Just a kiss on the lips

A Busy Weekend

mini family reunion with cousin Annie from Seattle

          

Mardi & Pom Pom

Paul, Tom & Max

So Long, Farewell Dear Tooth

A few months ago Max took quite a spill at the doctor's office resulting in an emergency trip to the dentist (but not before getting his 2 y.o. shots, poor baby!) The dentist said it looked worse than it was and his two front teeth, though crooked, would eventually move back into place. Fast forward to this morning after breakfast: messy face in need of thorough cleaning. It was then I noticed a pimple sized abscess on Max's gums above the aforementioned teeth. I tried not to panic and took him right back to the dentist where, you guessed it, the thing had to be yanked a.s.a.p. due to healing gone awry. His tooth had become infected and in order to protect the permanent tooth behind it, the baby tooth had to be removed. After a good cry (from me, that is) and a short procedure we left the dentist's office minus a tooth. Max handled the whole thing much better than I did (see above) and now all that needs to be decided is whether or not we give him a "fake" tooth until the permanent one shows up in around 4 years!!  

History in the Making Part I

This inauguration morning, Taylor and I braved the weather, fatigue (up 'til 2am, up at 5:30am!) and of course the CROWDS here in DC. Top left is a shot from our perch halfway up the Mall facing the Capitol building. We were too far away to see the face of the new Prez but the sense of hope and change electrified the air!  Bottom right is a picture of the early morning mass exodus of non-ticket holding 'general public' being zig-zagged around the city (and much to my tunnel-phobic dismay, through the I-395 tunnel by foot.)

Part II

Part III

My good friend Toure from Berkshire. It was so great seeing him the night before the inauguration. He was in town from NYC. We joked and laughed  as if we were 14 again. Then I realized we'd known each other for more than half our lives and it seemed appropriate to share this occasion with two friends who I know I'll have forever. 

Holiday Madness!

What possessed us to celebrate the craziest, most thrill inducing, scream infested, mountain of wrapping paper holiday with not just our own two monkeys, but SIX more?? I'm not exactly sure but it's what we decided to do with my family on Christmas - and it was a blast. Behold to the left, a small portion of the living room after Santa descended upon 147 East Road. 

    SAMMY & MAX

ELLIE, MARDI & MAILE ROCKIN' OUT!

Max's 2nd Birthday

The birthday boy opening some gifts from Mom & Dad

The Cake!

After an exciting evening of presents, cake and pure sugar-high induced joy, we put our toddler to bed. The next morning, our usually first-to-rise son wasn't making a peep and when we opened the door, this was the scene we uncovered. He had climbed out of his new big boy bed sometime in the night to play with his new toys. He was curled up under his play table clutching a couple of matchbox cars and his blanket. Cutest. Thing. Ever. 

Skating at the Smithsonian

It was time for some girl's only fun up in the city. We went up with our friends Arinn and Anna and left the little ones at home. What a great time we had skating at the ice rink at the Smithsonian's sculpture garden!

Yesterday we drove up to the city for some culture. We planned to take the kids to the Museum of American History to show them something about Thanksgiving but much to our disappointment, the museum is closed for renovations. Instead, we spent quite a bit of time outside in the gorgeous Fall air...specifically at the outdoor sculpture garden where the kids could run around in the the leaves and check out the art. Above, notice Mardi ascending a pyramid of cement blocks that are totally OFF LIMITS to little climbers (unbenounced to us.) I endured a severe finger shaking from Mr. Policeman...but was happy for this amazing shot of her! The most exciting part of our day came around 1:30pm when we were trying to leave. After waiting in a long line of traffic at the intersection of Constitution Ave and 14th Street (facing the Washington Monument) we were treated to the sight of Barack Obama's motorcade on its way to the White House for his first meeting with the President. A moment that's hard to describe in words, it made me feel proud, anticipatory and lucky to witness (with my own eyes) this simple yet symbolic moment in history.

Where the Wild Things Are

I'm surprised we got the two of them to sit still long enough to take this shot. Our neighborhood was infested with goblins and witches and the like at the moment the clock struck 5:30pm. Mardi and Max went wild with excitement as soon as the kids came out for treating. Mardi decided to change her costume at the last minute from a Pink Power Ranger to a Ballerina Princess Fairy. She said her PR costume would "scare too many people."

I couldn't resist posting this unforgettable clip of Max and his first "real" Halloween costume. It took me most of the day to convince him not to be afraid of it so that he could wear it trick or treating. It was a big hit and fortunately served another purpose: it was sooo cold on Halloween night and his thick lion's mane kept him toasty warm!

We're Back!

Charlie has been staying with us for a few days while mom and dad are away at a wedding. We sure are having fun with him!

My dad came down for the afternoon last week. He and his friend Tom, went for a long 'joyride' because, as my dad put it, he wanted to "lay eyes on me." Here are three generations of boys in my family!

It's A Princess World

Mardi loves to play dress-up. There are the queen dresses and princess gowns; purses and shoes and tiaras and even a few superhero capes for Max! Dress up is what we spend most of playtime doing. I wanted to post some pictures of playdates from this past week with some very special friends.

What dress up session isn't complete without an episode of Bella Dancerella??!! Mardi & Max and their friends Anna & Jane enjoy the wonder that is.

Playtime was super-charged on Thursday with a surprise visit from our Beaufort friends Rosa and her mom Lara.

Tim & Sara's wedding

The handsome couple!

We had a great time at our friend Tim Miller's wedding in Richmond this weekend. His bride Sara was beautiful and Paul and I enjoyed getting to visit with their friends & family - some who we knew and others we met for the very first time. Their vows were especially touching:

There She Goes...

After painstakingly choosing the best outfit (and the right shoes) today, Mardi climbed into the bus ready to begin her Pre-K school year.

There had been a bit of waiting beforehand, though.
When was this bus going to arrive ??

Some other children from her class were waiting too. But Mardi was feeling the first-day-of-school jitters and was a little shy.

There was a little nervous fooling around with Max...

But when the time came to get on the bus Mardi was ready and willing!

On the way to the bus stop.

Trip to the National Aquarium

We woke up ready for an adventure, so we decided to head up to the city and check out the Aquarium. This relic of a place, in the basement of some government building, satisfied our need to see all things scaly, slimy and swimmy. Mardi clutched her Tinkerbell wand the entire time, changing frogs into princes and creating a magic carpet to fly us from the museum back to the parking garage.

Brushing His Teeth

Max loves to suck the toothpaste off the brush, no brushing necessary. Lately, he's been copying his big sister who's a big fan of the "spitting" part of the brushing routine. He's so aggressive in his paste-sucking, the bristles on his month old toothbrush are already worn to the handle.