Elliot and Beatrice's World

Swim Lessons

2012-01-11T18:13:00.000-08:00

We have been meaning to sign up Elliot for swim lessons for a while. We have actually tried several times, but they fill up really fast. We finally got a spot and Elliot started swim lessons on Sunday. He is in a class with other 4 year old beginner swimmers, and will attend class for 6 weeks. Parents aren't allowed to watch pool side so most of these pictures were taken from the glass enclosed observation area (sorry for the haze). Elliot really enjoyed the class and can't wait to go back.

Christmastime

2012-01-02T17:43:00.000-08:00

Its hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone. December was a whirlwind of decorating, shopping, festive outings, visitors, and lots of fun. Where to start?

I suppose we really got into the Christmas spirit when we picked out our Christmas tree. Both kids loved visiting the tree lot. Elliot felt and inspected every tree. He and Daddy found the perfect tree together. Beatrice was very happy running up and down the rows of trees.

The following weekend, Elliot and I went to our second play together. We saw Knuffle Bunny the musical at the Kennedy Center. We LOVE the book and the play was very cute. I didn't take any pictures of us at the Kennedy Center, but Daddy took this picture of us before we left. Doesn't the Christmas tree look nice? Elliot helped me decorate it.

Mimsey and Gramps came to visit us over the Christmas holiday. We had a great time seeing them. They came a few days before Christmas which allowed for some long walks, nice meals, last minute shopping, and round or two of Scrabble and Quiddler. On Christmas Eve Mommy, Mimsey, Beatrice and Elliot went to church while Daddy and Gramps cooked spaghetti. Beatrice did not like church, or maybe she liked it too much. She wanted to follow the choir down the aisle and she made sure everyone could hear her during the quiet moments. About half way through the service, Beatrice and I left to hang out with a bunch of other toddlers in the hallway.

By Christmas morning there was a mountain of presents under the tree. Christmas morning was a bit overwhelming for the kids. Beatrice didn't know what to do with all of the presents. Thankfully Lara was there to help her open all of her gifts. Beatrice's big gift from Santa was a rocking horse (that Mommy painted). Santa brought Elliot his Bat Mobile and a pint sized set of golf clubs.

Daddy spent a good part of the morning opening toy packages.

Beatrice loves her new stroller - thanks Grammy and Papa!

After opening our presents and eating a yummy breakfast we all went for a long wall.

Our friend Frank Curcio joined us all for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of our visit with Frank. Mimsey and Gramps headed home to Williamsburg on the 26th, but our Christmas fun didn't stop when they left. That night we decided to check out the light display at our local botanical gardens. The lights were amazing. It was a little hard to take it all in with Beatrice - she wanted to RUN through the garden.

rainbow and clouds with rain.

Bea on the run!

Amazing sea monster!

Although I didn't take any pictures, we ended our holidays with a fun New Years celebration that we think might become a tradition. The kids and I decorated the dinning room with some decorations I found in the attic, we made and ate shrimp and grits, then watched London ring in the New Year at 7 PM on BBC.

2011 Letter to Santa

2011-11-28T17:51:00.001-08:00

The following is Elliot's letter to Santa. He dictated and I wrote. He drew the picture (drew one of the present ribbons at his request) and signed his own name.

Dear Santa,
I've been a good boy because today I was playing with monster trucks when Bea was napping and I didn't wake her up yet. I am very quiet. Santa I am a good boy. I always listen to Mommy, sometimes I clean up.

Come bring presents to my house, please. Please can I have Christmas toys. I would like a bumble bee car, that is a transformer, blocks please and Legos. Can you please bring me the Bat Mobile with little pieces. I also want Christmas PJs. One more thing, I want goggles for swimming.

Bea would like a cart for pushing baby around. Bea was a little bit bad, but mostly she isn't. Bring her toys please. If Bea is bad it doesn't matter. Bea will want toys, but if you don't bring her toys I will share them.

Thank you Santa for bringing my toys. I have one questions for you. Are there any penguins there, and will they come with you? Thank you Santa. Here is a picture of Presents and a Christmas tree for you.

Love,
Elliot

Fall Flew By

2011-11-28T17:15:00.001-08:00

Where did November go? I can't believe its been almost a month since my last post. The Farnum Family had a wonderful month. It started off with Mommy (Me) leaving my job in Richmond for a new job much closer to home. Although I won't be able to telecommute four days a week, I also won't have to make the 4 hour round trip to Richmond once a week. My new job is 15 minutes from home and everyone seems to have adjusted to the transition.

We spent all of our November weekends at home. The following is a little roundup of what we have been up to.

We have gone for lots of walks/bike rides. Elliot loves the bike that he got for his birthday and he is getting to be a great biker. One of our favorite places to ride is along the Sligo Creek Parkway. On Sundays the parkway closes and bikers, runners, and hikers hit the road. Elliot was a bit nervous to ride in the street, but quickly got over his fear and enjoyed the open road.

We have also been making lots of art. Beatrice recently discovered finger paints and play dough and is a fan of both. I'll be posting more of the kids' artwork soon.

Another one of Bea's new favorite pastimes is being a big girl. She struts her big girl stuff by wearing Elliot's backpack and pretending to talk on her cell phone (one of my old phones). She takes her job VERY seriously.

We ended the month with a visit from Mariana (all the way from San Francisco) over the Thanksgiving holiday. It was so nice of Marianna to come over to visit and play with the kids. She had a lot of people to see during her trip here and she made time for the Farnum kids three times! Bea was a little unsure of Marianna at first but was giving hugs in less than an hour. I am pretty sure she remembers her first au pair.

As for Thanksgiving, we went to the Haugen's and I didn't take a single picture :(. We had a great time and enjoyed spending the day with our good friends. I did manage to take a few pictures of some of fun we had during the long Thanksgiving weekend.

I traced Elliot then he filled in the details. This is Rocket Boy.

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

Batman and his sidekick, Chipmunk, had a blast trick or treating this year! We hit the streets with some other pint sized friends in the neighborhood. Bea rode from house to house in one of her little friend's wagons. I am not sure what she liked more the wagon or running after her brother to every house.
Elliot's highlight of the night was the neighborhood "haunted" house. Its not far from ours and the owners go all out! He was too scared to go last year, but didn't hesitate this year. Lara even joined us for the festivities.

The Ranch!

2011-11-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we traveled to Texas to spend a weekend at our friend's ranch outside of Houston. Elliot now thinks Texas is the greatest place on earth. We were joined at the ranch by several other friends from our California days. All of them have kids. Elliot was right in the thick of things with two 5 year olds and two 3 year olds. Bea spent her time with the younger crew (17 and 14 months), but also played with the big boys. We had such a wonderful time! Sorry for the picture overload, there were just so many great shots (thanks to our friends Monica, Karen and Santiago and their fancy cameras!)

Pumpkin Picking

2011-10-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

Today we met up with the Haugen family (including the au pairs Lara and Ricky) to go pumpkin picking. We arrived at the Patch at about 11:00 AM to much warmer weather than what we had when we left the house an hour earlier. Thus Bea's outfit change towards the end of the trip (you'll see what I'm talking about in the pictures). We had a great time checking out the animals at the petting zoo and picking out pumpkins. Elliot's favorite part of the trip was the hay ride. Bea, on the other hand, was not a big fan of the hay. Neither was Mommy, my allergies are still bothering me. It was all worth it though to spend a wonderful fall day with my family and our good friends.

Fall in Charlottesville

2011-10-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago we all (Lara included) spent the weekend in Charlottesville (just outside of c-ville to be precise). We were there to celebrate the wedding a dear friend. My sister (Aunt Lindsay) and her family (Uncle John and Natalie) along with Mimsey and Gramps were also there. We rented a lovely house for the weekend (SOOOO much easier than a hotel when traveling with kids) and had a lot of fun at the wedding festivities and hanging out with each other at the house.

Natalie and Bea loved the rocking chairs on the deck...

Especially when gramps rocked them.

Both girls were very interested in this flower dog at a local shop.

Four!

2011-10-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

Elliot celebrated his 4th birthday with a party on September 10th. Per his request the party had a Superhero theme. I still can't believe my little man is 4! He tells me daily that he is a big boy now. Elliot continues to amaze us with his kindness, curiosity, creativity, and happy go lucky personality. He has developed quite the vocabulary at 4 and regular uses words like fantastic, similar, amazing, and specimen. He knows the names of most dinosaurs and loves learning about nature. One of our favorite activities is to take nature walks and collect specimens for our nature/bug boxes. Elliot has an incredible attention span for a 4 year old and is content sitting quietly and listening to books on CD. I picked up Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories at a Garage sale a few months ago and his aunt Lindsay gave him Frog and Toad and Winnie the Pooh for his birthday. He listens to at least one CD every day during quiet time.

Elliot's birthday party was a lot of fun. His buddies Gus and Conor were there with their parents and younger siblings. Family in attendance included Mimsey and Gramps, and Mommy's cousin David and his son and youngest daughter (Joey and Phia). It was a nice day and the kids had a blast playing in the yard. Elliot got lots of fun toys and all of the kids went home with super hero themed gift bags.

Elliot's gift from Mommy and Daddy was a bike with training wheels. Elliot has been enjoying riding ever since. Beatrice also loves the bike and wants to ride it just like her brother, helmet and all.

