Pink It Is!!!

Today we found out that we have a healthy baby GIRL on the way! We are so excited, and I feel like I've been floating on a cloud all day. We saw her moving around and she even gave us a few waves. Due date is still late February (the 21st or the 24th - we'll see when she shows up). We pray that God will continue to grow her and protect her until she is ready to join our family out in the world!

Here are a couple of profile shots.

Here are her little hands. She had them above her head for most of the ultrasound. I think she's having a good time in there.

Thank you, all, for your excitement for our family!

A Visit from Unco Matty and Aunt Jessie

We were so excited to have a visit from Matty and Jess! They had a great time in New York City and then made their way to us - celebrating their first anniversary. Yay! We felt blessed to have them and be a part their celebration.

It was a short visit, but packed with fun. We took a trip in to DC on the Metro.

We were so excited to visit the Holocaust Museum, so you can imagine our disappointment when we arrived and found this sign outside the entrance. Keep in mind, the museum is only closed 2/365 days of the year, and we chose one of them! Don't worry, we still had a great day walking around to the monuments and the White House and then returned the next day to see the museum.

I love this guy! Phil thought this would be a good idea, until he had to pry the claw off his finger.

I love this sequence of photos. Jess was so excited to have lobster, but was rather skeptical about touching them. It took some convincing by Phil...

Again, excited, but skeptical...

We all had lobster to celebrate Matty and Jess's anniversary, but then the next night dinner didn't go exactly as planned. Here we are enjoying a range of culinary delights. Jess requested lobster again (hey, she's on vacation!), Phil is eating leftover chicken pot pie, and Matty and I are slumming it with Subway.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any shots of Adam playing with his Unco and Aunt. Trust me, though, he was loving having them here. Lots of great memories from this visit. We were all sad to see them go, but are looking forward to Christmas.
We love you Unco Matty and Aunt Jessie!

Brothers' Beach Birthday

Please note my awesome alliteration in the title. Thank you.

Phil and his brother, Matt, celebrate their 30th birthday on September 15 - that's right, I said 30!!! We decided to celebrate a little early while we were all together at the beach.

I made the boys a simple birthday cake.

The birthday brothers.

Blowing out their candles. I love how they are both holding their forks, all ready to go.

I got Phil Vikings tickets for when they play the Redskins here in Washington. He was pretty pumped and we are super excited to go to the game together!

Happy birthday Phil and Matt!

Virginia Beach

The Swensons made their much anticipated journey to the beach last week, and it was wonderful! Adam loved being with his Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle Matt, and learned all about the beach, sand, and ocean. I'm pretty sure he thought it was heaven.

Home...for a little while. Our rented beach house, named Ocean Treat, was perfect for us. The deck was the best part - nice and big and the slats were close enough together that there was no way for Adam to fall. He loved running around out there while we sat and enjoyed the scenery. We saw dolphins every day, and even caught them jumping a few times!

Matt and Phil did some boogie boarding.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a single picture of Adam in the ocean. The first day, the water was very calm, so he followed me right down there and stepped in. I had so much fun watching him laugh as the waves came up to him that I didn't want to leave to get the camera. He loved it!

The next day, however, the water was much more turbulent, and I think the noise made him a little nervous. I was sad, since he had so much fun the day before, but also a little relieved. It was a little nerve wracking with him always wanting to go in the water.

Phil and I didn't mind the waves, though.

Adam discovers sand. He had so much fun playing around and investigating all of its wonderful properties.

Especially with Grandma's help. Another popular activity was bringing the pail down to the water, filling it up, and then dumping the water into a hole dug in the sand.

By day 2, he was very comfortable with the sand.

Lots of fun on the deck. It was perfect for Adam.

Just lounging around enjoying his sips. It's good that Adam got a break from his grueling schedule back home.

Mama got some lounging time too :)

Adam needed a little rest with Mama after all that running around.

Cute sandy feet.

Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma, for a wonderful time at the beach! We miss you!

Special Delivery

This box arrived at our house a while ago.
I guess Adam thought it looked like a good place to take a little rest.

Or maybe a good place to watch Sesame Street.

I am now realizing how old these photos are - he's now wearing size 5 diapers!

Earning His Keep

Adam did a good job earning his keep over the weekend. He made some blueberry bread - which he loves.

Stirring it up...

The inevitable taste test...

Some more stirring...
Look at all those beautiful tomatoes on the counter behind us!

Putting it in the pan...

Doing the dishes...
Mama's mistake: I started off giving him tupperware containers to wash up. I quickly learned that it's best not to give him things that enable him to dump mass quantities of water all over the place. After that, he got to wash smaller utensils and plastic spoons. I learn something new every day from Adam!

Everybody earns their keep around here

The Harvest

Our garden has been exploding lately! Even though it's just a little garden, we are so glad to have the yard space for it now. It's been fun to show Adam - he is a master at watering now.

Check out the giant pile of basil I got the other day. I made a big batch of pesto.

There's nothing better than the smell of fresh basil. We also have about a million tomatoes - but I didn't get any pictures.