A Break from the Heat

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"

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

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

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

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

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...

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.