Total ReCap

Remember those books that people used in Middle School when they were doing reports and were too lazy to read the actual book, what were they called??  I can't remember, I don't think I ever used them, I am a sucker for reading books, even crappy ones, but you know what I mean.  Well, this post is going to be the blog post equivalent of those books.  

Man, this is driving me crazy that I can't remember what they are called.

I have some great shots and stories to share from this summer and while together they make for a jumbled post, if you think of it as a "recap" it sort of holds together.

First, the bunk beds.  With a summer of traveling and leaving for London at Christmas time we felt it was important to move Mette to a big girl bed sooner rather than later so we didn't have to think about cribs and where she would sleep etc...  Being in a post diaper, post crib, post stroller (almost) world makes traveling about a million times easier.  The kids still share a room and really seem to like it.  The plan is to keep them together for as long as they like which hopefully will be for a while.  They have a big room but bunk beds really seemed like a fun idea.  I found some online that I liked but were crazy expensive.  Luckily we have Grandpa and he was willing to make a version of them for us at cost. They of course are even cooler than the super cool ones I found online and the kids LOVE them.  Together with the furniture they already had and fun sheets the room looks fun and cheery.  It makes me smile every time I go in there.

 Eric installed lights under Otto's bunk so at night we all pile into Mette's bed and read stories.

The bunk beds arrived a few days before we headed to Chicago which was perfect because the kids sleep in bunk beds there.  So far Mette has been doing a great job of staying in her bed.  I even took off the side rails a few days ago and she has only fallen out of bed once.  I will count that as success!!

I mentioned briefly that while in Chicago after Ben and Shannon's wedding eric and I celebrated 7 years of marriage.  We spoiled ourselves with and AMAZING four hour dinner at TRU in downtown Chicago.  If you follow the link they are still showing the menu we ordered from.  We did it all.  Eric got the chef's tasting menu, the big one, and I did the pre fixe with additional items from the chef's menu.  I couldn't let him get 7 courses while I only had three!!  The only thing we didn't do was the caviar staircase.  We thought about it though!  The service was perfect.  There only when you needed them, not stuffy, willing to talk and enjoy themselves, in a word, perfect. Normally I am not a fan of having my picture taken in restaurants or really anywhere where it looks touristy but this meal was so wonderful and the evening so perfect I didn't even mind.

One of the main reasons I ordered the pre fixe menu was for this dish.  It was simply described as Rabbit with a melange of Spring.  How can you pass that up??  What is a melange of Spring?  Or any season for that matter.  It was fantastic.  Light, delicious and as you can see here, beautiful.  It was all amazing but the soup from the chef's tasting menu that was the inside of an English Pea, that was out of this world.  There were crumbles of lavender scented homemade marshmallows scattered along a chilled soup bowl into which table side, they poured the greenest pure pea soup I have ever tasted.  The combination of the cold marshmallow with the warm pea soup was amazing.

 In addition the the courses we ordered there were many more that arrived which we did not order.  There were no less than three desserts, only one of which we picked.  Everything was wonderful.  When eric made the reservation he mentioned it was our anniversary (sly thing he is) and this....

 arrived to finish off the night.  It was lovely.  When we were seated our menus said Welcome Faden Party and Happy Anniversary and when we left they gave us a printed menu of everything we had that night which was also personalized.  The menu is now framed in the dining room, inspiration for dinner parties to come.

After Chicago we were home for about a week before we headed off again.  Eric was lecturing at a summer camp in Conn, at Choate High School.  Since it isn't far from where my grandparents live and the beach the kids and I tagged along.  It was fun taking the kids to the beach where I clocked in many hours every summer growing up.

Otto living the good life got to eat lunch in a special cabinet left available for kids to play in.  There was even a lantern since he was pretending to be camping.

My grandfather managed to get a great shot of the four of us, a rarity to be sure!

Despite being crazy hot, later that week we went downtown to hear Averie (she was the house band at my restaurant for a while and sang at eric and I's wedding) play.  The kids had a great time.  Mette was cutting the rug!!

We went to three birthday celebrations in one week.  Mette has mastered the art of eating cake while actually not eating the cake at all.  She just sucks off the icing.  It is the best way to get in all the sugar!

