A Mini Stay-cation

Somehow Paul didn't use up all of his vacation time last year, which is quite amazing to me with the trip to UT, another to VT, and a third baby added to the mix.   Fortunately, his company allows him to carry so many days over into the following year, but they have to be used within the first quarter--before the end of March.  So, we got three extra weekdays to spend with daddy in early March--what fun we had!! 

First of all, as far as the boys are concerned (Jack included), hanging out with Daddy is always exciting.  Paul is such a wonderful dad--he is so fun, and patient, and gentle, and understanding, and funny, and I could go on and on and on.  Seriously, our boys are lucky--I am lucky.  Paul is pretty spectacular...

So, upon hearing that Paul had three days off leading into the weekend of our 6th anniversary, many of our friends thought we should go on a trip somewhere--take a vacation.  Well, that sounds like a good idea in theory, but in reality going away with three little ones is anything but relaxing and enjoyable.  It is much simpler to just stay at our home turf where everything we could need or want is right at our fingertips.  One friend even suggested that Paul and I should try to take an overnight getaway to the Jersey Shore.  HA!!!  That also sounds like a really good idea in theory, but in reality, since we have no family members here it would cost us a small fortune to pay a babysitter, and Jack is still breastfeeding.  So, we spent our three extra days with daddy right here.  We went to parks and museums, and Paul and I even got to enjoy a fun anniversary dinner.

The following pictures were taken at Everhart Park which is really close to our house.  When we first moved here (almost exactly three years ago!) this was the only park I knew of so Max and I would come here almost every day.  Man, life was different then.  Only three  years ago--I was pregnant with Sam.  I only had one kiddo to strap in a carseat.  One kiddo to take care of.  I thought life was pretty busy then.  I had no idea...

Jack peeking out through his cozy little seat...

 

There is a tiny little stream that flows through the middle of the park, and when Sam was a baby and Max a mere toddler, this bridge got the nickname "Tommy Bridge".  Max was into Thomas and Friends back then, but it's funny how nicknames stick...

 

 

 

 We also took a little trip into the "big city" of Philadelphia.  The boys know that their dad works in "the city" and they know it is named "Philadelphia" but they really have no idea what this means.  Living in the 'burbs with every possible chain store and very good restaurants so close to us, we rarely make it into center city.  In fact, I think our trip to the zoo last spring may have been the last time we were here.  So, the boys were very excited to see a little piece of the urban life and thought that the "skyscrapers" were quite neat.  Max even clued us in on why they are called "skyscrapers"--because they "touch the sky!"

While in Philly, we went to the Franklin Institue, a museum named after Benjamin Franklin.  Paul is a big fan of the noted statesman so he insisted I take his photograph in front of this huge statue of the Founding Father...

 But, aside from the fact that its namesake is Paul's favorite historical figure, the main reason we chose to explore this particular museum is for the dinosaur exhibit.  Sam in particular loves dinosaurs, but when we told him where we were going the night before he got a little scared.  He was afraid the dinosaurs were going to "bite" him.  After explaining that they were only skeletons, he reluctantly agreed to come along.  He was tentative at first, but then we couldn't get the little guy to leave.  He wanted to keep going back and seeing them all over again and again.  Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any pictures inside, so the only photo that suggests our trip had anything to do with dinos was this pose taken in front of the display for the exhibit...

 There were several other really cool science-related attractions at this museum.  The boys got to walk through a giant heart, explore electricity, climb in an old plane, ride in and operate an old steam engine, and several other things that they were a little bit too young for.  It was a really fun day, and Sam asked if we could go back to the city to the museum almost everyday for a week afterwards.

 

Then came our anniversary.  It is amazing to think that it has been 6 years.  That number seems so big.  I feel like we just got married.  But now, we live on the East coast and we have three kids.  A lot can change in six years...

We got a sitter so we could celebrate our special day.  We took the train into Philadelphia and had a very fun and tasty dinner at the Oyster House.  It was such a great night--we really enjoyed ourselves (and 3 dozen oysters!)

 

On the last day of our wonderfully low-key vacation with Paul, we took advantage of the beautiful early spring weather with a biking adventure.  We took the boys' bikes and Paul broke out the brand new baby backpack carrier (brand new because we only used it like twice when Max was a baby), and we headed to a nearby trail.  

Jack loved his seat.  From that vantage he could see everything, and he was more than content.  I didn't envy Paul's job of lugging it around, though.  That thing looks cumbersome and heavy...

Sam is just learning to ride Max's old bike with the training wheels, and he is actually quite good.  Occasionally he has trouble starting and stopping so Paul uses a ski pole to help him along.

