Adams Sibling Rivalry

Happy New Year

2012-01-22T13:47:00.000-05:00

Chinese New Year that is. To celebrate, we went to dim sum brunch this morning and then played in the snow. Snow is great for the new year - makes everything new... and FUN!

Twas the night

2012-01-22T12:27:00.000-05:00

My adventures with a camera

2012-01-22T12:22:00.000-05:00

New Year

2012-01-13T21:41:00.000-05:00

Our quiet New Year's Eve got more excited than expected.

There was an impromptu neighborhood block party with flashy lights and everything. Unfortunately it was because of a kitchen fire. Fortunately, the fire was contained quickly and no one was hurt.

It was a 3+ alarm fire with trucks blocking the entire street!

We stuck with having fun with the Christmas lights. Davin and I had fun playing with them but were sad to take the Christmas tree down. Davin loved reading Duck and Goose Its Christmas Time and point to our tree at the end when Duck and Goose decorate their tree.

Can't wait for next Christmas!

Xmas 2011

2012-01-12T21:40:00.000-05:00

Santa came to visit us. I guess he forgave my little fits because I was really really good and helped around the house.

Santa left a mess on our carpet!!

He left more than just footprints though!! We also got great presents. Thanks everyone! The super capes are some of our favorites.

Beware... here come Super Adams!

The Great Davinito

Blocks, blocks and more blocks

Choo Choo. Davin loves Choo Choos.

Its a Christmas miracle... we played together and shared!

Not as miraculous... we're super cute!

It would have taken a miracle to get our new kite up. We tried on Christmas, and again 3 other times, with no luck. I guess we'll have to wait for the kite festival to see it really fly!

Instead we had fun playing on the playground.

... before going back home and opening the second round of presents and skyping with all of our grandparents, Auntie Ea and Uncle Jesse.

I hope you had a great holiday!!

Christmas Eve 2011

2012-01-12T21:24:00.000-05:00

A quiet Christmas Eve with the family.

Following the Poehls family tradition, we got to open a couple of presents on Xmas Eve.

I guess Davin didn't like the tradition. He wanted more presents (or just should have gone to sleep).

Oh tannenbaum

2011-12-23T21:15:00.000-05:00

We bought a Christmas Tree when Grandma Ai came to visit, but she left before we could decorate... so it was up to Davin and I to make it beautiful!

Davin got to put on the star this year.

Then Mommy tried to get a family portrait. Amazingly, Daddy was helpful... I was the one that ran away from the camera.

Brookside garden

2011-12-22T20:46:00.001-05:00

This year we figured out the key to the Brookside garden lights-- go just before the lights go on. :-)

We had an awesome time.

Look Mommy - it looks like you're tubeworms!

Davin threw a fit when we left the choo choo trains. The boy is OBSESSED! He LOVES trains!

Cookie Cookie Cookie

2011-12-21T20:46:00.000-05:00

We started getting in the holiday spirit when Grandma Aileen was here... something about having family around. We went to see the Mormon Temple lights (though Grandma got them confused with the Brookside Garden lights... maybe we can take you there next year!)

And we made holiday cookies! I got to help mix and then cut them out and decorate them. Davin and I liked to eat the sprinkles... but some got on the cookies too.

Yum, yum.

my pix with G'ma

2011-12-18T22:38:00.000-05:00

4 years and a grandma

2011-12-11T22:35:00.000-05:00

I'm a super big girl now. 4 years old!! Woohoo. We went over to my friend Ben's house (whose birthday is on the SAME exact day as MINE) to celebrate. We made homemade pizza and played a whole bunch. I got some great presents - thank you!

I've been playing with one of them a lot today - a new digital camera that is just for me!!
Grandma Aileen came to visit this weekend, so I got to take lots of pictures of all of the fun things we did. (well at least lots of pictures). We picked out an Xmas tree - everyone voted for one tree but insisted on the taller one... we got the taller one and its AWESOME. I can't wait to finish decorating it.

We did other arts and crafts to decorate. We showed Grandma how to make 3D snowflakes, and we finished making this years ornaments to give away - penguins, polar bears and snowmen. Grandma showed us how to make paper chains. And then we all baked holiday cookies. The best part was the sprinkles! It was really nice to enjoy family for the holidays.

We also went downtown. We tried to go the building museum, but there was a special event and it was closed... so we showed Grandma the choo choo trains at the National Botanical Garden and played at the Mall.

A great weekend! We'll work on downloading MY pictures to post soon! Thanks for visiting Grandma Aileen. We miss you already.

Capital

2011-12-01T22:12:00.002-05:00

Big boy

2011-12-01T22:11:00.000-05:00

Davin was up early with Daddy one morning. They were super busy while Mommy and I slept. They worked on building a new mailbox (actually mommy & daddy built in the night before). Davin is really good at measuring stuff.

After they were satisfied with the mailbox, they started working on breakfast. Yummy waffles with strawberries.... and a flour covered Davin.

Choo Chooooo

2011-12-01T21:58:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we created a monster... a Davin monster. He LOVES choo choo trains. His new favorite word is 'Choo Choo'. I can't really blame him though because the train display at the National Botanical Gardens was pretty awesome.

There were 5 (or more) over head bridges where trains rumbled by.

My favorite were the fairy houses around the trees and between the train tracks.

THOMAS!!! LOOK LOOK!

We even got to look inside some of the fairy houses. Such cute little chairs.

The little yellow car zipping around was Davin's favorite. He just kept laughing and laughing.

There was even a waterfall!

Look even more trains around the Christmas Tree. They were everywhere. We loved it!!

Davin is train crazy now. He's read the Little Engine that Could every night and he even brought a wooden train to daycare today.

If you're in the DC area, we highly recommend the train display at the National Botanical Garden... and its FREE!

A year

2011-11-20T22:01:00.000-05:00

And of course a year is a really long time... especially for Davin and me!

