Memorial Day May

We had a busy weekend and I've got a busy day today so I'll just post some photos from David and Jen's Memorial Day picnic. Click here to see yet more of Jen's fabulous photos.

Grampy Jack asked for more photos

So here they are:



May, wearing her father's Sox cap (backwards, of course) reaches for the camera. Shiny things are fun!



May and Christopher are standing in front of the Giant Panda enclosure. There is a panda, Tian Tian, doing goofy fun things and mugging for the crowds around him. It's a rare sight -- one that will probably disappear in her lifetime -- a giant panda. And what is she doing? Reaching for the camera.


I'm not certain where we are in the shot -- somewhere near The Capitol building, I think. But once again, May is witness to the great sights of our country. And she's looking at me with the camera.

Miss May goes to Washington

May, Christopher, and I have returned from our first vacation as a three-person family and are happy to report that all went well. On Thursday, we drove down to D.C., setting a fairly leisurly pace, made more leisurly by the massive traffic backups in Maryland. We met May's godfather, Steve, and set off on a whirlwind tour of the Smithsonian museums.

Friday we went to the zoo. (We'd planned to go to the arboretum but that involved a bus transfer, so...) May saw lots of animals -- the pandas, some elephants, a hippo, monkeys, and lions and tigers and yet more bears, oh my!





Then we went to the WWII memorial on the mall. Steve and Christopher liked it very much (somewhat better than I did) and then we called it a full day.

Saturday, we went to the Museum of the American Indian and if you're ever in D.C., please take the time to visit it. If nothing else, for the fantastic cafeteria! We had buffalo chili and pull buffalo sandwiches, but the menu was broad and deep and fabulous. The exhibits were also very interesting -- particularly the ones detailing the different tribes' views of the universe.

Then we took a stroll down the mall and May and I sat for a while as the men went on to the Korean War memorial.

Sunday we got up bright and early and drove out to Dulles to see the new annex that th Air and Space Museum opened there recently. Of course, Steve and Christopher were in heaven. We got to see the Enola Gay and a space shuttle and a Mustang and a Lightning and many many other planes.

We even took a picture of May with a NASA jumpsuit -- in case she wants to be an astronaut.


Then we got back in the car and drove to the Library of Congress -- because we're the kind of geeks who get really thrilled about seeing libraries on our vacation. But it was closed! So instead we went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History which was great! We saw dinosaurs and elephants and some great photos in the Nature's Best Photography exhibit (which I highly recommend.)

Then we got up bright and early on Monday and drove back home. Seven states in eight hours! Christopher was a champ to do all the driving and May behaved herself much better than you'd imagine a 16-mo.-old would in the car for that long. We had two smallish meltdowns but otherwise, she was happy or slept.

We were thrilled to see Steve before his big pan-Eurasia trip (Paris to Moscow to Beijing -- and that's the cut down version!). He was in the middle of arranging to buy tickets for the Trans-Siberian Railroad while we were there! Isn't the internet great?

That's it for our vacation. We actually have a few days before the summer rush starts, beginning this weekend! We're taking the Hobermans out to the new Ethiopian restaurant as a thank-you for feeding Atticus while we were gone. (We'd forgotten to call our Cat Lady!) Then Sunday is Grammy Grace's birthday and we're visiting. Then Sunday the LeBlancs are coming to visit before their Fenway game. And there's a Memorial Day picnic at the Hobermans in there, somewhere!

Between all that and the lovely weather if we're posting less frequently, please forgive us!

The Extemporarneous Going For a Walk Song

We're going for a walk today
We're going for a walk today
The three of us, including May
Are going for a walk today

The sky outside is sunny and blue
The sky outside in sunny and blue
Make me happy, don't know 'bout you
But the sky up there is sunny and blue

The breeze is blowing, it's not too warm
The breeze is blowing, it's not too warm
The clouds look like they might storm
Because it's breezy and not too warm

Let's got get Mommy some chai
Let's go get Mommy some chai
Don't ask me where, you know why
We'll go to Starbucks to get my chai

Daddy has on his Red Sox cap
Daddy has on his Red Sox cap
He watches the games, takes a nap
When he has on his Red Sox cap

The doggie over there is barking. Loud!
The doggie over there is barking. Loud!
He will always stand out in crowds
That doggie there is barking. Loud!

Wave hello to Engine Seven!
Wave hello to Engine Seven!
That's their tenth call -- no, eleven!
Wave goodbye to Engine Seven!

Here we are in Davis Square
Here we are in Davis Square
It took a mile to get us there
But we've arrived in Davis Square

Yet more photos of May

Please click on the photo or this link and enjoy yet more photos of Miss May. You've seen many of these in other guises, but this is a nice black-and-white gallery of spring-timey photos.

Sunshine on a Sunny Day

Jen's got more photos of May! Click the link and you'll go to a page. Don't bother signing in if you don't want just click "View Slideshow" to bypass all the other stuff and see the fabulous photos of May.

May and Zoe

Zoe is one of May's friends from the library playgroup. She's sweet and charming and very polite (esp. for a 15 month old!) and we have a picture of her and May in a rare moment when May sat down for thirty seconds.



It's a little blurry cause Nisha took it on her phone. But it's cute, no?

Solved!

Turns out Skip bought Brunneous II! Crazy mad props for Skip!

It's been a lovely week here in Somerville, with ideal termperatures and bright sun so we've been outside (in lots of sunblock, don't worry Grammy Grace!) instead of blogging. Christopher and I went to a Sox game on Tuesday, thanks to Seth and Sarah, and we celebrated our anniversary with a Fenway Frank.

(It would have been better if we could have celebrated it with a win, but the hotshot rookie closer -- Papelbon -- finally lost his perfect ERA. Rookie Travis Buck hit a two-run dinger off him in the bottom of the ninth, blowing the Sox's two-run lead and sending the game into overtime. We couldn't stay though, because we were beat!)

May stayed with a babysitter -- as opposed to family -- for the first time while we were at the game. (Baseball is a family game. However, Fenway's bleachers are not the place for a toddler.) Andrea, one of our baristas, came over and took care of May. She did beautifully, Andrea said, and we'll be going on dates again thanks to her child-care skills.

Little else to report. We're looking forward to our D.C. trip and Mother's Day. Now I've got to go unload the dishwaher while May naps.