Milestones

I've been joking that Levi will be running by the time I get around to taking a video of him taking his unsteady steps....so I finally did it! This video was from Saturday and he's already looking more steady and standing up again after he falls. I think the warm weather is giving him a little more motivation....it's much more comfortable to walk around outside than it is to crawl around. At any rate, it's an exciting development!

And Caleb stunned us this afternoon by riding his bike without training wheels. I remember being a kid and struggling for a long time to get my balance on my first two-wheeler. Caleb pretty much just took off today on his little old bike sans training wheels. I think it's time for a new big-kid bike!

Visit with Uncle Tate

We had a nice visit from Uncle Tate this weekend. While Randy went to get Tate from the airport, I took the kids to a kids performance at the Boston Symphony. It was really well done and we all had a blast hearing the music live!

 

 

The kids couldn't wait to get home and see Tate. Lina had been talking about going running with Caleb while Tate was here, so we set up our back-yard "track" and let her go. Caleb's goal was 100 laps and Lina set out to do 10 (which is ~0.25 miles). Only Lina would set out to run in an outfit like hers! She completed her run and we all were very proud!

 On Sunday, Tate and I planned to do a long run together. Tate is training for a 10K in a couple of weeks and was scheduled to do a long 8 mile endurance run. I figured I could hang with him for the first 6 miles or so but wasn't quite sure about doing the whole 8. Randy and the kids followed us along and stopped to cheer for us several times. I think we were all amused by it! Tate did a great job and was able to do a nice kick at mile 7. I hung in there with him until mile 7, but was able to finish all 8 in 1:10. I was really shocked that I completed the run in such good time! I'm very grateful to Tate for pushing me along!

 

 It was a nice weekend with lots of laughs, running, basketball, and time outside!

Up and This and That

Levi continues to love being "Up". Anything that he can climb up onto, he attempts and loves to do it. The other day after breakfast I was cleaning the kitchen, when Caleb says "Mom, Levi is on the table"! Sure enough he had climbed onto the kids' craft table. He definitely keeps me on my toes! 

 

Here's a random video of Levi laughing at Caleb jumping and falling. 

Scott and Jamie Visit Us

Last week we were treated with a nice visit from cousin Scott and his girlfriend Jamie. They were on spring break from college and decided to come visit Boston....we were thrilled to have them. The kids were beyond excited to have visitors and had such a great time playing with Scott and Jamie. And Randy and I were grateful that Scott and Jamie were so patient with the constant need for attention from the kids. It was such a nice visit because it seemed like the perfect balance of Scott and Jamie spending time in the city, exploring all that Boston has to offer, and them spending time with us and making that family connection. We were able to take them to the beach, go to the Museum of Science, and have lots of play time in the house. They enjoyed all the art museums and the Freedom Trail and ate lots of yummy food in the city. It was a wonderful week and we miss them lots!

Scott and Caleb playing the guitar

Rock-hopping in Rockport. The kids just wanted to be wherever Scott and Jamie were. 

Watching the kinetic sculpture at the Museum of Science

The kids thought is was so cool that Jamie was an art major in college. They couldn't wait to paint with her!

Funny Levi

In attempt to curb Levi's screaming, we often have mealtime chats to distract him from whatever it is that makes him want to scream. Today we were asking him "Where's Caleb?" and "Where's Lina?". When he answered with "Ba-bap" (Caleb) and "E-Na" (Lina), we all laughed....and then he started laughing too. We all love this video.