Another trip to the Theater!

We had such a good time at the last Imagination Stage show that we got a group together to check out the next one -- Aquarium. What was so great about the show was how interactive it was. The kids were given props, like a giant sheep pillow, and then they had to bring it on stage. Unfortunately, Alexa just wanted to horde her props and not participate! Her friend Ella kept saying, "No, you have to give it back!" Another thing that's great about these shows is that the kids sit around in a circle and the "stage" is just the middle of the circle. We all sat together on the floor. It was great! Of course, the girls were more interested in the penny well in the lobby. Oh well, still a great experience!

Fun day with momma!

Daddy was stuck on an airplane all day coming home from the Indiana game, so Mommy took Alexa and Henry to music class! And, of course, to the Italian store afterward for "tookies" with Avery!

It was a rainy day, as you can see from the above pictures, so after Alexa's nap I came up with a fun indoor activity -- we made cookies! Well, I made them and Alexa dumped some things in the bowl and made a mess. But she had fun! We all had fun eating them. :)

Finally, here is a detail shot of Alexa's hair clippies! Grandma Lil made them! She found paperclips with the butterflies on them and transferred them to clips. What a great idea! They are super cute!

Go Indiana!

Indiana made the Sweet 16 and Daddy flew down to Atlanta to join his college buddies at the game! So to show team spirit, the kids rocked the red at school today. Hoosiers!

You may notice in the above photo that Alexa is sporting a new backpack! It was a gift from Grandma E that we pulled out for her to wear on the bus/metro. See Daddy and Alexa walking down the street together? They left the stroller at home and took the bus/metro for the first time today!

UPDATE: Despite all the team spirit, IU did not prevail in the basketball game. Boo! Alexa and Henry still had fun playing around. They didn't exactly watch the game...

FLASH FROM THE PAST: Wonder where Alexa got her Indiana cheerleader's top? From her cousin! Here is a picture from the archives. Samantha as a toddler at Daddy's law school graduation!

Cherry Blossoms 2012

We had a really long, fun day exploring the Cherry Blossoms! Instead of going downtown to the National Mall, we headed to Kenwood, a local neighborhood nearby that is filled more with residents than tourists. The blossoms peaked much earlier this year due to the warm winter. It was beautiful!

We settled down next to a low branch for a nice picnic at Kenwood Park. Turned out that branch was a premier photo op! Of course we took our own photos on the branch... As did many others! And nearly every kid who sat on the branch (Alexa included) fell off! Oooops!

After our picnic, we took a stroll through the neighborhood. Alexa enjoyed buying lemonade and cookies at a local stand! She also loved pushing her baby doll down the street in her doll stroller! It was gorgeous, every street was more beautiful than the last.

After all that walking, both kids took a nap in the double stroller as we headed back to Bethesda. When they woke, we went to another park and Henry went in the swing for the first time! Alexa had fun pushing him. He loved it!

Finally, we enjoyed a nice dinner outside at our favorite pizza place. And Alexa had her first taste of creme brule. She loved it!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

What a fun-filled day! Alexa and Henry donned their green outfits and posted for probably the most adorable brother-sister photos yet. Then Alexa wanted to pose for a photo on the doorstep, her favorite place to take a picture. Of course, she decided to copy Mommy and bring all her pocketbooks along.

Our first stop - Music class! Today was extra special because the kids got to ride pretend horses! Of course Alexa was sure to ask first and loudly for a RED horse. During the big band song, her favorite instrument to grab is the marching drum.

Our next stop - St. Patrick's Day Brunch with friends at Bethesda Row! Alexa played with her friends Ella and (big) Henry while little siblings Jack, Cora and (baby) Henry tried to keep up. Meanwhile, Mommy's enjoyed green mimosas. Yum!

After all that excitement, we headed home for naps. Alexa passed out! And, after some playtime, Henry passed out too!

Finally - After naps, we took a short walk to a neighborhood park. The cherry blossoms are blooming early this year. What a great day!

Henry's first ride in the jogging stroller

Henry's almost six months old, so he got to take his first ride in mommy's jogging stroller last weekend! We used a body pillow to make him comfortable. He loved it! We checked out all the Spring flowers. So beautiful! What a great day for a run.

