A Week Of Firsts

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Monday the girls had their first day of ballet!  They looked so cute in their lavender leotards, white tights, and ballet shoes.  We took a few pictures before we set off for the studio.

There were a total of four girls in the class….I think it’s possible one may have been missing, but I’m not sure.  Avery was pretty quick to join in and follow the teacher’s instructions and did a pretty good job.  Emerson was about 50/50….for about half the class she followed instruction and the other half she either sat down or was running in and out of the studio to find me.

No tears were shed though and Avery thanked me for taking her to dance class as soon as it was over and told Grandma about the purple dots and the beanbags that they used as props.  I have no doubt that the girls will become more comfortable as the month goes on.

Thursday was the girls first day of pre-school.  We took a few pictures at home before we left for school since I figured my chances of getting a picture of them at the school was probably slim.  (BTW, Avery’s right eye was really irritated the night before pre-school so we had to take her contact out, which unfortunately made her extra squinty for her first few days at preschool).

I tried one more though as we walked into the building.

We have been talking about pre-school regularly since May, if not before then.  I anticipated Avery would barely look back when I dropped her off.  Emerson I knew would be reserved, but I thought she would hold back tears.  I WAS WRONG!  The good bye did not go over well….in fact, it was quite horrible!  We got to the school a few minutes early and as we waited for the doors to open Emerson sat quietly observing all the kids and parents while Avery boisterously jumped on me.  Once we were able to go in, the three of us walked to the classroom and the girls placed their bags on their designated hooks.  Then they went over to Ms. Denise to get their hands washed and as they stood in line, I could tell they started to get more reserved, but were still okay.  I started to say good bye and give them hugs and Emerson simultaneously started to let me know that she was tired.  I told her that she could take a nap when she got home which was not a satisfactory response for her.  Slowly the words she was tired became louder and louder and slowly we made our way out to the hallway and slowly her position went from standing and a little whine to laying out on the floor kicking and screaming.  During all this, Avery followed Emerson out to the hallway and Emerson’s tantrum set her off into full blown tears as well.  

Her teacher’s Ms. Kristen and Ms. Denise and even the Director of the Preschool Ms. Marnie were awesome though and told me that I should go if I felt comfortable and they would handle it. Let me add that there were at least two other classrooms too and the three of them were willing to focus on my children alone.  I’m pretty sure my children were the only two children that had visible meltdowns….

I gave the girls one final hug and walked off as they were still in full blown meltdown mode…I quietly let Ms. Marnie know I would be waiting outside to make sure they were okay.  After about 15 minutes she came out to tell me that they were “OK”….she said she couldn’t say they were loving school; but they were calm at the moment.   I rode home in disbelief of the events that had just occurred.  I fully expected Emerson to be reserved but really did not anticipate tears from  her and I certainly didn’t anticipate tears from Avery.  So I was very pleased when I received an email from Ms. Marnie less than two hours after the class started that said the girls “are settling in beautifully” and “are a pleasure to have in class”.  It will be interesting to get the girls perspective on their day when they get home and even more interesting to see how the second day goes tomorrow, particularly the drop off (which Justin is doing tomorrow).

Day 2 Update: According to the girls and their teachers, they ended up having a great day, as evidenced by the paint on their clothes and faces!  We talked a lot about the day and excitement was coming from everyone, so I thought for sure the Friday drop off would be better.  The drive was good, we set expectations, and even took a few more pictures.  We were ready….or so I thought.  Once we got in the classroom, pretty much the SAME repeat of yesterday (although Emerson was a little calmer in the sense that she was not on the ground this time and was truly trying to take deep breaths in between the sobs)….and again Emerson’s tears set off Avery’s tears.  I quickly left again at Ms. Kristen and Ms. Marnie’s suggestion.  Apparently they rebounded in 5 seconds and once again had a great day!  I imagine we will have a few more repeats of this next week….I will just have to do a better job of getting out of the classroom even quicker next time!

