Caden turns 3!

We had so much fun celebrating Caden's 3rd birthday. He was old enough to get excited about cake and presents, and have opinions about his party, but in such a sweet and appreciative way. This year he wanted a Thomas party with a firetruck cake - it was low key and very nice. Just our family and 3 friends.
Caden, words don't express how thankful we are for you! I love your cuddles, your energy, the way you run laps around our house, and share my cereal with me. I love your spontaneous kisses when I'm getting you dressed, the way you run to greet me and wrap your legs around me when I pick you up at church or return from running errands, and I love the way you enjoy life, especially when it comes to playing with your brothers. You are an incredibly sweet, fun, and exhuberant little man. We love you!! Here are a few more pics of the celebration:

The day started by talking to Grandma Kathy on the phone and finding out that she had hidden a birthday present in "her" room (our guest room) for him to find.

He was SO pleased with this!!

Then we headed into Bethesda for some Georgetown cupcakes.

We met up with the Johnson clan - their daughter Rowan was born just 3 days before Caden.

After naps, helping mom clean the beater and spatula from his cake batter.

One last cupcake after dinner - I love the way Andrew is belting out "happy birthday" :).

Will taking in the birthday action.

Ready for presents!

Dave brought these crazy (and quite amazing) guns back from the beach - they were a hit. We were so glad he was able to get back from the staff retreat in time to celebrate.

With his new guitar (we upgraded from the "2 string", which he plays all the time) - he really does love it ;).

Party time - the firetruck cake. As I was putting him to bed the night I decorated this, I told him that I needed him to go right to sleep so I could go downstairs and make his cake (thought that might give him insentive not to call for me). His response - "mom, you're going to do a great job". So precious...and hilarious.

Grazing, before pizza.

Bday boy was a little t00 excited to eat much - some fruit, pita chips/hummus and he was set.

Tia feeding Will. We were SO excited she was able to come!!

Bouncy house action out back. We're set for bday entertainment for years to come!

Excited for cake!

I love this picture of Kaleigh :).

Grandma Dee Dee and Will

Present time!

Grandpa Jerry and Will.

Andrew loves his Tia.

Opening fun presents! Caden was very sweet about accepting some extra help :).

Eastern Shore

One of my favorite places to be during a DC summer is the Eastern shore of Maryland. I love crossing the bay bridge, I love the way the trees change, I love seeing sailboats and old docks, and driving through farm country and small charming towns.
As crazy as it may seem, we've made two treks over the bridge during the last 5 days. On Saturday we ventured past the Eastern Shore to Rehobeth Beach, DE for a day trip with YCF. We spent 7.5 hours in the car (it took 5 hours to get there - crazy traffic), to have 6 hours of boardwalk/beach fun. And then yesterday (Tuesday) we joined Dave's college staff for an evening at Bob Lewis' house in St. Michael's. Another 5 or so hours in the car (total, both ways) for a super fun evening in a charming small town (yummy pizza, delicious ice cream), and a beautiful, hot morning boat ride. Nutty we may be, but it WAS worth it. We all had fun! The pictures don't seem to capture everything, but we were a bit busy ;).

I've never seen Rehobeth beach so packed - it was CRAZY.

Andrew and Caden were SO exited.

Cruisin the boardwalk in style.

Funland! The boys were overwhelmed by the noise of this place when we visited two years ago, so it was fun to watch them enjoy it so much this year. Caden road these boats several times.

Andrew on the firetrucks. He wanted to do every ride, and I was so happy to see him unafraid - we did as many as we had time for (4, I think).

Happy Caden.

Ending the day at Nicola's pizza - YUM.

A very tired pizza face.

Andrew with some of our ycf friends.

More of the super fun YCF crew.

And then came St. Michael's. We didn't have our camera with us for dinner and ice cream, but we did get a few shots of the boat ride.

Caden taking in the waves.

Andrew with "crazy Dave", one of the college staff, and his favorite buddy for the day.

Will and Karen - we love her.

Captain Andrew with "Uncle" Lewis. We've always called him Mr. Lewis, but for some reason, Andrew thinks of him as Uncle. Such a nice man, and we were so grateful for his hospitality.

Mom and Will :0.

Courtney, college staff extraordinaire #3, playing with the infamous fire station with Caden.

Mixed Musings

Lots to catch up on, not much time ;). As I write this post, I'm sitting outside Andrew's door listening to him scream - he's been giving us a run these past few weeks. Current battle: he needs to be quiet in order to get his stuffed animals back, he seems to think he can't be quiet without them. These moments are hard. Teaching him to listen, to obey, to do so with the right heart is so hard. We need patience, we need grace - for ourselves, for our boys. I write this down because I wonder how much I'll remember of these moments years down the road? I hope and pray that I'll at least see the fruit of it.
So what else. We lost power for several days after a fierce thunderstorm blew through here last Sunday. As much as it was an inconvenience with 3 kids, there were some positives: an opportunity to deep clean the fridge and freezer (makes me very happy), fun time at the pool with cousins (so bummed I forgot the camera), opportunities to love our neighbors, sweet offers from friends, "camping" at home - there was a surprisingly coolish breeze both nights, so I loooved having the windows open. My favorite moment was feeding Will late at night with the big windows in his small room - it felt like I was sitting in a screened in porch listening to the crickets (natures sound machine for the night).
Here's a bit more in pictures.

