Adam's 1st "Official" SNOW DAY!!!

Finally! A 100% Genuine Snow Day! Yahoo!

In the almost 2 years (gasp) that Adam has been born, all we have experienced here in D.C. has been snow flurries! Very frustrating for a snow lover, like myself!

I remember Feb. 2007, about 6 weeks before Adam was born, there was a HUGE snow/ice storm. Of course it happened when I was on bed rest. As a school employee, trust me when I say, living for snow days is part of the job. I was so annoyed that the big snow storm came when I was on bed rest... not even working! Instead of loving the snow, I was terrified as I had many Dr. appts at the time! I do remember one lovely snow day, though, during that storm. My mom, Steven and I all cuddled up in Mom's king size bed (that she "loaned" to Steven and I during my bed rest & when Adam was born until our townhouse was built) watching "Gone With the Wind" with the snow falling outside. It was the first time Steven and I had seen the movie (Mom's favorite) and of course we loved it.

Anyhoo, back to the present... Adam finally got to have a snow day TODAY! At first, he was a bit skeptical and kept taking off his gloves so he could feel the snow. After a few minutes, though, he loved it and ran (fast) in the snow and had a snowball fight with Steven! It was really such a great day.... Steven took off work (roads are horrible in our neighborhood) so it was just wonderful spending the day together. :)

Family & Friends (& Photos) Galore :o)

This month has been full of visits from family & friends, which we LOVE!!! Adam is very social and loves playing with kids both big & small (he thinks he's 3... seriously!) and showing-off his singing voice (every guest gets to hear the ABC song, courtesy of Little Love). Here are some highlights from the past week:

Last weekend (was it really only 1 weekend okay?!?), Bobbe & Zayde came into town. We had a blast celebrating Bobbe's birthday (Adam still sings "Happy Birthday, Bobbe" every single day), building with Legos, eating lunch at Jackson's Mighty Fine Food & The Cheesecake Factory, playing at the Play Cafe and riding the carousel at the mall. Here's the evidence :)...

Building Lego Towers with Bobbe & Zayde (excuse "the red eye"... even with our advanced photo program, LL's beautiful green eyes are devil red... grr)

Giving Bobbe Five!

Strolling the mall with B & Z

Carousel ride with Bobbe

Riding the carousel with Zayde (he really did like it, despite his non-smile!

Getting a tickle from Zayde

Adam has sooo much fun with Bobbe & Zayde... can you tell?!?

Mesmerized by Zayde's story about Patches, the dog :)

"Happy Birthday, Bobbe! I love you SO much!"

On Thursday, Adam had a playdate with L and Sarah. Their mamas, Kerry & Rachel, are great friends so it's always such a treat when we can visit. We missed Lily & her mama, Angela... hope we can all meet up in February before L and Lily's BIG BROTHERS arrive!!!

Adam & L... they were born exactly one week apart... same hospital & same Doctor! (Unfortunately, the sun was shining a little too bright when I took these pics!)

Adam & Sarah... Adam's future girlfriend. Adam is about 9 months older which only seems like a big deal NOW. Isn't Sarah precious?!?

Adam & Sarah loved playing together... they were too busy playing to pose for pictures. Kids! :o)

Today, we had a VERY SPECIAL VISIT with Aunt Christioli!!! Aunt Christy, Uncle Travis, Charlie & Graham were in town from North Carolina (for a family visit with Travis's family) so we were able to spend the afternoon with them. It was so wonderful, even though the visit was WAY TOO SHORT. We also missed their daughter, Emma, who was visiting her grandmother in Wisconsin. Adam loved playing with the big boys (Charlie & Graham are almost 4!) and all the kids loved playing in Adam's "new house":

Adam showing off the new (sooo cute!) lunchbox that Aunt Christioli bought him

Charlie... how handsome is this little guy?!?

Graham... how adorable is he?!? They are both so smart & FUN, too... we just love them both!

Thanks, Uncle Travis, for helping put up the house!

Such a GREAT week! Hope everyone comes back to visit SOON! Our door (& windows -- HA HA) is always open!

