We made it to the beach!

After a truly epic journey, we have arrived at Myrtle Beach.  We left Friday night.  Everything went smoothly for about four minutes.  While unloading the bags from the taxi at 11pm, Roby threw up all over himself, his only sweatshirt and his car seat.  Not spit up; chunky, stinky, vomit.  Dave, adrenaline pumping, took one look, shrugged and told me to push on.  I was not so relaxed.

Apparently stomach acid sets off the alarms at the airports because our car seat was flagged (noxious fumes?) and I had to have a full body pat down.  Here we are waiting to get on the plane.  Notice the only kid smiling is the one who puked.  He seemed to have recovered.

THEN our flight was delayed an hour. Kids were finally asleep by around 2am. We landed in Charlotte 4 hours later only to sprint from terminal B to terminal E (furthest you can go) in record time to make our connecting plane. Still emitting noxious fumes.

We landed in Myrtle Beach an hour later only to be separated in the airport. Shouldn't happen in the age of the cell phone but Dave conveniently was holding my cell phone for me.  For the record, the kids were totally amazing. No one cried or fussed or was anything other than totally cute (and stinky.) I, on the other hand, was record breaking grouchy.

Was all worthwhile when we got here. First lunch, then pool, cousins, then pops.

Then quiet time in front of the ipad.

Dinner was followed by frolicking in the waves.  Eli and Roby stripped down to their undies roughly 4 seconds after seeing the waves.

  Anna was uncharacteristically reserved, though she warmed up later.

 Roby jumped right in.

Sarah Jane was thrilled.  We all kept remembering three years ago when she wouldn't go within 50 yards of the water.  This was different.  And more awesome.

Eli might have had the most fun.  Or maybe Papa.



Big boy beds and other news

I recently had a minor travesty occur with regards to the photos stored on my computer.  I'm still in denial and refuse to open up the folders where said minor travesty occurred hoping to hold off reality for as long as I can.  This makes it impossible to download any new photos from my camera.  That in conjunction with both the third book of Game of Thrones and the entire first season of Nashville have brought my productivity to an all time low and blog posts have slowed to a trickle.  Life events however continue to happen at a distressingly relentless pace so I'm cheating and catching up with the iPhone photo dump below:

 

1) Anna at her first ballet recital with her bestie Eliza 

 

 2) Basking in the glow post recital

 

 3) Standard post-dinner chaos. The black cat costume Eli is sporting was sewn by GG for Aunt Whitney back in 1982.  It is worn in our house by someone every single day.  Most days we have to set up a 5 minute rotation schedule to prevent world war III.  Thank you GG!

4) Anna is officially done with the Red Room and moves on to the Blue Room post summer school.  Here we are at the annual "surprise" bouncy house and Popsicle fest on the last day of school. 

 5) Eli and Roby negotiating over who gets to hold their favorite toy. 

 6) Decorating cookies for SJ's school birthday party.  The August kids got to celebrate on the Wednesday before the last day of school.  SJ was thrilled.  She got to stand in front of the class and they sang (and signed!) happy birthday to her.  She also got to pass out the cookies.  Major happiness.  I had to work so Grandma did the honors.  Grandma took some great photos which remain on my camera...

 7) Dave, Sarah Jane, Anna and I cut the last day of kindergarten and headed to Boston and then to Hanover for our Dartmouth reunion.  We stayed with Carrie and Geoff who were rockstar hosts providing meals, beds, quiet mornings, coffee, tea, playdates, age appropriate toys, a baby to entertain us and unlimited babysitting all within stumbling distance of the class tent.  Amazing.

After a quick stop at the public gardens to see the ducks, we arrived in Hanover.  Saturday afternoon I coxed a boat for the alumni row.  I didn't crash on the way back in which was definitely a possibility. Landing a $60,000 boat comes with a bit of stress.

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The girls and Dave had a great time while I was on the water. Dave and I are mystified at the idea that erging could be considered fun.

 

After the alumni row we hit the green for the circus.  As you can see the weather was perfect and the whole thing was pretty magical.

