September highlights: Idlewild, back to school, birthday festivities, Elizabeth's first pigtails, fall fest
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1) Idlewild. the weekend before school started, Nick had an extremely rare free Saturday (most of the time he's playing for weddings, funerals, or a combination of the above). we seized the opportunity to go to our favourite amusement park for the younger set. this time, Elizabeth was all about the rides, and I certainly enjoyed being able to go on the coasters again after our last few visits when I was pregnant! Victoria did great the whole day. and I was absolutely thrilled to break in the new Bob stroller: it's a dream to push and has so many handy compartments and pockets, not to mention the oversize canopies that helped keep the babies shaded all day long!
best ride in town
Nick demonstrating to Greta how a fanny pack SHOULD be worn. she did not agree.
Elizabeth LOVED the teacups and rode two or three times! the first time I didn't spin the cup much at all in case it scared her, but it quickly became clear that she was all in!
Daddy had to take a turn. our late 30s vestibular systems are not what they used to be.
big sister & little sister, be still my heart
ready to hit up the water park
2) Back to school. the school year officially kicked off with a special Sunday mass. after participating in a week-long chant camp in August, Greta was able to join the Schola choir (for 4th-8th graders) and their music was such a beautiful gift. one of the main reasons we love our school so much is the incredible music program here. the caliber of the music, and the reverence of the liturgy, is superior to some of our local parishes, let alone other elementary school masses! the first video is their motet, A new commandment ("by this love a man will know that you are my disciples"). the second is the recessional hymn (several of the choristers had left to stand at the doors collecting donations towards the 6th-8th grade choir's trip to Rome this December).
the first day of school went off without a hitch. we made quite the parade walking down the hill from our house to the bus stop with the babies in the stroller (hooray again for the Bob!). the girls ride a mini bus with about 10 other neighborhood kids who all attend our elementary school, and boy am I glad we don't have to drive them back and forth every day as we did when Cece was in preschool and not permitted to ride the bus (driving is 20-25 minutes one way depending on traffic; not terrible in itself, but that time really adds up when you're making two round trips a day).
the toothless wonder :)
just out of the frame is our crossing guard, Bob, a retiree who knows all the kids' names but also the names of all the dogs who come past on their morning walks!
they didn't know what to make of the morning expedition; I just plucked them out of their respective beds and into the stroller to make it down the hill by the 7:30 AM pickup time
3) Happy 38th Birthday to me! my Grandma Jo used to say that her favourite age to be was always the age she was right then, and I'm inclined to agree with her. I feel like the mid-30s to mid-40s are a sweet spot where you hopefully have some stability and clarity in your life, while still (hopefully) enjoying good health and a reasonable amount of energy. on my birthday itself, Nick watched the baby while I splurged on a long overdue haircut and highlights, and then that evening we went out to dinner at the Capital Grille -- the very first time I've been to a proper steakhouse! the next night, Nick stayed home with all four girls while I went out for dinner, drinks, and adult mini-golf with Blair and Amy. and then there were thoughtful cards, gifts, and well wishes from other family and friends. I am truly blessed!
I don't have the skill, time, patience or tools to ever make it look like this again myself, so a post-salon selfie is essential! (also taking advantage of the surprisingly excellent light outside the parking garage!)
a beautiful arrangement and sweet words from my mama!
I had to borrow a hair clip from Greta to tame my hair on the ride into downtown... a full circle moment for sure
bacon, bourbon, and my brilliant husband
my phone camera didn't know how to function in the dim restaurant lighting... but that porcini-rubbed steak was unbelievable.
scrumptious desserts on the house! (the waiter also sprinkled birthday confetti on the table after learning it was my birthday: a fun touch given that it didn't involve confetti on MY table at home)
first time checking out the Pennsylvania Market, a European-concept hall with multiple food stands, a wine cellar and traditional bar
love these girls! (the charcuterie plate was delicious but we were expecting some bread or crackers to come with it. I guess we'll know for next time)
ordering via phone at Aslin Beer Company, which feels weird when you're inside sitting at a table, but both beers were absolutely delicious and the How Now Brown Cow is officially my new favourite pumpkin brew!
super fun mini-golf at Puttshack!
4) Elizabeth's first pigtails. a line item in and of themselves. she is at such a hilarious age and makes us laugh dozens of times a day with her shenanigans, including lip syncing to a nonsense song that Greta sings, running up to us and turning around to present her rear end and asking "check?" to have us check her diaper, snorting like a pig if she sees a picture of one, and asking us to undo the "guckle" (buckle) on anything and everything with a buckle so that she can re-buckle it.
(that spot on her shorts is water!)
5) Fall Fest. this was the first time we actually made it down to the local park for our town's fall festival! they did a nice job, with lots of free activities for the kids (pumpkin painting, balloon animals, face painting, touch a truck, etc). I did feel for the sweet woman painting the kids' faces -- she was kneeling the whole time on a mat on the ground, and I'm sure her legs must have been aching. but she did an absolutely beautiful job with the face paint!
