What's New in Pictures

It's going to be a long, cold winter.  The schools have already had to close 3 days for snow, and it has been bitter cold.  But here and there, we found an opportunity for a snowball fight!

Jocelyn has waited 2 years for the Ballet teacher to bring out the bar, and FINALLY she brought it out last week!

Jocelyn and I went to see "Discover the Dinosaurs" yesterday.  She was torn between scared of the big moving dinosaurs, and completely fascinated about the whole thing.  First stop was a ride on the Triceratops. The T-Rex was just a little too scary.

Did a little gem and fossil mining.

And got a little crazy!  

But no surprise, Jocelyn wants to go again next year!

Looking back on 2013

It is officially 2014.

Pat and I have been together for some part of 12 years!  I know, weird math!

Jocelyn will turn 6 years old in 30 days!!  More on that later...

I thought I would share some highlights of 2013, by sharing a special photo from each month.

January was the month Jocelyn turned 5 years old!

February - Jocelyn went to her first Disney on Ice and loved it.  Her preschool also took a field trip to the local firehouse.

March brought a visit from the Easter Bunny, a trip to visit Auntie Joye and family in Connecticut, a bus field trip to the Maryland Science Center, and the NICU Reunion.

April - Jocelyn got her first 2-wheel bicycle (with training wheels of course!)

May - Jocelyn and Auntie and I, spent a fun overnight at a dairy farm in Lancaster, PA.  Later in the month Jocelyn graduated from Oakland Mills preschool.  We were so sorry to see her time there come to an end.  The teachers were wonderful and she learned so much. 

June - our beautiful ballerina took the stage!

July was actually more about me!  Jocelyn enjoyed a Kindergarten prep camp for 4 weeks.  Then I went away for a weekend with a group of amazing ladies - all stepmoms.  It was an incredible weekend!  I can't wait to go again in 2014.  Pat and I ended the month with our first weekend away together since Jocelyn was born.  We went back to Lancaster to a very nice Bed and Breakfast.  Also an occasion that will be revisited in 2014!!

August brought us back to an important milestone for Jocelyn, her first day of Kindergarten!  Mommy was a wreck, but Jocelyn did wonderfully, and I continue to be so proud of her and all she has accomplished!

September led us into a regular school schedule and not much to report, but here's a cute photo of Jocelyn and Auntie's dog Mollie, on their way out for a play date!

October and Halloween with our little pumpkin!  Also this month we had a visit from Pepere and Memere and Jocelyn had her first field trip in Kindergarten, out to the farm.

November and Thanksgiving with the Desmond's, a trip to Grammy's at the beach, and LOTS and LOTS of leaves!!.

December brought the first snowfall of the year, a visit with Santa, and Christmas, but the most exciting was a visit to the White House!

I can't say that I really know what 2014 is going to bring.  I will continue to thoroughly enjoy my volunteering opportunities at Jocelyn's school.  I'm sure Pat and I will do our best to work in another weekend away.  And there is no way I will miss the Stepmom weekend!  My little one will turn 6 years old soon.  She is no longer a toddler or a baby, but now a Elementary Schooler!  So hard to believe!  

One thing is for sure, there are lots more memories waiting to be made and I look forward to sharing them with you!  Welcome 2014!

Christmas 2013

Christmas is always a hectic time for us, but there was also lots of fun to be had.

Putting the Angel on the Tree

Santa's Elf

Auntie with her favorite Christmas present, the quilt I made for her.

We made sure that Santa and his reindeer had lots of yummy treats.  Santa set me up this year though.  When we saw him at My Gym, we asked him if there was anything special we should leave out for the reindeer and wouldn't you know it, he didn't mention carrots and oats...  he said peanut butter balls!!  So of course I had to make some!  Just in case, we left plenty of all three, and the reindeer managed to eat them all just fine!  Santa had no trouble eating his cookies and drinking his almond milk either!  :-)

Leaving cookies for Santa

Leaving the magic key for Santa, and snacks for the reindeer,
including the peanut butter balls!!

Santa came!!

Jocelyn's gift to Mommy, a special "Mom" plaque

Happy girl on Christmas morning!

