Day Out With Thomas 2011

Today was our first Day Out With Thomas, and it definitely won't be our last. Will, Patrick, Patti, Bonnie, Stella and Maggie all ventured out to the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore to spend the day among trains, including a life-size Thomas.

Thomas pulled some coaches right past our parking lot when we pulled in and Will was speechless. His jaw was honestly hanging down and he couldn't answer our questions - he just nodded his head when we asked if he saw Thomas. After a short walk, we were surrounded by trains of all sizes and colors.

We took a 25-minute ride in a coach pulled by Thomas and Will had such a good time sitting on Mimi's lap and looking out the window. He was enthralled by the conductor punching his ticket. He even checked in with Maggie and Stella to see if they were having as much fun as he was.

The museum itself is incredible. The whole museum is built over a working turntable (in the picture below). There must be 20 trains inside the museum, another dozen or so outside, and countless other trains in disrepair along the tracks.

Check out the rest of today's pictures in the slideshow off of our homepage!!

Play time

Now that the girls can control themselves a little better (no floppy heads), Patti has been getting them on to the floor for some play time. She got Will's jungle set out of the attic and it looks like Stella and Maggie took to it right away.

Stella looks focused on that hippo...

Maggie looks like she wants to punch whatever comes closest to her...

Will had a play date across the street yesterday morning. When he got home (nice and sweaty) he went right over to the girls to say hi. Here he is holding Maggie's hand.

He's not always the nicest to them when they're in their chairs, but we don't usually post that kind of aftermath.

Happy Easter (PM)!

Today was a gorgeous Easter Sunday. Hot, sunny, birds chirping, flowers blooming. A perfect day for Will, Stella and Maggie to be outside for a while.

Will enjoyed himself running around finding all of his easter eggs from the easter bunny. He was a pretty good hunter and he found all of his prizes pretty quickly. Maggie and Stella supervised from the comfort of their bouncy seats in the shade.

Stella says "Hooray Will!"

Maggie says "Yeah, baby!"

Happy Easter everyone!

Happy Easter (AM)!

Happy Easter everyone!

Another benefit of having an unexpected twin is more candy for Patti and Patrick on Easter. The Easter Bunny outdid herself this year in that department.

The Easter Bunny made her presence known by leaving little bunny prints from the back door, up Will's high chair, and on to the dining room table. She helped herself to two of the cookies that Will made with Mimi and Pop the night before.

Like any other holiday, Will got his share of Thomas stuff. He also polished off two packets of PEZ in under ten minutes...

Pop's visit

Grandpa Bill "Pop" came to visit the family this weekend. We got to visit with him on Skype before he came down. Will and Bonnie thought it was pretty neat to see him again and Bill loved seeing the kids from Connecticut.

Pop, Dada, Will and his cousins all went to the Air & Space Museum near Dulles during Pop's visit. Will was thrilled to see one of the space shuttles and the SR-71 Blackbird (Dada's favorites too). The place is so big that even Will asked to go home after two hours of planes and helicopters.

Will wouldn't go anywhere for the first hour without holding cousin Emma's hand.

Will then enjoyed cousin Noah and Emma's hotel pool. He wasn't afraid of the water at all, and he LOVED bouncing around with Dada. PS: Dada needs a tan.

Lunch for five please

The five of us ventured out to run some errands on Sunday and we rewarded ourselves with some Chipotle. It was our first real meal out as a five-some. You know that very long table in the middle of most Chipotle's? Yeah, we owned it...

The trip out, like most things these days, exhausted us. Here's Patti napping with the girls on Saturday.

And here's Patrick napping with Maggie on Sunday.

Week in review

Sorry for the slow posting week. Maggie and Stella are still eating and sleeping regularly and burning through diapers, Will is still acting up every now and then but less than could be expected, and Patti and Patrick still aren't getting enough sleep to function like adults.

Patti, Bonnie and the kids all headed out to the National Zoo this week. It was the girls' first trip to the zoo, and Will's first trip this year. Will had a good time running around, and Patti and Bonnie enjoyed the sun and fresh air.

Later in the week, Bonnie took Will for a hike. Will reported seeing geese and ducks, among other things. He LOVES being outdoors and it's not surprising that he listens and behaves a LOT better when he's outside without his sisters. Needless to say, we're all looking forward to many more nice days so we can be outdoors as much as possible...

Will woes

Will has been something for the past two days. Whether it's a case of the terrible twos (because he's two) or a case of the terrible twos (the twins), we don't know, but he's been pretty terrible in the listening department. Scaring the girls, yelling near them when they're sleeping, almost hitting them with his toys. Good times for us, and lots of "NO's!"

Among the craziness, Will and Dad did some painting. It was Will's first painting with a brush and he seemed to really like it. Maybe it was just that the girls weren't around.

We bought a set of four unfinished Thomas trains a while back but Will wasn't keen about changing them at all. But in the heat of painting tonight, Dad got Will to paint one of them to look like the dairy cars that Will likes. Dad painted it white and then Will did the spots. I'm sure it will join the rest of Will's fleet first thing in the morning.

5 weeks old

Stella and Maggie turned five weeks old on Thursday. Woo hoo!

They are eating and sleeping pretty regularly now, with the occasional insatiable thirst for milk. If we stay up until a midnight feeding, we can usually sleep until around 4:00 AM before they need to drink again. Then they're back off to sleep until around the time Will wakes up at 7:00 or 8:00. Not the most restful sleep for Patrick who is back at work, but we really can't complain because it could be much worse.

Patti took the girls to the pediatrician's office to be weighed on Wednesday. Stella is now 7 pounds, 3 ounces and Maggie weighs 6 pounds, 14 ounces. Both girls have gained more than a pound in the last two weeks with nothing but mommy milk. Good job Patti!

Patrick's last day and twins one-month birthday

Today was Patrick's last day of paternity leave so he's back to work tomorrow. Boo. Despite Patti's mom being here, he feels like he's leaving Patti with the burden of three kids during the day. The Peace Corps has been fantastic about his leave, though, so we can't complain. Plus, Patrick will try teleworking one day a week.

Patrick and Will spent the morning spreading mulch around the yard. Will jumped at the opportunity to "dig and dump" something.

Today was also Stella and Maggie's one-month birthday. Hooray! Both are eating and sleeping pretty regularly, and they are gaining weight, so all is well.

Patti figured out how to use her Moby wrap in order to sling both Stella and Maggie. The three ladies of the house came out to supervise Patrick and Will. Will didn't seem to mind.