May

 May was such a full but fun month! Calder finished his first year of preschool. He absolutely loved it. They had a superhero planet pal day. Each kid chose what super power they wanted to have and created a costume to go along with it. Calder was fight stopper. He got people and animals to stop fighting. Here's his finished costume.

 This is our favorite park. It has an artificial turf soccer field. It's nice it is always green and perfect to run on. It also has play equipment but no shade, so we don't go as often now that it is hot.

 Calder found a robin egg that fell out of a tree in the yard. It fell quite a long way but didn't break.

 I had a superhero over for lunch. I served hot dogs.

 Then these crazy kids tried to sell me a hotdog at the mall.

 Calder's Grandma Kate sent him a butterfly kit for Easter. He loved it. He loved watching the change from caterpillar to butterfly. He was sad when we released them and they flew away without landing on him first. He frequently looks for them in the yard.

 This picture is 100% Colette. She LOVES to wear her sunglasses and will leave them on a very long time. When she gets tired of wearing them she pulls them down and they become a neck accessory. She also loves hair bows and headbands. Each morning she chooses one to wear and leaves them in all day. She is clutching an apple which is awful and awesome at the same time. She really likes apples but she doesn't swallow them. She just chews them and spits them out. It makes a horrible mess but she is so happy when she eats them. The word apple is probably her clearest.

 This is Calder's friend Charlie. Charlie just moved about 30 minutes away and in two months is moving to China. There has not been a day that has gone by that Calder doesn't tell me how sad he is that Charlie moved. I'm sad too. That friendship was just so perfect. Thankfully they can still send letters and email after Charlie's big move.

 This is so funny to me. I took Colette to Ikea and was walking by the kid section and noticed her outfit looks just like this blanket. I was ever so tempted to buy it because it seemed so serendipitous.

 On the last day of preschool when I went to pick Calder up I saw this outside the classroom. I love it. They wear those boots most days because they go hiking and ponding and puddle jumping.

 This is Miss Katie. She is Calder's favorite teacher and will be his teacher again next year.

And this is Ms. Mary. Calder really liked her too.

Truck Day

 Calder and I got to go on a date to TRUCK DAY! It was fabulous. There were all kinds of trucks and Montgomery County service trucks there. Calder loved it, of course.

 They got to toss recycling into the back of the truck and crush it.

 And call each other on the radios.

Jason and I have started planning one on one dates with the kids. It is really fun to have individual time with each kid. I feel like I am more in tune with the kids when I focus on giving them lots of individual attention. It can be hard with the ages they are at but totally worth it.

London

In my Florida post I mentioned that Jason was supposed to be gone for a month at trial. Well, I lucked out and the case settled a few days before he was supposed to leave. It was great for me because he then got a month off. It wasn't so great for him because he had done all the prep work for the case and was excited to be at trial. I'm sure there will be another case and he'll have many more opportunities. So instead of being in Texas for a month he was home, with us! So we planned a last minute trip to London.

We all loved London. The weather was good for us. It rained off and on for a few days but not too bad. There were also a few sunny and warmish days. I only had to take my winter coat with us on our last day there. Calder loved exploring and seeing so much. And Colette was a trooper. She rode in the Ergo every day and only complained a few times.

London is a fabulous place to go with kids. People are really friendly and helpful. Most of the museums are free and therefore it's easy to come and go if your kids totally lose it. There are also lots of kid centered activities.
 

 The Magna Carta

 The Natural History Museum

 Princess Dianna Memorial Playground

 The craziness of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace

 Westminster Chapel

 Harrod's Department Store. Every time we travel somewhere Calder gets to buy a toy. This time he chose a forklift with two pallets. I bought Colette a charm bracelet and her first charm. It is of Big Ben. I'm hoping to add a charm every time we travel somewhere.

 The view from our fabulous hotel room.

 Eating at Yo! Sushi. Calder loved the conveyer belt that went around the kitchen and dining area. He also loved the water dispenser in the middle of the table.

 Westminster Abbey

 St. Paul's Cathedral

 A fun statue outside the Gerken. This is where the Kirkland & Ellis London office is.

 This is what Calder looked like on the rainy days.

 Calder riding in the top front seat of a double decker bus.

 Jason & the kids in front of Buckingham Palace.

 Most of the undergrounds didn't have elevators but Calder could easily walk down the stairs and Jason carried the stroller. Many times people offered to grab the front of the stroller and help him down.

 The British Museum

 The British Museum

Fish & Chips

Climbing

There has been a lot of climbing going on at our house lately. See for yourself. 

Florida in February

In February the kids and I took Grandma to Florida. It was fabulous! Jason was scheduled to be at a trial for about a month. So I jokingly told him I was going on vacation. He thought it was a genuinely good idea and started looking for places for us to go. Since I didn't want to take both kids by myself we invited his mom to come too! It was fabulous. We went to Hollywood, Florida which is just south of Ft. Lauderdale. We stayed at the Westin Diplomat, which has a few pools and is on the beach.  Everything a girl and her kids and her mom-in-law could want.

 Colette was unsure of the sand at first. She didn't want to touch it. After a few minutes though, she was eating it. The two became close friends.

 Calder was sad because I told him this couldn't be our family's next car. A new Lamborghini sounds nice but there's not a lot of room for car seats and boosters.

Two happy kids flying home.