Goodbye Sweet Zsi-Zsi

2011-09-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

On September 19, Brian and I took our sweet pup, Zsi-Zsi, to the vet for the last time. She had an infected tumor in her mouth, leukemia, and failing kidneys. It was one of the hardest, saddest things I have ever experienced. We held her and and comforted her until the very end.

My mom gave me Zsi-Zsi at the end of my junior year of college. She was a wonderful companion. We made two cross country trips and lived in five different states together. She adored Brian and learned to love Elliot and Beatrice. We were very lucky to have had her in my life and I miss her dearly.

I wasn't quite prepared for the deep pain and sadness that accompanies the loss of a pet. Each day that passes makes things easier and we are slowly getting used to a new normal that doesn't include the routines of letting the dog out, feeding her, walking her, and snuggling with her after the kids go to bed. After experiencing this loss, its hard to imagine ever having another dog; knowing that someday we would be back in this place. But then I remember all of the love she gave us and how she completed our family. Someday we will have another dog, but there will always be a place in my heart for my sweet little puli.

The kids have taken this all pretty well. Elliot said he is sad but he has been more worried about me being sad than anything else. He drew a picture of Zsi-Zsi and he reminds me frequently that "she is in heaven and that we will see her again when we are really really old."

First Day of School

2011-09-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

First day of School

Elliot is back at his little neighborhood pre-school this year. He goes twice a week and LOVES it. I know he would love to go every day. He has a "best guy" in his class named Luke. When I picked him up from school the other day he ran over to me with Luke and said, "Mommy, this is my Luke!"

Beatrice is going to start a movement and dance class next month that she will go to once a week while Elliot is in school. Hopefully she will like it as much as her big brother likes pre-school.

Butterfly Encounter

2011-09-05T07:02:00.000-07:00

We had a very relaxing Labor day weekend and hope you did too! With the weather calling for rain ALL WEEK we tried to spend a lot of time outside this weekend. In addition to trips to the playground and lots of walks, We also spent a good chunk of our outdoor time exploring the Gardens at Wheaton Regional Park. The gardens were amazing! Brian and I could not believe we hadn't been there yet. Although it was hot, it was a really lovely place to spend our Sunday afternoon. The highlight of the visit was the butterfly exhibit. The last time Elliot went to a butterfly exhibit he was scared. This time we was very interested in and amazed by all of the butterflies. Beatrice was very serious but also curious. Click here to see a video of our butterfly encounter.

2011 Mid Summer Round-up

2011-08-10T18:48:00.000-07:00

I know, I know you've heard the excuses before. Time flies, we are super busy, no time to post pictures. The truth is that lately I've been more dedicated to my little design blog (www.namesakedesign.blogspot.com - if you are curious) than I have to this blog. We got a new computer this weekend, which should help because our old computer was super slow and it took forever to upload photos to the hard drive and the web.

So without further ado, here's a quick round-up of what we have been up to in the last month and a half.

The weekend after the Twinkies came to visit was the weekend of the neighborhood summer party. Elliot spent most of the party in the moon bounce and took a brief break for tug-of-war. That's Elliot at the front of the boys' side. You can't tell from the photo but there were at least 15 boys pulling on the rope. Beatrice spent the party trying to steal the balls from most of the homemade carnival games. She also took a turn in the moon bounce with a bunch of other toddlers. It was pretty cute.

We spent the 4th of July at Mimsey and Gramp's house. I wasn't feeling too well over the weekend but we all managed to have a good time. We took lots of trips to the pool (where Elliot did great with just water wings), and had fun playing with Aunt Lindsay, Uncle John, and Natalie who were also visiting. The 4th in Williamsburg is always fun. Mimsey and Gramp's neighborhood has a parade (which Elliot and I made a hat for) and a party with fireworks. Unfrotunately there were no fire works due to wind, but there was a giant moon bounce slide.

Elliot, Beatrice, Brian and I left the day after the fourth and Elliot stayed in Williamsburg for a week at Camp Mimsey. He was on his own at their house for an entire week! He did great and had a wonderful time. Mimsey and Gramps kept him very busy with trip to museums (a children's museum and military transportation museum), parks, the pool, and playground. He even went with Gramps to buy a new new fish for the pond. Elliot named the fish Rocket.

We haven't had any weekends away from home since the weekend after the 4th, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy. We've spent lots of time playing in the yard. Elliot is quite the explorer and loves finding cool bugs or other "amazing" things like the mushroom pictured. Elliot and Beatrice have also helped with the garden which produced the giant zucchini pictured. Elliot and I made zucchini muffins out of it one Saturday. We have also spent some time playing in our new kiddie pool.

There have also been lots of outings to the playground. Elliot and Beatrice both love the swings.

Two weekends ago we went to our friend Conor's 4th birthday. Elliot had a blast and Mommy enjoyed seeing her friends. Especially Tasha and baby Anja - who is getting so big!

Finally, last weekend we went to Wheaton Regional Park to ride the train and carousel and have a picnic. The last time we were there Beatrice was in the sling the entire time. Even though it was hot, we had a great time. Beatrice was a little nervous about the train and carousel at first, but quickly decided she really liked both.

Wow, we have been busy! Now that I am done with this post, I am happy to report that my new computer has made this a much faster process!

Twinkies Come to Visit

2011-06-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago the Farnum-Lynotts made the trip all the way from Colorado to visit us over Father's Day weekend. It was the first plane ride and a BIG trip for cousins Webb and Adelaide (AKA the Twinkies). We are so glad they came and we all had a great time during their stay. Daddy and Uncle Joe enjoyed their time rubbing elbows with golfing greats at the US Open (seriously, Unlce Joe has the pictures to prove it), and Mommy and Stacey enjoyed catching up and spending time with all of the kids (we also manged to sneak in a little shopping, lunch with a friend, and a pedicure). We also all spent lots of time at the Farmers' Market, playground, and strolling the neighborhood. On Monday, before the Farnum-Lynotts headed back to CO we ventured into DC to see the sights. Of course I didn't take enough pictures, but I did get few good shots (and steal a few of Aunt Stacey's) of our adventures.

Cherry stand at the Farmers' Market

Everyone wanted to play with Bea's little kitchen.

Elliot helping push Adelaide

WWII Memorial

Team Stroller

View from the Lincoln Memorial. Its too bad the reflecting pool is being renovated - not exactly picture perfect.

Weekend with Mommy

2011-06-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

Our summer is in full swing with weekends filled with trips to the farmers' market and playground, lots of time in the yard, and most meals are eaten al fresco. This weekend I had the kids all to myself (daddy had to work) and we were busy bees. On Satruday we went to the Farmer's market. While we were there we stopped to play in the fountain. Beatrice LOVES the fountain and Lara takes the kids there at least twice a week.

Elliot is all about making silly faces so its hard to get a nice photo of him these days.

After Beatrice's nap and a little quiet time for Mommy and Elliot we went to see Mom-mom (my grandmother) to celebrate her 91st birthday. My cousin David and his family were there and Elliot and Beatrice had a create time playing with their third cousins.

Today, Elliot, Beatrice and I went to the playground, ate brunch (at our neighborhood diner), Elliot and I did some art and listened to music, we took a little trip to a big fabric store, and we watched a movie when it threatened to storm (but never did).

We are all excited for the week ahead because Aunt Stacey, Uncle Joe, and Cousins Web and Adelaide are coming to visit. I promise to post lots of pictures.

Changing of the Guard

2011-05-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

Mariana flew back to Brazil today. We were going to go to the airport to send her off, but she asked us not to so that the kids wouldn't remember her leaving sad. So we said our good-byes on Friday afternoon before heading to the airport to pick up our new au pair, Lara. Mariana was a wonderful addition to our family and she will definitely be missed. She on to bigger and better things and we wish her nothing but the best as she embarks on her next adventure, college in San Francisco.

Elliot was very excited to pick up Lara at the airport. He brought the "welcome" sign that he and Mariana made for her and he gave her a hug when he met her. He got to spend lots of time this weekend getting to know Lara and he really likes her. He does miss Mariana though but as he told me the other night, "I am sad about Mariana, but not sad about Lara."

Beatrice also seems to like Lara, but has also had a little separation anxiety. I expected this and hope that it won't last long. Lara, like Mariana, is from Brazil. Given how far away from home she is, she probably has a little separation anxiety of her own. Hopefully we are making her feel right at home.

Great to See You!

2011-05-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

We saw lots of friends during the month of May! We ended the month with a party at the Lamb's house (Tory, Phil, and Charlotte) Charlotte is 2 and Elliot adores her. I didn't bring my camera so I have no pictures to share. The party was packed with kids who were all kept busy by a mini moon bounce, water guns, popcicles, and a movie! Yeah, Elliot had a blast.

Some other friends we saw this month...

Mommy stayed with out friends the Amans in Richmond. Elliot was so bummed that he didn't get to see his buddy Clare. They did get to talk to each other on the phone.

We had a little cook out that included lots of Elliot's little friends including Charlotte and Conor.

Our friends the Andrews-Scheideler's stopped by for a quick visit (all the way from Colorado).

Our friend Karen stopped by after spotting the kids at the Metro. She was in town for a wedding by was working out of her east coast office (which is right around the corner) for a couple of days. Elliot LOVED Karen. She has two boys of her own and knows all kinds of cool wrestling moves.