The Extended Birthday Celebration

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I imagine that with all three girls having birthdays within one week of another, we will likely be having joint parties and extended birthday celebrations for years to come.  We decided to go big this year….and I mean 65 people big and a moon bounce slide combo. Going into it, I knew that we would probably alternate years with doing big birthday celebrations and other years with doing smaller family gatherings.  This was a year for going big though.  I think in part it had to do with last year’s birthday celebration being small as I was 38 weeks pregnant.  In part it also had to do with the fact that we had just moved in to our new house with an awesome backyard and many of our friends had yet to see the place.  So maybe the girls’ birthdays was just an excuse to have a party?!?!?  We decided to have the party on August 16 which was after both birth dates which allowed us to focus on enjoying their actual birthdays without having to focus on the party too much until the week before the party.

Even though we were having a big party for the girls, we still couldn’t let their actual birthdays go by without a small family celebration. Avery and Emerson’s birthday breakfast consisted of a ceral bar with a candle in it. They both were thrilled with blowing out their birthday cereal bar, so much so that I started to wonder if the afternoon presents were even necessary!   We had a quick breakfast so that we could be at Kid Junction when it opened at 10:00 as their birthday was on a Monday and Justin and I each were able to take the morning off, but only the morning and not the whole day. The girls had a great time playing and the grocery store is still by far the favorite room of the girls. What was super awesome this time was that Harper truly got in there on all the fun this time and was not only pushing her own shopping cart, but also she was pushing it backwards AND laughing about it because she knew exactly what she was doing.  For some reason the girls weren’t really into the slides and mazes this year as they had been the previous two times we were there….they were scared of them this go around….with the exception being the “baby” slide area.

Avery and Emerson had plenty of cards to open during the day including one from GiGi and Papa Mac that contained a Minnie Mouse Crown that literally took Mommy longer to put together than Dadddy’s frozen pizza took to cook.  Sadly, I think it would have taken me even longer than 15 minutes had Karolin not been in the room to give me a hint as to what I was doing wrong….sad, I know!

The birthday celebration continued in the evening with some Chinese Food for dinner courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa followed by a small little cake and ice cream courtesy of Giant. 

The celebration continued into the evening with opening of presents including a new kitchen from Grandma and Grandpa.

Turning three also meant “big girl” beds, which meant taking off the railing and putting on the crib rail!

Fast forward one week and one day, and it was Harper’s birthday. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Harper’s 1 year photo shoot.  

We celebrated with a cake for Harper, which she wanted no part of whatsoever, and cupcakes for everyone else.   

I had actually made two cakes the night before her birthday…one for her Harper and then one for everyone else.  I was multi-tasking (making dinner for the current night) the same time that I made the cakes that I totally forgot to spray the pan with Pam, which equated to a disaster and a cake that I couldn’t serve.  Thus the gourmet store bought cupcakes, which turns out I probably didn’t need due to the fact that Harper wanted nothing to do with the cake.  Harper’s big presents were her very own baby doll and Pottery Barn Chair from Grandma Barbara and Grandma Adele which she was pretty excited about as she loved playing in Avery and Emerson’s chairs.

The Big Party!  The Big Party was Saturday August 16 and it was a hit. Justin and I for once decided to go all out….although money is always a consideration, we decided for this party it really wasn’t.  That included a moon bounce combo that truly made the party and really made the party a backyard party and eased my concerns and the obvious about our house not having a walk out entrance from the dining room or living room.  The kids had a great time playing in the moon bounce and some of the younger kids had a fun time hanging out in the ball pit.

The majority of our friends were able to come.  We also had plenty of family including Grandma Adele, GiGi, Uncle Russell, and the entire Petchenick clan.  We also had a few new neighbors who we look forward to hanging out with more in the future.  We of course over estimated on everything with regards to how much everyone would eat and drink so we had A LOT of left overs, but most things especially the beer will not go to waste.  

We had two awesome cakes that Karolin made from scratch that were delicious.  Everyone gathered to sing happy birthday and mid way through I realized I forgot to have someone video it :(.  I thought about having everyone sing a second time but decided against it.

