Tiresome Travels

We've been in Michigan over a week now, and we're finally catching up on sleep.  Our flight out of Florida left at 6:30 AM, so we had to be at the airport at 5:00 AM, so we had to leave our house at 4:00 AM, so we had to wake up at 3:15 AM. 
Needless to say, we were tired.

Traveling alone with two small children (one of whom is still a "lap child" on the plane) is rather challenging.  We went to the very back row of the plane, and I pulled out one trick (or treat) after another.  We were all happy to touch ground in Grand Rapids.  :)

 Isaac, who didn't sleep for even one second on the airplane,
was out COLD within seconds of getting in the car. 

It wasn't long before Clare joined him in la-la-land.

 And it was only a matter of time before Mema joined the ranks of the dreamers.

This, now, is DAY 2 of sleeping in the car...on the way to Kalamazoo.

 Here is DAY 3 of sleeping in the car...on the way home from Kalamazoo.

 Finally, DAY 4 of sleeping in the car...on the way to Grand Rapids.

 Peacefully ZONKED with pink blanket in hand.

After four days of napping in the car (as we traveled from one event to the next), our little ones were ready for some down time.  They caught up on sleep (with three hour naps for Clare and Isaac sleeping until 9:45 AM), thus allowing for a car ride without crashing in the car seat.  :)

Mama, however, could still use a nap.

May the 4th Be With You

Clare, who hadn't even heard of Star Wars a week ago,
was THRILLED to be Princess Leia at her cousin's birthday party.

Our nephew, Will, who was born on May 4th ("National Star Wars Day")

celebrated his fourth birthday with a Star Wars Party.

Clare and Maria (the only girls in the Hillary Gang) were both Princess Leia.

Isaac had no costume and no desire to play along.

For the most part, he was running around on his own...

away from the masses of sabres and swords.

He wasn't without fun or flight.

I was very excited to meet our newest nephew (and godson), Frankie,

and to snuggle his little buns. 

Phil enjoyed cuddling with him as well.

Phil had the magic touch because Frankie fell right asleep in Phil's cozy cuddle. 

Can't blame him.

Just a glimpse of the fun and festivities.

Isaac was NOT a fan of the pinata.  He wanted nothing to do with it, and he screamed everytime someone hit it.  Hence...a lot of screaming. 

Candy Collecting = Controlled Chaos

For weeks, Clare has been excited to see her aunts and uncles.

Here, with Uncle Adam, you can see why!

We have one more week in Michigan,

and every day is sure to be packed with fun.

Mommy-Munchkin Date

 Clare and I had a FUN date on Sunday.

My sister, who just spent a week in Uganda (with wild chimps and other exotic animals), encouraged us to go see Disney's new movie, Chimpanzee.  Say no more!

While Clare was very excited about the movie, 

I think she was MOST excited about something else...

She was pretty excited whenever she saw the poster for "OUR MOVIE."

This was the "cheeser look" that she had for most of the date.

Cheeser = VERY EXCITED 3.5-year-old

 The theater was packed, so we ended up in the second row.  We even had to ask a few people to move so that we could sit together.  I wasn't about to sit separately from my preschooler, but I could tell that we weren't the most popular people in the theater.  

We quickly become the most unpopular people on the theater when Clare needed to go to the bathroom after only two minutes in our seats...in the middle of the row...that we had just asked people to rearrange for our needs.  Nice.

 The movie was great.  Clare enjoyed narrating the different scenes:

"It looks like danger."

"Scar is bad...just like in Lion King."

"Oh, they are silly chimps."

You get the idea.  :)

 By the end of the show, Clare was hopped up on Sprite and popcorn,

and she wanted to watch it again.

 I enjoyed the movie, as well as supporting the Jane Goodall Institute, but my favorite part was simply having a special afternoon with my little lady.  Rarely do we have one-on-one time, and it was a blast building this memory together.