Lightning McQueen

2011-05-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day! We had a lovely Mother's Day at our house. Beatrice let me sleep in, Daddy made me breakfast, and Elliot gave me a beautiful picture frame that he made at school. After breakfast and some time spent playing in the yard we ventured in to town (Silver Spring) to see a special appearance by Lightning McQueen and friends from the Disney movie Cars. This is one of Elliot's favorite movies and he was very excited, even though we had to stand in a long line. While in line we ran into one of Mommy's old friends from summer camp/high school, Matt Kennedy, and his family. Elliot and Matt's son Max are the same age and both waited very patiently for their turn to see the cars.

After seeing the Cars we wandered around an art market that was also taking place down town. It was another beautiful Spring Day to be out and and about!

All the kids in line got Cars sunglasses and a Cars key chain.

Elliot and Max

Bea liked the sun glasses too.

We had pictures taken of us in front of the cars and should receive them by email in a couple of days.

May Flowers

2011-05-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

This morning we ventured into Washington for breakfast and the National Cathedral Flower Market. We ate breakfast at bustling restaurant close to Cleveland park - a neighborhood we LOVE! The kids were very well behaved and everyone liked their food. After breakfast we headed to the Cathedral where the flower market was just getting started. The market is held every Mother's Day Weekend. We were expecting lots of flowers and were surprised to find a pretty small flower section and lots of arts and crafts, jewelery, and food stands. It also had a huge area for kids with rides and moon bounces. I think it would be better described as a carnival. We had a great time and it could not have been a more perfect day to be outside.

We also took some time to walk through the cathedral and its many gardens. It is such a beautiful place!

Elliot took time to smell all of the flowers.

Beatrice showing off her new barrette - purchased at the market.

Easter Bunnies

2011-04-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely Easter weekend, despite a rainy Saturday. The dreary weather cleared up just in time to have some friends over for dinner on Saturday night. Elliot and Beatrice did a great job of entertaining our guests while Mommy and Daddy made dinner. We woke up on Sunday morning to bright blue skies and very warm weather. Elliot and I put on our Sunday best and went to church (Daddy and Beatrice held down the fort at home and waited for the Easter Bunny). After church the kids dove into their Easter baskets. Elliot liked his toys but liked the candy better. Beatrice was more interested in Elliot's tricycle than she was in her Easter basket.

After playing the yard for a bit we decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and go for a walk along Sligo Creek Trail. Along our 3 mile walk we looked for tadpoles in the creek, made a play ground pit stop, and had lunch in down town silver spring. During lunch, Beatrice tired daddy's vanilla milk shake, then decided not to give it back to Daddy. Considering she won't drink cold milk, I was surprised how much she liked it. After lunch Elliot and Daddy decided to see a movie -Rio, a cartoon about a Parrot from Brazil.

Needless to say, we were all pooped by bedtime tonight! I can't wait to spend more of our weekends outdoors.

Growing in the Garden

2011-04-17T19:29:00.000-07:00

We spent most of our Sunday this weekend in our new yard. Our yard was in a pretty sad state when we moved in and we tried to work with it, but last month we gave in and decided to have it landscaped. The result is wonderful! I can't wait for the grass to take root so that we can play on it. Elliot's favorite part of the yard is the rock garden. Which is the former the pond filled in with pea gravel (after cutting holes in the bottom). I knew that it would make the perfect construction zone - note the orange cones that Elliot set up along the parameter.

Elliot has been a great helper in the yard and this weekend and helped us installed a rain barrel, hang a bird feeder and bird houses, paint and hang some garden art, plant our vegetable garden, and put in solar lights. Beatrice likes the yard too, but she was napping when I brought out the camera.

Showing off our rain barrel in the vegetable garden.

He can't wait to mow the lawn.

There is still lots of room for riding bikes.

Beatrice's Art - Elliot painted the pink and made the white dots, Bea reluctantly let me paint her hands and make hand prints.

Elliot's art - He did it all with the exception of the face and body of the butterfly. He described it as " a butterfly in the sun."

Party Time

2011-04-13T16:38:00.000-07:00

The pink and green butterfly themed party was a success! The only downside was the weather which kept all 35 guests inside for the entire party. Thank goodness for the play room. Beatrice and Natalie were showered with attention, love, and presents. I went a little over board with the decorations and you can see lots of pictures of the decor on my other blog, http://www.namesakedesign.blogspot.com/ (posting on April 14th). I will add additional photos from the party as I receive them from party goers.

Thank you everyone who came to celebrate - especially Grammy and Papa who came all the way from Colorado.

Aunt Lindsay, Brian, Beatrice, Amanda, Natalie, and Uncle John

Beatrice, Amanda, Mom-Mom (great grandmother to E and B) Lindsay, Natalie, and Mimsey

Beatrice really liked this plate. It was one of Natalie's presents.

The cake Mommy made

The babies look a little confused/concerned....

Natalie's Aunt Rachel helping the big kids with cake and ice cream.

Elliot wanted to test all of the new toys to make sure they were "safe". These Busy Gears were a big hit.

Natalie was fascinated by the balloons. Elliot was very sweet to his little cousin.

Beatrice Turns 1!

2011-04-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

Today was Beatrice's first birthday. This year went by so fast! We kicked off the birthday celebrations with a trip to the doctor for her one year check up. I really would have preferred to go another day (nobody wants shots on their birthday), but today worked best schedule wise. Beatrice is 29" tall (60th percentile) and weighs 20 pounds 12 ounces (50th percentile). She cried her little head off when she got her shots, but recovered quickly.

She spent the rest of the day playing with Elliot and Mariana. At around 5 PM, Grammy and Papa arrived. They flew in from Colorado today and are staying until Sunday. Our friends the Haugens (minus Nick who is out of town for work) came over for pizza. For dessert we had pink cupcakes made by Elliot and Mariana. Beatrice liked smashing the cupcake almost as much as she liked eating it.

I can't wait for the big birthday celebration this weekend. We are having a joint party with cousin Natalie. It is going to be so much fun!

More Walking

2011-03-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

When Elliot was learning to walk, it took him a long time to transition from crawling most of the time to walking most of of the time. This is not the case for Beatrice. Miss Priss wants to walk EVERYWHERE. I can't believe how much her walking skills have improved in such a short period of time. This weekend I captured her actually walking to me on video. Enjoy.

Click here to view video

A Date With Mommy

2011-03-29T04:26:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I took Elliot to his first theatrical performance, a show called ZooZoo at the Strathmore Theater. We had a wonderful time! Before the show we had lunch at Le Madeline. Elliot was the perfect dining companion. During lunch we talked about the play we were going to see and how to be a good theater goer:
-Sit still in your seat
-Listen and watch carefully
-Whisper if you have a question
-Clap when its time to clap

After lunch we headed to the theater to pick up our tickets at Will Call. Elliot was very patient while we waited in the very long line. Elliot wanted to hold his own ticket and did a great job handing it to the ticket taker, and the usher when we needed help finding our seats.

Before the show the theater was buzzing with activity. There were a lot of children in attendance and most of them were literally bouncing off the walls. Elliot sat down right away and told me that he was "being a very patient boy". When the show started he was mesmerized! He sat perfectly still and didn't take his eyes off the stage. He also clapped very enthusiastically when it was time to clap.

During the intermission I told him we should get up and stretch our legs. He said he didn't want to because he didn't want to miss any of the show. When the performance was over the actors invited parents and kids to the stage to ask questions. Elliot was gung ho to go but chickened out when we got the the stage and saw the actual size of the actors.

On our way home we talked about our favorite parts of the show. Elliot liked the anteaters and the snake. I liked the penguins. You can see excerpts of the performance here.

Signs of Spring

2011-03-21T04:50:00.000-07:00

In addition to the daffodils and pink buds on the trees, one of my favorite signs of Spring is a busy playground. We spent lots of time outside this weekend and ended the day on Sunday with a trip to the little playground a couple of blocks from our house. Beatrice was in awe of her big brother's climbing and running skills and was eager to play on all of the equipment too. Her favorite thing was the slide. She is my little dare devil!

Walking!

2011-03-13T06:50:00.000-07:00

Beatrice is determined to walk. She can walk about five steps at a time and tries to walk everywhere. I was finally able to capture her skills on video this morning:

Click Here

Of course I can't get Miss Independent to walk to me! She is already doing her own thing.

Busy Beatrice

2011-03-11T13:07:00.000-08:00

Beatrice is on the move! She is constantly moving, exploring, and playing. She has taken a few steps and can stand up with out pulling up or holding to the furniture. She is in to everything and we will probably need to step up our baby proofing. Something we never had to do with Elliot, he is our little rule follower.

Beatrice's latest obsession is the sit and spin. She loves to sit on it and spin it around when she is not sitting on it. Today her little friend Elsa came over and Mariana reported that Beatrice got VERY mad when Elsa tried to play with the sit and spin.

I'll try to capture some pics of her standing and taking steps this weekend.

Parent Teacher Conference

2011-02-23T17:00:00.000-08:00

This morning I attended my first parent teacher conference. Elliot has been going to a little pre-school in our neighborhood twice a week since September. Because Mariana usually takes him, I don't have much interaction with the teachers. It was nice to have a chance to site down and discuss Elliot's progress. Especially since his teacher, Mrs. M., had so many nice things to say about him. I plan to save all of Elliot's report cards, and I'll probably post them here - since this is basically our family scrapbook. That is until he gets a bad grade or begs me not to.

