Grady's Birthday, Grandma and Grandpa visit, Spring comes to Portland

Phew, it feels like it's been forever since the last post.  A lot has happened, and this is a photo-laden post. First and foremost, Grady turned four.  It was a very special birthday because Grandma and Grandpa came out to visit and celebrate with us.

It's the best we could do

Unfortunately for Peggy and Jeff, but fortunately for the rest of us, Clara was sick while they were here.  Her discomfort manifested itself largely in less than desirable behavior.  Meaning, maybe 14 percent of waking hours were spent not tantruming.  We are coming through it, but it has been a long haul.  And we are definitely missing Matt's parents! Some evidence of the obstinance (funnier in retrospect) -

At least she's wearing shoes

Nap time - slept by the door

That night's bed time - slightly better

Despite Clara's mood, we managed to have a lovely visit with the grandparents.  Grady was especially thrilled by the extra attention and lego and book reading buddies.

Grady's birthday was a lot of fun.  We started the day with chocolate chip pancakes.  (Grady at 6:31 a.m., calling up the stairs "MOMMY! What are you making me for my birthday breakfast?"  This kid knows what it is to be spoiled on his birthday.)  After we managed to get Clara in some form of clothing and downstairs a few hours later, we opened presents.  Grady was completely spoiled as always.  The hits of the birthday were teenage mutant ninja turtles, super hero coloring books, a scooter, and various other things that had this four year old pretty darn excited.  Indeed, presents were opened in a record time of I'd say 90 seconds.  It was pretty intense!

We spent the rest of the day playing with presents and with the grandparents, and enjoying a special dinner of scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, corn, and strawberry ice cream.  All in all, a success!

We had Grady's birthday party today.  We decided to do a small party at a local pottery painting shop.  In retrospect, not the most brilliant idea to have 8 children aged 6 weeks to 5 years in a small shop filled with breakable objects, but everyone seemed to have a good time and nothing was broken.  It was nice being able to have Grady's old friends and his new friends all in the same place.

Our routine, such that it is, has been a bit thrown by birthday and sickness, but we are nonetheless enjoying our new life as a family of five.  Theo remains an incredibly chill and happy baby (despite working through his first cold), and has begun rewarding us with the occasional adorable smile.  In fact, he is so laid back that we occasionally worry he hasn't made it to the car with us.  In one of these instances, Matt asked Grady if Theo was in his car seat.  Grady: "I think so.  I don't see him on the floor."

Despite the cold, he is thriving. I snuck in a weigh in for him when we were at the doctor for Clara, and he was up to 9 lbs 14 oz as of a week ago - so he is gaining over an ounce a day.  He is definitely feeling more substantial and getting a little chunky!

Here are some other photos of our littlest munchkin.

The kids love to hold him, and do the occasional tummy time with him.  Clara is endlessly thrilled when Theo is awake.  "Theo's awake! Eyes open!"

With the weather turning warmer and sunnier, we've managed to have a number of outdoor adventures.  Grady was on spring break, and we took advantage of that time to do some "bear hunts."  He's quite a hiker - got those Swap genes.

Oaks Bottom

Mt Tabor

Clara joined us to go to the Rhododendron Gardens, which ended up being a really fun outing.

DUCKS!

Yes, Clara is wearing 4 skirts

And then this past weekend, the whole family made it to the Tulip Festival - the photo opportunity of the year.

Gentle

Not quite so gentle

There's a baby in there

And here are some miscellaneous photos from the past month

"MySELF!"

Pillow room!

Me and my babe

First jog with mama!

Besa getting comfortable

 And some of my favorite Clara outfits of the past month -

 And finally, a few words about our birthday boy.  Grady is a sensitive, caring boy.  He makes us laugh with his stories, his turns of phrase, and his catchy songs.  He will make sacrifices to make his sister happy and is often the only one who can cheer her up when she is sad.  He has an incredible imagination, and can play happily by himself for hours.  He feels passionately about certain things and has a strong sense of justice.  Although he doesn't always do the right thing, he feels really badly when he doesn't.  Although he is shy, he has made a number of really great friends, and loves playing with them. He is a really special kid.  We are so lucky to have him.