Carpe Diem

I don't want to jinx it, but this spring weather has been incredible. We've had weeks of perfect outdoor weather.
I am a complete baby when it comes to heat, so the lingering mid-70s weather is adding new meaning to my life, like a pre-summer gift. "Don't fret; I am still here," it whispers to me. "Lap up these delightful breezes and enjoy your straight hair while you still can." It begins its admonishment: "live in the moment."
And so we try. We eat popsicles. We have lunch and dinner picnics outside. We chalk (Bria has turned it into a verb). We go on family walks. We leave the windows open. We just relish it-- without worrying about the heat that awaits us.

Birthday Weekend Trip

Ever since I went to New York last spring, I was scheming and scheming to get Sam and me back there together. The stars aligned, and we took a weekend trip to the Big Apple last month for my birthday. We left Bria with Sam's brother Marc's family and took the bus from DC. One of the best parts was being able to stay in a friend's apartment while she was out of town. Right by Central Park and less than a block from the subway-- it was incredible.
We were there for less than 48 hours, but we packed in as much as possible. We went to the MOMA (Sam and I both love modern art), which was mostly incredible because I could wander at my own pace and not worry about it being boring for Bria. Amazing!

And we waited in line at the box office to get rush tickets for How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying (starring Daniel Radcliffe!). I had no idea how likely it would be for us to get tickets, and we waited for almost two hours, but it was so worth it. Front row tickets for $30! If I stood up, I could have touched Harry Potter's pant leg. Eeek!
Isn't NYC the city that never sleeps? One night after dinner, we wandered around Times Square for a while before I finally said "I'm too tired! Let's go home and go to sleep!" So we did. We realize we are now officially boring and old.And we caught a Mets game. They were playing the Nats!
I cheered once for the Nationals before realizing how out of place I was. From that point on, all jubilation was kept inside.
It was an amazing trip-- definitely my best birthday ever. For more detail about my favorite parts of the trip (uh, that would be the food) see here.

party, party, party

We had a little party for our birthday girl over the weekend. More details and pictures here.

Three

Today is our darling Bria's THIRD birthday. This girl is an absolute firecracker. Since she was a baby, the word that is used most often to describe her is expressive. There is no neutral for Bria: she is elated or devastated (this is both a blessing and curse). She is hilarious and sensitive, nurturing and perceptive, sweet and, let's be honest, quite a bit sassy. tiny baby

I like to joke that she has the appetite of a teenage boy: she eats constantly. Most days she doesn't stop eating from the time she wakes up until after lunch. She needs at least two snacks between lunch and dinner, and often an after-dinner snack too. This girl can eat. Luckily, she's not picky. She prefers salad to sandwiches, broccoli to chicken nuggets, and oranges to cupcakes. Simply put, she is weird. And I love it.

One year

In the last year I have noticed more and more traits that have led to my firm declaration that Bria is an old soul. She loves to sit and color for hours. She prefers to hang out with "the moms" instead of kids, and she gets overstimulated very easily. She likes to be alone, and at a recent Easter party, she wanted to watch from the sidelines rather than participate in the rumpus. Children overwhelm her, and she needs a lot of encouragement and coaching to stay calm and collected in social situations. She loves her friends-- but only one or two at a time. And still, she often needs to be held or taken into another room alone for a couple minutes during play dates so she can "reset."

Two years

Bria also sleeps a ton. I am totally spoiled. She still sleeps 8-8 with a 2 hour nap during the day. If she misses an hour here or there, she makes up for it-- and then some. She will often sleep until 9:30 or 10 and still take a nap and go to bed at 8. It's amazing.
Something not so amazing is her sass. This girl already talks to me like she's 13. I'm not sure where she picked it up, but she thinks she knows everything, and she lets me know it. Like any 3 year-old, we're working on learning boundaries, sharing, being nice, listening, etc. It's an uphill battle every day. Skipping a nap or going to bed late is a recipe for disaster and always results in tantrums, sass, and whining-- which is why I have always been an absolute stickler about bedtimes. (read: I'm no fun.) But, when she gets enough sleep (which means about 14 hours every 24 hour period) she's a gem.

Three years!

She has a wild imagination. She makes up jokes, songs, and stories every day. She loves to sing and talk to her reflection in the mirror. She loves princesses and ballerinas, but she also loves animals and cowgirls and superheroes. Bria frequently walks on tip-toe, talks in falsetto, and speaks with elaborate hand gestures. She is out-of-this-world sweet, hilarious, and incredible.
Happy birthday, Bria!!

Cherry Blossoms

During the winter, the Cherry Blossom Festival was my light at the end of the tunnel. I knew if I could make it through to the end of March, I could make it through anything. And I did it! (I'm not sure what the alternative was, but now it doesn't matter!) The cherry blossoms are exactly what I love about spring: the rebirth of the world in a vibrant explosion of color and life. (Dramatic? Maybe. But I really hate winter.)

The weather wasn't exactly ideal when the blossoms were at their peak (unlike last year), but it was still nice enough for the three of us to take a stroll one day. Sam has been working nights, so it's fun to be able to make outings during the day with him.
After an extensive walk through the Smithsonian gardens, we decided to skip the tidal basin (we were either lazy or just tired of dealing with the antics of a grumpy almost 3 year-old. or both). But on request of Bria, we did stop by the Washington Monument, where we were almost blown away by the enthusiastic spring winds.
Ah, spring. How I love you. (please don't get too hot too quickly?)

A Visit from Papa and Mimi (with a possible curse, too)

Last week we enjoyed a visit from my parents. It was mostly a laid back visit, since Bria has had a mystery illness including sporadic night vomiting for the last 10 days. I alternate between thinking she's better and keeping her home, so that's what my parents got to do too.
We did, however, make it into DC one day. We went through the American History Museum until a sick and tired Bria called it a day. We snapped a picture on the mall on our way out.
As we headed to the metro, Bria's grump threatened to destroy the world, but we spotted a carousel, and my mom sponsored Bria's ride. She was delighted, calling out, "I'm on a merry-go-round!" throughout the ride. (The picture is not great, but Bria is on that blue horse.) Luckily, it really did cheer her up enough to make it home without any major meltdowns.

There was a lot of downtime chatting with my parents while my mom knitted and Bria entertained us with her antics. She was particularly fond of my mom's ipod and headphones.
And lucky Bria was even allowed to rifle through Mimi's purse and apply her own makeup while I wasn't looking.
On the one sunny and (slightly) warm day, we ventured to gravely point to see the planes taking off.
Bria was in heaven with her two doting grandparents showering her with love, attention, and praise.
Unpictured events include:
The best afternoon eating lunch with my parents, then shopping with my mom all while Bria was at a friend's house.
Going out on a real live date with Sam while my parents babysat.
Bria throwing up all over my parents' rental car the moment we pulled into the parking lot at Mount Vernon (we turned right around and went home after an extensive clean-up).

I don't always feel the physical distance from here to all my family in the West-- email, texts, phone calls, and video chats are the same wherever I live-- but plane tickets and car drives all make me realize just how far away we are. It's always a delight to close the gap for a week and spend quality time together. Though now my dad is 2/2 in having Bria be sick when he visits. Perhaps he is cursed?

The Many Faces of Bria

Don't ever let it be said that Bria doesn't have personality.