A Little Circus

Contrary to my normal postings...no, I'm not referring to my family. Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey came to town! We went to the circus! Taking advantage of living in a great city with a lot to offer our family, we took the metro and hit D.C. to check out the circus. Fighting the crowds that were out shopping, finishing up the National Marathon, and off to see the beloved Cherry Tree Festival (Day 1)...we made it the circus.



I will admit that it was quite an enchanting and overwhelming experience. There were kids and families EVERYWHERE! Plus, many who were kids at heart (i.e. the lady in front of us who was so excited that she literally sat at the edge of her seat and would yell and clap constantly).

I don't know what the biggest hit was for us...the clowns, the elephants, the amazing ladies who would swing mid-air, the tigers, or the popcorn.











What a FUN day! Even if we only lasted through half of the show...

HOME!

20 months after our family left California, John and I were FINALLY able to return for a weekend trip. The weekend was filled with spending time with our dear family and friends, a half marathon, lots of food and laughter, and short nights of sleep. Unfortunately we were so busy just being with everyone that I didn't take any pictures. Here are a few of the moments I remembered to pull out the camera...


Loving on Abigail Hart...Addy's BFF!


Enjoying a stroll along The Strand.


Only in Huntington Beach California do they start a half-marathon with old woody cars and surfboards!


John ran a GREAT time...1:23:14. I completely missed him at the finish line he was so quick!

Ready For Spring

One of the nice things about not being at school (for John) anymore is that we can have a random family day again! John took off a random Friday in March so we can just hang out as a family. The day proved to be absolutely GORGEOUS as we explored River Farm in Alexandria - what a beautiful location along the Potomac. The landscaping and weather was a perfect tease of what is yet to come...SPRING! The boys had a blast exploring this acreage that we had completely to ourselves. Lots of games of tag, hide-and-seek, freeze-dance, and pure exploration was to be had.














(31 Weeks Pregnant)

Hurry Up Spring! We're ready to play!

Furniture Origami, Phase 1

About a month ago John and I started to tackle the house in preparation for baby. Being in a 3-bedroom townhome has it's challenges, and one of those is dealing with the furniture that we have without any additional storage and such. I think we have managed just fine so far! We purged the "guest room/Miss Ariel's room/Grandma's room" in order to make room for Adelyn. Here is a little before and after shots of our guest "quarters".

The "Before" of the downstairs playroom...






"Before" guest room...




"After"




Pictures of nursery to come soon!

Snow Day

We FINALLY had some snow to play with! After watching the rest of the nation receive snow, and kids everywhere getting to play in it, we finally get to join in the fun. Even if it was just for a little bit this morning...

The boys are ready to try out their new sleds from Grams...even if there isn't a lot of snow, there is ENOUGH for us!



We opted to just take a "walk" around the circle to try out the sleds. I certainly got my workout pulling these two!







Then we tried the "hill" across the way from our place...







It was a HIT!! Following a great morning playing outside, we had to follow it up with a little warm cocoa! Happy Snow Day!

A Texas-Size Trip

The boys and I headed to Dallas to spend a little time with Mimi, Poppie and Aunt Kiki before the holidays. This was our first airplane ride after 2-years of self-induced exile from any aircraft (thanks to Luke's MAJOR meltdown two years ago). The boys did FANTASTIC on the flight for me (with a little help from two PEZ candy dispensers)! They were real troopers throughout the flying process, and of course everyone thought they were TOO CUTE! Of Course!


Anxiously waiting for our airplane to arrive into Baltimore.


We're ready for this 5-hour journey! Let's hope the computer battery can hold up for a couple of movies...at least.





A "new" thing at Mimi and Poppie's house is the "arrival" of Mr. Tree. Okay...Mr. Tree turns out to be our good old tree in the front yard with an added feature of a face. Turns out Mr. Tree leaves presents for little boys and their mommy when they visit. Too fun!


Good Morning Mr. Tree!




Reading with Aunt Kiki


Check out those glow-in the dark bracelets from Mr. Tree! Too cool!


Bath time fun = water guns..."Shoot the wall, NOT MIMI!"

We wrapped up Texas with John meeting us in Austin and spending a whirlwind weekend in San Antonio and Austin. It was a great trip with both families filled with lots of love and laughter.

A great way to usher in December!

The Pout

Paden is our "Master Pouter". There is something about his little face and how quickly it can go from a sweet, smiley little boy to a fierce pout. He has the perfect lips for it too! Daddy asked him if he learned how to pout from brother Luke. Paden said "No, Paden." At least he claims it for his own!











FINALLY! All he wanted was a bite of Daddy's pizza. Guess that pout worked after all!