Spider Monkeys

Lately, Piper and Fletch have turned into spider monkeys. They have always loved climbing on the couch, but never really cared about climbing on other furniture. However, in the past few days, they've learned how to climb into their high chairs, and we've found them sitting in the middle of the dining room table or standing on top of random toys. Fletch also has learned that he can fit into some tight spots.

Taste of Summer

With the nice weather, we've been eating more outside on our new deck. Last weekend, Piper and Fletch got a taste of summer with some delicious barbecued chicken and watermelon.

Sometimes I really can't believe I get to be the mom to these two adorable kiddos.

Father's Day Weekend

Last weekend was Father's Day, so we made sure to make it a good one. Unfortunately, we only have pictures from Saturday, and not the actual holiday, because we gave Eric the day off from being the family photographer.

On Saturday, we ventured into DC for a Touch-a-Truck event, where they brought a whole bunch of trucks (fire trucks, dump trucks, diggers, etc.) together in the parking lot at RFK Stadium for kids to play in and explore. This really should have been called Toddler Central because it was swarming with people 4 and under. It was certainly our demographic. The weather was beautiful, and P&F loved seeing the trucks (although you can't really tell that Fletch enjoyed himself from these pics--he didn't really want to sit in the trucks, so we have more pics of Piper).

They also had a misting tent to cool down in, which Piper was really into. I just love the look of pure joy she has in these pictures.

That was Saturday. On Sunday, we started Father's Day by taking advantage of P&F's early wake-up call to go a family run with the BOB. It was lots of fun, and it's awesome hearing Piper yell, "Run Run Run" and "Run, Mama!"

We followed that with a trip to Baltimore to see the Tall Ships at the Star-Spangled Sailibration (commemorating the bicentennial of the War of 1812). It was so much fun, although I've never seen the Inner Harbor more crowded. We had a great time just walking around and taking it all in. It would have been nice to let P&F get on some of the ships but the lines were huge and the probability of a toddler going overboard was pretty high, so they just enjoyed it from their strolller. When we got home from Baltimore, Eric's parents came over for a Father's Day cookout, which was the perfect way to end the day. We love eating out on our new deck and just enjoying the (very) warm weather.

Another terrific holiday in the books! 

21 Months

Since we had a trip to the pedi for both Piper and Fletch this week due to sickness (more on that in a minute), we got their weights and took their heights, so I thought I'd do a post for their 21 month-day (although a few days late).

Here are their latest stats:

Fletch: 
6 months: 27 inches (66%), 18lbs 12oz (68%)

9 months: 28.5 inches (59.9%), 22lbs 7.7oz (79.4%)
12 months: 30.5 inches (74%), 24 lbs 10 oz (76%)
15 months: 31.5 inches (64%), 27 lbs 8.5 oz (86%)

18 months: 34 inches (93%), 29 lbs (95%)

21 months: 34 inches (although measured at home so maybe not accurate), 32 lbs (93%)

Piper: 

6 months: 25 inches (19%), 15lbs 11oz (39%)
9 months: 27.75 inches (57.9%), 17lbs 13.7oz (32.5%)

12 months: 30 inches (79%), 20 lbs 1.9 oz (34%) 

15 months: 31.25 (76%), 23 lbs 1 oz (55%) 

18 months: 32.5 inches (73%), 24 lbs (87%)

21 months: 32.5 inches (again, measured at home), 26.4 lbs (63%)

As I mentioned in my last post, Fletch started to feel sick at the end of our trip last week. By Monday, he was miserable, so we took him to the pedi, who said his throat was horribly red and raw. By Wednesday, he was feeling better, but then Piper came down with it. She was sick for two days, and then improved. This weekend, they're both healing up, although I think they're both tired and cranky from being sick. However, it's hard to tell if the crankiness is the illness or just general toddler fuss.

Other than this brief illness, P&F are doing great. They are both starting to talk up and probably have over 50 words each. They're both beginning to put together two words occasionally. Piper's favorites are "I stuck," and "I walk." Fletch loves to say Bye Bye to things, with his favorite being "Bye bye, pee pee" when anyone leaves the bathroom or he hears the toilet flush. Their other favorite word is "No," which is usually followed by an episode of going "boneless" when they just go limp and lay on the ground at the start of a tantrum. 

They are at a really fun age, but it's tough at times. The "bonelessness" and tantrums are crazy. And, they (ok, mainly Piper) can be really clingy. They used to play independently really well, but these days, Piper wants to be near us all the time. Like right now, she's heading my way after I left her alone to play for 2 minutes. In fact, these days, at times, they care less about toys and more about hanging out with us or going outside. Playgrounds with slides are a big hit now. (Money making opportunity alert: someone needs to invent an app that alerts you to nearby playgrounds wherever you are.) The only toys they really love are books, their new Fisher Price Little People House (thanks to Eric's mom for finding that), books, and of course, Piper's bunny. Fletch also likes to play the drums on any flat surface. I see music lessons in the future for that boy.

While toys aren't a big hit, they have seen a bit of TV and LOVE LOVE LOVE Dora and Bubble Guppies. When they were sick, we let them watch a bit so they'd sit still and rest, and all we heard about after that was "Buppies Buppies," while they pointed at the TV. That show is pretty cute, so I can see why they like it. 

