Summer Visits/Visitors

We have had a great summer so far with lots of family visits. In May, we went to Boston to watch Aunt Rachael get her Masters from Boston College. Although our travel started off a bit rocky with a missed flight from Dulles, we ended up having a great, but abbreviated, visit with nearly the entire Anderson family.

We also had a fun visit with Aunt Adrienne and Uncle Evan who were in town for a Radiohead concert and tacked on extra time to spend some QT with Isaac and Caitlin, including babysitting for an afternoon. The kids had so much fun that they woke up asking for them for a whole week after they left!

We spent Father's Day weekend in NJ which included lots of outside time playing soccer with the kids' new balls (yes, Caitlin is playing soccer holding a purse- she is a total girly-girl), brunch at Grandma Jo's, and the kids' first trip to Rita's Water Ice. Of course Cesi also came through AGAIN with the adorable picture of both kids for Bill's gift.  Grandma and Grandpop had so much fun with the kids that they kept them for a couple of extra days after Bill and I went back to DC. Their adventures included swimming and taking a train to the acquarium.  Sounds like it was super-fun for all of them and while we missed them, it was a nice break for us. 

Finally, Grandma Gerri came to spend a long weekend with us when Bill went to Virginia Beach for a boys' weekend. We had lots of great QT with Grandma who was a very good sport about getting dragged out before coffee and showering every morning for each day's activities.  She and Isaac spent an adventure day riding the double-decker bus around the monuments, he showed her all his favorite parts of the Air & Space Museum, and then they metro'd and found their way home together!

Early Summer Update

This blog has a new format, and I can't figure out how to get it back to the way it was so...I guess this is how the blogs are going to be from here on out.  Lots of catching up to do in this blog.  Starting with this adorable picture that Cesi took of the kids as a mother's day gift to me :)

At 22 months, Caitlin is growing up so fast it's amazing.  She is a totally independent person, has a LOT to say, and is quite the drama queen when she doesn't get her way or if you dare to say no to her.  She's still a great sleeper, taking 2-3 hour naps and sleeping 12 hours at night.   She is able to recite the alphabet and count up to 11, is very specific about which songs she wants to listen to and which books she wants to read. She LOVES gymboree and music and has some great dance moves. Her vocabulary seems to grow by multiples every day and she's very curious, constantly asking questions about what things are. As a result, there are lots of funny conversations to be overhead these days.  For example: 
Me: "Caitlin, it's time for bed"; Caitlin "why?"
Me: "Caitlin, why did you dump your puffs all over the floor?" Caitlin: "because"  \
Me: "Caitlin, why did you grab the toy and pull Isaac's hair?" Caitlin: "I had it first"
Me: "Isaac, why did you bite Caitlin?" Isaac "she put her hand in my mouth"
Isaac: "Caitlin, you're not big enough to go to school"; Caitlin "yes I am"
She loves getting dressed up, and already has more shoes than I do.  This works perfectly for Cesi, who still loves to dress her up in adorable outfits on the daily.

 Caitlin has decided that it's time to be potty trained and on numerous occasions I've walked into the bathroom to find her chilling with a book on the mini potty or struggling to balance on the toilet (pretty funny to watch her climb up) - with successful missions almost every day!

With the gorgeous weather we've been having, the kids insist on eating dinner outside almost every night which has been fun for all of us. Isaac is a total vegetable lover while Caitlin could live on carbs.

Isaac is thriving in school and has made lots of progress in the Spanish department - he comes home speaking entirely in Spanish and has corrected me many times when I try to talk back to him, shaking his head and saying "Mommy, you don't speak Spanish".  He's had a few field trips lately and Bill has rearranged his work schedule to be a chaperone which is fun for both of them.  All the kids LOVE Bill, and at the latest trip to the zoo he led the whole class around, making sure each kid got to see their favorite animal.

 Isaac is still loving swim class (no pictures allowed for some ridiculous reason), having a great time taking a yoga class after school (he's very proud of his king cobra and downward dog), and having fun at soccer.  Since soccer is on Sunday mornings, we all go, and it's close between Isaac, Bill and Caitlin who is having more fun.

Finally, we've been loving the Friday night concerts at Yards Park.  We bring a picnic dinner and meet up with all our friends from the Hill and alternate between hanging out, chasing the kids, and enjoying the music.  The location is great, right on the water, and it is especially enjoyable given this amazing weather we've been having! 

 

Easter

We had a really fun weekend with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Ray-Ray that started with a yummy birthday dinner and cake for Daddy, and included egg decorating, lots of snuggling and park time.  Everyone pitched in and helped us get the backyard ready for spring, which made outside meals and the fabulous Easter Egg hunt that Grandma planned really fun. 

We missed the actual easter bunny, but Isaac & Caitlin were happy with the balloon :)

Backyard looks pretty great for ZERO upkeep over the winter ;)

 After living in DC for more than 15 years, we finally made it to the White House Easter Egg Roll this year.  We got the 7:30-9:30 tickets, so needless to say we showed up a little late.  It worked out for the best because we avoided the lines and walked right in.  Isaac's only request was to meet the Easter Bunny, so he was super-excited to meet Wyatt and Princess Pea and all the other characters walking around.  The weather was perfect, and overall it was a great experience for all of us.

Denver Trip

We went for our annual spring visit to Colorado, but this year Bill had to work in Florida and planned to meet us there the next day.  Intimidated by the prospect of flying with both monsters on my own, I was super-grateful when Papa Rich caved in to my pleas for assistance.  Even though he's not used to flying in the back of the plane, Papa Rich didn't complain at all about his middle seat in the way-back or about all the STUFF he had to help schlep through the airport! He and Isaac had fun watching Alvin and the Chipmunks in the row behind Caitlin and I, and the trip went smoothly overall (from my perspective anyway -- I'm not sure he'll be in a hurry to offer up his services again too soon!)

  

We got to spend some quality time with Uncle Evan and Aunt Adrienne, which was fun, as always.  Isaac and Caitlin love all their animals - especially Willow the bunny rabbit.  Evan and Bill took Isaac skiing again and had another fun day with no tears.  Isaac was definitely more determined to be on his own this time, which meant more time on the ground, but he was a great sport about it and especially loved the "moving chairs".

  

We also got in a bunch of QT with Grandma, Aunt Alli & Uncle Chad, and Aunt Jen, Uncle Max and Jaden, Talia & Arielle.  The weather was gorgeous, so we had fun park time and even had a picnic lunch in the shadow of Boulder's mountains.  The kids LOVE hanging with their cousins as much as we love being with our siblings, which makes it awesome when we are there, and very hard to leave.

  

Finally - the focal point of our trip -- Alli's baby shower!! We all had fun at the party, great food and weather made for a beautiful day.  We are so excited for Alli & Chad and CANNOT WAIT to meet our new niece or nephew in just a few short weeks!