O Christmas Tree...in DC

Something that I have been wanting to do since we moved to the DC area is to see the National Christmas tree near the White House. So, three years later...we finally made it! Will, Colin and I went with our friends, Amy and Steve. We had a lot of fun! We didn't make it down there until 8:30 or so (way past lil C's bedtime) but he did very well. He was in a good mood and it wasn't too cold. The National tree was gorgeous and there was also a tree for each state and each territory. We had good intentions to see Oregon's but didn't quite make it. It was located where the biggest crowd happened to be and by then we were ready to move on to the Capitol tree. There was also...trains!!! Colin was very excited to see the choo-choos!

The above picture is a little blurry but I just thought it was a good family picture!

Our happy little family! Happy holiday season everyone!

A Day of Snow

Since I am obsessed with taking photos, here are a few more from our time in the snow today.



Outside was so beautiful!

A big pond that is behind our place. It is a great place to take Colin for walks.

Colin did not like the snow at first. It took him awhile to figure out how to walk in his snow boots.

But, once he figured it out, he loved it!!!

Daddy throwing snowballs at us!

My adorable boy!

Colin had such a great time that when we got home, he would not let me take his boots off. He even struggled when I took off his snowpants and jacket.

Also, Colin can say "snow", "cold", "brrr", "santa", "ho, ho, ho", "tree", "nose", and "tummy". He is learning so many words these last few weeks!

"Go to sleep and dream of...

...Snow, snow, snow..."

It snowed quite a bit here on Saturday! Colin was fascinated by the snow! Sadly, the snow made us miss our nephew, Brady's birthday party, but we still had a very enjoyable day filled with snow! Here are some pictures:

For those who do not watch White Christmas every year like me, the title of this blog is from the song "Snow" that they sing on the train...yes, I know, I am a dork!

"Choo-Chooooo"

The second birthday celebration was a success! More meatballs, finger foods and plenty of other snacks...plus, I baked a Boston Creme Cake! I am not much for baking (I prefer cooking), but I really enjoyed this. The adults had the cake while the kids enjoyed a pudding dessert (which I did not realize I was buying cook & serve pudding rather than instant...my poor pans! There will only be instant pudding in my future!)

The party was great, more Thomas the Tank Engine (I was corrected, thanks Will!). Aunt Wen Wen (she is trying to teach Colin to say that), Uncle E, Aidan, Alexei, Bill and Patty were all there. His cousins were sweet and showed him how to play with all of his new Thomas toys ("choo-choos"). Every morning now, Colin wakes up saying "choo-choo"! That or "Pooh". His room has a Winnie-the-Pooh theme and we recently hung up some Tigger, Pooh and Eeyore cut-outs above his crib. He loves them!!! When he points to Tigger he starts bouncing! Too cute! He also has a Winnie-the-Pooh lamp that plays songs and he wants to hear it before bed and when he wakes up! OK, got a little off topic...

He got some very cool gifts; a firetruck puzzle/toy, Thomas toy, cars, and a Thomas toy that shared his name Colin the Crane! I actually played with that toy, it was very cool!

So, at one point Colin showed Bill and Patty his dance moves to a song by Kool and the Gang. He loves that group and loves to dance. He also has started to sing with songs. We ended the night with Will and Patty entertaining Colin, while Bill and I discussed Bram Stoker and the interesting themes in Dracula...got to love conversations with Bill, so very interesting!

Thank you everyone! Colin had a wonderful birthday! He loved all the gifts (every one of them has had their fair share of playtime) and enjoyed having everyone over!

Our Baby is 2!!!!

Our baby boy, our precious little Baby Colin turned 2 yesterday!!! I cannot believe it! The past two years have been the best of my life and have gone by the fastest!
I started off the morning with participating in a walk for the homeless in D.C. (see my previous blog). Thank you Will for cleaning and doing last minute party preparation! He was so sweet and did a really good job of cleaning and getting everything ready!

Colin is having two parties this weekend. I thought it would be easier to celebrate on two days since our place is not overly big. Today, Grandma Liz, Michael, Aunt Ann, Uncle Jamie and cousins Ryan and Brady came over. We had a lot of fun as usual. I adore my nephews and always have a great time hanging out with Liz and the rest of the family.

I love cooking, so I was excited to put together a menu. I did go more for finger foods (less messy with kids) but I got to try a new recipe (for meatballs) that I got from a friend. She made them for a BBQ we went to and Will and I just loved them, which is weird for me to "love" anything about meat.

Colin LOVED his gifts. Will and I got him a train set. He loves trains, hence the Thomas the Train themed party. He also got a Thomas the train toy from Grandma Liz along with some very cool books (that he looked at for quite some time and a cute sweatsuit. He also got a very cool car case with some hot wheels in it from Uncle Michael (thank you)! Ann, Jamie and the boys got him some legos and a Mr. Potato head...he loves all of them and has been playing all morning with his choo-choos, cars and Mr. Potato head.

Walk for the Homeless

A few of us ladies from work decided to participate in the Walk for the Homeless in D.C. today. The course was a 3 mile path around the mall. It was very beautiful! It was a little cold at first but then it warmed up and turned out to be a very nice day. Amy and Wendy brought Lansing and Shilo...it is always nice being around dogs. I miss mine.

I love that the company I work for is really involved in charity programs and events. I have really enjoyed the ones that I have participated in so far. My favorite was volunteering at a rescue horse ranch in Colorado. I love animals and especially horses; they're such a beautiful animal. I am also looking forward to buying Christmas gifts for some of the local and military families in need this holiday season. This is something that we have done the past few years and I am hoping to get Colin involved this year by having him pick out a few toys for the kids.

