Anna had her first try of rice cereal at about 5 1/2 months. She was so determined to eat like the rest of us. In her haste, she even tries to eat her table!

Hiking

Here are the boys out hiking with dad. What could be more fun for boys than being out in nature, dirty and sweaty and with each other?

Grandpa and Anna

Grandpa and Anna seemed to share a special bond. Anna just seemed to really love all of the interaction he did with her. She was on her best behavior and laughed and seemed to thoroughly enjoy spending time with her old grampy. (Well, maybe you aren't THAT old, dad!)

Father's Day

Christopher came up with the idea that he wanted to make his dad a present that told him all of the things he loved to do with him. It was very sweet and it was all his own!

Grandpa was in town for Father's Day. We went to Fletcher's Cove which is this great spot nuzzled between the C&O Canal and the Potomac. It was a beautiful day and it was pretty packed, but we had a great time! The boys got to go on a rowboat and play frisbee and run and then we had a BBQ. What more can one ask on Father's Day?

Anna's Blessing

This is one of the major drawbacks of having moved away from family. No one was really able to come to Anna's blessing. So, we just had a little celebration of our own. In some ways it was lovely to have it small and intimate and to have time to really appreciate what a wonderful blessing a new baby and personality to come into our home really is.

Bike riding

Christopher is finally learning to ride his bike without the training wheels. It has been difficult as there are not any really good learning areas since we moved from Pasadena, but we did find a park with a fairly straight course. It has been up and down, but naturally Mark wanted to come along. So, he got to ride his tricycle down a little hill that made him feel quite adventurous!

Anna's Hair

So, Anna has a little bit of wave in her hair. It really is only noticeable right after a bath and then it goes limp about 30 minutes later. I tried to capture it, but I'm not sure if you can tell in this picture.

Soccer

Christopher had his soccer class and really seemed to like to run around the field. The ball and fighting over it seemed to have little interest to him, but he had a great time anyway!

Mark had a great time in his soccer class. Sometimes it was a little bit difficult to keep him focused. He sometimes liked to chase bugs or play in the dirt, but we made it through with one of his best buddies, Laith. In the meantime, Christopher was wooing the ladies.

Christopher's birthday

Christopher turned six on May 7th. We had a birthday party with a Hawaii/Volcano theme as he was really into volcanoes and magma and all of that stuff at the time of his birthday. We had quite a large group of boys from his class and only two girls (some of his best friends that we couldn't exclude) . Christopher helped to make the volcano with mom out of paper mache. It was a fun project that turned out fairly well. The only complaint was that we were supposed to do it at the park, but we got rained out, so we had a large group of wild boys in our apartment. However, the weather did behave enough for us to go outside and see the volcano erupt!

Being Playful

Anna is too cute. I am a little biased though. She is always so quick to smile and here is one of her half shy, half playful ones!

Hidden Talents

So, who knew that Christopher has such artistic skills? (He used to rush through my art projects.) He was picked to display his interpretation of Van Gogh's 'Starry Night". Here we all are pointing to it. That is Aunt Bea and Uncle Len who happened to be down from New Jersey and were able to see it in all it's glory!

Kenwood blossoms

Going to the Tidal Basin was beautiful, but in the neighborhood directly behind our apartment complex is "The Kenwood". The streets are lined with cherry trees and when the blossoms came in there was literally a canopy that was so lovely. After a long, cold winter, they were so fantastic!

Cherry Blossoms

This was our first time to see the beautiful cherry blossoms. We were also fortunate enough to have me sister around. Here are some of the highlights.

Christopher's Pictures

Christopher got a camera two Christmas's ago and it didn't quite work the way it should, so he got another one for his birthday. It takes some level of a steady hand (it was pretty inexpensive) but he loves to take pictures. He also got some plants and has shown a great aptitude for caring for them and making sure they are watered. He checks them at least once a day. We might be ready for a pet soon! Anyhow, he wanted to share this picture that he took with his own camera of his own plants!