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.

Party Time

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!

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!

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.



Sitting Pretty

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!

No Excuse

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

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.