Ford is ONE, and Earth Day.

Well, the highlighters have been reclaimed from the depths of the crayon boxes, the sweat pants unearthed from the back of the closet (ha, who am I kidding? those were easy to find), all the wine polished off to avoid temptation, and untold amounts of money spent on meat and more meat during the "Dad's in charge of dinners" grocery shop. Not that I am complaining. These kids love sausages so much it's vaguely disturbing. 

Writing week is upon us. But first, a few from the weekend. 

We made it to the end of Ford's blowout birthday week, and he is, in fact, one. The bottles are washed and put away, the formula calculation was a real stroke of luck (last bag was ON the big day), and there was only a little bit of nostalgia about no longer having a baby. Hard to believe those days are really over. (Particularly hard to believe at 3am, when both "big kids" want Mom and Dad snuggles.) Finley, who usually hates having her picture taken, insisted on being part of Ford's official 12 month photo. She also wanted her own sticker, so I dug up this one from some bar in Austin. It says "Thirsty Planet- Drink Local" on it. Maybe we'll win Parents of the Year next year.

Ford's going to be really disappointed when he realizes he doesn't get cupcakes every day now. Daycare was not to be outdone, and we had one last celebration Friday night.

We went big for Earth Day this weekend, with a big bash at the nature museum,

and then Finley and I went to Poughkeepsie for the March for Science. She had the time of her life at the "parade," which featured a jazz band, and the science fair afterwards, most of which she spent throwing rocks into the Hudson.

Sunday we went to "Sheep to Shawl" at the Phillipsburg Manor, where the kids loved the sheep- and- duck- herding, and got to pet lambs and climb fences.

Ford mostly wanted to practice his walking. He can walk on his own now, but refuses to do it for a camera. Naturally.

And now it's time to get this thesis done. Even though I'm still cracking up about the fact that Finley loves her sign from the march so much, she takes it with her everywhere. Ford got his hands on it yesterday, and she grabbed it back and said, "No, Ford. This is MY parade." Indeed, Finley. Look out, though. Big guy's on the move.

Grandparents, Easter, and the Big O-N-E.

Well, it was time for a facelift for the blog. By which I mean, Chinese trademark and patent law is not all that interesting so I played around with formatting instead of taking notes. Which should go well in two weeks (!!!) on the final exam. 

For reasons related to my still-largely-unwritten thesis, this entry will be short on words. Luckily we had an idyllic, beautiful long spring weekend with Grandma Jayne and Grandpa Tony, so it'll be long on photos. Over the next couple weeks, as I spend beautiful spring days in the depths of the windowless law library, I'll have Seth make the kids do lots of cute things and take pictures so we have something other than outlines and footnotes to offer.

We were so lucky to have Jayne and Tony here for an early birthday celebration for Ford, as they had been with us for Finley's first too. And just like Finley's, we did a low key celebration at home, and it was perfect. Ford loved his cupcakes-and-steak meal and his presents, which Finley kindly shared with him. 

And his new bounce house, which was a huge hit and a killer purchase.

The kids got up at an ungodly hour on Easter and tore through their baskets,

celebrated with the neighbors,

and went to a "fancy" Easter brunch at the West Point Club. At which Ford ate his body weight in french toast and Finley acted like a real heathen and smeared chocolate all over her new Easter dress.

Which produced keepsake Easter photos like this one.

We also went to the Army football spring game, and the kids had a terrific time stuffing their faces and terrorizing the bleachers.

The weather has been stupendous, so Finley and Ford and Grandma and Grandpa got in lots of playground time.

Not to mention cookies/ cleaning sprinkles off the carpet time. And driving.

I even managed a quick date with this handsome guy, thanks to grandparents. (We went to Starbucks and to pick up dry cleaning. It was pretty romantic.)

Now we're buckling down, and counting down until summer vacation. Finley tells me she's going to "a castle" before bed every night. France had better deliver. But first, finals...

Hard to pick favorites, but these are two of mine from the long weekend. Laughing with Grandma & Grandpa.

And the big birthday boy. I'm not scheduling my "Ford's a year old" freakout until Friday, but doesn't he look grown up (and, yes, handsome)??

Other People's Kids.

Other people's kids are exhausting. No matter how good- or bad- they are, they're just exhausting. They don't know your rules, they don't know you're serious about "time out," they don't know bedtime is non-negotiable, they don't know you don't do chicken nuggets for dinner. 

We had the Ryan kids on our hands this weekend. We said we'd watch them for Natalie's birthday, so she and "Big Tommy" could have a date night in the city. Plus, Finley adores Tommy (Jr.) and Mikayla, and we didn't have plans anyway. Sounded easy enough.

We are going to be recovering for weeks. 

In between nature walks and playgrounds and the making of cupcakes and uneaten waffles and food on the ceiling and trips to Round Pond and Easter egg hunts and the wildlife discovery center's program on box turtles and impromptu kid yoga and so. many. bedtime. stories... there was somehow time for fights and band-aid requests and tantrums and timeouts and "I'm not hungry"/ "I'm starving"/ "I'm not eating that"/ "Can I have chocolate?" moments. 

We laughed, we cried, we prayed for sleep, we caved and had pizza for dinner. With sushi. And chopsticks. And chocolate for dessert. Because we pick our battles. 

In "silver linings" news, although none of us slept all weekend, F+F seemed to enjoy themselves immensely. 

I think we hit every playground in the county, since we're finally seeing hints of spring weather in "the other Orange County" (and couldn't be more grateful.)

Thankfully, grasshopper grove opened for the season. What a terrific concept a "nature playground" is...!

