Soft Playroom

Alexandria now has a fantastic Soft Playroom and Mia and CJ adore it. If you've never been to a soft playroom before, they are great for the under 5 crowd with padded floors and walls, cool shapes to play with or climb on, and best of all, a ball pit. This one isn't too fancy, but is perfect when you need to expend some energy on a cold, rainy, or way too hot day.

More of Memorial Day Weekend

Instead of a Memorial Day BBQ, we had some friends over for a late breakfast and kid playtime.

Blowing bubbles is always a big hit.

As is the pool.

Parenting Advice

In general, I don't bother reading the advice columns in the paper, but I was really happy when Rob caught this one in today's Washington Post.

DEAR AMY: It has been interesting to read how different people handle toddler meltdowns. 
My father's method seemed to be effective.
Whenever my brother or I would have a meltdown, we would go off on an extensive search for our "composure." We would look everywhere -- under the couch ("No, I don't see your composure here), behind the door ("Still not here), until we finally calmed down.
I don't remember ever officially finding my composure, and it took me until I was about 6 to realize that "composure" is not a concrete object! -- Hannah


I can't wait to try this one myself.

Family Party

As most of you who read this blog know, Mommy has a rather large family.  More specifically, Grandma has lots of siblings (9 brothers and a sister to be exact).  This means that Mia and CJ will probably be able to assume at any family event, the person they don't recognize is probably their mother's cousin.

Today, we spent time with an even more extended family.  Grandma's cousins Mary Lu and Sue invited us to their home for a Memorial Day Weekend family picnic.  We had a lot of fun.  It reminded Mommy of her family picnics as a child, running around with all the cousins, lots of food and laughter.

Mia felt right at home surrounded by all the red heads.

 Great-Grand Uncle Tommy is mommy's maternal grandmother's brother.

Mia hangs out with Grandma's cousin Bill C. while singing Happy Birthday to a variety of family members.

 CJ got to play with his 3rd cousin John Patrick, whom we found out lives just outside of DC, too.

 

Sadly, the picture of the boys with Bill and Judy C. didn't come out so well.  The kids were having too much fun playing to pose for a picture.

And, we know one of the best things about family parties is the kids having fun with everyone else.  Mommy and Daddy really enjoyed getting to eat a meal while the kids enjoyed time with Cousin Sue.

Strawberry Picking

Continuing on with Mia's vacation days, we headed off to Great Country Farms, where we get our summer CSA, to pick some strawberries with Nina.

CJ got his fill of strawberries because if Mommy wasn't feeding him one, he would go after the moldy or animal eaten ones. Mommy, clearly, got very little picking done and was quite happy Nina came along to help.

Mia was so covered in strawberries when we got back from the fields that one of the farmers commented that we should have weighed her before and after!

Can't wait for Nina to make the strawberry jam!

Baltimore Aquarium

Mia had a few days off from school for Shavout, so Mia, CJ, and Mommy had a great time at the Baltimore Aquarium.  We seem to never grow tired of the main exhibits and the dolphin show, but this was our first time to see the jelly fish and CJ's first dolphin show.

One of the dolphins recently had a baby and the baby participated in the show!  You could not have pulled these kids away from the railing while the dolphins swam and jumped.

Bedside Manner

Mia really enjoys "fixing" everyone in the house with the doctor kit that Grandma and Grandpa gave her. Today, I thought she had particularly good bedside manner when she told me I had to have knee surgery.

Mia: Mommy, I cut open your knee to make you better. It will make your knee happy. I will have to take off the skin, but your knee will be happy.
(Pause)
Mommy, say, "Are you sure?"

Mommy: Are you sure?

Mia: Yes, I am sure. Your knee will be happy.

(Mia then proceeds to pretend to cut open my knee and put the skin she's removed on my ankle.)

Mommy, your knee is happy now.

Somehow, I felt I was in quite capable hands.

Lag B'Omer/Butterfly Release Party

Mia's preschool class has been raising caterpillars for the past few weeks and today was the party to release the butterflies into the world. All the parents were invited to watch the release and then join the kids for some singing and lunch. Mom, Dad, and CJ were all able to join Mia. (We also discovered CJ's love of watermelon and lemon Italian ice.)

Bedhead

The humidity has definitely hit. Mia is waking up with hair that looks like she's had it in curlers all night.


Look at those ringlets. People spend hours trying to get this (though maybe a bit tidier) and Mia wakes up with it.

Tricycle

CJ received a hand-me-down tricycle from a friend who had outgrown it and it has been a big hit. It doesn't have any pedals so you are just supposed to push along with your feet. CJ is just a little too short to reach the ground at the moment, but that doesn't keep him from trying. Mia also loves it too. We've had to break up a few fights over this one.

Adleigh's Birthday

Mia is definitely making the birthday circuit this spring. We went up to the Wheaton Regional Park for Adleigh's 3rd birthday. It had been raining so the miniature train wasn't running, but the carousel was.

Mia was OK with it at first, but then decided it was not for her.

Monthly Dinner

It was our turn to host the (mostly) monthly dinner. It wasn't that warm (though you wouldn't know that from Mia's refusal to wear a coat), but the kids did get to enjoy the sunshine in the back yard before eating.

Maddie's Birthday Party

Our next door neighbor Maddie had a Princesses and Knights 3rd birthday party. It was a morning party so we had a doughnut instead of birthday cake, played some games, read some stories, and then headed to the Chinquapin soft playroom.

I was most impressed with Maddie's mom's ability to get so many kids to sit down at the same time for princess stories.

CJ's First Steps

CJ has taken his first steps! I have no pictures or video, but I thought it worth a mention all the same. Hopefully, it won't be too long before we get some photographic evidence.

Taid's Birthday

We headed over to Nina and Taid's on a beautiful Saturday to celebrate Taid's birthday. We had a fantastic time playing in the yard and Mia especially appreciated getting to help blow out the candles.

(CJ found his favorite toy inside: the dog's water dish!)