Just the Three of Us

Since one week ago, it's pretty much been Mommy and the kids on their own, as Daddy has been traveling quite a bit. He left last Thursday to visit Oma (Opa's mother and one of the kids' great-grandmothers) in Germany, as Oma hasn't been feeling that well lately. We missed Daddy but were glad that he had a chance to spend time with Oma and hope his presence cheered her up. He was supposed to get back into town on Monday afternoon, but because of a flight snafu along the way, he missed his connection in Paris and ended up taking a roundabout way home (through London), arriving late at night. Because he had to leave first thing in the morning for a business trip to Chicago, his delayed arrival meant that he didn't even get to see Alex and Ari for the few hours he was home. Luckily he will be getting home tonight, but his flight gets in after Alex and Ari's bed time and he's leaving early tomorrow morning for work, so Alex and Ari won't get to see him until late in the day tomorrow. Mommy is sure they are going to be very excited to have him home- every time we come home, they look around asking "Daddy, Daddy?!"

With Daddy gone, we had to find lots of ways to keep busy this week. On Monday, we had our My Gym class in the morning, where Alex and Ari mastered head stands and forward rolls. In the afternoon we went shopping for some supplies Mommy needed for a baby shower she's co-hosting for a friend this weekend, so we headed out to the party store and also got some grocery shopping out of the way. Later in the day, Nana and Poppy came over to visit:
Tuesday Mommy decided to take the kids out to lunch at Baja Fresh and the three of us had a really nice lunch. The kids ate so well that Mommy decided to treat them to ice cream from Maggie Moo's afterwards. Think Alex and Ari enjoyed their ice cream? After lunch and dessert, we got some more shopping done. Alex and Ari were in a very playful mood, entertaining each other in their stroller while Mommy shopped. Here is Ari playing peek-a-boo with Alex with a piece of clothing she snagged off a nearby rack: Tuesday evening Nana came over to babysit while Mommy went to a class she takes. Alex and Ari were very happy to have Nana read them some bedtime stories and put them to bed. When they woke up on Wednesday morning, they were both looking around and asking for their Nana!

Wednesday we hosted our neighborhood playgroup, but because the weather was so nice (the last unseasonably warm day we were scheduled to have in October), we held it at the tot lot across the street. Alex discovered a fun game of running away from Mommy (down the path near the tot lot), only to have her chase after him, catch him, and bring him back. It would have been a fun game if Mommy wasn't almost 37 weeks pregnant. Luckily Ari sat nicely with her friends and didn't make Mommy run in two different directions.

In the evening, we had eight of Alex and Ari's neighborhood friends and their Mommies (several of whom also had husbands who were out of town this week) over for pizza dinner. Remember that most of our neighborhood friends are "older" boys...and picture all of them in our basement, working out extra energy. Yeah, Mommy didn't think that one through too well (probably her "brightest" idea since having Daddy's entire soccer team of 13-14 year old boys over for a party) and Alex and Ari seemed to wonder what happened to their normally calm playroom. Mommy's friends were a huge help to Mommy, though, so even though it was chaotic, it was still nice to have company over and everyone had a fun time...just maybe too much fun!

Today it was back to school for Alex and Ari after a two-week hiatus due to holidays. They were so happy to be back in school with their friends, and are very proud of their grown-up status. Mommy was proud to see them sharing with all of their friends and sitting nicely during circle time (not an easy task for squirmy toddlers). They also sat very nicely during snack/story time (see below). We tried finger painting today, but Alex and Ari didn't seem too keen on getting their hands so dirty. They did create some artwork, though, with stampers and markers:

This afternoon Miri is coming over to watch Alex and Ari while Mommy goes in for her weekly doctor's appointment. We're looking forward to having Daddy home at last and to spending the weekend as a family!