"Hi, O-bama"

If you look carefully at the above picture, you can see President Obama right before he took his Oath this morning! Adam even waved to him and said "Hi, O-bama!". :)

It was a great Inauguration Day morning. Living just 30 miles from D.C., we could feel the excitement in the air. We went over to Michelle's to watch the big moment with her & Tomas. Pamela & Addie were there, too. Have I mentioned that Adam has a crush on Addie? It became apparent a few months ago when he blushed when she tried to "Give him Five". Today, he kept talking about seeing Addie and even tried to kiss her! As you can see below, the crush isn't being reciprocated by Addie. Oh well... can't hurt a guy from trying! ;o)

Addie telling Adam to "go away" after he tried to kiss her!

Adam moving on to an older gal (Michelle's daughter's friend, Rachel), a "cougar" as Michelle said!!! :o)

On a more serious note, I am truly excited about Obama becoming Commander of Chief today. Some interesting memories... a few years ago (2005, I believe) when I worked as a high school counselor, Obama's office was looking for some high school interns from around the country. I remember 2 of my students wanting to apply because they thought Obama was really young and, if I remember correctly, "cute". I also remember talking to my dad about the election when he was in the hospital, a few days before he passed away, in Oct. 2006. I asked him who he thought would run for President (this was 2 years before the election, of course) and he said "Hillary or that Obama guy & John McCain". Just wish he could've been around to see this day. He would've been *very* excited!

Adam, Steven & Addie bidding farewell to George

In other news, Adam has been enjoying his new kitchen! He actually has 2 of them... I found this one on Craig's List and then found another one that I liked better (again, through Craig's List). I hope to sell one of them (of course, on CL) this week.

Cooking Mama some eggs... hey, someone needs to cook around here!

Enjoying some tea

More pictures from our visit from Bobbe & Zayde tomorrow!

The Terrible Twos (2 months early...)

So, Little Love has officially entered "The Terrible Twos". Except he's not 2 yet... not until March 28. Can someone tell him that, please? Here are some highlights:

a. Full-on Temper Tantrums. Several times a day. We're talking kicking legs, pounding arms, a head slam thrown in for good measure, etc. Lovely.

b. Refusal to take a nap. This was only today. G-d, lets hope it stays that way.

c. Wanting to do *everything* himself. Which means mac & cheese that has left his fork all over the just-mopped floor.

d. The lovely mood swings... much more irritable than usual... but the moodiness does not last long, thank goodness!

e. Coloring all over the walls. Yes, I made the mistake of leaving Adam with a box of Crayola Crayons to find 3 walls scribbled on, minutes later.

It's a good thing that Little Love has such an adorable little grin & giggle and is so friggin' cute...
Playing Legos (new favorite toy) with Zayde
Breakdancin'... the dance for the new generation
Riding his first bike at the Play Cafe

* Adam would like to send a special SHOUT-OUT to UNCLE STEVEN for mentioning this blog on his Facebook page where he has almost 800 friends (how can you have that many friends, Uncle Steven?!?). Adam misses his Uncle Steven VERY MUCH and can't wait to see him again... even though Uncle Steven tried to eat his Croc in Palm Springs :)!!!*

Happy Birthday, Bobbe!

Dearest Bobbe,

Happy, Happy Birthday! What a treat it was to spend your special day with you today! I especially loved singing "Happy Birthday" and helping blow out the candles on your (very yummy) cake (again & again)! I love it when you & Zayde come to visit me. It's the best! :o)

XOXO,

ADAM

Current Routine & Our Future Tennis Star - CA Vacation, Part 4 -- the final part! (LOTS OF PICS AT THE END!)

Once again, I apologize for the lapse between posts. I haven't even taken a new picture since we've been back from CA... 2 weeks ago! I think it's the longest I've ever gone without a LL photo. Well, there will be a big photo shoot this weekend since Bobbe & Zayde will be in town. YAY! We are so very excited to see them!

