2.37 Cousins visit

By Cyndi
August 26, 2013

If you saw the post below about Tyler, it has been an interesting week.  He is "healing" and we still don't have any definite information if the roots of the damaged teeth are okay.  Since he wasn't very cooperative during the x-ray they were not able to see the entire root.  So now, we sit, wait, and hope that the teeth will survive.  Otherwise, we will have a toothless child until his adult teeth come in and I am not prepared for that!

 

On Saturday we had some of my NJ cousins come in town and had a great time with them.  They arrived right as T&Z finished their dinner and we played with them until bedtime.  Then the adults had a GREAT dinner, wine and lots of conversation.  It had been a year since we last saw them, so lots to catch up on and we plan to visit them in the Spring!!  Love me some Gimpels :)

On Sunday, they hung out played some more and headed out around lunch.  I put the boys down to nap and prepared for a friend's baby sprinkle (her 2nd child).  As soon as Matt was home from work, I left and had a girls evening.  I rarely get to see them without the kids, so it was fabulous.  Matt said T&Z were so-so, which I feel is going to be the sentiments for the next year.  Good moments and equally as many bad moments. 

We are preparing for our friends the Carmeans to arrive Saturday for the long weekend.  It will be organized chaos with (at times) 6 adults & 6 kids, but with a schedule of meals and activities, we are prepared (along with lots of wine)!!

I must be on a streak of generosity, because I'm also back with the American Diabetes Association, volunteering for the Tour de Cure ride in June next year.  It falls right in between Matt's brothers' weddings.  I am not doing as much as I did before the boys were born, but it's time to get back to helping them where & when I can. 

Tyler: 4 Zach: 0

By Cyndi
August 20, 2013

Well, the time had to come when we would have another boo boo requiring emergency medical care.  If you're keeping track, Tyler was up to 3 emergency visits (pneumonia, hives, limp) and Zach has somehow stayed clear.

Well, Tyler is now up to 4.  He took a nasty fall yesterday at school while riding the bike and ran into the table.  BeanTree actually called and asked one of us to come because it was a decent amount of blood near his mouth.  Since Matt was home, he went over.  Bottom lip was swollen, top two teeth slightly pushed back but not loose, and he wasn't crying.  Matt asked him if he wanted to go play with Zach or come home and Tyler opted to stay!

That night, I finally got to see him and was fairly worried about how much the front two teeth moved.  They were now mostly inline, instead of pushed out from sucking his thumb.  We decided to figure out a local dentist and Matt made an appointment this morning, for this afternoon, so I could join.

Tyler was pretty friendly with the nurse and even opened his mouth nice and wide.  But once the dentist arrived, we had no such luck.  We held him and he allowed the dentist to open and look.  We tried for an x-ray, but their machine to read the results was being worked on, so they will call us tonight or first thing tomorrow with any news.  The dentist feels that most likely all is fine, but there is a small chance of root damage or slight damage to his adult teeth. Since the bones in kids are still forming, we are lucky that the movement should hopefully have no ill-effects.

And because he did such a good job, he got to pick some prizes to come home with ... bracelets, lizards, pencils ...... 

2.36 Animal Park

By Cyndi

August 19, 2013

We are one week away from our guest invasion and I think we are ready for it!  We have been meal planning, trying to finish up the guest room painting and prep for three weekends of visitors.

I'm so excited to have some of my NJ family visit!  It's the first time I will be able to host them since they have graciously hosted me many, many time over the years.  It feels GREAT to return the favor, as I have so many memories of visiting them!!

Matt has finished painting the guest room, which was a pain (or so he says)!  He will paint the guest bath this week and then move to the craft room.  There are some furnishing upgrades for the guest bath, but we will wait until all visitors are gone in early September as that gives us three weeks to complete those before Saba is back to babysit overnight so Matt and I can go to a wedding on the eastern shore of Maryland.  Then Chicago, twice for me, our fall trip to see family & friends -- especially great grandparents including my grandpa (now living in Chicago) -- and I'll be headed back alone (AHHH) for a dual bridal shower for my sisters-in-law to be!  I'm not sure I remember how to only pack for myself and carry on luggage!

Back to this week ... we made a trip to the pool -- while a bit cold, we are trying to expose them as much as we possibly can. 

On Saturday, we met up with Uncle Daniel & Auntie Jill at the Leesburg Animal Park.  It was awesome to have an extra set of hands and we all had a great time. 

Lots of feeding animals ...

Z: "Mr Sheep, do you want to play??"     T: "Hi Mr Pig!!"

