DC - Bath Buddies

Unfortunate for my precocious well-intentioned son, age doesn't always directly correlate with
adventurousness or experience. My dear sweet boy was totally schooled by a woman half his age!


Caleb: "Look Leila! If I squeeze the pink elephant it will squirt out water and splash you!"
Leila: "Did you say splash?"

Leila: "Hee hee hee hee hee"
Caleb (amidst inordinate amounts of whining): "I don't LIKE her splashing me!"

Advantage Leila.

DC - Capitol to Capitol

Our family spends an awful lot of time around the Capitol building in Madison, WI, so it was only fitting to visit that which inspired her. Our political centerpiece was completed in 1917 just a smidge smaller than and in the likeness of our nation's Capitol building in Washington DC (pictured below).

Although I was gawking at its poignant presence, Caleb was more impressed with trying to get himself close enough to splash in the water fountain and forging adventures through the manicured plants.

DC - Monuments 2 - Caleb & Leila's Guide to the Washington Monument

WELCOME TO THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT

You'll notice running space extending to either side of our immediate area as well as conveniently located running lights within arms reach of the monument to guide you to an alternative vista...

Do NOT leave our illustrious obelisk without taking advantage of the flattering floor lighting to spice up your dishiest disco. A dance party at the foot of our monument is like no other!

Thank YOU for visiting and please DO come back again soon!

Kisses,

Caleb & Leila

DC - Monuments 1 - Lincoln Memorial

The girls and Caleb went for a little jog around the National Mall. Apparently, it took about an hour and a half to run a total of 3 ish miles. We had a request from the rear jogger to see a few sights...

We worked our glutes on the steps.


We literally said "hi" to Abe.



We took a split second to soak up the lovely view...



before another tough round of glute-work to appease the little lady.



And finally, we ran! Imagine if you would the voice of Caleb, an over-tired emphatic two-year-old, whose voice is trailing in the wind as he's at least 10 feet ahead of you hinting, no... suggesting, no... DEMANDING, "I want to go to the Washington Monument right now!" And so, we were off.

DC - How to Ride an Airplane

Take Your Time

I used to be annoyed by the "suggestion" that one should check-in at least two hours prior to departure. TWO HOURS? You might as well just drive if you had to wait THAT long. These days, any extra minute in the airport is a good one. Due to excessive padding in my travel time-allotment, we actually ended up a full two and a half hours early for our flight to Washington DC. No worries though, we learned all about the security process, played in the kiddie area, played in the junk store, ran from one end of the terminal to the other and spent a good half hour just staring at the plane we were going to board (pic below). Did you know that you can watch the luggage being loaded onto the plane (or not, as was the case in our situation. They forgot ours.)? Did you know that you can watch the plane as it is refueled and de-pooed? Did you know that the people with the yellow vests and orange sticks like to dance around a lot?

Set Your Expectations

The pilot, bless his heart, asked Caleb if he wanted to sit in the cockpit. We stared in at a gazillion blinking lights and some very tantalizing levers; I could only imagine his excitement... He's only talked in high octaves and at an incredibly fast pace about flying in an AIRPLANE to see Erica, Jason and baby Leila at least daily for the last month. Although Caleb will stop just about any stranger in their tracks to tell them about what he ate for lunch or what shirt he is wearing or what he dreamed about the previous night; there are a select few who give him the eebie-jeebies. The pilot was one of them. Caleb was too shy/nervous/afraid to sit in the pilot seat and, I'm guessing, will regret that decision for the rest of his toddler existence.

Had we known ahead of time that Caleb was going to be asked to sit in the pilot seat, we would have talked it up enough to make him comfortable with the idea. With that in mind, we spent another solid half hour reviewing the safety brochure and all of the wonderful little gadgets one might get to use in the event of an emergency.

Fly Midwest

Despite the fact that they "lost" our luggage on a direct flight, despite the fact that they gave the subcontracted lost-luggage-delivery-company the wrong phone number and address which made actual delivery a titch difficult, not to mention harrowingly frustrating; Midwest Airlines serves freshly warmed chocolate chip cookies with milk. I say fly Midwest and revel in those morsels!

Spring Scares Me

I am a big fan of ALL of the seasons, especially at the time they are changing, but I have very fond memories of Spring. There is something about the smell of wet earth, specifically that which wakes up under a playground, that jettisons me back to the sheer joy of Spring recesses at my elementary school. The buds in my midst, the thought of summer around the corner and the combination of the sun's warm rays and the cool spring wind invigorated every cell in my body... and then there came Caleb.

These days, Spring holds an entirely new meaning. One that reminds me
that the neighbor's yard has not been mined for dog droppings in something close to six months. One that sparks reluctance in my heart at our approach of a puddle and true fear at our proximity to mud holes. One that cements defeat into my mothering soul because I STILL can't get him to wear gloves, especially now while the rest of his body is warm from the mild weather. However, I'm quite sure that his wee little hands are more prone to getting frostbite as he digs in diminishing snow piles and waves his wet hands in the cool spring wind.

We do what we can. We wear hats (when I win the battle), layered clothing and "splash" boots when we remember. And when we forget, well, we get mud-stained, wet pants and sopping socks (see picture below).

I'm somewhat nauseated to feel such angst-filled emotions at a time that is usually so bright and hopeful. I battle daily with she-who-wants-to-make-things-easier, she who weighs a walk outside with a count of expected loads of wash, she who is not in the MOOD to give another bath in one day. I am fighting to let the innate explorer explore by hampering my "NO's" and even, gasp, encourage a good jump in a puddle. But, I wonder, at this point, if the fear of the nasty dirty frostbitten possibilities of Springs muddled with the fear of being an overprotective smothering mother will ever migrate back to sheer Spring joy.

Night Strolling

Who could resist a jaunt to soak up the last few glorious rays of the day's sun?

We often take the trek down to the neighborhood lake in the summer, but walking out on a frozen lake on a clear night at sunset is most definitely a rare occurrence!

We'd had a few 40+ degree sunny days at the end of February that reminded us how wonderful it is to be outside. This day in particular was deceptively sunny. It had the appearance of a 40+ degree day, but the bite of early March in Wisconsin. Let's just say that our sunset gazing didn't last very long: long enough for a few candids and a minute of stroller skating on ice.