Five years!  That’s how long we have lived in the neighborhood. When we moved in, Avery and Emerson were not even three and Harper not even one!  In our cul-de-sac were a group of families that hung out a lot…and I mean a lot!  We were often included in the gatherings but our kids were the youngest of the bunch and initially the bunch had more boys than girls and as such we didn’t join in the gatherings as frequently as some of the others.  Some of the families we thought were lifers in the neighborhood and I would have ventured to say some of them (but not all) felt the same.  Of the five families that started getting together five years ago, as of tomorrow we will be the last remaining.  The Gladwells will now join the ever-growing list that also includes the Fosters, Younces, and Ferrarias as they venture on their next journey as a family.  Other families have come in to the neighborhood and the gatherings have now expanded far beyond the cul-de-sac.  Our kids are no longer the youngest and there are quite a few girls these days…as there are young boys as well.

The girls first friend, and one we thought would be a lifer, Meagan is moving tomorrow.  They will venture off to China where they will live for two years before likely returning to Colorado.  The Gladwells have been great neighbors, the kind who always have an open front door and a stream of kids flowing in and out.  They are generous and welcoming and will be missed. I know the girls will truly miss their first friend.  I hope they hold close to their hearts and cherish the memories they created from 2014 – 2019 in the Adams Hill cul-de-sac.

The early days….

Slightly older…

The final days….

And the final goodbye…officially Meagan’s 8th birthday!

Bon Voyage!!

Last but certainly not least, this little one filled her marble jar for the first time.  She appreciated every marble she earned along the way and the majority of time was not bitter or disappointed that she lagged some behind her sisters.  Happy girl with fake smile!

She wanted to go ice-skating or to Build-A-Bear only after Avery shared those ideas in the last two weeks.  While we had a great time with Avery ice-skating, we knew a new different experience would suit us all better.  Harper’s eyes lit up when I suggested mini-golf!

Her morning started with a cuddle in our bed…an occurrence that has been happening more frequently lately with a recurring bad dream that she has been having.  Look at both of us…you can almost see our brains in this picture!

She picked out her own clothes for the occasion and wanted to approve of my attire as well!  We had the mini golf course to ourselves.  She probably could use a lesson or two!

This next picture…I just keep looking at it thinking when did my baby get so tall!  That skirt has been around in our house now since 2015 passed down from Avery to Harper years ago and it is showing more and more leg with each passing year!  And those shoes…so grown up!

Her face saying “oooohhh” as she watched the ball.

We made it four holes before thunder and lightening put an abrupt end to our mini golfing.

We quickly had our money refunded and made it to the car just as the skies started opening up…and I mean torrential downpour.  This girl has such a good attitude…she just got in her carseat and went along with the new plans….which of course, were Build-A-Bear!

I sat with Harper in the backseat due as Justin drove threw the intense rain.

Harper picked out a multi-colored bear that she named Emily.

We ended up heading to Ozzie’s for dinner, a last minute decision since we hadn’t planned on being at Fair Oaks Mall.  Harper ordered the kids chicken parmigiana and fries and she ate more of it than I thought.  Her favorite were the Ozzie rolls and butter (notice the butter on her cheek). Justin and I had burgers and salad….the burger totally hit the spot!  Harper had a great time at dinner, giving Justin and I many tight hugs throughout the evening.

The evening ended with a stop at Dairy Queen for dessert!  Now that is how to eat an ice-cream cone!

When we got home, she ran upstairs to tell Avery and Emerson about her evening and the magic of childhood was fully present listening to Harper tell about her evening to her inquisitive sisters.  Its moments like these that put the biggest smile on my face and make me so grateful and happy. Now if only I can eat an ice-cream cone the same way!

We’re not even halfway through the weekend, and already it has produced more ab flexing laughs then I have had the past few weeks.  Friday dinner in the pit was not only a culinary smorgasbord delight (salami, cheese, grilled ahi tuna, olives, fresh bread, grilled brussel sprouts, peaches), but also, it was an eye-watering laugh kind of evening.  It stormed outside an hour before dinner (almost a nightly occurrence the past few weeks) so hanging in the pit with a bottle of red after the storm was peaceful and relaxing.  Somehow the conversation turned to “wieners”.  I asked the girls where they had heard that term…I think their friends, but they wouldn’t say for certain. They thought it was funny talking about how guys have “weiners”.  At one point, Harper combined the word “weiner” and penis and the next thing you know, the term “wenis” was being thrown around the rest of the evening! A “wenis”…lol!

