Beaster Grunch

We had a successful Easter (or "Beaster", as Finn would say) at our house this year! Mitch woke up early and started the egg hunt before anyone else could get in his way. Every time he found an egg he would say "uh oh!" (like he was saying "uh oh! someone seems to have forgotten their colored egg on the stool in the kitchen!). He then promptly put each egg into his mouth. He has been the sweetest little guy even though he's been under the weather this week with an ear infection and wheezy/crackling lungs. He lies perfectly still when I give him his inhaler and Drew thinks it's because he thinks some kind of food is going to come out of the little mask and into his mouth. :)

Finn has had some great one-liners lately. Two off the top of my head: We have an ant problem over here (they are seriously everywhere in the kitchen and they are driving me nuts). The other day Finn found one and said, "Ah! These ants are really frustrating me!" A few days later, Drew and Finn were upstairs and Drew came down saying, "Good one, Claire". I had no idea what he was talking about. Apparently, Finn had come upstairs saying, "Dad! What's the plan? I'm bored!" and Drew just assumed that I had sent him up with that message. But nope...he's just regurgitating everything he hears us say! One day when Mitch was crying, Finn said, "Mitch is crying. We should get a new baby. Maybe he has a temperature."

The Heffrons came over for "Beaster Grunch", in Finn's words, and we had a great time! Everyone ate and then headed out to the backyard to find some eggs (despite the mud and rain). The kids had a blast. Finn ate chocolate until he was literally gagging and Mitch choked on a candy wrapper that he found on the floor and threw up everywhere. A successful party all around. Grandma Heffron supplied the cutest Thomas the Train and Spiderman umbrellas for the kids. They loved them! The Easter Bunny also brought a little golf set for Finn, which he has been using to torture Mitch since the moment he got it. He's having some trouble with sharing lately - especially when Mitch is involved. After brunch we got a little visit with the Cranes too. A fun day for all!

Easter preparations

Finn maximizing egg-dying productivity by dropping three eggs into each dye container at once

Mitch finding/tasting an egg

Mitch finding his basket

"Did the Beaster Bunny come?"

Finn looking rather disappointed with his Easter basket (this was before he found the golf set - I guess the Beaster Bunny had bad taste this year)

And now with a little more enthusiasm :)

Mitch with his favorite Easter gift - the grass from the baskets

Grunch VIP table with Finn and Gavin

Hunting for eggs!

Traditional "Mitch and Mitch" Holiday Picture

Finn and Drew jamming on the guitar

Some other recent pictures:

What happens when Mitch is left unattended before bath time...

"Uh oh!"

Getting Ready for Easter!

Mitch on a Walk

Here's Mitch on a little walk, with the cutest and funniest cameo of Mallie circling him on her bike.

Mitch's Latest Milestones

A couple of new Mitch tricks: He is really into doing "so big!" and waving. It started out as a two-handed wave with a lot of wrist action. He has since refined it to a one-handed wave, but it's still very wrist-y and very flamboyant. It's the best. He's also signing "more" and "all done" - not consistently, but I know he knows how to do them. "More" looks like clapping, but slower and very deliberate, with a very serious look on his face. "All done" is a lot of hand flapping and knocking food all over the place. When he gets mad at me for trying to get him to sign "more", he bangs his head on the chair behind him. He's trying to be a little stinker, but he does it very gently as if to say, "I'm mad, but not so mad that I'm going to actually hurt myself." Over the last couple of days, he's been doing a lot of walking with push toys. He is so cute when he's doing it - he looks so pleased with himself! He gets really mad (screaming, crying, falling to the floor) when I try to help him around obstacles or turn him around so he has more room to walk (he wants to do it by himself). But today, he let Mallie help him walk all over the Gilbrides' house without a peep and loved every minute.

He's getting so big and changing so much - really coming out of the baby phase and entering toddler-hood. I can't believe how fast it's going! Getting a lot more hair too - and oh, the curls!

Wrestle mania

I love how Mitch takes Finn on while sucking his thumb. He's a spunky little guy!

Mitch on the Move!

Signs of Spring - A New Birdhouse

Since the weather isn't cooperating, we had to find a more creative way to make it feel like spring around here. Finn has been begging Drew to build a birdhouse (I think he saw one in a book or on a show). So yesterday, they got down to it! Finn loved helping, Mitch loved watching, and I loved sneaking inside every few minutes to warm up because I was freezing my butt off. :) When they were done building it, we went on a walk and Finn spent the whole time chasing birds in our neighbors' yards yelling, "Come on birds! Get in the birdhouse! Get in the birdhouse!" Very inviting. I'm sure we'll have a family of birds moving in in no time. :)

The "fixing guys"

The peanut gallery

The finished product

Mitch's New Bad-itude

There were a few other pictures on the camera from before our trip that I just had to post because I think they are great documentation of "the new Mitch". Something has happened with this kid in the last few weeks - he's really changing and getting a lot of personality! He's doing all sorts of funny new things and has a bit of an attitude! The new shrieking sound he makes (read below in the post about our DC trip) is probably the hallmark of his personality. One of his latest tricks is throwing his head back into his chair or whatever is behind him (totally on purpose) and then fake crying for attention. It's the funniest thing I've ever seen. He also chases Finn around and actually roughs him up quite a bit (pulling hair and biting)! He can really hold his own in a wrestling match! He definitely knows what he wants (usually to get through the gate and climb on the stairs) and lets you know he's mad when he doesn't get it!

