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.... 



Weekend Away!

This past weekend was our first full weekend away from the boys since they were born!  I slept until 10am on Saturday and it was the best feeling ever.  We left Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon for a wedding in St. Michael's.  We planned to leave at 3:15pm, but - not surprisingly - that didn't exactly happen.  Two crying boys, one mustang and a truck later we left town around 6pm.  It was a simple enough plan: we'd pack the car, stop by to say bye to Charlie after school and then get on the road.  What really happened was that we stopped by Charlie's school and Charlie went ballistic.  He screamed and cried and pleaded with us not to go.  First he begged that we go another day and requested that I call the taxi to tell them not to come.  I pretended to call the taxi and when I "hung-up" he said to call the taxi for real.  His next negotiation tactic was to tell me to just send Carlos instead and of both of us.  30 minutes later poor Sandra had two upset boys on her hands and we were late.  We then decided that the truck would be such a gas-guzzler that it might be worth testing out Carlos' beloved mustang.  We stopped by the mechanic and 45 minutes later this is what our trip looked like - Carlos putting gas in a jug to start the mustang.  After 3 years of mustang parts arriving at our house we thought this would be a good maiden voyage for the car.  I thought it was a good opportunity for me to give the mustang a chance. 

We packed it full of our stuff, dropped the truck back at the house and started off.  As soon as I sat in the car my disdain didn't dissolve and all I could think was that this was a piece of sh*t.  We got as far as 295 when we decided there was a good chance that the mustang would break down on the bay bridge so we turned around and went back for the truck.  I can't describe how frustrating it is to spend 3 hours driving somewhere and not even get past the beltway!! 

Other than a bumpy start we had a wonderful weekend -  it was a beautiful wedding with wonderful people.  The rain held off all day Saturday and the sun even peaked out momentarily just as they started their vows.  I never used to cry at weddings, but when the couple spoke at the reception tears almost exploded out of my eyes.  I'm not sure if it is motherhood or age that's making me such a softy. 







 

This Inn had a secret bookshelf door which Carlos and I agreed needs to be in house #3

Meanwhile Charlie and Diego seemed to have fun with Sandra and her family.  Sunday afternoon we all went to Liam's birthday party where there was a moonbounce.  Diego hung out by the hot dogs and Charlie refused to exit the moonbounce.  After 2+ hours of nonstop bouncing he was so exhausted he actually fell asleep while I read him books at bedtime.  That was a first

Rainy Day





At the pool after a rainy day swim



 I've taken to calling Diego my Christmas Morning.  There is something about him in the morning that reminds me of the sweet anticipation of Christmas day.  He doesn't cry when he wakes up - he just lies there and says "mama, mama, mama, mama...."  and is totally delighted to see me come in to pick him up.  Unfortunately my 'christmas present' usually entails a very dirty and stinky diaper.  Despite his sweetness Diego appears to be even more stubborn than Charlie.  He won't let me feed him; he can't stand it when I say no to him and when I do he shakes his head back and forth and says "no, no, no, no, no!" 

Charlie is becoming such a big boy and slightly more reasonable. He 'washes' his own hair which is hysterical.  He fills a cup with water and throws it over his head - usually completely missing his hair.  He has finally taken to riding a bike over a tricycle.  I have no idea why it took so long, but now he can't get enough of his bike.  And we decided to cut his hair short for the summer and to get it out of his eyes.  





Last weekend we went to the Cherry Blossom Parade. Diego wasn't very interested, but Charlie was enthralled.  He stood on the wall for over an hour while Diego played in the grass. 

 

This weekend we had planned to go camping but as weather wimps the rain changed our mind.  Instead we did our occasional visit to an area hotel to sneak into their pool to go swimming.  My water baby Diego almost fell asleep in my arms in the pool because he was so relaxed.  Charlie wore goggles but refused to put his head under the water.  We did make up for the lack of camping by starting a fire and making s'mores.  We let Charlie have a chocolate-less s'more and the whole activity was funny.  He loved the idea of roasting the marshmallow but then was annoyed that it got squishy and messy.  He went to wash off the mess and then came out of the bathroom crying because he had tried to clean the s'more and was devastated to find it get soggy instead of clean.  After numerous failed attempts we did a flash roast just for show and then put the tepid marshmallow on a graham cracker which seems like a pretty sad s'more but he couldn't have been happier. 



Brett and Charlie at Yard's Park - the fountains are open and concerts start in May! 

Easter

We had such a fun Easter. Charlie went to 3 easter egg hunts - resulting in the fact he seems to still be finding unopened plastic eggs around the house. The first easter egg hunt was at Lincoln Park where they roped off part of the park and threw thousands of plastic eggs onto the grass. "Hunt" was absolutely the wrong word - more like derby. Hundreds of kids lined up around the rope then rushed the area when the count down ended. Despite having thousands of eggs the hunt last MAYBE 2 minutes. We went to Philadelphia to see my mom and had a neighborhood hunt and then a spectaculate easter egg hunt in her backyard. The kids had so much fun searching all around the yard and then playing the whole day outside. It definitely made us sad not to have more of a yard -- or even a finished yard for that matter. The cousins played so hard together. Here they are...

Easter week started with a comedy of errors that seemed straight out of the Genny and Carlos Capitol Construction play book. It entailed numerous unsuccessful attempts to install a chandelier we bought at a local auction. After what seemed like an interminable car ride home in which Carlos complained the whole way about how heavy and uncomfortable it was on his lap we carefully hoisted it up by means of a levered rope. After much anticipation Carlos turned to me and said "I'm missing a part. I'm going to Frager's - stay here and don't move." 25 long minutes later he arrived and we enlisted everyone in the house to help hold the chandelier in place. We had one ladder and Charlie's toy box on top of two chairs which served as a second ladder. After much sweat, shaking shoulder muscles, near tears and a few broken pieces Carlos announced that he was missing a piece and had to go back to Frager's. I sat holding the chandelier for another long 25 minutes until Carlos returned with a mountiain climbing hook. 3 hours later our chandelier was mounted using climbing hooks. But don't ask about whether it's working yet...