Almost exactly a year ago, Davin and I went to the zoo.

A year later...

We've all changed quite a bit - even the panda!

Older and more adventurous!

2 weeks

2011-11-20T21:50:00.000-05:00

In fall, even two weeks makes a huge difference. The trees were still a blaze with red, gold and green. But the leaves were flying everywhere - due to the wind... the rakes... and the leaf fights.

Now, sadly, most of the leaves have been collected or mulched and the trees are bare. It looks a lot like winter.

A month

2011-11-20T21:34:00.000-05:00

What a difference a month makes! A month ago, we were playing outside in the yard in t-shirts and dresses. The swing is always a favorite.

I started to get good at riding my bike (usually I do wear my Dora helmet... so no comments on that please.)

Our dahlia flowers were in full bloom.

And Mommy and Daddy finally painted the shed.

The side yard was quite cute for a while - yummy chard and eggplants in the garden with the new shed as a backdrop.

Oh Canada: Last of the Alaska Trip

2011-11-02T20:45:00.000-04:00

Our last port of call was Victoria in Canada - Davin's first international foray. We both whole heartedly embraced Canada - it was WARM!!

And the gardens were gorgeous, some of them even had peacocks running around!

Finally, it was time for us to say goodbye to the ship and to Grandma and Grandpa. By the way... our ship totally won the pirate ship race!!

Halloween Madness

2011-10-31T20:13:00.001-04:00

Getting ready to decorate for Halloween. I tried out the scary skeleton arms. Davin decided the skeleton needed some music to cheer him up.

Davin couldn't quite decide what to be for halloween... a devil...

a panda bear...

I knew all along that I wanted to be a FAIRY!!

Daddy ended up stealing Davin's panda bear costume (and some of the neighbor's bamboo)

So Davin munched on candy as a Penguino.

We went to a neighborhood Halloween party on Sunday which was awesome! My friend Maddy (she lives two houses away) dressed up like a fairy too!

After the costume parade, we decorated pumpkins...

waited in line patiently to get our faces painted. I got a yellow bat and a yellow spider. Scary!

Then we danced the night away. We played freeze dance. Davin even stopped dancing when the music stopped... too bad he then started jumping up and down to try to get the music back on. Finally we had to head home because it got really cold. Davin may have been a penguin, but he wasn't quite ready for Antarctica.

brownies

2011-10-30T20:34:00.000-04:00

Davin and I both love to help Daddy cook. I'm of course better at it, but Davin is getting good, well okay, at stirring.

Kitschy Ketchikan

2011-10-23T12:15:00.000-04:00

Ketchikan was very touristy. Most of what was there was shopping, shopping and more shopping. (We didn't take any pix of that part.) There was a cute area with shops along the river.

There were lots of salmon in the river too.

They even made a 'ladder' to help the salmon make it up the river

There were so many, that Mommy finally got her picture of a salmon jumping out of the water.

There were a couple of good totem poles in the town too.

This one was our favorite. I love to colors and the cool eye.

Beautiful Sitka (Part 2 - totems)

2011-10-23T12:07:00.000-04:00

While Mommy and Daddy were kayaking, Davin and I hung out with Grandma and Grandpa.

We went on the Birds, Bears and Barnacles tour. We got to see lots of raptors and bears and then went to an aquarium. Both, Davin and I had fun poking at things in the touch tank.

We met up with Mommy & Daddy then went to see the totem pole park after we had lunch. It was just like Little Totem in Little Einsteins. We had to run (well, I was on Daddy's shoulders while he ran) so we could make it to the park and back before the ship left.

This totem pole was being restored.

I didn't know that the eskimos wore funny top hats!

They were super tall. Daddy and Davin almost hurt their necks looking at the top!

We made it on the tender back to the ship. Aren't we super cute?!

Busted Glacier, but Beautiful Sitka (Part 1 - kayaking)

2011-10-17T14:52:00.000-04:00

The winds were 'too high' to get into see the Hubbard Glacier - the advertised sunbathe while listening to a glacier calving spot. It was interesting as there were no white caps in sight -- Mommy says thats a good indicator of how windy it is (aka not windy). I'll take her word for it.

So we headed off to Sitka - our favorite stop of the cruise. Mommy & Daddy ditched us with Grandma & Grandpa while they went kayaking.

It was beautiful in one of the little back bays.

There were salmon everywhere (orangy/red blurs in the water).

And they were jumping like crazy. Mommy kept trying to get the perfect picture of a fish out of water... but she mostly got lots of splashes.

The weather was beautiful... until it started pouring on the way back. Luckily they got rain slickers and had chowder and hot cider in the floating cabin when they returned.

We met up at the dock back to the ship for an afternoon together and to tell them about our adventures.

Reunion

2011-10-12T20:39:00.000-04:00

We went to California last week for Mommy's 10th college reunion. Man is she old. I don't mind though. I had TONS of fun. Mommy's friends had lots of kids too. It was one big crazy house with 7 UCSB girls, 7 hubbies/fiances, and 7 kids. We'll get pictures up after the Alaska trip is done. If you're too impatient and want to see pix now, check out Wyatt Taft and Erin Sheehay's blogs (on the left panel under Friends). I got to play with them all weekend long.

We also got to visit Grandma Aileen and Grandpa Ken. We all had fun playing in LA while Daddy was in San Diego for work. I also got to play with my great aunts, great uncle Duane, and Mesu. Too bad we couldn't see Mesu's grandbabies too. Maybe next time.

I keep asking Mommy & Daddy to move to California... they keep saying "maybe... we'll work on it."

rain rain go away

2011-09-22T21:14:00.000-04:00

Alaska was cold and raining. Just we finally made it to Alaska after a day at sea.

Our main goal for the day was to see a glacier. And we saw one - Mendenhall Glacier. The glacier used to come out past the waterfall - only 40 years ago.

