Easter weekend at home

We eventually made it through the two hectic weeks of Seth's pre-comps cramming, and he said the full day exam (last Thursday) went great. So that's a huge relief, and a big payoff. We wanted to celebrate, but well- I'm too pregnant and Seth was too beat. This is what he looked like for the next several nights.

He did celebrate with a long-scheduled trip to the tattoo shop we had forgotten about, and Finley was nice enough to bring him dinner. (An evening with his favorite tattoo artist to cap off several weeks of living at the library...? I personally would've let him starve. He's lucky Finley likes the burger joint down the street.) At any rate, this photo cracked me up. Finley seems to be saying, "oh, just having a burger with my Dad at the tattoo shop. Isn't that how everybody spends Thursday nights?"

Of course I had to whisk her home for bedtime before I got the chance to eat, and- rookie move!- left my untouched veggie burger on the stairs while I went up to start her bath. This is what I came back down to:

Because there is in fact no rest for the weary, this post-comps week is the week Seth arranged to be at West Point to prep for his next job, while I have a research paper due and a huge take-home exam. Not. Thrilled. But we were determined to have a nice weekend at home with the not-at-all-neglected little beast before the madness resumed and we did. Spring has sprung, and the cherry blossoms are in full bloom- a magical time in DC. I had my heart set on dragging everybody down to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry trees, but the weekend got away from us and, as Seth and Finley pointed out, we do have cherry trees in our own front yard...

...and the not-as-famous and far less crowded Kenwood cherry trees right down the road.

Not to mention our neighbor's tulip tree, which is a big hit.

So we skipped the tourist throngs and stuck around Bethesda to recover, dye eggs, assemble the new crib (to Finley's delight, as she thinks it's hers), and check out the local blooms instead.

We did make it down south for Michelle's "Easter Saturday" brunch, at which Seth finally got to drink bourbon and beer (with Josh) to celebrate the completion of his comps, and Finley had the run of the place,

loved her first egg hunt (can someone tell me if these instagram links work for non-instagram users?), and even took a piano lesson from cousin Scott.

At home for Easter, she got her own Easter basket (a few of the Lindt bunnies made it all the way to the holiday, believe it or not),

and was coerced into a dress (if not good behavior) for church,

after which she got in another egg hunt (this is of her delight at discovering there were pieces of candy inside the eggs!)

and Easter brunch. She's finally big enough to color, even if she still tries to gnaw on the crayons, which makes it possible for us to stay long enough to eat most of our food, at least some of the time. We consider this a win.

Monday Seth left for New York, and I didn't have class which meant I had time to work on a paper, swing by work at the Pentagon (which I have been needing to do for weeks), and even sneak in a bike ride around the Tidal Basin, where I got to see the cherry trees after all- a hilarious and much-needed adventure.

And now we're slogging through the week, which promises to be rough but at least includes moments like the photo of the week above. (Finley was angry at us for something or other, so she gave us a dirty look, snatched up her Sunday school bunny ears and plopped them on her head, and marched into the kitchen without a backward glance.) I'm still cracking up about how indignant she looked, even from behind.

Biscuits and buybuybaby

I'm supposed to be curled up on the couch with Clausewitz today, my first real experiment with working on research papers at home instead of obsessively checking the worsening traffic report while I knock out study hall at school.

Instead, I made these:

They're Greek yogurt buscuits, and they're both delicious and easy. Trust me- they came out great, in spite of the fact that my reputation for mediocre baking precedes me. (Recipe here.) My reputation for exhaustive taste testing should too, and I sampled enough to be sure they pass muster.

In my defense, working Mom guilt dictated my little culinary venture when I got this adorable and hilarious text this morning. (Finley apparently refused to eat her healthy, spinach-packed breakfast prior to the drive-in.)

The rest of the text string informed me that Seth, too, felt terrible about feeding Finley fast food, but that she loved eating in the passenger seat and drinking OJ out of a straw like a big girl. I cracked up all morning thinking about her special breakfast with Dad- but still felt compelled to make her some homemade biscuits when I got home.

Although Seth and I have been tag teaming parenting duties while he crams for comps and I keep remembering pre-baby stuff that needs to be done while watching my bedtime creep ever earlier, Finley is managing to have a terrific last month as an only child.

The longer days mean she gets park time after daycare every day, even though at the moment she ignores swings and slides in favor of her current obsession, stair climbing practice.

And this weekend, the awful weather ruined all of our plans to hang out outside and check out the cherry blossoms on the National Mall while Seth studied, so instead Finley got to eat donuts and discover video games at Michelle and Josh's (and also, chase the big kids around and pet the dogs)

and be my shopping buddy Sunday. Which naturally included a trip to Great Harvest Bread Company.