On the flip side, he is a huge cuddler and loves to be held and hugged and kissed. It's so cute to see him acting all rough and tough and then he makes his way over to check in and lay down on your lap to suck his thumb for a minute before jumping back into action.

All kidding aside, I don't actually think a whole lot has changed with his personality. He's always been good-natured and silly, now he's just getting bigger and more active so he's able to express himself even more. He cracks me up and I just love him more every day.

Finn also keeps us laughing with "Finn-isms". The latest: "eddybody"=everybody (e.g. "I not take a nap! Eddybody not sleeping! Dylan not sleeping, Jack not sleeping, Gavin not sleeping!). "wanks"= thanks (e.g. do you want some juice? "no wank you"). "swack"=snack.

Something that's really been preoccupying him lately is that this summer Mitch will be "bigger and bigger and when it gets warm outside he take walks with me and hold my hand?" He asks about this all the time. Drew told him this once or twice and it has obviously stuck with him. He's really excited to have a playmate (and for Mitch to learn to walk)!

Finn and Gavin rocking out on the piano

Lunch on the deck!

Spring Break Trip to DC

When the opportunity for a spontaneous trip with the boys to Washington DC came up, (there was a conference there for Drew’s work) we couldn’t pass it up! We were there from Sunday until Thursday (which I found out was quite a long time to stay in one hotel room with two little onesJ) and had a great time!

When we got there, everyone was exhausted from the drive, so we grabbed a quick dinner and just relaxed in the hotel room. That would be the last time I relaxed for the rest of the trip!Finn and Mitch slept pretty well, but then Mitch woke up earlier and earlier every morning (between 5:00 and 5:30am). After that, there was no sleeping for anyone else, since Mitch has found his new favorite noise to make. It sounds like some kind of wild animal. The loudest, most blood curdling shrieking noise you’ve ever heard. I’m sure the other hotel guests were thrilled. We also walked about 5 miles every day, so we were all exhausted by the end of each day.

On Monday, I set out with the boys to walk around the city and to explore the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. First, we made a quick stop to say hi to the Obama’s. They weren’t taking visitors, but we liked looking at their house anyway (Mitch wasn't as impressed as Finn - see below). Then on to the museum. The boys LOVED it there! The highlights were definitely the giant elephant and the dinosaur skeletons, of course.

Finn checking out the White House

Finn telling me that this is a "little dog" skeleton.

Mitch laughing at the fish tank

Finn taking some down time, watching his show on the computer

Finn and Mitch playing "neighbors in houses" (Finn's invented game) in their pack and plays. They did this for an hour - standing up and looking at each other and then falling down into their beds and laughing. It was hilarious.

That evening, we met up with Paul, Marla, Blair and Faith for a fun dinner. They were so sweet to make the drive into the city to meet us and it was great to catch up with them (even with the distractions of a crabby two-year-old and a surprise projectile vomit episode from Mitch).

Blair, Mitch and Drew - Mitch tried his first bite of ice cream (and, no surprise...loved it!)

Finn trying on my sunglasses in the hotel room after dinner

The next day, we walked over to the zoo (our hotel was about a mile and a half from the zoo and about two miles from the National Mall so we left the car parked the whole time and walked everywhere). Marla made the trip to see some animals and have lunch with us, which was so much fun! Finn’s favorites at the zoo were the lions (a family with lots of new cubs, playing and pouncing all over each other), the gorillas sleeping in hammocks, and a sting ray in the aquarium that splashed water out of the tank right near Finn’s face. He’s still talking about that one! J

It's hard to see, but there's a monkey's face pressed up against the window. :)

Finn looking at the lion cubs

Marla and Mitch checking out the lion mom and dad

The sting ray that splashed Finn

That afternoon, we met Drew to wander around and see some of the monuments. We checked out the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the World War II Memorial, and (very very quickly because Mitch was making that shrieking sound again) the Vietnam Memorial. I don’t know what it is, but I could wander around those places for hours. I just love being there. It’s so beautiful and so meaningful and I loved having the kids there too, even if they didn’t really understand what they were seeing.

On our last day, I took the boys to the Air and Space Museum and on our way, we stumbled upon the National Aquarium. Mitch had loved the fish tanks at the zoo so much that I felt like we had to go in. They loved it there! Mitch was so excited to see the fish and Finn got to see yet another sting ray. This one was burying itself in the rocks at the bottom of the tank and Finn was fascinated! The Air and Space Museum was awesome too. We didn’t stay too long because Finn was having a hard time understanding that he couldn’t get IN all of the airplanes hanging from the ceiling. But he did get to sit in one and pretend to fly it, so mission accomplished!

Mitchie excited to see more fish!

Finn with Mr. Potato Head's tongue

It was so great to spend some time with the boys away from home. For four full days, all there was to do was walk, play, and focus on sharing new experiences with them. I realized how hard it is to give them my undivided attention when we’re at home because I get sidetracked by a work email or call, a sink full of dishes, or a basket full of laundry that needs to be folded. I think sometimes my control-freak nature causes me to miss out on the beauty of the everyday things we do together. It was nice to let go a little bit of the routine and be a little more spontaneous too (not one of my strengths). I’m already finding that some of this is carrying over since we’ve been home too, which might just be the best part of the trip.