First Beach Trip!!

We went to Ocean City, MD last weekend. Brian and Ed went on a deep sea fishing trip while Emilia, Grammi, and I spent some time at the beach.

Emilia was so excited to go she wanted to try out her beach cabana. Here she is checking it out in the living room.



When we got to the beach she was amazed by the sand. She had a great time playing in it. She couldn't figure out why it wouldn't stay in her hand when she picked it up. She was not such a fan of the ocean, though. It was pretty chilly, and she was tired by the time we went down to the water each day. She didn't mind the cold, wet sand but definitely liked the warm sand better. It scared her a little when the waves splashed up on her feet. We'll see if she does a bit better when we go to Jersey in August.











The fishing trip went very well!!! The boys were a part of the 22nd annual Ocean City tuna fishing tournament (unbeknownst to them). Their boat ended up taking first place for the heaviest stringer...their total catch for the two days...as well as second place for biggest catch. As a matter of fact, Ed was the one who reeled in the 158 lb. tuna. It took him about 45 minutes and lots of muscle to wrestle the huge fish overboard!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Independence Day...and that Matt had a great birthday!!

Emilia has been teething...enough said!! She's visibly uncomfortable, will chew on anything she can get her hands on, and drools like a leaky faucet. Her two front bottom teeth actually broke through this morning (I can feel the sharp little edges even though I can't really see the pearly whites yet). She's had a stuffy nose for about 2 days now and is having a hard time napping and sleeping because of all of this. So of course we decide to disrupt her routine further and attend several barbeques for the holiday weekend (such wonderful parents we are).

On Friday afternoon we had a barbeque with Jason and Tere. Emilia played well with Madeleine and was so fascinated by the fact that she can run around. She was getting a bit upset because she couldn't get up and move around with her, though. Maddie was so sweet and gave Emi lots of hugs and shared her toys so well. Even though she barely napped all day she was a good sport and enjoyed herself for a little while as long as she was being entertained.

Yesterday we went to a party at Anne Marie and Todd's house in Mt. Airy. It was great to see them since it's been months and months. Lauren came with us and we had a great time! It was such a beautiful day!! We came home a bit earlier, and Emi got back into her bedtime routine and was out like a little light after 2 days of non-stop running. The Leesburg fireworks were awesome from our garage roof. We'll have to build an observation deck up there for next year's display! It's a perfect view without the intense noise! LJ nearly had a nervous break-down, however...especially when he couldn't get up the ladder with us! The noise didn't bother Emilia at all and she slept right through the booms!!




I took these pictures a couple of days ago. I just thought they were too cute not to share. She looked like a little '50's house wife in her striped dress and headband.
She's such a good sport about letting me do her hair. The pigtails look so cute from the front but she doesn't really wear them yet because there is quite a bit of hair that isn't long enough in the back. Cute photo op though!

Brewfest '09

This past weekend we had a celebration around the Northern Virginia Summer Brewfest. We had a such a great time and it went better than we could have imagined.

We planned a barbeque for the evening after everyone had their fill at the festival. The cook was none other than the famous Michael Broadway!!Lots of family came to visit. Matt, Amanda, and Case came up from King George...
and brought with them Aunt Janet and Uncle Kurt.Uncle Tim and Aunt Schnuki were also in the area and came for the festival and the party! We haven't seen them since our wedding (I know...it's a sin)!!!We had tons of our closest friends who have become like family to us down here in VA.
Old friends caught up with one another...and new friendships were made.
All in all everyone had a great time!!!

I'm not sure how I missed out on Uncle Kurt handing out $20 bills.
Daddy was very proud of his girls at the brewfest...he's taught us well!While mom and dad were down they got some great quality time with Emilia. She enjoyed all of the attention!!
A couple of days ago Emilia made her first trip to the pool. We met LuLu at the pool at her apartment complex. Emilia was not bothered by the cool water at all. She was a little confused at first and couldn't figure out why I was in the "bath" with her. Once she realized that she was surrounded by water she had a blast!! I sat on the step and she stood on the one below me and splashed for a long time until she was all pruney. She was fascinated by all of the other kids splashing and playing in the water.

Happy Father's Day!

Brian's first Father's Day was calm and relaxing. We spent most of the day doing some work around the house and then went to the driving range to hit a round of balls. Emilia and I surprised him with these pictures that we had done last week. It was difficult to keep them from him because they are just soooooo cute!! We also got him a new Palm since he sat on his other one and broke the screen...






...Brian got himself (and the rest of the family too) a nice big gift, too! He found a great pop-up camper from a guy on craigslist and towed it home last Monday. We are planning some camping trips this summer - to the mountains and the beach. We tried it out in the backyard last Friday night just to make sure everything works and to see how comfortable everything is. The beds are super comfy!! It's got A/C, water and electric hookups, and sleeps 7. Running water and A/C are certainly compatible with my idea of "camping".

6 months old!!

Warning: Long post ('cuz I've been slacking).

A half-year has passed since Emilia was born. Time really does fly!! At the doctor today she weighed in at 13 lb. 3 oz...staying in the 5th percentile for her weight. She's in the 10th for length and the 50th for head circumference. I don't think she has a disproportionately large head but apparently she does.

For the past several days she has been boycotting naps with only a short catnap here and there. It catches up with her, though, and then she sleeps until about 9 or 9:30 am every couple of days. She's just too busy to sleep! She notices absolutely everything that happens around her and wants to be involved in it all. She doesn't want to lay down anymore. She tries to pull herself into sitting even when she's in her carseat. She sits in her stroller and in her bathtub. She rolls to her tummy and pushes up when she's on the floor and likes it even better when I put her down in sitting.
(This is probably one of those pictures that she'll hate me for taking and posting someday but I just think it's too funny! It looks like she's wearing a wig!!)

She just started to sit on her own!! She can stay sitting for 1 or 2 minutes depending on what's going on around her...if she tries to look around she still flops over.



She's enjoying every food that I've given her so far. She loves veggies and fruit!! I've given her some fruit in her mesh feeder and she thinks that is just about the greatest invention ever!

We can now put her hair into a "ponytail". It's great because all the hair on the crown of her head wants to go forward anyway so it goes perfectly into her little sprout!
Update on Lu...she's a homeowner!!! She closed on her condo last Thursday afternoon and she officially has a mortgage now. She's in full decorating mode, and she's got a mosaic of sample colors in each room. Once school is out for the year she'll host a painting party and then a moving party...hopefully she adds in a wine and food party at some point!







We went to PA for Nicole and Chris's wedding over Memorial Day weekend. It was a beautiful ceremony and a GREAT party (as always)!!! The ceremony was outside and they did a sand ceremony to symbolize the joining together of the entire family. The five colors of sand symbolize Nicole, Zack, Nick, new baby Duda, and Chris. We're so happy for them!!

Emilia got to spend the evening with Grammi and they had a fun time going for a walk and playing.