A Beautiful Hike, But No Zebra

For some family time on the long weekend we decided to take the kids out for a hike. Tom had me choose the hike. I wanted something different and a little fun so I picked a 4-miler that ran by a river and some waterfalls up in the Shenandoah. We've still got both backpacks for the kids so we figured we were set. While I got everyone ready (meaning me dressed, Erin in socks and sneakers instead of sandals, Jeffrey into a Pull-up and sneakers) Tom got some bottles of water ready for the hike.

We headed out the door about 10 AM. It was simply gorgeous. High 70s at that time, puffy clouds and a slight breeze. We piled into the Sentra and headed on up the mountain. We had the windows totally rolled down and the kids thought that was the best thing ever. Jeffrey giggled the whole way. We had to drive about 15 miles along Skyline Drive before we got to the parking area for the hike. It was a little hazy down in the valley but still the views were gorgeous.

Once we parked we got the kids out of the car and into the packs. I was a little worried about Jeffrey. We haven't packed with him yet this year and he's in a very "mobile" stage right now. I figured he'd throw a fit about getting into the pack, but nope. We crossed over the drive and headed down the Fire Road towards the river and falls. Not 100 feet down trail we had the first exciting event of the day. A smallish black bear went sauntering across the trail about 30 feet ahead of us. He was gorgeous. Erin missed him at first, but we were able to point it out to her off the side of the trail. He sat about 35 feet off the trail for a few minutes and we just stood and watched him. Then he gave us one last look as if saying "See you later" and rumbled down the hill through the woods. Erin was sooo excited. As we continued down the trail she asked daddy what we'd see next, Tom replied we'd have to wait and see. Erin decided she wanted to see a zebra next. So....she spent the next 2.5 hours on the hike looking for a zebra. Sadly for her we never stumbled across one. About a mile down the fire road were the first set of waterfalls. These falls were really cool. Fairly narrow but they were relatively tall. The kids thought they were amazing.

This provided a good chance for Tom to mess with my backpack...again. Lemme tell you Jeffrey had no problems with being in the pack except the he weighs almost 30 pounds fully dressed. I had to keep adjusting the pack so the weight was on my waist and not shoulders. This was probably the most frustrating part of the whole trip. We had to unload him at least 3 times to make adjustments.

At that point we veered off the Fire road and onto a trail that followed the river. This was simply beautiful. The river bubbled and cascaded down rocks. There were lots of pools where you could fish for brook trout (we saw one group of hikers with fly fishing poles). We stopped and took a water break along the stream at one point. The kids loved walking around and throwing stones into the water. Jeffrey wanted to get a big splash. Tom took this picture right as Jeffrey had thrown a whopper into the stream...look at the second splash on the right of the photo. Erin liked the sounds the different sized stones made as she threw them into the water. There were a few close calls where Jeffrey almost fell face first into the water leaning for the perfect stone. Wouldn't have bothered him, but would have made for a long walk back. At one point Erin found a great little perch by the river just to sit and look at it. She reminded me very much of her Uncle Jonathan at that point as he loved to do the same thing.



The hike followed the river for about 1.5 miles. Erin provided entertainment by singing. She sang Over the Rainbow several times. Jeffrey wanted to sing Eensy Weensy Spider. We passed lots of other hikers who thought the kids were just the cutest things around. On the way back up the mountain (we had about 1000 ft of elevation change down....then back up) we passed one last waterfall. This was the best of all. If we hadn't had the kids, and I hadn't had another mile of mountain to climb up I would've loved to jump right into the water at the base. As we turned away from the falls, Jeffrey turned around and shouted "Bye Bye Waterfall!".

The climb up was difficult but not too horrible. We took lots of little rests. About 1/2 mile from the top the path leveled a bit and widened. We decided we could let the kids out of the packs to finish the hike. They took off running up the mountain, jumping and tripping over little rocks in the path. By the time we were done we were all exhausted but it was completely and totally worth it. If you ask Erin what we saw on the hike she'll tell you, "A Bear, A Monkey (chipmunks), Water and Waterfalls -- but No Zebra."

Sigh...one of those L..O..N..G days

We had one of those long mornings that just completely and totally wipes me out. And the kids. One of those mornings that the kids are lucky to live through (OK we all know that's an exaggeration but still).