 



 The cousins had a great time.

 

 I even got my photo shoot on the green. 

 Same spot, five years ago.  Life is different. 

8) And now for the headlines!  We transitioned the boys to big boy beds last weekend.  They've been jumping out of their cribs for 3 miserable months now.  This is our attempt at a "reset."  So far I don't know if we've reset anything but at least the beds look cute.  For the record, the boys are also potty trained and no longer require a bottle to fall asleep.  We're getting there.

9) And finally, took the boys to get haircuts today.  Here is the before (Roby) and after (Eli)

 And here is the after and after.  Insanely cute shirts by Aunt Laurie. Lollipops by Snippity Crickets.

 Feeling grown up!

 They might be growing up but they still all fit in the bath together. 

 

Pure Anna

No words needed

Happy birthday Roby!

Happy Birthday to Roby too!  Two two year olds.  That IS a big day!!!  Click here for a link to Roby's birthday book for an overview of his first two years.  (Similar to Eli's but slightly different.)

Photobooks...

Hi guys -

Sorry for the multiple posts with the photobooks.  I was experimenting with ways to post them via Shutterfly and was apparently overly (and unknowningly) successful.  The posts from today were the ones I meant to post (with some actual commentary and timed for the actual birthdays!)

Much love,

Abby

Happy Birthday Eli!

Happy birthday to our 2 year old Eli.  Big day! Click here for a link to Eli's first 2 years: Eli's Birthday Book (Similar to Roby's but slightly different.)

 



Two twos!

 It's a big day today, Roby and Eli are turning two.  Big day for them, big day for us.  We've had a "baby" (aka an under two year old) continuously since August 22, 2007.  That is 2095 days of limited sleep, diaper changing, feeding, soothing, entertainment and, did I mention limited sleep?  I'm pretty sure the limited sleep isn't going away in the near future but I have high hopes on the diaper changing! 

Our little boys are well on their way toward kid-dom.  They talk in full sentences.  They play with each other and their sisters.  They share, hug, say sorry and look out for each other.  They love trains and make great train noises.  They also love garbage trucks, their grandmothers, Vicky and Elizabeth.

Eli is very responsible and a good helper.  Today he carefully took the bowl of kitchen scraps off the counter, walked outside, opened up the chicken coop, dumped the bowl out, banged it on the side of the coop to make sure everything was out, locked the chicken coop, looked down noticed there was still some watermelon stuck to the bottom, repeated the steps above and then returned the bowl  to the kitchen counter. All with no prompting and with no help. Eli enjoys green beans more than ice cream and always eats the vegetables on his plate first.  He has been known to get hysterical if you take the vacuum away from him.  I once offered Eli a snack when Roby wasn't around.  He carefully handed half back to me and said "Bobby." (Eli has christened Roby "Bobby" and it has stuck.) 

"Li" walking with purpose

Eli's favorite activity

 

Roby runs more than he walks and jumps/hops more than he runs.  He looks like he's constantly clicking his heels together in glee.  He has an infectious smile.  He likes to balance on the side of his crib like a tightrope walker (holding on with hands too but looking up to make sure you notice.)  Roby greats me with a huge hug and a kiss even if I've been gone for 10 minutes.  Roby is a giggler and is definitely our most satisfying kid to tickle.  Despite his energy, Roby can also sit still and read books with his sisters.  He likes to cuddle and often spends the last 45 min of sleep cozy in our bed.  He is very attached to his blanky and his monkey.  If he gets his blanky for himself, he makes sure to grab Eli's too.