The glacier water was COLD!! Usually there was a path where we were standing. Juneau got so much water it was flooded to the one of the top 10 highest levels.

Good view from on top of Daddy's shoulders.

Davin got to be carried around the whole time. He loved the backpack.... and it kept Mommy warm.

We also saw tons of wildlife near the glacier. My first porcupine - it looked prickly.

We were bemoaning not seeing a bear as we waited for the bus back down to town. So we took a mini walk around some boardwalks, and up walks a young bear. He went right past us (Daddy could have touched him!) and then under the boardwalk towards the stream.

Waterfalls EVERYWHERE!!

Playing and jumping along the water in town.

Heading back to the ship to dry off and warm up... and find Grandma and Grandpa to tell them about the successful bear quest and see if they saw an Orca.

Pirate ship race

2011-09-19T21:04:00.001-04:00

The morning after hanging out in Seattle, we went to the pirate ship. It was huge and had flags everywhere. Our ship was blue and there was a white ship next to it. They were lined up with flags ready for the race.

Grandpa Ken gave Davin a tour of the ship. Grandpa had to hold him so he didn't try to jump in the water through the railings.

Sunbathing.

We had lots of fun jumping on Mommy & Daddy's bed and checking out the scenery going by.

When we weren't reading, Davin was learning about money and cash.

I think Mikey likes it.

Needle in space

2011-09-18T20:56:00.000-04:00

Off to an Alaskan adventure. I kept asking if we were in Alaska, but apparently we had to go to Seattle first. But it was okay because I got my very own big girl bed in the hotel. It was AWESOME!

Grandma and Grandpa were in the hotel too, right upstairs. That's definitely my grandma!

After a good night's sleep, we headed out to see Seattle. The famous needle.

Right next to it was a Children's Museum. It was great. I got to be a princess.

And practice some small craft sailing - good to know when preparing to go on a pirate ship (aka cruise).

Then we went down to the waterfront ...

and checked out Pike's Place.

Our first totem pole.

I know Pike's Place is know for fish... but I loved all the fresh veggies & fruit and flowers galore. Dahlias were in season and were everywhere for a $1 a stem.

Back... and to school

2011-08-31T12:52:00.000-04:00

Blogging has been light because we've been on a vacation with Grandma Aileen and Grandpa Ken to Alaska! We went on a big pirate boat. I'll tell you more about it when mommy finishes her paper and we all get over jet lag.

The really exciting news though is that today was my first day at big girl school!! It wasn't really a full school day since Mommy came with me but I did get to meet a bunch of kids and play a lot. Its going to be great. Tomorrow is really school, just us kids. I can't wait!

and underground

2011-08-03T22:20:00.000-04:00

For the afternoon, we tried to beat the heat by going underground into a giant cave - Lurray Caverns. It was pretty darn cool - temperature-wise and otherwise. There were ICICLES hanging from the ceiling!

My favorite were the reflections! I thought they were coming out of the bottom... but it was an underground lake. Awesome.

Davin was fascinated too. He kept pointing and squeaking.

We were sad to come up into the heat (still only low 90s instead of 107 in the city). I was comforted by a yummy Popsicle.

After all the excitement from the day, Davin and I both went to bed quickly. Unfortunately, Mommy & Daddy woke up Davin when they came to bed and then none of us slept for about 45 minutes. We almost drove back to DC (only 80 miles), but we stuck it out and made it through. Davin and I were both sad to pack up camp the next morning after a yummy sausage and eggs breaky. We were going to try another hike, but it started raining so we headed back home. On the way home, I started a new tradition... collecting wildflowers.

Apparently it wasn't raining there... it was in the 100s again. It was a perfect time to try out Davin's birthday present from Grandma Aileen & Grandpa Ken. A great mini-pool, sprinkler playground!

Into the woods...

2011-08-03T22:03:00.000-04:00

After discovering the forest down the street, I've been super excited about going camping. And finally Mommy and Daddy got the courage (read... were stupid and crazy enough) to take Davin & me camping!! They decided to go during probably the HOTTEST weekend this summer. They said that we didn't go far, but it seemed like a long car ride (especially in the traffic on I-66). Luckily we had Cheetos to snack on. FINALLY, we made it there!! Shenandoah National Park. Yeah! One of the best parts was that it was cool... relatively. It was only 82 when we arrived instead of the 102 in the city.

Our new tent in all its glory. REI - need a pix for your website?

The first night was a little out of control - since we got in at 7:30pm and had to make dinner and pitch the tent before Davin and melted down (or Davin jumping into the fire). Mommy & Daddy did okay. Davin screamed for less than a half an hour before going to bed and well... I eventually went to sleep... maybe by 1 am. The morning went better. Davin woke up with a HUGE SMILE on his face and started pointing outside. He was so excited to wake up and see a forest outside the windows. I wasn't quite as excited to wake up. Like Daddy, I don't "do" mornings. I do "do" playing with kids around the campground and chasing after butterflies.

Davin checking out his 1st pair of shoes.

Despite the heat warnings, we went for a 'kid-friendly hike'. I would have to disagree with the lady who said this was good for 'little ones'. I complained continuously... even going downhill. (Yep, I'm that girl.) I DIDn't complain though once we found the stream. Daddy was disappointed because he hoped for more water. But it was enough for Davin & me.

How gorgeous is this!?

Playing in a different kind of pool

The butterflies loved my shoes.

And me too!

Oh deer.

2011-07-20T21:12:00.000-04:00

Last night we went for a walk and saw a deer. We recently discovered that there's a path into the forest at the end of our road... only two blocks away! The path leads through the forest to a flowing stream. Right at the entrance to the path, there was a beautiful deer standing, waiting for us. We walked slowly and the deer let us get within about 10 feet. Daddy wouldn't let us pet it though - "we don't pet wild animals". It was still really cool though.

