Ringing in 2014

It's almost the start of another new year, and with it, it seems appropriate to reflect on one significant realization I had in 2013 - which is to immerse yourself in a deeper appreciation of those that support you, show love to you, and to remember who those people are each and every day. I feel blessed to have just spent the last 8 (awesome!!) days with my family back in my hometown. It was the first time we've been with my family for Christmas in three years! 

Falling into fall (a bit late).

So I thought I'd catch up on our Fall happenings before we head into Winter, but the Winter Solstice just happened last night, so that plan's a wash. Well, better late than never - that's my motto, anyway - and these photos from October and November are just too cute not to share :)

1 // The leaves starting to cover the ground and turn brilliant shades of yellow, then oranges and reds. FALL - that's one plus about living in Maryland!

2 // A real Maryland crab feast. On a boat on the Potomac River!

3 // Cooking lessons with Max. He loves to cook and I can't help but hope he'll be the next Junior MasterChef! He's also obsessed with wearing his apron. (Remember when he wouldn't leave the house without his bib?) During this lesson, he was fascinated by the long stalk of fresh brussel sprouts. He helped pluck them all off. After Dadda halved them, he put each one of them into a bowl for cooking.

4 // Me fixing Max's 2nd birthday balloons - I filled his room with them overnight for him to wake up to. In theory it sounded like a great idea. In practice, he was a bit terrified. Go figure.

5 // My baked-from-scratch birthday cake for the birthday boy. It was a labor of love.

6 // Birthday Boy at Glen Echo Park. We took him to see a live production of his then-favorite bedtime book, Goodnight Moon.

7 // Max feeding Baby FurFur his birthday cake. That boy!! He's so generous and loves to share food with his pets. (Although somehow, he knows not to feed real FurFur any food. Good boy!)

8, 9, 10 // Dadda and Max Day at Butler's Orchard for a fall pumpkin festival. They played on tractors, picked pumpkins from the patch, petted sheep, and apparently Strongman Max is capable of pushing wheelbarrows.

11, 12, 13 // Halloween at Cabin John Playground. We rode the Halloween train, dressed as a little Tazmanian Devil.

14, 15, 16 // Moving Day! Our lease ended but we were lucky enough to find another place in the building next door. Max had a blast lining up the milk crates and pretending they were choo-choo train cars, and that old store cards were "tickets." To which he'd hold out a handful like he was some high-roller in Vegas and shout, "Party!!" I have no idea where he gets his imagination from! ;-)