We closed on the house and are moving in!

Caps vs. Pens and Caps on Pens

Chuck and Andi couldn't make another Caps game and were generous enough to give their tickts to us. After two periods and no nap, Finn needed a quick distraction. We went for a run around the concourse and came across a white Volkswagen Beetle. The running boards were replaced with a pen tray and people were allowed to write on the car.

In this shot you can see his green writing over the "Rock the Red! CAPS CAPS CAPS".


While he wrote nicely, there were a couple of rody guy who came up and wrote some family unfriendly things on the car. The Volkswagon lady quickly erased it.

Finn was a, as always, interested in what the "big kids" do. He has been known to chase 4 year olds around the playground saying "Hey big kids!".



We got back a little into the third period and got to see a win for the Caps' last home game of the regular season. Thanks again Chuck and Andi.

Thowing things into the river

Our Saturdays having often involved going down to the Potomac now that the weather has warmed. While there, Finn likes to gather the small rocks on the edge and the washed up sticks and put them back into the river. Here he is running down to the shore.



Finn also likes it when I throw them in too. While down near the water, Finn bent over to pick up a rock and touched one covered in low-tide mud. It became very important to wash that off before we did much else. Like mother , like son.

Concentrating on important things

Swimming

We went over to Jill and Rich's hotel and got to swim in their pool. Finn loved it! He went kicked, paddled, and went underwater. He even blew bubbles.

Jill, Rich, and Bennett come down

Our friends from Boston visited a few weekends ago. They timed it so that the blossoms would be in full bloom during their stay.


After a rough first day, Finn and Bennett got along. We had a big sit-down about sharing and things improved. I doubt he completely got what we said, but the results were what we hoped for.


Here is a picture of the second day. Of course he did make Bennett push him and wouldn't let him get into the car. Still it is closer to the desired end-state, so we'll take it.

Sibling Class

We took Finn to a sibling class to help Finn understand what it will be like to be a big brother. They wathed videos showed pictures of when the big kids were babies and got to change a diaper.

They canged a baby doll's diaper and each got to pick their doll. Finn hadn't learned how to hold a baby, clearly. The neck may be good for kitties or puppies, but not for little brothers.

The After-party

After the promotion we went to Nationals Park to attend the greatest deal ever. Free tickets had been handed out to people (Andi got a bunch for the after party) to try the food at the park before the season started.

The concept seemed good, but I'm not sure it proved that they were ready for the opening of the baseball season/ I do know it allowed me to eat like a true hog. Even Finn ate two hot dogs, lemonade, and ice cream.

He was in heaven. He ate hot dogs, ran around, and did it all at the stadium. It doesn't get better than that for a boy. Unless it involves a baseball cap cup, from which all food requiring a bowl will be eaten forevermore.

My concern is that it is a Nationals' cup. I'd hate for him to learn to accept losing (0-7 to start the season) as a fact of life. We tried to avoid that by moving away from the Bengals, but the Nats may be an even bigger threat.

Andi's Promotion

Congrats to cousin Andi who just pinned on Lt Col. True to her personality, she had the ceremony outdoors and low-key. It was a refreshing change from the typical ceremony in a forgotten back room in the basement below the office.

I snuck away from work and Sarah and Finn got there a little late after some troubles with the Metro and tourists. Here's a picture of cousin Chuck and I after the pin-on.



The tourists that slowed Sarah down were in town to see the cherry blossoms. Granted they did look nice (the blossoms, not the tourists).


The problem is that they don't know how to use the Metro turnstiles (the tourists, not the blossoms). They huddle around the handicap entrance and try to use it. Since it operates differently than the rest, it typically leads to complete frustration and clogging of traggic flow. Combined with the fact that the stroller must go through the handicap gate, it can slow you down a minute or two.

That wouldn't be a problem unless the train comes as you're waiting. Then you miss a promotion ceremony.

Working

Thanks go out to Uncle Jim who posted how Atticus uses his laptop to type letters. Finn loves doing it too. He will search out and type the letter than you ask him to find. He will also read the letters off the screen that he aready typed.

He's getting to be a big kid.

Flying a Cessna

Finally, the museum has a Cessna 150 on display for kids to go in and learn how the control surfaces work. Finn liked the switches and circuit breakers the best. He also liked to spin the heading indicator.


However, we ran into the same problem we always run into when something is very fun. Leaving it is as bad as the fun was good.


He eventually got over the tears and smiled again eating fruit snacks on the way home.

Toys and Poop

The space hanger had a whole section on space toys. One display had little toys in it, including the star wars guys I had as a kid. These are from back in the day when little kids' toys had small parts and shot things.



Finn was amazed. I was amazed that my toys are now in a museum.

Finn was more amazed than I. He keep looking around the display and grunting while we were sitting down on a bench across the walkway. Soon we knew the grunting was not from bewilderment alone. A stench hit us from the 30 feet away. Yikes.


All we could do was take a picture of him. He was too stinky to clean. Notice everyone else stayed away too. He eventually changed his own diaper and then we picked him up again.

Dulles Annex: Smithsonian Air and Space

The weather isn't always sunshine and blossoms. One rainy day we drove out to Dulles Airport where the Smithsonian built their annex to hold the massive collection of planes that don't fit in their downtown hanger.


Finn's first stop was the big turbine engine. It's a PW4000. Quite an attractive one too. He must feel some connection to my years in the jet engine lab.


He also was fascinated by the large collection of internal combustion engines they have on display.

Of course it's not all engines there. He heard me point out that I once flew a Piper Cub while I pointed to it. He then ran around and pointed to every plane and said "Papa flies that."


I have never flown a helicopter.

One of the coolest things is a real space shuttle. Finn ran full speed into the space hanger.


It was a definite hit and we'll be going back sometime on another rainy day.

Just before the Cherry Blossoms

We crossed the river on a beautiful and warm Saturday morningto see the fuss about the cherry blossoms. It seems that the nice, warm weather of that day caused the blossoms to come out a week or two later (they're now all falling off).

The blossoms, in turn, brought out the tourists. The whole city was teeming with people and going back down in the crowd seemed too much to deal with, so ths was our one trip there.


I have been jogging at lunch and today I ran across the river and around the basin to compare the state of things. It wasn't crowded, but was a little like pole position running on the path.

I liked it beter during the "cherry bud" fest; far fewer people. You can see that e had a clear path up to the Jefferson Memorial. Finn likes stairs.

Vacuuming

Finn wanted to help vacuum. He played with the vacuum while it was off, but it seemed to be missing something...

Checking in with the Cincinnati crew

Justin, Eliza and Elena came up the next morning for swimming and lunch at our hotel.


Finn and Elena got along like they never spent a day apart.




We were definitely glad that they were able to make the drive up befoe we left.

Checking in with the Browns

While back in Ohio, the Browns came out to see us. It was great to see everyone again and see little Lydia in person.


After a long day of driving and watching hockey, Finn slept through the second half of dinner and the photo shoot. It's been a long time since he fell asleep in mom's arms, but it was a skill he quickly regained.

Back to Ohio

The Centerville Elks Hockey team made it to the Ohio state tournament's final four this year. That is an impressive feat, not only because they've only done it 4 times in since 1979, but also because two years ago, they only won one third of their games.


The final four was held at Nationwide Arena in Columbus where the Bluejackets play their NHL games. I was surprised at ow many people came out to watch the games.

Finn ran up and down the aisles and around the hallways behind the seats.


Although they lost there game, I was very proud of the kids, many of whom I coach both as middle school students and again when I assistant coached the varsity team last year. It was not fun driving back and forth in two days, but it was well worth the trip.

We got a new house...