Smiles

Not much going on around here lately but trying to keep the kids clean and fed. After the last few months of Zach starting kindergarten, Charlotte being born, having house guests, the shutdown, and Frank being sick for the last week, I think we are finally settling into our new normal. And I'm trying to photograph and take videos of the kids like crazy, and memorize every sweet thing about this little two-month-old.

At home

If Frank ever gets back to work, it will be good for our finances but very bad for my sleep. And much easier on him. He's been getting Zach ready and to the bus stop and letting me sleep for an extra hour or two. I've definitely gotten spoiled. I'm trying to rest up as much as I can, because once this shutdown is over I'll be back to dragging all three out of bed and up to the bus stop, in addition to entertaining Gabe and Charlotte all by myself and getting very little else done.

The guys started watching Star Wars the other day...it was the first time for the boys. At the beginning there were endless questions about whether this was the Angry Birds one, was this the one with lightsabers, did it have this such and such character, and on and on. We tried to get them to understand that this was THE ORIGINAL movie that everything else came from, but I don't know if we succeeded. And Zach gave up part way through because he was bored. Maybe another time...

Unfortunately too late for all our visitors, Charlotte has started smiling a lot. She loves looking at faces and if you smile at her she will usually smile back, and sometimes even giggle. Hard to catch in photos, though, unless she can see another face while mine is behind the camera...

She is starting to tolerate being set down, either for tummy time, in the swing (she naps there lately), or in the high chair while we are in the kitchen.

And sometimes you set her down and she gives you a look like this:

A "super cool" train track that has lasted over a week in the boys room.

Birthday lunch at Chili's. Like we ever need an excuse to go to Chili's...

This is what I get when I say "brother photos!"

Charlotte seems much chunkier than she did just a couple weeks ago.

Thank you, Kevin, we are getting tons of use out of the Wii. Mainly Mario Kart. It is something that we can all do together that Frank and I don't mind when the endless "Play with me!" starts.

To round out the birthday weekend we had friends over for dinner and cake. Zach, Gabe, and their two boys (5 and 2 1/2) love playing and running around.

And it meant that we had a photographer and not just a tripod.

Highlights and photos

Is it weird to say that the highlight (for me) of having family visit was being able to shower every day?

I know that the highlights for the boys were playing Lisa's computer, playing Flow on Grandma's phone/Emily's tablet, playing pirate treasure hunt with Uncle Kevin, and playing/watching lots and lots of Mario Kart.

Frank might say seeing The World's End, or that he had help doing the dishes.

We did a lot while everyone was here...including sitting around in pajamas for long stretches. Taking care of two babies is exhausting, even with four extra adults. Here's what I remember from the last two weeks: dinner at Muriale's, watching new episodes of our favorite shows, taking many photos, bathing babies, cooking dinners, surprising Zach at the bus stop the day family arrived, mani/pedis for me and Emily, the boys riding bikes at the park, going to Target and the mall, breathing many sighs of relief that Kevin was keeping the boys out of our hair (ok, maybe this was the highlight for me!).

Charlotte had her one-month check-up, and she's now 9 pounds, 4 ounces.

After a couple days of seemingly non-stop baby crying and kid tantrums, we've had a quiet day to let me sit and post these photos...