I am so proud of my boy! I was also happy to hear that he loves and excels at art. Mariana was shocked that his teacher wrote that he is an "awsome help at clean up". We may have to get some tips from Mrs. M. It has been so fun to watch Elliot grow and change over the last year. He has weathered all of the change in his life (new house, new baby, new school, new au pair) wonderfully and really is a "smart, caring, and confident" guy.

Long Weekend

2011-02-22T16:57:00.000-08:00

The Farnums had a busy President's Day weekend. On Saturday we had friends over to meet Anja, Tasha's (Elliot's Godmother) new baby. Anja was born in November is ADORABLE. Elliot wanted to hold her and said "she needs to be on her tummy I can teach her to crawl." Elliot even snuck a little kiss. It was great to see Tasha and meet Anja.

On Sunday we decided to get out of the house and visit the American history museum. The museum is huge and we only saw a tiny part of it. We almost didn't see any of it because Elliot threw up while we were eating lunch. He rebounded almost immediately and we are pretty sure that some sour chocolate milk (purchased at the museum!) was to blame.

We spent most of our time in an area dedicated to American inventions and an exhibit about transportation sponsored by General Motors. There were a lot of interactive displays which was great for Elliot. Beatrice hung out in her Ergo Carrier and took it all in.

Elliot was little worried that the train would start moving.

Too busy snacking to see the sights.

The Cutest Valentines

2011-02-14T05:05:00.000-08:00

Elliot made his own Valentines this year (with a little help from Mommy and Mariana). Of course I forgot to take a picture of them before sending them out. He used potato stamps to decorate pieces of paper that he stitched together with yarn to make little pockets to hold these pictures:

Tomorrow he'll exhange Valentines with all of his friends at pre-school, which I am sure will involve lots of sugar.

Junior Aviators

2011-02-13T17:42:00.000-08:00

Elliot, Beatrice and Mariana met up with Gus, Elsa and Ricky (au pair) at the Air and Space Muesum last Friday. Gus's mom sent me this picture today. Can you tell they had fun?

Is it February Already ?!?

2011-02-13T17:34:00.000-08:00

2011 is flying by and I can't believe I haven't updated the blog since Christmas. Especially considering all of the fun we've had this year. In mid January Elliot, Brian and Beatrice took our first trip together to Colorado. We spent the first half of the trip with Grammy, Papa, Stacey, Joe, Webb, and Adelaide in Erie; and the second half of the trip in Beaver Creek skiing.

We had a very relaxing time in Erie. Elliot and Beatrice had fun exploring Grammy and Papa's house. Beatrice learned to pull up and cruise while we were there! Elliot quickly discovered the stash of Daddy and Stacey's old toys in the basement. His favorite was Daddy's play tool kit (with power drill). Elliot spent a lot of time "fixing" things while we were there. Beatrice spent most of her time terrorizing the twins. Although they are only a couple of months younger than her they are not mobile and she wanted to crawl all over them.

A trip to Erie would not be complete without a trip the fabulous Erie Rec Center and pool. Elliot and Beatrice had fun playing in kids area.

We were a little delayed heading to mountains the mountains due to heavy snow. Not great for driving, but wonderful for skiing. On the way Elliot mastered the phrase, "are we there yet?". There we got to spend time with Mimsey, Lindsay, John and Natalie. Natalie was a much better match for Beatrice and they had fun playing together.

While Mommy and Daddy skied, Elliot went to ski school. He was in the Mini-Mice group. Elliot LOVED his helmet and goggles and got lots of practice wearing them on and off the slopes. Mimsey and Lindsay watched Beatrice, which was quite the task as she had a little bit of separation anxiety. The next day Mommy, Mimsey, and Lindsay skied together. Daddy was on baby patrol and Elliot went to ski school.

On our last day in the mountains Mimsey, Daddy and Elliot went snow tubing. Elliot was a little scared, but when he saw that Mimsey could do it, he became brave. While everyone tubed Mommy, Beatrice, Lindsay, and Natalie did a little exploring and shopping.

We left the mountains in a snow storm and made it home without too much drama in later that same night. I can't believe we have already been home a month! Beatrice is now trying to stand on her own, eating finger foods, and starting to wave clap and point.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-30T10:49:00.000-08:00

We stayed home for Christmas this year. It was hard not being with our families, but it was nice to be home for the holiday. We will make up for it when see all of the grandparents in Colorado next month.

Christmas this year was so much fun! Elliot was very excited about Santa and the prospect of new toys. On Christmas Eve Elliot, Beatrice and I (Mommy) when to the children's service at the church where Elliot goes to pre-school. It was a very nice service and both kids were VERY well behaved. Unfortunately, Elliot didn't like the music. He told me it was very sad, perhaps he would have liked more Joy to the World and less Silent Night. He was also disappointed that there was no cake. It was, after all, Jesus' birthday.

After church we had spaghetti for dinner. While Elliot was eating his dessert, I heard a thump in the fire place.

Me: (very serious) What was that? I think I heard something.
Elliot: (also very serious) Where?
Me: (trying not to laugh) In the fireplace.
Daddy: (also trying not to laugh) We should go look.
Elliot: (Screaming and running from the kitchen) SANTA'S HERE! SANTA'S HERE!

We found two packages in the fire place marked, "To: Elliot and Beatrice, From: Santa's Elves." The elves had delivered Christmas PJs. After baths and three Christmas books (Olive the Other Reindeer, Merry Christmas Curious George, & The Night Before Christmas), Elliot and Beatrice went to bed. I thought Elliot might be up all night, but he went right to bed when I told him Santa wouldn't come until he was asleep.

Everyone was up and ready to open presents by 7:30 AM. Elliot told me that he "heard Santa and the penguins." I am not sure when penguins became a part of the Santa mythology. Mariana was a trooper and joined us at 7:45 AM to open presents. Elliot loved passing out the presents and loved opening presents even more. He got more toys than he could possibly need, including a monster truck - per his letter to Santa.

At 2:30 PM Frank and three Brazilian girls visiting Mariana joined us for dinner. Brian made a feast of short ribs, gravy, risotto, french bread, and salad (made by me). By 5:30 PM we were all stuffed!

Of course I didn't take as many pictures as I should have, and it was very hard to get Elliot to stand still for more than a second.

Elliot showed Beatrice how to use her new little kitchen

Mariana helping assemble the Legos

Day after Christmas, Beatrice with two of her new toys

Scooter

2010-12-17T05:47:00.000-08:00

She doesn't go great distances, but Beatrice has figured how to scoot. Her technique is sort of a modified commando crawl. She still prefers rolling from point A to B, but she'll use the scoot if she wants something in front of her, especially if that something is the remote control.

A Visit With Santa

2010-12-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

I took Elliot to the Mall this morning to visit Santa. I wasn't sure what to expect since this was his first trip to see Santa, and he can be quite shy around strangers. Well as the picture proves, he was not shy about meeting St. Nick. Elliot told him that he wanted Legos and a train for Christmas, and that Santa should not go down the chimney because it is dangerous. I think we'll wait until next year for Beatrice to meet Santa. Mommy saw too many traumatized babies in line today.

A White House Christmas

2010-12-07T17:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Elliot, Beatrice, Mariana, and I (Mommy) got a very special treat. A friend of Daddy's got us on "the list" for a White House Christmas tour! I took a half day and we all headed to DC to see the White House decked out for the holidays. Elliot and Beatrice were very well behaved and both seemed to like looking at all of the trees, lights, and decorations.

The tour leads visitors through a small part of the white house that is TOTALLY decorated for Christmas. Elliot's favorite part of the tour was the miniature version of the White House that is made out of white chocolate.

You can see more of the White House Christmas decorations here.

Letter to Santa 2010

2010-12-05T13:56:00.000-08:00

Elliot is pretty excited about Christmas this year. We have been counting down the days on the Advent calendar, decorating the house, and talking about baby Jesus and Santa. Today we wrote our first letter to Santa. He dictated I scribed:

Dear Santa,
My name is Batman Farnum and Elliot. And Dinosaur. I play with trains and stuff thats good. I love my sister. She is Beatrice. I would like a train for Christmas. I would like one with a smoke stack, coach, and a big whistle. Like the one Mariana gave me.

I really want a monster truck because they really do tricks. They have big tires. I want a blue one. Blue is my favorite color. I want a ball and a hitter for golf. Maybe a real one. I want a pretend kitchen and a drill too. I want a kitchen so I can fix the sink.

Beatrice wants a little race car. Maybe she wants blue. Maybe she wants a trimmer (Mommy could not figure out what this is) that goes up and down. Beatrice will like that. I also want little scissors to cut.

Thank you Santa. I want to go to the mall to ask you. Good-bye. Don't go down the chimney because it is very dangerous.

Love,
Elliot

Thankful

2010-11-26T08:13:00.000-08:00

In thinking about our activities over the two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, I have been reminded of how much we have to be thankful for:

Family. While I ran the 1/2 Marathon in Richmond, Elliot and Beatrice stayed with their Mimsey and Gramps in Williamsburg. Elliot had a great time helping Gramps with various projects and playing with all of the new toys they have bought for the grand kids.

Our health. We all had a minor bout of stomach flu last week. It was fast moving and we recovered quickly. We are lucky that other than the little bugs we may pick up, that we are all very healthy.

Friends. We spent Thanksgiving with our good friends the Haugens. Elliot and Gus played very nicely together and I hope that they will be life long friends like Gus's Dad and Brian.

