Helper

Adam has been really into helping me around the house lately. Even though his "helping" sometimes creates more work for me, it is still pretty funny and it makes me happy that he wants to help me.

He empties the dishwasher.

He's really good at laundry.He's very careful about getting everything inside before he shuts the door.

He also enjoys sweeping.

And, he always does it with a smile!

Water Works

Adam got a water table to play with out on the deck - he loves it! It's been good for hours of outdoor entertainment already, and we've only had it a few days.

Love his little smirk in this one.

Happily at work. You'll notice that Pooser has also been enjoying the deck with us. She actually is pretty good about staying on the deck as long as the gate is up. She likes laying in the sun.

Mama's DayS

That's right - two days for Mama!
My birthday was on April 23, but we celebrated a week later with some friends. We had old friends (we've known Chris and Anna for a while - they are not chronologically old), and some new friends that we have just met in Virginia. I love having people over, and everyone got along so well, even though it was such a random group! Phil made fish tacos and we had a DQ cake for dessert. It meant so much to me to be able to celebrate with this group.

Friends, new and old. L to R are Becka and Prakash (Baby M was born just a few days later!), Natasha and Ka-Loon, Phil, Anna and Chris.

Here is another photo to prove I was there.
I had a great Mother's Day as well. These are roses Phil and Adam clipped for me from our yard - they smelled SO good! So fun to have rose bushes (this will also significantly lower Phil's flower budget.)
Phil made me steamed muscles for an appetizer before dinner.

And, we had lobster for dinner. It was even cheaper this time - $5.99/lb.
My Mama's Day dinner :)I didn't get any pictures of me with my boy on Mother's Day, but we had a good time playing and visiting a little garden farm by our house. Thank you, Adam, for making me a Mama and blessing me every single day! I love you!

Regular

Things are starting to feel a bit more "regular" here in Nova. Here are a couple of shots of our new life as usual...

"I got to use the spoon all by myself tonight. I think I did pretty good."

"Did I mention I'm kind of a big deal?"

Taking a little rest with Dad.

Visiting The Fam in North Carolina

Phil and I are so excited to finally live in the same time zone as some family! We have been looking forward to living near Matt and Tricia for so long, we decided to take a break from moving in and hop down to North Carolina for a quick visit. We figured that Adam was already messed up from the move, so why not take a trip before he gets adjusted and just deal with it when we get back. He was a trooper, though, and had a great time visiting his Uncle Matt and Aunt Tricia.

Look at the size of that dog!!! Kala is Matt and Tricia's Great Dane. I could not get over how big she is, but she was great with Adam. I think he thought she was a horse - he loved giving her hugs and petting her.

Adam loved eating outside and watching the cars driving by. His favorite part was when a motorcycle sped past. He also made lots of friends with people walking. He has really started talking to people rather than just babbling to himself - it's pretty funny. If only we could understand him.

The gang at lunch.

Matt and Tricia took us wine tasting - something Phil and I really miss doing. Adam could only really handle two vineyards, but we'll do more some other time. We tasted some great wines and Adam got to play in a fountain. It was cool tasting wine from a different region - very different from California wines.

Phil found this little guy on a walk and brought him back for me. We put him in the sink for safe keeping until we were going to let him go. When we were at lunch, all of a sudden someone said, "hey, guys, did anyone take the turtle out of the sink before we left?" OOPS. Luckily, the turtle was still there when we got back and we let him go.

We also got to go and look at Matt and Tricia's new house. They close in a matter of days. It is such a neat house and it is on a big chunk of beautiful land.

Thanks, Matt and Tricia! We can't wait for more East Coast adventures with you!

Moving Casualty

There's always one - and this was an unfortunate one. Let me start at the beginning...
On our wedding day, Phil and I poured sand from two separate vases into one big one, symbolizing the intertwining of our lives. There were also small pebbles in the bottom of the large vase to symbolize God as the foundation of our marriage.
Here we are pouring the sand (mine was white and Phil's was natural) on our wedding day, August 13, 2005.

This vase has been displayed in our living room in each home we have been in since that day. Over time, the sand has shifted and settled. Phil likes to say that it's just like our marriage - the two colors of sand become more blended over time and it's harder to tell that there ever were two colors. Pretty clever, huh? He's a smart one.

Well, if you follow Phil's metaphor, I'm not sure if this next part is good or bad...
The movers packed our vase upside down. The seal broke in the box and when Grace unpacked it, all I heard was the smooth sound of sand sliding out of a glass vase, followed by the louder sound of pebbles hitting the packing paper, followed by absolute silence. I was sad, of course, but with some careful clean up and a kitchen ceremony, we were back in business.

First we sifted the sand out of the pebbles and placed our Rock foundation back in the bottom of the vase.

Then, Phil and I poured the sand back into the vase. Sure, it's not as pretty as the first time - but that's ok.

As you can see, the sand is pretty well mixed now. As Phil said, "Sometimes things get a little messy, and you have to really pour yourself back into your marriage." Where does this guy get this stuff? I love it.

Non-traditional Easter Dinner

We already have really enjoyed our new location because of the culture all around us that is just missing from Dayton. Obviously, there is DC with all of its splendor and museums, but there are also many more restaurants and grocery stores to investigate here. Phil discovered this international grocery store just a couple of minutes from our house. I went with him a couple of days later, and I must say - it is the coolest grocery store EVER! There is this whole seafood section in the back with every kind of fish you could ever want.

Of course I was a dork and took pictures. Yes, the guy behind the counter laughed at me. No, I didn't care. Yes, I cropped him out of the pictures. Who's laughing now?

There is fresh fish on ice...

along with clams, mussels, and other fun things. I'm going to learn a lot about cooking seafood while I'm here!

Now, I don't know if you noticed the price of the lobster in that first photo - $6.99 a pound! So, Phil and I decided to have a little adventure and prepare lobster for Easter dinner while my parents and sister were here. FUN!

"Hello, Mr. Lobster. Nice to meet you."
My dad thought we should take the rubber bands off his claws to give him a fighting chance. I didn't go for it, though.

Grace was pretty pumped about putting hers in the pot.

Mom was a little more sympathetic.

Ready to eat! They turned out so well, we couldn't believe it - our first try! We didn't really have the right utensils (notice the kitchen shears behind the salt and pepper shakers), so there was lobster flying everywhere. We had so much fun, though, and laughed a lot.

Grace getting ready to dig into her first lobster ever!