 Max is super speedy on his bike.  We had to keep calling after him to wait for us...

Then he finally got to the point where he would go really fast for a minute or so and then pull over to wait for us...

Taking a breather to enjoy some fresh air...

 At the halfway point the boys got to throw rocks into the creek.  They could have kept that up for hours, only I think a lot of other little kids had the same idea because the rocks were quite hard to come by--one really had to look hard and walk far to find one...

Sadly, Paul's mini vacation was over in the blink of an eye and it was back to the work week as usual.  

Tis the Season

 I guess I can't complain too much because it could have been a LOT worse, but my sweet little boys definitely had their share of colds this season.    Except for a few minor sniffles, the major cold outbreaks in our house occurred during the month of March, with about a week's reprieve between symptoms.  (I am knocking on wood right now, but fortunately they only had colds and not a stomach bug...)  Seriously, though, we had a humidifier in every room working over time and the smell of Vicks practically burned Paul's eyes. Max and Sam even came down with a case of pink eye which was a first for me as a mom. 

         

 In these pictures they are all looking a little bit better, but poor Jack.  His poor little cough and sad goopy eyes practically broke your heart.  The tough little guy--he was such a trooper.  He REALLY hates it when I come after his snot with one of my fancy suction devices, though.    He is very strong-willed!

Climbing Trees

These pictures were taken on March 1st--that is how behind I am.  This was before any blossoms and green buds on the trees--but it was a relatively warm day for late winter.  Max, Sam and I try to maximize outside time whenever Jack happens to be napping.  It is just so much more fun for them if I can run and jump and play right along with them (things that are hard to do with a wriggly, 17-pound baby strapped to your chest).  The boys love to explore the back yard, and they really like to climb up anything that looks fun.  Max is quite the little monkey--and Sam wants to do everything his older brother does and I am often impressed at his determination to keep up with Max.

  

Monster Trucks

 I think I have mentioned in a previous post that my boys have sort of outgrown their love of superheroes.  Every once in a while they will still play with one of their many batman or spiderman toys or dress up as a crime fighter with super-powers, but not nearly to the extent they used to.  There was a time when every third word out of Max's mouth was "spiderman."  Their new infatuation??  Monster Trucks.  That's right--as in Monster Jam.  And just like I never thought I would ever know so much about superheroes, I am now learning all kinds of new things about these massive car-crushing trucks.  For instance, they have names like "Grave Digger" and "Monster Mutt" and "Maximum Destruction."  There are even superhero trucks--"Ironman," "Batman," and "Superman."  The boys have quite a collection, and one of their favorite things to do is launch them off a makeshift ramp I created out of cardboard and bubble wrap.  It entertains them for hours...

 Even Jack likes to play monster trucks!

                                     

The boys are watching the video I recorded of their monster trucks flying off the ramp...

I just got my 2011 blog book and it always gets me excited to be more organized with my entries and try to document as much as possible.  It is amazing how much these little guys grow and change in just one year, and as hard as I try to enjoy it every single day, sometimes life gets really crazy and I forget to take the time and appreciate what a wonderful time this is.  I really love this gig--staying home and hanging out with these little guys is the most wonderful thing in the world, and I am so grateful that I am able to do it.  Everyday one of them will say and do something so cute and funny and I will find myself thinking, "I never want to forget this."  So, having said that, I have a lot of pictures and memories to include on my blog and I am very behind and a little overwhelmed.  My plan is to just make the entries smaller and more manageable.  In the past I have sent emails out to inform friends and family that I have updated, but I will probably only do that occasionally now, so be sure and check the archive so you don't miss out!

Cousin Photo Shoot

Koa, Auntie Joey, and Mimi came for a visit in February and the boys and the grownups had so much fun together!!  We got to visit, and play, and the adults even got to go out on a grown-up date!!  We also took the boys--all of Mimi's grandson's--to a photo shoot.  We needed to replace the dated picture she has hanging on her wall from over two years ago when Jack was non-existent and Sam is unrecognizable.  The new pictures turned out beautifully, don't you think?

                                        

My camera didn't get a lot of hands-on time during their trip--I guess I am too busy these days keeping up with three little boys.  But, I did manage to snap a few shots of the boys playing at West Goshen Park--one of our favorite spots...

It was kind of chilly out, and Jack spent most of the time bundled up in the stoller...

 

And Mimi was more than happy to push him around the playground so he would stay nice and soundly asleep...

  

And we even packed a picnic lunch.  The wind was so bad, however, that we had to take shelter under the pavillion...

As always, their visit flew by.  Fortunately for us they are coming to see us again in just a couple more weeks--we can't wait!!