Home. We have been our home for almost a year now. As much as I love our house, its not the place that makes a home; its the love that surrounds us.

Mommy a few yards away from completing the Richmond 1/2 Marathon.

Beatrice is happy to be at Mimsey and Gramps' house.

Mimsey and Gramps with the kids at the Virginia Museum of Art

Elliot checking out the modern art.

A beautiful November fall day along the Sligo Creek trail.

Elliot and Gus at the kids' table on Thanksgiving

They really liked the sparkling juice.

Sharing the fire truck after filling their tummies.

Beatrice playing in Elsa's "exersaucer".

Babies and Au pairs (Mariana and Ricky). Elsa was not happy about having her picture taken.

More Halloween Pictures

2010-11-09T05:07:00.000-08:00

Gus's Mom, Caitlin, sent over the following great batch of Halloween photos this morning. Aren't Gus and Elliot the cutest? They had so much fun together. I wish we had a picture of Elsa (Gus's little sister) and Beatrice, but Elsa slept through most of the festivities.

Budding Artist

2010-11-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

Elliot's drawing ability has improved dramatically over the last couple of months and he has started drawing more than just scribbles and circles. His favorite subjects are monsters - blobs with lots of stick limbs, eyes, and a mouth. Today he presented me with his most detailed drawing to date.

Green Halloween

2010-11-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

Halloween was so much fun this year! Elliot actually "got it" and had a blast trick-or-treating. He liked wearing his costume and proudly told everyone that he was a garbage truck (he was a recycling truck). Mommy let everyone know that Beatrice was a recycling bin. We went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood and were joined by the Haugen family. Gus and Elliot are good buddies and they were pretty funny together. Gus's parents took lots of pictures and I'll post them as soon as I get them. The following are shots from our Halloween dress rehearsal.

Walk Like a Zombie

2010-10-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

This weekend was filled with fall fun (between long stretches of work for poor Daddy). Last night we went out to diner in downtown Silver Spring on our way home from the Home Depot. When we left the restaurant we discovered that we were just in time for the annual Zombie Walk. A parade of people dressed up as Zombies that makes it's way through Silver Spring and ends at the AFI Movie Theater with a showing of Night of the Living Dead. Elliot was pretty excited about the Zombies and wasn't scared when the parade started. he was afraid of the wolf howls projecting from speakers but he told us that the Zombies would fight the wolves and he was brave because he is Batman. You can see a video of our zombie encounter here, http://picasaweb.google.com/amandafarnum/ZombiesOnParadeVideo?authkey=Gv1sRgCLGehsD1k4fU9wE&feat=directlink.
Beatrice just hung out in her stroller taking it all in.

Pictures to come...having technical difficulties at the time of this post.

Sitting Pretty

2010-10-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Aunt Lindsay and cousin Natalie stopped by for a quick visit while passing through town. Even though Natalie wasn't feeling her best and was a little fussy, I got a couple of shots of the the babies showing off their new sitting skills. Beatrice still needs some help sitting but she is getting better at it everyday. Natalie can already get up into the crawl position a rock back and forth - watch out Aunt Lindsay and Uncle John!

Happy Half B-day Beatrice!

2010-10-05T17:24:00.000-07:00

Today Beatrice is 6 months old! Where has the time gone? She is growing and changing everyday, Mariana swears she looks bigger after not seeing much of her over the weekends. Missy Moo, Pup, Bea, or BB (as she is frequently called) is a very happy girl. She smiles every time she sees her brother, Mommy, Daddy, or Mariana. Beatrice loves to laugh and finds Elliot, Mariana's singing, and Daddy's silly faces to be quite funny. She is getting stronger everyday and likes standing and sitting with help. She also loves to bounce in her rain forest bouncer (something that Elliot also enjoyed) and roll around on the floor. Beatrice is a great little sleeper and goes to bed every night with little to no fuss.

We've only been a family of four for 6 months, but it feels like Beatrice has always been a part of us. I know the next six months will bring even more changes and surprises as Beatrice gets bigger and becomes more engaged with the world around her. I can't wait to see what's ahead, but I also want time to slow down so that I can enjoy every second with my baby girl.

Half B-day Update: At her six month check up Beatrice was 75 percentile for height and 64 percentile for weight. She grew two inches (to 26") and gained two pounds (to 16.4) since her last visit.

Three!!!

2010-09-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Elliot's third birthday on Saturday with a dinosaur themed party. His friends Conor, Gus and Aiden joined in the fun; as did Mimsey and Mariana. It was a great day. Elliot received lots of cool gifts including an incredibly realistic recycling truck from his godmother and a train table from Mommy and Daddy. I can't believe my baby boy is three.

Cousins!

2010-09-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

Cousins, cousins everywhere! Before the summer ended Elliot took two trips to spend time with family and his new baby cousins. First, he and Daddy flew solo to Colorado to spend a week at Grammy and Papa's house in Erie. And Stacey, Uncle Joe and thier new babies, Webb and Adelaide, stayed in Erie too. Elliot's trip was action packed with trips to a farm, train museum, car museum, and down town Boulder. He did a great job on the plane and Daddy didn't have to use too many of the bribes that Mommy had packed in his back pack.

A day after returning home from CO we all hit the road for my cousin's cabin in West Virginia. There we met up with my cousin Fred and his family; Aunt Lindsay, Uncle John, and baby Natalie; and Mimsey and Gramps. We all had a great time hiking, playing in the river, and enjoying time with family. Elliot followed his third cousins Gabriel and Quint everywhere and had a blast playing with all of their toys. Beatrice and Natalie spent most of their time rolling on the floor, staring at each other, and being held. The weather in WV was quite cool, fall is right around the corner!

Roly Poly

2010-08-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

Beatrice rolled from her back to her front this morning then did it again, and again, and again. She seemed quite pleased with herself. She is napping now - rolling is hard work.

2010-08-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we headed down to Williamsburg to spend some time with Mimsey and Gramps. Mommy and Mimsey shopped, Daddy and Gramps played golf (Daddy did some shopping too), Elliot played cars and trucks, and Beatrice got lots of love a tummy time.

Actually Elliot did a lot more than just "play cars and trucks", which is always his response to the questions "what did you do today?" or "what would you like to do?" He fed the fish, explored the yard, woods and beach; and went shopping with Mommy, Mimsey and Beatrice. While we were out an about we encountered Geoffrey, the Toys R Us Giraffe. Elliot was very excited about the Giraffe, but also very scared. He begged me to hold him when we approached Geoffrey, I swear he had his legs wrapped around me so tight that my arms weren't doing a thing to hold him up.

A Walk In the Woods

2010-08-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

The nice weather stayed with us through the weekend ,and we took full advantage of it this morning by setting out for a hike. We had planned to start at a trail head about 4 miles from our house, but quickly discovered the trail was not going to be stroller friendly (even for our agile bumble ride which has been on many a trail). After a short drive down the road we were back on track, this time on the paved Sligo Creek Park Trail. Elliot was able to walk and ride in his stroller and Beatrice was very happy to ride with Mommy (I don't know how she sleeps in that thing). We saw many runners, bikers and dogs along the way; stopped to play at two playgrounds; and even spotted two young fawns eating leaves right off the trail.

After our "hike" we went to our new favorite Mexican restaurant. It is very close to the Discovery Channel building which is promoting it's Shark Week by hanging giant balloons off the building to make it look like a shark. We all had a good time checking out the head, which Elliot described as "THIS big" (picture his arms stretched out), after lunch.

I hope the heat stays away. I could get used to spending my weekends outside.

A Break from the Heat

2010-07-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

Today we got a break from the very hot weather we have been having. Mariana and the kids took advantage of the high 70/ low 80 degree temps and spent the entire morning at the playground. More nice weather is expected this weekend and multiple trips to the playground are anticipated.

"Farnum, party of four"

2010-07-24T14:26:00.000-07:00

Elliot doesn't like to eat. Its not that he's a picky eater, he'll try most things. Its just that he doesn't like to take time out of his very busy play schedule to bother with food. I am always trying new and creative ways to get him interested in food (without feeding him ice cream for every meal - that he'll eat). Last week I discovered that he likes when his toys pretend to eat his food and lately, he has been playing pretend throughout the day with a few of his favorite stuffed animals. So when it came time for dinner the other day and he said he was playing with his animals, I told him the animals were hungry too. He was very excited about this, especially when everyone sat down to eat their dinner. Elliot and his friends has blueberries, pancakes, and chocolate milk. Yes, I know that doesn't sound like the healthiest of dinners but everyone cleaned their plates.

The Mommy Photo Both

2010-07-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

Our camera has a "rapid fire" feature the allows you to take a lot of pictures really fast. Its great for catching those baby smiles. The other day Beatrice was "talking" up a storm and making all kinds of funny faces, so I grabbed the camera and fired away. These are some of my favorites.

Shaking Things Up

2010-07-17T03:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning we experienced our first earth quake. You'd think that Brian and I would have felt the earth shake at least once during our 4 years in California, but we didn't. Yesterday's quake was a 3.6 and felt like a HUGE truck driving by or a VERY strong roll of thunder. The kids slept right through it. The big highlight of their day was the introduction of the Bumbo seat to Beatrice. She loves to sit up and really seemed to like her new seat. Elliot thought it was very funny to see Beatrice in her little seat and will probably want her to sit in it all the time.

