Drew's first homework assignment

Drew's first homework assignment (they give homework on Mondays that is due on Fridays) was to write a story introducing himself to the class. He was to mention interests, pets and summer vacations, etc. He was allowed to write it himself or dictate it to me. He can write a sentence or two but because it was a story, I let him tell it to me and I wrote it down. Then, he was to include a picture of himself and he chose this one we took over the weekend at the state capital. Love this boy!

Baltimore National Aquarium

This past weekend my mom and her husband, Sam, traveled to Baltimore, MD, for an orthopedic conference. Baltimore is only an hour away so my mom turned it into a mini-vacation for all of us! We stayed right on the water of Baltimore's beautiful harbor downtown and it was just gorgeous.

On Friday while David was at work and Sam was attending his medical conference, my mom and I took the kids to the National Aquarium. It was huge and the best one I have been to for sure. It really seemed the aquatic life were more in their natural habitat. The big display is designed like a ship where the water surrounds you with all the different fish and you continue to descend like you are scuba diving. So, there are various fish and wildlife at the top and then it continues to change as you walk lower and lower inside the display. My favorite were the various kinds of sharks and then at the lowest level all the stingrays which were huge.

Drew and my mom at the aquarium

Drew

The views from inside the aquarium were just as breathtaking

Big fish and alligators

Dilan was having a good time because she could get up close

Saw shark's actual nose next to Dilan

The dolphins were really neat too - you could literally sit there and watch them for hours. One actually came up to the glass and started playing with the kids. It had such personality - it was literally laughing with them and goofing off.

the dolphin playing with Drew

Jellyfish world

Tropical area with lots of plants and vegetation

We only had a short walk along the harbor to get to the aquarium so we really enjoyed the scenery too. We even saw a wedding taking place. That night we took a taxi ride to a nearby restaurant where we ate delicious crabs which is what Maryland is known for. Drew could not stop talking about his first taxi ride - he absolutely loved it.

Old lighthouse

Drew's First Day of Kindergarten

My cute little boy is off to kindergarten today. I have such mixed emotions - I am so excited for him and know he is going to have so much fun and learn a lot. But I will really miss him during the day. I think it will make our time in the afternoons and evenings even that much more special though.

Drew picked out a new shirt for his first day - he wanted a new blue shirt and this is what he picked out (at Target nonetheless). He was excited to ride the bus and told me he was going to go all the way to the back. But when the time came, I think he picked the first open seat he saw which was up in the front on the left side. David and I couldn't see him because of the tinted windows but soon discovered him waving furiously to us and we waved back until he took off down the street.

That's when some tears came to my eyes - I'm just missing him and realizing how big he is getting. It's hard when you are a stay-at-home mom and you are there for absolutely everything because you want to be and then you send him off to school and you are not there. You are just hoping he is okay, he has a good time, he is happy and safe physically and emotionally. But I know this is all part of life and I have to let him go a little bit - just not too much yet! We are so proud of our big boy!!!

Drew and Dilan - Drew's spiderman backpack

David, Drew, Dilan, and Beva at the bus stop

Dilan, Drew and me at the bus stop

Hugs and kisses goodbye - the bus is here!

Drew boarding the bus!

Splash Park Round 2

We actually went to the splash park again last Friday and met up with a new friend. The kids had a blast and it was a lot of fun to have people there to play with rather than just be by ourselves.

Dilan getting on the turtle - love the face!

Drew and Dilan on the turtle together

Drew finally got his picture of the water splashing up his shorts - you should see this - all the boys figure this out and they all think it feels "weird"... hilarious to see and hear their conversations about it.