Saturday morning started out with pancakes, mostly made by Emerson!  Followed by an enthusiastic cheer from Avery and Harper when we announced the Reston Farmer’s Market would be next.  Last Saturday morning we had planned on going to the Reston Farmer’s Market but those plans changed when the girls were rotten and our morning instead turned into them doing some cleaning of the garage…thus the enthusiastic cheer for the Farmer’s Market this morning.

The enthusiasm was actually real and it continued the entire morning…from the girls helping to pick and pay for fruits and veggies and even holding the bags, to bringing their own money to purchase their own fruit popsicles (Emerson even gave Avery $1 since she was a dollar short). 

Next they took a dip in the fountain.

And since Harper was soaked, we figured we would walk by the lake for a bit to dry off.  I told Justin to go have a brewski at the brew house we were walking by ….the girls and I were having fun exploring on the path that Justin’s one beer turned into two…

We even stopped at a new cupcake place that had just opened up the week prior.  I was really going to just browse or let the girls split something small but the lady was so nice – we were having a good conversation and I wanted to do my part to support local business….3 cupcakes and a coffee it was!  Then we joined daddy…I had intended to take the cupcakes home, but we were having a good time.  So Justin ordered a third brewski, the girls hydrated with several rounds of water, and we enjoyed our cupcakes for a lunch appetizer.

Truly the best part was that the girls were having a blast with one another.  We listened to a little Jack Johnson’s “Always Better When We Are Together” on the way home and their affection for one another continued even once we arrived home.

#love

This post is late because the past few days have been tough for me.  A lot going on and I just needed some time to reflect.  Parenting!  There are some moments where it brings such joy and there are some moments that it brings such frustration!  Last Wednesday night was one of those moments where I was ready to experience joy, and frustration replaced my joy in a moments notice.  Avery had her dance rehearsal.  She religiously went to her weekly ballet class for the past 9 months…she loves dance and she knew her routine.  Yet before she was about to go on stage, she started panicking…she was in the front and she thought she was going to fall off the stage.  At her request, we said a quick prayer together, and I sent her off while I went to take a seat so I could video the performance.  My joy faded when her class appeared on stage and there was clearly no Avery.  After finding her and confirming she wasn’t lost, I was frustrated and angry.  But I quickly realized being angry or frustrated with her was not going do anything to help with her stage freight for the real performance Saturday.

We drove off and instead of going home, I swallowed my disappointment, and decided to take her to Wendy’s.  I didn’t tell her where we we were going.  I just drove there, parked the car, and got in the back-seat with her – we talked and I encouraged her and lifted her spirits.  She was ecstatic about my spontaneous decision to let her eat Wendy’s for dinner.  We came up with a plan and I felt certain that she would get on stage for her recital Saturday. 

I felt pretty certain she was going to perform over the next few days…even up to a half hour before the performance, I thought she was going to do it.  We even took a few silly selfies.

She was nervous but again it wasn’t overpowering and she seemed ready to face her fears.  BUT a half hour before the performance was set to start, she started exhibiting behaviors that indicated she may not perform.  I took my seat in the audience and patiently waited the 30 minutes before her routine went on stage, feeling like there was a 50/50 chance of seeing Avery leap out on that stage.  To everyone’s disappointment, Avery didn’t perform with her class.  My heart sank. I clearly didn’t force her, I didn’t threaten her….we did have a plan in place for a reward, but certainly not a threat.  She knew her routine, she would have been great, while her fear of falling off the stage was very real to her, she would not have fallen off stage.  Could I, should I have done something differently?  It keeps playing in my head.

That question continued to eat away at me into the following day, which was Father’s Day.  We had a good day, but my head wasn’t in the game completely.  Justin is an amazing husband and so supportive and loved the day, but I wasn’t on top of my game with planning for the day…I was with the presents but not with our day’s plans.

