Hi and Happy Monday! We had a good weekend and I hope you did too. Took the baby to a restaurant for the first time, got outside, had a family breakfast and last but not least, watched the SAG Awards. And by “watched,” I mean tried to listen to it while laying inside my toddler’s tent with him until he went to bed and I could watch it in peace. (But truly, I love nothing more than laying in his tent with him, which is saying a lot because I REALLY love an awards show 🤍)

We had a Friday afternoon visit from Todd and Cathy! They finally got to meet Lydia 💞 She decided to cry most of the time but eventually settled down and slept a little. Dempsey and Grandma were busy in the kitchen making funfetti cupcakes and afterward, Dempsey showed everyone how he could jump on his trampoline and did some painting for Todd, who’s an artist himself. It was a really nice visit!

Now that Lydia’s had her first round of shots, we (and our pediatrician) feel safe enough to take her out and about, so we decided to go out to eat for the first time as a family of four. Scary considering she can be a complete mess in the evening but she did so good and we had a really fun time. We hit up Edgewater Public Market because it’s loud and full of other families and we would be able make a quick exit if need be, but we didn’t even have to. Dempsey did really good too and he even sat in a big chair all by himself at the table! Got the kids home and Dempsey to bed then fired up Causeway and watched about half before heading up to bed ourselves.

Look at that angel baby who slept from 10-6! She started doing that out of the blue and while I’m not quite convinced it’s here to stay, I’ll take the good sleep for now. Made us all some Elvis (aka peanut butter and banana) waffles for breakfast and then we all headed to the library/park. Dempsey got some new books and then, at the park, he just casually went down the big tunnel slide without any prompting, which he’d definitely never done before! Feels like it wasn’t long ago that he wouldn’t go down even the smallest slides. We’re so proud and excited! Back at home, Joey and Lydia passed out on the couch so Dempsey and I did lunch and nap time together and let them sleep.

Joey and I finished our movie during nap time and I really really liked it! Wish it had gotten more buzz but Brian Tyree Henry did get a best supporting actor nomination so I guess someone was paying attention! It was also only an hour and a half long. More of that, please. After Dempsey woke up, we hung out for a bit then loaded the kids up in the stroller and walked around the lake. Dempsey likes to turn around and check on baby sis and he also got out and ran for a bit with Joey. We’re practicing for the Bolder Boulder! Back at home, we watched the end of Brave (which we had started that morning) and the beginning of Tangled (couldn’t we have gotten some better songs for Mandy Moore??) and had leftovers for dinner. Started The Woman King after putting Dempsey to bed but we didn’t make it far.

Had a great Sunday! Miss Lydia and Joey got up early and Dempsey and I slept in 🥰 A little bit later, Grandpa Steve and Lorna brought over breakfast and some delicious pastries! Grandpa got Lydia to fall asleep and Dempsey was being so fun and playing with Lorna 🤍 It was so nice to spend some time with them!

After they left, Joey took Dempsey on a run in the stroller and Lydia and I made salads for the week, Dempsey came home and had lunch then took a nap and I fit in a run of my own, followed by a shower. Dempsey and I played upstairs for a bit after his nap and he tried on baby sis’s headband 😂 then helped me with the laundry. Later on, Joey made us all a really good stir-fry for dinner. Dempsey loved it, which I was so happy about! Turns out Netflix was streaming the SAG Awards on their YouTube channel so we had to AirPlay it onto our TV but that worked out just fine. We put a movie on the iPad for Dempsey to watch in the tent but he needed Mom to join him. I honestly loved it 🤍 Joey offered to do bath and bedtime though, so I got to see most of the second half of the show. I was so happy to see Michelle Yeoh win Best Actress. Nothing but love and respect for Cate Blanchett but she has two Academy Awards already and she’ll be fine without a third so let’s give it to Michelle come March 12th, eh? Watched a bit more of The Woman King after the show and I was super ready to love this one but it feels painfully cheesy. We’ll see how it ends I guess.

Wishing you all a nice end to your February!

No plans, extra sleep, warm weather, and lots of movies means we had a good weekend! Also Dempsey had his first sleepover at my parents’ (I got a text from my mom at 10:30 PM on Sunday saying he’d finally sung himself to sleep 😂) so our weekend ended on an unusual but quieter note.

Friday started with donuts! Dempsey and I drive past this donut shop every Friday on our way to Grandma’s and finally decided to stop in. It is very no frills inside but there were regulars and a little line forming and I took those to be good signs. Got a mixed dozen and Dempsey had eaten three donut holes by the time I said goodbye to him. Can personally vouch for the twist and plain cake donuts! Back at home, Lydia was being all smiley and I love that 😍

The second half of the day included a long walk around the lake, wings and a movie. Joey had mentioned this wing place he wanted to try and Friday seemed like a good time to do it. It was a bit of a drive but I thought the ordering/pick up was smooth as could be and the wings and fries were GOOD. And also really meaty. Dempsey ate some waffle fries but would hardly touch the wings so I guess he’s a Fire on the Mountain loyalist 😂 Started Empire of Light after toddler bedtime and halfway through we weren’t really sure why it had such a bad rating. More on this later though.

Not sure where else to mention this, so I’ll say it here. Dinner time is so chaotic lately. Lydia is almost always crying because we’ve put her down to eat and she’s somehow always overtired, and between trying to have an adult conversation with Joey and respond to all the things Dempsey is saying, my brain feels like it’s going to explode. Hoping we find a new flow soon but for now, I just expect to feel completely overstimulated every evening 🤪

Lydia slept from 10 PM to 5:45 AM on Friday night!!!! Her longest stretch yet. I woke up in a semi-panic but we could hear her snoozing away in there and she woke up to eat shortly after. We let her sleep in her bassinet till 9 AM and it was truly strange to eat breakfast just the three of us. I was trying to use up mascarpone from last week’s pasta and found a pancake recipe that called for some. They were really good!!! We were near out of fruit so frozen wild blueberries to the rescue. Lydia had her two month photo shoot afterward and I can’t believe the difference a month makes! Took the kids to the park afterward and Dempsey hates heights but loves spinning, so he spent a lot of time on the tire swing. During nap time, both Joey and I got in a run and once Demps was back awake, we all watched Space Jam. Dempsey liked that part where Wayne Knight’s character gets inflated like a giant balloon 😂 Leftovers for dinner then finished our movie after Dempsey’s bedtime and I thought it looked and sounded beautiful but wasn’t sure what it wanted to be about.

Sunday started with biscuit sandwiches! The best 🤤 The rest of the morning involved Mary Poppins, Magnatiles, Joey fixing a drain and a baby nap in my arms. Sometimes, for funsies, we try putting Lydia down for a nap in her crib, then we laugh and laugh at ourselves for thinking it could be that easy 😂 But instead of feeling frustrated like I did with Dempsey, I just think “guess she’s still too little for that.” Black Panther: Wakanda Forever during toddler nap time and dang, I wish these BP movies weren’t saddled with the task of being so self-serious.

My parents came to pick Dempsey up around 3 and I kept getting cute updates on what they were doing, including a video of him eating Sloppy Joe and saying “I lub it” which I know brought such joy to my mom’s heart 🤍 Meanwhile, we were at home eating stir-fried eggs with velvet shrimp (yum!) and having a single conversation. What a concept! 😂 Watched an entire movie in one go afterward. Bones and All was less gory and less cheesy than I had expected and I actually kind of liked it?? Thought Chalamet, Russell and Stuhlbarg were all so good despite some issues with the plot.

This morning has felt so quiet without our rambunctious toddler around. I miss him! Lydia and I are off to our 2 month appointment today. Wish us luck!