July 20, 2014

I have started 3 different "catch up" posts over the past 9 months. For now I'm giving up on catching up and am aiming for this post about our week to actually make it past the draft stage!

I sure love these 3 kids!

Monday Sam had his swimming lesson which he LOVES (Mondays and Wednesdays). Seems like everything clicked and he was doing "big arms" and floating and swimming so much better! It's so fun watching your kids work at something and see their progress. His favorite part of the lesson is getting to practice diving at the end. Diving isn't allowed at our neighborhood pool.

Eliza trying to stay hydrated. It's SO hot and humid in that building!! She's a trooper.

Tuesday morning we pulled out at 6:45 to drive to Philadelphia. Caleb had a training for a few days so we decided to tag along! I wondered how fun it would really be with a 4 year old, 2 year old, and 6 week old, but it ended up being such a fun trip. The weather was so nice and our good friends from Wymount the Petersons are in Philly for the summer so it was great seeing them. We hung out at their apartment and pool on Tuesday, then I left Sam and Eliza with them for the evening while I went and picked up Caleb and we went on a date! Our first date in a while and it was so nice. Zoe slept the entire time so it was really like being with NO kids! We had a yummy meal at Pesto Ristorante.

Wednesday we started out at the Independence Visitors Center.

"I'll call you John Hancock. He wrote really big just like you!"

Seaman

We watched an interesting movie "Choosing sides" that shared the perspective of the quakers who didn't believe in war no matter what and who were loyal to the King of Britain. They were persecuted by those who were fighting for freedom. I'd never thought about that side of things before.

We walked out of the Visitors Center and over to a shaded bench. I picked up Zoe to nurse her and poop starting dripping out of her diaper! Right then Eliza says, "I need to go pee! I need to go pee!" The girl studying on the bench next to us had to have thought I was CRAZY! I hope she still has kids some day!! Thankfully I'd had the thought at the hotel that morning to switch out my mini pack of wipes for a bigger pack of wipes. Got Zoe cleaned up, helped Eliza pee in the bushes, nursed Zoe while the kids enjoyed playing in the dirt. Phew!

Having three kids is pretty funny sometimes. Caleb asked yesterday how things can turn bad so quickly. It's really true. Everything can be going just great and then all of a sudden things can go terribly wrong and everyone's screaming and in tears!

Katharine, Jane, and Spencer (Petersons) joined us for the rest of the day and we had such a great time with them! They really made our trip!

Eliza LOVED the carousel ride. She'll still randomly start crying that we didn't get to go on it again.

I love her no look wave :)

Thursday we walked to Au Bon Pain for breakfast, swam at our hotel (our first time staying in a 5 star hotel! Needless to say we felt a little out of place!!), had naps, drove to Fairmount Park, then picked up Caleb at the Navy yard and enjoyed walking along the river there. The ships are so big it's incredible. It's a really interesting place.  It's a huge old navy yard where the navy guys would live. The buildings haven't been used for over 30 years. They're finally developing the area so GSK relocated there are few years ago.  

Zoe is such a good, sweet little baby!! I have never enjoyed having a newborn so much. I really want her to stay little and would love to just hold and cuddle her all day! I think that's partly because she's so good and calm and partly because I feel like I know what I'm doing more, I have enough milk, and am just more at ease. With our other two I was tired from long nights and just more stressed out so I was more anxious for them to grow up!  Besides her blow out Zoe was perfect in Philadelphia and makes going out really easy usually. She's 7 weeks today!

Just chillin', lookin out the window