B-Roll

We were in New York last weekend for my brother's surprise birthday.  As a birthday present we made a film for and about him - so I had the kids do some reenactments of our childhood.  I found a rapunzel wig at Target (apparently the only wig sold during non-halloween times) and put it on Diego.  He called it his "wiggle" and a "pony hair thing" and was okay to wear it, but wasn't the best actor.  Here are a few of the B-roll clips.  I was trying to get Diego to refuse to hold Charlie's hand to cross the street.  Also note that Diego is wearing Charlie's shoes so he looks even more comical...

The kids had so much fun playing with the cousins while in New York.  That said the experiment of letting them stay up late and then closing the door to let all four kids sleep on the top bunk was a resounding failure.  Somewhere around 10:30 they all climbed up to the top bunk and were giggling.  We told them to go to sleep and closed the door.  5 minutes later we opened the door and all four were in tears.  Everyone descended and dispersed to various beds.  

We've been enjoying pool time.  Especially with Charlie's friend Cici who has a membership at a fun pool.  It has a slide, a kids pool and diving boards.  This weekend Charlie was adamant that he wanted to go off the high dive!  We were way too scared for him to let him do that...

Sofie is super sweet although she still only cat naps. It's crazy!  I'm hoping that once Charlie and Diego start school we can focus more on her schedule (now she is beholden to everyone else's schedule).  At night she sleeps pretty well but I have to be proactive about getting her to bed by 7pm.  If I even wait until 7:02 she becomes inconsolable and screams like crazy.  She is reaching for things and doing crunches but no rolling over yet thank goodness....

Summer Fun

We've had a fun start to the summer. We've been really enjoying warm summer evenings and hanging out in the neighborhood.  Tia Veronika came for a visit this weekend and the boys were so excited to see her.  For 4th of July we went to the neighborhood parade, then went to the baseball game (and happened upon some amazing seats!), then on to a cookout and fireworks.  The parade lacked a lot in terms of costumes and floats, but they made up with it in candy!  it was like Halloween - crazy.  We tried to convince the kids to exchange their candy for a ticket to the Nationals - it was a tough sell, but definitely worth it because it was a great game.

This year was the first year we all got to see the fireworks and we loved it!  The park near our house has a great view without the crowds.  We ran into a bunch of Brent folks there and the kids all jumped in the fountain together.  It was a very summer sight - kids on a warm evening watching firework and playing in the fountain in their clothes (though I'm pretty sure it is the fountain that the dogs jump in so I was grimacing a bit rather than just enjoying the romanticized image of frolicking youth).

Over the weekend we went to see Lisa and Toby in Chestertown and the kids had SO much fun.  Toby took them out on his boat to check the crab traps and went fishing.  Sofie and I stayed shore-side because she couldn't fit into a life jacket.

 Sofie is still super sweet.  She smiles a lot and almost laughs. She still loves to be held, but tolerates sitting in the middle of the action.  The boys adore her, but Diego in particular worries me with how he fondles her.  Sometimes it almost seems like he is trying to hurt her and other times he doesn't realize what he is doing - like when he tried to lean on her stomach to help himself sit upright.  She is grabbing for things -- though not very precisely...Unlike the boys she can't stand the pacifier and loves to nurse.  I'm very happy about that as I want to keep her my little baby as long as possible.  She sleeps okay during the night, but mainly catnaps during the day.

It has been tough to balance attention for all three kids and I don't know when/if it'll get easier.  The boys fight a lot, but miss each other a lot when apart.  Diego in particular has been having a tough time and I assume it has to do with being almost three and being in the middle.  He has taken to sitting in Sofie's bouncey chair...I'm hoping school will help with this. I don't think any one is getting enough of my time - including me!