The Summer the AC Died

2010-07-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Elliot and Beatrice, I doubt that either of you will remember much about the last five days of the summer of 2010. I on the other hand, will always remember this as the Summer the AC died...while Daddy was on a business trip, forcing us to become nomads.

Last week it got very hot in our house. We were in the middle of a record setting heat wave (102 + all week) and our air conditioner stopped working. We stayed in the house for one night and decided that we'd had enough. After a night a Mommy's cousin David's house (thank goodness for family), and news that it would be another three days before the AC would be fixed, we packed up and headed to Williamsburg. Five hours later we arrived at Mimsey and Gramp's house. Unfortunately Mimsey and Gramps were still enjoying their vacation in CO. Elliot, this made you very sad so we decided to stay through Monday night so that you could see Mimsey and Gramps after they got home on Sunday night.

Although it wasn't planned, we had a very nice trip. I went to the office in Richmond while you and Beatrice spent time with Mariana (our wonderful au pair). Over the weekend we played at the beach and went to the Virginia Living museum. Beatrice, you spent most of your time sleeping while Elliot had a great time exploring and making new discoveries. As I write this we are back home in Silver Spring, MD and we are all looking forward to sleeping in our own beds!

Sleeping Beauty

2010-06-23T08:20:00.000-07:00

Last night Beatrice went to bed at 8:30 PM and woke up at 6:00 AM. We are all hoping for a repeat performance tonight!

Lost my camera and track of time...

2010-06-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last few weeks. Our lives have been actioned packed and I swear I have been documenting every moment, and I would post pictures from all of those moments if I had not left my camera at my cousin's house over a week ago. Thankfully my sister and mother-in-law have sent enough photos to give you a taste of our adventures. More to come.

The most exciting news to share is that our Au Pair, Marianna, has arrived from Brazil. She has been with us for three weeks now and things are going very well. Elliot is in love and Beatrice is quite content in her arms. Marianna has been quite the trooper, as the basement remodel is not exactly complete (hopefully it will be on Friday). As part of the remodel the kids will have a big playroom to spend their days in. Since I am working from home, this will make all of our lives easier.

Shortly after Mariana's arrival Beatrice and I left for Colorado to attend Stacey Farnum's (sister in law) baby shower. Stacey is having twins in July and we are all very excited about having two more cousins. Beatrice was a great traveler and we had great time hanging out with Grammy, Papa, Uncle Joe, and Aunt Stacey.

About a day after we returned home from Colorado, we all took a little trip to Williamsburg (everyone but Daddy). I was able to spend two days in the office in Richmond (my first week back after maternity leave), Elliot and Mariana spent their days riding the golf cart and playing at the beach, and Beatrice had lots of time with her Mimsey.

We went directly from Williamsburg to my grandmother's, Mom-Mom, 90th birthday celebration. Most of my cousins and aunts and uncles on my dad's side (the Heller family) were there. It was great seeing everyone and Elliot had a blast playing with his third cousins (my cousins' kids). His first cousin, Natalie, was also in attendance. She and Beatrice are 2 weeks a part. Of course we dressed them up in matching outfits and took lots of pictures.

Last weekend we went to a cookout to celebrate the engagement of two friends and say good bye to two others who are moving to Nebraska. The party was hosted by the McGinty family. They also have a newborn and a 2 1/2+ year old, Connor. Needless to say Elliot had a great time playing with Connor and Beatrice enjoyed being passed around and snuggled.

Phew... that's a lot of stuff. Enjoy the pictures, I promise to post more as soon as I get my camera back.

Social Butterfly

2010-05-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

This week marked two milestones for Beatrice; her first smile and first playgroup. She has been flashing little smiles during her alert times since Tuesday and I am pretty certain that they are not caused by gas bubbles. One of her favorite things is the little bear mobile on her pack and play. Elliot loved it too. She stares very intently at it and makes little cooing and squawking noises at it. Sorry the picture of her playing with it is blurry, but it was the only shot I managed to get of her flashing a little smile.

Today I hosted the first gathering of a playgroup that I helped organize through DCMoms.com. Three other babies and their mommy's came. We has a lovely time and are planning to get together again next week. The babies pictured with Beatrice are Sara (on the left) and Ella (on the right).

Mommy's Day 2010

2010-05-10T08:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend was spent at home hanging out as a family. Brian and Elliot ran a few errands on Saturday and Sunday, but made it home in time for naps and afternoons filled with family fun. On Mother's Day Daddy made me a lovely breakfast and Elliot gave me a card he made at school. After Elliot's nap he and I spent lots of time working in the yard. Elliot is a great helper and he and I had lots of fun digging for worms, breaking up dirt in our soon to be planted vegetable garden, emptying the pond (which we are planning to remove), and watering plants. I think watering plants is his favorite activity.

Beatrice spent most of her time sleeping. When she is awake she is usually pretty content. I finally managed to grab the camera during some of those alert moments! Elliot loves when she is awake and constantly asks "what is he doing" when she makes little baby sounds.

No Excuse

2010-05-02T15:39:00.000-07:00

For some reason we haven't been as good about taking pictures of Beatrice as we were when Elliot was a baby. Unfortunately, I think that's just the way it goes with most second born babies. Life as a family of four, especially when there is a pre-schooler in the mix, is just so busy that we frequently forget to take pictures. I did manage to snap a few pictures of Beatrice the other day doing what she does best, sleeping. I also got a couple of shots of her with her Grammy and Papa during their visit.

Elliot continues to be an excellent big brother. We had to spend most of the weekend out of the house due to our basement remodel; which made for lots of car time and, at times, a very unhappy Beatrice. She is not a fan of being strapped into the car seat. During one particularly loud crying session Elliot tried to help by saying, "its okay Beatrice, don't cry." He even tried to hold her hand but couldn't reach it from his car seat. This morning while she was in her bouncy seat he noticed her feet were not covered so he went and got a blanket and covered them up. He also gave her one of his favorite trains " to play with". Today we rewarded him with a fun family day at the mall where we rode the train, went to lunch, saw How to Train Your Dragon (Elliot's first movie at the theater), and went to the Disney store (where he picked out a Nemo plush toy).

See what I mean by busy? But that's really no excuse not to document all of Elliot and Beatrice's adventures by taking pictures.

2 Weeks Old

2010-04-19T06:23:00.000-07:00

Beatrice is two weeks old today! She has a very sweet temperament (much like Elliot did as a baby) and only gets upset when she is hungry or cold (e.g. during diaper changes). She has quite a set of lungs and she put them to good last night use after her first bath. She seemed to like the actual bath but was not happy to be removed from the bath.

Elliot gets very concerned when she cries and happily kisses her goodnight every night. I am so amazed by his love for his baby sister, especially considering how demanding she is of Mommy's time. I know that having his grandparents (Grammy and Papa) here helps, as he has two people willing to give him their undivided attention when ever he craves it.

Bringing Home Baby

2010-04-13T06:22:00.000-07:00

As of yesterday, Beatrice is officially a week old! She has been home for 5 full days now and we are all adjusting to our new life as a family of 4 well. Elliot has been such a wonderful big brother and is very curious about his little sister. He was so excited when he came home last Thursday. The first thing he did when he saw that Beatrice was with me was run into his room and get one of his old pacifiers. He was beaming with pride when he came back into the room with the pacifier. He promptly threw it at me and said, "this is for baby sister!" He also gave her a pair of pink slippers that he picked out for her (without any prompting or assistance) while shopping with Mimsey. Elliot is getting more used to Beatrice's presence every day and has taken on the role of Mommy's diaper changing helper with great enthusiasm.

Mimsey left on Sunday night. Having her here was such a help. Elliot asks me every day when Mimsey and Gramps are going to visit again. Elliot's Grammy and Papa arrive tomorrow and we are very excited to have them visit.

Welcome Beatrice

2010-04-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

On April 5 at 8:31 AM Beatrice Grace Farnum joined our family. We are all very excited to have a new member of the family. Elliot came to the hospital this morning to meet her and spend time with Mommy and Daddy (Mimsey and Gramps have been watching him while we have been at the hospital). He was all smiles and very sweet to his little sister. he was very curious about her and wanted to see and touch her little ands and feet. He was especially concerned about her lack of shoes. Now that we are a family of four, there will be some changes to the blog. The website will stay the same, but now it will be a place to mark all of the milestone's and special moments in Beatrice and Elliot's lives. We can't wait for the adventure that lies ahead.

Egg-citing Stuff

2010-03-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Elliot and I decorated Easter eggs. I always loved decorating eggs when I was younger and I loved sharing this Easter tradition with Elliot. I tired to show him how to draw on the eggs with crayons and overlap colors to make new colors (yellow + blue = green), but he preferred to dip each egg in every color then cover them with the stickers that came with the egg decorating kit. Unfortunately stickers don't stick to wet eggs - a very frustrating situation for a 2 1/2 year old.

Watching the color tablets dissolve

Only 5 days to go until Baby Sister arrives. We'll be showering Elliot with love and affection this Easter weekend, and I promise to post lots of pictures on Sunday.

Breakfast with the Haugens

2010-03-23T12:12:00.000-07:00

Our friends the Haugens, who live a couple of Metro stops away, met up with us this past Sunday in our hood for breakfast then a trip to the playground. Nick and Caitlin's son, Gus, is a little bit younger than Elliot and they are also expecting a baby girl in April.

