November Notes

Well here we are post-Thanksgiving and ready to call it quits on November and welcome December and all of it's festivities!

November has been totally picturesque with plenty of outings to take in the rainbow of fall colors and sear it into my memory.

We visited the Jerome Buddie Nature Center and hiked around the Dora Kelley Nature Park...

We went to a table manners class at Room & Board...

Found another new park playground nearby...

Enjoyed the crisp (and not rainy!) weather with trips outside, although some of us have honed in our indoor climbing abilities too...

Enjoyed a positively lovely Thanksgiving at our neighbor's house, where we were welcomed among family and friends...

Finally made it to Rock Creek Park, and while we missed the Observatory show, will be back another time...

Returned to Hains Point at East Potomac Park to enjoy the playground and watch the flights takeoff and land at DCA...



Ventured to the National Zoo for Zoolights, where Henry went tubing and I FINALLY glimpsed two of the four toes on a rather elusive two-toed sloth...



And ended the month with a visit from one of my favorite people and a pickup game of baseball in the back parking lot with our favorite neighbor!


And we officially have a walker in the house...

Celebrating Baby America

Well, we officially have a one-year-old in the house!

To celebrate the milestone birthday, girlfriend got to have cupcakes, balloons, and a trip to the local indoor play place. I love a good party theme, and landed on "Fabulous First Ladies" since she was born out here and was days old during THAT election, and I needed to make some sense of it still, even a year later. So, we raise our glasses to raising strong girls and celebrating American women of the future, past, and present (and even a pretty great fictional heroine too)!

Just like her brother, she loves chocolate. A midday bath was definitely required.

The leaves are changing and it's oh so glorious. This time last year I was adjusting to the extreme change in temperature and having a newborn and didn't get out much to enjoy the splendor in those pivotal days when the trees are just showing off. I'm trying to embed it deep in my mental archives so as never to forget the beauty of this time of year out here. And backup, I have these photos and blog, so yay for plan b.

This week in addition to Jo's first birthday, we celebrated another friend's special day with a pizza making party at California Pizza Kitchen (and a former Fullertonian as well, so the destination was on point), and ventured out to the Freer+Sackler Galleries and the National Museum of African Art (both of which had the NICEST docents, staff, and security guards that I've encountered at any of the Smithsonians in the last year. The woman at the information desk even left her post to take us down to this awesome kids learning room that we had to ourselves.) While I love taking the kids, Henry specifically, to these museums, I really can't wait to go back solo to really read everything and take a slower pace to enjoy myself.

This week, the temperatures have dropped into the 40s and we broke out a baby item called a "bundle me", something that would have never crossed my radar in southern California as an essential winter baby item. It's basically a sleeping bag for car seats and strollers, that sits on top the seat and allows for the straps to come through, still securing the child, but keeping them warm while getting around the city. They are cozy, blankets aren't tossed out of the stroller or dragged underneath the tires. Genius.

This is Halloween

Another year, another Halloween for the books!

Henry proclaimed his idea during the summer and thus, I started my little droid assembly to make his Halloween dreams come true. If you had asked me five years ago if I'd be dressing up as Princess Leia and creating C3PO and R2D2 costumes, I'd have laughed. Today I have had quite the Star Wars education thanks to Henry! (Though Scott will tell you he's certainly tried over the years.)

I'm pretty proud of how they both turned out (thank you Internet for the ideas, because otherwise I'm pretty sure I'd be spray painting foil) and people certainly knew who he was.

Henry had a great time trick-or-treating and like last year, handing out candy to our own visitors, often calling them up to the porch as they walked by so as not to miss out on candy collecting.

Hope everyone had a great holiday!