Farewell to #twoundertwo

Seth reminded me yesterday that I hadn't even intended to celebrate Finley's birthday this weekend. We're waiting until Tony & Jayne are here to do her party, and this weekend was kind of shot due to Seth's all-weekend AOC exercise anyway.

But that was before I had let it slip that Finley mighttttt be getting the present of her dreams from Aunt Missy. For weeks, she's been telling us that she wants a helmet for her birthday every time the subject comes up. Missy had ordered her an adorable pink one with cat ears, and I think Finley suspected as much. We couldn't make her wait for it any longer.

Saturday morning we were having groggy early morning snuggle time in Mom & Dad's bed to the sounds of Disney Junior when Finley climbed down and padded down the hallway in search of something or other she had decided she had to have. When she didn't come right back with it, I finally got a little worried and dragged myself out of bed to find her. And came upon this scene.

She had stumbled on her pile of presents and was delightedly playing with the leapfrog flashlight from Ben & Lisa on top.  When she saw me, she hopped up, went to the kitchen, got herself a butter knife out of the drawer, brought it to me, and demanded "help!" while gesturing at the boxes she had figured out contained presents.

So we spent the morning eating leftover Halloween cupcakes (thank goodness for Michelle's Georgetown cupcakes delivery!) and watching Finley open her presents. She loved them all. 

The helmet was obviously the highlight. She has rarely taken it off since. Although it was kind of hilarious: she opened the box, lifted out the helmet, examined it gleefully, put it on her head, and then leveled me with a steely gaze and said: "bike." As if to say, "now that I've got the helmet, I'm going to need a big girl bike." 

Seth got a break from his exercise for the Army- Air Force game, and Finley was hoping for a birthday win. Sadly, it was not to be- but it did bring Uncle Aaron and Zoe to town, so we had post-game pizza and tea parties, and this ridiculous balloon game the girls invented.

And then Finley pooped on the floor.

What a way to cap off two, just when we were starting to get sentimental about how big Finley had gotten. It was apropos. Those of us who didn't go to bed in the throes of a sugar crash ended the day laughing. (And scrubbing.)

Which is a good thing, because we'd all been desperately in need of a laugh.We had finally managed to get Ford back into daycare (and I got to go for a gorgeous run in the Gunks that involved this fun rocky scramble and glorious view), where he hung on for exactly one day before projectile vomiting and being ejected. I trekked back to the doctor with him, only to find that his eardrums had both ruptured, poor little guy.

Not that you'd know it. He's such a sweet, smiley guy he's happy even when he's miserable. This is him hanging out in Dad's egg chair at work, when I took him down to USMA on a jog to avoid going insane from foregone workouts.

And earlier that day, upon his rescue and immediately after throwing up all over his classroom)

And hanging out with Uncle Ashton, who visited earlier in the week. 

The strain has taken a toll, though, smiley babies notwithstanding. Ford's prolonged sickness had cost me two days of school and three critical writing days, and I was starting to panic. We're deeply committed to daycare and think it's great for the kids, but have had to start thinking about the possibility of a full time nanny. We're at the beginning of cold and flu season, and already can't afford to take any more time off. We'll see. Currently, we're hoping for a healthy winter (and good research paper karma.) It doesn't seem like a reliable plan. The whole thing is nerve-wracking, and neither of us have been particularly easy to get along with as we juggle school and work and sick kids and sleep deprivation. (And don't even get me started on daylight savings time.)

So Finley's birthday was a much-needed bright spot, and things do seem to be looking up this week. Daycare hasn't called yet today, a fact that I find so shocking I actually checked my phone to make sure it was on, and Finley and I finished off the cupcakes for breakfast. In our underwear and cowboy hats. On the bathroom floor. While Ford eyeballed the massive black eye his sister gave me yesterday and spat his medicine at us. Because... Monday. Here's to a better week! 

Two photos of the week: a retrospective (we can't believe it's been two years!)

and a fitting and funny farewell to #twoundertwo, from my crazy Sunday at home alone with the heathens.

OK, one more. I love this one because it's so... Finley. Marching down the hallway at CDC with her reindeer hat on sideways. Like a boss.

Dead bears, sick babies, and another year of the duck costume.

I will never be one of those people who wonders what stay at home Moms do all day. (Don't think they're out there? You don't read as many Mom blogs as I do.) 

What I can't help but wonder is how in the hell they ever take a shower. 

And forget working out. The other day it took me 3.5 hours to get in about 22 minutes of cardio. Only pure stubbornness kept me and Jillian Michaels going.

