Celebrating Baby Girl Dahlquist

It's fun to go to a pink-focused baby shower. The bows, the ruffles... so cute! Scott and Abbey are having a baby girl in May, so we went up to Charlottesville to celebrate her! So excited that the cousins will be close in age. 

 And I'm pretty sure my stomach is bigger, yet I have 1 1/2 more months to incubate this little guy than she does! Can't wait to meet this little princess.

Williamsburg

Tuesday was our last day with Jeff and Marina before they headed back up to Philly, so we wanted to pack in one last day o' fun:) 

We loaded up the van and headed to the Navy base, where Pete gave them the grand tour. It's not very scenic, but it is cool to see all the ships and planes/helicopters. 

 Then we headed out to lunch and onto Williamsburg. I had never been there, and it was a little hard finding exactly where to go. I just kept looking for old buildings. It's really quite embarrassing how when Parker would ask where we were going and what we would see, I had very little recall from my elementary school social studies. I just kept saying, "Old buildings." The town is so cute and they LOVED running around. It was perfect because without cars driving around the colonial stretch, they were free to roam.

 We need to get one of these.

 Man it's hard to get a decent pic with all of us.

 My friend had told us about the peanut shop, so we had to stop for samples. The boys loved it (and Jeff was very generous with his sample collecting).

Then we hustled back to the Megabus station so they could head back home. They had a long trip ahead of them, so we're really grateful they were willing to make the trek for us. Can't wait for more visitors again soon. Thanks for coming Jeff and Marina.

Philadelphia!

While it has been hard living across the country from most of our family, we have been trying to take advantage of the unique things that come from living on the east coast. We've made a list of places we want to visit and have done our best (weather permitting) to do some day and weekend trips. 

This past weekend, we headed up to Philadelphia. On the way up, we went through Delaware on toll roads and it took us less than 5 hours. Awesome. The way back down, we went through DC  and all in all it took about 7. Not near as fun. 

But we had a great time exploring. My brother's gf goes to U Penn, and he was out here visiting her for a while. So we got a hotel in the city (super swanky thanks to Priceline) and then headed out to meet them at Reading Terminal Market. It was a very cold day (but it was actually the warmest it had been in weeks... about 35 degrees).

 When we got to the market (a huge food court with various food and grocery items), we did not anticipate the crowds, let alone think about the ramifications of pushing around a "double wide" stroller. It was a nightmare. Once we were in, I didn't think we would ever make it out again. We got so many dirty looks and it was just a painful experience. haha. Too bad, because the food looked so good. So as soon as we met up with Jeff and Marina, we high tailed it out of there and found food elsewhere.

 Lunch at a yummy pub. Pete had his first Philly Cheesesteak.

 Then we met up with a guide for a walking tour. It was cold, but fun to see the sights. Our guide was pretty funny (as in he actually attended college for a clown program), and Jeff really befriended him. The boys asked when the tour was going to be over about five minutes into it.

Went into Macy's to see a huge pipe organ.

 "Meet me at the eagle" rendezvous point.

 The Liberty Bell... seeing it through the window was just as effective as waiting in a long line to see it indoors.

 Austin was over it... not impressed by the bell.

 Jeff and Caleb. Best buds.

 Parker was pretty cold.

 In our hotel window. The boys got "cookie coupons" so they could order up cookies and milk at their leisure. They loved it. We also bought some cookies from an Amish place that were sooo good!

 Heading out to dinner. Ended up at Chipotle, because apparently people like going to restaurants on a Saturday night and the wait-times can add up.

 Jeff really enjoyed his massive burrito!

 The next morning I was excited to go pick up some donuts from Federal Donuts. They are a popular stop in the city and based on the reviews, I really thought we were about to have an experience of a lifetime. One word, ew! First off, I don't prefer cake donuts (which these were) and they were so greasy  tasting that they just lacked any appeal whatsoever. Even Jeff, who eats anything, thought they were gross. Fail!

Then we headed out with Jeff and Marina in our van, and we took off for DC to have lunch with my cousin. We enjoyed a lunch at Cafe Rio and endured the long drive home. The upside was that with daylight savings, we still had some light left when we got home at 5:30pm. Pete even washed the cars because the weather had improved so much.

Austin was in a mood from being over tired and over hungry. haha. Three-nager!

 I thought we were going to turn around the attitude once I made him a sandwich, but apparently, it didn't do the trick.

 The boys loved Marina's air mattress.