Really though it was a great party…my only regrets were that I didn’t get to have meaningful conversations with some of our friends…but I knew before the party started that would be the case and we didn’t get better pictures…but again that was attributed to us trying to enjoy the party and not being so focused on capturing the event. We heard from most everyone that the party was awesome.  I even made goodie bags (which wasn’t in my original plan) but I’m glad that I did as I think the kids thoroughly enjoyed them as evidenced by Camden on her way home from the party….note to parents….check your rearview mirror if your kids are quieter than normal…lol. 

And because we didn’t get a chance to take any pictures with Grandma Adele at the party we took some the following day at Mom and Dad’s house.

I’m hoping that as the girls get older my chances of getting a picture where they are all smiling and looking at the camera at the same time will increase…oh well…at least these make me smile.

 

Next Time Harper

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The past month has been tough for me.  It’s been a combination of things….work is crazy busy, not enough time to do the basic things such as cooking, grocery shopping, laundry, tidying the house, paying bills, and other paperwork, Avery and Emerson being very testy.  I would find myself getting annoyed with them and not enjoying and appreciating them like I should.  I was seeing the weeds and failing to see the flowers. I knew I needed to snap out of it, but constantly feeling like there was so much to do and so little time to do it all on, made it hard to simply snap out of it. 

I don’t know what occurred but Sunday morning I woke up feeling refreshed and like my old self again.  I wish I could say it was the good night sleep I had but I can say with certainty that was not the case.  The morning started with some cuddles that I thoroughly enjoyed and after breakfast the whole family took a few minutes to play and be silly in Harper’s room. Even though we had somewhere to go and a specific time we wanted to leave, I took the time to just stop for a minute and enjoy the fun family time we were having in Harper’s room!

Our plan for the day was to go to Frying Pan Park.  We hadn’t been there since spring of last year.  Wow, what a difference a year makes!  For one we had three kids now instead of two!  Emerson was very much into seeing the animals.  Avery was still scared of the animals at first, but she wasn’t petrified as in years past and she did emerge from the stroller to attempt to face her fears and would actually get super excited when she saw an animal.  Avery would see an animal, point to it with such enthusiasm, but then moments later be ready to move on to the next thing. 

Emerson was quite content to watch the animals. It was really neat to just see her take it all in.  She was not at all afraid even when the goat stuck his head through the gate and started eating the stroller.

Harper had a great time getting out and walking around!

We saw cows, baby calf, sheep, goats, pigs, lots of baby pigs, a horse, peacocks, and chickens. We explored the dairy and old house from late 1800’s.  When we were in the dairy, I was trying to explain what a dairy was.  Since Avery loved milk, it was the perfect opportunity to explain where milk comes from.  When I told her milk comes from cows, she kindly added on “and mommy’s boobies.”

We even attempted to capture all three girls in the same picture together.  Who said you needed to see faces to have a good picture!

And then it was time for Mommy and Daddy to get into the picture too (separately that is).

After we had made our rounds of the animals, the girls wanted to drive the tractors.  They were having a great time.

Avery even drove me to the airport.  Now this is what I call first class!

Next time Harper…next time!

We attempted to go on the merry-go-round twice.  It only runs 15 minutes past the hour.  We didn’t know that the first time as we were watching it go around.  Basically we just missed it. We weren’t certain if we were going to be around an hour later for the next one.  Turns out we were but we were too far away at the time and the girls don’t quite understand what making a mad dash for it would have meant, so we promised them for next time. 

Once the merry go round didn’t happen, we let Avery and Emerson play on the playground.  Harper meanwhile had fallen asleep in her stroller. They were having a great time.  They were being KIDS and it just warms my heart to see them running around, laughing, and playing with one another. 

Next time Harper….next time. 

