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!