Robbe and I had our first Musikgarten class today. I'm really excited about spending our Thursday mornings this way. It's more than just a sing-along music class that we've taken so far. Today we worked on rhythm and scales while learning new songs. Robbe needs another week or two to build up to full participation, but I'm confident he'll get there.
I've been working hard (probably a little too hard) on my next blog post for Visit Eau Claire. I'll let you in on a secret sneak peek of the subject: where to sip apple cider this fall. Fun, right?
I have to say I've been thoroughly enjoying the excuse to get out and try some indulgent cider concoctions, including the one above from Living Room Coffee House. The ingredient list includes cider (duh), half & half, cinnamon, whip cream, and a caramel drizzle. It did give me a bit of the sugar shakes (that's a thing, right?), but it was incredibly tasty. The go-live date for the post isn't for a couple of weeks, but I'll be sure to let you know when it's been published.
With both kids in school (I mean, Robbe only goes two half-days a week, but still!), it finally dawned on me that summer is officially over. We've had a really dreamy summer. I promise I'm not trying to present the highlight reel of our life. It really has been better than I could have imagined. The freedom of some nap-free days, the ease of the boys getting along, the too-good-to-be-true weather was just about the perfect combination.
As a nod to the Great Summer of 2017, I've given a subtitle for it from each of our family members:
This guy's vocabulary has exploded in the last few months. He went from two and three word phrases just five months ago and now he's telling full stories. It's been crazy impressive.
I mean, I know it's Wisconsin (the Dairy State) but I still wasn't expecting to eat nearly as much ice cream as we did. I'm pretty sure Chase ate more ice cream (and so did Robbe, for the record) in the last three months than he has the rest of his life. I'm not complaining, I love ice cream as much as the next gal, but still!
Since joining the Book of the Month Club, I've been a reading maniac. It's been A LONG time since I've gotten through one book, not to mention several books in three months. I can't wait to see where my next literary adventures take me.
We've been surprisingly popular this summer. After living a life of infrequent socialization in DC, it's been a total shift. Between family, friends, and coworkers, we managed to stay happily busy all summer long. Judging by our calendar for the next month, I'd say the trend is continuing.
Finally today was Robbe's turn! This wasn't just any first day. It was his first first day EVER! I couldn't be more impressed or proud of this little nugget. He gave hugs and said goodbye at drop off without hesitation and was all smiles upon pick up. I even got a pretty thorough play-by-play of the day (sometimes it's hard to remember!). He seems super excited about his school, his teachers, and his new friend (yeah, he only has one other child in his class right now).
I think it's going to be a great year.
Remember this post about surviving the four month sleep regression (so do I...I can still feel my temperature rise just thinking about it)?
Who knew I'd be living through yet another sleep regression with my 3+ year old? I'll be honest, I didn't see this one coming. I thought after the one year mark when I had two kids sleeping through the night I could finally breathe a breath of relief. I had made it through the terrible sleep phase. And we had...for about two years anyway.
I'm not exactly sure what happened with Robbe. It could have been some sort of growth spurt or mental leap he was dealing with. It could have been his newly three-year-old-self asserting his power over me (there have been a number of those moments). It could have been an inability to wind down at the end of some fun + exciting days. Or, and this is probably the ticket, it could have been that he stopped sucking his thumb. Ding, ding, ding.
Almost simultaneously when he stopped sucking his thumb, terrible sleep tantrums began. Once he fell asleep, he was totally fine and slept through the night. The problem was with getting him into bed and being able to successfully leave the room. He would fight. He would scream. He would go limp. He would cry. And you remember that Chase and Robbe share a room, right?
After almost four months, I'm finally feeling confident enough to say we survived, but not entirely unscathed. Here's how we came out on the other side.
You get the idea.
As it was, I still questioned our strategy throughout. It lasted SO long after all. But now that everyone happily and quietly goes to bed again every night, I'm convinced it was just another phase that he needed to work through on his own (with the help of our not-so-flexible boundaries).
I guess in the scheme of things, if we can go another 2+ years without any sleep challenges, we can consider ourselves pretty lucky. It's all about perspective.
**Side note: Robbe is fake sleeping in the photo above. Can you see that little smirk peeking out?**
Thanks to a tip from a friend, we found a new apple orchard to visit and it was exactly what we were looking for. We don't need all the extra hype with an apple orchard (mazes, haunted houses, games, etc). Nibletts Apple Shed offered a pick your own option with a free wagon ride and a few activities for the kids...perfect.
We'll be back. Â
I can't speak to the old fashioneds (not really my thing, you know?), but the g&t's were sure good.
