Today it was back to the routine after a wonderful trip to Chicago. (More on Chicago in another post.... but in a sentence, the boys were amazing the whole trip.) We had quite a full day:

As soon as both boys were awake (Declan spent the whole night in his crib, had to pat him down once...) I put them in clothes and gave them breakfast to go - yogurt drink in the sippy cups and cheerios - and we drove downtown to drop off my car for servicing. Once the car was dropped off and I had the boys in the stroller (about 8:30am), we walked to Dunkin Donuts where I got my coffee and breakfast, and munchkins for the boys. Declan looked so thrilled when I gave him his munchkin, and I found out later it's because he thought it was a ball. Then we went to the park while it was still early and cool. The boys played at the park for awhile while I had my breakfast. Jack loves the wobbly bridge and sings "I'm the grumpy ol' troll! Who lives under the bridge...". (Dora reference.) Declan is getting braver - he'll go down a slide now, but he still doesn't like to walk up/down slanted surfaces. He'll crawl up and go feet first on the down. An older Chinese woman was there with her granddaughter and she asked if Declan was 8 or 9 months old (because he was crawling) and when I told her 14 months, she said "Oh, slow walker, eh?" Up comes the mommy defensiveness. No, he's practically running, he's just cautious on slanted surfaces.

We walked home from the park, and the boys continued to play outside in the yard while I picked up sticks from the storms while we were gone. They played in the sandbox and with their cars. I can't wait until the fence gets installed. Then we went inside for snacks and a show while I tried to track down surveyors for the fence installation.

After the boys woke up from their naps, (during which time, I was talking with surveyors and looking for property markers) I fed them some pasta, packed a pool bag, and we walked downtown to pick up the car. We got to the car about 4:30pm, and then we were off to the pool. It was a little harrowing in the locker room trying to get both boys in their swimmie diapers and bathing suits, and then getting my own suit on and making sure we had everything as we made our way to the pool. I told Jack he had to stay close to me and listen to me or we'd have to go, and I wasn't sure if her understood, but perhaps he did because he was really good and stayed by me and listened to all of my instructions.

The baby pool at the Summit Aquatic Center is awesome - lots of waterfalls and fountains for the kids to play in. Jack was in heaven right away - he started copying other bigger kids who were walking on their hands while their legs floated behind them. He did this and looked at me and said "I'm swimming!" - I'm sure it felt like swimming and he was so happy to be moving around in the water. When Jack wasn't crawling on his hands, he was jumping up and down and practicing blowing bubbles. Declan was really happy at first, he enjoyed sitting down and splashing and watching all of the kids, but then he got splashed and just wanted to be held. He morphed into the little Declan cling monkey that I love so much. When Declan got tired of the pool, I held him with a towel over him for warmth while Jack continued to jump around.

After swimming, the locker room was a hassle again, Declan kept trying to leave the locker room when I was only half dressed. But totally worth it. Jack kept asking to go on the slide so we went to the playground once we were all dressed, and we stayed at the pool until about 6. Once home, the boys played upstairs while I cleaned up and fixed their dinner. They ate at 7 (eggs, spinach pancakes, sweet potato pancakes, pears) - then Javier came home. The boys watched two episodes of the Backyardigans while Javier and I ate. Then into the bath - the routine: Javier strips Jack and has him use the potty, I strip Declan and put in his ear plugs, Javier bathes both boys while I lay out PJs and pull together last minute items (books, pacifiers), then I put Declan down and Javier puts Jack to bed.

Ahhhhh. Such a good day. Good to be home.