Pumpkin Picking

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.

Twinkies Come to Visit

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

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.

Lightning McQueen

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

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.

A Date With Mommy

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.

Long Weekend

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.