Let's Go Fly a Kite

Saturday was one of those days that made us feel really excited to live in the DC area. We went to the Smithsonian Kite Festival with our friends the Blacks and the Hamills and had a great time in the (chilly) spring weather (we even got a little sunburned!). As with Hannah's and Sarah's photos, this does not do justice to how many kites were there-- it was truly an amazing sight.

Sam had to work (blerg!) so it was nice to tag along with some friends who helped entertain Bria.
(This picture, by the way, is quintessential Bria hair, and makes me feel like my child looks like a street urchin.)

Bria with hannahwob.

On our way from the metro, we stopped by the Smithsonian Castle where the trees were a-bloom and so beautiful. Bria kept saying, "it's gorgeous!"

I mostly watched, since I have no idea how to fly a kite. I tried a couple times, but felt kind of ridiculous running around, jumping around, trying to fling the kite into the air. So I embraced my role as a spectator. However, Bria had a great time flying her "kite."
Bria had a great time (except for an incident with another child's wagon and when a grown-man, over-zealous-kite-flyer bowled her over),

and she was exhausted by the time we got home.
A perfect Saturday, in my opinion.

Monkey See Monkey Do

I will admit that I've been known to say "bummer" when expressing mild disappointment. I shouldn't have been surprised when Bria picked up the phrase. At first it came out "oh bunner." She has since learned the correct pronunciation, and she certainly understands its meaning. "Oh bummer" usually comes out when I tell Bria that Sam is at work, or she can't have a cookie, or that it's not time to go outside. In the following video, I had just finished telling Bria that all the frozen grapes were gone.

Class

I signed Bria up for a class at our local Rec Center to help get us through these winter months.
To say she has loved it would be an understatement.We go for 45 minutes once a week. The class mostly consists of free-play in this soft room of giant padded slides and blocks and a ball pit. We also do some interactive singing at the end of each class.
Almost any time we go anywhere Bria asks, "class? balls?" I think she is going to be devastated when the class is over.
When we first started going, Bria was rather hesitant. She is cautious of new situations, so she would try one thing very slowly, then do that one thing almost the entire time. Now she marches right in and plays hard the entire time. But I think the highlight of the class is the sticker she gets at the end.

Bria Takes on the Zoo

Last week we took advantage of the newly-wonderful weather and went to the zoo with some friends. It was an absolutely perfect day for the zoo, and we stayed just long enough to see some of the best animals and then head home for nap time.

Bria still tells me about it almost every day. Here are Bria and Elsa watching the Panda. Bria always tells me "Panna! eatin' grass. panna eatin' boo." The panda was indeed eating bamboo.
We also saw an elephant (and I, of course, didn't take a picture) which has always been Bria's favorite animal. She tells me all about how the elephant was playing with a ball and how she saw his eyes, ears, nose, trunk, mouth, tail, feet, eyelashes, etc. I think it may have been the highlight of her life.
There are also some construction going on at the zoo. I thought it was rather funny that several moms were gathered around watching the tractors and cranes because it is just as exciting for little kids to watch construction as it is to see animals. Bria and Elsa also found it to be much more capitvating that smiling for the camera.
Bria and Elsa walked around holding hands and showing things to each other. We also saw gorillas, snakes, turtles, porcupines, and tons of other animals. It was fun to take Bria to the zoo and she actually knew what she was seeing and she could get excited about it. We can't wait to go again!

Overheard

Bria has mastered many phrases, and I hear them all day long. here are the most common:

"deek you, mama" (thank you, mama)
"daddy work?"
"Wook in fwidge?" (Look in fridge)

"Hemee Ooouuut." (help me out)
"Nigh-night"

"So funny."

"Calvin. Hit. Face. Car. Tah-Out" (time out)
(A retelling of when Bria punched her friend Calvin square in the face because he was playing with a car she wanted.)