I asked her to give me a "fierce face"
we had to dash right from the festival over to Cece's soccer game. it was an unseasonably warm day with no shade on the turf field, but Greta quickly made the best of the situation. and Cece's team won!
the babies were a little antsy during this game so I have no pictures of Cece actually playing that day. here's some from her first game of the season (a much colder day!).
Thanks so much for your kind words, Elisabeth! The haircut was a lot of fun, although after spending 3 hours in the salon chair (and paying the bill + tip!), I was reminded why it's a very rare occurrence ;)
I just had to look up the details for the chair as it was a Mother's Day gift years ago. One of my favourite things about it is that the cover/strap are all one piece with the chair so you can easily buckle it shut and carry it; you don't have to stuff it back into a separate sack. https://www.amazon.com/Kelsyus-Original-Canopy-Chair-Red/dp/B016MOIIM4
Oh my gosh. This post is chock full of so much sweetness. Your girls are beautiful. Victoria looks like a Gerber baby. Those faces! I am in total agreement that the older I get the harder it is to manage those motion rides. Ah, to be young. Toddlers are a hoot and those pigtails are super cute on her. Happy belated birthday. It sounds like you had an ideal celebration set up. Time with the girls and time with your husband, and of course your girls. I had to laugh at the photo of ALL.THE.DOLLS. We are a boy heavy household and we had some dolls, but nothing like that collection.
it's about time for a good old airing of the grievances. while we have ever so much for which to give thanks, sometimes we need the catharsis of enumerating our woes, big and small. (you can read the 2023 edition here.) _________________________________________ first up, potty training. I buckled down and trained Greta and Cecilia both around age 2 1/2, and it went fairly well (I'm a big fan of waiting until the kid is practically ready to train themselves). Elizabeth turned 2 1/2 near the end of the school year, and logically it seemed like a great time to buckle down -- we wouldn't be driving around to after school sports and activities and we'd have more time at home. I kept waiting for the day when I'd wake up full of excitement and motivation to strip off the diaper and chase a naked toddler around the house. and ... shockingly ... that day never came. then we were preparing for our trip to Seattle in July and it definitely didn't seem like the right time...
1) Zoo. we picked a scorcher of a day to go to the zoo with friends! I can't actually remember if we went to the zoo at all last year (when Victoria was a newborn). in any case, Elizabeth was definitely far more interested in pointing out the animals than she had been the last time. striking their best explorer pose Greta is as tall as an adult female black rhino! she was obsessed with the anteater our friends headed home and we decided to circle back to see a few animals we'd missed the first time around. we ended up getting caught in torrential downpours and had to seek shelter by the cheetah enclosure for a while. but I'm glad we came back because we got to see the funniest shenanigans between the baby gorilla and his dad playing chase! another good place to wait out the rain -- hanging out with the sea lions. 2) Around home. Victoria and Elizabeth are having so much fun playing together (well, at some point it devolves into fighting and scratching, but still! they...
sitting outside the new independent coffee shop that opened in the neighborhood this summer as a physician assistant with an undergraduate minor in psychology, I've always been fascinated by the connection between the mind and the body. that interest serves me well in my chosen specialty of primary care/internal medicine, as mental health comes to bear so frequently on physical, or somatic, complaints like fatigue, upset stomach, and dizziness. in any given day, I'll typically have one or two appointments that are scheduled specifically so someone can address their anxiety or depression, and it often comes up as a subject of conversation during routine physicals. I have probably recommended therapy to my patients literally thousands of times, whether it's to deal with an isolated situational stress or grief, or more pervasive issues like OCD, chronic insomnia, bipolar disorder, depression, or borderline personality disorder. when we're discussing starting antidepressant...
Awww. What a delightful post to read. So many thoughts.
ReplyDeleteYour haircut is gorgeous (because, obviously, YOU are gorgeous). It looks amazing. Love the pigtails; such a fun stage with little girls.
Happy Birthday, yay for fun evenings out. Love school music programs. That chair with the awning is amazing!!! I need a link to that one!
Thanks so much for your kind words, Elisabeth! The haircut was a lot of fun, although after spending 3 hours in the salon chair (and paying the bill + tip!), I was reminded why it's a very rare occurrence ;)
DeleteI just had to look up the details for the chair as it was a Mother's Day gift years ago. One of my favourite things about it is that the cover/strap are all one piece with the chair so you can easily buckle it shut and carry it; you don't have to stuff it back into a separate sack. https://www.amazon.com/Kelsyus-Original-Canopy-Chair-Red/dp/B016MOIIM4
Oh my gosh. This post is chock full of so much sweetness. Your girls are beautiful. Victoria looks like a Gerber baby. Those faces! I am in total agreement that the older I get the harder it is to manage those motion rides. Ah, to be young. Toddlers are a hoot and those pigtails are super cute on her. Happy belated birthday. It sounds like you had an ideal celebration set up. Time with the girls and time with your husband, and of course your girls. I had to laugh at the photo of ALL.THE.DOLLS. We are a boy heavy household and we had some dolls, but nothing like that collection.
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