If you're interested in learning more about charity for the homeless go to http://www.helpthehomelessdc.org/.

Today is Colin's birthday!! He is 2!!! I cannot believe it! We had a party today (great time) and have another one tomorrow...I will blog more about it later...so tired...

Daycare Fun

Today, Colin went to a farm with his daycare. Ms. Tonya was very quick with posting the pictures, so I thought I would share them...they are so cute!

Colin looking at the pigs.
Colin calmly looking thru the fence...

Then noticing that there is a big SHEEP in front of him!

Colin being his adorable self! Just look at that blonde hair!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! We will be very busy...I am participating in a Walk for the Homless tomorrow in D.C. and then we are having a party for Colin's birthday (yes, our baby is 2 tomorrow) and a second one on Sunday. Busy, busy, busy!

27...oh my!!

No More Counting Candles



I am not having a hard time getting older, but man the last few years have gone by fast. It seems like yesterday I was excited to be turning 21...

I have been busy the past few weeks so this will be short and not as detailed as most of my entries, but you'll get the idea...I had a wonderful birthday week!

Will was very sweet to me; cooking dinner, renting chick flicks, letting me sleep in, spoiling me with incredible gifts and just being an overall sweetie! He made me a wonderful dinner for my birthday (pasta Alfredo - still on my white food/drink diet...just a few more days!) that we had with a white wine (that we got at the vineyard we went to the same day as the pumpkin patch). It was delicious! After dinner we had some yummy lemon cake dessert (picture below). They were these cute little squares and yes, Colin tried to taste them all!

Also, some of my girlfriends from work took me to lunch. I have the sweetest friends! I threatened the waiter with no tip if they sang to me. They did not sing. I almost made it the whole day with no singing (I blush easily), but my project group all sang to me before the end of the work day, which was actually very sweet and the cookies were delicious! I guess it isn't quite a birthday without at least one birthday song...even if I blush. Actually, Will sang to me too, so I was lucky enough to have two.

Will 's little dessert creation. Small cake squares with a huge candle that played music!

My little buddy and I. I was saying "cheese", hence the big smile!

Thank you to all my friends and family for the birthday wishes, cards and gifts! I am blessed with knowing such wonderful people...Thank you Will for making my week an amazing celebration filled with many wonderful memories!

Veterans Day

Just wanted to wish a happy day to all veterans out there (the military people who have served and are currently serving our country). I am very proud to be married to a vet and the big sister of one as well.

My hubby was a firefighter in the Air Force for a few years and got out before I met him. I am so proud of all that he was able to accomplish while he was in (and of course once he got out as well). His experiences while serving in the Air Force have played such a big part of who he is today...and I am definitely thankful for who he is today!

My little brother became a Marine after high school and served for four years (traveling between Japan, Australia and Hawaii). A year or two after he got out he was called back and went to Iraq for a year. I am so proud of him and his courage to leave home at such a young age and just try to conquer his dreams.

When I was younger I always liked this holiday because it was the day before my birthday and it meant we got out of school...overtime I have realized what it means to be in the military and what people are putting on the line. Being older and having a better understanding of war has really changed my perspective on this holiday. Even though we should be grateful everyday for what people in the military do for our country, it is nice to have a day where the country officially says "thank you". So, thank you to my husband, my brother and everyone else!

Kicking Off My Birthday Week!

The next couple of weekends we are pretty busy so we thought that this weekend would be the best time to celebrate my birthday (my bday is this coming week). I have not been as excited about this birthday as I have others. I am not sure if it is because I am getting closer to 30 or if we just have so much going on it just kind of snuck up on me. I think it is that I am more excited about Colin's birthday and his just happens to be so close to mine that it just overshadows it. I keep telling Will I am not 27 until 8:00 PM EST, since I was born at 5PM PST. I am giving myself to the last second! Maybe I am not looking forward to 27 :)

Saturday:

OK, to get the point of this blog...Will made birthday plans on Saturday and would not tell me anything! He planned a perfect day for me! Aunt Wen and Uncle E babysat - thank you guys! Will first took me to Olive Garden for an early lunch! I love Olive Garden and it has been a while since we have been there. The food was delicious! I even tried something new...stuffed chicken Marsala...highly recommended!

We skipped dessert and went on to our next thing...ICE SKATING!!!! I was sooooo excited! I love ice skating and it was something that Will has never done. He was so cute to watch. We had so much fun!! Will had a bit of a rough time at first ( I think he regretted not rollerblading when he was younger) but he ended up getting the hang of it and he never fell...came close a couple of times but ended up sticking it out until he found his balance! I do not think that this is the end to our ice skating!

We ended our time as childless parents with a stop at Starbucks (my kind of dessert)! My honey treated me to a white chocolate mocha, delicious! I have been on a clear or white food diet for what feels like forever, so no caffeine...I REALLY enjoyed this drink!

Sunday:

Yesterday, I woke up early to run and workout (the best way to start a morning). The weather was so beautiful. Cool but sunny. Since it was so nice we decided to go on a family walk so Colin could burn some energy. So energetic! We took him to some nearby tennis courts and he ran around and threw his new found tennis ball.

Later I met up with a friend of mine and some of her friends to go to a vineyard. The place was beautiful, the day was beautiful and the wine was wonderful! I still am not supposed to have colored drinks and food so I stuck with the white, but still enjoyed it. I loved the white sangria. I had such a nice time. The ladies had brought plenty of food, we got plenty of drinks and just enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL day! I love this weather!

Such a great start to my birthday week!