The Circus is in Town!

On Saturday, we headed down to Fairfax to go to the circus.

Before it started, everyone was allowed to walk down on the floor to meet the clowns, performers and see Asia, the elephant. Oliver was asleep about 2 minutes after this picture was taken. (Unfortunately it didn't last too long because someone decided to chase a clown with his extremely loud motorcycle.)

This was Mr. Gravity. He was always trying to bring everybody down. Every time Andrew and I heard his name we wanted to sing "Defying Gravity" from the Broadway musical, Wicked.

Madeline happily smiling for the camera... not! Will she ever get over this "I hate the camera" stage?

Waiting for The Greatest Show on Earth to begin.

Notice Oliver awake again. He actually watched a good deal of the circus.

Madeline liked the horses!

Before going, I knew that I would enjoy it. But, I wondered if the circus would have the same kind of wonder and amazement as it did as a child. I was surprised to find out that it did. These people are pretty amazing. I felt sure, that at any moment, we were going to watch someone fall to their death.

Then I thought, if I joined the circus, I don't know if I wanted to be known as the "dog people". I mean, out of everything they do at the circus, dogs don't seem too impressive. But actually, they were really funny to watch. And they were Madeline's favorite part.

Then came the canon! The first one wasn't real. (But, Andrew did a great job of catching the smoke.)

But, then they brought out the big guns! And sure enough, these women went flying across the arena together.

I wasn't sure how Madeline would react to the circus. She doesn't necessarily like loud noises or lots of people. ( I know, the circus seemed perfect, right?) She wan't all giddy and excited. But, she did watch in amazement. Occasionally she would say, "Look at the elephants, Daddy!"

Speaking of the elephants... I think they were my favorite. I love how they hold each other's tails. They are so magnificent.

After a while Madeline started looking all around her and saw that lots of other kids had cool light toys. So, she wanted one. We won't discuss the highway robbery that occurred when purchasing this toy. I think that next time we go to the circus, we will hit the dollar store first.

Overheard At My House

Yesterday, I was getting really frustrated with the mess in our house and the fact that we couldn’t get out of the house before 2pm to go to the grocery store. I just needed to find my cell phone and then we could go. I asked Madeline if she had seen it or taken it. She said, “I help you find it.” I rushed upstairs to look for it and Madeline followed me up. She came and grabbed my hand and stroked it saying, “calm down, just calm down. I help you find it.” She's so sweet and I didn't realize she could read me so well. Makes me realize that I always need to be watching my attitude and how I react to things. I've got little eyes watching my every move.

In the car, Madeline often talks about when she gets to drive. She used to think she had to be 3. I think she might know that the age is 16 now. The other week she told me, "When I'm a mommy, I can drive. And when you're little, you can ride in my car seat." Thanks honey. That's really sweet of you. I actually like the pretty flowers on your car seat more than the gray on mine.

Another day she said, "There are 2 car seats in here. Oliver has one and I have one." I said, "I have one too." She said, "No mommy (like I was so silly), you don't have a car seat. You just have a seat." She's a smart cookie.

Big Boy Food

Oliver started eating solid food on Sunday night. I thought he might do well with it. Sometimes after he nurses, he still seems a little hungry and will take several more ounces of formula. He is also very interested in watching us eat and tries to put things in his mouth.

So, we gave it a go. And it was a huge success. It started out a little runny and just came right back out of his mouth. But, we thickened it up a bit and he went to town on it.

Now, I have no idea what it's like to have a child that finishes his food. So, I'm not sure if I am supposed to keep feeding him until he stops opening his mouth. Or am I supposed to ration his food? All I know is it's nice to have a child that likes to eat for now. So, we are going to go with it.

Tonight we are going to try something new. Maybe some avocado or some sweet potatoes. Oh, and he slept through the night for the first time last night. He went to sleep around 11 and got up right before 8. Hopefully this continues. But, that's probably just wishful thinking. (Who wouldn't want to see that cute, adorable face in the middle of the night anyways? :)

Duck...Duck...GOOSE!

One game that Madeline enjoys around here is Duck, Duck, Goose.

It's fun to bring Oliver in on the action as well.

Madeline can get her animals and help put them in a circle. But, she still doesn't quite understand the point of the game.

When she tags someone, instead of running around the circle back to the empty seat. She just runs away (to laundry baskets).

And Oliver is left all by himself, wondering where everyone went. At least he has a few animals and Minnie Mouse to keep him company.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's (Andrew's) birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!

We hope you have a wonderful day on your Birthday! Thank you for being such a wonderful father and friend. We appreciate everything you do. Thank you for working hard, being a spiritual leader, a loving and fun grandfather, stock advisor and friend.

We love you very much!
Love,
Andrew, Naomi, Madeline and Oliver

This blog was also featured on howtomakeadollar.

The Park

We have lived at the park for the past week. (Well, not actually lived. We did go home to sleep.) I don't know who could stay inside with weather like this.

Madeline had to scope out the scene before venturing out among all the boys one day. They can be a little rowdy you know.

But, once she was able to let go... she was ready to play!

The cutest thing this past week was the way she made friends. This is a new thing for her. Usually she plays by herself and just watches all the other kids. But, she made 2 new friends this week. They would follow each other around, going down the slides together and playing on the bouncy things together. It was really fun to watch. They both wanted to wear their sunglasses together. I love how Madeline prefers to wear hers upside down. I guess they just fit better that way.

This little girl was from London. I loved how she talked about the motorcycle and its side car (Picture it in an adorable 3 year old british accent.)

This is a favorite swing at the park among all the kids. I guess it is pretty comfortable.

We even took a picnic lunch with us several days last week.

We have loved going to the park so much that we brought daddy on Saturday.

We weren't the only ones with the wonderful idea of going to the park on Saturday. We got to enjoy some lovely guitar music while we were there. I wish this guy played every time we were there.

Oliver enjoyed the park mostly like this. It is hard to get a picture of him in the sling. But, since Andrew was with us one day, he could take the picture. (By the way, this is probably my #1 baby item right now. I don't go anywhere without my Peanut Shell. He sleeps so great in it and loves to just hang out in it when he's awake.)

We are so excited about this spring weather and getting to be outside. We realized that there has been snow on the ground for every day of winter this year. We even saw a little bit left at the park on Saturday. So, it is nice to see the buds on the trees getting ready to burst open and to feel the warm sunshine on our faces.

Roanoke

We headed to Roanoke last weekend to visit my family. We spent a lot of time on Saturday at a park nearby since the weather seems to be warming up. It was pretty. But, still a little chilly. Madeline enjoyed swinging high. (I can't believe she's big enough to swing on a big girl swing.)

Of course, there were lots of photos taken. (Actually, Andrew took all of these. I just edited them.)

After lunch, Pawpaw took Madeline for a ride on a tractor.

Gigi enjoyed some Oliver time.

Oliver got to sit in the high chair for the first time. I think he enjoyed being a big boy :)

This what I like to call, "I Will Conquer The Applesauce"

Andrew decided to do a little photoshoot with Oliver. I definitely think Andrew should go into photography.

We had a great weekend with my family!