Me and Dilan

National Zoo

We visited the Smithsonian National Zoo on Saturday. Zoo admission is free so it's a great way to spend the day. I was impressed by the grounds alone. Very lush and green, lots of shade (even though it was still hot), you felt like you were in the animal's natural habitat and not in the middle of the city. They also have misters throughout the zoo to keep you cool and the kids just loved running through them and standing under them. The panda bears are a big attraction here and one of our favorite spots was the small mammals exhibit. Dilan's eyes got so big because she could really get up close to the monkeys, shrews, meerkats and all the smaller animals. People did warn us though that by the time you go down the hill and see everything, you actually have to climb back up to exit the zoo - not so great because I was definitely hurting by then and we were all tired. But we had a really good time and are glad we got to go. By the way, we did see at least two Amish groups there - I so wanted to take a picture - just fascinating to me! :)

At the front of the zoo

Making our souvenir penny that Drew collects in his bedside table

Resting on a rock

Panda bear exhibit

Meerkats - Drew thought they were so funny

Dilan's face every time we saw an animal - whereas her hair is usually wet because of pure sweat, this time it was because of the water from the misters

Small mammal exhibit

Gorillas - it really smelled in there and this silver back almost fought another gorilla while we were there!

At the end of our stay near a very pretty waterfall

The Metro

We took our first trip as a family on the Metro to D.C. Apparently this is supposed to be easy to do but as I thought with two kids and the stroller plus the stuff you have to bring and not to mention an 18 mth old that doesn't want to just sit on a moving train for half an hour, it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to coordinate. BUT it was very worth it because of the constant smile on a little boy's face. Drew was in awe and he loved it. He switched seats a few times looking out the window from all points of view, he could have ridden the metro for hours. It made it all worth it for sure. However, we learned with the cost to ride and all, it probably would have been easier for us to just drive to the zoo. But David and I kept reminding ourselves, we were doing this for Drew and it proved to be a memorable day indeed.

Nursery Girl

Dilan is 18 months now so she is attending nursery at church. I always like to take a picture of them when they begin nursery so here she is! She only lasted an hour last week because she was so tired and got pretty upset when we weren't there to comfort her. This week she did better. I stayed with her for the first hour and then left for the second and she cried for a bit but then did okay. By the end, they were blowing bubbles and she was running around laughing and having a good time. I don't think it will take her long to adjust but I don't know for sure. Let's hope it is in the next two months! :)

A dress for Dilan - 18 months old

My grandmother, MawDee, called one day and said she had found a perfect dress for Dilan and she just had to send it to us. Unfortunately, it is too small for her to wear but I was able to get it on her enough to take a picture! I also wanted to show a picture of Beva who Dilan calls "Buba" and her obsession with cheez-its right now. She especially loves Cheetos but I don't buy them so when we were in Texas she ate them like crazy at my grandmother's house and my mom's house. Dilan is also pointing to everything and talking up a storm. A lot of what she says is not easily understood but she will hold full-on conversations with you like you do know what she is talking about. She does say a lot of words though and will try to say a new word anytime you ask her to. This little girl is so precious and she truly lights up our days. For her 18 mth checkup, she is in the 75%tile on everything. :)

Germantown Splash Playground

I took the kids to this really fun splash playground yesterday - the best part is that it is seriously minutes from the house. The more and more I learn about this area, I figure out how well David did in getting us a house here. We are a few minutes from the biggest soccer complex in Maryland where Drew will be playing this fall, not to mention it has an indoor pool for his swim lessons this fall as well. And this wonderful splash park is right there too with a miniature golf course.

Dilan was so excited about the water, pointing to it and delving right in. Drew was definitely more hesitant and didn't want the water splashed in his face (reason for swim lessons this fall and the use of floaties still). But he really warmed up to it and by the end of our 2 hours there, he was having an absolute blast asking me when we could come back. His favorite part was standing over the water shooting up his shorts - he laughed and laughed and thought it was hilarious. Dilan did great keeping up and running through the water even though she got tired towards the end of our stay.

The blue whale with a water spout was very popular.

Learning how to cover the hole and not getting the water in their faces.

waterfall where both kids ran back and forth to the cave

Loving the water

Drew wanted a picture on the frog even though the frog was not spouting out water like it was supposed to

Dilan's favorite spot, sitting on the tail of the whale

This started out a good idea until Dilan started pushing Drew off the whale :)