Washington D.C. - Day 1

Rusty does quite a bit of traveling for work, so Owen and I like to accompany him when possible. I was extremely excited about a trip to Washington D.C. during Spring for Cherry Blossom time. We spent three full days there and tried to see and do as much as possible. Here are the photos from our first day. We ended up walking almost 5 miles!

Washington Monument with Cherry Blossoms

Washington Monument through Cherry Blossoms. Trying my hand at an artistic photo.

Jefferson Memorial

Jefferson Memorial with Cherry Blossoms.

This was as close as we got to it, since Owen was taking a nap.

Cherry Blossoms! I am slightly obsessed.

Finally, a photo with some people!

Owen finally woke up. It was St. Patrick's Day. We made sure to wear green, since we didn't want to get pinched by anyone.

We happened upon a local artist painting the lovely scenary. Gorgeous!

MLK Jr. Memorial

My smiling guys.

Lincoln Memorial. I have some photos of us inside, but they are uploading sideways. Grrr!

The Reflecting Pool was under construction.

Next, on to the Vietnam Wall Memorial.

We walked up to the White House, just in time for Owen to take another nap.

White House

The museums of the Smithsonian are amazing. I cannot believe how awesome it is that every one has free admission.

Our last stop of the day was the National Museum of American History. We went to check out the flag that inspired the Star Spangled Banner. It was old and amazing. It is in this room with very low lights and you cannot take photos, since it is falling apart.

Rick comes to Madison

One of the good things about Rusty and Rick working in the same industry is they some times end up in the same place all expenses paid. Rick was able to spend the weekend with us before getting down to business. We have had 3 snowstorms all winter. One occurred when Jeri came to visit, so it was only appropriate that it happened for Rick too.

A photo from the morning of Rick's arrival.

Same photo from a few hours later.

Owen is waiting at the door for Rick's arrival. I didn't have the heart to tell him it was the wrong door!

We decided to be just like old times and hit up Red Robin.

From the moment Rick arrived, Owen played shadow. He needed to be right next to Rick.

Rick is a great uncle and will always indulge his nephews in some playtime. Owen likes playtime to begin right around 7:00 AM. Rick was a good sport and would let Owen wake him up every morning.

Close-up after a little wrestling!

Owen tried to stage a protest of Rick leaving by staging a sit-in on Rick's luggage.

Buddies!

This post wouldn't be complete without a few random Owen photos. Owen has been practicing his waving skills! He was a two-handed waver for a long time.

My current favorite picture of my little guy, well at least for this week.

February Ramblings

Here is a random collection of photos from a fast month.

February took off running, well actually crawling. After weeks of rocking, moving backwards and rolling about, Owen decided to take off crawling. There he goes!

The first thing he decided to explore is the one thing it is impossible to baby-proof, a globe.

Owen had a few buddies over while his dad was out of town for work. Harrison, Roman and Owen.

Once again, the weather was nice enough to indulge in another park day. Still loves the swings!

Happy Valentine's Day. Seriously, I can't get enough of this face!

Me and my little Valentine!

Owen went through what seemed like a never ending growth spurt all month. Besides sleeping 13+ hours a night with 5+ hours of naps, he was eating us out of house and home. Not only would he finish all of his own food, but would also eat off of my plate, Rusty's plate and anyone else that was willing to give him something. Here he is devouring two scrambled eggs.

Owen can frequently be found under his highchair looking for scraps.

Owen enjoys watching Sesame Street while getting his nails trimmed. Here is how I found him a few minutes later. Apparently, he needed a closer look!

I love seeing the pictures that come out of a morning of quality father-son time. Owen checking out the empty toy bin.

Rusty tried cleaning up with Owen in the bin.

As February came to a close, Owen turned 9 months old. He had his check-up where he weighed 22.5 lbs and 29.25 inches. He's already in 18 month clothes.

February may have been a short month, but it definitely was full. March is looking to take the cake for busy!