 On Monday, Parker went to school, then we went out to lunch, drove out to the coast and then went to Target so the boys could pick out a b'day gift from them. Ah... it's excruciating watching kids pick out ONE thing. Jeff tried to convince Parker that he should get rollerblades. Parker is pretty coordinated, but let's just say, this is not his thing.

HAHAHAHAHA!

On Monday night we made dinner and had some birthday cake to celebrate Austin's birthday. So fun! Oh, and we watched the season finale of the Bachelor. So boring. Our final day together will be in the next post:)

A few picture additions

I hate finding random pics that I didn't include in a previous post, and since this serves as my journal, I don't want to miss anything. 

Here is Parker the morning of his birthday, opening gifts. 

 Due to snow days, his birthday celebration at school was delayed, but he was excited to take powdered sugar donuts to school when the time finally arrived. He felt very special.

We just got a pass to the children's museum and I'm so excited about it. There's so much hands-on stuff to do and several friends have passes so we can do play dates. Here's Parker putting out a fire. 

 And Austin manning the engine.

Parker's Birthday questions

Whoops, forgot to post these a few weeks ago... 

 1. What is your favorite color? Pretty much red and green.
2. What is your favorite toy? Mine was the red robot that Jadon gave me and the dinosaur that has wings that pop out. (He also loves Rescuebots)
3. What is your favorite food? I actually have two. Tomato soup and spaghetti and meatballs. 
4. What is your favorite tv show? Ninja Turtles and superhero stuff
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Cereal... daddy's cereal (honey bunches of oats)
6. What is your favorite outfit?  I like to wear that green underwear and a shark shirt and soccer shorts. 
7. What is your favorite game? Monster game on the Kindle and Angry Birds Star Wars
8. What is your favorite snack? I like to eat granola bars 
9. What is your favorite animal? Rhinos because I like their horns and I like sharp stuff. 
10. What is your favorite song? Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam. 
11. What is your favorite book? The lego book. 
12. Who is your best friend? Sadie and Jacob and Jadon and Owen S and Owen C
13. What is your favorite cereal? I already said that, Daddy's cereal. 
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Run around and run races. I like to go to the parks. 
15. What is your favorite drink?  Water, lemonade and Sprite (which he accidentally drank once)
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas and Spring and Easter. I like collecting eggs. 
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Sometimes I sleep with toys, like the red robot. I sleep with my white blanket and other blankets. 
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? When I wake up? Cereal. 
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Hot dogs and McDonalds.   
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? I would like to be a... I don't know I'm still working on that. Probably a fireman because... well... no... yeah I'm still working on it. Actually a construction worker because I like building. 

*What's the best thing about being five? "Being a big brother because I like being nice and helping others."  

Happy Birthday Austin!

My baby is three today! Austin was born after 24 hours of tough labor at 9pm and by the end, I was so tired, I just had them take him to clean him off. I asked Pete, "Does he look like Parker?" When he said "no!", that was when I had beckoned him over to me. haha. My little mini-me. He was born with a twinkle in his eye and had a patient and cheerful demeanor (until the challenges of the 2's hit). We just love him so much and are so glad he's part of our family. I love how he uses people's names when he talks to them, how he looks up to Parker, how he will eat just about anything, how he cuddles with me. He's just so sweet. This morning he woke up saying, "I'm three! Now I'm going to be the big brother!" And he's going to be an awesome one when the time comes. Happy birthday Austin. Your Dad and I love you so much and know you are going to do great things. 

We were happy to get to celebrate his birthday with Uncle Jeff and Marina. 

Here are his birthday questions. 
 1. What is your favorite color? Blue
2. What is your favorite toy? The flashlight and monster trucks. 
3. What is your favorite food? Panda cereal and cheerios
4. What is your favorite tv show? Little Einsteins
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Chick-fil-A chicken and fries
6. What is your favorite outfit?  Shark shirts
7. What is your favorite game? Temple Run on daddy's phone 
8. What is your favorite snack? fruit loops but it makes me crazy. 
9. What is your favorite animal? Dinosaurs
10. What is your favorite song? Old McDonald ("had a bowl... with a stir stir here)
11. What is your favorite book? Don't let the pigeon drive the bus
12. Who is your best friend? Sadie and Jacob and Austin
13. What is your favorite cereal? Fruit loops... has it when we stay at hotels
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Scooter... just got one for his birthday
15. What is your favorite drink?  lemonade
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas Eve (he said the same thing last year)
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? I like sleeping with my trucks, planes, flashlight, and white blanket. 
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes and donuts
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Fruit loops and cake.  
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? An astronaut, and I like firefighters.