Tyler LOVED the pig in the full contact area and; Zach loved the sheep.  Jill wasn't up for full contact and stayed outside with our cup of feed, because those animals are crazy if you have food!!

Sunday we had a friend's birthday party, which was rained out at the pool, so everyone just met up at their house for a big playdate.  With most of the the kids are now between 2.5 - 4 years old, they play so much better together and much less helicopter parenting is required!  We all keep an eye out for the little ones, as there are a few 1-1.5 yr olds who are still learning the ropes of sharing.

The other exciting thing was we picked out all of the paint colors for the rest of the house!  A friend recommended a designer / house stager, whose hourly rate was VERY reasonable.  We met with her and in 1.5 hours we have colors for the entire main level, foyer & upstairs hallway, and master bedroom.  We need quotes and then its go time!  So so excited to finally have color and start seeing this house look like ours!  It has been a year ..... so so lucky to have found our home and hit the timing of the housing market correctly just before prices started to rise and rates were incredibly low.

One year ago ....

... to now!

One last picture -- took a walk one evening while Matt was working since the weather has been so pleasant and watched a local baseball game.  T&Z loved it, though they were easily distracted by the airplanes landing at Dulles!

2.35 Matt is ..... 24??

By Cyndi
August 13, 2013

We had a fun busy week!  One night after school, it wasn't warm enough for the pool so we headed to the park for a quick visit.  It was fun to see how much more stable they were climbing things and their curiosity to climb the ladder or sit on the "big guy swing."

Matt's 24th (+9) birthday was Saturday.  While he was at work, we went to a friend's birthday party, where they boys did great.  It also helps she has an amazing selection of toys.  And the boys are always in good moods wearing their super hero cape shirts!!

Come home soon Daddy, we have beer waiting for you!!

Once Matt got home, they were so excited to give him hugs and play with him.  Its the first birthday that they really understand and were singing to him too!!  A little while later as I was trying to get Matt to skype quickly with his mom, our babysitter arrived, much to his surprise!  He was on the phone and looked me dumbfounded and said, "Do I need to change?"  I wish I had a picture of his face .... I had arranged her to come and Matt had NO CLUE!  WIN!!!  We changed and headed out for drinks and dinner at a new place.  Dinner was Cajun Korean Fusion and was A-MAZ-ING!  We will be going back and its 20 minutes from the house.  Fried Kale, Kimchi pancakes, Jalepeno hush puppies, Pot Roast Sliders, Fish & Sweet Potato and Scallops.  Oh and how do I forget, Beignets for dessert!  (Totally blew my calories for the day, but so worth it!)  Happy Birthday honey!

And if all of that wasn't enough, we headed to a friend's for dinner & s'mores on Sunday evening.  The boys get along really well.  Tyler didn't really think the s'more was that awesome and Zach only wanted the graham cracker.  Whose kids are these?  Seriously! 

2.34 Calm before the storm ....

By Cyndi
August 5, 2013

We've taken the past week to recover and relax, at least in the kid department prior to the end of August when we have lots going on.  We were able to hit up the pool the night before my dad left and the boys had fun learning to go up and down the ladder.  There was lots of Zach floating around and we are still working on Tyler to float by himself.  Hopefully we will have a few more pool runs this summer, before it closes! 

We had dinner with friends both weekend nights this week and I laid off the camera, so no pictures, sorry.  I do, however, have pictures of our latest house upgrade.  I am on a kick to finish the main level, which consisted of replacing the old brass chandelier in the foyer and the large ugly florescent light in the kitchen.  It had taken Matt & I a few months to figure out what we wanted, but once we decided, I wanted it done right away.  And I can't be happier with how it looks!! 

We found this chandelier at a local lighting store, but then found it $100 cheaper on Amazon.  Thanks Amazon Prime for it showing up 2 days later.  What would we do without you?!  I also found this in Ballard Designs current catalog, which made me so happy :)

For the kitchen, we knew we wanted pendants, but that wouldn't be enough light.  So we added in three recessed lights and may need to add more, but we haven't fully decided yet.  Either way, I LOVE how it looks and now the only task left is PAINT!

 

Matt is going to do the bedrooms upstairs, starting with the guest room this week.  The guest bath is going to get paint and some tile work.  Once we decide on colors for the main level, we will hire someone for that, to make it quick.  All this fall!  Yay!

