Friiiiday

Just Friday! Nora's last day of spring break, and while she was busy setting up lessons and overseeing Lincoln's progress on them Otto was making dishwasher loading and unloading a challenge in a way that only he can! This afternoon we were all a little stir crazy and the shelves in the pantry and fridge were looking bare so we first headed to the dollar store for some Easter stuff and some supplies for my "teaching cupboard" then we went to the grocery store. Back to back trips are always risky, but they did well and we made it home in time for dinner. Tonight I went through all the sensory play stuff and sorted out the activities in the "teaching cupboard" purging here and there and putting the new things away. I also set up some new bins for the weekend fingers crossed they buy us a little time here and there to get some stuff done!

It's the Climb

Yesterday while Nora was coming up with things to do that didn't fit in the day's schedule I mentioned the idea of a playground picnic for today. I regretted saying it out loud immediately. As expected she grasped on to the idea and WOULD NOT let it go...no matter that it was in the 40's this morning and we have bare shelves and not much in the way of food around right now. My attempts to get to the grocery store first were thwarted in some type of team effort and I barely managed to hold Nora off until lunch time. I finally gave in to her unrelenting requests when she packed a picnic for all of us. I very crankily gathered the rest of the stuff and loaded us up to go to the "climbing park". As is always the case, Nora was right, we had a lovely picnic and spent almost 2 hours playing happily at the park. There was plenty of climbing, Lincoln bravely scaling the big rock and Nora finally bravely jumping off of it. She even convinced me to jump so she could take a picture. I look pretty awesome. Anyway, frustration returned when it came time for swimming, then while watching swimming (kids really have zero business wearing goggles!) and I lost a little more of my sanity on the drive home. Thankfully Kyle wasn't far behind us getting home, because I was pretty done with today and Nora's rightness about everything. She can't just cut me a break! Oh well. The weekend is almost here!!

Books and a Baby

First thing this morning we got word that the newest baby Majewski was delivered healthy in Hilton Head! While we waited for Hank to meet his new sibling to hear more we headed to the library for our Wednesday date with story time. Nora just kind of hung out and watched while Lincoln was more animated today than he has been the last couple times. He's getting comfortable - look out! Much to his excitement, his favorite doppleganger Mr. John (who really does look a lot like our neighbor) visited to play his trumpet again. After we went to the reading area and at one point Mr. John popped in. Lincoln was STAR STRUCK! After we got home and had some lunch...

We got to meet baby Miles!!! Hank has a baby brother and Tim & Meg have 2 boys! We're super excited for them and I cannot wait to check out all of his brand new chunky-ness!! Yay for more kiddos!

Big Rain Comin'

There had been talk for the last couple days that things could get a little bumpy weather-wise this afternoon. Knowing it would be rainy I took advantage of Otto's nap and a busy Nora and Lincoln and I mowed the front yard. Then thankfully Otto was up for crawling around outside while Nora & Lincoln played with and around him. I was able to get the back mowed and the patio blown off too. YAY! And, turns out the weather people, well, they weren't wrong! As the afternoon wore on I made sure we had the weather on so we'd be in the know and when the red, pink & black (yeah, black) blob started marching towards us we started paying attention and making a plan. So...what do you do with 3 littles when they announce a tornado warning?

You're lookin' at it! Nora made sure everyone had a bike helmet, just in case and we gathered some pillows and got comfy in the hallway. Turns out the worst didn't hit us...just a lot of rain, not much wind and no hail. After an hour of rainy weather and a lot of lightening and thunder it was back to normal. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful with the sun even peaking out at the end.

Back In the Air

I love this! Lincoln has become quite the independent little traveler! As is with most things, he tends to do it at his pace and likes to at least attempt everything on his own first but he's got the hang of it! From taking his suitcase to the departures counter, to handing his ticket over to TSA and telling them his name when asked, standing up on the tram to boarding the plane and for the most part staying in his seat...he's a 2 year old travel pro! I mean, when he's tired there's a bit of a processing lag and he's not nearly as reliable but I'm not complaining...he's ahead of the game! Our flight back went really well - better than I expected actually. We left Cleveland after lunch and headed back to Columbus. Kyle had Nora & Lincoln in his row and I was right across the aisle with Otto. The plane wasn't full, which was a really nice surprise!

Of course after chugging tons of water both kids needed a bathroom break but thanks to a super tired still a little under the weather snoozing Otto in my arms, I was off the hook. All and all the flight was great, Otto seems to be feeling a lot better, we made a quick stop at the grocery store to get our week started and with that, it's back to reality...well kind of. Nora has spring break this week - should make things interesting!

Double Digits!!

Ahhh! He's almost one!! Otto is all over the place. He loves to laugh and watch his brother, sister and puppy brother and I'm 100% certain he's taking notes! This month we started using some formula here and there to try and stretch his milk stash for a bit longer. Now that he's crawling for real he's taken more to being outside and moving around in the grass. While I can't think of a specific toy that he likes he does love to climb, jump and has started doing a lot of dance bouncing when music is on. He's become quite the chatter box, holding pseudo conversations and providing input on various topics throughout the day. Oh, and he's pretty much still a roomba, but getting better about spitting out whatever random thing he has in his mouth. He's super patient when his siblings "love" on him and Cort is equally patient when Otto pulls his ears, face, crawls on him. This month he got his two top teeth and likes to test them out when he has the opportunity. He's still not walking but is a pro at getting around using any available vertical surface. I'm sure one of these night's he'll start sleeping all night...right? Welcome to double digits kiddo!! Every day is a crazy adventure!

Shamrockin'

It feels like he's been around longer, but today was Otto's first St. Patrick's Day! Amazingly the kiddos were up an at 'em this morning and ready to party. We eventually got everyone put together, Otto took a good nap and then we were off! The kids had a blast dancing until they couldn't dance anymore and Lincoln ended up snuggled into the pouch on Kyle's back at the bar and Otto was done. After a tasty corned beef, potato and carrot dinner I went out to hunt and gather milk shakes for the masses and upon returning discovered that in true travel fashion, Otto has a fever. When Otto isn't feeling well, none of us feel well...it's going to be a long night!