We're on day 6 of a sick Ford. Seth picked him up Wednesday from daycare upon notification of an ear infection (Finley never had one, so we weren't on the lookout), and even after I spent both work-at-home days hanging out with him instead of doing any actual working (or working out), he got worse instead of better.

In the meantime, we pulled off a truly crazy juggling act to still manage a work dinner for Seth, Finley's harvest festival, 

and the aftermath of the Great Bear Eradication of 2016. (Seth finally got to go hunting, and killed a big black bear with his bow. Which may or may not have been the one that has been terrorizing our neighborhood. I've learned it's better not to ask these sorts of questions.) A couple trips to a remarkably efficient processor later, Seth and Finley kicked off the week with bear sausages. Yeehaw.

By Friday I was starting to get major sick baby cabin fever. Thankfully, Michelle sent cupcakes

and Seth took Ford so Finley and I could have a date night. I'm pretty certain I never pictured a Friday night date involving a Target run and a trip to Chili's, but it was hilarious. And I have always had a soft spot for the molten lava cakes. I was pleased to see that the apple doesn't fall from the tree there. (Not that many toddlers turn down gooey chocolate and their own spoon.)

The weekend weather took a sudden turn for the warm and sunny after a cold, blustery week stuck indoors, and we got in a family hike through Bear Mountain and to the Bear Mountain Zoo. The highlight was obviously Seth's reciprocated turkey calls, which both Finley and the turkeys loved, and which attracted quite a crowd. (For some reason, that I neglected to photograph, but I took like ten shots of them looking at the swans.)

And poor Ford, who had been sleepless for days, racked out in Finley's Tula, to her eternal indignation and my fervent relief.

We enjoyed a much-needed weekend at home, and got stuff done around the house. Seth took the kids for a couple hours while I skated out for a much-needed trail run, and watched Army football with friends up the hill while Finley and I went to the nature museum for some outside time 

and stopped by Jones Farm, where a Very Aggressive Chicken snatched this cookie out of her hand just seconds after this photo was taken. Finley, while shrieking in terror, somehow managed to snatch it back. And shove it back in her mouth. 

It's possible that I have never been more proud.

By Monday, Ford was hacking and coughing and looked like death warmed over. Daycare was definitely not going to take him. I couldn't afford to skip class and was panicky. As usual, though, the guy who rarely does laundry, can't find the cooking utensils, and never, ever (did I mention ever?) gets up with kids in the middle of the night... came through in a huge way when the chips were down.

He simply scooped up Ford and the travel pack & play, inquired when his next bottle was due, and took the little guy to work with him. On Sports Fanatic Day, no less (don't ask), in a matching jersey. Ford apparently took meetings, napped in the corner, and prevented everybody from getting anything done otherwise. (I was reminded of the time I came down with meninigitis just hours before Seth was due to leave for his grandfather's funeral, and he matter-of-factly secured an infant ticket and took a tiny Finley and a cooler of frozen milk with him.) 

I'll put in an awful lot of wee morning hours for a guy who simply does what needs to be done in a pinch, and always comes through for his kids.

Naturally, West Point (aka Stepford) displayed zero concern for families with two working parents, and scheduled Halloween festivities for 3:30 on Monday. We muddled through, the kids nearly froze to death, the fire truck parade was an hour late (and, apparently, terrifying), and Finley hated trick or treating. But she loved giving out (and sampling) candy, and her Sheriff Callie costume. Also, she discovered tootsie roll pops. And Ford tolerated the duck costume.

I kept a still-sick Ford home again today, having arranged to cut class, and thought "well, why not?" and kept Finley home too. Turned out to be a treat to get a day at home with them. We cooked up a storm, played at the park, and finally got Ford some decent antibiotics after securing a bronchiolitis diagnosis (but not before Finley terrorized the doctor's office, insisting on stripping and covering herself in stickers while we waited.)

Also, she apparently learned how to take selfies. The kid who refuses to look at a phone camera held by anyone else, spent a full 20 minutes saying "cheese" to my phone while I fed Ford, and took about 800 of these.

Still, the photo of the week is this awesome side-by-side of Finley and Ford in the duck costume. 

Here's to a quick (ifthereisagod) recovery for Ford, and hope everybody had a happy Halloween!

Apples, Adirondacks, Army football, and MISSY!

