About the lack of Christmas cards...

We tried. Really, we did. Here's how things turned out.

Christmas 2008

We were up opening gifts before 7am. Kasper wanted to unwrap his gifts and everyone else's too. Emmett had no interest in unwrapping anything but is fascinated with his glitter ball. Patrick got a netbook and I don't think he's put it down yet. I roasted a chicken, made amazing gravy and felt like a domestic goddess.

I'm going to quote Wil Wheaton here, because he's got a way with words: "Happy winter festival of your choice. Whatever you choose to celebrate this time of year, I hope it's filled with all the stuff you like, none of the stuff you don't like, and that you're surrounded by people you love, because that's how I'm doing it, and it rules."

Thanksgiving

It's hard to be far from our extended families during the holidays, but we have a pretty good time on our own. Thanksgiving '08 started with the boys at the park while I borrowed a roasting pan since the turkey I bought didn't fit in anything I owned (yeah, oops on that one!). Once we got home, everyone pitched in and we prepared a lovely dinner. Kasper and Emmett especially enjoyed dessert (as always).

Kasper took this one. Don't I look ready for the Food Network?

Kasper took this one too - both of us with no kids - shocking!

The bird is on the table.

Emmett shows the apple crisp who's boss.
Kasper isn't serious about much, but he is serious about dessert.

366 speedy-quick days!

It's hard to believe we've only known Emmett for a year. It seems like he's been around forever. The progression of the first year amazed us again - he went from a squawking lump of love to a boy who runs, laughs, claps, waves and high fives. He does a very cute peek-a-boo too. We celebrated a day early with an apple crisp. Like most foods, Emmett ate it up joyously and without hesitation. May he always move through life with such ease.

Hanging out, eating pizza crust at my mall

Showing off his Maine roots with L.L. Bean duck boot shoes and a vest

Eating pizza in a different mall and demonstrating his excellent straw-drinking abilities

Looking very serious about the flaming candle Dada is holding

Chowing down on his apple crisp - happy first birthday Emmett George! We love you!

Wheeee!

We were back at Frying Pan Park Sunday. It's always a good spot for a little outdoor time. As a bonus, there are photos of all four of us!

(Emmett loved the slide. How did we end up with two thrill-seekers?)

A quick afternoon trip

One of the fun things about living in Northern Virginia is the option to head into DC, bust Dad out of work an hour early and go to the Smithsonian & National Mall. This was a special trip to go see the Sant Ocean Hall at the Museum of Natural History. It was awesome. The giant squid was truly gigantic (but difficult to photograph). Kasper enjoyed the Humbolt squid exhibit - he'd be happy to tell you all about it, he and Dad watched a PBS Nature program on it. The globe was amazing - I included a few photos so you can see how it changes.

Emmett liked walking on the Mall. He likes walking anywhere.

(Please excuse the photo quality - Mama remembered both kids, carrier, snacks, sweatshirts, etc but only brought the camera phone.)

Whole lotta Emmett going on

Standing, yelling, walking, yelling, climbing stairs, yelling. Oh yeah. Emmett is rapidly exiting babyhood and ascending the ramp to toddlerhood. Thankfully he is retaining his trademark adorableness. (OK, I may be biased.)

I had to add this last shot for Aunt Becky. Looks like you've got a nephew who likes to get behind the viewfinder.
Hope you're feeling better soon!

Stairmaster

Emmett knows how to climb stairs. It is the most annoying thing ever. When Kasper was this age, we lived in an apartment without stairs and I now realize it was heaven on Earth.

Since we last posted, we went to Maine, Kasper started preschool and Emmett started walking and climbing stairs. More photos to come, but here's a few to get started.

We made it there, so we can make it anywhere...right?

Four Woodfords. Three days. Two nights. One very big city.

I'm just going to write a whole bunch here since I'll never remember it otherwise. (OK, it's a whole gigantic bunch. Feel free to skim and just look at the photos. And there are movies. We'll put those up later.)

