Washington D.C. (Sept5)

I got a phone call this morning from Kels, asking if we wanted to meet them in D.C. 

We did.

Tor, the kids, and I met up with Kels, Mike, Ab, Nick, and Chelsea for a few hours.

Kels pushed Ty down the stairs at the Museum of Natural History. (Our meeting point)

He thought that was hysterical.

The stroller didn't last long. He preferred to chase Nick

And play with Ab

Gotta have the family pic with the Washington Monument!

And the couples

Kels and Mike

The newly engaged couple, Nick and Chelsea!

Tyler ran right up to it (Washington Monument) and gave it a hug. Not sure where that came from. 

"Whoa dude!"

Ty decided it was Nick's turn in the stroller

Lia was a happy camper the whole time!

We went to check out Mr. Einstein. 

Kels, Ty, Ab

My handsome lil' boy. ♥

On our way to the car we found a water fountain, where we let Tyler play for a while. 

{See next post for way too many photos of that experience!}

I'm glad we braved the Labor Day crowds to hang out with my siblings and company for the day. It was worth dealing with the traffic. ;)

Fun with Kels (Sept3)

Today the kids and I took Kels to Ikea. She found her dresser, and I bought dishes (the first of many things I need to buy for when we move to MN!).

After shopping- during which the kiddos were extremely well behaved- Kels took us to OTB. (On the Border, of course!)

They shot straw wrappers at each other

They made tortilla masks

And they (we) ate tons of food- including a free cup of queso and a free ice cream sundae, since they messed up our original order and we had to wait a while. We didn't mind. ;)

Tyler adores his aunt Kels. ♥

Lia will too, one day. ;)

National Harbor (Aug24)

A fun place indeed!

Today we (the kids and I) headed out for a day with G (my mom) and Abs (my sis). 

Now that I think about it, we didn't really do anything. Except walk. And take pictures. So without further ado...

The pictures:

Getting ready for the day... with my totally sweet new stroller. LOVE it!

Our first stop was lunch... at a place called Ketchup. It sounds cooler (and cheaper! lol) than it is. I have no photos of that, because Lia needed to eat and Tyler wouldn't sit still... 'nough said. 

Next we headed down to see this guy buried in the sand. Yes, a guy in the sand. 

Poor Ty was a bit scared of him.

With good reason... the guy tried to eat Abby!

Not sure why, but I love this picture!

{Thanks Ab, for making the edges look cool! lol}

I guess the hand wasn't as scary as the head.

He tried to push the boulders in the water

When that didn't work, he threw some teeny rocks in the water.

We posed for another picture

Then we went to Ben and Jerry's

And sat on a cow seat. (I kinda want one...)

Ty was also afraid of the cow. Until he told it to "sit", then he was fine with posing for a pic! 

(Seriously!)

We found these neat windows that were TV screens with fish swimming back and forth. (Like the screen saver on a computer, only tons of them)

I love making him laugh. ♥

Lia slept through most of this

That would be G and Abs. My family is awesome! :)

The highlight of Tyler's day...

"WHOA DUDE!"

{Yea, that's what he was saying. For a good 30 min. At least.}

And he kept telling me he got his finger wet. lol

Tyler consumed a disturbing amount of Jelly Beans on the way home... and then crashed the minute I put him in bed for his nap.That was a good day. :)

Over the weekend...

Tyler got to "ride" in a canoe with G

{Happy birthday G!!}

He got to help Nick wash the canoe

All while wearing his cowboy boots, of course

Oaf managed to fall off his bed and couldn't be bothered to get back on

Miss Lia turned one month old!

And she got to spend some time with her aunt Meagan. ♥

And... drum roll please...

Tyler went pee on the potty!!!!! 

{He actually did not use that seat, but I thought the picture worked with his big news. ;)}

I had no idea that I'd ever celebrate someone urinating on a toilet... or be so proud of that somebody. lol

And he did it all on his own too! We were lying in bed and he kept messing with his diaper. I asked Tory to grab a new one, and when I took the old one off Ty said he had to pee. I asked if he wanted to go to the potty and he said yes. He stepped up on the stool, did his business, and came back to bed. 

What a big boy!

(And a kinda sad Mama. He's growing up too fast!)

Some of my favorite people (Aug18)

We got to see Brandi and Carly again!!

They live in San Antonio, so this was very exciting for us!

Brandi is my cousin, who I grew up with. Carly is her daughter, who is 1 year and 1 week older than Tyler is. She is SO sweet! Seeing Carly made me super excited for how Lia will be in a few years. :)

We had planned on visiting at my mom's house for a few hours, but once we all got there Mom insisted on keeping the three kids so Brandi and I could go to lunch!

That was the first time I've ever left Lia. I have to admit, it was incredible! I didn't worry about her at all, and to be honest, I didn't even think about her too much. ;)

We got to catch on the happenings in each other's lives for an hour and a half without kids! And we could have talked for many more hours. I wish they lived nearby- if they did we'd be together ALL the time! 

The kiddos apparently had a pretty good time too. 

They danced and played and danced and played...

Oh yea, Carly taught Tyler how to scream like a girl. And Tyler taught Carly how to climb on furniture. LOL

(Sorry Bran! But I think you got the easy end of that. Tyler now screams at random times throughout the day! Thanks for that! ;)

Our three babies!
Tyler: 2yrs 2mo. Carly: 3yrs 3mo. Lia: 4weeks

Soon to be FOUR! Brandi is six months pregnant!! I can't wait to meet #2! ♥

And I can't wait to see you guys again. Soon, I hope. :)

Visiting with some family

I hadn't seen my grandma since Tyler was just 3 months old- that's almost two years ago!. They happened to be in Virginia for the last few weeks, and called to see if they could stop by once Lia was born. 

Ummm YES!

Bubba (I gave her that name when I was first learning to talk ;)) and Karen (her friend) came by on Tuesday, July 27. 

Karen, Lia, Me, Tyler, Bubba

Mom and Abs came over too

Tyler couldn't be left out- he needed to hold Lia too. ;)

We visited for a few hours before they had to head back to my cousin's house, where they're staying while in the state.

(They're on a trip around the country, kinda. Just going wherever they want with their truck and camper, their dog Emma, and Karen's husband Mike. Lucky them!)

Lia and her great-grandma

Lia and Karen

It was SO good to see them again, and I'm very happy they got to re-meet Tyler and meet-for-the-first-time Lia. ♥