I enjoyed my very first Father’s Day with a quiet weekend at home with Candy and the kids. They surprised me with some wonderful gifts, most specially a picture frame with their handprints embedded. They took me out for a delicious dinner at Blue Ridge Grill and we had a nice walk around the neighborhood.
The next weekend we went up to Delaware to celebrate Thomas’ first birthday. The weather was great and it’s always fun to see the cousins all playing together. That night we made it home in time to catch the tail end of the Brambleton Freedom Fest and our second annual fireworks display, which was just as impressive as last year’s. They did get started late due to some technical difficulties, and Riley fell asleep during the fireworks display in spite of the noise. Veronica was not a fan of the noise but did finally stop crying long enough to watch some of the pretty colors. I ended up having to carry her home because she was too scared to go back in the stroller.
For the Fourth of July we had the whole clan down our way, and started the day with the ceremony at the National Archives and the reading of the Declaration of Independence. After that, we watched the parade and hung out in Mom & Dad’s hotel before dinner at The Dubliner and the big fireworks show. This time both Riley and Veronica stayed awake and there wasn’t a tear in sight!
Well the winter was long and cold, and seemed like it would never end (seriously, frost warnings in May in Virginia are just WRONG), but summertime is finally here, if not yet officially by the calendar then certainly by the weather. We’ve had plenty of rainy days, but the nice days have been beautiful for enjoying the outdoors with the babies.
We completed our project of moving our dining room set into the formal living room, and have gated off the dining room as a new play area for the kids, who had totally outgrown the “baby jail” play yard. On Memorial Day we kept to our tradition of going to the City of Falls Church Memorial Day festival, where Candy was performing with the Falls Church Concert Band. The concert was great and the babies definitely enjoyed the music. Veronica in particular has become very into music, swaying her head and dancing along whenever she hears a melody. You can see for yourselves in the video link below.
The twins also took their first carousel ride at Dulles Town Center, a reward for being well behaved during our trip to buy them their first real shoes. Now that Riley is cruising and Veronica has begun pulling herself up, walking can only be right around the corner! We also went to our friends’ daughter Sarah’s 2nd birthday party, and met up with Tony & Jen and Allan and their kids (finally!) for a long delayed lunch out at Generous George’s.
This weekend we went to the Potomac Celtic Festival. Riley loved the bagpipes and Irish dancing girls, and Veronica couldn’t wait to get on the stage and show off some step-dancing of her own.
True to form, March came in like a lion and went out like a lamb. We had our first and only reall snow storm of the year, and ended the month with beautiful spring weather. We took a trip to NY for an outing to see Sleepwalk With Me with Kaitlin and Dan. The babies celebrated their first Saint Patrick’s Day with music and dancing (but no Guinness, yet). And Candy finally caught up with me and turned 36.
Riley started crawling and is already pulling himself up to stand against things. We had to invest in some gates and got started on baby-proofing. We’re hoping Veronica gets to crawling soon, so she can at least escape when he starts poking and climbing on her.
