Madi goes to Michigan!

Last week me and Madison flew over to Michigan to visit my brother and sister in law and their adorable 2 kids. Michigan is a beautiful state and the weather could not have been more perfect. Our goal was to try as many cider mills as we could and compare their donuts. We ended up getting to 3! We also got to tour around the area they live, go to a cute neighborhood park, and catch up. My brother is a general surgery resident and lives a very busy work life but I happened to catch him on a weekend where he was around so I lucked out!

Here is Madi and their son Jet. They liked to share food back and forth

At this cider mill you could feed the animals. Madi was in heaven!

Here is handsome Jet at one of the mills

Every time I see this picture I chuckle. I love her smile and crooked pants with high top socks.

Madi and Nyah with their umbrellas on a rainy morning.

Babies babies

We are excited to bring a beautiful little girl into our family! Here I am at 21 weeks 3 days. She's growing!

Kayaking and Labor Day

A few weeks ago we got a babysitter and went kayaking with some friends in Georgetown on the Potomac and then got lunch after. We found ourselves doing this a lot this summer, it is just so beautiful and fun to be on the water!

 On Labor Day Bryan happened to have the weekend off, so we decided to do a fun weekend getaway. We went to a place in Maryland called Rocky Gap with some friends. We enjoyed Canoeing, Boccie ball, hiking, playing by the water, late night Balderdash, and just hanging out!

Bryan on the water getting ready to canoe the lake

And we're off!

Bryan and Madi enjoying the beach

 

These last couple of days have reminded me of why I love this city so much! I know we still have 10 months left but sometimes I feel sad that we are going to be leaving. Yesterday we went with friends to a fun and free museum, the American history museum and then had a picnic in front of the Washington monument. Today I took Madi to Georgetown where they have a fun water feature to play in, and a beautiful water front view. Tomorrow we are going to a farm and apple picking. There are so many fun things to do here and with the weather being tolerable it is making it that much more enjoyable. I have this sense of urgency sometimes to make sure I am really taking advantage of all the wonderful things this place has to offer!

 Madi playing in Georgetown

 Waterfront view in Georgetown. We had to go down and give a warm hello to all the ducks

 This was Madi the other night eating Chocolate pudding. Things got a little out of control in these parts!

This is Madi looking down and she is saying " Oh messy" Yeah madi I suppose you did get a little messy!

This last week my grandparents have been in town to spend time with us. It has been a lot of fun! Madi has been having so much fun with them and is loving the attention! We have gone out to eat, shopping, cards, site seeing, Olympic watching, church, catching up and just enjoyed each others company.

 Madi and Daddy at the World War II Memorial.

 Me and Grandpa

 Our DC native

 Madison enjoying her time with Grandma and Grandpa. She is going to miss them!

As most parents do, I can;t help but wonder where the time is going with little Madi. She has is growing into a little girl, and is so much fun! Her contagious smile, high energy, kisses, and her sweet little voice melt my heart every day. She is able to communicate a lot now, she tries to sing, she plays hide and go seek, she tries to be funny (and succeeds!) and laughs all the time. She's just our little sweetheart!

 Here is Madi and Daddy dancing the night away!

I also had to share Madi's first real attempt to pull a fast one on me. I had given her a plate with crackers on it for a little snack, and she took them off the plate, put them in her hand, and then handed me the empty plate and said  "mo cackee" (more crackers) I said well Madi, whats in your hand while pointing to the hand with the crackers in it. She took the crackers, switched them to the other hand and showed me that her hand was empty, so I said pointing to the other hand,  whats in that hand? She switched the  crackers back to the other hand and showed me her hand was empty, then grabbed the plate and said again "mo cackee" I couldn't believe my eyes! If she is doing this at 18 months, who knows what we have in store for us!!!

Madi goes to nursery

Our little girl started nursery today. She finally made it. The fact that after church she ran up and gave the nursery leader a big bear hug around the knees means she must have had a good time.

goes

Lately it has been a little crazy around here. First lets start with all the storms. Last weekend was the first one. On Friday night we had a thunder storm that put us out of power from Friday night to Saturday evening, and with no a/c until Monday. When this storm had just started, no rain or anything yet, Bryan was going to our apartment gym and said that he had heard a crack. He just ran, and then when he looked behind him a tree had fallen in his path. A security guard was there, and said, man you are one lucky guy. I am so grateful he didn't get hit, because the next storm I am going to talk about 5 people died and most because of falling trees. Then came next Friday with another storm. This storm was huge. It had the force of a level one hurricane but just a different weather pattern. It took this area out! Well over a million people without power, 5 deaths, and damage everywhere. Cars, houses, power lines, and much more crushed by trees. Our house was out of power from Friday night until tues. night. To make it more exciting, we were having a heat wave and temperatures were in the 100's with high humidity. Sunday madi woke up sick but seemed to get better that evening, then monday she woke up again with a high fever, shaking, diarrhea. the works. I had to give her a bath, and all there was was cold water so of course she was screaming and crying. It was no fun. Bryan was on call Monday-Tuesday, and thankfully me and Madi were able to stay at a friends house Monday night. Madi woke up feeling healthy the next day which I was so grateful for. I was amazed at all the support and help people were offering us. I probably got offered 5 different houses to stay at. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such great people. Tuesday evening the power finally came on. Electricity is amazing, and I am so grateful for it!!!

One of the trees in the complex.

On a fun note, my parents were in town. Not one picture was taken, but they got to experience the fun storms. My poor mom only had about 3 full days of A/C. She is a good sport! It was  so fun to have them here. We went to dinner, did a lot of fun outings, went kayaking, and played games.


For the 4th Bryan had to work. The good news was that it was a short day. The bad news is that a short day was 9 hours. He got home tired so we just went out to eat and took Madi to a splash pad for a  few hours. It was fun to be together as a family for a few hours in country we love!

Bryan turns the big 3-0 and graduation

Last week, this guy stepped into a new decade. To celebrate this day, we got a babysitter and went down to Georgetown. We went kayaking on the Potomac river which was so beautiful and fun, we went to lunch, and then walked around a little. The weather was perfect, and the day was so perfect! That night some friends had us over for dinner and birthday cake. Happy Birthday Bryan! You really are amazing!

 This weekend was the yearly graduation. I can't believe another year has come and gone and another set of residents are getting ready to enter the real world. We can't wait for our turn next year!

Some of the ladies

 Here are the new and upcoming chiefs. Let the storm begin!

The whole crew