Thanks for making it happen, Ninnie!  :)

Dyslexia

Do we have two dyslexics in the house?

ERACL = Clare

 This little monkey tends to write her name backwards.

 But isn't she ELBARODA?

ADORABLE, that is!  :)

Oh BOY...

Isaac, who was 17-months-old on the 9th, beats to his own little drum.

I have to remind myself that he has a very different personality than his big sister.  

This little snippet gives a glimpse of his strong will and stubborn nature.

I don't know if it's a second-child thing, or a boy thing, but Isaac is far less verbal than Clare was at this age.  His primary form of communication is screaming.  Even when he's completely happy, he just screams.  He screams for our attention.  He screams when he's running through the backyard.  He screams when Clare accosts him (I suppose the screaming is warranted in this situation).  He screams when he drops something.
He screams, he screams, he screams.

On a more positive note, he also giggles a lot.  He giggles when Clare is around.  He giggles when he dances...and he loves to dance.   He giggles when we chase him around the house.  He giggles when Phil throws him on the bed.
He giggles, he giggles, he giggles!  :)

He is currently obsessed with Elmo.  He has a little Elmo figurine-thing and several Seasame/Elmo books.  He points out Elmo on every page.  No biggie, right?!  I didn't think so until I realized that Isaac might actually think he is Elmo or vice versa. 
He points to Elmo and says, "Isuh."
I'm no expert, but that sounds far more like ISAAC than ELMO.  

You be the judge...

Isaac does NOT like to be fed.  He will eat nearly anything...as long as he is in control.  Take this muffin, for example.  He devoured it...until I tried to help him.  "HANDS OFF, Mama!"  His shirt says, "Just Like Daddy."  I think he is similar to Phil in many ways, except for the "Hands off, Mama" part.  LOL!  :)

This isn't a great picture, but it show a couple of things:

1. His current black eye (second in his lifetime)

2. His mischievous little grin.

He knows when he's doing something wrong (i.e. dumping our remote controls in the toilet...of which we've had to replace TWO now...one of them costing $25), and he runs away with this little grin.  What a stinker!

Just so we remember these details in 30 years...

- Isaac regularly sleeps about 11.5-hours at night (8:00 - 7:30),

and naps about 2-hours every afternoon.

- He LOVES splashing in the water...be it in the pool, bath tub, or YMCA splash park.

- Whenever he cries, he wipes his own tears.  As soon as he feels them falling down his cheek, he scratches it right away.  It's really adorable!

- As much as I thought he was a Mama's boy, he is a Papa's (Corrie's Dad) boy.  I really think he loves Papa more than ANYTHING in the world.

- He likes to pull Clare's hair...especially when she has it in braids.

- Isaac is still reluctant around new people, 

although he is extremely attached once you've won him over.

- He enjoys going down the slide head first..

 His little sparkle lights up my day...every day.

We love him OH SO MUCH!

Happy Easter 2012

Happy Easter...from ours to yours!

We decorated eggs last night, and Clare would have done six dozen if given the opportunity.  I don't know if it was the fact that Isaac was in bed, or that she got to color on food, or that she felt like the creator of something fun, and bright, and special....
but she had a GREAT time!

 I don't know if it was the smell of vinegar that brought us back to childhood memories of egg decorating, or the competition of who was going to create the best egg (note Phil's response in the following video), but Phil and I had a pretty good time as well.

 Some of the finished eggs...

 Do you see Phil's EYEBALL egg?

Easter morning...

Jelly Beans at 7:02 AM.

"May I have this please?"

 All dressed up in her Easter best!

The little guy wasn't too excited...

...until he got his saber back in his hand/mouth.

He's been carrying those things around for days (he tightly clutched FOUR of them as we dropped him off in nursery this morning), and he wasn't going to take a happy picture until he had his saber (a.k.a. pool toy) where it belonged!

 Clare, who doesn't dress up very often, felt like a ballerina.

Wishing you all a blessed Easter...

He is Risen Indeed!