We were out late last night at some friends. Erin fell asleep while watching Cars...Jeffrey did not. He was still going strong at 11:30. By the time we got home though he was crashed out. At 7:30 this morning I woke up to find him snuggled between Tom and I. And not about to want to wake up. Problem is that we had to be out of the house at 9 AM to get to Richmond to have Erin fit for her Flower Girl dress for "Uncle" Gary and "Aunt" Suzie's wedding in August. It's a nice drive, but about 90 minutes. I gave myself 2 hours just to be safe.

So eventually I got him up and on the potty (making real progress there, but that's for another day). Went in to get Erin. Roused her and noticed that she seemed to be wearing different panties than she was sent to bed in. Honestly I wasn't sure about it but really I was pretty sure she was wearing Mermaid and not Care Bears. Fairly quickly she confirmed that her panties (and apparently her sheets and blanket) had gotten "soaked" at night and she had gotten "new" panties.

Moving on to breakfast. I notice that the shorts I've put Jeffrey in simply aren't going to work. He must have been getting ready to shoot up a few inches when we tried them on because 2 weeks ago they fit, but today they were hanging around his ankles. So while they fussed over not having the right flavor oatmeal (Erin needs cinnamon, Jeffrey just likes to fuss when his sister does) I unearthed a pair of shorts for him and got him ready to go.

As Erin fussed because her oatmeal wasn't correctly prepared, Tom made the comment that I was in for a LONG morning. He had NO idea.

So 9 AM rolls around and I'm actually ready to throw the kids in the car. Make Erin go pee, get Jeff in a pull-up and we're off. The drive to Richmond goes fairly well save for Jeffrey kicking the window button on his door and lowering his window. Normally not an issue, but it's a 50/50 deal whether the window will go back up again easily. Following the directions from the lady at the store, we actually end up arriving about 20 minutes before our appointment. Silly me assumed they would be open at that point, but no. So I'm stuck sitting in the car with Erin insisting that we listen to her drum CD (which was in the house) and Jeffrey who desperately wanted OUT!!!!

About 10:50 we got out and I let the run around the sidewalk. By 11 we finally got inside. We had an appointment but still had to wait a few minutes. Erin announces that she has to pee - I ask where the potty is and run Erin back. Jeffrey is now hollering through the whole store--- "Poopie in the potty mommy. Poopie in the potty." I duck behind a lovely seafoam strapless number and hope nobody can see me.

By the time we're out of the potty, a young lady has brought us a 3 and 4 in the dress style. I grab the 3 and get Erin into it. Immediately she thinks she is a princess. She starts spinning and dancing - and falling over into the glass mirrors. Jeffrey, Mater car in hand, proceeds to run directly into one of the mirrored walls. Whether he didn't realize it was a mirror or he just wanted to run into a wall - I'm not sure. What I do know is that his hand prints on the mirrors were not appreciated by the staff.

It becomes quickly apparent that Erin will need a 3 not a 4..because she is pretty much falling out of the top of the 3. The sales lady grabs about 2-3 inches at each side and says -- well we can take this in. But for length we need the 3 not the 2 - which is great because they don't have a 2 we can try on anyway.

So back into normal clothes we go, and I head to the counter to "register" and place our order. The kids start running around like wild monkeys throughout the store. After much threatening and removal of all toys and privileges they are sitting on the floor at the base of the counter.....convinced that mommy is the meanest person in the whole world.

We ring up the dress. I hand over the credit card. I sign the slip...same old same old. The lady at the register (I've been passed off to "expedite the process" - read get this lady and her two unruly kids out of our store) asks me to sign another form stating that I've been informed that this in a non-refundable purchase and that alterations are available at an extra charge. I make the comment that we'll certainly need alterations. She pauses and says..."oh".

"Oh?" I ask?

"Well we expect to get the dress in here at the store on August 15th.

"WHAT!!!!!???? You've got to be kidding me? Are you serious? And you didn't think to mention this to me? That's not going to work!!! The wedding is August 18th!!!"

So I'm immediately passed off to the manager because now I'm the pissed off mom-of-a-flower-girl-with-two-uncontrollable-children-who-must-be-shoved-out-the-door. She does some looking and discovers that she "might" be able to get a size 3 in by the end of June. Well I guess that's going to have to do, but this is insane.

So I drag the kids out of the store, paper in hand with the card of the store manager clearly stapled to the front. I explain to the kids that we were going to spend a "fun" day in Richmond but they were not being very good inside the store and maybe we'd just go home. Erin screams, Jeffrey tries to run away. Once I get them in the car we all calm down and I ask if they want to get lunch. There's and Applebees nearby and they have a pretty good lunch menu. Erin agrees that she can be good - she wants lunch.