Once there were no longer kids hanging from the rafters, we threw a couple brats (the hot dog variety) on the grill and had a couple beers with the Hennessy-Trimbles, while Jim watched the masters and Seth made bear meatloaf (a huge hit) and the kids hit up the last-season plastic pool that we had to pour boiling water into to make enticing. Post-company naptime even yielded a few seconds for me to make this German potato salad, which I highly recommend.

Overall, it was a much-needed relaxing Sunday afternoon and we are absurdly happy about the first few whispers of spring.

My favorite photo of the week is of the first pool session of the season.

Closely followed by this funny shot, of Ford taunting Finley with the bratwurst he stole from her.

And now it's time to get down to business. Thesis and taxes and last AOC exercise, oh my...!
Thank goodness we have grandparent reinforcements on the way this week.

WHY do I fly with kids alone, again? Oh. That's Why.

It seemed like a small jaunt at the time, cutting class and tacking on a quick trip to the Ozarks with the kids before meeting Seth (who had to work) for a weekend wedding with friends in Kansas City. 

Six days later, having flown through a harrowing storm, changed both kids in an airplane bathroom at the same time, survived a near-nervous breakdown when the only car rental company at the minuscule Columbia Airport only had one car seat in the middle of the night, solo road tripped across the state, lost a whole lot of sleep to sharing a room with both tiny terrorists, cleaned up after a major poop disaster while trying to keep both kids out of it (actual conversation snippet: "I did a poopy!" "Oh! Hm. Where?" "Over THERE!! (gleefully pointing)"), repeatedly burned the candle at both ends in order to catch up with some of my favorite people, and returned (after a 3am wakeup for an early flight without the benefit of coffee) to an ER visit for poor Ford whose eardrum ruptured on the plane, nearly giving me a heart attack... I. Am. Exhausted.

Nothing with two small kids in tow is a "little jaunt." 

Naturally, it was worth it. It always is. The kids got to see (in Ford's case, meet) Missouri family that we see all too rarely. And Ana and Ata. Finley fell in love with Nanny's horse, and a large number of cats and dogs, none of whom returned the sentiment. The wedding was beautiful, Kansas City was fun, and I got to catch up with my "Charlottesville family." 

And then there's the fact that three out of four of the Niemans love a good travel adventure.

The fourth got to fly by himself both ways, a vacation in and of itself.

So, minus major exhaustion, everybody won. 

But first, we had our first kid surgery to get through. Finley had her adenoids out Wednesday morning in an attempt to get rid of the perpetually runny nose. 

She also wound up with some surprise ear tubes and had a rough wakeup from anesthesia, but was a total trooper, and within hours was asking for tacos.

Just like her Dad, who used to eschew post-surgery saltines in favor of the illicit burritos he had me sneak in to the PACU.

That very same night (I swear we ran this by the surgeon), the three of us were off to the midwest. Via La Guardia. And O'Hare. (Why is the midwest so hard to travel to??)

We eventually made it, and I was beyond grateful that Mom & Dad, whom I had assured I would be fine on my own, ignored me and met our weary band of travelers in the middle of a hailstorm in the middle of the night in the middle of Missouri, when our storm-tossed plane eventually landed.

And all was well once we got to Gran's, as it always is. Finley adored getting to hang out with Nanny's horse, Fancylegs. Who even seemed to like her.

And she got to eat her body weight in the candy jars I remember secretly raiding in my youth, and help out in the kitchen, her favorite. I love this picture of her and Mom and Gran together.

Ford, despite quietly harboring the ear infection we found out about later, was his usual charming self.

Except at night, when both kids climbed into my bed and took turns attacking each other for hours and then laughing like maniacs. (They look peaceful here. Don't be fooled.)

Our Versailles visit was way too short as usual, but we also got in a quick stop at Aunt Carol's, where the kids got to check out the fish pond and play with my cousin Jami's son Oliver.

And then it was off to Kansas City, where we shared a house in the arts district with some great friends from the grad course. Seth arrived Friday night, after a long day of delayed travel himself, which meant that Finley and I got to join Bex and Steph for a pedicure (her first) Saturday morning. She was delighted that there were "no boys! just GIRLS." And that they had this amazing chair.

Ryan's wedding, at the historic Loose Mansion, was beautiful, and we had a great time. Especially since we got to leave the littlest Niemans with Steph's nanny and have some grownup time. Not that we managed to take any decent pictures while dressed up ("like a princess," according to Finley.) Here was our best family attempt with the kids looking like hooligans, and a cute-ish candid someone snapped at the reception.

I had decided to stay an extra night to see friends, and I'm glad I did (even though, feeling a little less than stellar Sunday morning, I was a tad jealous that Seth got to hop on a plane and nap all the way home.)

A bucket or two of coffee later, we had a blast at City Market for brunch (Steph and I really felt like we nailed it, pulling off brunch + mimosas with all of our kids in tow)

and then we spent a gorgeous afternoon visiting one of my favorite places, the Nelson-Atkins Museum and its kid-friendly sculpture garden. (And also "sharing" at a nearby playground.)

We even got to see my fabulous cousin Hannah, who stopped by for a beer and an animated performance of "Let It Go."

After a much-needed "Charlottesville family" night in with takeout and boxed wine (just like the old days!) and an earlyyyy flight out Monday, we eventually made it home, survived the ER, and are well on our way to eventually maybe someday being ready to travel again. But mostly, panicking about thesis deadlines.

Still, our midwest getaway was a blast, an incredibly special time with family, a much-needed catchup with friends, and totally worth the nutty travel.

As such, there were lots of terrific photos- but these two really cracked me up. 

The look I caught Ford giving Finley as we were waiting for our brunch table,

and the look on Finley's face as Ata carved fresh pineapple and fed her the pieces.

In my next life, I definitely want to come back as Finley.
Or Seth.