No longer content to sit in the shopping cart now that she can racewalk like a pro, she garnered quite an audience going nuts in the cheese section at Trader Joe's. ("We have to have this brie!")

On a baby kick (or at least a "we need to get ready for baby" kick) since finally getting around to sterilizing the new baby bottles,

I also made the ill-advised decision to take the little terrorist to buybuybaby for crib sheets (it was sleeting, and we were going a little stir crazy). There she promptly staged an insurrection and treated me to the most simultaneously entertaining and exasperating hour in recent memory: marching around the store, examining price tags, rearranging the displays, and pulling things off shelves while I scrambled behind her trying to minimize the damage. Fortunately, it was a baby store and I was not alone. Hordes of harried parents scrambled alongside me, trying desperately to remember what they had come in for and thinking we had a plan to make a fortune: serve liquor at buybuybaby. At a discount to people with a toddler in tow.

We did not get crib sheets. (Note to self: order from amazon after bedtime.) We did, however, manage to test drive a double stroller, which was not half bad. Jury's still out on whether we need one, but at least I know it's doable if it become necessary.

The above really have to be the photos of the week- they're priceless, right? But I also have to share the below (helping Dad study) on his big week. Send Seth good exam karma Thursday!

And so it begins... but first, a quick Gettysburg Getaway.

Last night I was up to my elbows in dishwater, mentally sorting through to-do lists and calendars and bracing for the hectic couple weeks ahead, when I realized I had been so distracted that I had forgotten to turn off Toddler Radio on Pandora and was being subjected to yet another chorus of the Hokey Pokey. I could hear the water running in the bath upstairs and then Seth yelling, "Finleyyyyyy!" followed by a familiar chuckle that could not have come from the bathroom. I whirled around, soaking myself and the carpet in the process, to see a buck naked Finley, arms in the air as she teetered across the kitchen, boogying wildly to the music. She was gleeful about her escape and temporary reprieve. I didn't catch it on camera, and I'm almost glad I didn't try. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life, and pictures definitely would not have done the scene justice.

We had needed the laugh. This morning kicked off two weeks of Seth cramming for comps with every available second while I juggle Finley duty and my own load of papers and exams, plus the increasingly frequent doctor's appointments we have to keep reminding ourselves to schedule (who has the time?)

For once I'm thankful for daylight savings time, as Finley has handled the time change like a champ and it allows us to continue our post-daycare pickup playground tour of Bethesda now that the weather is on the uptick. The fresh air is chicken soup for both of our souls.

With massive school demands, unfinished pre-baby business, the admin. stuff we've been putting off like grad school enrollment (me) and navigating the West Point CDC and housing lists (ahem, Seth), not to mention the looming specter of taxes, we're on a pretty nutty downhill slide to mid-April. The Easter getaway we had been considering is almost definitely a no-go- so we're pretty glad we squeezed in one last quick adventure before the chaos. We spent the weekend at Gettysburg for Jess' lovely (and convenient!) wedding, at the very cool Lodges at Gettysburg, which we totally recommend. Finley loves vacation, and the opportunity to get dressed up (yes those are Air Jordans with her pretty dress)

and dance (yes, that appears to be the chicken dance.)

She also got to hang out with some real, live war heroes (left to right, Flo Groberg, her Dad, and Aaron Causey)

and soak up a little history. (Although she seems to be aware that that is a very bizarre statue.)

Of course, the jungle gym-like cannons

and the rocks on Little Round Top were her favorites. (By which I mean, she tried to eat them.) Although Seth the history nerd tried his hardest to impart some knowledge between "not in your mouth!"s.

Tough to pick photos of the week, when you have all these in the archive: our proud little walker,

our messy eater,

and our lunch thief. (I taught her to dip her pita in hummus and created a monster.)

But this one- which I took at great personal peril just for you, Mom & Dad- from our Sunday bike ride on the canal is one of my favorites ever. It's tough to make out, but it's Finley in her trailer less than five minutes down the trail, giving me the "all done" sign repeatedly through the window.

Nice try, kiddo.

Not Exactly Zen

I eased my 34-weeks-pregnant body into camel pose gingerly and arched my back, trying to remember to get a deep breath or two into my space-constrained lungs at the same time. Finley, now a full-blown walker, teetered around the living room, seemingly content with her search for sharp and dangerous things that may have rolled under the furniture. I had taken a big gamble on trying to finish up my workout in the company of Finley while Seth jumped on the water rower in the basement. It had been a long day of housework and baby prep projects and dealing with the newly-christened Finley bin Laden (we have recently become acquainted with temper tantrums, and they are not our favorite thing) while we both tried to get papers written and homework assignments knocked out. Mind-clearing workouts were a must if we wanted all three of us to make it to bedtime, and it seemed like we might actually be able to pull this off.

Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my side, and I turned my head to see a drooling, grinning Finley, sharp little teeth bared at me. She had bitten me, hard, for no reason, right in the middle of my desperate search for zen. It seemed kind of apropos, somehow. Yoga was officially over.

We're smack dab in the middle of final countdown to babywatch these days, and the stars have aligned for this delightful period of "oh shit, we need to buy diapers, and where did we put the breast pump tubing, again?" to coincide with the onset of the early terrible twos, some serious late night teething fun, and the end of the school calendar for both of us. It's utter chaos, to say the least. (This is a rare quiet weekend moment, post-backyard golf and subsequent inexplicable meltdown, when we remembered the magical power of bubbles.)

Luckily, Mom and Dad are still around, and we've been milking that for all it's worth. They've been staying down at Belvoir and always have a full hiking schedule, but when the chips are down they show up and whisk Finley off somewhere, and she comes home exhausted and stuffed full of sweet potatoes and peanut butter sandwiches (her and Ata's fave.)

They took her to the zoo on Saturday, and Seth and I not only got papers written, we also had a lunch date at a restaurant that did not have crayons. (I don't have a picture of that, but I do have this amazing one of Finley on her new tricycle from Ana & Ata, which is a death trap at her age so of course she loves it.)

I picked her up after I finished up at the library, and managed to catch a little bit of fresh air, this incredible sunset at Accotink,

and one of my favorite sights (or, as Missy calls it, "what we all look like after a day with Mom & Dad.")

At any rate, we're all hanging in there and the weather has taken a turn for the gorgeous, so I think Finley's back at the zoo (she's a big fan of the seals) while Seth and I are locked away in class. Lucky little beast. Life continues to be good, if a tad frenetic, and Finley- enjoying her last month+ as an only child- keeps us on our toes and laughing. Her newest fun trick is helping herself to whatever she finds in the fridge while I'm making dinner, which makes us incredibly glad we buy organic produce. I didn't catch her the first time until she had taken a bite out of every single apple.

And the photo of the week is of Finley's first frozen yogurt. She's had bites of mine before, but never gotten her own until this weekend. It definitely took her a few hilarious bites to get used to how cold it was. And then, of course, she licked the bottom of the bowl.

Sara's Peruvian Exile

I just heard from Sara, and it looks like she and her 15 suitcases made it on the plane without incident. A minor miracle in itself, and according to her it wouldn't have happened without Mom & Dad's incredible powers of luggage-stuffing. (They have had lots of practice!) It also seems that I'll be finding random piles of "didn't fit"s around the house for quite some time, although I'm not complaining. At least some of those involve Belgian chocolate.

Sorry, Daniel.

It was a whirlwind of a week, although come to think of it any week that includes all or part of the Walters Fam generally is- but such a treat to get to see the temporarily-in-Peruvian-exile Sara. Sadly, Seth and I were up to our eyebrows in school and couldn't take much time off, but Mom & Dad came out to join the fun too. The return of the Arkansasans (?) was a godsend in that 1) Sara had during-the-day shopping buddies (and boy, did she have shopping lists...!) and 2) Mom did all the cooking. The manicotti (Sara's favorite) was devoured, and I had a creme de menthe brownie for breakfast. Winning.

Oh, and they took Finley to the zoo and the park while Sara and I made insane and hilarious across-state-lines trips to run down out of season cold water wetsuits.

I felt bad that the weather wasn't better for the Hawaiian princess, but she and Finley bundled up (they apparently feel the same way about the cold)

and consoled themselves with cupcakes. 

Sara maintains that Finley is the only baby that has ever liked her, and Finley definitely turned on the charm for her Aunt Sara. And not just because Aunt Sara is a much better sharer than Mom.

And let the little messmaker eat kiwi with a spoon. 

And introduced her to Tibetan singing bowls. 

We also made a pilgrimage to the Inka Trail exhibit at the American Indian museum, where Finley definitely extracted the promise of an alpaca ride in Peru.

All in all, a success for all concerned, since Sara managed to find both wetsuits and inflatable SUPS (not to mention the discontinued beanie boo we had all been hunting for), Seth got to sample Pisco (which made for a rough morning), some serious belly laughs were had, and we got to FaceTime with the priceless Lehua, who started preschool today (!!) And Nat and Ty in Japan!

We didn't, as per usual, take nearly as many pictures as we should have, although I brought Finley's camera to Harper's Ferry Sunday and we snagged a few. They're here.

It will be tough for all of us to return to the rat race (minus Sara, since it does not sound very rat race-y in Cusco), but the fun's definitely over in Bethesda. Seth and I are frantically scrambling to finish papers and exams before the baby arrives, so it's off to the coal mines we go. Wish us luck!