Out with the Old and In with the New

September has been a big month for us Chapmans.

Two days after returning from Martha's Vineyard,  Ian started school.  He absolutely loves it and wishes he could go every day.  He currently goes three mornings a week to Capitol Hill Learning Group, a small co-op only four blocks from our house.  I was gearing myself up for an intense first day of school assuming that Ian would cling to me the entire time and refuse to go into his classroom since he has never been a part of any organized schooling.  Boy was I wrong.  He walked right in, gave me a hug, and waved goodbye.  I was fighting back tears as I walked out with Emma.  Ian was more than ready and I am so thankful for the easy transition.

Emma is now attending "Mommy school" and we have a blast doing whatever Emma wants to do while Ian is at school.  We are doing some formal schooling - as much as you can do with a two year old - but mostly just playing and reading.  I really love my mornings with Emma and have been trying to not do anything but focus on her three mornings a week.  I am feeling extremely guilty that she is going to be a middle child and her time as my baby is quickly coming to an end.  I am not sure if I live up to Ian as a playmate though.  Emma spends most of the time asking where "boy" is and if we can go to "boy school."  As soon as we walk into his school to pick him up Emma rushes to grab Ian's school bag and carries it home for him.

Ian and Emma are both not napping now and so I have had to think of some creative things to do with our afternoons.  Emma occasionally falls asleep on the couch and we noticed that she has similar sleep habits as Pippin.

We also recently found out that we are having another BOY.  We are all very excited for another boy to join our family and that the baby is healthy and normal.  We brought Ian and Emma with us to the ultrasound and they loved seeing their new baby brother on the screen.  When we told Ian that the baby was a boy he said, "I already knew that.  I have been praying for a boy."  Oh to have the faith of a child!

A few days after my ultrasound we put an offer on a house six blocks away from our house in DC that is currently being renovated.  A few days later they accepted our offer and the next day we sold our house.  All without going to market! It was an incredible few days and complete affirmation that we are supposed to be living on Capitol Hill right now.  Tim was traveling during most of this as well which made for some interesting text messages and phone conversations.  We have now been through the inspection and appraisal and are set to move at the end of October.  The contractors at our new house have  been wonderful to work with and are letting us make some decisions about the house including paint colors, fencing, and floor colors.  I am currently addicted to Pinterest and searching for ideas for our new home.

Ian's First Day of School

 Our new house...clearly far from being finished

 Emma and Pippin napping

Summer 2012

I am not quite sure how to start this post or how to sum up the summer of 2012...it has been extremely HOT, very exciting, very fun, but also very interesting. I found out that I was pregnant at the beginning of June as we were preparing to make the trip to Sewickley, PA to visit Tim's family. Tim and I talked about it for maybe two minutes before we started packing the car and getting Ian and Emma ready for the five hour trip. I had nine wonderful days of pregnancy bliss before I was terribly sick for most of June and July. I don't want to sound dramatic but I am not sure how we made it through. Ian and Emma were such troopers and pretty much dealt with my sickness for most of the summer. Ian even started bringing me toast in bed in the mornings. Tim was incredible and gave me every respite he could. Thank goodness that I am feeling much better and now at week 18, am definitely showing a baby bump. We find out in a few days what we will be having. It is so much fun to share this pregnancy with Ian and Emma. They constantly want to know what the baby is doing and how big the baby is.

 During this "sickness period" Tim and I decided we needed to move out of DC to give us more room and the kids more space to run...and then ended up deciding that we needed to stay in DC on Capitol Hill for the long haul. It was a crazy process of driving around Virginia every weekend, going to open houses, and then realizing that we just aren't ready to move off the Hill. I am so thankful we went through this process though because we are both now committed to Capitol Hill and raising our kids here.

 Ian and Emma have also grown up so much this past summer. Ian turned four and seemed to become a grown man over night. He suddenly will put his shoes on for himself, is ok with us leaving him, is able to talk through situations instead of throwing tantrums, and will brew coffee for us in the morning. Emma turned two this summer and has started talking a lot more. She can't really say "Ian" so she calls him "Boy" which at first was weird but is now very endearing. They still love to play with each other which usually means getting into trouble together although Emma is starting to become the annoying little sister that just won't leave Ian alone.

 We got to take some fun trips this summer to visit the Chapmans in Ohio and Sewickley, the Rotzells in Havertown, and Aunt Becky in Harrisburg. We also just got back from a two and a half week trip to Martha's Vineyard that I will post about later.

 Below are pictures, in no particular order, of Ian and Emma's birthdays with the grands and fun times with family and friends this summer. Some highlights are making swords with our friends Amber and Deacon, playing with cousin Finn, a visit with Aunt Sally and cousins Cate and Will, a trip to the Pittsburgh Science Museum, pre-bedtime walks with Daddy smelling flowers, picking peaches from our peach tree, and the huge bonfire at the family milk house in Ohio.

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Camp of the Woods

Over July Fourth weekend we went to Camp of the Woods in Speculator, New York with my family. It is a Christian family camp that my family went to when I was growing up. I had not been back in 13 years and it was so neat to return with Ian and Emma. Not being one for amusement parks and rides, I think this is as close to Disneyland as Ian and Emma are going to get. Ian and Emma were in heaven. There is mini-golf, shuffleboard, beach and sand, arts and crafts, tennis, kayaking, and a snack shop all set on the backdrop of a beautiful lake in the Adirondacks. The kids go to a morning program every day while the parents listen to speakers or just relax. Garrett Kell of Capitol Hill Baptist was the speaker the week we were there. I thought it ironic that I had to drive eight hours to hear him preach when his church is just a few blocks from my house in DC. But it was worth the drive. He made his way through Hebrews, line by line, and was an incredible speaker. Tim was able to join us mid-week and we enjoyed the cool weather, time with my family around the campfire, and precious moments on the quiet lake throwing rocks into the water and spending time as a family.