We weren’t planning on eating lunch out but it was getting close to lunch time so we decided to try out Gordon’s Grill, which is on the premises.  It’s basically fries, burgers, dogs, chicken nuggets, etc….nothing at all remotely healthy.  It was reasonably priced so we gave it a try.  Justin and I had the barbeque….it was okay.  The fries were so deep fried that honestly Justin (who doesn’t discriminate too often when it comes to fries) and Emerson (who doesn’t discriminate too often when it comes to food) knew that these fries weren’t even worth eating and we ended up throwing some of them away.

Later that afternoon we took the girls over to my parents to go swimming.   It was around Harper’s second nap time and while part of me felt guilty for not taking her in, I knew that Justin and I would be able to concentrate on Avery and Emerson more this time if it was two on two versus three on three.  (Yeah, my dad was there but you know how that goes!). Anyway, the girls had a great time in the pool and every time they go in they seem to get more and more comfortable with the water. 

Next time Harper, next time.

11 Months

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Harper is 11 months already.  Some days I can’t believe it…my little baby is hardly a baby anymore and in less than a month, she will be 1!  That is just insane to me.  I think I am going to be one of those moms that always can’t get over how old my children are….or how old I am 🙁….but that is a blog for another day!  Anyway, Harper took her first steps at just over 9 months.  Although we were proud of those steps and many others, we weren’t overly encouraging her to walk at such a young age.  First, she hadn’t been crawling that long…she got around real well but by means other than true crawling (a lot of scooting)….and crawling was an important development that I didn’t want her to take lightly!  Second, I wasn’t ready for her to be that mobile yet!  So while there were a lot of steps at 9 months and 10 months, it was literally the day that she turned 11 months that those steps turned into walking.  On her 11 month birthday, it was probably 50/50 walking and in the 3 days since then, she has pretty much become a full blown walker….to the point where last night I realized she needed real shoes…one’s that were actually supportive for walking and not just decorative!  So here she is at Stride Rite buying her 1st pair of shoes!

And here is Harper and proud big sister Emerson who picked out those hot pink shoes!

Eleven months so far has proven to be a big month for Harper.  At 11 months (or just shy by about a week), Harper’s two top teeth magically started appearing out of nowhere.  They are only just coming in, but they are huge.  And one on the bottom is coming in as well.  FINALLY!  I secretly was beginning to wonder if she had any baby teeth….THANKFULLY she does.  But don’t be fooled those teeth (or lack thereof) were not keeping Harper from eating and enjoying her food.  Over the last few months we have been introducing more and more table food and sometime last month Harper’s meals turned into all table food.  She joins us at the table (in her high chair) and she shovels the food into her mouth (a lot like Emerson did at the same age).   I don’t think she like peas or corn that much, but other than that she isn’t too biased when it comes to food. 

Happy 11 months Harper….one year is just around the corner!

July 4th Weekend

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This past weekend was 4th of July Holiday Weekend.  It really was a great mix of family, friends, neighborhood, bbq’s, pool time, fun, and even a few errands in between.

The weekend started out with horrible thunderstorms late Thursday night.  They lasted through the night and when I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to nurse Harper, I was a little worried that the neighborhood picnic event scheduled for 10:00 would be called off.  I shouldn’t have been worried though.  In a few hours timeframe the weather turned sunny and was in the high 70’s and not humid.  It was gorgeous.  We went to the event and had a chance to meet a few more neighbors, which was nice.  The girls were a little too young to participate in some of the events but it was still really neat nonetheless just to see yet again what a great community we live in.

Friday afternoon we set out to take pictures of the girls with the primary goal of getting a good picture of all three of them….one that we could use for their birthday invitation.  EPIC FAIL in that sense!  The girls just did not want to take their picture together. I don’t know what was going on but they just wouldn’t cooperate and all three stay put at once and that stayed true for the whole weekend. 

Friday’s pictures and this includes several rounds of photo sessions throughtout the day.

By the way this orange outfit has become Emerson’s all time favorite outfit the past few weeks.  If the pants are dirty, she wears an orange skirt to go along with it.  We do laundry fairly often so she probably wears this outfit about 3 times a week.  Maybe I should do laundry less…lol. 