The boys had a great time munching on blueberry muffins, pointing out and naming vehicles driving by, and playing on the playground. I expect that with kids so close in age, that we'll be spending a lot of time with our friends the Haugens.

First Golf Lesson

2010-03-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

With the arrival of Baby Girl less than two weeks away, Mommy and Daddy have been spending lots of quality time with Elliot. This past weekend brought beautiful Spring weather so we spent much of our time outside. On Saturday Daddy played 9 holes of golf at the local public course. Before he teed off, he gave Elliot a little lesson. Elliot liked chasing after the balls more than anything else and pretty much ignored all of Daddy's pointers. We think he'll be ready for his first set of clubs by three.

Quality Time

2010-02-24T17:13:00.000-08:00

Aunt Lindsay was here for her baby shower this weekend. It took her all of about 5 minutes to get reaquainted with her favorite nephew. I think motherhood is going to suit her.

Seeing the Sites

2010-02-15T05:24:00.000-08:00

On Saturday Daddy and Elliot took a little field trip so that Mommy could get to work on planning/preparing for Aunt Lindsay's baby shower (next weekend). Elliot saw some of the sites with his Gammy and Papa over Christmas, but hasn't done much exploring of the city with Mommy and Daddy. Daddy and Elliot decided to go to the Natural History Museum to see the dinosaurs. They had a great time! According to Daddy, Elliot basically raced from exhibit to exhibit asking "Daddy's what's that's name."

The only thing at the museum that Elliot didn't love was the butterfly exhibit. He liked it at first, and was having fun pointing out butterflies until a couple of "aggressive" butterflies started flying a bit to close to his head. Daddy said he was pretty scared so they cut that part of the visit short.

Elliot's still taking about the museum and asked me today if we could go to the dinosaur store. Instead, I underwhelmed him with a trip to an art supply store. At least he got some new stickers out of the deal.

Snow Days

2010-02-13T13:18:00.000-08:00

The east coast was hit with two record breaking storms in a row over the last 8 days, one on February 5th, then another on the 9th. We got about 30 total inches of snow at our house - which trapped us indoors over the weekend and for most of the work week. Elliot loved spending 24/7 with with Mommy and Daddy, and we worked hard to keep him entertained. We made forts, felt snow men, real snow men, homemade play dough, valentines for Mimsey and Grammy (in the mail late due to the snow), cookies with daddy, a puppy hat, many Lego towers, a book about snow, and played Super Man (with a dish towel for a cape). We also watched a couple of movies including Up, The Muppets in Oz, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Hopefully we have seen the last of the snow storms. It may be a while though before this all melts. On the way to daycare yesterday Elliot said to me, "I no like yucky brown snow." Unfortunately with all the cars here I think we'll be seeing yucky snow for a while. At least the stuff in the back yard is pretty.

Catching Up

2010-02-07T11:00:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated the blog! Our lives have been very busy. We moved out of our home in Richmond in October and Elliot and I moved to Mimsey and Gramps' house until we found a new home. Daddy continued to make the trip home on weekends and Mommy made numerous trips up to DC to help Daddy find a new house for all of us. Right before Thanksgiving we found the perfect house in Silver Spring, MD. We moved on December 21st (right after a major snow storm). We are still settling in and have been busy getting the house ready for the arrival of Elliot's baby sister in April.

I have been taking pictures over the last few months and I have created a few collages to bring you up to speed. Enjoy!

Leaving Richmond
We were so sad to leave our home in Richmond. During the five years that we lived there, we fell in love with the city and made some wonderful friends. We spent our last few weeks in Richmond enjoying time with friends, hanging out in our favorite places, and preparing for our temporary move to Williamsburg.

Living in Williamsburg
Living with Mimsey and Gramps in Williamsburg was great. Elliot loved exploring Mimsey and Gramps' house, yard, and the nearby hiking trails and beaches. One weekend, while Daddy was visiting, we went to a model train show at the local library. That may have been one of the highlights of Elliot's time in the Burg.

House Hunting

Elliot accompanied us on several of our house hunting trips. He was a little trooper every step of the way. He loved staying in hotels (especially if they had elevators), and he seemed to really enjoy visiting different houses. Every time we would pull up to a house he'd say, "we're home". He was a bit more optimistic than Daddy and I.

During one trip up we stayed at a friend's house in McLean, VA (Mommy's home town) where after a long day of house hunting we visited what is easily the biggest and coolest playground I have ever seen, Clemyjontri Park. Needless to say, I think this was Elliot's favorite house hunting trip.

Thanksgiving
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we took a little road trip to visit the Neilson's (Cliff's son Clark and fam) in Charlotte, NC. Elliot LOVED the Neilson Kids, especially Ford (age 8). Every time we see a basketball hoop now he says "Mommy, basketball like Ford house."

Moving In
On December 21, 2009, we closed on our new home. Grammy and Papa met us in Maryland on the 20th to help us get the house ready before Elliot and Zsi-Zsi arrived with Mimsey and Gramps on the 23rd. We were a little nervous that the move and closing wouldn't happen because a major snow storm hit the DC area on the 20th. Thankfully everything came together.

Mommy and Daddy worked very hard to get Elliot's room ready for him before he arrived. After two almost all-nighters, we got it done. Amazingly we even got a Christmas tree up in time for Santa. We would never have gotten it done if it weren't for the help of Grammy, Papa, Mimsey, and Gramps.

Christmas
Unfortunately I didn't take many photos over the holiday. Thankfully Grammy and Papa took some great photos of their visit. I wasn't able to download them from Kodak Gallery, but you can view them here. Christmas (although a bit chaotic) was a blast. Elliot loved opening presents and playing with his new toys. We had to take down the tree and his new Christmas train (a gift from Mimsey) during nap time to avoid what surely would have been a traumatic event.

Mimsey and Gramps Visit

Because their visit in December was so short, Mimsey and Gramps came up for a weekend visit the first weekend of February. Mommy and Daddy took advantage of the visit and snuck off for a relaxing weekend in the city. While we were gone, Elliot had a great time playing with Mimsey and Gramps.

Wow! We have been busy. Now that we are unpacked (for the most part) and settled in, I will post on a more regular basis!

A Dino-mite Halloween!

2009-11-01T05:54:00.000-08:00

Sorry the Farnum family hasn't been keeping up with the blog. We've had a busy last month and half of packing, moving, and house hunting. On October 16th, we moved out of our home in Richmond and into our temporary residence, Mimsey's house in Willamsburg.

We've settled into our temporary home nicely. I am working from home two days a week and Elliot is enjoying his new daycare. Its a longer drive for Daddy, but at least he gets to golf here. This weekend was the first weekend we all spent together in Williamsburg and we had a great time celebrating Halloween. Elliot dressed up to a dinosaur and trick or treated at five houses. Even though we trick or treated again for UNICEF this year, we still ended up with a bag FULL of candy.

I made Elliot's dinosaur costume and for weeks he has been telling me "no dinosaur Mommy!" Thankfully the promise of candy made him change his mind and by the end of the night he didn't want to take the costume off.

Choo! Choo! Elliot's 2!

2009-09-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

Its hard to believe that Elliot is already 2. Where has the time gone? Elliot is a sweet and loving little boy with many interests. He loves trucks, his new bike, stickers, puzzles, animals, trains, coloring, and spending time with Mommy and Daddy.

For Elliot's second birthday we had a trained themed party in Forest Hill Park. We had prefect weather (temps in the 70's) and lots of fun with our friends David, Clare, and Miles. Elliot got lots of neat gifts including a balance bike from Mommy and Daddy, a bike Helmet and CD from Aunt Lindsay and Uncle John, an adorable outfit and book from Mimsey and Gramps, a handmade quilt for his big boy bed from Grammy, a little race car from Papa, a block set from Aunt Stacey and Uncle Joe, a train set from Clare, a personalize lunch bag and race car from Miles, a book from David, and a book from Mrs. Gooch. What a lucky kid!

We had such a fun day! Elliot was still talking about "happy cake" when he woke up this morning.

House Hunting

2009-08-25T17:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Elliot and I made the trip up I-95 to do a little house hunting with Daddy. We saw lots of houses and Elliot was such a good boy! He listened to Mommy and Daddy, he didn't touch anything that didn't belong to him, and he only had one little melt down (it was over having to say good-bye to a cat).

Between house hunting we took breaks to drink milk shakes, color on kids menus, and ride the elevator in the hotel.

I think riding the elevator was his favorite part of the trip. It didn't hurt that we stayed on the 8th floor (8 is his favorite number or at least one of the numbers he knows by sight).

Catching Up With Daddy

2009-08-16T17:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend, it had been two whole weeks since Elliot last saw Daddy. He's been stuck like glue to his favorite guy since he woke up on Saturday morning. To make the most of our time together we had an action packed weekend that included lots of coloring, (Elliot LOVES to color), a couple of trips to the playground, and a trip to the science museum.

He got his "colors" out all by himself and found some paper on my sketch board to work on. Maybe he does take after his Mommy after all.

Elliot loves the new little play house at the playground. He insisted that Daddy sit on it's front porch. Daddy was a good sport. Later Daddy showed Elliot his basket ball skills. Elliot was very impressed.

All of that playing made for two sleepy guys. Nothing like napping and watching golf.