2.33 Lancaster, PA & Saba's visit

July 29, 2013
By Cyndi

What a weekend!  I’m exhausted and it will probably take all week to catch up, before we do it all again.  My dad arrived Friday evening.  Right after lunch on Saturday, we packed up and headed out for Lancaster, PA – about a 2.5 hour drive, of which the boys only napped for about 45 minutes.  Matt’s map function on his phone was acting up and since I was driving small country roads, we missed a few turns but finally arrived at The Rail Road Museum of PA (www.rrmuseumpa.org)

 They have a huge indoor facility of old train cars, engines, and cabooses and an outdoor yard you can walk around.  We missed hitting up the interactive area, since it closes a bit before the museum closes.  Both T&Z were quite scared that the trains were going to move and it took about 5 minutes for them to even cross over into the train “yard.”   Once they became more comfortable, the next 1.5 hours consisted of “Stop Running” … “Please stop jumping” … “Inside voices” … “Do not climb” …  I’m not too sure what they got out of it besides seeing trains, but they had fun.

We left there and headed out to pick up fresh beer - with our growler we brought along - from Lancaster Brewing Co & pizza before heading to the hotel, Best Western Eden Premier (www.edenresort.com).  We checked into our villa (yes, you read that right) and found our room.  It was a two bedroom studio king villa.  There was a small bedroom (with bunk beds) where we set up the kids' tents, king bed for Matt & I, along with a pull-out for Saba.  We ate pizza and quickly changed and headed for the hotel’s outdoor pool and splash pad.  We enjoyed the splash pad and then moved to the pool.  Zach did GREAT!!  He didn’t want me to help him at all … AHHH Finally, he got it, floating by himself!  Tyler was having a small meltdown and never came in.  So around 715p we headed back to our room and got the kids to bed.

On Sunday, the boys were still sound asleep at 815a, but we had to wake them to get moving for the day.  We packed up and had breakfast and headed to the Choo Choo Barn (www.choochoobarn.com). WOW, this was really cool.  It’s a huge model train setup with city scapes, and so much more!  They had stools for the boys, which they carried around themselves and they spent a full hour taking in all of the different moving pieces.  We bought them a toy in the gift shop, played outside on some trains around the building and headed to lunch nearby at Isaacs Deli (www.isaacsdeli.com)  It was good, and started off even better by giving the kids small bags of goldfish! 

We finished lunch and hit the road home with less wrong turns and 1.25+ hour nap for the guys.  We just hung out the rest of the evening.  There is so much more up to do between Lancaster & Strasburg PA that we will for sure head back.  It’s a very easy drive and doable for a morning up and evening back, though I may have to ditch Matt sometime and go up with a friend for some outlet shopping!!!

And huge thank you to my twin mom friend Keri at pipeandfletch.blogspot.com for her review of Lancaster that made planning this short getaway so easy!

I guess I need to get used to “busy” … August is filling up with local friends, Matt’s birthday – and I can’t wait to see the boys’ excitement when they realize its Daddy’s birthday, maybe a beach or aquarium daytrip, and hopefully some Gimpel family visits!

2.32 Firsts in painting!!

By Cyndi
July 22, 2013

We enjoyed a somewhat quiet week and weekend before another visitor arrives at the end of this week, Saba.  We have some fun stuff planned and hopefully it all goes smoothly.

Slinky Fun & Reading on the Steps

'On Friday evening, I went to an art class at a new studio near us.  I was really excited about the design and they walked us through each step of the way including blending the colors.  Here's my finished product .... 

And to show you how much better T&Z are at painting ... here is a collage of their first American Flags next to my Grandpa's!  I have always loved this print of my grandpa and framed it as soon as I graduated and moved out east.  Now my grandpa is the proud owner of T&Z's flags!

On Saturday, we attended our friend's baby naming.  While it was the first time we had been to a service with the boys, it was almost 1.75 hrs and I had only prepared ourselves for an hour service.  But ... even with having to take the boys out a few times, running Zach to the potty when he proclaimed mid-prayer and started running to the door "I WANT THE POTTY", where he took a poop, we wouldn't have missed it for anything. 

Oh, and might I add, we enjoyed bagels and lox too!!  Since we were a bit behind our typical schedule, this was the boys in the car on the way home

 .... Oops which then resulted in one of the worst nap times we have had in a LONG time.  After an hour of romping around in their tents, I took them out of tents and moved them to cribs.  And when Zach took his sleep sack off at the 2 hour mark, I got them up.  We survived the afternoon while Matt worked an evening shift. Zach announced he was ready to bed a bit after 7pm and I was ready for some time alone!

Bowling Pin earned himself a timeout and
Mr. Potato may need to see Auntie Dr. Jill for some medical advice

Here's a fun video from this past weekend, completely unprompted from me!

I have been working on our 2012 photobook and realized how much they have changed .... I guess they are really growing up!  This isn't even a year between pictures!!