Adam Rides a Bike...

One of the lessons we've learned as parents is that sometimes as much as you want your child to learn to do something - if they aren't interested then sometimes you just have to back off and let them figure it out on their own terms. Case in point - bike riding. I guess we just assumed this was something Adam would want to learn to do at least by the age of 5 or 6 but after several attempts Adam finally declared "I don't want to ride my bike and you shouldn't force me to." Ummmm...ok. It was that same day we caught an episode of Modern Family where the same topic was brought up and sure enough - the pressure the parents were putting out there was enough to make the daughter refuse to ride - until she was ready - and then she did. Hello life lessons in primetime! :) 

So, that being said - we backed off. However I had a sneaking suspicion that Adam's scooter would help teach him balance and a few weekends back while we were enjoying a ton of outdoor time due to unseasonably warm weather we simply suggested to Adam that he might be able to ride his bike now since he was so good at balancing on his scooter. He seemed interested and willing to try (that's the key) and so we got his bike out, he put on his helmet, and all of a sudden while we weren't even looking Adam starts cheering "I'm doing it!!" And sure enough - without even an ounce of help from us Adam was riding his bike. 

A fun milestone that Adam hit when he was ready and now we can't get him off of it! He even rode his bike nearly 3 miles yesterday. 

We may not have had to teach Adam how to ride a bike - but he certainly taught us something! 

Go Adam go! 

Harper's 1st Haircut...

Another big milestone for Harper - his first haircut!! We snuck him in right before Adam's appointment and since he had missed his morning nap he was tired and a bit out of it so he happily sat on my lap while Teresa gave him a good trim - his bangs sure needed it! He did start to get fussy towards the end so we may not have gotten as much chopped off as we wanted but he was still looking handsome as can be! 

The before....

The during....

The after....

My sweet blondie! 

Harper (really) Walks...

So even though Harper had started taking steps here and there back in December (see here) he really got the hang of it in early January. I came home from my trip to find him walking everywhere and only crawling from time to time - a reverse of what he had been doing. It's just so amazing to watch him continue to reach these milestones. When we first met with the Early Intervention team we wrote out short term and long term goals for Harper (this was when he was only 4 months old) and set a long term goal of Harper being able to walk to the front door to greet Adam when he arrived home from school as something we'd strive to achieve by 18 months - well, leave it to Harper to crush that goal and achieve it at just 16 months! It's probably my favorite thing to watch these days - you tell Harper "go to the door - Adam will be home soon" and he just walks as quick as he can to the window and waits with excitement until he sees the bus. He then proceeds to wave excitedly at Adam as he runs towards the door. I hope they are always this excited to see each other.

PS: The hugs and kisses they give each other before Adam leaves for school are equally as amazing.

Wintergreen...

A few weeks back we headed up to Wintergreen to avoid the craziness surrounding Inauguration Day. We brought Mark, Kathleen, Olivia and puppy Holly along with us and enjoyed a great weekend in the mountains. 

The (older) kids had so much fun playing in the woods most of the time. The weather was really nice and they even had a picnic in the woods just the two of them - so cute how well those cousins get along. 

Harper had fun exploring the house and going for a hike on the golf course where Andy got to fly his drone. We also stopped at a few of the overlooks and snapped some great pictures of the mountains peaking out from what seemed like an ocean of clouds - it was pretty cool. 

We enjoyed some fun meals, a lot of laughs, and a few house issues - but that's par for the course (sorry Mom & Dad!). 

Sadly once our weekend escape was over we still had to return to the reality that is #45....sigh. 

The Netherlands - My Weekend in Amsterdam...

Wow - what an amazing city Amsterdam is. It was never really on my radar as a city I'd want to visit - not sure why it just hadn't really crossed my mind - however now that I've been - I'm already looking forward to getting back there (and hopefully with Andy in tow!) :) 

The weather was chilly but not unbearable - we actually got quite lucky on that front. We had a great hotel right across from the train station and basically in the city center. We did a lot of walking and just taking in the city. We would stop for coffees every now and again - which of course over there are sooooo much better than here. We also enjoyed some more amazing food. My colleague Mario was our tour guide, however he is actually from Portugal so he's also still a bit of a tourist in Amsterdam. He did take us to a Portuguese restaurant though where we had a fun and delicious dinner. We got to talking with the wait staff as well and enjoyed hearing their travel stories - talking with people from different countries is always a highlight of travel for me. 

We walked off our dinner by taking a stroll through the Red Light District. Woah. That's an experience. We didn't spend too much time - just walked through long enough to say we did it. Walking past some of the things you see with two male colleagues definitely ranks high on the "awkward" scale!

We also visited the Van Gogh Museum which was very well done and filled with so much beautiful art. There were several pieces I wish I could have taken with me - ha - but I refrained. After that we took a long walk down to see Ann Frank's house - only to find that the house itself has had a museum built around it - so not really much to see - oh well maybe next time I will plan to visit the museum. 

For our last evening in Amsterdam we went on a river cruise and took in their holiday light show. It was one last festive activity before I had to officially say goodbye to Christmas - haha - I was able to hold on tight for an extra 7 days though! :) It is amazing to see the city from the water - so beautiful. 

Finally it was time to head home and I couldn't wait to see my boys. A long 9.5 hour flight was endured but happily it was smooth and on time! I was greeted at the door by two wagging tales, and happy Adam and a full on walking Harper! Wow - he had flipped a switch while I was gone and I was so proud to see him using his feet as his main mode of transportation. Gifts were given and hugs were shared all around. A fantastic trip and experience but of course there's no place like home!