The next spring activity- Smithsonian Kite Festival.
We took the metro down to DC one Saturday to see kites and cherry blossoms.

The girls made their own kites at a booth on the mall.

Our friends Jenn and Simeon joined us on our kiting adventure.

Beloved PB&J.

Anna ran all over the mall "flying" her kite.

We figured we'd head home around naptime, but the girls seemed happy chilling in the stroller so we went to the Museum of Natural History.

And then took five hundred pics with the blossoms.




Last stop was the Capital building.

We had a fantastic time down in DC...


...and then we, and five thousand other people, attempted to take the metro home. Let's not talk about the lines of tired people, including us with two un-napped children, trying to take a double stroller through the crowded station, finally reaching the entrance gate to realize I lost my ticket, finally getting on the packed metro with both kids in my arms and turning to see the doors closing with Chris on the other side, Sonja crying most of the ride...sigh. Yes, let's not talk about that. Remember those pretty cherry blossoms?

First day of spring.

We went to the park and walked down to the lake.

A nice man lent Anna a fishing pole.

After PB&J's...

...we walked around the lake.

We explored some bridges and docks.

After naps, we took Rita up on her free italian ice.

We're so glad you're here, Spring!

Beginning of March, the girls and I took a quick trip up to Philly to visit with the Liv's and company.
Erin is raisin' those boys right.

So so right.

And Dem was a wonderful help too.

During the day, it was great to catch up with a few other families who stopped by and dinner that evening with 8 kids:3 adults was very fun chaos. =)

Thanks again, Liv's. =)

Let's go back to..ahem..February to catch up with pics.
MarioKart with JK- the girls adore having this guy in town. =)

We had some friends over that evening a sang an early birthday to Chris. After most folks had left, I was back with the girls in their room and told Sonja she could go out and say goodnight to the guys. She had no intention of returning:

For C's real birthday, we invited his parents over for dinner and enjoyed this professionally decorated cake:

No parent blows out their own candles.

Also on Dad's b-day, we went to our friend Adeline's birthday party.

Anna pinned the nose on the bunny perfectly!

And then Lynn tied the scarf so she actually could not see...

End February.

I'm here! I am here!
Wow, let's not talk about how long it's been...
Back to it.
First of all, the most exciting news since last I blogged- we're expecting a baby. =) Lord willing, we'll welcome this little one mid-September. More on baby later.

Second- we've been house hunting. Every spare minute, I'm on redfin.com and lately I've been boning up on mortgages. Gah. More on that later...hopefully some news soon!

Third- Sonja is potty trained. Did it herself, I just supplied the M&M's. Totally different experience than with Anna. I deserve no credit; she seriously decided to be potty trained and I handed over the underwear.

Fourth- Anna is reading. Starfall.com is largely responsible for that...

Fifth- I started doing legal work from home for a lawyer who is a family friend. It's not that big of a time commitment. (So, it just *sounds* like I'm crazy, I'm not, that much.)

Sixth- Big ultrasound coming up next week...we hope to find out if we're three for three or going for a change up. My mom keeps mentioning the prudence of not knowing baby's gender as motivation during delivery, but I remember thinking during labor with Anna- I don't care if it's a boy or a girl or a puppy, I want it OUT. NOW! Besides, I think our household needs a little adjustment period if we're to have a little boy coming our way. (I simply have no idea what is on the righthand side of PBK's store...I'm kidding!) Seriously kidding, especially if we are buying a house this year. Gah.

What else? I have taken 500 pictures since we last met. Some of those need to get up here.
We're enjoying very fine weather.
Sonja is turning two on Monday!
We've been baking a lot of baguettes.
What I Call Pretty is still going on, for kicks, for now. We'll see what happens when a watermelon belly is between me and the rotary board.
I think that is everything interesting to update you on. I'll be posting lots of pictures of what else we've been up to, but here are a few for now. To get my mom off my back. =)

Snug as a bug...


The girls' favorite place to read together during the day is up on the top bunk. Note my hole-y slippers and remember that on my birthday. Ahem.


Their favorite place to read once dad is home:


"And both sisters agreed that the day wouldn't be complete without a swing after supper."



Okay, it's bedtime. See you soon though, promise. =)