Henry does some finger painting

Henry had a fun day at day care today - he got to try his hand at finger painting! Looks like he was pretty good at it. He's a real pro at making a mess, so it's no wonder. Check out his masterpiece!

March Photo a Day

Here are some of my March Photo a Day photos! See if you can match the photo to the prompt:

Someone you talked to today

Something you wore

Neighborhood

Bedside table

Noise
Smile

Fork

Red

Up

Purim Carnival at the Temple

To celebrate Purim, which is a Jewish holiday in which kids dress up and celebrate the Esther story, we headed to the Temple for a Purim Carnival! Alexa was very excited to dress up in her Big Sister Fairy costume, which is a total original. Here she is playing fairy princess in the front yard!

Daddy and Henry dressed up as Superman! Look at them... So cute, I love it! My supermen!

At the Carnival, Alexa had a BLAST in the little bounce house!

She also got a special treat ... Her very first taste of cotton candy! Not my brightest idea. But look at these cute photos! She loved it!

Finally, Alexa and her friend Ella had a ton of giggles running through the bouncy obstacle course over and over and over! 

After such a great time at the Carnival, we took some very tired kiddos out to lunch with friends. And then home for a loooooong nap!

Music class and a birthday party!

We had a full and fun day today! It started with music class. Alexa loves all the props. The first song always involves the little back eggs that you can shake. Another song means it's time to break out the drums! The scarves come out for the gypsy song! Alexa always wants the red scarf. She also always wants to help put the props away!

After music class, we loaded up in the car and drove to Virginia for Will's 1st Birthday! The party was held at the same toddler gym where his sister Rigby had her 1st Birthday. Friend Nate had a party here too. Alexa loves this place. Henry is starting to like it too! 

Delicious

As I mentioned, Henry loves to play with his feet! Here he is rolling around as we were getting ready to take his 5-month photos. He's so soft and has that intoxicating baby smell. I'm sure with a boy, both will change. So I'm savoring him now, at this age, in this moment. Delicious.

Alexa discovers the joy of ... dress up!

I've been waiting for this pink elephant bin to arrive forever! I ordered it on a Black Friday deal so I could have a place to put all of Alexa's dress up clothes: high heels, fairy costume, doctor jacket, train hat, flower lei, Snow White dress! Well, it's a big hit. Alexa loves dress up! Especially her fairy costume, which she likes to wear when we read the book "Alice the Fairy." So fun!

Henry is 5 months!

Look at my little baby grow! Henry is getting bigger and bigger. And he's more responsive and moving a ton! Here is Henry at 5 months!

All about Henry at 5 months:

• Henry can roll over both ways and does so all the time! He now sleeps on his tummy.
• Henry is starting to MOVE! He scoots backward. I'll turn around and he's moved completely off his mat and off to the side and I'm like, 'How'd you do that?!'
• Henry loves to laugh! Especially when big sister Alexa makes faces at him. He loves his sister and lights up whenever she pays him attention.
• Henry smiles a lot, actually. And he has the cutest little dimple on his right cheek!
• Henry has now been at day care for a month. His teacher say he's doing really well and that he's one of the easy ones.
• We're not going to baby yoga quite as much, but Henry still loves the yoga poses so we do them at home. He also loves to brag his feet and put them in his mouth. Oy!

Alexa shows off her baby doll stroller!

Alexa wanted to take another photo on the front doorstep today, but this time she wanted to bring her doll stroller outside! OK... Well, it turned out to be a great idea because look at how stinkin' cute she is?! Thanks to GG for the awesome stroller. And thanks to Aunt Jen for the stylish blue coat!

After taking photos, we went to a really perfect Sunday Fun Day event today. Alexa loves birthday parties. And she loves her Thomas the Train. So when I saw that today's event was going to focus on a book about Thomas the Train's birthday, I knew it'd be a hit! Alexa LOVED it!

After class, we walked to lunch and passed this "antique" pay phone. Alexa thinks it's the funnies thing. She loves to run up to it and push the buttons. And then she looks at the cord and says, "Oh! Where's the phone? Where did it go?"

Finally, after her nap, here is Alexa cuddling with Henry! So cute...