Thanks to our babysitter extraordinaire, Skylar, for hanging out with the boys. Much appreciated.
The boys have been really into playing spies lately. The latest installment of their pretend play is turning our couches into "spy desks". As you can see from the photo, Chase's desk is very well thought out and organized. Robbe's? Not quite so much.
We left the "desks" as is last night but two days seems more like a big mess than constructive pretend play. They'll just have to recreate them tomorrow. Â
Four years of first day of school pics and this little just keeps getting cuter...and more easily photographed, for that matter.
Chase had no hesitation at drop off today and was all smiles at pick up raving about his day. I'd say it was a huge success. He did admit to not talking to anyone all afternoon (which, if you know him, seems utterly impossible), but said that by the time he goes full day (on Monday), he'll probably be ready to talk.
Look at my two big guys starting school this year! Today was school orientation day and we took both boys to meet their new teachers and see their schools (again). Both boys seem genuinely excited to be starting this next chapter. Tomorrow is Chase's first official day (but full days don't start until next week for him) and Robbe will be going two days a week, starting Monday, to a speech intensive preschool (remember this post?). Let's hope today's enthusiasm continues through to their first days!
**Special thanks to Nick for hanging out with each of the boys individually so we could take each one separately to their orientations. We really appreciate it.
It was another lovely work-free day around here which included not taking any photos. Eek! Â
Instead, I'll share another one from our time with family over the weekend. This photo is of a four person air hockey game that shot out a ton of pucks. It was pretty intense. And pretty awesome. Â
Today was a really good day. It started out with breakfast with family, then we took advantage of the beautiful weather by checking "play mini golf" off the bucket list (see more details below) and pool-sitting for a neighbor that was out of town. Round out the evening with some yummy sushi and some Netflix binge-watching and that's a good day.
In case you're thinking it can't get much better than that, though, it does! I had the best game of mini golf ever. I even beat Chris (mostly because of my two hole-in-ones). Don't be mistaken by the tallied scores, Chase and I did not tie. Chris was just trying to be nice by evening out the scores. Also, if you're worried we were playing all day because of Robbe's "94" and "84" scores, we subscribed to the honesty-scoring system with the boys. We let them power ahead on the course and they just reported their scores back to us. Chris and I did not subscribe to the same scoring method. You can't trust that guy. I won fair and square.
Because of that game of mini golf, I'm happy to report that we managed to cross everything off our bucket list but one item: "build a tree fort". We've decided, after careful consideration, that we're going to wait and do some more brainstorming on the perfect plan for our fort. Next summer, though, next summer.
Time to make the fall bucket list, I guess!
Sometimes all you need is to laugh so hard your cheeks hurt and tears run down your face. Seriously, is there anything better? Thanks, Mike and Andi for all the hearty belly laughs. We can always count on you.
*Side note: we also spent an exhausting morning at the Action City trampoline park (see above). It was pretty fantastic.
Some of our favorite house guests came to visit! And guess what?!? We got a babysitter (thanks, Erica!) and had some quality no-kid time. It was glorious.
It's been on our list for a year and today it finally happened: the dead tree at the end of our driveway is no more.
Thankfully, the crew came early enough for us to enjoy most of the show. The boys [and I] watched for a shocking amount of time. It's such an interesting process, though! The bucket truck, the chainsaws, the chipper, the moment the tree trunk topples. Such intrigue!
Another day, another fun [and new!] playground to explore. Hard to believe all these summer play dates will be coming to an end for Chase with school starting. Luckily the little one will continue to keep me busy, so you don't have to worry.
The family that built our house back in the 60s dropped off this incredibly sweet and detailed book of our house's history over the weekend. There are some images of the original mansion that occupied our lot before it was tore down. There are some images of our house during construction (see above). And there are lots and lots of memories shared in these pages.
We are beyond grateful to the original family of our house for putting the time and energy into creating this treasured book. Thank you. Â
Check out this front page article in our local paper! I have such fond memories of visiting the Telemark Resort while growing up, it makes me smile just thinking someone might bring it back to life. Here's hoping!
The sun came out for a brief period this morning and we took full advantage by brining Chase and Chris to Big Falls County Park to show off the amazing views (Robbe and I went earlier this summer). Because of the cooler temps, we were just about the only people there and it didn't take the boys long to find the sandy beach and strip down to their undies for some water play time.
Another cool, rainy day kept us cooped up most of the day. But no one was complaining. The last couple of weeks have been surprisingly busy so a lazy day stuck inside with nowhere to go was pretty much perfect. We did some science experiments, sorted through some of the photos Chase has been taking, squeezed in some housework, watched a movie, and just hung out. It was lovely.
small city | BIG DAYS
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