Marbles!

We've had a couple of opportunities lately to go to Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh. Here's some of the action...

Clara fishing


Jack driving the fire truck


Jack gardening


Jack plays at the post office


Shopping


Pausing from shopping for a little snack


Training for a job at the Kropper's (we won't tell her about the new management just yet ;) )




Jack eating a tomato


Following in his Uncle Jack's and Auntique's footsteps already!

Memorial Day Weekend Fun!

Things are running a little behind here thanks to our car being stolen the Thursday night before Memorial day weekend. We went outside on Friday morning, and it was just gone. The good news is that this past Friday night/ early Saturday morning, it was recovered in amazingly good condition. Last weekend, however, we were quite bummed, so Nay-nay and Pop-pop traveled down to cheer us up. The weather was gorgeous and is our custom these days, we spent a lot of time outside. We even broke out the backyard pool, though it was too almost chilly for it.

Saturday morning we had some relaxing time watching "Sound of Music".


Jack enjoyed the show from his own special seat. ;)


I went shopping with Nay-nay on Saturday who brought back these cute new shoes for. Here she is showing them off.




Sunday was pool day. As I said before it was a little chilly because there was a nice breeze. That didn't stop the kids from enjoying it.




Around the backyard, part 1


part 2


Poor little guy


Warming up post-swim


Clara climbs & slides


Proud at the top with Daddy


Monday we had another nice walk and stopped at the park. Jeekbo's first time on the motorcycle!


Getting to sit in the single stroller (since the double is gone, lost with the car :( )


After all the walking and play, both kids went down for a nap, during which time I went out shopping at garden stores with Pop-pop. Unfortunately both kids seemed to wake up on the wrong side of the bed. This is entitled, "Toughie Nap Wake-up"


Phew what a weekend!

Patriots Day and the Bouncy House

We had our own little Patriots day at our house last week. By Patriots day I do not mean the holiday celebrated in Massachusetts the Monday of the Boston Marathon; I mean Clara went into her closet and pulled out her Tom Brady jersey to wear to the park. She in fact selected her entire ensemble complete with purse. When this happened you better believe Jeekbo was then outfitted in his Teddy Bruschi jersey. We were sporting the love at our park. My only regret is not getting a picture of the kids together.





Game face


Push-ups!


Today we went over to Clara's friend Molly's for playgroup. Her house is always a favorite because of their bouncy house! The kids have a blast and today was no different. Even Jeekbo got a pretty good turn today. He seems much more stable and could handle it with the big girls going in & out.

Weekend Visitors

We had the pleasure of Gramby & Su-su's company this weekend (or Gram & Suess as Clara was calling them :) ).

Morning cuddle with Suess


King of the crab mountain






Roar!


He even managed to get down all by himself!


Snuggling with Daddy




Bubbles




Exhausted from waking at 5:26 am, Jack fell asleep on the short car trip to a nearby playground. Unfortunately this 15 min power nap was all he took the whole day, leading to meltdown central.


Tire swing fun with another little girl. Clara is very into meeting new friends at the park.


Awake and on the move with Gramby


After purchasing some smaller hair rubber bands in SoBoVa, Clara has been interested in trying new hair styles. I always push for the pigtails because they're my fav, but she often wants a ponytail like Mommy. :)

Over the River and Through the Woods...

to (Great-)grandmother's house we go!

Brec was away last week in Boulder so we packed up and headed South Boston to visit with Memo & Augs. I'm not sure their house will ever be the same, but we all had a really nice time.

We took a trip to the playground at the church where Nay-nay & Pop-pop were married. The kids are playing on a wooden turtle.






Taking a break from going up the stairs

Showing off her new hairdo!


Made up by Memo!


Walking with Memo on the level ground.


Clara plays with chimes


This video is kind of crazy but it actually captures the spirit of Jack's outside adventures at Memo's. Memo and I were trying to corral him on the even ground but every chance he got, he would head down the hill at break neck speed.

Year-end Stats

Things have finally quieted down at our house from the birthday celebrations of April. Last Tuesday we took the kids to the pediatrician for their 3-year & 12-month doctor's appointments. After my last experience I decided to bring in reinforcements in the form of Daddy. This helped tremendously. I couldn't have asked for better behavior from Clara. She did extremely well through the entire exam including new procedures such as having her blood pressure measured and an eye exam. Both children were proclaimed to be in excellent shape. Clara weighs in at 36 lbs up from 30 lbs a year ago and is 39 1/2" tall compared to 35 1/4" last year. (Pictured in her new birthday dress from Memo!)


Jack is 22 lbs, 5 oz and 31" up 2 lbs and 2 inches from 3 months ago. This recent growth makes Jack officially bigger than Clara was at a year old. Up until now he has trailed her, but between 9 to 12 months, Clara's weight gain significantly slowed whereas Jack's remained steady. This puts him about a pound larger and a half inch taller than she was at a year. It may be because she's the first child but in my mind, he still seems so much smaller than I remember her being at this age.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's day to all the mothers young & old out there.

We had a really nice day today. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. We spent a lot of time outside, on a walk and at the park.

Jeekbo's walking has exploded within the last 2 weeks. He's on 2 feet 95% of the time now. Here's a video from this morning's action


It was a mother's day miracle that I got Clara to wear the dress that I actually wanted her to wear so that the kids were in matching outfits. It was apparently too much to ask to get both kids to look at the camera.




This is a continuation of an old series "Christmas with Dad & Christmas with Mom". I call this "Mother's day with Dad & Mother's day with Mom". Luckily in our version of the series there is no clear winner like there was in the Carrig family one. ;)




Out of the stroller for a bit o' off-roading: Clara turns the soccer field into her very own dance floor. Pop-pop would be proud.


Here's Clara pointing out a basketball hoop across the street. Basketball hoops have become a bit of an obsession. She knows by heart where each and every one is on our typical walk, and it has become a daily ritual to ask me if I can reach each and every one. She consoles me when I tell her that I can't because I can't jump that high and is ecstatic when there is one that is low enough so that I might reach it.


Relaxing in the stroller.