"I love wheels, but today, it's wings"

Just a few photos from our trip with my parents to the Air and Space Smithsonian in DC.  Gabriel was amazing, looking up in silent awe the whole time, confirming my strong intuition of engineering being a genetic predisposition in this family.

American Thanksgiving ~ Chez Us!

Thanksgiving here was complete--family, turkey and all the trimmings.  And so much to be thankful for.  Top of our list this year is this sweet little thing and being altogether in Virginia!

 Here are just a few shots from our Thanksgiving in Virginia:

Instagram: Life as I see it, moment to moment

Just a few photos from the past month, moments here and there--Fall Thanksgiving leaves and turkey pot pie moving on into Christmas preparations, complete with wreaths, lights and our own little tree.   And Gabriel learning to climb the stairs.  Will have to take a picture of our pillow pit that Gabriel likes to dive down into head first. 

Sunlight through the pillars at the Lincoln Memorial

One of our favorite places in Washington has got to be the Lincoln Memorial and reflecting pool.  And so, on a beautiful Monday Gabriel and I took my parents there where they could walk along the reflecting pool while Gabriel napped.  We visited the World War II Memorial before heading toward Lincoln in his stately white suit and matching boots.  It never occurred to me that of course at the time that the Lincoln Memorial was built that the Italians had to chisel out his speeches by hand.  Um... Mr. President.... could you keep it short?  My hands are killing me....

Vintage and Antiques in Old Town

Have been having a lovely week with my parents visiting from New Brunswick.  They've been quite adventurous seeing many of the sights around Virginia and DC.  We can barely keep up!  Here are just a few photos from Old Town late last week where we went to beautiful sunny bakery Le Pain Quotidien, that boasts a savory selection of tartines, omlettes, croissants and other delicacies.  This is definitely my most favorite place in Old Town.  We checked out mostly the great selection of vintage shops, like this one and antique stores until we walked our feet off and Dad got himself a new hat to replace his old one.  And of course, we had to hit up the Torpedo Factory, once again on the look for beautiful art and pottery.

A Boy and his Dog

Abe and Gabe.  They have their quarrels.  Abe doesn't particularly love being "petted" by Gabriel, especially when he is cornered and half asleep, but Gabriel just loves his doggie so much.  He finds him, wherever he is.  Gabriel is learning, slowly, the subtle difference between an open-palmed slapping of the fur and a twisty, grabby full-fisted pull of the hair.   It's not that Abe doesn't benefit from this relationship.  He does.  Gabriel is a continual source of food and takes much delight as Abe licks his hands or the spoon or high chair or his face (before we've caught him) free of goop. 

And Gabriel is learning the give and take of play.  He gives a toy to Abe and Abe tries to take it.  The two have a tug of war with Gabriel being dragged around the house, refusing to let go.  As an upside, Abe has finally found someone to hold his stick for him.  And most importantly, Gabriel is learning that the best way to play is to give someone something, then try to steal it back and if that doesn't work out so well, just pull harder.  I mean, I'm all into sharing, but babies have to learn the "realities" of this world, right?  You have something someone else wants, taunt them and then run away with it in hand.  If a battle ensues, the stronger (or more clever) hand wins.  No sense crying about it.  That's just the way life is. And actually neither one seems to mind.

Techno-Baby

Thanks to Apple for putting out a top of the line techno-baby product.  It comes with a "Otter-Box" which will protect it from breakage during inevitable falls or drops.  This device allows baby to play music, tweet, check the weather, take photos, delete photos and move apps at the tap and slide of a finger.   All of which Gabriel has accomplished.  To "unlock" the device for quick usage, baby can slide fingers all over the screen.  But don't worry the "lock" feature works while in baby's pocket so baby won't inadvertently pocket dial someone.  It also doubles as a teething toy.

Visitors from the North

Grammie and Grampie are visiting us from Canada!  They are loving Virginia and DC--old historical buildings with centuries of history.  On Wednesday we went to the Eastern Market, which apparently is very very good, but not as interesting on a slow Wednesday morning.  Will have to hit up on the weekend.  Fortunately, it was only a few blocks from the Capitol Building. 

We ventured over there and hit up the Library of Congress and it's stunning interior.  Once inside, I figured it might be a good time for Gabriel to stretch his legs, so I let him out to crawl around.  Despite the ornate paintings and glorious pillars, Gabriel was way more interested in pushing his stroller around in circles which left me mostly stranded beside the Minerva painting while my parents got a half-decent look at some of the historical documents and exhibits.  We did, however make it into Jefferson's library--the biggest personal library in America at the time.  Gabriel crawled around and around while I took a sneaky picture of him.  When he's older I'll be able to recount that when he was nine months, he crawled around in Thomas Jefferson's personal library.  How many kids can say that?

Hurricane Gabriel

So, it's been a little while since I've done any writing.  And this might be why, well, partly.

Since learning to crawl, Gabriel's world has expanded significantly.  I've tied down or removed every annoying or dangerous thing possible and have tried to leave anything safe (even if it is prone to mischievousness) available for him.  The house is as baby-proofed as possible but I still cannot unload the dishwasher or get and and out of the fridge without removing and placing Gabriel out of the way no less than 100 times.  In addition to that, I've had to find a new place for Abe's dog dishes....  the downstairs bathroom where I can close the door and provide limited, chaperoned or off-hours access during nap times for Abe.  (Otherwise the floor becomes a swimming pool).

I have also had to tape down the heating vent covers in place with double-sided tape so Gabriel doesn't throw stuff down the pipes or fall into the crevices and hurt himself.   We've rubberized the fireplace mantle with foam that he loves to pull off and chew.  You'd think we had no toys for this kid!  Truth is, some of his favorite "toys" are either Abe, Abe's toys, kitchen gear or the stroller that he likes to push around the kitchen.  He barely notices his own toys.

Abe is his favorite source of entertainment these days. He loves to "pet" him by sinking in his grubby, sweaty little fingers deep into Abe's fur, wrap them around the follicles of hair and grin with delight.  Poor Abe.  He's a puppy saint.  But the two have become best friends--Gabriel gives Abe his toy and then loves to get pulled around the house while hanging on.  He also feeds Abe constantly and likes to hold the end of the wooden spoon for him to chew on! Agad.  But it's all entertaining.

Needless to say, after four hours of antics and high-speed one-handed skateboard-surfing with the xylophone on wheels, leaving behind the remnants of a disaster we amicably call Hurricane Gabriel (toys, kitchen wear, recycling, food, books, and various other paraphernalia,) Jordan and I zoned out while eating supper in front of the TV in silence on Sunday night.  We had laughed ourselves silly at the whole charade; we were zonked. And he's only crawling!

Jordan is away on a business trip part of this week and my parents arrive for a couple of weeks tomorrow.   Good thing my parents are young.  Hopefully he doesn't wear them out.

Eastern Magnolia

A new piece completed tonight "Eastern Magnolia" the inspiration for my blog and forever one of the most beautiful trees I have had the good fortune to experience.  Enjoy!

We're from Canada and we own two Polar Bears

Well, clearly I was not organized enough this year to get ourselves dressed up for Halloween.  But Gabriel, our resident polar bear made a brief appearance post-nap/pre-bedtime.  I think Abe was a bit confused.  What is this white thing?  He kept dancing around Jordan in excitement. We made it to the courtyard and briefly to a neighbor's house before supper and Gabriel rolled around the floor in his costume, clearly in love with the fluffy white fabric, even though the polar bear hat kept falling over his eyes and he kept trying to pull it off.   I think I bought the costume big enough that it will fit him next year too!  Is that, like, a super uncool mom thing to do?