Beach Weekend!!!

We made our 2nd trip up to Lewes Beach this past weekend. We went last year (only got to spend 2 minutes on the beach...) and it was time to go again this year. We left Saturday morning bright and early once we woke up and got the car packed. We made it up to Kristin's parents house by 9:30 and everyone was still asleep. We hung out there for awhile, and then made our way to the beach. We didn't think we'd last that long with Jim, but I think we ended up staying for two hours. He was indifferent about the sand - he didn't hate it, but he didn't love it either. And at first he didn't want to go anywhere near the water. But we eventually got him to go down a little closer. But didn't want to have anything with going in the water. Saturday night we hung out at Kristin's, grilling for dinner, and playing games. We were up bright and early Sunday morning (thank you Jim!) and hit the road to come home. It was a lot less rushed than our trip last year to the beach. I'll leave you with a couple of pictures from our weekend:

Kelley & Amar's Wedding

We ended up making our way into downtown Rochester Friday afternoon, meeting up with the family for some lunch at Dinosaur BBQ! We then made our way to the hotel, got checked in there and decided to take Jim swimming; which was a total FAIL! He was not a fan of the water at all. I don't know if it was too cold, too much for him, but he did not want to go in the water at all. And when we brought him in the water he cried. We tried the outdoor pool too thinking it was just too cold, but that wasn't a hit either. He was much happier throwing the ball around outside of the pool. Friday night they had a buffet dinner for all the guests in town. Got to try a bunch of different Indian foods - which were all pretty yummy! Jim did discover that he could pick the skin off of the bottom of his feet. I have no idea where he learned that one from.

Saturday morning was an early morning - the first ceremony, the Catholic wedding was at 10:30. Followed by a lunch downstairs, and then the Indian ceremony was after lunch. They were both gorgeous ceremonies - and was very excited to be able to take part in the Indian one. It's always cool to see/hear different traditions. Of course, in between the two we had to go outside and take some family photos! Mark's parents came up for the afternoon to take care of Jim - which was a good thing. He couldn't even sit through the first ceremony - Mark had to take him outside because he was making noises. Will have to keep that in mind for future weddings. After lunch, they took care of him.

The reception was at the R.I.T. Inn and Conference Center - and a good time was had by all!!! Many congratulations to Kelley & Amar!!!

Trip to Ny

We went up to Albany the beginning of August. Our original plan was going to be to spend a couple of days in Albany, and then a couple of days in Buffalo. But those plans were adjusted when we found a house, and knew we were closing the end of July. We ended up taking that weekend to unpack all of our stuff. (We were supposed to be moving that weekend but our closing got pushed up a week.)

Mark & I both went into work on Monday, and then left for Albany bright and early Tuesday morning. We enjoyed hanging out with everyone. On Wednesday we went up to Saratoga and bet on some horses! We all decided we would bet $40 over a course of 5 races. I ended up coming home with $50 - winning money on two races! We had a good time doing that! On Thursday we went into Albany, grabbed some lunch at an Irish Pub and then went on the USS Slater (it was HOT!!) and then we went to the Albany State Museum. It was nice to be able to let Jim run around! Jim got to enjoy some ice cream cake. (I had a picture of the clean-up process but it just disappeared...where's the un-do button here?)

Friday morning we got up and said our good-byes and made our way to Rochester.

16 Months...

It's hard to believe my little baby boy is 16 months already!! How time flies. (I think I say that all the time...)

- Still wearing size 4 diapers.

- Wearing size 7 shoes.

- Had a period where he wasn't a fan of the bath - I think maybe it was the new tub? But we've since remedied that with a couple new bath toys!

- Tooth count - I think it's up to 12 now! I'm almost positive his 4th molar came in, so it's a molar on each side - top/bottom, plus 4 teeth on top, and 4 on the bottom.

- He had his last bottle on Thursday the 28th, and has been drinking out of sippy cups since!!!!!

- His vocabulary is expanding. (I don't know if I've ever updated on this - so here's some of the things he is saying): He says mama and dada, Ashley, Papa, outside, upstairs, shoes, elmo (love the way he says elmo), basketball, ball, hello (says that when he hears the phone ring)...I'm sure there's more, but those are the main ones. He also is repeating after you. I'll tell him to say 'green' and he tries to get that word out!

Big Brother

The word is now out - Jim is going to be a big brother!!!! His baby brother or sister will be coming sometime in March!!!!!! We are all very excited about this upcoming arrival. We found out over the 4th of July weekend. I had a feeling Saturday night that there was a good chance I was pregnant, and said something to Mark Sunday AM. When we went grocery shopping I picked up a pregnancy test, and sure enough it confirmed my thoughts!!!! Monday morning I went shopping to get Jim this shirt, so I could break the news to the family. It worked out great - everyone was at home celebrating Rob's birthday, so we Skyped with them to share the news. We sent the picture above to Mark's parents to break the news!!!! Jim & his sibling will be just under 2 years apart - 23 months! Which is pretty perfect in my book!

Grandma & Papa Visit!!!

Still getting all caught up with our busy summer we've had. We were too busy with our move, that I didn't take any pictures when Rob & Jenna were down. But like I had mentioned earlier, it was great having them here to lend us a hand!!!

The following weekend mom & dad came down. We were supposed to be moving that weekend but our closing date got pushed up a week. They flew into BWI from Vegas on Wednesday night, and made their way down to Alexandria Thursday afternoon. Jim got out of daycare early on Thursday, and they took care of him on Friday & Monday - what a lucky boy he is!! I think the three of them enjoyed their time together!!! Despite all the mosquitoes - they loved playing outside! It's so nice to have all that extra space out there! It was great having them around that weekend as Mark & I were able to finish unpacking all our boxes...and not have to worry about Jim getting in our way. We took them out to dinner Saturday, heading back down to Los Tios in Del Ray. Everyone enjoyed their meals once again!!!

Nanny & Papa Visit...

I have lots of things to get updated on. I took care of our move...

Before the big move, Mark's parents came down for the weekend to visit. Had lots of fun visiting with them! Saturday Mark & I went to the gym, they came along and hung out with Jim at Pentagon Row. We were going to attempt to go to one of the Smithsonian's, but METRO was doing track work and it was going to be a long wait for a train so instead we decided to check out the Masonic Temple in Alexandria. Decided to try out a Mexican Restaurant in Del Ray for dinner - Los Tios - which was very good!!! We all enjoyed our weekend together!!!

Animal Sounds

Here is a video of Jim practicing his animal sounds:

Two Pictures

We have been busy busy with our move! Everything went well!!! I think I mentioned this before, but we closed on the 21st, and then moved that Saturday. Rob & Jenna came down for the weekend, which was a HUGE help!! It would had been a very stressful move if we didn't have those two extra sets of hands. I put Jenna in charge of Jim - which is a full time job! He always wanted to be right there where the action was, and most of the time that meant being in someones way. I think she had a great time playing with him! Rob gave Mark an extra set of hands to help with lifting the bigger things. Again, which was a great help since there was no way I was taking care of stuff like that.

My parents were in town the following weekend, and it was great having them! They loved the new place! And it gave Mark & I a chance to unpack the rest of our boxes. It would have been a much longer drawn out process if one of us were keeping an eye on Jim. Mom taught Jim the sounds that a cow, dog, and a lamb make - which is so cute. He also sings along to Elmo's Song, again adorable.

With that I will leave you with two pictures that we took last weekend from a bench on the side of our house -