Sunday, September 25, 2011

Anna's On The Move!!!

Anna is on the move! I have a hard time keeping up with her these days. The other day I left her playing in the living room with a basket of toys for just a few minutes. When I returned I found her INSIDE the basket:)




She really understands things, too. Yesterday we lined up a lion, polar bear, pig, dog, and gorilla. We asked her to get each one "Get the pig Anna. Remember the pig says oink oink." She got every single one right!! We are so proud of her. She has also officially started walking with her car walker, although I will admit it isn't the prettiest sight:) I put her on it yesterday and she immediately walked across the entire room and has done it numerous times since. She will be running before we know it! Enjoy the video.



Sunday, September 18, 2011

Tuberous Sclerosis Walkathon

Today was the Tuberous Sclerosis Walkathon that I participated in. It was in Silver Spring, Maryland (about 45 minutes from where we live) and it was a gorgeous day. I am very proud to say that the final amount raised was $3269.46!!! I want to thank all of our family and friends for each and every single donation. From the smallest donation of $25 all the way up to an anonymous donation of $484.61. (Wow!! Unbelievable!! Special thank you to whoever made that one:) I will admit that I am still in a bit of shock at how much money was raised and very proud that everyone took the time, effort, and money to help support our cause. It truly is touching to see all of the support that we have.

Also want to give a great big shout out to my walking partner, Jenn. Jay happened to have a vacation planned to Vegas this weekend and couldn't participate with me. Thank you so much, Jenn for walking with me today and supporting our cause:)





Thursday, September 15, 2011

A Few Firsts

Emma has had a couple firsts over the past week. She started Tuesday night with her first ever gymnastics class. She was super excited to go and couldn't wait to put on her adorable leotard. She had a great time, too. The place is huge and I couldn't see everything she did as the parents have to wait behind the glass and can't go into the gym. I did see her practice swinging from a bar and by the end of the class she flipped all the way over it! She also spent some time on the trampoline, which always makes for a great time.

She also had her first day of school today (finally)! Last Friday was supposed to be her first day but our entire county of schools was closed due to flooding. She has been asking me all week and at least 5 times this morning if I was going to leave her alone with her teachers. She wasn't asking because she was nervous and scared. She was asking to MAKE SURE I was leaving! She wanted to be all by herself and had a great time. Funny how this year I got a much more complete picture of what her day consisted of than last year as her communication has improved dramatically. Apparently she played with Play-Do, went to the playground, made an owl, sang songs while her teacher played the guitar, read books, and played with Luke who doesn't share:) She had so much fun and can't wait to go again tomorrow (her class is Thursday, Friday from 9-1).

Anna also had a first for us yesterday. I was at the kitchen counter cutting up some peaches and she decided she wanted to get into the liquor cabinet. (Girl after my own heart haha:) My hands were all gooey and yucky and I was trying to figure out how to keep her from knocking over the bottles without picking her up with my gross hands. I opted for trying to talk her out of it. I said something like this: "No, No Anna! You can't play in that cupboard! Go find your rattle and SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE it! Get your rattle in the playroom and SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE!" She immediately stopped what she was doing, crawled into the playroom, and amidst all of the toys she found her rattle and started shaking it!!!! I was so ecstatic I started crying! This is such a huge accomplishment for Anna. Jay and I talk all the time about what she is and isn't understanding and although we thought she understood some of the things we were saying this was our first real hard evidence that she does. YAY for Anna:) This is crucial for her beginning language development and we are so happy to see that she is right on track.

We have Anna's walkathon for Tuberous Sclerosis this Sunday. It will be a good day for us and I am excited to be a part of this event. I will post more about this and my fundraising after our walk.

Emma's first day of school - showing off her new backpack

She got to pick out her outfit all by herself this year and was beyond excited for school to start
First day of gymnastics. Watch out Mary Lou Retton and Shawn Johnson:)




One of the first pictures taken of Anna sleeping in a LONG time! She has a squeaky door and wakes up every time I try to open it at night (she is a ridiculously light sleeper) so I had to leave it open one night to get this picture.


Anna has been LOVING getting into the cupboards lately and making a mess of anything and everything!




Friday, September 2, 2011

Summertime Fun

Along with Anna's first birthday we have been super busy having fun and exploring all that our area has to offer. There is SO much to do around Fairfax and Washington D.C. and we have been taking advantage of it! A couple weeks ago our good friends from Texas, the Joneses, came to town to visit three different Exxon families that they are close with. Although they didn't stay with us we saw them multiple times and had a great time catching up. Emma loved to see her BFF Avery and they even had a sleepover. Emma was in heaven!


While our friends were in town a bunch of us took Metro into D.C. for some sightseeing. Here is little Emma, big Emma, and Avery on the train

The girls in front of the Washington Monument or as Avery calls it "The Giant Crayon"
Anna asking Brady what all this fuss is about being in the Nation's capitol?




Our first stop was the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History


Emma loved seeing the "dinosaur bones"








Group picture as we were leaving the museum - what a good lookin' gang!


Next stop was the Smithsonian Art Museum for lunch and our gang apparently liked the fountains better than the high class art!


Then we headed to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Emma is showing off her piloting skills






That night Avery came over to spend the night. The girls had a great time goofing off in the tub!






They snuggled up with some popcorn to watch "Tangled"


The next night we all went to a barbeque at Brad and Jenny's house. They set up a little bounce house and Anna definitely wanted in on the action!


Brady got into the ball pit, too!


Anna finally got in when the big kids were done




Jamie and Anna with her "Shrek" hair

When my parents were in town we made a trip to Arlington National Cemetery. It was very interesting and amazing to see. The headstones go on as far as you can see.


One of the main attractions is JFK and his wife.



While we were there we saw a funeral procession of someone being buried with full military honors. There was a military band followed by a horse drawn casket draped in the American flag which was then followed by lots of marching soldiers. This was extremely amazing and sad to see. We had no way of knowing if this was a soldier killed in action or a retired veteran who died of natural causes. One thing is for sure, it quickly puts life into perspective. Not only am I extremely thankful for all of the men and women who serve in order for me to keep my freedoms, but in light of all that has recently happened to my family, I am grateful to have everyone alive and by my side everyday!





Tomb of the Unknown Soldier


Changing of the Guards. This was an amazing process to witness. They have such precision in everything they do. The Tomb has been guarded 24/7 since 1937. The soldiers have even stayed during multiple hurricanes - amazing!


Earlier this week I took the girls to a local park called Burke Lake Park. We started the day with a carousel ride....


then went for a train ride........




then played on the playground for a little while............


went for a little walk to see the pretty lake............


and finished the day with some ice cream for lunch. What could be better than all of this in one day?


Today I took the girls and met some friends from play group at Frying Pan Farm. We played on the tractors

Anna all smiles (she seems to always get stuck in the stroller!)


We had our SECOND carousel ride in one week!


Went on a wagon ride


Saw lots and lots of different animals. Emma enjoyed petting the goat and when she saw the turkey she belted out the "Albuquerque is a Turkey" song for everyone. Thanks Aunt Jenny for teaching us that song - definitely came in handy today!


I am worn out from the busy week but we are ready for the season opener MSU game tonight. Anna is quickly following in the family footsteps and becoming a super fan already!