... Davin thought it was a big doggie. I think we might have convinced him it was a deer by the end of the walk.

Fourth of July

2011-07-12T22:10:00.002-04:00

We walked to the high school to watch the fireworks again this year. We were worried that Davin would be scared and/or cranky - he was cranky all day. But as soon as we saw all the people and kids, we were both running around like crazies. I begged and pleaded and finally convinced Daddy to use all of his cash to buy us some glow necklaces. I really wanted the light up swords but Davin and I decided the glow necklaces could be swords too.

When the fireworks started, Davin was a little scared and wanted to sit on Mommy's lap. I was on Daddy's lap. After a little while, he decided they were okay and went back to running around and playing. Every once and a while he'd look up. He missed a lot of beautiful fireworks!!

That's Davin holding and shaking a glow necklace while watching the fireworks.

Zeus

2011-07-11T21:34:00.001-04:00

I've been afraid of the thunder and lightening this summer. To try to help me calm down, Mommy told me about the Greeks who believed that there was a man named Zeus who made the thunder and lightening. Daddy said he had to let the plants know that wonderful rain is coming so he makes lots of noise and flashes them with light.

Tonight there was a big rain storm coming during our walk. Daddy carried me and Davin home really really fast so we didn't get caught in it. I told him it was okay... it was only Zeus.

After my shower, Mommy said that the storm had almost passed us. I replied, "Oh, is that Zeus' bum then?"

A day early

2011-06-26T22:48:00.002-04:00

We celebrated Davin's 1st birthday as a family a day early because Mommy is going to Maine tomorrow and we'll celebrate at daycare on Davin's actual birthday. We all got to go downtown and play at the building museum.

My favorite part (and I think Davin's too) was a picnic lunch at a fountain in the sculpture garden!! We LOVE playing in the water, especially on such a gorgeous day!

I'm practicing my modeling poses.

Then, at my request (for Davin of course), we went to the animal museum (Natural History Museum). Davin liked the giraffe.

He liked this "doggie" too. He wouldn't believe me that it was a porcupine... he just kept saying 'doggie'. He's a little slow.

And then after both of us took naps on the way home, Mommy snuck out of the car to buy us birthday cupcakes.

Davin kept trying to grab the candle rather than blowing it out. I had to help him... see comment above.

He sure was fast at making a mess though!!

He decided Daddy should eat it instead of him.

I ate my pink cupcake without making a mess.

After everyone else had one, he finally decided to try the cupcake. I think he liked it.

Finally, before bed and then end of a long and super fun birthday, Davin played with his presents that had arrived on time - like this fire truck. It super cute cuz he tries to make car and siren noises when he plays with his toys! What a big boy!

Happy day

2011-06-24T22:47:00.000-04:00

Happy anniversary Mommy & Daddy! We love you.

Evening walks

2011-06-23T21:48:00.000-04:00

Every night we go for a walk before bedtime. One of my favorite places to go is to the kitty house. There are 9 kitties - only 3 are nice though.

We also like to look and pet the flowers. Lamb's ear is SOOOO SOOOOOFT!

And today I got a good roll down the hill in someone's front yard.

We often bump into friends to play with as well... then it can turn into a LONG walk. I love long walks!!

yum... lapin

2011-06-21T21:41:00.000-04:00

We were ravenous and couldn't wait for dinner...

Official toddler

2011-06-18T15:29:00.000-04:00

Davin started taking his first steps a couple of days after he turned 11 months old - I of course was doing that by 10 months old. Now he's really starting to toddle everywhere. Soon we'll be able to play chase!

Bethesda Imaginarium

2011-06-04T22:23:00.001-04:00

I love DC. There are always tons of family friendly events and place to go, usually for free! Today we went to Imaginarium Bethesda.
I got my face painted with a unicorn. I made a musical instrument and a clay cupcake (vanilla & chocolate). We shook our booties to live music and then made our own 'music'.

The fun was finished off with some yummy tapas at one of our favorite local restuarants - Jaleo. Yum yum.

Cool down

2011-06-03T22:06:00.001-04:00

It was HOT this past week - breaking records. We've spent nearly every day at the pool and/or in the sprinkler to cool down. Davin loves playing water nearly as much as I do.

Memorial Day

2011-05-31T22:06:00.000-04:00

Per my request (pleading, begging, whining...) we had a picnic on Memorial Day. We decided to go somewhere new - Great Falls National Park. It was a quick car ride. The longest part was waiting in line to get into the park.

The waterfall was HUGE!

You could tell that there has been a lot of rain in the mountains and at home recently.

It was really hot so we had to stay well hydrated - the park ranger told us so.

I did a little extra curricular rock climbing. Check out my balance (and cute sunglasses).

And then of course... a picnic. Yummy cheese, bread, hummus, veggies and watermelon. Perfect for a hot summer day.

Davin was showing off his standing skills for some people walking by. (Yes he was shaking his booty too!)

We walked around a bit before heading home to cool down in the A/C and sprinklers. A very good day.

Cutie pie

2011-05-27T21:49:00.000-04:00

Hangin' out in the front yard

2011-05-25T21:46:00.000-04:00

Now that the weather is nice our favorite thing to do is hang out in front of the house. We meet lots of neighbors and have fun swinging, sliding and just messing around.

Teeth!

2011-05-20T21:26:00.000-04:00

Davin has been a super cranky puss. I have been too, but in my defense I did fall and bleed -- it was my biggest boo-boo yet. A good inch across scrape on my knee. I couldn't walk yesterday and Mommy had to pick me up from daycare. Don't worry. Its better today... but back to Davin. He now has 8 teeth! He got 4 of them in within a month. It was rough.

At least he seems happy now learning how to brush them!

Over the rainbow

2011-05-19T21:41:00.000-04:00

I saw my first rainbow tonight! I can't wait for it to come back.

You probably can't see it but there are 2!!

