Charlie's First Race

Charlie ran his first running race this past weekend and Carlos ran his first 10k.  We all cheered Carlos on and after he passed by Charlie said "I think he going to win."  Not quite.  Charlie ran the fun run around Stanton Park and I was cautious about my words of advice for him.  My father's advice for my first race was "go out strong" which led me to sprint, run out of energy and then come in last place which scarred me for life (or at least a long time).  So I told Charlie to run the whole way and not to stop.  He ran the whole way and couldn't have been prouder of himself.  I clearly was very proud of him too given my screeching on the video below....

Here we are waiting to cheer on Carlos...

Charlie getting ready for his big race!

Charlie almost at the finish line!

I worry about how shy Charlie is and how he won't participate much in group situations.  For instance he loves to go to Soccer on the Hill but won't do anything the coach says!  He just likes to play on the sidelines with me/Carlos.  Last Friday we went to Yards Park for the concert and he would barely talk to his friends.  Diego doesn't seem shy and will often interogate kids with his grunting speech.  Diego is still my angel, but he is definitely learning how to fight back and defend himself.  In fact he is way rougher with Charlie than Charlie is with him!  If Charlie tries to take Diego's toy (which he often does) Diego will push, scream and grab Charlie's hair all at once.  That said, Diego also appears to adore his brother.  We've had to adjust Diego's schedule because he will no longer go to sleep without Charlie in the room.  And Charlie admitted to wanting Diego to stay in his room.  I think this is going to be a long love-hate relationship.

Mother's Day!

Despite the fact that I hate driving I put in 11 hours of car time this weekend.  I can't blame anyone but myself for the terrible planning.  I had signed up for my first triathlon in Annapolis the same weekend as my 5 year Wharton reunion in Philadelphia and I can't stand trade-offs so I tried to fit it all in.  Things started to go awry from the start when it took me 5 hours to get to philly!  I got back to DC at 2am and was up again at 5am to go to Annapolis.  I've done countless running races but was totally unprepared for how involved and complicated a triathlon is.  Apparently I was also totally unprepared for swimming in open water too!  My swimming performance was pathetic.  I couldn't get my wetsuit off which added to the comic performance.  But I survived, made it home and then we quickly left for Philly again.

All my brothers descended on Philly as well for mother's day and for big Charlie's birthday.  It was so fun to have everyone there.  As always, the kids loved being at my mom's house with a big yard and lots of toys.  They made a mud pit, dug in the garden, climbed trees and found rocks - or 'treasures' as they said - to paint.  And of course we feasted!  Another activity was haircutting by consensus which is painful - especially when it includes my brother Nathan.  We finally decided to part with Diego's long locks -- unfortunately I was so emotional about watching his hair getting cut that the result was a butchered half-cut.  At least it is out of his eyes and Sandra won't be putting barrettes in his hair anymore. 

 

Charlie was so tired from playing so hard that by the end of Sunday he actually asked us to pack the car and put him in so that he could rest.  We hadn't gone a block before Charlie had passed out.

Poconos

  

I went to the Poconos for the first time in my life this weekend.  It feels like a giant camp stuck back in the 1980s - frozen in the era of Dirty Dancing.  Literally frozen - hotels with tables set have been abandoned.  I actually think the boys would love it in a few years - zip lines, obstacles courses, tiny ski mountains.  The house where I stayed for the girls weekend/bachelorette party was huge with a beautiful view.  The boys and Carlos stayed in Philly for Friday/Saturday and then we converged on New York for Eli's birthday. 

Grandma brought face paint and, in a classic grandma move, she turned the activity on its head and the kids painted our faces.  Charlie was so focused and had a steady hand as he made this masterpiece tiger on my face.

  

As usual I was late to the birthday party and missed the fun soccer activity but we did stay at the park for some post-party frisbee and soccer.  Charlie had so much fun getting chased by uncle Seth and wouldn't give him a break.  We all piled back in Na and Soogy's apartment and the kids were completely content playing with the new toys.  And then of course we had to play hide-and-go-seek in which Eli, Wallis and Charlie would all hide together somewhere in a two bedroom apartment.  It wasn't that hard to find them especially when the announced where they were going to hide and then giggled while they hid. 

 

Charlie has been continuing his night wandering and comes into our room saying "I want to sleep in a different bed."  I told him to go to the guest bedroom, but apparently that is not the 'different' bed he is looking for.  Diego woke up at 6:30 this morning and I was not ready to get up so I climbed into the crib with him and cuddled up until 7:30 when Charlie got up.  Diego didn't go back to sleep but he was very gracious in snuggling up with me for an hour.  I suppose someday we'll sleep....