This has been a long post, and unfortunately, I don't have any new pictures. Instead, I'll share two of my favorites from our photo shoot back in April.

Summer Vacation

We’re only a week or so into summer, and we’ve already gone on our summer vacation. Last weekend, we headed to Amish Country/Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. It was so much fun, and I wish we could have stayed longer (although it’s good we didn’t because Fletch got sick on the last day).

We started our trip on Thursday and drove up to PA in the morning. The ride is only about 2.5 hours, although we took our time and stopped for lunch along the way. When we arrived, we went straight to our hotel—the Best Western Eden Resort. I can’t recommend the hotel highly enough. It’s a little pricey, but the rooms are beautiful, and the hotel has excellent amenities (sprayground, great pool, playground, outdoor activities, free ice cream from 1pm-4pm, etc.) We couldn’t check in right away, so we just hung out at the playground and sprayground. 

Once we got into our room, P&F went down for a nap for about 2 hours, which they desperately needed at that point. When they woke up, we headed to Red Robin for dinner, and had a nice, relaxing night. P&F slept great in their Pack n Plays. Here they are having a little fun in their PJs before bed.

We had a suite and set them up in the hallway between the bedroom and the bathroom. Poor Fletch slept in the closet, but it didn’t seem to bother him. Here’s how it looked:

On Friday, we started the day with a quick trip to the supermarket for some milk and snacks.

After that, we headed to the outlets on the other side of town. In one row of stories, they have Carter’s, The Children’s Place, Gymboree, Janie and Jack, Stride Rite, Pottery Barn Kids, and Ann Taylor Loft, so I was pretty much in heaven. On top of that, the outlets have a fenced in playground in the parking lot, making it the perfect place to spend a few hours.

 After the outlets, we tried to go to the Choo Choo Barn and a few other tourist-y places, but P&F fell asleep in the car, which was fine b/c they seemed a bit young for those places. So, instead, we just drove around for a bit checking out the scenery before heading to lunch at the Good and Plenty Restaurant, which Eric declared several times as one of the best restaurant meals he’s ever had. So, even though the babies were a bit cranky while eating, lunch was a success. 

To ward off additional crankiness, we headed back to the hotel for naps, swimming, and then dinner and Friendly’s for dessert.

Saturday, we woke up early and went to the breakfast buffet at the hotel just as we did the others days. The buffet was delicious (I’m still dreaming about the donuts), and they put on a TV with kids programming so Eric and I could have a little semblance of peace for at least one meal a day. I tell ya—P&F are turning more into spider monkeys every day. Once one does something, the other does it too. Or, once one stops doing something, the other starts, and they tag team us. Anyway, after breakfast, we went to the Central Market, which is the oldest farmer’s market in the country. It was great there, and they had so many yummy things. After leaving there, it was onto Dutch Wonderland, which was the original destination for this trip.

Dutch Wonderland is nice, and we had fun, but between it not opening until 10am (when P&F start to get a bit cranky—why don’t more places open at like 7am for when toddlers are in their best moods?), Fletch starting to get sick, and it being mainly for slightly older kids, we didn’t get to fully appreciate it. However, P&F did enjoy the few ride they went on. For those thinking of making this trip, DW is probably more appropriate for kids 3 years of age and older.

After leaving DW, it was back to the hotel for naps, and then went to the Oregon Dairy to play on the playground and check out the animals.

In the evening, we went back to Good and Plenty for dinner. As you may be able to see in the pic below, the only thing Piper would eat was apple butter. Other than that, all she wanted was to get out of her chair. We were "those people" at the restaurant with the crying, tantrum-y kid. I had to walk her around the restaurant while Eric and Fletch finished their meal. 

By the time, we got back to the hotel, there was a bit of time for PJ fun, and then just our usual night time routine of relaxing and watching The Walking Dead after the kids went to bed.

Sunday was our last day, and it came way too quick. We just went to breakfast and then decided to hit the road because it was becoming evident that Fletch wasn’t feeling well. The only pics we got were of the kiddos watching a bit of Bubble Guppies--their new obsession--while Eric and I were packing up. In general, the kids don't watch too much TV, but this was very necessary because Fletch needed to rest as his temp was starting to climb higher and higher.

The ride home was fine, and we were back in Alexandria by noon.

I can’t say enough good things about this trip. It was the family vacation that I’d always dreamed of, and is hopefully just the start of many future family vacations. Piper and Fletch had a great time, and I swear they came back like new kids. While we were away, they both started saying words we didn’t even know they knew—like Piper asked for bacon every morning at breakfast and Fletch requested eggs—and just seemed to start acting older. I can’t wait to see where we go next. And even though the kids still require a good deal of work, it was totally relaxing for Eric and me to have naptime to just lounge around instead of thinking of the ten zillion things that need to get done around the house.

Finally, here is a video summary of our trip. We had to do an hour or two of errands before hitting the road on Thursday, so we stopped at the play area at Tysons to let the kids stretch their legs before getting back in the car. That’s what you see at the start of the video. Enjoy!