Roby's hops

Roby's grin

While they are different, they have a lot in common too.  Both boys know which clothes belong to each boy and are quite adamant that they are dressed in their own clothes.  For the record, Roby owns navy blue socks, Eli has the light blue sparkly ones.  If one boy does something naughty and gets punished, the other one tends to commit the same sin and expects to receive the same punishment out of solidarity. Both boys like to give themselves timeouts, they think it's hilarious.  Both boys are making great strides with the potty training.  In preparation I carefully bought two identical red kid potties anticipating struggles if we had only one.  Because they like to make things difficult, these guys refuse to use the little potties and only go in the big one, of which there is of course just one in each bathroom.  The anticipated struggles occur. Both boys repeat the last word of every sentence you say to them so conversations sound like this:

"Eli and Roby, you want to go potty?"
"Potty"
"Potty"
"In the bathroom?"
"Bafroom"
"Bafroom"
"And get a jelly bean"
"Jelbeeen"
"Jelbeeen"
"Are you going to go?"
"Go"
"Go"
and on and on and on....  



They might be two but they are definitely not (yet?) terrible.  We think they are pretty great and are looking forward to seeing what two will bring!

 

In their wagon on a walk with Vicky

The beauty of having sisters

Watching Sarah Jane's tennis lesson

Popsicles

 

Vegetables

Email from Grandma:

Today Anna told me that sometimes she didn't want to grow up.  Trying to be reassuring I said, "Oh, it wont happen for a long long time." Then she asked, "Do you want to know why I don't want to grow up?" "Why?" I said.

"I don't want to eat my vegetables," she explained. 

 

Vote for Aunt Ellie!!!!

Ellie's Peep O'Rama made it into the semi-finals!!!!  Right now she's 6th out of 42 with 911 votes!  (it's possible I am at least three of those votes.)  If you have a moment, please vote!  (Clarence Thomas Makes A Peep)

Cali kids

It rained here last night for the first time in ages (January?) and the kids were totally thrilled. They immediately headed outside in their boots and their rain coats, wielding umbrellas like swords (who says they have to go OVER your head) and splished and splashed to their hearts content.  But these are California kids.  My favorite exchange:

Anna:  Mom, I NEED my gloves!
Me: Why Anna?
Anna: Because my hands are a little bit wet!

Jack*##: Toddler Edition

The boys have finally figured out how to "ride" their big wheels.  And by "ride" I mean tear head first down the driveway stopping only when they hit something, hit someone or tip over.  I got the videos below. The first one is short and will give you the general flavor.  The second is longer but I had to include.  Dave and I watched it 7+ times last night and by the end were crying we were laughing so hard.  It's probably not as funny as we think it is.  We're tired.

Eli in blue helmet, Roby in yellow.

Aunt Ellie's Peeps

Aunt Ellie and her friends Jess and Rachel have entered the Washington Post's Peep-o-rama contest now for five years running.  They have yet to win officially but they're champions in our view.  Here's the five years of Peeps.  Rules include using Peeps and being clever.  Hopefully the fifth one's the charm!

2009: Peep Bloom

In "Peep Bloom", peeps stroll along the tidal basin, enjoying peak bloom of the cherry blossoms. Our peeps can be seen running in the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler, practicing flying kites for the National Kite Festival, sharing a picnic, taking photos, and floating along in paddle boats.

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2010: "Snowpeepcalypse" DC's major snowstorms, Snowpocalypse and Snowmageddon, were covered by the media from every possible angle.  That is, every angle but one.  Everyone seemed to ignore the plight of the Peeps during the record-setting snow levels.  Those poor Peeps were up to their ears in snow, as depicted in our diorama, and could barely move through the snow-clogged streets.  Those Peeps can't wait for spring (and neither can we)!

2011: Lady PeepPeep at the Grammys

Our diorama depicts Lady PeepPeep as she arrives at the 2011 Grammys to perform her hit song, "Hatched this Way."  She is carried down the red carpet in an egg, past throngs of reporters, photographers, and fans, while Justin Peepber waits in the background, upstaged by her grand entrance.

2012: Newt Peeprich's Moon Colony

At the end of his second term, President Newt Peeprich has delivered on his campaign promise and established a colony on the moon. Now he vows to keep out illegal aliens, achieve statehood, and win the right to vote--ending Washington's outrageous taxation of the colony without representation. 

2013: Clarence Thomas makes a Peep!

On January 14, 2013, Supeep Court Justice Clarence Thomas stunned his fellow justices when he made a peep during oral arguments for the first time in nearly seven years.