Friday, June 20, 2014

Father's Day

We had a fairly low-key Father's Day weekend, although if you were to ask Chris it may not have been low-key enough! Chris played golf on Saturday so Carter and I went to music class and then ventured to the Virginia Highlands Park for the rest of the morning. For the past few months Carter has participated in a weekly music class hosted by Music Together Alexandria.When you register for their classes you can choose from various locations throughout Alexandria. We're fortunate enough that one of the locations is less than a mile from our house.Typically there are 4-5 other kids in the class each week and Carter has really enjoyed it. They give you 2 CDs and a music book at the beginning of the session which allows you to learn the songs so you can sing-a-long with the teacher during class. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not because inevitably I find myself singing the songs on a regular basis.


Saturday evening we drove up to Solomon's Island to join the Murphy clan at Stoney's for dinner. This has become a favorite semi-getaway dinner spot for us. You can sit right by the Chesapeake Bay, enjoy fresh seafood and most importantly their orange crushes! Since it was Father's Day weekend we left the guys there after dinner to enjoy some downtime and Jana and I piled all the kiddos in our car and headed back home. I've never had so many car-seats in my car before!

On Sunday we went to Ted's Bulletin for breakfast where Carter enjoyed eating their homemade pop-tarts, yum! After breakfast we took a little stroll around Eastern Market before it got too hot. The rest of afternoon was spent playing outside and watching the US Open. Even though I didn't get to spend Father's Day with my dad, it was nice to have had some time with him the week before. I'm very fortunate to have a wonderful dad and such a wonderful grandfather to Carter. I'm also very grateful that Carter has such a wonderful father in Chris. He is Carter's biggest cheerleader and loves his family unconditionally. There is no doubt that he puts our family first and always puts other people's feelings ahead of his own. He is our rock and always manages to keep us sailing on smooth waters. Carter is a lucky little guy to have such a great daddy and I'm blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful guys in my life!



Courtesy of an app called Waterlogue



Thursday, June 19, 2014

Welcome Summer!

Even though the heat and humidity have arrived in full force it's nice to welcome summer. Even though I work full time it's a nice change of pace especially once August arrives.

Carter and I kicked off the summer with a trip to Charlotte a few weeks ago. My boss' daughter got married in Charlotte so I decided to head down there for the week and work out of our district office while my parents spent some quality time with Carter. A win for everyone! It was really nice  to be back home for a couple of days. My parents still live in the house that I grew up in so there is something very comforting about going home. I still get to sleep in my old bedroom, we still have the same neighbors and I just seem to fall right into place. It's also nice to have four extra sets of hands to help with Carter!

Carter started walking in April and he has been on the go since then. He has lost his desire to sit on the floor and play with toys and read books. I guess he had to do that for so long compared to other kids his age so he's making up for lost time. He loves to walk around, open and close doors and drawers and just explore. My parents live in a ranch style house so there was a lot to be discovered! I told Chris that I have a new appreciation for our little townhouse after chasing him around my parent's house. It took me twice as long to get ready in the mornings because I always had to check on what he was getting into around the house.

We spent a lot of time with my parents and brother, Justin. We visited with my both of my grandmothers and my great aunt Vi. A dear childhood friend and her son even paid us a visit which was nice. It was fun to see the boys playing together and to compare mom notes. We took Carter to Discovery Place which I hadn't been to since I was a child. It was pretty much just like I remembered and Carter had a blast! On Saturday my mom and I packed a picnic lunch and took Carter to their neighborhood pool. This is the pool that we grew up going to and I have a lot of fond memories of my summers there as a kid. It was fun to see Carter have so much fun in their kiddie pool area.

Visiting with my grandmother in Statesville. Carter especially loved the Cheetos she gave him!

Discovery Place 

Play date with Mason and a little fun at the pool 

Thursday night, while I was in town, Justin and I went to the Whitewater Center for Riverjam. Thursday evenings throughout the summer they have live music from 7:00p.m.- 10:00p.m. You can bring chairs or a blanket, stretch out, enjoy dinner and a frosty beverage in a great atmosphere. If you haven't been out there before it is definitely worth the trip. You're free to walk the grounds during the concert and will most likely catch some whitewater rafters and/or kayakers.


So far we've spent a lot of lazy weekends at the pool this summer and look forward to many more. I just ordered Carter a puddle-jumper so we'll see how he does with it this weekend. He's in the process of cutting two of his two year old molars so he hasn't been the most pleasant person this week, ha! Hopefully he'll be in a little better mood this weekend so we can give it a try. We've visited a few local splash grounds in the area that have been a lot fun. Since Carter wears orthotics in his shoes I was on the hunt to find him a good water sandal that provided some decent support. I ended up buying him some Keens from Zappos and they work great. They give him enough stability so that he doesn't have to wear his orthotics and they dry easily.


Keen Kids Newport H2 Sandal
Penrose Square Splash Ground


It's hard to believe but we're quickly approaching Carter's second birthday! He turns two years old on Tuesday so we're having  a little party for him next weekend. We look forward to celebrating his special day with our family and friends. The week of the Fourth of July we're headed to the beach for a little R&R.

Cheers to a wonderful summer!