Not too much news to report... just been busy, as usual, with my "double life"... Full-time Mama half the week and FT Mama/PT school counselor the other half of the week... if that makes any sense, which I'm sure it doesn't.

On the days I work (M, W, Fr) I'm completely absorbed in my job (which, fortunately, I love) and I don't see LL from 7am - 5pm most days (who I miss terribly, of course, during the day). Then again I'm so busy most of the day that I don't really have time to dwell on it... which is a good thing. Anyway, I have to switch gears really quickly when I pick LL up. We are BOTH usually tired, cranky and hungry at the end of the day!

Steven doesn't get home until 7:30 most days (GRRR) but it's wonderful when he does (finally!) get home. We all hang out, bathe Adam (he's loving his bath these days), read books and "lay down" (as Adam directs us to do!) together before putting Adam to bed each night around 8. It's a great way to end the day. :)

On days that I don't work (T, Th), the routine is so different. Adam & I lounge around until around 9ish and then we do some type of activity (usually playgroup on Tuesday AMs and some sort of class on Thursday mornings. I can't decide between an art class or a gym-type class for Jan./Feb.). After the morning activity, we drive home (listening to Barney, of course) and have lunch. Then it's nap time... Adam sleeps a good 3 hours most days at home (he only sleeps 1.5 hours at Montessori). After nap time (usually around 4) we either hang out and play, run errands or do an afternoon activity such as a playdate or to to the Play Cafe. I never (well, rarely) think of work on T and Th... I'm just a typical "SAHM"... which I love. Weekends are great... the best, of course... family time and lots of R & R. So, that's our routine these days... until late June when I'll be a Full-time SAHM for 2 months! Aaahh... the benefits of working at a school... summers off! Since I've always worked for the schools (first as a teacher, now as a counselor), I can't even imagine NOT having summers off! Believe me... I know I'm lucky!

Now, for those of you who come just for the photos (I know who you are!), here are quite a few from our CA trip of Adam... playing tennis! He was a natural -- really. My mom is so excited since we are a *huge* tennis family (both my brothers were state semifinalists when they were in high school!). My mom plans on buying Adam his own toddler racquet... he's actually holding one of Uncle Steven's in these photos. I have to say that the kid already has a decent forehand and backhand. Now if we can just get him to serve the ball correctly... :o). Anyway, hope you enjoy these pics. Even though the quality isn't great (it was nearly dusk when I took them), these are some of my favorites from our CA trip...







Adam, learning the rules of the game, from former pro Uncle Steven

More shots of the Future Tennis Star:








Helping Grandma pick up balls

Then again, Adam's favorite part of the day was playing with the water cooler. Maybe being a "Water Boy" is more in the kid's future. Hey, as long as he's happy, I'm happy! :):





Showing Popcorn the moon :o)

One last note... Adam has learned some basic shapes (triangle, square and circle) but is still struggling with his colors. One moment everything is blue... usually everything is green. I'm sure it will eventually click, right?!?

Never a dull moment & CA Vacation - Pt. 3

So, guess who locked himself in his room this morning?!? That's right... Little Love. He was happily reading his new favorite book to himself ("Pet-A-Zoo", I think it's called) while I walked 20 steps away into my bedroom to (quickly) get dressed. 3 minutes later I go to his room and open the door... that wouldn't open. He locked himself in! OMG! I totally panicked and called 911 immediately. Then Adam started crying "Mama -- open" and I calmed him down by telling him to find the "doggies" in the book. A minute later he was back at the door, crying for me. I told him to turn the doorknob and, miraculously, he did! Thank G-d! I was so relieved that he unlocked the door and I was able to reach 911 before they came. His room is completely baby-proofed, but still. I totally panicked. Not a good moment... but a typical B.E. one, I have to say. In April, I managed to lock both Adam and myself out on the deck (that was fun. I had to scream "Help" from my deck -- no joke -- and we were rescued by the fire dept. I had to go down the ladder!!!). I also managed to lock Adam in the car that month (once again, 911 to the rescue) and I locked all 3 of us out of the house and had to get a locksmith (only to find the keys in my diaper bag a few hours later. Oops). Mother of the Year, right?!? :)

Anyway... here are some more photos from the CA trip... photos of Adam with Uncle Steven/Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Joey/(soon-to-be) Aunt Hillary. I'm so glad we had a week together. I LOVED being with them... I truly have THE BEST BROTHERS (& Sister-in-Law, including Samantha too, of course!!!). Here are some candid photos from the trip:

Adam, sporting a new hair 'do (just out of the bath!), trying to escape from Uncle Joey :o)

Adam, in awe of Aunt Hillary's beauty!

