Back from Arizona.

We recently returned from our annual vacation in Arizona. We were there for a little over a week and had fabulous weather and an all-around great time. Some of the highlights of the trip:

• Mary Grace's refusal to sleep in Arizona on the first night, demanding that we go home, then falling asleep in the hallway and being moved into her new sleeping space.
  
• Watching Mary Grace and Nate playing in Uncle Ricky's swimming pool
  
• Mary Grace's lack of fear of the water and William's unwillingness to go in above his knees.
  
• Seeing the kids playing in Uncle Jack's swimming pool for hours on-end.
  
• The easter-egg hunt at Uncle Jack's house preceded by the chocolate egg hunt.
  
• Our trip to the McCormick railroad park including a ride on the carousel, a ride on the train and playing for a LONG time at the big playground.
  
• Blowing big bubbles at uncle Ricky's house and little bubbles at Uncle Jack's house.
  
• Watching William run around in Uncle Ricky's fenced in backyard.
  
• Hot/cold therapy in the swimming pools at both places.
  
• Losing my credit card for several days, then finding it again at Target (thanks for the idea, Peggy!).
  
• Mary Grace's accident at the upscale sushi restaurant
  
• William's accident in the bathroom on the airplane (note to self; Daddy should bring a change of clothes on the plane next time)
  
• Uncle Jack's new nickname for William: Bam-Bam. (I had been calling him Hercules since he seems to enjoy carrying things that weigh more than he does)
  
• Spending lots of time with family
  
• Seeing Rosemary and Joanne and Bob (and Cuddles) again

We had a fantastic time, thanks in no small part to our awesome hosts. Thank-you, Uncle Ricky, Nate, Jon, Uncle Jack and Aunt Peggy.

	The kids in their easter best. It was sunny and probably 75-80 in this picture
	Jon and William watching TV at Uncle Ricky's house
	Mommy and all the kids getting ready for a miniature train ride
	Mary Grace in the swimming pool at Uncle Ricky's house
	Mary Grace and Daddy in the hot tub
	William having a great time in Uncle Ricky's lush green yard
	Notice the humidity level outside the pool
	William running around as Mary Grace lounged in the hot tub
	The waterfall at Uncle Jack and Aunt Peggy's house

The full set of photos (250 of them) is available on EasyShare gallery; email me if you want to see them!

Self portrait and another milestone!

On Saturday morning, Mommy went to work, so Daddy was tasked with filling up the morning with fun activities. We started with a little running and screaming (you have to see it to fully appreciate the complexities of this game), then some Dora, then we went to painting. I asked Mary Grace to paint a picture of herself...



Next came more running and screaming, then some train tracks and some play kitchen, then Mommy came home.

Later that evening, we all went out for an impromptu ice cream run. William got his normal Strawberry, Mary Grace got Vanilla with sprinkles and Mommy and Daddy shared a dark chocolate (yum).

As we were getting ready to leave, Mary Grace said she had to go peepee. Then I realized that we didn't have a diaper on her, so off to the bathroom we went!

And just like that, Mary Grace had her first successful peepee at a public restroom!

And finally a parting shot of the happy siblings!

Sledding in the backyard

We had a GREAT snowstorm this weekend. The snow advisory was over 24 hours long, which led to about a foot of snow (a little more in drifts). The snow came mostly on Saturday night, so when we woke up, it was a challenge to get the door open.

After a restless morning, I decided to go out and do an experiment. Our house backs up to what used to be the Erie Canal, so there's a big hill in the backyard that was once the bed of the canal. It's mostly unusable because it's pretty steep but I go up now and again as I keep my compost up there.

I decided to try to make a sled run using all the snow that fell. The biggest challenge (besides getting up a snowy hill) was the stone retaining wall at the bottom. I piled lots of snow there and tested it a few times, then went and got the kids. Here's the results, as seen from the third floor window:



And from the back deck:



We had such a great time that we invited some of the neighbors over later for a little more sledding. A few came and we did several runs, followed by hot chocolate inside. It was a great time. Wish you were here.

A little father-son time

It's a very infrequent occasion that William and I have some time to ourselves, so when Anne planned a princess tea party for Mary Grace and her neighborhood friends for this afternoon, I jumped at the chance to take William to the Strong Museum.

We're members there, so we go there a lot, but usually with both kids. And since Mary Grace is the older, she usually dictates the activities and William usually goes along with it. When he doesn't go along, it becomes a problem because there's inevitably a scene involving screaming and crying.

So today, William got to lead. I let him walk and run wherever he wanted to go and I just followed behind him with the stroller. He played with the drag-race hotwheel car thing for a while, then went to the trains, then to Wegmans, then to Sesame Street, then to the sand box. Over two hours of pure enjoyment later, we made our way back to the car.

He had a great time leading for a change, and I had a great time watching and bonding and giving him 100% of my attention, rather than the usual 50% (or less).

As we pulled in the driveway, William started to doze off. I turned the car off once we reached the backyard and I watched him fall asleep in the rear view mirror. Watching those heavy eyelids gradually win out over his efforts to stay awake was touching. I had a big smile on my face as I watched him directly now. Then his eyes half-opened to see me smiling at him and I got the best reward ever... A beautiful dreamy smile as my boy fell back asleep.

Thank you William. You make it all worthwhile.