Avery on the other hand is wearing one of her bathing suits from two years ago.  I was planning on having Harper wear it and Avery wanted to try it on and I think it actually fit better now than it did two years ago…guess that diaper took up a lot of space!

Friday afternoon we went to Brophy’s.  Avery even wore this bathing suiit there….and not even under her clothes.  This was her outfit!  The Niday’s were there as well.  Emerson’s tummy didn’t feel well at first but after awhile I think she forgot about it and was fine.  The girls had a great time playing with Hannah’s toys and each other.  The girls are becoming increasingly independent in their play especially when we go to someone else’s house.  It is nice! 

We got back to our house in time to watch our neighbors do a few fireworks in the cul-de-sac.  All three girls were scared at first.  We ended up putting Harper down to bed.  Emerson eventually was okay watching them but covered her ears the entire time.  Avery never really warmed up to them so she went inside with daddy to watch them from the kitchen bench.

Saturday morning we went to the Farmer’s Market. Karolin, our new au pair, even joined us! 

Saturday afternoon Justin and I did something that we don’t do very often and actually spent 6 ½ hours together without the girls.  It was good.  We went for a nice bike ride to Reston followed by some yard work (mostly trimming our overgrown garden).  Then after a quick shower we ran a few errands and even went to Matchbox for a late lunch/early dinner.  We got back in time to even spend a few hours with the girls before it was bedtime.

Sunday morning we went to Meadowlark.  While we brought the camera as we always do when we go to Meadowlark, the goal of the trip was certainly not to get a picture of all three girls together, but once we got there, I thought why not try AGAIN….

Their lack of cooperation for the staged picture had me becoming increasingly frustrated.  Justin kept having to tell me to let it go.  Finally I gave up on the picture and we all continued to enjoy ourselves more. Thoughts of getting Harper in the picture began brewing in my head. 

 The girls started running in the fields and were having a great time!

I thought if I placed Harper in the grass the girls could run on opposite sides of her and we could get a picture of all three of them and the girls would be more cooperative since it wasn’t as staged.

As you can see both girls ran to the same side of her!  The idea worked much better in my head!

We got some cute pictures but not the one that I was trying to create for their birthday invitation.  BUT I am all about the flowers….and I LOVE some of these pictures of my babies!

Sunday evening we went to my parent’s house for some pool time and a barbeque.  Each time we go in the pool, the girls are gaining more and more confidence.  I just smile as I see them playing in their rafts…it is so cool to see these little kids that they are becoming.  All in all we had a really good weekend! 

My Life Unfiltered

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I’m overdue for a post.  I think it is fair to say that our life is busy right now!  So without going into details, I think this one pictures does a pretty good job of summarizing my life right now. Me in workout clothes, no makeup, all three kids in a different direction…yup, thats my life!

And that’s me smiling!

What A Fun Ride It’s Been

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This past week we said goodbye to our regular routine of Ana and Ari as our nanny for the girls.  Ana has been with us since the girls were 10 months old…exactly two years.  Ari has only been with us since this past January but we grew fond of her very quickly.  Both were awesome nannies for the girls.  On each of their last official day with us, we  had a photo session.  These are some of my favorites with Ari.

What do you say there Harper!  Pick me a WINNA!

These are some of my favorites with Ana.

 

Indeed….what a fun ride it has been!

These Precious Moments

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These precious moments with Harper are constant.  It’s hard to believe that the majority of the moments I have had with Harper have been moments like these.  Harper has never been much of a crier.  I can think of only two nights where she had trouble being consoled and even those times were no more than an hour at best.  During times when my stress level is about to go through the roof usually as a result of having two two and a half year olds who refuse to listen, hugging and holding Harper calms me.  Harpers temperament and constant smile and giggles are constant reminders of what really matters in life.  I know it is hard to believe, but I am being completely truthful when I say that this picture is truly representative of how I feel every moment with Harper.