Sunday: We took the 8:20am train. Both kids slept half the way - yipee! We walked from Penn Station to the hotel with only two brief wrong turns. Having children has messed with my internal direction sensors. Finally found the Hilton Garden Inn Chelsea. They take one look at Kasper and promise us early check-in and ask us to wait 10 minutes. The girl then spots Emmett on my back - "You have TWO babies?!!? Oh my goodness! OK, I need to get you a room RIGHT NOW!" Nothing beats the service you get with small cute people.

10th floor. Kasper is fascinated with our room. There's a microwave. A refrigerator. And a window with a view of water towers (on top of the buildings across the street)!

He says, "Let's just hang our in the hotel room all day." Uh, nope. The city awaits! We pack up and roll out.

We check out Times Square and head to Central Park. Kasper enjoys one of the many playgrounds.

We press on. Next stop (after a bit of wandering - that impaired sense of direction is a killer), is the Central Park Zoo. It was small and expensive but, then again, we are comparing it to the gigantic and free National Zoo. Polar bears, penguins, snow monkeys - it was cool.

We stopped and had unimpressive pizza to ensure that Kasper and Emmett were fueled for the walk home (30+ blocks). And, down 5th Ave we went. Ordered more (tastier) pizza and feasted in the room

Monday: Emmett is up early and so are the flower guys! It turns out that West 28th is where the flower wholesalers are. Everything was gorgeous.

Patrick went off to his training. The boys and I hit the road. We bought blueberries and bananas from a vendor on the street (love that!) and visited Madison Square Park.

Kasper liked the triangle building (Flat Iron Building). They were building another tower close by with a crane that was about 30 stories up - Kasper was enthralled. We then wandered downtown. More window shopping. Kasper spotted a bobcat that was outfitted to be used as a jackhammer. It was very cool. He's still talking about it. We had a nice long stop at a 'private' playground where we just happened to wander in as someone unlocked the gate.

A stroll around NYU (man, college kids are YOUNG!), a stop at Psling NY and eventually landed in Soho. Soho seemed very fabulous - a little too fabulous for one kid in the stroller and one kid on my back. We turned about and set sail uptown.

We rested in the hotel room for a while (as you can see, Kasper knows how to enjoy a hotel bed) and Patrick returned.

We then traveled to the dark side - Toys R Us Times Square. Holy temple to the gods of marketing & advertising! Kasper and Patrick rode the indoor ferris wheel.

And we shopped. And shopped. We got a bite to eat with Patrick's co-worker and headed back downtown to the hotel.

Tuesday: Up, Patrick to training, everything packed and checked out by 10am. Thankfully, the hotel will hold the luggage while we gallivant for the day.

Now, I take the kids on the Metro here. No problem. It's all color-coded, you rarely transfer, it's public transit for dummies. But the subway? The NYC Subway? I've been on the subway exactly once and it was 10 years ago. However, I was NOT walking 55 blocks to the children's museum. So we did it! It helped that the station was at the end of the block and it was a straight shot uptown. Nevertheless, I coasted on a subway-riding cloud of accomplishment for the rest of day.

The Children's Museum of Manhattan. Expensive but fun. Kasper really enjoyed himself. For hours. And hours. The photos really speak for themselves here.





Then we walked across Central Park. The Great Lawn is lovely and very green. The park is definitely not flat, which the 75+ pounds of kids and gear I was hauling really accentuated. I shopped while Kasper slept in the corner in his stroller (I 'know' the store owner from online - it's a crunchy uptown hippy spot). Eventually we made our way downtown and met up with Patrick. We strolled back down 5th & 6th Avenues, picked up our luggage and joined the crowds surging towards Penn Station. Our train was a bit late, but we were rolling for home by 7:20pm.

Emmett slept halfway. Kasper didn't sleep at all(!). The train was very empty so we sat in business class in the cool seats that face each other. We hit DC at 10:30pm-ish and a Red Cap porter drove us all the way to our car in the parking garage (again - traveling with small children brings our the best in some folks).



We're safe, we're sound and we're headed for Maine next week. Oh boy...