Great to See You!

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

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.

Easter Bunnies

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

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

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!