Kitchen

2011-05-19T21:33:00.000-04:00

Its supposed to be my kitchen from Grandma Aileen and Grandpa Ken. But in good Adams family tradition, the male likes to cook. Davin loves playing with the kitchen with me.

His favorite thing is really opening and closing the doors though.

Hip hip horray for me!

2011-05-15T21:18:00.000-04:00

Davin likes to clap for all of the good things I do.

He likes to make other sounds too...

He's such a BOY!!

Just cut it

2011-05-12T21:04:00.013-04:00

I love to use scissors but Mommy wouldn't let me do it my self. Instead, Davin and I went to go get hair cuts at Cartoon Cuts. They gave me my first haircut and now it was Davin's turn. His hair was getting a little out of control.

He was super excited to be there.

I got a special shampoo from an elephant! That doesn't happen everyday.

It looks like he's staying still... but he wasn't. He was super squirmy because he was so excited.

I however was super serious and didn't move unless she told me to. I'm a good girl.

Way too excited!

I'm so cute.

Kite festival

2011-05-05T21:06:00.000-04:00

We went downtown with Grandma Lily and Grandpa Will to see the kite festival and the end of the cherry blossom festival.

After flying a kite for a while, we walked down to the carousel.

Grandma and I rode round and round in the princess carriage. We went back a couple days later and I was brave and rode on one of the horses because it had a seat belt.

We tried flying a kite again, but there wasn't much wind on the Mall. It was better by the Washington monument.

Davin passed out while I was on the carousel.

He as not a happy baby when he woke up.

It was still a great day downtown with Grandma and Grandpa.

Easter

2011-05-04T22:10:00.000-04:00

About a month after our first egg dying with Nanna and Grandpa Jim, I got to dye eggs again... for Easter this time.

The Easter bunny hid the eggs and brought some more eggs the next morning. Davin even got to find some.

And there was CANDY inside some of them. YUMMY.

After finding all of the eggs, we went to the botanical gardens for a picnic and to enjoy the nice day.

Meat

2011-05-04T21:56:00.000-04:00

I don't really like meat, so it works out well. Davin just eats all of my meat... and Mommy's meat... and Daddy's meat...

spring is here

2011-05-03T22:12:00.000-04:00

Our garden a couple of weeks ago...

Messing around

2011-05-02T22:27:00.000-04:00

Alligator belt

First real word?

2011-05-01T12:01:00.000-04:00

Davin has been trying to be like me for a while now.. who wouldn't want to be. He's tried to talk like a big boy for a while now. Aside from a couple of random times when everyone swore he said banana (Dec 2010) and a couple of other words and ma ma, da da, a duh..., he hasn't been successful. Now, he's mastered his first word - "Daddy". Daddy keeps asking me what I want... but Davin was the one who was calling him. This might get confusing fast. Mommy is still in Mass, so she missed this new achievement. Davin will have to show off for her when she gets back today.

Grandpa Jim & Nanna

2011-04-20T21:49:00.001-04:00

Way back at the end of March, Grandpa Jim and Nanna came to visit us.

They brought some of Daddy's old toys for us to play with.

His old rainbow puzzle with his name in it.

And we already had Daddy's old wooden trains... but Davin has rediscovered them and loves them way more than I ever did.

We also showed off our skills.

I can twirl like a princess.

Davin is still working on walking.

Daddy was teaching me how to juggle.

Davin just eats them though.

We showed them our bad sides too...

Floppy baby.

I wasn't listening well.

But it was a lot of fun. We colored Easter eggs... a month early.

And had fun playing at the froggy and spider park.

They spent a lot of time helping Mommy and Daddy building a shed too. I wanted it to be a new playhouse for me... but Mommy and Daddy are being selfish and said no. (The window is in now... but the door still isn't quite up... almost there... as of 4/20/11)

Back?

2011-04-20T21:34:00.000-04:00

Its been an insane month since our last post. Sorry for those of you who are going through 'withdrawls'....
Luckily, most of my grandparents have visited us during that time, so you can't be too bad yet!

But we're back now and will work hard to tell you about the last month and whats going on now.

To start with... tonight was tons of fun (until the end). It was so beautiful out, Mommy and Daddy scratched dinner and ordered pizza so we could all play outside. While we were outside, my new friends Sydney and her family (baby Zoe, Sheryl, and Scott) stopped by and hung out with us - swinging and playing with sidewalk chalk. Then we had a yummy pizza dinner and went for a walk. We didn't get far. We finally found my birthday buddy Ben's house. He was outside with his neighbors playing in a sandbox. I convinced Mommy and Daddy to hang out, have a glass of wine, and let me play with Ben and Hannah. Hannah's brother Evan joined us too. Everything was great until... well I was too tired (past my bedtime) and I had an accident and had to go home. :-( We're still working on not waiting until the last minute to tell Mommy and Daddy I have to go to the potty when I'm tired... uh... I'll do better next time.

Building

2011-04-14T22:25:00.000-04:00

While Daddy's away...

2011-04-07T22:28:00.000-04:00

we will play!

Daddy went to Orlando to see Mickey Mouse without us the first week of April. So instead of getting mad and jealous, we made beautiful pictures for Daddy's birthday.

And we went downtown to see the Cherry Blossoms. At first Davin didn't want to be downtown... he still wanted to be sleeping in the car.

but he eventually warmed up to the idea... some chips helped.

He also liked all of the water and fountains. I liked the stars... I don't really understand how stars are heroes and dead people though.

Playing mommy...

Shh... don't tell anyone that I picked a flower... everyone else was doing it too!

Strange clouds...

I like climbing trees... but I think this one was a little too high. It would have been easier if Daddy was there to help hold me up.

Holding the rail.

This seemed easier to climb.

It was a good day. It would of course had been better (and easier on Mommy) with Daddy.

temporarily out of service

2011-03-31T20:56:00.000-04:00

So apparently, there is a limit on how many pictures you can upload... and we've reached that quota. We'll work on remedying this as soon as possible.

