Robot Makeover

Sunny Saturday

Today had its ups, downs, and ups.  The weather was absolutely perfect/beautiful.  Joe had to work so I was looking forward to spending the day with Oliver.  I signed us up for Spanish language immersion classes and this morning was our first class.  After that, I had no particular plans.  Things went pretty good this morning even though there was a little protest about wanting to play outside in the sandbox instead of going to our "play date where they speak Spanish" (Oliver has a general aversion to anything I call "class").  Once we left the house all was well.  He did great at the "class."  He did not say much, but was watching everyone and generally involved in the activities.  I parked about a half mile away and during our walk back he looked at me and said, "agua means water."  We then laughed about him being my "poco gato" and used a spattering of new words that he learned.  Since he had not repeated anything in class, it was cool to see him using the words so quickly.  It was also fun for me.  I struggled with Spanish in High School, but I was amazed that some of it came back to me.  Hopefully, it will be a fun activity for us to do together.

Unfortunately, the rest of the early afternoon was a series of not so great moments.  A protest in a store, crying in the car, knocking over toys and general drama once we got home.  He hit the dangerous tired/hungry combo and it was impossible to get him out.  I finally calmed him enough to eat some lunch, and he ended up falling asleep on my lap at the table.  After his nap, he was slow to rally.  But, soon asked to play outside.

One perk of Rittenhouse is our neighbors.  The neighborhood is great in general, but there is one family a couple doors down that we adore.  The parents are about our age and they have 3 kids: 4, 2, and a couple months.  The 4 year old girl, Abby, is great with Oliver and the 2 year old boy and Oliver are starting to have more in common.  Our yards both slope so we can easily see when the other family is out on their deck, which we can choose to ignore or easily yell across a few sentences.  Oliver and Joe were over at their place last night, and today Abby came over to play in the sandbox.  If you ask Oliver to "share" he will pitch a fit and dramatically tell you he does not want to share.  But, if left on his own, he usually plays great and trades and shares like it is no big deal.  After playing outside for awhile, the kids eventually ended up inside building trucks with Oliver's tools and playing cars and trains.  Abby did not want to leave when her parents called for supper.  But, Oliver gave her a big hug good-bye even though she was still pouting.

I know I thought I never wanted to leave the city, but I now cannot imagine raising Oliver downtown.  I love our home, our garden and neighborhood.  This is where we were meant to be.

A Reasonable Request

Tonight, after taking off all his own clothes (with the exception of a little help getting his arms out of the sleeves) and using the potty, Oliver requested a bubble bath.  While relaxing in the bath, he says, "I want mommy to get my dune buggy, red car that pops wheelies, and my Rastafari truck."  I asked him to repeat his list as I pondered whether there was any drama-free way to get out of hunting these specific items from his massive car collection.  He repeated the list and then said, "mommy can do that, it's a pretty reasonable request."

A Happy Mother's Day

It was a beautiful weekend.  Today, Mother's Day, was especially nice.  Grandma is in town.  We all went to brunch this morning and then for a beautiful hike at "Turkey Run" park, which is just outside of DC in Virginia and part of the Potomac Gorge.  Oliver walked most of it, and I was impressed at how well he did since this was a true hiking trail, not just our usual walking path.  Once we got home, we all enjoyed an afternoon nap.  Then back outside for some playtime and a walk to the neighborhood market.  On the walk back, Oliver asked about some of his favorite cars parked on the street.  We would say that is a Lincoln, and he would say, "Oliver is a little Lincoln" and then take off running down the sidewalk.  And so it went for no less than a 20 different kinds of cars as we sped home (a little less than a mile walk).  Joe had Mother's Day gifts and dinner waiting for us when we returned.  I am not sure it was because of Mother's Day, but Oliver was in a very love-my-mommy kind of mood today.  I got lots of kisses, hugs, hair petting, "that's MY mommy" and "I love mommy" today.  I could not ask for a more perfect Mother's Day.

Mother's Day Hike

Easter Fun

Now that it has been a couple weeks, what I remember most about this Easter is...Nana and all the cars.  Between the Easter bunny, Nana, Grandma, and Aunt Sheila/Uncle Jesse, Oliver scored big in the car department with Easter gifts this year.  I think it is a sign that his family and the bunny know him well.  We visited "Bunnyland" at Butler's Orchard--it was like Easter heaven with tractors, trains, animals to pet, things to climb and eggs to find.  And Nana was in town for the weekend, so it was an overall super fun Easter. 

Collecting Easter eggs at the Orchard for fun.

"Driving" the tractors with Nana.

Hugging the tractor.

My little spider.

Fun at the farm.

Easter breakfast.

Oliver finding his Easter basket.

Cars!

Oliver opening one of his Easter boxes "with" Grandma, Great Grandma, and Aunt Sheila".

Oliver stacking tires surrounded by the Easter egg carnage.

Easter hugs from Nana

Friends in Warm Places

For my birthday, Joe bought Oliver and I tickets to visit my BFF in California the last week in March.  There are lots of reasons why I was so thrilled to take this trip.  Of course, with Staci in Cali, I don't get to see her enough.  In addition, she recently had her fourth child, Declan.  She graciously invited us to stay in their guest room so we would have more time together and so the kids to really get the chance to hang out.  Oliver and I had a great time.  It was fun to see my only child in a house of fun-loving kids used to having other kids around.  Staci's only daughter, Juliet, was so sweet and loving to Oliver.  Aidric, the oldest, was full of ideas and kept us informed about what was going on...he is also a budding scientist so we bonded over a DNA isolation experiment.  Cormac, or "Mac-Attack" his nickname, which Oliver loved, is a ball of independence and energy.  It was so great to see Oliver and Mac interact since they are only a month apart in age.  I forgot how tiny and sweet newborns are, I also forgot how much the sleep during the day.  Which left Staci and I with time to catch-up and reconnect.  I also got some schooling in what is cool in the world of elementary school kids, namely I had the chance to enjoy several renditions of the Frozen soundtrack (I even watched the movie).  We especially had a blast at the aquarium, the park, Staci's yard, the pier (that Olive slept through), Staci's playroom, the bath, and Aidric's soccer game.  Thanks Staci and Chris for letting us be your guests and making us feel like part of your family for a few days.

At airport waiting for our plane to California.

Aidric, Mac-Attack, and Oliver riding a car in Staci's yard.

Oliver was on DC time, so he while getting ready for bed each night the kids would come in for some fun and to say goodnight...lots of giggles.

Fun at the Aquarium

Myrtle of course made the trip to California and loved the hike at the park.

Big Smiles and Thanks for a great trip!

The Gang!