Mette, somehow managed to find time to decorate herself.  That is a butterfly she drew on her dress, in washable markers luckily!!!

We were also here for the sidewalk chalk festival which is always a lot of fun.  Our kids aren't really old enough for it yet, but it is great fun walking around seeing what everyone else is doing.  It is one of the events downtown that really gets a bunch of people out.  Strolling market street on a friday night in a crowd is a special treat here!

There are many more pictures and some amazing videos that we are getting together.  The summer is winding down but I hope my blogging to pick up again!

more soon!

Cliff Notes, that is what they were called!!  I was just about to google it when it came to me.  Ah, I can rest now.

Summer Days

I have taken a bit of a blog vacation this summer. We have been traveling all over, swimming at every chance and generally enjoying life. I will be up and running soon with stories of all our adventures.

For example:

Setting up astronauts on lobby tables....


Napping in strollers under crystal chandeliers.


It's a tough life, but somebody has to do it.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Bumpy, Grumpy, Frumpy, Crunky

This is how Mette describes herself or anything she does not like when she is in one of her "moods".

Offer her a snack, be prepared to get a "too frumpy!!"  If she doesn't want to do what you are proposing she will tell you she is too Crunky.  I don't know where any of these words came from or what they are in relation too, but they are quickly becoming part of the Faden lexicon.  I have to say, when you use the little kid whinny voice they really do a good job of conveying the emotion she is feeling.

Ah, Mette.  She is almost two and a half.  Whew.  We are half way through the twos.  Thank GOODNESS!!!  For Otto two wasn't nearly as tough as three, for Mette, if three is worse I am not sure if I will make it.  This little girl rules with an iron fist.  Mind you, that fist is pink with sparkels and has a fairy wand, but don't let looks deceive you.  If she decides you have wronged her, be prepared to pay the price.

On the flip side, she can be the sweetest thing ever.  Showering you with compliments and love at every turn.  If it wasn't such a role of the die to see which one you were going to get there would be much less anxiety in my day.

She has had some major breakthroughs lately.  Shortly before our big trip to Chicago she was really wanting to sleep in a nightgown.  Because I knew that if she wasn't in zip up jammies she would take off her nighttime diaper I was hesitant to let her sleep in them.  I told her they were for big girls who either kept their diaper on or wore big girl underwear to bed.  She declared herself ready to wear big girl underwear to bed and hasn't gone back since.  That was it.  Done.  No more diapers in our house.  It still seems a bit too good to be true.  We drove to and from Chicago without even using pull-ups in the car.  It has been amazing.  She will proudly tell you that a nightgown is a dress you can sleep in.

Speaking of dresses.  That is all she will wear.  She REFUSES to wear anything else other than a dress except for two skirts that are super frilly and full of tulle and have matching shirts, making them in a sense, dresses.  She picks our her outfits every day and has a few wardrobe changes throughout the day to suit her mood.  She literally stands at her closet and leafs through her dresses and picks the one that suits her that day.  It is both hilarious and terrifying at the same time.  She also has a strong opinion about what matches and cares deeply that things match.  Not that I wear things that don't match (though I did for most of my early childhood) but this whole dressy matchy matchy thing is really funny.  Where does it come from????  Not me, that is for sure.

She is so girly I get nervous until I see her sock anyone who she thinks looked at her the wrong way, runs faster than some of the boys, screams "don't look at me" to people she doesn't want looking at her, is generally fearless of all things BOY.  As Racer says, she is a "rough and tough creme puff".  That's my girl.

We are members of the local pool this summer and it has been a huge hit.  Both kids took swimming lessons starting when we got back from Chicago.  Otto is still working on getting his face wet and is very hesitant in the water.  We are going to switch to private lessons with him because he seems to be getting braver and we want to encourage that.  He really loves going to the pool so it seems like a good idea to roll with it while we can.

Mette, has NO FEAR!!!

The scariest part of taking her to the pool is her lack of fear.  She wants to jump into the deep end "all by herself".  She passed her swimming class in the first session.  We have some video to post later but you will see the little fish that she is.

Speaking of pool time.  It is crazy hot today and I think the kids and I are going to hit up the pool this afternoon to cool off.

More soon.....