9 mo check up... for Davin

2011-03-29T13:18:00.000-04:00

We went to the doctor's office this morning, but today it was Davin's appointment. :-( I didn't get to play with the doctor's fun toys - stethoscope, light, etc. :-( But Davin did. Diagnosis... he's healthy and active. Here are his latest stats for those who like to chart things (nerds... just like the mama).

Height 28", 45%
Weight 17 lbs 13 oz, 10%
Head circum 17.5", 25%

So he's of average height and lean with a little head. Same as me! The nurse said he was stronger than me though. He had a hard time holding him still... in Davin's defense, the nurse had just pricked his finger and given him a shot! I wouldn't want to hold still either.

The only good part for me was I still got a sticker!! :-) And, I can't really complain too much since I just went to the doctor last week because a cut on my head got infected. It was gross... but didn't really hurt. Its almost all better now... the miracle of yummy tasting antibiotics! (Yep, I'm one of those kids who LIKES taking medicine.)

the better to bite me with

2011-03-28T21:36:00.000-04:00

Davin now has four teeth... all the better to bite my toes. ouchy! I think he bites Mommy more though. Hopefully he'll be less cranky now. He's so whiny when he's teething. Good thing Nanna and G'pa Jim are here to give us both lots of attention and spoil us rotten.

walking... almost

2011-03-22T22:11:00.000-04:00

Crawling... a little late

2011-03-11T20:59:00.000-05:00

Davin's been crawling since the first week in January, but only now are we getting some video up. I figured it should be done before he starts walking!

Still learning how to crawl in January...

but it only took a few weeks to become an expert. Now, Davin and I have races. I still win of course.

Baltimore Stairs

2011-02-21T12:55:00.000-05:00

This weekend we went all the way up to Baltimore to see Auntie Anna and Luke. They were visiting Luke's cousin Lucie. We all had lots of fun playing together, though the trip to the duck pond was cold... and a duck bit me. It was Daddy's fault. By the end of the night, after some YUMMY pizza and cake, I didn't want to go home. Lucie and I tried to convince Mommy to let me stay for a sleep over, but mean Mommy said no. So I had to leave... full of yummy food and tired from so much fun with friends for the car ride home.

Davin also had a lot of fun playing. Though, I think his favorite thing was the stairs. They had lots of stairs, but in small increments. Davin first mastered the two stairs between the entry way and the play area. Then he conquered the three stairs between the entry way and the dining room/kitchen. You just can't stop this kid!

Standing...

2011-02-17T22:41:00.001-05:00

Hum... so I guess I haven't been doing a great job updating everyone. Davin has been pulling himself up to stand for weeks now... sometime at the middle/end of January. He's now starting to 'cruise'. He can cruise along the couch. His new favorite thing is to use something like my tow-mater truck or the laundry basket to "walk". He pushes it along and then takes steps behind it. He did this for the first time in LA at the beginning of the month using a laundry basket. It was too heavy with me in it, but we flipped it over and it was perfect.

Look one handed.

Welcome to the world, Baby boy Sicolo

2011-02-17T21:25:00.002-05:00

Baby Ava has a new baby brother! I hope she took good notes.

Amazing, we were just at his baby shower. Now, Baby boy Sicolo came out to play. Too bad we missed meeting you.

California - 7 Noah's Ark

2011-02-15T20:57:00.005-05:00

For our last full day in California, we went boating... on Noah's Ark at the Skirball Museum. First we went to a room with a crazy lady who told us that it was about to rain...

I didn't see any rain at first but there were lots of animals made out of crazy things... like fans, bath tubs, and dim sum steamers.

There was a bell in the middle of the deer... wierd.

Then we took a HUGE elevator down...

And then I started to get it... there was a HUGE boat... I'm mean ark...

Grandma and I made it rain and flood.

I made the two story tall giraffe's neck move back and forth.

Davin found a room made out of corn. Now if any peditricians are reading this and are concerned that a 7 month old is standing up... he stood up all by himself. Good luck getting him to sit down. He loves to be tall.

While Davin was playing, I got to work getting all the animals on the boat so they were safe.

It was a lot of work, so I met a new friend who helped me.

Eventually we got all the animals on and I joined Davin in the rooms made out of grains... again, wierd... but fun!

Did I mention the animals were strange... cool but strange...

Deeper in the ark there was a rope playground to climb on.

Davin found some blocks,

while I climbed...

and played...

and played... our 2 hours in the ark went by really fast. I'm not sure I know what Noah's Ark is, except fun.

Too bad it was our last day in California. We had lots of fun... the beach, parks, new friends, sleeping in a tent... so much fun. We can't wait to come back and visit again soon.

California - 6 Santa Monica

2011-02-14T20:43:00.001-05:00

Mommy went off to work again, so we hit the beach!

We didn't make it to Disneyland this trip because Davin was too small, but we did get to see Mickey and Minnie.

The pier had lots of great rides without all the lines and the ticket price! I rode a train with a clown or was it a hobo?

And the carousel! I didn't like the horses going up and down but did like riding in the princess sleigh. Davin took his first carousel ride with us.

But Davin's favorite part was the beach. He had his first sand experience a couple of days ago at the park. He ate the sand then and didn't like it (maybe the first thing he put in his mouth that he didn't like to eat...) so he just played in the sand at the beach.

He wasn't shy about going to explore. There were a few other older babies, but Davin was better at crawling and playing.

And we had a picnic. I love picnics!

After the picnic, grandma and I made a sand castle and splashed in the water... but it was COLD!

Overall, a great day at the beach! I can't wait to go back. Too bad Mommy missed it all.

California - 5 Choo Choo

2011-02-12T16:46:00.000-05:00

On one of Mommy's days off, we went to Travel Town to see lots of trains. Mommy said it was better when she was a kid because you could climb everywhere. That must have been a long time ago. It was still fun checking out all the trains.