Anyway, breakfast in the pit…where I had so many things cooking at once that I burned quite a few of the sunny side-up eggs!  Followed by presents…

Yes, we got Daddy a skateboard!  And Larissa made a really cool YOU ROCK picture frame with the girls!

Followed by a lot of driving that afternoon, before we finally ended up at Quattro Gumba.

While I didn’t bring any snacks (nada, totally not me!), I did bring the chapter book we were reading.  And while the girls were troopers, it was not only hot out, but super muggy and humid and I think they were a little bored with nothing “organized” for them to do.  

It was still a good day though and I’m glad to report that I have really been reflecting the past few days and being grateful for life even when it is hard or doesn’t go as planned.

Avery filled her marble jar less than two weeks after Emerson.  She too was quite excited!  Avery awhile back had decided she wanted to go ice skating for her one-on-one!  I hadn’t been ice skating in almost 25 years and the time before that was probably 30 years ago!  While the idea of the three of us ice skating seems crazy and scary, I knew for certain it would cause a lot of thrills, excitement, and laughs!

We started the evening with dinner at Arties!  Avery said she wanted to go to Sweet Water, but since all the Great American Restaurants are very similar, we opted for Arties since it was close to the ice skating rink. Car selfie of the three of us.

She enjoyed the Ozzie rolls as always!

And she did end up ordering the salmon!  She ate some of it…I don’t think she loved it, BUT she was happy with her decision and she couldn’t stop talking about how much it tasted like bacon!

And on a 90 degree day with tons of humidity, we went indoor ice skating.  It felt funny sweatshirts and gloves  on a summer day, but I’m glad we did as it was chilly in the rink!  When we first got on the ice, Justin and I both thought it was most certainly going to be a long night!  But we all got better as the hour went on including Avery who went from being fearful to even getting on the ice to skating unassisted by the end of the hour. 

It was a great time and surely an experience that we will all remember for years to come.

Here we are June 13, the last day of school!  I’m not sure how that is even possible!  Or how about the fact that I now have two rising third graders and a rising first grader….WHAT!!

And that is a wrap!  Hello sweaty kids and summer!

In February, Justin and I decided to implement a recognition system in our household where the girls would earn marbles.  They could earn marbles for listening the first time, being kind, being helpful, putting forth their best effort, being joyful, and much more!  Once the jar was full, the girls would get to pick something that they wanted to do alone with mom and dad!  We didn’t focus on it 24/7 so there were many instances where the girls could have earned a marble, but we didn’t give them one…not to punish them, but because it wasn’t necessarily the number one thing on our mind daily.  It was June before any of the girls had a full jar!  Emerson was the first to fill her jar this past Saturday!

She chose a mani/pedi date at the salon with me.

Followed by dinner at Sweetwater with daddy and then ice cream for dessert!  

And then to top it all off, she wanted Dairy Queen!

It’s not often these girls get one-on-one time with both Mommy and Daddy at the same time – we all enjoyed the evening and Emerson has already started earning marbles in her jar again for round two!

For two weeks in May my sister and Noah were in Virginia.  The girls and Justin got to meet Noah for the first time! Cousins!

Grandma and Grandpa with all four grandkids!

We spent several weeknight evenings at my parents.

Poor Noah was so sleepy and I just wanted pictures of the cousins in their jammies!

And Justin and I even snuck over after his birthday dinner for a Noah cuddle.

I totally would do this with the girls when they were babies…they wouldn’t wake up and for a few minutes, I would be in pure bliss.

We enjoyed dinner out at Tequila Grande one Friday evening.

We enjoyed a nice meal at home with Lauren and Noah.  Noah and Harper played.  

Justin and Noah grilled.

And we all enjoyed grilled pork with avocado cream sauce.

We enjoyed Mother’s Day together and you can read about it in my prior Mother’s Day Blog!

Then a week plus passed while Lauren and Noah went to New Jersey to visit Russell and Mary and then to New York to visit friends. They brought Gabriel back with them when they came back to Virginia.  Justin and Gabriel enjoyed a night at The Vienna Inn, while I babysat Noah for a few hours.  He apparently wasn’t too happy that his parents were leaving him after about 10 minutes of me being there.

