It's been too long...

Nonnie's Visit (check out Mad's teeth in the middle pic :)

So, it's been a few days, okay a week, since my mom left and I'm finally getting around to blogging. We've had a lot going on around here this week and right now I'm taking a break from packing. Tomorrow, Gabe and I are on our way to Parsippany, New Jersey to go to one of his friends' weddings. I'm looking forward to it, but I mapquested it today and it's going to take us 4 hours and 20 minutes to get there!!!!!!!!! Not looking forward to so much driving and so many toll roads, but it should be a good time once we get there. Maddie will be staying with Sandy and Carlos for the day and night and then Gabe and I will be back to get her on Sunday. So, I'm packing for us and for her and doing laundry and ... a million other things. As you can see from the pic's above, my mom's visit was a lot of fun. Maddie sort of demands that you read to her all the time and so that's what Nonnie's are good for! Lot's of reading of "Good Dog, Carl" and "Go, Dog, Go!" Maddie's 2 particular favorites. Also, 2 weeks ago I started a class that I need to take to renew my teaching license. It's on Wednesday nights and this week's was a serious waste of time! It's easy though, so I really shouldn't complain. So, that's our news for the week. It's freezing here; which makes me want to stay in doors permanently, but that's not conducive to having a 15 month old (she likes to be on the go for at least part of the day). Hope you're all well.

Only 1 more day...

til my Mom is here to visit!! We are really excited to have a visitor. We had so many when Maddie was born and now it's been a long, dry spell without. So, we are ready to see Nonnie tomorrow. Today has been interesting. First, Maddie went to bed last night, only to wake at 8:15pm with her leg stuck in the crib slats :( Then, she didn't want to go back to bed and ended up staying up until 10:15pm or so. I thought maybe she'd sleep in today since she got to bed so late, but no luck. She was up and we played and I fought to keep her up so we could go to Gymboree. It went okay She was tired halfway through and couldn't stop telling me she wanted a bottle (which have disappeared suddenly to be replaced by sippy cups that we still call "bubba.") Anyways, she only felt like participating a little and when that was over we headed home. She fell asleep in the car and I put her up for her nap when we got home. About 20 minutes later, it started to snow! The weather man didn't even mention snow this morning on the news, but it was a welcome surprise. So pretty, large flakes, barely sticking to the ground. It snowed for about 1 hour and then stopped and now the sun is trying to come out. It's still very cold though. So, that's our life so far. More to come...

So far....

this week has been pretty busy. Let's see, on Monday we took a walk with Siobhan & Aibha to get smoothies and hang out. Later that afternoon, Maddie and I went to visit with our neighbor who has a 3 month old little boy. He was really cute and Maddie was only kind of interested in him. Then on Tuesday, Maddie, Aibha, Siobhan and I went to the National Zoo in DC. It was a beautiful day and with my fancy new camera, I was able to take some really cool pic's of the animals.(click on the collage to see pic's larger)

I was exhausted after that adventure! The next day, Wednesday, I was still tired and Gabe came home from a break from work and took Maddie on a nice nature walk around Huntley Meadows Natural Preserve. She had a blast and came home smelling like sunshine :) So, that leads us to today. This morning I had a man come to see about some water damage we've just started noticing-not good. He'll be back tomorrow to start to do some work on it :( Good, that he's doing work, but really bad if it's extensive damage, which = major money. We shall see. Then, it was off to the doctor for Maddie's 15 month appointment (Happy 15 month old Birthday today). She was terrified (as usual) but it was painless-no shots!!! Hallelujah. She weighs 19 lbs (still in the 10th percentile). She's a munchkin. So, now we're home. Planning to relax and run an errand or two. It's getting cold again and starting to feel like winter.

1/6/08

Tucker & Zora = true love

that tongue means she's thinking...

and concentrating on her next move!

Dad, Elisabeth and Jer walking down the aisle :)

Today is a special day. One year ago today, my sister Elisabeth married her husband Justin in San Francisco. It was such a beautiful wedding and so much fun to have it in San Francisco. Lot's of great memories and so surprised that a year has flown by that quickly. Maddie was only 3 months old at the wedding and could barely hold her own head up! Now she runs and says "no" all the time-big difference :) So, today should be a fun day here. I'm heading to church and then off to see a movie by myself. I'm going to see " Juno" because I've heard great things about it. I'll let you all know what I think. They have a matinee at 11:25am, so I'll head there straight from church and Gabe and the baby are going to spend quality time together :) They have big plans to go to the grocery store. The Redskins lost last night, which made Gabe sad, but I'm glad that's over. I just don't share the passion for football that he has. The only other news is that I've planned a trip back to California in March. Maddie and I will be going for 15 days :) and I'm really excited. Gabe will fly with us there and stay for that first weekend and then come back to go do a dog show for a week in North Carolina. Then, when we leave CA, my sister is flying with Maddie and I and spending a weekend with us. Can you tell I'm chicken to fly alone with her again after what happened last time? We figure that this flight can never be worse than what happened...right? I'll be spending my 30th birthday as well as Easter in CA, but that's okay because if I was here, I'd be spending here alone in my house because Gabe would be out of town. So, this way I can be with my fam. Should be fun. Just wanted to post a couple of pic's I've taken that last few days. Can you tell that our dogs are in love with eachother?

Happy New Year!

taking a walk (albeit a short one)

Washington Monument

Maddie (very bundled)

Well, it's here-2008. How crazy. Can't believe that this is the year that I'm turning 30!!! Very strange, but at the same time it seems appropriate. I mean, I'm a wife, mom, dog owner, home owner, car owner, etc. and that seems about right for a 30 year old :) So, our New Years Eve was very mellow. Maddie went to Sandy and Carlos' for a few hours while Gabe and I changed our plans and went to have awesome Thai food. We picked Maddie up at 8pm (she was still awake) and took her home, put her to bed and then got in bed to read/watch tv. Didn't make it to midnight-wasn't even trying-because that would just make for a really long, exhausted day the next morning. We spent yesterday hanging out and then I pretty much demanded we go take a walk by the river, where you can see the monuments in DC. Well, Gabe wasn't too interested because he said it was too cold, but I didn't believe him and pointed out that we can bundle up-we'll live. So, we did...and we only lasted about 15 minutes, tops :) I told Gabe he was right, it's way to cold to be out. We went and got sandwiches and then stopped at Dog School (it was closed) to feed the kitties and that was Maddie's highlight of her day!!! She is in love with those kittens. They are so sweet with her and she just chased them up and down the aisles of the store. It was sort of like watching every kids dream to be locked in a store when it's closed and you can do whatever you want; Maddie got to live that :) Today, life is back to normal with Gabe at work (early), and Maddie and I here hanging out. The forecast for today is only a high of 37 degrees so I think we'll be staying in. Our house get's cleaned today-and it really needs it. Especially since all the sicknesses. Looking forward to next week when Gymboree is back open-it's a nice place to go play when it's this cold. Happy New Year.