Beach camping!

Last weekend we went beach camping for the first time. We reserved our campsite at First Landing State Park several months ago, but as we got closer I started to question my sanity--looking at the massive pile of baby gear, beach gear, plus camping gear we'd need made me wonder whether it was worth the effort. However. even though we only stayed a night this time, it was super fun and we are looking forward to going again next year (maybe we'll get a yurt!).

 Benjy was not too sure about the sand, but he tolerated it as well as a ten-month-old could.

 Hanging out.

 Robbie tried out the boogie board. Henry was scared of the ocean but got in for a little bit.

 Clara didn't want to come on the trip, but she was glad she did and enjoyed herself at times.

 Buried alive . . . aaahhh!

 Robbie was super stoked about being able to fly our kite. It was magical.

 Ugh, hate the beauty filter that Clara put on the phone, but I do love this guy and had to include it. It was so nice to relax together away from home.

 I had the kids pour popcorn (Boom Chicka Pop from Costco--one of those huge bags--I think they might have been more excited about that than the trip itself!) into sand pails before we used them.

 Benjy eventually fell asleep in his play yard under the canopy--what a trooper. He slept pretty well at night (I nursed him once in the night, I think, when he woke up and cried and I didn't want the other kids to wake up.).

 Another buried body.

 Enjoying a fire after we had hamburgers on the Coleman stove, courtesy of Michael.

 We have been reading Little House in the Big Woods to the kids, which they've been enjoying.

 Benjy is quite a little climber, haha (Michael is standing behind him).

The boys were pleased that they could climb this tree by our campsite.

 The Chesapeake Bay was great because it had waves but they weren't nearly as big as the Atlantic. The boys loved collecting shells on Saturday morning before we packed up. On Sunday on the way to church, Robbie told me he wished we were still at the beach camping. I asked him, "What about when you said that you wanted to leave when we were at the beach?" "Well," he responded, "I was only homesick for, like, a minute or two."

Despite the stress of preparation and clean up, we discovered that one nice thing about combining the beach and camping is that camping is messy already, so the sand and dirt from the beach isn't as stressful to clean up as it is in a beach condo. It was a fun and memorable trip!

Looks like another trip will be in the near future.

A smattering

Here are a few pics of life over the past couple of months.

 Robbie played his first official season of soccer this spring. He learned a lot and really got better. His assistant coach called him "happy feet" because he really hustled and had a strong kick. He made some goals, too!

Henry also participated in "Mini Kickers," although it was with reluctance.

 I had fun going to Henry's special day at preschool and seeing him interact with his classmates and teachers. He did a good job of listening to the teachers.

 Robbie lost his first tooth! (Nice face.)

Bryan drove nearly three hours to come visit for a few hours and then leave again. It was so fun to see him, and of course Robbie and Henry think he's awesome.

 Chatting with Robbie on the couch (lucky kid got to stay up late to chat a little).

 Benjy is such a fun Costco shopping buddy--this particular day I got at least four or five different comments about what a happy, cute baby he is. I agree!

 Clara sang in her eighth grade chorus concert and received the award for "Best Smile."

 Clara made this vanilla pudding nearly all by herself (and left the mess to prove it).

 Feeding Benjy, or stealing his food, or preventing him from eating non-food items are three activities that keep the kids busy.

 One of Robbie's Duplo creations.

 These three boys are so fun.

 Candid taken by one of the kids of me multi-tasking, ahem.

 Benjy got a yucky adenovirus that caused him to feel very lousy and left his face and body covered in spots. Fortunately he was better after a few days. So glad it wasn't the measles, which has broken out all over the U.S. due to dumb people not vaccinating their children.

 We had fun going on a hike to Fridley Gap with our neighbors, the Zopps.

 It was super cold but Michael jumped in.

 Benjy was unimpressed.

 First hike of the season!

This picture makes me smile.

Clara the dancer

Back in January, Clara requested ballet clothing and gear for her fourteenth birthday. I reminded her that it wasn't likely that we could find a beginning class at her age, but she wanted them anyway and was happy with the leotard, etc. we got her. However, to find ballet slippers I felt we should go to a dance studio to make sure we got the right size. At the studio, I felt embarrassed by Clara's behavior as we tried on several pairs of slippers to find the right size and couldn't find one that felt comfortable. In an attempt to explain, I mentioned we were looking for an adaptive dance class, and the employee mentioned that they had one there. Surprised, we looked into it and it was a wonderful fit for Clara. She absolutely loved going each week. After her first dance class, she exclaimed happily, "I LOVED it! I felt like I could just dance away all my problems." It brought Michael and I so much joy to see her feel so happy.


I got to go into one of the dress rehearsals in class with Miss Elayna, who was the sweetest teacher and is now a special ed teacher in Northern Virginia.

That smile!

Clara with Taylor and Alissa.

 I was proud of Clara for getting up on that stage all by herself with these two girls! They danced to Taylor Swift's "Welcome to New York." (This pic was taken during dress rehearsal, hence the empty seats.)

 Clara did a wonderful job and I can't wait to see what she does next year.

Henry turns four!

Henry turned four on Sunday. Four! He seems to have shot up in the past few months, which his well-check today confirmed--75th percentile for weight, 80th percentile for height. On the way to his appointment, I told him about what they'd do at the check-up. "And they'll see how tall you are. . . " I continued. "Am I 8:30, or 9:30, or 10:30?" he asked. His pediatrician, Dr. Hutton, noticed a wheeze when she checked his lungs, and at this point she said she would officially diagnose him as having asthma. He doesn't have to do breathing treatments too often, so we'll see how things go in the future.

 For breakfast, he requested Lucky Charms, which he was really excited about. He had asked for at least six months for different cereals as we would go grocery shopping, pointing to one and asking, "Can I have this on my birthday?"

 As you can tell, Robbie was excited about having some, too. Henry has a generous nature and was happy to share them.

 Playing "heavy heavy hang over" for presents.

 Nerf guns--woohoo!!! Henry was most excited about this gift.

 He also got a big blue ball and a hover soccer ball set.

 Henry requested a Superman cake--Mom made it and Daddy decorated it. Yum!

 Blowing out the candles.

 Such a big boy.

Happy birthday, buddy! We love you so much. (Clara was sick in bed with a stomach bug.)

{The next morning, Henry asked me at breakfast, "Mama, am I still four?" "Yep!" I replied. "Okay," he said happily.}

As a side note, Henry was diagnosed with Complex Motor Stereotypy disorder in April. We have noticed his excitement movements from when he was little, occurring infrequently. However, over the past few months, they really escalated in frequency and scale, causing his whole body to pulsate, writhe, wriggle, etc. and he occasionally emits sounds as well. We were referred to the UVA pediatric neurologist, Dr. Abu Abdeh, who was very knowledgeable. We also received the same diagnosis from Erik Heiss' neurologist friend, who saw a short video we had sent Erik. They are not harmful, but they definitely make for some interesting movements from Henry. They come and go in frequency and severity and apparently are not outgrown. We had a family fast for him and have received comfort and peace, and he generally seems unphased by them at this point. We've also pulled back on speech therapy for his stuttering (which we began last fall and continued weekly for about six months), trying to work on "easy talking" at home and not interrupting. He's not self-aware enough to be able to correct himself, and I don't want him to feel too much pressure to change his talking. We sure love this kid no matter what adventures come!