a school bus ride to the festival (definitely a highlight), a snow cone (Chase has been waiting all summer), a petting farm, a magic show, a few corn dogs, and an attempt to win a goldfish (which Chase actually succeeded at with his last ball but then chose a stuffed animal as his prize...what?!?). 

We got home and all took naps (except Chris, I guess) before heading to a neighbor's house for a little neighborhood welcome gathering. We're hoping for a quieter couple of days ahead, but we can't really complain since we're having such fun.

Day 828 | Seeds of Hope

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Another great day in Wisconsin.  The highlight of the day was definitely a trip to the Seeds of Hope sunflower maze with some family.  The boys loved running through the flowers, spending time on the tractors hidden throughout, and there was even a horse-drawn wagon ride.

**Special thanks to my brother for installing our ceiling fan today. Such a little thing that makes me so happy. Another big project off the list.

Day 827 | Looking Cozy

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I know I haven't posted many photos of the new house. It turns out getting a new house set up takes a *bit* of time. Although 96% of boxes are unpacked, we still have a random box or two stacked in most rooms. There's also at least one surface in those rooms covered with piles of misc items that just need homes. Not my favorite sights, but, you know, priorities.

Anyway, we're finally close to finishing up our family room so I wanted to share! We're still working on some sort of an ottoman and there will be a bookshelf, but it's looking good. We're really happy with how it has come together. Hope you agree!