Marching into March

Another month into 2019 and I continue to feel like life is flying past me. There are signs of spring outside (daffodils are pushing up through the hardened earth!) but snow and sleet and ice and 30 degree temps continue to be the norm, at least for now. Before our first winter here, a friend told me you earn your springs, and that has continued to ring true as we close in on ending our third winter (also, sidebar-yikes, as I think back to the "giving it a year" business.)

As much as I lament the snow, we all still secretly love it. Would just be great if it were sandwiched between 60 degree days so we could get outside more-it did happen once!

Valentine's Day was a joy to watch Henry celebrate. When offered the Star Wars options at Target, he wanted to stick to an old fashioned heart cut out of red paper with a message to the recipient. A traditionalist after my own heart. Adding a little homemade Darth Vader really set those hearts off though.

We took advantage of a mid-winter break and enjoyed another visit to the National Gallery's Art Explorers program with a classmate.

And spent every possible minute outdoors between snowstorms and snowball fights with our a new favorite pastime, basketball. One child was having a mood on this particular day. Oh, two-year-olds.

Our time here in DC is likely wrapping up in the next few months, and I've created a bucket list of activities that I want to check off. I went to high tea at the Ritz-Carlton with my neighbors as well as a lovely date night with my beau at the Watergate Hotel.

We are eagerly awaiting sunshine and those cherry blossoms signaling the arrival of spring, and much more fun outdoors during our remaining DC days.

The final weeks of summer

Today marks the final two weeks of summer before Henry starts school for the next 17 years and I cannot believe it. We made a bucket list to adventure as much as we can these last ten days and I'm reminded how much I've enjoyed being home with him these first few years.

This weekend he got to spend both days on dates with Scott and I. For my day, we headed to the National Gallery of Art for their Art Investigators program-a story about an artist and then a look at their work. It was AMAZING. Reminded me so much of "Meet the Masters" from elementary school. In this session, the kids focused on Edgar Degas and his only publicly exhibited sculpture, "Little Dancer Aged Fourteen Years."

These are drop-in programs and we missed the first session by minutes, so we hung out in their new Education Art Center for an hour, where I found a book about the sculpture, then we drew her with some really cool crayon/marker hybrid. We then made our way back to our session start time and while he was initially reluctant to this idea of mine, easily became fascinated thanks to the engaging leader and interactive participation. They listened, held the pose like the ballerina, and then got to model their own creation with clay to close.

This was the last session for the summer but I'll definitely be looking for it when it resumes in the fall.

"Mom, do we know this guy in the painting?"

We also went blackberry and peach picking at one of our favorite places-Homestead Farms. Since Jo was really into strawberry picking in May and well, eating sweet things in general, I figured this was right up her ally. We did it last summer with friends and what little time we'll have been here in retrospect, I like to think of it as a little tradition.

It's also been at least six months since we visited the zoo, so it was really Josephine's first time truly getting it. She loved seeing the animals and the giant cats were especially vocal, and the seals playful.

We took a family hike on Teddy Roosevelt Island and were treated to a family of deer crossing nibbling nearby and eventually crossing our path, and also returned to the National Botanical Garden since it opened in spring for some afternoon fun.

Kids starting school used to excite me-less crowds! Less traffic! And now my kid is one of them. I really feel like I just graduated sixth grade myself.

Life Lately

We have a four-year-old in the house, who rang in his birthday with a Star Wars/Batman/Superman mash up party with our neighbors, and who was spoiled by gifts from near and far.

We've gone exploring to a few new parks, including Jones Point Park, with an historic lighthouse on the property overlooking the Potomac.

Scott and I both came down with some terrible bugs and infections, and while it is really hard to be away from a support system in these scenarios, our neighbors were so supportive in helping us manage. I'm so glad we've developed the relationships we have and know the resources available around us. Get to know your neighbors!

After the clouds lifted, it felt so good to get out again, for early morning pretzels, park visits, and walks to the Capitol.

We also finally made it over to the National Gallery of Art, both the East and West Buildings. The East Building houses modern art including Lichtenstein, Picasso, Mondrian, and more. The West Building claims classic pieces from Van Gogh, Matisse, Monet, Manet, and even DaVinci. Walking through made me realize how beneficial the "Meet the Masters" art program was in elementary school (and I had a good chuckle when I saw most of the recognizable pieces were labeled as the "Children's Audio Tour" stops.)

The busts pictured below are an exhibit called "Lick and Lather"-the brown ones are made of chocolate and the white are soap. The scent of chocolate hung heavy in the air and I half expected Henry to make a lunge for it. The security guard revealed that for a while these were on display in a sun-filled room room prior to this space and that the chocolate began melting (it's evident on some busts) from the exposure. For being world class museums (ahem, Smithsonians) I have to raise my eyebrows on that decision.

I am not an art buff but to see these original pieces was pretty amazing. I'd really like to go back solo and spend more time in the West Building since we just hit up the Impressionist section and Josephine was screeching like a dragon and Henry was trying to negotiate a visit to the Air and Space Museum.

We were also treated to a very rare sighting of an albino squirrel, complete with red eyes. Squirrelnucula! And after a full year of Scott working here, we also finally paid him a visit to one of his three offices and enjoyed a lovely lunch together.

I am working hard on Halloween costumes and we are eagerly anticipating the arrival of both my mom and Scott's mom next week for a Grandma visit :)