Friday night I picked Noah up and he came to our house for a few hours.  Again, he wasn’t the happiest camper.  We started out at a quick stop at Fresh Market.

We went for a family walk in our neighborhood and I so pretended he was our fourth!  The girls all wanted turns pushing him in the stroller.

And like the previous night, he missed his mommy and daddy and turned into Mr. Cranky Pants…Mr. Justin had the magic touch.

Saturday he spent the evening AND night with us.  It took a few hands and feet to calm him initially, and after a few minutes, he was finally a happy camper with us.

Noah had quite a few little mommies taking care of him. 

We soaked up every baby snuggle and coo. He slept in our room and while he isn’t the best sleeper, I ironically got more sleep that night than I had in weeks. He woke during the middle of the night, but I gladly got up and when he wouldn’t go back to sleep in the pack-and-play by himself at 5:00 a.m, I gladly brought him into bed with me. We had a fun evening and morning in the pit.

Sunday the kids did a little swimming at my parents in the morning.

Followed by an excursion to Viva Vienna.  The 8 of us squeezed in the van!

We also went to Viva Vienna Saturday – a few pictures from Saturday.

Monday was Memorial Day and we hosted a BBQ at our house with the Brophys, Niday’s and my family.

I tried to soak up as much Noah time as possible. Little man turned 6 months old while he was visiting and he’ll be almost 9 months old the next time I see him!  Crazy!  Miss little man and his mommy and daddy already!

Justin and I are closing a chapter of our lives…we are selling our condo….our first home together…the place we moved in together before we said our I do’s…the place he proposed, the place we got married, the place we became parents.   The place that we came home to in the evenings after working a long day in the office building our career path, the place that we ate dinner in front of the T.V, the place we cooked really late dinners after getting home from the gym after 8:00 p.m. on weekdays, the place that we often debated about even going to the gym, the place that we slept in on the weekends (and I legitimately mean sleep in), the place we had lazy weekend mornings and ate brunch on the balcony, the place that we did laundry while literally watching T.V, the place where we had many friends visit, the place we got our first miniature Christmas tree together, the place we walked home to after happy hours at Rio, the place we played scrabble on the balcony, the place we played Nintendo in the den, the place we would binge watch T.V hours on end, the place where we didn’t make a single friend in the condo while we lived there, the place where I spent months on the couch and in bed on bedrest before having Avery and Emerson. The place that when I literally walked into it each and every time, my heart would go into a calm place because I legitimately loved our home so much.

It’s been a time suck and a money pit for the last few years and Justin has had enough being a landlord. So we invested some money in it…did an awesome renovation, and sold it in four days!

Tonight we went over to the condo one last time before going to closing next week.  Avery and Emerson recreated lying in their cribs.

Harper…she never lived in the condo so I think she was feeling left out.  Daddy to the rescue!

Family pic….

Girls goofing around in the living room.

Pics of me and the hubs…my one and only.

And my original “babies”.  One evening after work 7 years ago, I came home to my 6-month old babies.  I took them on the balcony of our condo and Justin captured this photo of me truly living in the moment so excited to see my babies after being away from them all day.

We tried to recreate it…they are slightly heavier now…go mom muscles go!

Saying our goodbyes was bittersweet – its hard to say bye to something that you truly loved so much, but the 12013 Taliesin chapter shall close, and the story continue.

Sleeping in until 8:15 – check

Uninterrupted workout – check

Breakfast in the dining room (made by Justin and the girls) – check

Showered with cards, more cards, chocolate, a spa gift card, a homemade jewelry box, a homemade flower pot, artwork, things I love about my mom, cards, and MORE cards  – check

Brewery plans cancelled due to rain – check

Dinner prep in the kitchen for hours – check

Pictures….the ladies and one gent…

….the original Friedman’s plus kids…

….the whole enchilada minus Gabriel….

….pretend family of four…

….the grandparents and grandkids….

….a few randoms….

….check

A grand slam dinner – check

Baby snuggles – check

Eating an insane amount of chocolate mouse and chocolate – check

Being incredibly grateful for these three girls and equally frustrated with the daily whining and fighting…check

Promise to myself to breathe and count to 10 with regards to my reaction to the latter so that I can be thankful and grateful for these ladies ALL of the time – check!