What day is it?

Is it mid-April already? Am I really 18 weeks pregnant and almost half way through growing this new little baby? Is Peanut almost in nursery? Did spring break just come and go? Yes! Ahhhhhhh!

I'm sitting here craving Taco Time tater tots, looking at a messy kitchen floor that needs to be mopped, a church lesson that needs to be planned, and paint choices that need to be finalized so we don't miss the Sherwin William's 40% off sale. So instead I decided to blog and eat a piece of toast. Those seemed the most manageable. It's time to sit back and smell the roses a minute and relish all the good things in our life. We are happy!...

We were lucky to have a visit from my parents over Easter week. Desmond loved the attention (he's signaling that he must have food in the picture above), I loved all the adult interaction, and we had a fabulous time seeing even more sites in DC. We've been down there, how many times now, and still haven't seen all of it. This round we toured the Capitol building, the Library of Congress and the White House. Thanks to the preparedness of Dad, to get the tours set up ahead of time, it was a breeze...Other than the part where I left a camera in my pocket at the White House and had to take it all the way back out and go through the security again. Don't do it folks! The secret service are not kind understanding people when on the job. We also tasted one of best hamburger joints on the planet, located on Capitol Hill: Good Stuff Eatery. Katie herself, labeled it as such, and seeing that she is the family hamburger connoisseur, this is no small proclamation. Oh there is a cook book of all his recipes. You should check it out just for the chipotle mayo sauce. Can you tell I'm pregnant or what?

This was also a big week for Peanut. He progressed to the front facing car seat and his verbosity increased ten-fold. He started trying to repeat near everything that Grandpa said. "WHOA" was his favorite. See the evidence below.

Arlington 

Mom at the very center of D.C

Supreme Court

Capitol

"E" For Effort

We are dragging a bit around here...OK make that "I" am dragging, which means the whole household comes down with me.  I'm just plain pooped. This year seems to finally have caught up with me. I don't particularly like this state of being. I feel unproductive. That said I thought putting up a post might make me feel productive. I'll earn an "E" for effort for the week. So here we go...

We had another set of visitors this week. Grandma and Grandpa! Yes Peanut's Grandma and Grandpa, just so we don't confuse anyone. We had a lovely time eating (Tiffany, there were most definitely meatballs), celebrating birthdays, touring battlefields, and just spending time together. We are so blessed to have so many visitors in our humble abode. You all make our life exciting. Thank you!

What a great photo!

Watch out folks. He means business

We sure know how to show guests a wild time

The lovely Lady
waiting on the carriage step

On another note,  I would like to give a big cub scout round of applause to our fellow church members in thanks. We hit the jack pot on timing our move in. Everyone is just finishing having kids or their youngest's are just growing out of all the things that we are just starting to need, and we seem to have become the local hand-me-down drop off center. Mountains of clothes and toys and most recently a bike trailer have found their way to us. It's simply awesome. 

That said, we decided to take the bike trailer out on it's maiden voyage with two of the rental bikes that our apartment complex offers (our road bikes and an unpaved trail = disaster). This ended up being another "E" for effort adventure as it in no way could earn any other satisfactory grade. When we got to the trail of choice, we realized that these bikes did not have quick release wheel hubs and we did not have a wrench to attach the bike trailer. Thankfully after 15 minutes of discussion on how to proceed, or whether we should just give up and go home, a giant semi of train workers pulled in the park n' ride lot. All seven got out. All seven went searching for a wrench and all seven supervised the removal of said bolt and then supervised Rob as he attached the trailer. They then oohed and ahhed over the tiny baby we were planning on strapping into the attached trailer. After lots of thanks you and all of this commotion we hit the trail. Two miles down I noticed my tire was not just a little flat but completely flat. Lucky for me we had a pump in the car. So Peanut and I waited by the bike on the side of the trail waving at fellow riders and runners until Rob's return. We pumped up the tire and I took off like a shot to get back to the car before it went flat again. So that became our two hour, two mile bike ride. "E" for effort family!

Waiting for my knight and his trusty steed
to return.

The other knight in shining diapers.

Most successful part of the trip...
clean up.

{ The Fruits of Our Labors }

What do we do when the daily work is done? Enjoy the fruits of our labors...literally. This is what we've been up to:

Fruit picking...which leads to freezing, jam making, cobbler eating and weight gaining...

swimming...

more swimming...

reading... 

baseball watching at Camden Yards...

meeting up with old friends...

helping with the dishes...

exploring (isn't his crawl strange? He's so fast though)...

and listening to these giant bugs. You're not watching for anything in this video. Just listening. 

Do you hear the whirring noise in the background? That is not static, or air conditioners, or traffic. It this giant bug called a cicada.   

There are swarms of these disgustingly giant bugs and they make that noise constantly all day and all night. It is so loud I can even hear it through the walls, especially while I'm lying in bed at night. Thank goodness they stay in the trees. These bugs are huge and they absolutely terrify me. They are 2 to 3 inches long. I hate bugs, especially exceptionally large ones with wings. I can see shells of their bodies all over the side walk. Thanks to wikipedia I learned why: 

"Cicadas live underground as nymphs for most of their lives, at depths ranging from about 30 cm (1 ft) down to 2.5 m (about 8.5 ft). The nymphs feed on root juice and have strong front legs for digging. In the final nymphal instar, they construct an exit tunnel to the surface and emerge. They then molt (shed their skins) on a nearby plant for the last time and emerge as adults. The abandoned skins remain, still clinging to the bark of trees."

Yes, clinging to trees, or sidewalks or anything. Blah! If you like bugs this would be heaven for you. Even if you don't you should definitely read about them HERE.

{ It's a Miracle! }

The miracle worker is Rob. He fixed the camera! He took it all apart for fun last night and then while I was busy with something else entirely he put it back together. He pushed the on button and lo and behold it worked! The lens smoothly retracted and it successfully took a photo. Oh what a joyful night!

{ RIP Little Blue }

A post without a picture in this household means something is wrong. Yes, today my beloved blue, SONY, camera, with smile detection, died.  It slipped while I was taking a photo of the baby, fell maybe 3 whole feet and landed straight on top of the block Peanut was playing with, face down, with the lens out. It wasn't even a hard fall. I pick it up and the whole lens is crooked. It won't retract and will no longer take photos.  I'm a little peeved that I have to go find yet another camera when just a few hours ago I had a perfectly good one that was going to last me at least 5-10 more years as my take everywhere point and shoot. This also means you will only be getting old visual news on here until our situation is remedied.

I have the worst luck with cameras. Here's my history:

April 2008: This camera went missing the day of my college graduation. I have no photos from that blessed day other than the two I recently discovered on my mothers camera.

March 2006 or thereabout: Room mate accidently knocks chair over. It falls directly on top of the camera shattering it. How it was in the middle of the floor I do not know.

August 2001: Hawaii ZONE swim meet. Camera was on my hand one second gone the next. It wasn't with the team stuff, it wasn't in my bag. I didn't leave it in the locker room or the hotel room. It vanished with all of the glorious waterfall photos. Thank goodness for my parents willingness to let me use theirs for the rest of the trip and for their supplying me with disposables until Christmas 2003.

That's four good point and shoots in a matter of ten years. And I am not updating outdated technology here. Sheesh! What gives? Any suggestions for a good deal? What brand should I look at now? Should I get a waterproof one? Is there something that is indestructible with an alarm system on it in my price range?

Good-bye most loved and most used electronic, second only to the computer, we will miss you dearly.