Making the Most of Winter

This winter has been cooooold and snowy. Rather than gripe about the weather, I've made a conscious effort to embrace in by doing outdoor activities. We've cross country skied many times and made it out snowshoeing at Hunters Creek Park a few weeks ago. We were with our usual outdoor buddies, Tim and Laura Magee. 

My little snuggle buddy snoozed most of the time.

After we finished our jaunt, Elliott had a great time sliding headfirst down this snowbank. 

He ended up with a brush burn on his chin from the sliding.

Everyone's favorite part of our jaunts is going out for bacon breakfast at the Iron Kettle. Elliott wanted to hold Lucy. He was actually holding her but I kept my hand nearby.

The following day, we headed down to Rock City to go cross country skiing.

Lucy all ready for her trip (aka nap).

Our out-and-back ski led us to this awesome rock formation.

We wandered around on foot for a short while before the kids melted and we headed back out.

Elliott loves Tim!

And snow!

A rare shot of Jesse and me. With Lucy!

Elliott explored the rocks with company from 4 of the 5 dogs.

The deep snow was a bit rough for Elliott to navigate.

Elliott really wanted to walk on our way out. Barrett and Cindy humored him for a while and helped him along. All five dogs in this shot (Tim and Laura have three; we had Dutch and Humphrey who was staying with us for the week).

Then Elliott wanted to ski. Jesse accomplished this impressive feat. He could not move his skis without knocking Elliott over. He pushed with his left hand and Tim gave him push on the right. Jesse eventually convinced Elliott to get back in the pack with the promise of going fast down a big hill. The huge grin on my face?? I was breastfeeding Lucy while skiing. A supermom moment!

Almost back to the car.

Laura in motion.

Lucy got some Daddy snuggles back at the car.

Our post-ski meal was a great lunch at the Ellicottville Brewing Company. Lucy loved the lights!

Roadtrip to DC

Sometimes I take TONS of pictures of our everyday life. Sometimes we go on fun adventures and I basically take no pictures. This is the latter. We went to DC for the weekend of March 1st and I took about 20 pictures the whole time. Jesse and I lived in DC before we had kids and this was our first time back together since we moved (we have both been back for business reasons). We have so many friends and family down there that I actually had to make a list of get togethers and we still missed some people.

On Friday, we ventured to the National Air and Space Museum. Elliott's favorite part? The escalator. And maybe the elevator, too. He did like watching the videos of aircraft takeoff and land on a carrier deck.
Funny escalator story. On that Saturday, we took the Metro in to another museum. Jesse and Elliott rode up the escalator out of the station while Lucy and I took the stroller up the elevator. When stepping onto the escalator, Elliott exclaimed, "it's stairs . . . that move!!" Jesse and the other adults within earshots were very entertained by his discovery.

Even little planes look big there.

Running, running, running.

We tried to get Elliott to stand by the nose of this plane but he opted for the flight attendant display instead.

With the big planes.

The real reason behind our trip to DC was to attend an engagement party for our good friends Toby and Steve. Toby is my best friend from college. They surprised everyone and tied the knot at the engagement party! It was wonderful! We were so happy to be there for the big event.

Steve, checking out his new bride and her baby bump. Baby Hedger is due in May!

On Sunday, we found a playground and Elliott was eager to get his wiggles out.

Making some friends.

I got nervous when he first started climbing on here.

But he is an agile little monkey!

The cartrip when amazingly well. We borrowed a seat-mounted DVD player from the Ortmans and brought big headphones for Elliott. He was happily entertained by Nemo, Thomas, and other movies while we enjoyed relative quiet. Lucy was a champ, too. We had a perfect system where I would pump and bottle feed her to reduce stops.

We hope to have some other traveling adventures soon!

Oh, and as for that goal of being caught up by the time Jesse left? Fail. He left yesterday. Not caught up.

Late February Fun

Jesse is going away in a few days and I'm on a mission to catch up here before he goes. That way he can see new stuff while he's away instead of reliving what we did while he was with us. So, wrapping up February . . . 

We went to the Magees' house for brunch on a sunny Sunday. Elliott "helped" Tim feed vegetable scraps to the chickens.

Laura held a chicken so Elliott could pet it.

Lucy had her Nexus interview in Niagara Falls, NY. Nexus is a frequent traveller card for the US/Canada border. Getting one requires a background check and interview. Lucy's interview was very intense (insert sarcasm tone). We made a family trip of it and went to see the falls.

It was a very chilly day to be there.

Beautiful and frigid.

But we had fun! We will have to go back when it is warmer outside so Elliott can really understand the magic of the Falls.

Holly works in Niagara Falls so we met her for lunch!

Lucy rolls all around these days. She does not limit herself to the activity mat.

Apparently the ottoman is very fun and she needed to get closer to it.

We've been working on the potty a little bit more but not with any consistent success.

Just sitting and reading a book. (Yes, I did attempt to strip the wallpaper and paint the bathroom over TWO YEARS AGO. No, it was not completed.)

Happy girl!

Dinner with the Ortmans

I talk to Holly on the phone almost every day. A day without talking to each other is an anomaly. However, we really don't see each other that often. With kids, work (for Holly), school (for kids and Holly), etc., our lives get away from us. We made a point to have dinner at our house a couple of weeks ago. Madness? Yes. Fun? Most definitely.

Elliott was excited to wear his safety glasses and apron again while the boys were playing with cars.

These boys love being together. But they get CRAZY! 

Oh!

My beautiful Lucy and me. It was a treat to have Holly grab the camera and take some pictures.

Mike got some snuggles with the girls. Penny was still getting over a cold and a black eye so she looks a little rundown.

Penny going in for a kiss.

Cousin love.

Aggressive hugging.

The boys were being wild after dinner. One of the adults had the brilliant idea to turn a movie on. It worked like a charm.

Mostly naked babies. Getting the girls ready for bed.

Hey, Lucy, want to taste my finger?

Sizing them up. Penny still has two pounds and a few inches on Lucy. Lucy is definitely ahead in waist and thigh circumference, much of that is age and mobility.

Getting to know Lucy's feet.

These two are going to be great buds.

"Why Emily doesn't have four kids."

Lots of love for Uncle Mike.

"Why Mike doesn't have four kids."

My kids are fans of their uncle.

Look at these cuties. The girls look a little unhappy here.

We had a great evening with the Ortmans. Thanks for coming over!