I find the little plaza with the Applebees. It's at the far end and we have to pass a McDonald's in order to get there. This particular McDonald's has an outdoor Play Zone. Erin can spot these things a mile away and assumes immediately that we're going there. When I drive by she erupts into tears as if her most beloved Pet Toy has just been decapitated by her brother. Needless to say we ended up eating at McDonald's. An hour later, I finally fished Jeffrey - who had eaten almost nothing - out of the play zone. I explain to him a fifteenth time that he drank all his lemonade and that it is "All Gone". I take both kids, toss them in the car and vow never to return to Richmond.

Never that is until I'm able to pick up a flower girl dress in white with apple trim that apparently takes 10 weeks to order.....But she's still going to look like a beautiful princess at the wedding.

Progress!!!!

I know I'm overloading you all but this needs to be said......

At 5 PM I had to change the same pair of Cars undies I put on Jeffrey at 8 AM!!!

And I only changed them because they got a little wet, not soaked at all. He stayed dry all that time - and we weren't even living in the bathroom.

Yay little boy....there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Elmo's Coloring Book

As a final hurrah for Erin & Jeff's Birthday celebrations we went to Sesame Street Live. We kept it all a secret and surprised them both yesterday. Erin had a small idea of what to expect, but Jeffrey was clueless. When we got there, Erin picked out a spinny light-up toy for them both. We had floor seats - not seats on a floor but on the floor level. They were perfectly center with the stage about 30 yards back. Erin first though we were going to see a movie there and kept insisting that we get her popcorn. Luckily they were selling popcorn, but we convinced her to wait until the intermission. Once the show got started she'd pretty much forgotten about the popcorn. When Elmo came out on stage, both kids screamed "ELMO!!!!!". Erin pointed and waved. Jeffrey was mesmerized the first 20 minutes or so.

The show was entertaining with lots of music and crowd participation. The rows were far enough apart that the kids could dance in the aisles. Jeffrey eventually wanted to get down and dance. Erin pointed out all her favorite characters and got really excited any time some of them came down into the audience. At one point one of them came far enough up the aisle that Erin and Jeff could go over and say hello. I thought Jeffrey might be a little afraid but he wasn't at all. Actually I had to hold him back from running down the aisle after her. Erin spent the rest of the show waving at all the characters trying to get their attention so she could say hello (Jeff and Rob...think the last few says at Disney World all over again).

I'm so glad they had fun and it was a great way to end our week of birthday celebrations.

A Super Party at the Park

We held a birthday gathering at Erin's favorite park on Saturday. We invited some special friends to join us, hang out at the park and eat some cookie cake. All week it looked as if it was going to rain on Saturday. The forecast showed sunny days for every day except Saturday. Erin had her heart set on playing at the park though. So we woke up Saturday to overcast skies but warm weather and decided to risk it. We lucked out and the rain held off until late afternoon.

Everyone had a super time playing at the park. The playground wasn't too crowded and we could just let them run around. Erin thought that having her friends there to play at the park was the best thing in the world. They ran around, climbed, played on the swings, slid down the slides, climbed up the slides, played ball in the fields...had a generally exhausting time. Jeffrey played so hard he barely took time out to eat cake or drink his juice box.

One of the highlights of the afternoon was Tom's juggling "show". He'd brought some juggling balls and put on a little show for all the kids. They thought it was the greatest thing. Tom included them in the games and tossed them the balls or showed them how to toss them back to him. Of course it all ended with a game of pile-on-Tom...but that's what daddy's are for right?

We arrived at the park around 1 PM and were finally packing up about 3:45. Both Erin and Jeff had missed their early afternoon naps and played soo hard. Before we were 10 minutes away from the playground they were both asleep in the car. By the time we got home Erin was rousing a little. Jeffrey was knocked out though. I got him into his room, plopped him in the middle of his McQueen bed and that was it for him. We didn't see him again until 7:30 Sunday morning. He slept right through (except for a short visit to mommy and daddy about 1 AM, but a gentle guide back to him room and he was back asleep).

Our afternoon at the park turned out to be just the perfect day to spend with friends. Thanks to all who came out and played with us.

And Now She's 4

And I just can't believe it. Today is Erin's 4th Birthday, officially at 11:50 AM. She's getting to be so big and grown up. She love to sing and dance. Gymnastics is still the highlight of her week. This spring she's been in a more structured class and loved every second of it.