Merry Christmas to all!  Next up...  New Years Eve!  Don't hope for any exciting posts for that night though.  Pat and I usually can't stay awake past 10:30!  :-)

Day Two in DC

Pat and Jocelyn were in DC Monday night into Tuesday, for the White House tour, but they headed home Tuesday night and I stayed another night at the Arlington, VA hotel so I could join Uncle Steve and Uncle Clayton for another day touring Washington DC.  I'm embarrassed to admit how little I have seen of it, even though we live so close.  After two days and very much walking, I can say I've rectified that problem just a bit!

We took the Capital tour on Wednesday.  It was a very interesting tour, a close second to the White House the day before.  Our tour guide was wonderful.  It's always great to meet someone that you can tell really likes what they do and finds the subject fascinating.   He made it all so much more interesting with his enthusiasm.

The Washington Monument from the front of the Capital Building

We also checked out Union Station, the Library of Congress, the Washington Monument and the Air and Space Museum.  Yes, all in one day!  It was a crazy amount of walking, and it was SOOO cold, but the company was wonderful and the experience was worth all of it. 

The White House

I'm a little bit behind, but there's much to tell about our holidays, starting with a trip to Washington DC the week before Christmas.

Uncle Steve and Uncle Clayton came for a visit from Georgia, and brought passes for us to go on a Christmas tour of the White House.  I decided this was a pretty good reason for Jocelyn to miss a day of school.  So Pat and Jocelyn and I went down to Arlington, VA to meet them for the early morning trip into DC.

We were originally told that we wouldn't be able to take any photos, but once we got inside, they let us use our phone cameras to take all the photos we wanted!

Here's a few of the best ones.

On our way in

Bo and Sunny coming through

Wearing Uncle Clayton's hat

The East Room

The White House Gingerbread House

The White House Military Honors Christmas Tree,
 through the door and under the President's Seal

 

With Uncle Steve and Uncle Clayton

Merry Christmas from the White House!

(Not words you ever think you'll get to say!)

We found the Big Guy and had fun too!

I've been a little worried about how we would manage to visit Santa this year.  We're spoiled with the free days of previous years.  What better time to see Santa at the mall then 10:30 am on a random Tuesday?  But with Jocelyn in full day Kindergarten now, we don't have that luxury anymore.

My Gym to the rescue!!  Tonight Jocelyn and I spent a fun hour and a half playing at the My Gym Holiday Party, and who should appear, but Santa himself!!  Jocelyn always loved her classes at My Gym, so even after a busy school week and a long Friday, so still had a great time.

Surprisingly, she was actually a little shy with him this year, but he was really good with her.  He let her start out on the rocking horse.

And then he convinced her to have a chat with him 

about what she wanted for Christmas.  

Mommy is thankful there were no surprises on the list.

Jocelyn and Santa pose for Mommy.

It was such a fun night.  Merry Christmas Santa!!

Thanksgiving 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!!

The holidays are upon us.  Wow!! Where did 2013 go to???

Last week we ventured off to western PA to visit my in-laws for Thanksgiving.  Of course, the biggest reason we avoid going out there at Thanksgiving is the risk of bad weather, and wouldn't you know it, Wednesday, the day we planned to travel, there was a big storm between here and there!!  We were debating up until about 8:30 that morning whether or not we would risk it, but we did and we were glad we did.  The roads were fine and we hit very little snowfall on the way.  Now that's not to say it wasn't cold.  It was FRIGID!!!  But we made it.

Traveling with all 5 of us for a trip like that requires two cars to carry all of us and our stuff and two hotels rooms for all of us to sleep.  Not an "on-a-whim" excursion for sure!!

But despite the weather, we were so happy to finally see everyone.  It's been over a year!  My brother-in-law and his wife were there from Indiana, so it was the whole family.  My Mother-in-Law got a new house this year with some help from her kids, and we were so thrilled to finally be able to see it.  She has lived in the same mobile home that Pat grew up in, with horrible insulation, old furnace, leaking roof.  But she's on SSI, so there was no way she could afford anything on her own.  Well, now she is in a wonderful new mobile home and she is beyond happy.  She hosted Thanksgiving in her new house, and despite the fact that we completely took over her house, she couldn't have been any happier.

I am so thankful this year that my Mother-in-law is comfortable and warm in her new home, and that we could all be together for Thanksgiving.

Jocelyn was thankful to spend time with Uncle Scott and Aunt Rachel and Nemo the fish.