Cherry Blossoms!

Morenna’s middle name, Sakura, is Japanese for cherry blossom. Matt and I chose that name for a reason; she was born on the first day of the D.C. cherry blossom festival two years ago. You may remember my friend Rachel and I packed up our newborns and headed down for pictures in the blossoms. Morenna was less than two weeks old.

Well, as is tradition, Rachel and I packed up the kids – four kids now, ages 2 and under – and headed down to the D.C. chaos to snap a few pictures. The kids have certainly changed... but the blossoms hadn’t. :-)

It was a beautiful day to go, sunny and in the low 70s. We packed a picnic lunch and sat under the trees next to the tidal basin (not too brilliant of an idea when you have two little ones interested in water and ducks, with nothing between them and the enticing waves lapping the sides of the basin).

But we all survived. Yes, much to our surprise Rachel and I survived... and we’ll probably do it all again next year. Maybe. :-)

And of course we snagged some fun pictures:

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It’s All About the Cheeks

I can’t get over Jadyn’s little chipmunk cheeks!

And as usual, her beloved “bink” isn’t far away.

Worth a Thousand Words

If the old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” is true, then it’s my lucky day.

Despite my desires to maintain fresh content - written content - on this blog, the fact of life is that I’m no superwoman. I’ve been forced to identify my priorities of late and sadly blogging just doesn’t score high enough to outrank changing poopy diapers, shining the kitchen sink, kissing boo-boos, watching Veggitales, feeding my birds... well, not that last one. But you get the point.

Anyhow, since a majority of you visit to see updates about the girls and not to read my random thoughts or see my latest coupon bargain... I’ve decided to initiate something new here. Something that will both feed my desire to post fresh content, while likewise serving you up some fresh updates on the girls. Though not to worry, I'll still be tempted to write whenever I have a spare moment.

Here’s hoping for success! I bring you... a thousand words.

January 2010

Daddy's Girl

Momma's Little Helper

Morenna has developed a fascination for the kitchen. Her previous fancy of examining the drawers and cabinets has matured to a desire to help in any way she can: open the fridge, carry items, stir ingredients, play in the dishwater - you name it! Recently she stood by my side as I cleaned and snapped green beans. She took each bean as I was finished with it, chomped off an end, chewed and then slowly dragged "Mmmmm." She'd then place the chewed bean in the pot.

Last week she enjoyed standing on her little helper stool to assist me in cutting up a cantaloupe. I think the sweet smell and her love for melon got in the way with her "helping". :-) What do you think?

Melon euphoria


Must be clean-up time!

Water Baby

Morenna has been changing so much the last few weeks. All of the sudden it seems that we've started fast-forwarding her development; a fact that is both joyful and sad. Here are some of her latest achievements:

-- She goes up and down stairs by herself,
-- Sometimes informs me of a needed diaper change,
-- Has a larger assortment of acquired food tastes,
-- Can "chat" on the phone with her grandparents,
-- Walks/climbs/runs on her own,
-- Chatters all day long with favorite words inserted, including: "baby", "momma", "daddy", "buddy", "ba" (bath), "ball", "bye bye", "pees" (please), "boolah" (balloon), "milk-a", "juice", "ca-ca" (cracker), "more", "duck" and "hi" to anyone she sees.
-- Will point on command to nose, toes, ears, and belly button.
-- Loves to share the noises made by cows, sheep, cats, and polar bears (random, I know).
-- Giving kisses.

Spending time outside has been a favorite activity. So far we've played in the rocks behind our air conditioner, swam in the neighborhood baby pool, and ran around in the sprinkler.

Sweet baby kisses for Daddy.

Diggin' in the rocks.

Playin' in the pool with Daddy


Lovin' life!


Playing at Grandpa and Grandma's!


Baby pools and watering cans are nice, too.


Naked baby time with the sprinkler :-)


And when it rains... there is always Mommy and Daddy's jacuzzi!

Sundays and Shadows

Peek-a-boo Toes, 1/11/2009