Sidewalk Chalk

Last night was beautiful - warm and not that humid. Aidan and Emmy got to go outside after dinner and ride bikes on our tiny driveway. It is their favorite thing to do and I can't wait to see how much fun they'll have at our house in England - it's on a cul-de-sac so they'll have tons of room to ride around. Aidan wanted to draw on the driveway so we got the sidewalk chalk out and had a blast. I had to trace everyone - including Emmy's baby doll and taggie - I guess they're part of the gang! The kids are doing OK without Brendan although they miss him - today was worse than yesterday as far as behavior goes but that could be due to lots of things!!

Sunday

2 days down!

1 Month

Aoife was 1 month on Thursday. The month has flown by and I can hardly believe that in another month we will be out of our house and on our way to England - via Massachusetts. Aoife is still an easy baby for the most part. She eats well and sleeps well at night - getting up twice but going right back to sleep after she eats. She is awake for longer periods during the day now which is fun for Aidan and Emmy since they really like to interact with her - well Emmy likes to "share" her things with Aoife and Aidan likes to talk to her. He tells her about Star Wars - I think he's trying to brainwash her already! She tolerates all the "love" well and seems to enjoy the attention - we'll see if that continues!
Brendan left this morning for a week in Japan and Korea. I really hope that the weather stays nice - at least until my parents get here on Tuesday to give me a hand!!

Vacation School

Aidan has been at "vacation school" all this week. It was at his preschool and the teachers got together and planned this for the kids for the time between school and Nature Camp. Each day they "visited" a different country, learned about the culture, did art projects and activities related to the country and had a snack from that country. It was pretty cool - Aidan has LOVED it! They visited Hawaii, Japan, Canada and Italy. Today they even stomped on grapes today when they were studying Italy - Aidan said it was cold but fun! Emmy, Aoife and I have been able to have a few relaxing mornings. Today we ran errands and Emmy practiced holding hands with me in the parking lot. She's been having trouble following directions - mostly my directions! She responds well to rewards so we walked around the little shopping center by our house and ended at the bakery where she got a cookie for being so good. I really think she understood - it feels good to finally get through to her!

Air and Space Museum

We went to the Air and Space museum out by Dulles airport today. It is a really great place to go with kids because there is tons of space to run around and the ceilings are really high so crying doesn't echo so badly!!! It's also inside - so it's really great for HOT Virginia days. Here are a few pictures - enjoy!Emmy was intrigued by the child-sized space suit:Aidan liked the vintage Star Wars toys:

Aoife at 3 1/2 weeks

Aoife is almost 4 weeks old! She is getting huge - I don't know how much she weighs but I would bet that she has gained almost 2 lbs in the past 2 weeks! She is sleeping well at night - getting up twice but going right back to sleep. You can't ask for much better than that!

Frying Pan Park

We all went to Frying Pan Park out in Herndon today. It was a gorgeous day - sunny and warm - we have to enjoy every minute before it decides to rain on us again!! Frying Pan Park is rn by Fairfax County and it is a farm that shows 1940's methods and "technology". The best part is that there are lots of animals and they all seemed to just have had babies. We saw sheep, cows, horses, pigs, ducks, chickens, turkeys and even a peacock! The kids loved it. I didn't get too many pictures of Aidan - he seems to be in an anti-picture phase - probably the result of having me as a mom! Emmy still indulges me - so here are a few pictures...
Looking at the cows:There are sheep just on the other side of this fence in the shadow - Emmy was enjoying patting them:Lots of baby pigs:In the pig barn - the least smelly one I have ever been in!

At the Park

We went to the playground tonight after dinner - just seeing if we could really exhaust the kids!! Emmy is so much more comfortable playing on the jungle gym than she was last summer - it's really fun to watch both of them! Aidan got a new bike today - he brought it to the playground so he could test it out in an area larger than our small driveway!

George Washington's Gristmill

I'm sure you all know that I love to take the kids out to see things and go to places where we can run and not disturb too many people with our craziness. The past few weeks since Aoife was born have been hard on all of us because I have made a big effort to take it easy and stay home. This has led to cabin fever and too much TV for all of us! Today was a gorgeous day and I decided to take the kids over to George Washington's Gristmill. It is part of Mt. Vernon but not on the same property as the mansion. We got there right when it opened and we were the only ones there. We had a private tour of the gristmill - the kids even got to see corn being ground and feel the cornmeal! We played in the grass and saw a family of geese - the babies were so big! Aoife was perfect and slept through the entire outing. After a snack we headed home so Aidan could go to school - it was a great morning!The Gristmill:Goose family:Aidan and Emmy in front of the Gristmill:
A snack is the best part!

Last Week of School

It's hard to believe that another school year is almost done. So much has happened this year and it seems to have flown by. Next year will bring even more changes but I can't think about that now and we are just focusing on the next 6 weeks that we have left here in DC.

Aidan and his teacher, Mrs. Lavergne:Aidan learned how to go all the way down the monkey bars:Emmy has decided that she likes the swing and can now use it without letting go and falling off!!

Class Party

We went to Aidan's end of the year party today. It was lots of fun - the kids had a great time and we got some adult time!! The weather got nicer as we were there and the kids ended up being able to go outside and play together - it was great!

Aoife at 2 Weeks

We went to Aoife's 2 week check up today. She is 8 lbs 6 oz and 21 1/2 inches long. She gained 11 oz in 7 days - pretty amazing!! Aidan and Emmy were both really good at the check up. We were there a long time because in addition to the regular check up Aoife had to get screened for developmental delay - just a routine screening before we go overseas. She is fine - just like we thought! Here are a couple of pictures I got today - hope you like them!

Can you tell the difference?

Can you believe how much Aoife and Emmy looked alike at this age? The first picture is from this weekend - Aidan is 4 1/2 and Aoife is 10 days. The second picture is Aidan and Emmy - Aidan is 2 1/2 and Emmy is 3 weeks. Let me tell you - Aidan is a lot happier this time around holding the baby. He hated holding Emmy but loves holding Aoife and asks all day long if he can hold her - so cute!

Happy Mother's Day

My parents came down for the weekend and my grandparents came over with them to visit us for a little while on Saturday and also on Mother's Day. It was so nice to have everyone together again and I was really happy that they all got to meet Aoife while she is still tiny. We had a really nice brunch at the house - I thought it would be much more relaxing for me to get together at our house instead of going out - I was right! Here is everyone sitting down to eat - Aidan started making faces and then Emmy started copying him - it was really cute!Grandma Page with Aoife:Pop with Aoife:

Being a Big Kid

Emmy wants to do everything that Aidan does. She rides his scooter and even tries to ride his bike. She only wants to ride the big one even though the little one is the perfect size for her. She can push the peddles a little bit but I'm sure that she'll be riding around by the end of the summer!