We've enjoyed a weekly half share of a local CSA some friends have started here. Baby Will has gotten in on the action too - on this plate are some zucchini and squash, which he loved.

We finally moved Caden to a big boy bed. He slept down in the basement in this bed during the power outage, so it was an easy time to make the transition. He's more bold with venturing out of bed than his brother ever was, so it's been a bit more work. After taking no nap the first
few days, he's now had 2 days of successful napping - yay.

We were so excited to have a day with the Hopkins family, who were visiting from MN. They adopted a precious little girl (Valerie!) from China just 2 months ago, so we were BEYOND excited to meet her.

Our boys had sooo much fun with Freddie! Sitting still enough to take one picture wasn't actually possible.

Sweet Valerie in the outfit we gave her. I was so excited to buy a dress :).

Blowing kisses :)

Just a random moment - Andrew made Will a wee bed with his pillow and blanket. They both loved it.

We were so excited to have Uncle Johnny, niece Haylie, and Aunt Suzie visit from Chicago. We had such a fun night! Andrew was in stitches over Uncle Johnny's "spanking store" game - I don't know if I've ever seem him laugh so hard :).

Haylie read them a goodnight story. She just finished kindergarten, and was an amaazing reader. Our boys loved it too!

miss moka

My friend Marce had no idea how much she was about to change my life when she offered me a latte upon arriving at her house for a play date several months ago. The inexpensive little Italian stovetop contraption she showed me is one that has been around for eons, I'm sure, but one that I'd never seen before. It's incredible. Makes 3 or 6 perfect shots of espresso, depending on the size you buy (I now have both) :). You fill a small filter with ground espresso (I LOVE Illy, think it's by far the best) so can use decalf, or mix regular and decalf to get a "half calf" - my favorite.

I truly never thought an at home espresso maker would ever curb my love for Starbucks, but I can count on one hand the number of times I've been in the last 2 or so months. I did the math, and IF I went to Starbucks every day (which I never did, but I do now make a latte every day), I'd be saving $100 a month. I previously had a monthly Starbucks allowance, but this is still $20-$30 cheaper, and I get it ever day...and it honestly tastes even better. This sleepy mama is happy.

Oh, and I had to laugh. Caden and I went to Starbucks on Monday for a little date while Andrew and Dave were at the allergist (that's a whole new post), and the barista spouted off my order the moment he saw me (grande, half-calf, two pump peppermint, two pump mocha)...I wonder how long it will take for them to forget ;).

Grandpa and Grandma come to play

I was so grateful that my parents were able to come for a visit while Dave was away in Mexico for the week. Grandma Kathy arrived first, with Grandpa Jack arriving a few days later via an 8 day cross country driving adventure with one of his best friends. We all had so much fun, and this tired mama was especially appreciative for the help and general "lift" is was for me. It was so nice to run errands, get needed maintenance done on our cars, get my visa updated so I'm travel ready next Spring, finish a few projects around the house and yard, SLEEP IN, and have some special one on one time with each of my boys. I even attempted to potty train Caden (one day intensive), but he just wasn't interested, and likely isn't ready - so we'll give it a few more months (sigh). I wasn't as good about taking pictures this time, but here are a few. We also enjoyed a fun game night with the OC's (my dad had some creative answers - we'll leave it at that). Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for coming to play - we miss you!

Both boys wanted to sit next to Grandma - we only did this one day ;). They put her in jail.

Sweet cuddles. And the laundry...I didn't clean a dish or fold a single item for the entire week - such a treat!


Ready to make muffins with grandma.

Happy baker.

A quick trip to the zoo before the weather heated up. And I believe this was the last picture taken with Caden's much beloved red sunglasses. They finally bit the dust.

Watchin the lions. And Grandpa Jack in his classic hat.

More lions.

I attempted to take Andrew to see the Kenwood fireworks from our church's parking lot this year (set off on July 3rd). In this picture he's watching, and enjoying fireworks that were going off at another country club a few miles away. I forgot just how insanely loud the fireworks were up close. Andrew was terrified, possibly scarred for life ;) - it may be a few years before we work up the courage to try again.

Will still loves his Grandpa Jack.

4th of July - I somehow managed to have red polo's in all their sizes (love the hand me downs). These were the best of many attempts to get them all looking.

Enjoying ice cream and some slip n slide in the backyard after dinner. We loved having dear family friends join us (who just moved here from Seattle).

Ice cream face.

A quick breakfast before heading off to fish with Grandpa Jack and Grandpa Rich (Joseph's grandpa). The boys had SO much fun - an adventure filled with falling in the lake, catching 5 (I think) fish, exploring through a stream and forest, and topping it of with donuts at krispy kreme. They were happy boys.

Caden wanted to bring his fishing pole (the magnetic fish stayed home) ;)

Will, flirting with Abby