Air & Space Museum

Mason loves airplanes and helicopters so we decided to take him into DC to the Air & Space Museum.  Our friend Lynne and her daughter Savannah came with us and we had a great day.  

The Cherry Festival has started so there was a carousel in the middle of the mall strip.  Mason and Savannah (and Mark) loved it!



The Air & Space Museum has a little section where kids can play with and learn about air and flight.  I can honestly say we spent most of our time in there.



Dallan loved the big balloon they had to show how a hot air balloon works.  As kids would add/remove the weights from the basket attached to the balloon the balloon would move up and down and Dallan was completely mesmerized.

We had planned on walking down to the Lincoln Memorial to see the cherry blossoms but by the time we finished at the Air & Space Museum the kids were beat.  Tourist season has definitely started.  There were so many people everywhere so it took us way longer to get to and see the museum than it should have.  All in all, it was a really fun day!

My snoring babies!

Frying Pan Farm...Yes, that really is the name.

A couple weeks ago I took the boys to Frying Pan Farm.  It is a cute little county owned farm where kids can come see farm animals and look at some old tractors.  I have to admit, although Mason was loving it I was having a hard time with the idea that a farm was such a huge attraction here.  I guess it's all in what you are used to having around you right?

Being the young mother I am, I skipped checking the weather forcast and boy did we pay for it!  The day before and the day after were beautiful but it was freezing this day.  My poor friend, who is on blood thinners, literally had blue lips.  We basically ran the kids from animal to animal then headed back to the car as fast as we could!



Even though it was cold we still had a great time.  Some sheep and a pig had just had their babies so we were able to see those.  Mason loved the little lambs.  He kept trying to touch it but luckily he couldn't reach.

 Dallan absoutely loved all the animals!  He just kept staring at them and would get so excited and start laughing when they would move.  He especially like the horses and cows because they were easier to find and watch.  The chickens got some pretty good laughs out of him though!

My "cute" little boy thought it was really fun to take his little friend's hat and wear it.  It has Dora on the front and he couldn't get enough of it.  So although Mark wondered why I even took this picture I still think it is cute.  Even with it being so cold we still had a really great time!

Springtime in DC!!!

This is my first springtime in DC and I have to say I love it...



Everything here has so much color and it grows "natural".  Now by natural I mean that NOBODY has sprinkler systems here - just rain and humidity.



This is what my parking lot looks like.



And my favorite part... this huge flower came off a tree.  I don't know what kind of tree it is but they are everywhere here.  The entire tree is covered in these flowers.  BEAUTIFUL!  So of course I had to have Mark pull over and pull this flower off some random person's tree for me. =)

Just Chillin...

So here's a little update of what we have been up to lately...

 I made strawberry freezer jam by myself for the first time (instead of sitting there watching my sister do most of the work) and I also had my first attempt at canning chicken.  Both of which were a success, which is amazing!

While I was in Utah, Mark bought a card table and set up a little craft corner for me in our bedroom.  I built and decorated this bookshelf to go next to the craft table to set my things on.  I still need to put the buttons on where the ribbons meet but I can't find my hot glue gun so we'll see if it ever gets totally finished.

Mason is getting so big and independent.  He is really into dressing himself (and pretty good at it too)!  If I set his clothes out he only needs help getting his shirt on and buttoning his pants.  He can even put his shoes on by himself.



BUT, this also means he is getting good at taking them off by himself too :)  Diaper, Snow Boots, and a Nintendo Gun...is this just SCREAMING Mark's child?

Oh, and he LOVES his jammas!  This is what usually happens when I try to fold laundry when he is around.

He has been playing with a lot of friends. 



Still loves books.

He is such a great brother to Dallan.  They play together so well.  Mason is always making sure Dallan has a toy to play with and Dallan just adores Mason.  Melts my heart to watch these two boys together.



  

 As always, Dallan is just a sweetheart!  He is my chunk-of-love :)  He has started to get a little more aggressive about what he wants and throws his head anytime he isn't happy with what's going on but just holding him and seeing his smile could brighten anyone's day.

Loving the bubbles!

This is Dallan's favorite place to be.  He is getting to be quite the army crawler.  Especially when he is on the wood.  Luckily our living room is one step down from the rest of the house so the whole room is like a huge play-pen.  (I'm dreading when he figures out how to climb that one step though).



Had to take a picture of this rare moment... Dallan loves to be held and cuddled but he never falls asleep while we are holding him.  It was sure good of Dallan to rock his Dad to sleep between conference sessions!

He still can't sit up or stand up but we are working on it so hard!  He starts physical therapy next month to help him to catch up with his physical development but in the meantime we'll just keep working on it.  (My friend let me use her Bumbo seat- we didn't purposely buy Dallan this cute purple one)

We finally had a warm day so we had to get outside.  Dallan enjoyed just being outside and loved watching Mason ride his bike back and forth in front of him.  The only place Mason has to ride is the sidewalk right in front of our house and since the parking lot is right there I don't let him go too far.  Mason loves his bike and has gotten really good at peddling it too.  Love these sweet boys!

So, obviously we hang out with Mark too.  In fact, those are our favorite times.  But, this post is just about what the boys and I do during the day while Daddy is at work.  I love being home with these boys during the day- wouldn't trade it for anything!