joy to me: 3/1/09

3/26/09

I've got a golden ticket....again

To get a coveted White House Easter Egg Roll ticket for 2009 a different kind of camping out was required than last year. This year myself, sister, and friends camped out in front of our computers checking the White House website to see what time they would make the tickets available online. Boy was it hard! The site crashed numerous times. I kept refreshing with my fingers crossed. A couple times I had tickets in my basket only to find out by the time the page came up they were no longer available. I don't know how I got so lucky. A big THANKS goes out to ALYSSA who called me as soon as the tickets became available twice today, making it possible for not only Sophia and I to go, but also my sister from CA and her family and some friends that were traveling on the road today. We are so excited to go again this year. I think Sophia will enjoy it a little more this year since she's older.

White House Easter Egg Roll 2008

3/24/09

My hand at manual

After seeing some of Lindi's photos shot in manual, I was inspired to give it a try. This morning Lindi and I took the girls to the George Mason Memorial and the Jefferson with the sole purpose of playing with our cameras while the girls ran around. They played so well together. Sophia loved following London around whether it was climbing up the steps of the Jefferson or balancing around the garden of the Mason Memorial. The spring colors made beautiful back drops for portraits of our cute little girls.
I'll have to say that shooting in manual was challenging, but not as hard as I always imagined it to be. There is a wonderful little tool called the light meter to help you find your exposure so you are never guessing. It's genius. Now that the weather is warming up we're going out weekly with the girls and our Nikons :)

3/23/09

Living at the Park

As soon as the weather continues to stay warm, I'm sure our new home will be the park. Sophia loves everything about it. Last Weds. it was sunny and 70 so we headed to the park with our friends after a nap.

In this photo she is saying "Here, here." and patting her hand down. She wants me to sit next to her and slide down with her.

As you can see two very different approaches to the sandbox.

Sophia: clean and cautious

Josh: down and dirty

Both: having lots of fun

In this one Josh is smiling at his Mom while she takes a picture with her camera phone.

3/18/09

Bathing Beauty

Sophia had not taken a bubble bath in a long time. (Mostly because I forget to put bubbles in.) She absolutely loved it and didn't want to get out. She didn't even need any toys. She just played with the bubbles and a cup.

3/17/09

March = Mulch and other beautiful things

I never knew how disgusted I was with the smell of mulch until moving to the east coast. In fact I never even knew what mulch was. Although I find the smell displeasing, it's come to mark the beginning of spring and for that I have secretly come to like mulch. There is a beauty about it, but what's more beautiful are the blossoms that come with spring. Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. The temperature is moderate, not too hot or too cold, and the cold, uninviting trees and bushes take on a warm and colorful appearance.

Having grown up in southern CA with no seasons and moderate temps all year long, it was not until I braved my first winter in Philly that I knew what spring really was. I remember waiting and watching for all the plants and trees to bloom. Wondering what new color would pop up next.

It's that time of the year again when I wait and watch and wonder what I will wake up to the next morning. I can't wait to wake up the the cherry blossoms. So many things to look forward to this spring and summer:

Easter that will bring my sister and her fam to visit
possibly the White House Easter Egg Roll (that is if they ever officially announce they are having it)
the white sand beaches of Costa Rica for spring break
Rob starting his 4th and final year of Medical School!
visiting CA in July
Coldplay concert
playing at the pool and spray water parks
Sophia turning 2
and Rob's brother Mike and his fam visiting

Pachyderm Parade

pachyderm: Any of various large, thick-skinned, hoofed mammals such as the elephant, rhinoceros, or hippopotamus.

Or otherwise known as an Elephant parade. This morning we bundled up, yet again for another parade. This one was in the District and consisted of a few Elephants and clowns from the Circus that has come to town. We had no idea what to expect and it ended up being pretty small. We still had fun getting out and enjoying the fresh air (if that can be done in a city).
Don't know if you can see in the photo, but the elephants were holding on to each other's tails as they walked (so cute)

Sophia always has fun with Josh. Here he is trying to share his gloves. Cute photo, too bad Sophia's face is over exposed. (Still learning.)

3/16/09

Presidents's Day Parade

I know this was a month ago, but I forget to blog about it mostly because we got sick shortly after and these photos were on my point 'n shoot and I hardly ever use that camera anymore.

It was a cold day, but that didn't stop us from getting out. We all enjoyed the parade and it wasn't as crowed as I thought it would be.

Sophia and Josh trying to keep warm

How would you like this job?

Good old Abe

These cars were so fun to watch. They were super tiny and went really fast. Not to mention a few of the men looked like they were falling out.

3/13/09

Amelia and her boys

A couple of weeks ago my dear friend, Amelia was in town for just a short while. I was so excited she made time to come by and visit us. She hadn't seen Sophia since before her first birthday. Sophia warmed right up to her and loved having Stephen and Jack to play with. The boys were so sweet with Sophia and played so nicely with her. I wish Amelia and her family still lived around the block. I'm hoping her husband's work brings them back. Until then I'll enjoy having a friend to stay with and hang with when I want to take on NY city.

Sophia giving kisses

3/3/09

8 inches!

That's a lot of snow for this area and for this So. Cal girl. I was hoping March would bring some nice Spring weather. I was totally surprised with this storm. Cleaning my car off was a real work out and boy did the temperatures drop with the winds. Despite all the inconveniences that come with the snow, I loved seeing the beautiful blanket that covered the ground. Sophia and I bundled up and had a great walk yesterday morning. Our neighbor and his son had built a snowman so we stopped to play and take a photo with it. After seeing our neighbor's snowman Sophia and I were inspired to make our own. Well let's just say we attempted one (photo to come) and were happy with what we could come up with.

Rob started his surgery rotation yesterday and really enjoyed it. He was able to scrub in on his day and help :)

3/1/09

Make Believe

Since we were stuck in the house so much this last week sick, I had to become creative with Sophia's toys and things to play. I taught her that her teddy bears and dolls could be more than just something to snuggle. She soon discovered that make believe was pretty fun. We gave her dolls baths and wrapped them in towels to dry them off. I helped her dress them in her clothes. She wanted them completely dressed down to socks and shoes. (I see a trip to Build-a-Bear in my future.) The next day I found Sophia in her room with her teddy bear and the wipes out. She was going to change it's diaper. That is something I did not introduce to her, but being the smart little girl she is, it didn't surprise me.

Heavy eyelids and chapped lips....my sick little princess

Sleeping Beauty

Sophia and I were hit pretty hard this last week with whatever cold/flu bug was going around. I use to think it was hard taking care of well child while being sick. Little did I know that taking care of a sick child while being sick yourself is even worse. She did a lot of sleeping this last week.

Lovely lashes