Pictures from Memorial Day

Here are the pictures I took around Arlington when we went to say "thanks" to my dad. It was really nice to be there on Memorial Day and remember that it's really a day to celebrate with more meaning then a day off of work and picnics. I am glad that despite being turned away earlier in the day and a lot of frustration in the car as a result, that we went back. The view from JFK's spot (what the heck is that called, I can't think of it since that is what I call visiting my dad with Caed) was beautiful and it was so peaceful there too. Caed was so good because before we got there he was fussy (wanted to walk, not pushed in the stroller) and then we saw the sign to be silent and respectful, and we told him that the sign said we had to be quiet, or we would get in trouble and so he was quiet! Then at the changing of the guard (we didn't take the handicapped way, so it was a lot of stairs to negotiate with the jogger stroller!) he was silent the entire time too! What a good boy he's becoming, although the signs of the terrible twos ("mommy, stop talking!"- a new favorite phrase when I'm on the phone) are coming, at least there are glimpses of being well behaved!

JFK's gravesite:

The view:

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier:

Changing of the guards:

I don't think those green things are always there, but I do know the President was there earlier in the day (the reason for being turned around our first try) and thinking that's why, but don't know for sure:

Every single headstone had a flag at it. Jon said that one of the infantry divisions always puts them out and it only takes them 3 hours! There must be a lot of men doing it!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great Memorial Day weekend, and it really started as soon as Jon got out of work on Friday! We went camping! It was really great, and I intentionally didn't bring my camera because my card was full and didn't take the time to dump it before we headed out. I thought it was okay because if it was successful, we'd go again and I could focus more on taking pictures then making sure Caed was around.

We got to the campsite kind of late, we set up the site and then Jon grilled us burgers! Caed was so excited to eat on the picnic tables in the dark. We also had mac and cheese and beans. Then we dressed him and put him in the tent with a movie (scholastic books) on the DVD player. (we had to have a back-up-make-this-successful tool) He didn't go to sleep watching as I was hoping, but that was okay because shortly after we piled in on either side of him, we turned off the DVD player and then went to sleep quickly. There were even trains running nearby through the night, but it didn't wake him or us! He got up kind of early (6:30) but it was doable. We took a walk with Jon, saw a bunch of turtles, ate breakfast (yay! at the picnic tables again!). And then we went to tour a nearby fort. We really had a great time. We will definitely do it again this summer.

Sunday we went to church, and then we had the opportunity to meet up with my youth pastor and his family from back home on Long Island. Pete has known both Jon and I for forever and he married us too. Cheryl, his wife played the piano at our ceremony as well. They are a special family to us! They were in town visiting with family, but we ran down to meet them at the air and space museum literally walked around and then they had to head back to their hotel for dinner reservations. Their daughter, Janette and her husband and son were there too. That was a lot of fun to do, and unexpected.

Then Monday we spent with April. Visited my dad's spot at Arlington, and Jon, Caed and I took a detour and got to see JFK's spot, and the tomb of the unknown soldier. I've never been and it felt especially meaningful to be there on Memorial Day. I have pictures from this, but I don't have them off the camera yet. I'll post soon.

Catching up

Sorry for the long post of lots of photos. For my roommates who check my blog, these are mostly for them! I've been meaning to post these from our trip up north to CT back in April. These are from our visit to my roommate of 4 years and her family. We had a great time and Caed and H got along relatively well as toddlers can. Caed did get sick while we were there and so that put him out of sorts, but we had PERFECT weather and perfect company. We miss them. It's really funny because when I put lotion on Caed when he's on his changing table, he tells me the lotion bottle is "baby" H's! (they are only 5 months apart). But he definitely remembers parts of our trip and that to me is so cool!

We visited this little petting farm around the corner from them, and Caed loved the peacock. He actually was a little scared of the tractor that we got to see working.

We got to test our newish stroller with the extra seat. So much fun, and neither kid minded being in the back!

Too Heavy

Today Caed told me I was "too heavy to pick up". That's a confidence booster for this weight gaining momma. It made me chuckle.

We were gone in NY last week, and I didn't realize that I was actually gone as long as I was, until Monday came and I still wasn't heading home quite yet. Caed and I travelled alone for one of my oldest friend's baby shower. We had a great time and I was so happy to introduce Caed to some of my dearest friends for the first time.

I'll be back with more soon. This weekend should afford me some catching up! Although I think we're taking Caed camping for this first time this weekend (bye bye backpacking tent for two, hello huge family tent!!)