The science museum has its own train. Elliot was pretty excited about it. He also liked the shark exhibit, the sand sculptures, the "construction zone", and the fountain. But his favorite thing was the pendulum.

What a fun weekend! We are already counting down the days to next weekend.

We're back!

2009-08-02T17:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the small number of posts during the month of July. Our home internet has been down, and between Brian being gone during the week and the annoying Comcast repair schedules it took forever to get fixed. About the time that it went down I had planned to post about a little family outing we went on before Brian headed up to MD to start his new job. On Sunday the 18th, we spent an action packed afternoon together that consisted of a visit to Maymont, sushi for dinner, and ice cream in Cary Town.

We spent most of our time at Maymont exploring the "zoo" section where we saw eagles, owls, foxes, and the hit of the day - BEARS! Elliot was nuts about the bears. He wasn't as nuts about a life size bear statue. It took a little coaxing to get him over to it, but he warmed up to it. Before leaving Maymont we strolled around the Japanese garden, which is what i think inspired us to go out for sushi for dinner.

Elliot enjoyed his dinner which consisted primarily of edamame and rice. I ordered him some tempura sweet potatoes but he wouldn't even try them. Toddlers can be SO picky. Towards the end of our meal we had a bit of an accident. I left a sippy cup full of water, topless, and in reach of Elliot. Within minutes Elliot had grabbed the cup poured it all over himself. That is why he is shirtless in the ice cream photo.

What a fun day! We have continued to make the most of our weekends with Daddy, unfortunately Mommy has been really bad about taking photos. I promise that August will be a busy month on the blog.

Fireworks!

2009-07-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

The Farnum's had a great 4th of July! On Friday morning we packed up the car and headed to Williamsburg. Upon arriving, Elliot was greeted by his cousin Katherine (my step-brother Doug's daughter), who is attending camp in Williamsburg next week. Elliot was a little shy around Katherine at first, but was following her around and playing with her by late afternoon. On Friday night, Mommy and Daddy went out to celebrate Daddy's new job in Rockville, MD. Apparently Elliot was having so much fun with his cousin, that he was VERY reluctant to go to bed.

On Saturday, we got up bright and early to decorate Mimsey's golf cart and Katherine's bike for the Governor's Land parade. Once the cart and bike were decorated it was time to get in formation for the parade. Elliot loved seeing and "telling us about" all of the classic cars, golf carts, bikes, horses and fire truck! After the parade we had a picnic lunch at the club, then headed home for naps.

Later that afternoon we hit the pool. There Elliot discovered something he likes even more than the pool, snow cones (pictures coming soon). After swimming and relaxing we headed home where we dined on burgers, corn on the cob, and watermelon - Yum! Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the club for the fire works show. Since we figured that Elliot would be pretty tired, we dressed him in his PJs and brought the stroller in case he fell asleep. Boy were we wrong. Elliot was so excited about the music and all of the kids running around that all he wanted to do was jump around and dance. I was little worried that he would be scared of the fireworks, but he proved us wrong once again! As you can tell from the pictures, Elliot really liked the fireworks show.

On Sunday morning we woke up to a dreary day. We spent it, running errands and doing chores. By the end of the day we were all tuckered out. I am pretty sure that Elliot dreamt about fireworks last night.

Off to Mimsey and Grandad's

2009-06-29T07:05:00.000-07:00

This weekend Elliot went to stay with his Mimsey and Granddad in Williamsburg because Mommy and Daddy had to go out of town for the weekend. As you will read and see in the following post by Mimsey, Elliot had a great time.

Elliot arrived on Friday afternoon after a very reluctant handover by Mommy at a golf course in Croaker, Va. His fear was understandable! Once he got to Mimsey’s house he was just fine. Being such a hot day and exhausting trip Mimsey decided to go for a dip. The mode of transportation was the golf cart, which was Elliot’s favorite part of visiting. He was fierce in the water and has no fear! Leaving the pool was easy since we were getting back in the golf cart.

Every minute was filled with activity ~ swimming, feeding the fish, chasing golf balls, running around the yard, and most of all riding all over in the golf cart. We had the BEST time!

Showing Off

2009-06-22T16:18:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, Elliot helped Daddy prep the deck for staining by helping hammer in all of the popped up nails. He really enjoyed this task and got a kick out of showing off his hammering skills for me and the camera.

This weekend I let Elliot drink from a "big boy" cup. It worked out surprisingly well until he wiped his mouth with his wrist, cup still in hand. I think we'll give it a try once a week or so. It certainly kept him happy at the table.

Over the weekend Elliot and I also went to Clare's house to spend time with her and her mom, and to play in their kiddie pool. Elliot was a little ham for the camera and had a blast splashing in the pool and showing off for any one who would watch. Clare on the other hand had no interest in the pool - this may have had something to do with wild man Elliot.

There you have it! A weekend of showing off Elliot style.

Recent Pictures with Outside Credits

2009-06-21T10:01:00.001-07:00

three shots from Brian and Elliot's trip to CO (April 2009) courtesy of Aunt Stacey:
1) Elliot, Daddy, Finn (toddler), and Gabe.
2) Denver Botanic Gardens
3) Aunt Stacey and Uncle Joe's Dog, Bismark

Below: 1 picture taken by Frank Curcio (family friend) Spring 2009

Helping Hand

2009-06-14T18:25:00.001-07:00

This weekend was action packed as usual. On Saturday Brian, Elliot and I tackled the back yard. Elliot helped us weed, mulch, and kept Zsi-Zsi entertained. Elliot even got several wheel barrel rides out of the deal, which he LOVED. He kept saying "More Daddy!" Daddy got a work out.

Today was a bit more relaxing. We did some cleaning, lots of playing, and went to the Italian festival in Bon Air. As you can see Elliot was more interested in playing in the grass than sampling the food, mmmm calamari! He did enjoy the accordion music and the gelato.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

2009-06-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Elliot and I headed to our friends Cakki (mom), Jim (dad) and David's (toddler) lake house for the weekend. We were joined there by Matt (dad), Ada (mom) and Clare (toddler). Unfortunately Elliot and I were on our own because Brian had to fly to Seattle for a job interview. We had a great weekend playing with our friends, eating great meals, and spending time on Matt, Ada and Clare's boat.

Elliot REALLY liked the boat and Matt even let him drive it. Elliot was so serious when he was behind the wheel. I think the only thing he didn't like was wearing the life jacket, but he got over that once we got moving. During the first trip out on the lake Elliot was so excited that literally fell asleep standing up. I guess when its time to nap, its time to nap.

Brian comes back tonight and we can't wait to see him. I am sure Elliot will "tell" him all about his adventures on lake Gaston.

Synchronized Sliding

2009-06-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

Elliot and I met up with our friends Ada and Clare at the Forest Hill Park playground on Saturday for a little play date. While Elliot and Clare showed off their climbing and sliding skills Ada and I got to "play catch up". We attempted several times to get the kids to slide down the side-by-side slides at the same time. Alas any sort of synchronized sport is not in their future.

On Sunday Brian and I took Elliot out for a little walk around the neighborhood. Nothing to exciting about that, except the fact that Elliot insisted on wearing his sun glasses. It was not bright at ALL. Doesn't he look too cool for school? The blue tape on his shirt is his "sticker". Apparently he is really into stickers these days, Mommy didn't have any but painters tape worksin a pinch.

Back to Back

2009-05-26T16:38:00.000-07:00

The last two weekends have consisted on trips to Williamsburg to see both family and friends. Two weekends ago, we made the trip to the "burg" to celebrate our friend, Evan Berwicks's third birthday. Evan is from NJ, but was celebrating his birthday while visiting his cousin Nate (who was also celebrating a birthday) in Williamsburg. Nate turned 2, Evan turned 3, and a fun time was had by all!

(Elliot loved the pool and got a kick out of jumping in - with Mommy's help of course)

(Brave Mimsey trekked through the rough to help Elliot get down to the beach along the James River)

This past weekend we headed to the "burg" to kick off our summer in style. This entailed a trip to the play ground, an afternoon at the pool, dinner with our new friend Tatum and her family, bocce ball, rides in Mimsey's golf cart, and Granddad's waffles. I think its going to be a great summer!

Mommy's Day 09

2009-05-17T10:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Mimsey came to town to spend Mother's day with us. We had a lovely time together and spent most of our afternoon picnicking and playing in the park. Unfortunately, all of the photos that I took were accidentally erased from my camera. Thankfully Mimsey took a few pics to document the day.

Saturday in the Park

2009-05-04T16:52:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a low key weekend for the Farnums. Unfortunately we were confined to the house for most of it due some very rainy weather. We did enjoy the short lived sunshine on Saturday morning when we met our friends Audrey and Allie Greens at the Farmer's market. Allie is such a big girl and soon (November) she is going to be a big sister. It was fun to see the Greens and we hope to get together again soon!

2009-05-01T06:43:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday Elliot and Brian used up our frequent flyer miles to take a trip to Colorado. Although I missed them terribly, I was so glad they were able to go. They came home Tuesday night and are still recovering from their adventure. As you'll see, they had a wonderful trip! Brian and going to write about their adventures so check back soon.

(on the plane. Elliot loved to look out the window.)

(lunch after a long flight)

(shopping with Grammy)

(playing with our friend Olivia)

(the playground by Grammy's house)

(visit to the Botanic Gardens with Aunt Stacey and Uncle Joe & breakfast with the Muellers)

(the Erie Rec Center pool!)