She's set to go to a small pre-school in the fall. Right now she LOVES working on her numbers and reading books. Once you read it one time she'll have it pretty well memorized. Three or four times and it's ingrained in her mind. She can sit and read stories for quite a long time.

So here's her Birthday montage. Those who tend towards the "sappy" might want to have a Kleenex available. I really can't believe that it's been 4 years since she was snuggling against my chest with a little knitted hat in the hospital.


Happy Birthday Special Girl

I'm updating this post to add some pictures of her on her special day. We had a great time on her birthday. She opened her presents around noon then spent the afternoon playing with all of them - especially her pet hospital from Aunt Katie. She had picked out a special place for dinner. We went to Red Robin - a local burger joint that's VERY kid friendly. She ordered Mac & Cheese with a Freckled Lemonade (lemonade with strawberries in it). She even got the special birthday song and sundae from the wait staff. It was exactly what a 4-year old little girl wanted.


Birthday Morning


Decorating Her Cake


Opening Some Presents

Jeff's Birthday Update

Here's a few pictures from Jeff's Birthday. His Dr's appointment went well...weighed in at 27 lbs and I'm not sure on the height but it was 90th percentile. We had a cute afternoon with him on his birthday. He ran around all day telling people it was his "Bootday". I got him a small cake with 2 candles and Erin helped him open his presents - largely Cars themed. He also LOVES his new train set. We've still got it all set up in the living room. All he wants to do it play Choo-choo. He knows how to turn the engines on, put them on the track, and sometimes even knows how to switch the path on the track circles. He came in to Erin's play Saturday night and called out for Mommy or Sister any time they were on stage. Then we headed to Applebees where he got a special Ice Cream dessert. Our in-town party will be on Saturday at a local playground.

She's the Willy Wonka Candy Chorus

Erin (and mommy) just finished our run of Willy Wonka shows. Erin had the time of her life. She really just had a blast. She was in the Candy Chorus - specifically a caramel. She even had a couple of lines this time that we practiced over and over and over. Her favorite was "We never get any smaller" (while dressed as an Everlasting Gobstopper). She learned all her songs (they had little parts in 3 different songs) and even the movements to go with them. Best of all she seemed to make some friends with the group of kids in her cast - especially the girl dressed as the nuts. On Sunday when I gave her the option of coming and playing with me backstage or going to watch the rest of the play with her friends...she ran into the auditorium with her friends before I could blink. Here's a couple of pictures from the show. She's the one second from the right in the group picture.

Here's a little Video of her singing 2 of her songs...Erin Singing as a Caramel and a Gobstopper

Happy Birthday Jeffrey

I can't believe he's 2 years old today. It seems like the days last forever and the years just fly by. He's getting to be such a big boy. Does everything his sister does. Claims everything as his own "Mine!!" is one of his favorite words.

He's a big chatterbox talking about all kinds of things. He LOVES to read stories - Big Red Barn, Mr. Brown Can Moo, and Elmo's Neighborhood are his favorites at the moment.

I'm guessing he weighs about 27 pounds and might be about 36" tall. Here's a little movie so you can see how much Jeffrey's grown over the past year.

Happy Birthday Little Man

Patince Update.....

Well we are still with it. Jeffrey and I are continuing our work on the potty training. We are certainly making progress but still using Pull-Ups rather than big boy undies. I think next week we'll make the jump to the undies. He differs from Erin's training in several ways (and I expected this). Things I've learned about training Jeffrey....

1 - He MUST be in control. He chooses the story. He decides how long he's going to sit. He shows me where to sit (or when to leave).

2 - Advance notice MUST be given. I can't just say, Jeffrey let's go sit on the potty. I need to warn him 5-10 minutes in advance and get permission.

3 - Bribery certainly helps. He prefers to sit with a beverage and snack. Usually he gets a sippy and a piece of bread, sometimes a cookie.

4 - If he's not in the mood, he's not gonna sit. End of story.

So...we're taking it slower. But each day we generally have at least 1-2 successes. He still likes to play the "I'll sit here for 45 minutes then get up and go in my pants" trick. We talk about where pee and poop go (In the potty). He's had 2 or 3 successful poopies.

Erin's a big help. At first she was somewhat in the way, but she's getting better. Sometimes he'll sit and go for her when he won't sit for me. She'll sing him songs, read stories to him and perform general acts of entertainment.

Long story short, we're making some progress and not ready to give up yet. Next week we might take the big step into undies (have Cars and Diego ones all ready here). Wish us luck.