Davin got to be the conductor, though he had to sit on Grandma's lap to reach the levers.

The train cars were huge and fun to run in.

Checking out old engine No 1.

I tried to peak in the dining car.

The best part was the train ride!!

And the train whistle I got to blow as we rode around!

California - 4 Duck Park

2011-02-11T16:19:00.000-05:00

Mommy is really bad at taking vacations and insisted on doing some work while in California. While Mommy was off giving talks, Davin and I played with Grandma Aileen and Grandpa Ken.

One of our trips was to a new park with a big duck pond.

Daddy duck.

I got to feed the ducks bread. I threw the bread really far!

We also played on the playground. Davin went sliding for the second time (without a sock).

And played with sand for the first time. He only ate a little... yum.

He's still an ambivalent swinger though.

California - 3 Poehls Family

2011-02-10T16:11:00.000-05:00

Most of Grandpa Ken's brothers and sisters came over to meet Davin and see how much I've grown.
I got all dressed up in a new dress and a new tiara for the occasion.

I made a special new friendship with cousin Alex. He seemed to really like my vReader.

Auntie Anita, baby Ava and her grandma came over to play as well.

California - 2 Baby Shower

2011-02-08T16:09:00.000-05:00

All of my friends had to leave to go to various parties - Chinese New Year's party and a birthday party. We had to go to a party too. A baby shower for Auntie Anita. My new friend Ava is going to be a big sister soon. I tried to teach her some tips, but she has a lot to learn.

One great thing about parties is the BALLOONS!

My new friend Olivia loved playing with the balloons too. We shared.

Davin also got in on the balloon action.

Mommy's friend Auntie Sasha and my new friend Olivia. They invited us over to play later in the week.

We can't wait to meet baby boy Sicolo.

California - 1 Reunion

2011-02-08T15:15:00.002-05:00

Sorry it took so long to get pictures up from our California trip. Mommy's been working late this week on a paper that she's very excited about.

California was great. We played at the park A LOT!! It was so warm that we could play at the park every day! It was awesome.

Some of Mommy's friends came to visit. And I made some new friends too.

My new friends Alex(andra) and Wyatt had fun drawing with me. First on paper...

Then on the walls... Alex was practicing making her mark and running away.

And on the sidewalk.

Then we walked down the street for some running around time at the park. Wyatt was really nice and shared his favorite shovel and rake with me!

Ride 'em cowboy.

Alex had fun playing with her little brother Michael.

Davin even decided to explore too.

We migrated from the small kid playground to the big kid playground.

The see saw was the place to be!

How many people can we fit on the see saw? We got up to 7.

The swings were pretty fun too.

Michael and Davin made friends too.

Davin wanted to be like Michael. He followed him around for a while, but he wasn't quite big enough to walk yet. Though he's getting really good at standing up.

There are more great pictures on Wyatt Taft's blog (link on the right).

California (think OC theme song)

2011-02-04T00:06:00.000-05:00

So we've been hanging out with Grandma Aileen & Grandpa Ken in La La land for the past week. Eventually Mommy with get pictures from Grandma's camera(s), but here are some highlights. Ah... so much warmer than home! So much warmer than Daddy. We left last Wednesday right before a decent sized storm smacked DC. Poor Daddy was without power for about 2 days! I'm glad we weren't there. I think Davin (and I) would have cried all night.

We've been doing lots of fun things in this warm weather - walking to the park, playing with Baby Ava and Baby Olivia. When Mommy went to go give some talks and work (geez we're on vacation), Davin and I had the most fun. Grandma and Grandpa took us to a cool park with a pond with lots of ducks, the beach and Santa Monica Pier. We all went on the carousel on the pier - Davin's first time on a carousel... but I'm an old pro. We also went to the aquarium on the pier and touched all sorts of fun things. I didn't really like the sea cucumber but Davin dove right in (almost literally). Davin also loved his first trip to the beach. He went crawling right into the sand... and he didn't even eat any! What a big boy! I made sand castles with Grandma and played in the water... burrrrrr! Fun but COLD.

We're headed home soon - Saturday. I'm excited to see Daddy... but I'm not looking forward to the cold weather.

Cold Playground

2011-01-19T21:51:00.000-05:00

Its amazing what two weeks can do to the weather. The park is still fun cold or warm... well at least for me. Mommy, Daddy and Davin complain a lot more when its cold out.

Davin's first slide.

Still ambivalent.

But cute...

Getting better...

Now that's how you have fun swinging!!

I have to teach him everything!

Warm Playground

2011-01-19T21:44:00.000-05:00

I was a good girl so we got to go to one of my favorite parks... Spider Park...

Ambivalent swinger.

Adventurer.

But I'm a crazy adventurer without Daddy holding me up! (Psst Daddy was holding Davin on the rock wall.)

Amazing how toes are more interesting than swinging. That boy needs to get his priorities straight.

The princess seat... fitting...

Brownies

2011-01-19T21:29:00.000-05:00

Tonight I got to make brownies with Daddy. Yummy!

Davin, Davin, Davin

2011-01-14T21:19:00.000-05:00

Crawling

2011-01-11T20:41:00.000-05:00

Davin has spent what seems like months, about to crawl. He and Mommy came back from Utah and he can finally crawl. He finally made forward progress on Wednesday of last week trying to get the remote control. Now he's becoming a crawling pro. Yesterday he crawled across the playroom downstairs to get a balloon. Daddy says he's going to be faster than me soon. I don't believe it. I'm WAY faster... I can run. Duh, Daddy.

We'll post some video soon.

New Years at Brookside Gardens

2011-01-09T21:13:00.000-05:00

Maybe a new New Year's tradition?

Staying warm by the light of the fire.

It was cold enough for polar bears.

I LOVED the Choo Choo train. I didn't want to leave, but we had to find the dragon.

