This week saw some increased sense of normalcy. Foster returned to school after the bank holiday and was happy to see his friends once again. I’ll highlight the most exciting things as they happened per kid.
Foster
Foster started off this week with another doozy of a quote. One that I will be proud of for years to come. A true testament to the fact that he is my son.
“I love butter.”
Other than that, Foster had a pretty run of the mill week that was highlighted with a pretty great weekend. Saturday we went rock climbing as a family for the first time since Maddox was born. It’s been in. cred. i. ble. watching Foster’s confidence grow as he continues climbing. He can go higher, climb for longer, and get himself down from (almost) any height!
Sunday was spent by Foster, Greg, and Nana celebrating U.S. Mother’s Day (celebrated in March here). They took the DART down to Bray to hike the cliff walk from Bray to Greystones. It took them a while but they finished it and came home with some rave reviews!
While it’s not treacherous, it is definitely not a stroller friendly hike due to stairs and rocks. Foster was slow to finish but this hike would probably be more ideal for adults and kids 6+. There are plenty of lovely spots in both Bray and Greystones to stop for food and coffee. A favorite coffee stop for us has become Finnbees. It has both indoor and outdoor space, a restroom, and has coffee, food, and snacks; perfect when stopping with the family!
The Littles
It’s really hard to talk about one of the littles without talking about the other. They are the two getting “left behind” when it comes to cool hiking adventures but they are also getting more than their fair share of the attention (read: patience) that the adults provide. They are the two that you have to keep happy in order to get anything done around the house.
Lately that has meant one adult herding Graham into something that does not seem to make his irrational little heart break and one adult guessing whether Maddox is tired, hungry, dirty, or a combination of the three.
Oh, and also helping Graham to wipe his own bum.
But really, these two had a pretty great week. Maddox has really come into her own, smiling and cooing. Her favorite is chatting with Nana but you know those Maddox women, they’re likely discussing euchre strategies.
What has been really fun is watching Graham grow into his role as a big brother. If you’ve ever met the kid, you know he’s incredibly sweet and a wrecking ball with legs all wrapped into one snot-covered mud man.
He can walk over to Maddox, give her a “hug” (often this entails him laying across her face), kiss her head (leaving behind a wet snot spot as evidence), and gently pat her head before walking away.Other times he slams a fire truck into her side while making the siren noise as loudly as he possibly can.
He still loves to read which is probably the saving grace in this house. It certainly makes up for the toddler tantrums that usually end up somehow involving pants…
Another good week in Dublin and beyond! Nana leaves today and I’m not sure any of us are ready to have her leave. That being said, Maddox is six weeks and three days old and there have only been four days since her birth that we haven’t had guests. So let’s see next week what our new “normal” begins forming into!
eat sweat parent 