picnic, park, play

The Saturday before I jetted off to NYC, we took a picnic to the park for dinner. Bria loves the park, and she is a pretty good balance of adventurous/cautious. I rarely have to intervene or rescue her, which means I like taking her to the park as well. I only wish she would go down slides. She is terrified of them, but she always climbs to the top, then feels stranded, and I have to come get her. Oh well.

It's good for me to see these pictures, because ever since I got back from NYC, she's been kind of a grumpy handful.

And, of course, Bria is always in heaven if her dad is there to play with her.

And then there's the sand. What is so appealing about sand? And how does it always manage to wiggle its way into every nook, cranny, and crevice? I'll never understand how so much sand gets in her diaper.

The Big Apple

On Thanksgiving, my mom surprised all my sisters and me with the promise of an all-expense-paid trip to New York City. We spent the next several months planning, and we finally went during the second week of May. I was in desperate need of a vacation, and it definitely lived up to all the hype.

We packed in tons of fun things over three full days and enjoyed plenty of staying up late, laughing, deeps talks, shopping, and eating. (seriously, some of the best food I have ever eaten.)

We hit up the MOMA (including the current exhibit of people staring at each other, which elicited a variety of reactions from my sisters and mom)
Central Park!

Times Square (plus Tony award winning In The Heights on Broadway)
Eating lunch in Grand Central station
And take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
I definitely didn't take enough pictures, but I think it was just because I was having too much fun to take out my camera. It was so fun to play with my sisters and mom without the distractions of kids, husbands, work, and everyday life. Thanks, Mom!

natural beauty

One of the most common questions I get about Bria is if I curl her hair.
Are you kidding me? She's lucky if I brush her hair, let alone curl it. (my mom is probably horrified by that admission. she fixed my hair perfectly every. single. day. of my childhood. Sorry, Mom.)

Bria's hair is curliest after her naps.

And sometimes it is just plain out of control. (Hmm . . . this sounds awfully familiar.)
I adore Bria's curls. They are certainly an extension of her energy. I'm certain Bria will love her hair's . . . personality . . . some day.

Bria's Birthday Rundown

For Bria's birthday, we celebrated for several days. On Friday, Bria and I metroed in to meet Sam as he got off work, and we headed straight for the zoo. It was slightly disappointing because very few animals were out, but Bria still had a great time. (we told her the animals were sleeping.) I think her favorites were the turtles.

For her actual birthday, we had a laid back Sunday. I made special birthday snickerdoodles, and pretty much let Bria call the shots for the day.
And one of those shots included eating ice cream right before bed.
Throughout the week after her birthday, she opened several presents from friends and family, including this one from her godparents:
And on Saturday, we had a party with a couple friends.
Now I know how ridiculous it is to try to get a bunch of kids age 1 -6 to take a group picture.
One of Bria's favorite presents was a Dora the Explorer tent from her cousins Max and Mallory. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that she cries every time we put it away.
On Sunday, one week after her birthday, we went outside to blow bubbles (yet another gift!). Bria loves bubbles maybe even more than she loves me. She's still trying to get a hang of it (she usually puts her mouth right on the wand), and she asks for them every day.
It was the perfect week-long birthday celebration for our little two year-old.

The Big 2

Yesterday our little baby turned TWO years old!
Two years ago, our little munchkin was just a little blob who looked like this:

And now she is a wild child, bursting with personality.
Although these have been the hardest two years of my life, they have also been far and away the best two years of my life. Happy birthday to our sweet, darling girl!

Richmond

The day after Whitney left, Bria and I drove down to Richmond to visit Jenna and Baby Siena for a little sleepover. Jenna and I have been friends since high school, and it's fun to be within driving distance of each other. Bria absolutely adored Siena, whom she lovingly called "sa-hannah." Whenever Siena would cry, Bria would get right up next to her, with a concerned look, and say "s'ok, baby! s'ok, baby!"
(and, of course, Bria wouldn't smile for a picture.)

Since Jenna's husband, Nick, was away for a month for a medical school rotation, it was a great time for us to catch up on all our girl talk from the last couple months. I think I made Jenna stay up later than she wanted, but she was very hospitable (even though she was sick!). We took the girls to the park, and I had about a 1 minute taste of what it would be like to have two kids, as I held Siena while pushing Bria on the swing. And Siena was so adorable, I almost stole her and brought her home with me.

(photo by Jenna)

But then Bria threw a fit because I wouldn't let her run into the street, and I remembered that having one child is good too. Aaaahh, the joy of a two-year-old (almost!).

All in all, it was a lovely little jaunt. A nice day break from our routine. Thanks, Jenna and Siena!

Whee-Whee Comes to Visit!

My birthday last week was officially my best birthday ever. Sam and I had some fun things planned for my big 2-5 celebration, but the best birthday present came the day before. My sister Whitney surprised me with a visit! She and Sam had been conspiring since December, and I had no idea she was coming. She showed up the day before my birthday and stayed for six days. We had so much fun with Whee-whee! (Bria used to call her that, but, sadly, she recently learned to say Whitney.)

The first night, Whitney and I took the metro in trying to find some frozen yogurt, but everything was closed. Kind of a bummer, but at least Whitney got to experience the metro.

For my birthday on Saturday, we went into DC for the Japanese street festival. It was pretty much too crowded to do anything, but we still had fun wandering around and eating the expensive festival food.
We even made a pit-stop outside the White House on our way.

That night, my dear friend Ashley babysat Bria while Sam, Whitney, and I went out on the town. We at dinner at Paolo's in Georgetown (delicious!) and then found the frozen yogurt we missed out on the night before. It was such a fun night!

On Sunday we walked around the various memorials and monuments and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.




The rest of the time was spent lounging, talking, and playing. We had so much fun!
Thanks, Whitney (and Sam and Mom and Dad!) for making this the best birthday ever!