This morning, Finley found a picture of my parents on a bookshelf and walked around the house hugging it and asking for "Ata" until I finally gave in and called and woke up Dad in Arkansas so she could tell him good morning. Sometimes when she doesn't want to go to bed at night, we hear her appealing to "Gammaw" over the baby monitor. And she wants to say hi to Missy and the fish on her family gallery wall all the time now.

We've been so lucky to get to see our families as often as we have this fall, but before we had kids an empty guestroom was a much less heartbreaking proposition. It didn't make it any easier that Missy's visit was practically perfect in every way. (And so jam packed with fun that for the first time in ages, I missed a blog week. Pretty sure I didn't even do that when the kids were born!)

From one early morning race to JFK (and back in time to beat game day traffic) to a much less jubilant one a week-plus later, we enjoyed every second. True to Walters family vacation style, it was short on sleep and long on hiking, views, and "weather be damned" adventures. There was apple picking and cabin porch wine and pumpkin carving and pass the pigs. Missy made pilgrimages to our old house and the Bear Mountain Zoo, caught her first Army football game (a blowout), taught Finley to say "spooky" (which is hilarious), had a date day with each kid, found the truly amazing Wild Center, learned to use a baby bjorn, and handled toddler meltdowns with panache. We discovered- and fell in love with- the Adirondacks in the rain, and missed the rest of our siblings madly.

The trip to the Adirondacks was my first real vacation in as long as I can remember, and- not that we didn't miss Seth, who had work and another Army football game on his plate- Missy was just one of the gang, wrestling with car seats and carrying kids up mountains and speaking in whispers so Finley would fall asleep in our one room mountain cabin. I was and remain grateful. Vacationing with kids is a totally different proposition, and- although manageable- takes some getting used to. Unless you're Missy, for whom it was seamless.

I'm so glad the Walters kids are all living their dreams, but hate how far away from each other it's taken us, and am reminded that any time we get to see each other is a huge treat. (Mountain cabins and fall leaves are just bonus.) Thanks, Miss, for making the long trip.

Photos never do it justice, but we always give it the ol' college try anyway, and there are a bunch here. 

And now as fall winds down (it's been spectacular!) and we settle in for a cold and windy winter on top of Stony Lonesome, we've started the countdown to the next round of family get-togethers. Until then, sorry in advance to anyone Finley calls at odd hours. You're all missed (and she's figuring out the phone at an alarming rate.)

Grandma Jayne for Columbus Day!

Against all odds, it seems that we have survived midterms, the AOC class Seth taught, and the first round of seasonal colds. (Although, to be honest, the latter are still in progress.)

By happy coincidence, we had much-needed help over the long weekend, and likely would not have survived without it. After a horrible day of travel complicated by Hurricane Matthew flight cancellations, Grandma Jayne arrived Thursday night. The kids were so excited, I let them stay up past bedtime to see her. This was the scene in our guestroom while we waited. 

(Yes, that's Finley's Sheriff Callie Halloween costume she's wearing while jumping on the bed. We pick our battles around here.)

And, although there was a fair amount of candle-burning at both ends for those of us with dozens of pages to write, we had a bang-up weekend celebrating fall and playing tourist.

Jayne and I finally made it to the apple orchard in Warwick I had been dying to check out, and- tired toddler tantrums notwithstanding- we had a great time picking apples and checking out the farm animals. 

Finley even talked us into a pony ride, which she adored (even if we suspect she wanted to wear the helmet as much as she wanted to ride the horse.) It was basically the cutest thing ever.

Saturday night, Seth got to drop the puck at the preseason NHL game at Tate arena. It was very cool.

Finley had the time of her life, minus this terrifying interaction with the Panthers mascot.

And both kids, it turns out, love hockey games. I'm hoping this is a temporary fascination and there is still hope for swimming, since I imagine that goggles and latex caps are significantly cheaper than pads and hockey sticks. 

Sunday, we trekked into the city in the pouring rain for an awesome personal tour of FDNY Engine 10, Fire 10 by one of the 9/11 first responders Seth had met.

And a trip to the 9/11 memorial and One World Trade Center.

True to form, Finley's favorite part was the ridiculous and not-at-all scenic skycam.

She refused to leave it to look at the city view, preferring the grainy images of cars below and her ability to hop "on" them.

Ford, as per usual, was a perfect little gentleman all weekend. Jayne sent me this picture of our smiley guy when I was in school on Monday (no Columbus Day at Columbia, oddly!)