100th tickle of the day from Uncle Steven

Taking a stroll with Aunt Elizabeth

21 months (& 10 days!!!) & CA Vacation, Part 2

I apologize for the lack of posts. I've been so tired this week, getting readjusted to the routine. Fortunately, Adam has readjusted quite well and is back to sleeping well (Thank G-d)! He's not too happy about being back "at work" (Montessori) and woke up on Monday (his first day back) saying -- I kid you not -- "No Annie" when I picked him up. He *loves* Annie (his teacher), too. Fortunately, Annie reported that he's been very happy this week... dancing, playing, etc. However, when I picked him up on both Mon. & today he BOLTED, I kid you not, to the door when he saw me. NOTE: he did not run to ME, he ran to THE DOOR and said "come on, come on, come on". He was also overtired and quite hungry when I picked him up both days which has led to lovely meltdown-free evenings (ha ha).

Anyway, I realize that I never got to write his 21-month-old post! I do plan to stop updating his monthly progress when he hits, oh, 21-years-old. Just Kidding... once he hits the big 2 (gasp!), I'm sure I'll stop. Anyhoo, Adam turned 21 months when we were in CA on 12/28. Interestingly enough, he has really started saying loads of phrases since then which has been so fun. Here are a few of my new favorite phrases:

-- "Where Grandma (or Uncle Steven or Dada) is?"

-- "Bye Mama. Bye Mama. Sleep" (when he's ready to go to sleep, he lets me know!!!)

-- "I love you soooo much" (tonight was the first time he said it when I kissed him good night. About time the kid said it back... I've only been waiting 21+ months to hear those three words!) ;)

-- "Where did it go?"... "Where can it be?"... "There it is!"

-- "Home!" or "Grandma's House!" (he now recognizes both neighborhoods)

-- "Oops. Sorry" (he says this at the funniest times... like when he trips on a toy. It's hilarious.)

He has also begun to do some associations. For example, when I asked him what we do at Hanukkah, he answered "light candles". Also, when we cooked an egg together (aka - me trying to cook an egg while holding him b/c he loves to watch me cook), he told me to "get butter". It's amazing. Truly amazing.

All right, enough bragging on my kid. I have to say, it helps remembering these sweet moments on days like this when Adam threw, oh, 20 temper tantrums in one evening!

In other news... our California vacation seems like it was months ago when, in reality, we got back less than a week ago! Here are some photos from our trip:
Taken from the backyard of the house we were staying at in Rancho Mirage. Very relaxing to wake up to this view

Playing in the huge backyard with Uncle Steven. It was so nice that he could run around since all we have at home is a deck for him to run on!

Adam's house. Thank you, Grandma, for renting it for the week! Adam loved having his "own space".

We took the Palm Springs Aerial Tram with Uncle Steven & Aunt Elizabeth. It was amazing. Adam loved the "big elevator"... it was quite the experience

Playing with sticks on a Palm Springs hike. Such a boy!!!

So, Adam REFUSED to sleep in the (admittedly small & kinda gross) crib that we rented. Grandma had the great idea of putting the mattress on the floor. That worked really well. Adam still only slept 2-3 hours at a time, and we ended up holding him half the night, but it was better than him screaming all night. Every night he cried "Go home" which was so sad. He was really happy during the day but was definitely homesick at night. Thank goodness he settled back in a normal sleeping pattern after one crying fit when we returned home.

That's it for now. If you've read this whole post, I'm impressed! More CA photos later this week! Hope you're having a good one! :)