Chocolate Cake

Last week I was sharing a chocolate cake dessert with Reagan. Tim was having a fit over how messy it was since he was holding Reagan. Even though she is somewhat messy for a 1 year old I think she was doing pretty well. Tim was making such a big deal about it though I had to take a picture of him and his terribly messy hand. You can see him holding his hand out afraid to touch anything in this first picture. lol :)

Tim's exceedingly messy hand...

Hamlin Family Visit

This week our close friends, the Hamlins, came to visit us. We met them in Lancaster County, PA over the weekend and they spent the rest of the week here in DC. Before they left this morning we snapped a few quick pictures. We had a great time with them and only wish their visit could have been longer! Thank you so much for coming!!!

~

The Hamlin Family with Anna and Reagan All the "kids"
Michael and Reagan
Michael reading Reagan a book while everyone else was shopping in Old Town Alexandria

I came across this picture from the last time the Hamlin clan visited us. This was two years ago and we obviously got caught in a huge rainstorm. We took cover at the IRS. It was quite the experience and I think we were all thankful we avoided this type of adventure this trip. lol :)

Amish Country - Lancaster County, PA

The first thing we did Sunday morning was take a train ride through Lancaster County. It was a nice way to start the day and it was Reagan's first train ride.

~

Katie and Reagan on the train Tim, Reagan, and Anna
Lauren and Reagan checking out books in the Thomas toystore
Daddy and Reagan checking out a wheat field

As well as the train ride and some shopping we also took a buggy ride. Before hand you could pet the horses if you wanted. It took a minute but with some help from Daddy and the other kids Reagan managed to work up the courage to pet the horse's nose.
There's more than one way to enjoy a buggy ride...
They seemed to have these cups everywhere we went in Lancaster. At our final stop for the day Daddy suggested we let Reagan get one since she had found and been fascinated with them everywhere we went. We gave her a choice between the "Princess" and "Drama Queen" cups and she chose "Drama Queen" which we thought was pretty appropriate. lol :)

Mount Vernon

On Monday we spent the day at George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. It was such a pretty day and we had a nice time exploring the home as well as the grounds.

~

Anna, Reagan, Aunt Annette, and Lauren Uncle Barry and Michael learning the Colonial game of Trap Ball (I think that was the name)
Uncle Barry trying his hand at hitting the ball
Out in the field
Michael giving it a go Michael playing another Colonial game
Katie, Lauren, Michael, and Reagan enjoying a break at Mount Vernon

On Tuesday we visited Arlington Cemetary but unfortunately I forgot our camera. In the afternoon Reagan, Michael, and I stayed home and rested while everyone else went shopping in Old Town Alexandria. As you can see from the pictures in the "Hamlin Family Visit" post Reagan enjoyed her one on one time with Michael reading to her after her nap very much! :)

The National Zoo

During the Hamlins last day in DC we visited the National Zoo as well as the National Cathedral. The animals were all pretty cooperative and active at the zoo even though it was a little hot and humid. One of the areas we enjoyed the most was the elephant exhibit since they were especially active. Reagan learned a new trick from Aunt Annette there too. Now if you ask her what an elephant says she makes an elephant sound and puts her arm up in the air as a trunk.

~

Watching the elephants

Reagan and Uncle Barry at the Panda exhibit
I didn't get any pictures at the National Cathedral but it was beautiful and we enjoyed spending time there as well.

Medieval Times

For their last evening in town we went to dinner at Medieval Times. We had a great time and enjoyed both the dinner and the show.

~

All the newly crowned Lords and Ladies ready for the feast! :) Aunt Annette and Reagan hanging out before the show
Michael, Zoe, Reagan, and Lauren posing with armor
Ladies Reagan and Lauren shopping for souvenirs
Anna and Reagan ready for dinner

Lady Katie with our hero, the Red and Yellow Knight - he threw his first flower to Katie and later on another one to Lauren :)
Lord Tim, Lady Reagan, and the Red and Yellow Knight
The Red and Yellow Knight with Lord Michael
Thank you Hamlins for coming to visit us! Thank you also for the adorable pink outfit Reagan is wearing along with all the other fun gifts you brought. You all are too generous! We had a wonderful time and hope to see you again soon! :)

Happy 4th of July

We had a nice leisurely 4th of July here in DC this year. We grilled out Friday afternoon and headed down town to watch the fireworks on the National Mall in the evening. Just as the fireworks were beginning a couple with a dog walked up next to us. Reagan loves animals so much it took a couple of minutes to get her focus off the dog and skyward towards the fireworks. What a nut! lol :) Once Reagan finally noticed the fireworks, however, she loved them! She sat on Tim's shoulders pointing at the sky and repeating "Wow" (a three syllable word pronounced oo-wow-wah) over and over again. It was so cute and everyone around us was laughing. Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!

Eating snacks while waiting for the fireworks
WOW!
Kissing Daddy's head
Squinting - for whatever reason Reagan likes to squint now and this is the first time I thought to take a picture of this particular goofy face :)

Burgess Falls with Heidi

For whatever reason I'm still dreadfully behind on uploading Reagan's first birthday pics. I think it took so long to get them back that it seemed anti-climactic at that point to include them... I was looking at pics from that weekend, however, and thought I would include these of us hiking at Burgess Falls with Dan, Dorothy, and Heidi (maybe this will encourage me to work on getting the rest posted...). What cute fun little girls we have!!! Thanks so much to Dan and Dorothy for making the trip to Tennessee for Reagan's birthday! :)

~

Two cute girls with two cute dads! :)

Why don't I hold onto your glass for a while?
Dan, Heidi, and Dorothy taking a walk

Customer In Training

We went grocery shopping during our Open House last Sunday. Our favorite grocery store has little carts for kids with a little flag entitled "Customer In Training." It is too cute! Since both Mommy and Daddy were along we decided to let Reagan try the little carts out. Reagan had fun for a while and didn't crash into too many things...


Shopping with Daddy
Thank you to Ms. MaryAnn for the adorable ladybug dress! :)