It was worth leaving the trains.

They even had hydrothermal vent tubeworms!!!

The grapes looked yummy!

Davin liked the lights too.

Left behind

2011-01-04T14:48:00.002-05:00

I'm mad at Mommy right now. She took baby brother with her on an airplane to Utah for a meeting and left me (and the camera) behind - again. Now when she calls, I pretend to sleep so I don't have to talk to her. Mean mama.

Playing with Uncle Jesse & Auntie Ea: SUSHI

2010-12-31T21:14:00.000-05:00

Ma familia

2010-12-27T17:26:00.000-05:00

Another great Christmas present was a visit from Auntie Ea and Uncle Jesse! We're having lots of fun just hanging out at the house. Dancing...

Playing with balloons...

Davin has been showing off his (almost) crawling skills.

And even though Uncle Jesse is a little sick, he still loves me enough to have a picnic of play food sushi. Yum yum...

Double check

2010-12-27T17:15:00.001-05:00

Today Davin and I went to the doctor and we BOTH got a check up.

Our stats:
Davin - 15 lbs 4 oz (20th percentile), 26.5 in (50th percentile)
Me - 27 lbs (25th percentile), 37 in (50th percentile) aka tall and skinny... Daddy's worse nightmare.

I also had to do 'tricks' for the doctor - stand on one leg, jump up and down, identify shapes, and draw things. I drew a circle, the letter 'T', and a square. She said I was super smart. Apparently, you're supposed to be able to draw a square at 5 years old and I'm only 3!

She didn't say Davin was smart. He was physically advanced, not mentally advanced like me. He was always moving and tried to crawl off the table. He's a lean, mean, fighting machine! She predicts that he'll be quick and curious and a big ol' trouble maker getting into everything! I'm a good girl though.

I like the doctor's office. :-)

O Christmas Tree

2010-12-26T17:01:00.002-05:00

You hath shared your bounty... finally! And what a wonderful Christmas treasure there was... TONS of presents for me. Thank you everyone and Santa too!

Some of my favorites include this vReader... aka my own computer... and Uno Moo.

I'm also enjoying being a rock star with my new guitar (pronounced GEE-tar).

Davin loved it when I played with my new puppets.

He also started to get into the hang of unwrapping presents... though he would have been better if he hadn't slept through the first part of Christmas. I had almost unwrapped ALL of my presents by the time he woke up!

Part (a large part) of his unwrapping technique involved eating the wrapping paper.

Its kind of a constant thing with him... eating stuff...

It was a great Christmas. And we're having fun playing with all of our new toys... I like Davin's and my toys... so really I got twice as much! By the way, did I say thank you!?

I can't wait for Christmas to come again! I hope you had a great one too... with family (even an annoying little brother), a big tree, a warm fire, and some hot cocco (I had my first cup... yum!)

Oh, by the way... all these pictures were taken with Mommy's new camera that she got for Christmas. Its really cool, but I'm not allowed to play with it. :-(

Xmas Eve

2010-12-24T14:19:00.001-05:00

We continue the Poehls' family Xmas traditions, even though we're Adams. I like them because it means we get to open some presents on Xmas eve.

Davin got some cool cars (which I've decided should have been for me... and thus have absconded them.)

I also decided that Mommy's oven mitts fit me better... though I did let her keep her gift card. Daddy was also allowed to keep his gift card, AND his wrench. I let him keep the wrench because he used it to open my pink dump truck, so it was a good present.

And of course we got our annual PJs... a tradition.

Santa Baby

2010-12-23T14:17:00.000-05:00

Entomologist

2010-12-12T21:51:00.000-05:00

Before our organic farmer's market ended for the year, we collected a few caterpillars from our broccoli. They made cocoons and this weekend they hatched.

Daddy made me a butterfly cage for my two beautiful butterflies. I like to give them kisses.

Lights

2010-12-10T21:43:00.000-05:00

An annual tradition. Lights at the National Mormon Temple.

Davin being Davin...

2010-12-09T23:01:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to ME!!

2010-12-05T22:49:00.000-05:00

In pictures...

Thank you for all of the presents (most of which not actually shown) and birthday wishes!! It was a pretty darn good day. And now I'm THREE!! Yippee!

Yo yo skills

2010-11-29T20:56:00.000-05:00

I've been working on lots of new skills. I especially LOVE tracing letters, numbers and well... anything. I've also been busy building towers.

My newest skill is drawing happy faces.

My first drawing of our family. Baby brother is on the bottom. Daddy is on the right, and I'm on top.

Baby Davin is also working on new skills. He's much better at grabbing toys (and hair).

And is starting to slowly crawl... backwards... with some turns. We tried to shoot a video but he moves REALLY SLOW... so here's his movement in pictures.

Kitty or baby?

2010-11-26T18:18:00.001-05:00

Baby brother loves to grab clothes, blankets, ribbons, etc that are dangled over his head. He squeeks and smiles.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T17:46:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving from our little family to yours, where ever you may be. Wish you were here by our very first fire.

Learning to sit up

2010-11-22T17:49:00.001-05:00

Early Christmas

2010-11-21T18:17:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Halloween a little early and every store seems ready for Christmas, so why not us?

Baby Davin got a Xmas present early.

His getting better and better at playing with everything... and there's a lot to play with!

For my early Xmas, I got to meet Santa! I was a little (lot) shy. He kept asking me what I want for Xmas, but I didn't tell him.

something new

2010-11-20T21:37:00.000-05:00

Mommy and Daddy were very cranky today because Davin didn't sleep well (AT ALL) last night. Daddy finally figured out why when he got hurt... and it makes lots of sense based on the extra drool and eating this week. Davin got his FIRST TOOTH! I didn't get my first tooth until I was 8 months old so we didn't even think to look until Daddy yelled ouch, that was sharp. Mommy isn't really excited about this early milestone.