Dancy Dance

Shaky hips.


Twisty shoulders.




Yogurt crusted face.


Occupy the couch movements.


I love how her little toes are all twisted.


Knee lunge.

The other day I amused myself but putting Maeve on the couch and asking her dance. She's pretty cool about dancing on request and her moves are TIGHT. She sways her shoulders and snaps her hips and it is impossible for me to replicate her sweet motions because girlfriend has skillz. She's also really good at throwing a fit when I don't give her my camera or phone when she begs for it.

The downward dog poses are demonstrations of her protests over not getting her way. I laugh. She cries. It's awesome.

Maeve and Jamie

I love these faces so much.

Thanksgiving 2011

We had Thanksgiving in Bristol, which is a tradition we have maintained with only a few interruptions, like Maeve's birth last year. We love this holiday and this time of year and the chance to spend it with family. The boys adore their cousins and the open space that not just the farm but the yards of all our family members offer. The boys played a lot of imaginative 'soldier' games that involved fancy hats and of course, toy guns. They felt pretty useful.

I made the place settings again and this year I made little turkey cards. I went to my friend Megan's house the Saturday before Thanksgiving for a craft afternoon, which is where I finished most of the place settings (I had 23 to make). Craft afternoon was the best! Megan lives in a two story loft condo with an entire wall of windows. It felt like a boutique hotel complete with a large flat screen tv and endless HD tv options. We had snacks and drinks and it was the best.

Anyways...Thanksgiving was fun. Maeve sat on my lap and was fussy until I let her have a fork and she 'fed' herself. The boys sat at the 'twin' table and loved it.

This year I am thankful for the constants in my life--my God, my marriage, my children, my family, and my friends. I am grateful for healthy, beautiful children who keep me active and entertained. Asher and Soren astound me with their curiosities and questions. Maeve makes me so happy. Every little thing she does and says is the sweetest thing I've ever beheld and I'm grateful to find such sincere happiness EVERY day. Jamie is loyal and generous and fills each day with affection and compliments. I am grateful that although my mom has thyroid cancer, her prospects are incredible, which leads me to simply be grateful for the surprise and sentiment of life. I am just happy to be here with my family and my friends on this impressive world.

Oxon Hill Again

Do you see all three of mine?
















Soren rolled down the hill at about 2mph.




Sarah teaches Julia how to roll whilst carrying Lils.






Julia was so excited to hold hands with Soren! I'm glad because he weighs 40 pounds and was being PUSHED in Julia's stroller.



The Friday before Thanksgiving we went back to Oxon Hill Farm with my friend Sarah and her two cuties. The farm was lovely as usual and the animals were perky and active. The kids? Well, they were actively fussy, at least mine. Sarah ended up pushing one of my kids in her stroller while carrying Lillie in the Bjorn and she made it seem like no bigs. Asher asked to go home about two seconds into the visit and Soren complained that he was tired about five minutes into the visit. So fun! Towards the end Lillie was done with the farm but Julia and Maeve could have wandered and explored for ages. Since Sarah was busy pushing my kids in her stroller I had the joy of herding the remaining little ones, which reminded me of the wild but sweet experience of having two little twins.

Holidays!

Hard to believe our week in Bristol has concluded and we are home again. Thanksgiving was lovely and we reveled in our time with family. I'm happy to be home. Maeve didn't sleep for more than two hours at a time and she nursed like a newborn so after five nights I was absolutely exhausted.

Even though I am sad that Thanksgiving is already over we are super excited about Christmas! We love our Christmas tree and think it may be the prettiest we've ever had!

Road Trip

Jamie and I felt like a road trip a few Sundays ago so he suggested that we check out an alternative route for getting to Virginia from Maryland in case the Wilson Bridge is blown up. You know, just keeping it real. The drive through Maryland was not that hot but once we got to the bridge (we all loved crossing it) and into Virginia we loved the scenic drive and enduring fall colors.

If anything does happen to the Wilson Bridge while I am at work then I might as well be in another country because getting home is going to be VERY difficult. I might just abandon my car and walk.

Newsies

Soren spotted the American Flag!








The fun of family photos.






American's mainstreet with a great view of the Old Post Office Building. Also--do you see the awesome bike path?













In celebration of Veteran's Day, the Newseum offered free admission to Veterans and current military members and their families. Yes! We had never been to the Newseum and thought it was the perfect time to visit. We cruised into the city on a gorgeous fall day and enjoyed the museum (We ran into my friend Sarah who was on her way out of the museum--we had ran into her at the children's farm. I wonder where we'll meet next???).

The museum was beautiful and had several stunning exhibits but it was also intense, serious, and mature. There were massive photos of the twin towers burning along with a chunk of one of the towers. A stretch of the Berlin wall was on display along with a cement tower used for monitoring activity on the wall. There was a little dark room at the bottom of the tower and I tried to take Soren in but he started crying and said it was too scary. It was dark and scary. Soren wanted to know why buildings were burning or why things were exploding. You have to be ready to answer a lot of sincere questions when you take children to this museum. While many of the exhibits are probably too frightening for children--the view from the top is a joy for ALL visitors. The kids loved peering down on the city as much as we did and for that alone I'm grateful we had them with us.

The observation deck of the museum looks down on Pennsylvania Ave, which they refer to as 'America's main street.' I loved reading about things that happened on that stretch of road over the course of America's history. The fall colors were brilliant and I LOVE living so close to our nation's capital. I just love it.