Mother's Day

Caed took me to one of my favorite restaurants for Mother's Day, Bistrot du Coin. It's a french restaurant that is really similar in ambiance to the restaurants we went to while in France 3 years ago. Auntie April came with us and we were there two hours and Caed did so great (minus a potty accident- thanks AJ!). No fussing and stayed in his chair the whole time until dessert time. It was a great time! I got duck, Jon got mussels, April got Hangar steak and Caed ate Haricot Verts and Mashed Potatoes. A pot of Beaujolais wine and a wonderful time!

Playin' in the rain!

We went to Arlington with one of our good friends from the Mom's group for my dad's birthday. The kids were too cute at the fountain, and I love the second picture with Caed's foot in the air while kissing. Too much. These kids are growing up so quickly. I know that parents always say it, but it's incredibly true.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today was my dad's birthday and I took Caed to Arlington Cemetery to put some flowers down at his "spot". (my family calls it his mailbox, but I call it 'pop-pop's spot' with Caed) Our good friends came along too, which was so nice. And Caed loved having A there. We braved the on and off again rain, and the kids loved watching the fountain.

Happy Birthday daddy!

A photo of Caed in his rain jacket when we were leaving:

Zoo

This past weekend Caed came down with a virus called Hand Foot Mouth Disease. It's highly contagious so we were quarantined until today. I decided last minute to head over to the zoo. It's 15 minutes in good conditions to drive there and I figured I could find a spot to park before 10am no problem. I wasn't bringing the stroller and just packed up some quick food to eat. I ended up have his push trike in the back of the car which I forgot about, so I decided to use that. It actually went really well to use it! We had a good time and a lot of the animals were out today. It was the first time I've seen the cheetah awake, and he was actually alert and looking to hunt a bird or something- It was fun. The biggest part of our visit were the elephants. I always feel so sorry for them in their cramped space (and even smaller right now due to construction of a larger area for them in the future). But we'd never be able to see an elephant in real life if it were not for the zoo. Two elephants were out in the yard, and one was inside getting scrubbed down. It was a lot of fun for Caed. We stayed only and hour and a half, but living so close affords me a trip like that, and I need to be mindful of that.



I still have pictures to post from CT, but I wanted to post these today for my mom.





At the entrance, sorry he's in the shadow, but I couldn't adjust my settings quick enough for another photo..






At the Panda exhibit, we actually got to see one, it was in the distance, but you could see it's whole body because of how it was laying, and even Caed could tell what it was.

The two elephants in the yard. At first Caed was actually nervous, but then he didn't want to leave...

The hippo:

The sloth bears are actually highlighted at the entrance, but we didn't see any until a little before we left we happened to be eating near the space and got to see one (albeit not a great view). They are actually one of my favorite animals at this zoo. They are so funny looking!

Milford, CT

On Tuesday we finally made it to Grandma and Aunt Betsy's house. This is Jon's grandmother and Aunt. We went during Aunt Betsy's Spring Break (she's an ESL teacher) and we had great weather and a great time. I even got to go for a bike ride with Aunt Betsy while Caed napped and Grandma kept her ear out for him. That was a lot of fun for me since I don't get to bike ride too often. I had Dunkin Donuts coffee more then once (New England is the place to get it!) and we visited lots of animals too. It was so much fun for us! An additinal fun thing is that Aunt Betsy is a vegetarian so we got really great meals while we were with them too!



Aunt Betsy volunteer's at this local farm and we got to visit that too. It was really cool because we could roam where we wanted, and watch whatever animals we wanted to, too.


Caed loved playing with Grandma's cane:



Being silly with some dress up safety goggles from Heather's kids:

Aunt Betsy getting ready to make us breakfast. Apparently she wasn't prepared for the picture taking to begin!:

Her cat, who's name is escaping me, but was such a mush!:

Grandma in the morning too!:

Grandma let Caed play with this musical clown, and he loved it:

Aunt Betsy and Caed walking between the greenhouses:

The rooster's were out and making a racket!:

I know it looks like Aunt Betsy's forcing his face, but he wouldn't look at me, and wanted to keep looking at the donkey!:

Look at the beautiful colored eggs! They are for eating! I was amazed at the beautiful colors and patterns they came in:

Catching up

Finally catching up with photos from my trip up north to CT. These first few photos are from my stop at Heather's house in PA. We got to go to one of Chantz's baseball practices, and Caed loved it...running around with the older kids, it was a lot of fun. Caed loves his cousins incredibly.