Our week in Maryland!

Well, I was hoping to get this post done before my trip this past weekend but it didn't happen so I'm going to have to bring you up to speed in two parts. First up is our trip to MD almost two weeks ago.

The kids and I took off early on Tuesday, March 15th. The drive was okay but we did have a rough 45 minutes or so. Kylie was just not wanting to be in the car and was getting hungry and tired. It's interesting because we are having a little switch going on these days - Kylie is getting to be the difficult one and Noah is usually easier! :-) Once we stopped for an early lunch, they both slept for a bit and did really well after that also.

So we ended up getting up there by 2:30 or so and it was just playtime the rest of the afternoon! Papa couldn't resist and came home from work early and even Aunt Leah came to see us after work also! So good to see everyone.

Kylie likes to do everything Noah does and we were all impressed that she could do this!!

She and Grammy played ball. Here is what she would do when we told her to put her arms out to catch. :-)

Being silly with Mommy.

Noah was very excited to see Aunt Leah!

On Wednesday, my mom and I took the kids to the mall to shop a bit. We also met up with my friend Tina and her little boy, Ethan, for some lunch and playtime in the play area. I'm disappointed that I didn't pull out my camera and get any shots of them together! :-(

Noah rode the carousel by himself! What a big boy.

While we were there, Grammy bought both kids Keens to match Papa's. They are going to be great for the summer and we've already gotten a lot of good use out of them!

Noah is getting really good at working on the computer. Here he is playing games before bedtime and Kylie wanted to see what was going on, too. She kept watching and loving on him... it was so sweet.

Thursday was a big day. My mom and I loaded up the kids after an early lunch and took off down to DC to go to the zoo!! Kylie slept for about 30 minutes on the way down there but woke up as soon as we arrived. I was hoping she might sleep in the stroller later in the afternoon but no such luck. There was too much to see!!

Looking at the elephants.

Kylie loves animals but really likes to keep her distance! :-)

Gorillas!

Kylie loved the ape house.

So cute!!

Beautiful

There at 7 lion cubs right now so we had a great time looking at them. When I told Kylie they were babies, she kept yelling, BABY!!!! BAAABBBBYYYY!!! It was so funny.

2 mamas and 7 babies

Daddy

This was pretty funny. There was a high school music group there singing and the lions were checking it out and listening.

BABY!

My joys!

Noah LOVED the prairie dogs.

They had a prairie dog play area and the kids had a blast in there.

There was a petting zoo area. Here is Noah checking out the cow. At one point, he moo'd really loudly and Kylie clutched at me and started shaking! HA!

Here is Noah checking out the alligator outside of the reptile house. Obviously, he loved that house but I didn't take many pictures in there for some reason...

He was also really excited to see the pandas. In fact, halfway through, he started talking to someone and they asked what was his favorite thing so far and he said the pandas - even though we hadn't seen them yet! :-) Apparently, the vets were working with them that day but we did catch one near the end of the day sleeping it off.

After the zoo, we headed over to Leah's house for dinner. Kylie finally fell asleep on the 10 minute drive over there so I tried to carry her in and let her sleep on Leah's bed but as soon as I laid her down, she opened her eyes and was too interested in the next new environment. :-) She was a trooper until about 7:30 and then she'd had enough. She got a small second wind but around 8, my parents loaded the kids up and took them back to their house and I stayed with Leah overnight - what a treat for me! Apparently, they were both asleep pretty quick and didn't move when they took them in to bed.

Leah making Sangria

So sweet

I just love this series of pictures of Kylie. She was having so much fun.

Dancing!

Papa arrives!

After the kids ate dinner, they watched Toy Story. Again, I thought Kylie might fall asleep on the couch but she just didn't want to give it up. Too much going on! :-)

I got back to my parents house around 9 on Friday morning and after a little bit of play time, we took off to the park to meet two of my friends from high school and their girls.

Again, not much time to take too many pictures but I did snap just a few during a lunch/snack break. Here are Noah and Kylie with Abbey, my friend Katie's daughter.

... and the back of Natalie's head is on the left - never got a good pic of her! :-(

Actually, Natalie just welcomed a little sister this morning!!

Congratulations Amanda and Don!

Naps for the kids meant a little rest for me! Afterwards, just some more playtime until Papa got home.

Friday night was another treat for me. My parents put the kids to bed while I went out to dinner with my girlfriends from high school and Leah. It was nice to catch up with everyone!!

Ali, Julie, me, Ainara, Tina

Ditter and Ditter!

Leah came back to our parents' house after dinner and stayed until Sunday. It was so fun to have extra time with her. On Saturday morning, Leah had a hair appointment at the mall so my parents and I took the kids to the book store and then met her at the mall for lunch. My mom got both kids a cupcake and I think they liked it...

Leah and the finished product! Isn't she beautiful??

Daddy flew up to meet us on Saturday evening so we were all excited about that!! I took Noah to go pick him up at the airport and Noah was giddy to see him. Kylie got some 3 on 1 playtime while we were gone. :-)

Trying on Grammy's shoes

So, have I mentioned that Kylie is a Daddy's girl!? She was SOOO excited to see him. She just kept looking at him and then throwing her arms around his neck. It was so sweet and Waylon was beside himself, too.

Sunday morning, Waylon and I took off to IKEA for a pre-move-in shopping trip. We got a few things and have a lot more to think about furniture-wise for the new house. We can't believe that we will close on this new house in two weeks! We are so excited to be in and a little more settled!!!

While we were gone, Grammy, Papa and Leah took the kids to the horse farm down the street where they were having a horse show. I think they all had a blast!

Sunday afternoon, we went over to Roz and Duane's house and saw Max, Jill and Diane there, too. Max is 2 weeks younger than Kylie so they all had a blast.

This kitchen was popular and there were a few arguments over it. You can tell that Kylie has an older brother and is pretty vocal about what she wants. I've heard 'no no no!' and 'miiiine' a lot these days! :-)

Then we went to Mexican for dinner and got a GREAT picture of the three kids afterwards!

Monday morning, we drove home - a much easier trip with 2 adults in the car! :-) Waylon was already planning to take Tuesday off so we had a really nice family day at home that day. In the morning, we went to see the house and then went to the airport observation park for lunch and playtime and to pick up Daddy's car that was parked there.

The house with shutters! Almost done!

Noah 'taking off'

They both love playing in the sand!

The next few days (before I left for my trip alone to Charleston) were beautiful so we spent lots of time outside and the kids both loved wearing their sunglasses. :-)

A busy week and then another fun filled weekend this past weekend.... but that's up next....