We all loved (and appreciated!) Grandma Jayne's visit, and can't wait until next time. I'm getting a regular workout taking Finley to the calendar to show her when we get to see grandparents again, and we love having something to countdown to. 

A couple favorites from the week:

A balancing act.

It's an ongoing conversation I have with girlfriends: how to "figure out the work-life balance." It's only slowly dawning on most of us, as we have more kids, more demanding jobs, ever-lengthening commutes (in order to accommodate both), more laundry, less time with our spouses, and on and on and on... that we have it figured out. That is to say, we now realize that it's a perpetual balancing act, a little bit like walking a tightrope with no discernible solid ground on either side. While carrying two kids. Who will not. sit. still. And also balancing a bottle of laundry detergent on your head. Which doesn't have a lid on it because your toddler is obsessed with lids and likely removed it and hid it under your sink. Which is, for some damn reason, leaking on the floor. Or is that spilled milk...?

... I digress. At any rate, while navigating this balancing act, you are never really even-keeled. Some weeks you get behind on work stuff and catching back up takes over. Seth had one of those weeks, as his knapsack currently includes all kinds of certifications he needs for work plus his ridiculous AOC course, neither of which he can manage to squeeze into his work day.

As a result, I had a "didn't get much schoolwork done" week. I'd call that kids winning, but we like to think the kids always win in a pinch. It may not be strictly true, but it helps us sleep at night. In the case of my week, the pendulum swung wildly in favor of CDC. (I know that's mixing metaphors in a big way, but sleep never makes the "winning" or even "breaking even" list.) I definitely didn't mind setting aside my voluminous reading to get us all back and forth a dozen times to accommodate CDC Open House. (Since it was an adorable family night culminating in the worst Mexican food I have ever had at "La Hacienda," but hey- I didn't have to cook. And hearing Finley scream "TA-cos!" was worth choking down whatever passes for tinga in Highland Falls.)

I was less thrilled about the half day of paper writing I lost due to the CDC nurse's mistaken belief that Finley was due for more shots, the fact that Seth just took her in for one she was allegedly missing two weeks ago notwithstanding. 

Finley, on the other hand, was thrilled, since she got a morning reprieve from "school" to wait around at the doctor's with Mom, a sticker for her troubles, and a DFAC breakfast date-- and didn't have to have any shots to boot.

Seth and I both had good intentions of getting caught up on a rainy weekend at home, having cancelled our trip to the Berkshires due to the forecast and the need for a no-travel/ no-company/ no-excuse not to study weekend between the Buffalo trek and a slew of upcoming houseguests (about which we're super excited! but desperately want to be able to enjoy without worrying about deadlines.) Naturally, we didn't get as much done as we wanted and I think Seth pulled an all-nighter last night as penance. 

But we had a blast hanging out at home. Finley got to go to her first birthday party, which was complete with a Tumblebus and face stickers and cake pops. (And, much to Seth's delight, Bloody Marys.) The Ryan family definitely set the birthday party gold standard.

I got in a long-ish run (a real treat these days), and even snagged a quick nap on the couch with our snuggly little guy.

Who gets his fair share of Mom & Dad naptime, actually. 

We peeled ourselves off the couch on a rain break long enough to check out the Wildlife Education Center (Finley liked the snakes. Ford snoozed.) The StoryWalk was a big hit too, although you wouldn't know it from this picture.

Although the Cornwall Park was the highlight for Finley, who learned "giddyap" this weekend (obnoxiously, she has also learned that it's funny to shout it while I'm pushing the jogging stroller uphill) and is getting big enough to make us nervous on the springy horses.

Annddd we finally finished off the garage, just in time for it to get chilly enough out to require winter wear inside it. Which made for this adorable sequence of pictures in which Finley and Ford "shared" a football toy in Dad's recliner.

Before we knew it, it was Monday morning, and we're off again. Grandma Jayne arrives for the long weekend on Thursday, and these little guys are almost as excited as Seth & I. We're planning a date night, and don't even care that we will probably spend it at the library.

Cheers to everybody else on the tightrope! I have a couple favorite photos this week, but the clear winner is this one, a glimpse into what makes double diaper duty and the circus that is twoundertwo life worth it:

Naturally, there are also plenty of these moments. ("Ford, do not touch my baby!")

And because I keep forgetting to send the following kid updates, Finley's hair is finally growing, and she's working an impressive rat tail right now. It cracks us up.

And Ford has two teeth! (This was my attempt to capture them on camera, which largely failed although if you squint at the bottom right one you may catch a glimpse.) His steak days are right around the corner.