"Wha happen?" (while watching a movie)

"Ceam? Bowl? Poon? Okaaaaaaay?" (ice cream, bowl, spoon-- like mother, like daughter)


"Beebee do it. Self. Okaaaaaaay?" (See how her coat is upside down? A prime example of Bria doing something herself.)

I can't believe this little girl is just over a month away from turning two.

The Last of the Visitors

Also in February (just two days after my sister left), we were delighted to have Sam's parents visit.
Bria enjoyed showing off her many tricks (she's quite the ham), and she loved having someone else read to her before bedtime.
I've been kind of a camera dud lately, so these are the only pictures I got. We had a great time with them though. Bria is still talking about it.

It was a great way to wrap up a long streak of visitors. We can't wait to see them again soon!

The Californians Come to Visit

Last month we were so excited to have my oldest sister, Amy, and her two oldest kids (out of four) come visit from California. They had never been to DC, so we had tons of fun showing them around. I think the girls' favorite part of their trip was the snow, since the snowpocalypse had been the week before. They played in the snow every day and insisted on walking through the snow everywhere we went. The first day, we took them to see some things in DC. We had planned on walking to several monuments and memorials, but it was so cold (especially for the wimpy Californians) we ended up just doing the Washington Monument then going straight to dinner.
Sam's sister-in-law Jenn was nice enough to lend the girls some snow clothes, and when we got the loot, there was a snowsuit inside just Bria's size. Bria's cousins wore the same suit, and Bria is obsessed with it. That first day, when we went into DC, Bria threw an insane fit, because she wanted to wear only the suit-- with nothing underneath it. So, we let her (plus a diaper, of course).
The girls also loved riding the metro. I'm sure they also loved some of the horrible delays on the metro, since they were still clearing snow from the snowpocalypse. Thanks for that, Metro. You sure know how to accommodate mothers with small children. (Do you sense the sarcasm?)

We also love every time we see Amy, because she brings tons of clothes for Bria. I think 90% of Bria's wardrobe (from her entire life) has been hand-me-downs from her cousins. I'm lucky to have such a generous sister who has such great style! (Everything but the pants in this picture came from Amy.)
Amy and the girls spent most of their time here exploring the mall and the Smithsonian museums. We're lucky to live close enough that I could drive them in each morning, drop them off so Bria could nap at home, and then meet up with them during the afternoons.

Bria was in heaven with her cousins. She and Lucy (who is 6 1/2, and whom Bria calls Woosy) had so much fun playing together. They walked around the Air and Space Museum holding hands, and Lucy entertained Bria non-stop with her crazy sense of humor.

Bria and Lindsay have the same birthday! Lindsay is 8, and, much to her dismay, Bria called her "Weenie" the whole time she was here (of course, now that she's gone, Bria says "lindsay" very clearly). Lindsay is a great older cousin to Bria, and they had so much fun. Lindsay had Bria for Christmas, but they just brought their present when they came to visit so they could enjoy it together.


Amy and I are 8 years apart, and like all my sisters, we are best friends! We had so much fun staying up talking, cooking, watching 30 Rock reruns, and exploring DC-- she even got me to do her P90X workouts with her in the mornings! (even if I did them halfheartedly . . .)
We can't wait to visit them in California next time!

We're Incredibly Sophisticated

I have a bunch of photos to upload, but I haven't gotten around to it (or much else) lately. I hate the end-of-winter blahs. But to document that we are still alive and well, here are some photos to show what we do when we're bored on Sunday afternoons.

(Apparently I just sit around in the background, looking at the wall, doing nothing.)Bria loves making faces now. She gets a kick out of it when others pull faces, and she tries to copy us as well. She often asks me in the car "fay-sus? fay-sus?"

Yes, I am giving my daughter bunny ears in this picture.

This picture is no longer accurate, as Sam has now undergone his annual winter head shave.

This is from last September, right before we moved. See how much Bria's grown (especially her hair)? I can't believe we've already lived here for five months.