toothy, goofy grin

Check out our one-year-old's toothy, goofy grin this morning. I got so spend some extra time at home with him before work and he was all smiles.

Notice he's folding his arms. For some reason he's been doing that a lot lately, not just when we coax him to do it to pray. He'll walk around the house with his hands clasped and arms folded, all the while trying to stay balanced. He's so funny to just sit back and watch -- a constant source of joy and entertainment.

visit from grandma amy

we were lucky enough to have my mom in town for a weekend in march after she spent a week in new york advocating for strong family values at the united nations. i wish i'd taken more pics but we managed to snap this before dropping her off at the airport. christian was obviously a little distracted during the morning bustle.

birthday balloons

nope. this isn't a picture from christian's birthday celebration. it's actually from the birthday party of his friend, ben bluey, who turns one this week. christian had a blast at the party saturday, with so much going on and ben was sure cute digging into his "elmo" cupcake that dyed his hands and face red.

i'll post pics from christian's big day soon. we had a busy week last week and an even busier weekend so i'm a little behind.

teaser: christian's one-year photo shoot

we just got a glimpse of a few "teaser" pics from christian's one-year photo shoot and i thought i'd share a couple. this kid totally cracks us up and danelle empey did a great job capturing his fun personality. can't wait to see the rest!

{christian's GQ pose...not sure how/when he did this but she caught it}

his birthday is actually tomorrow (thursday, april 8). my, the year sure has flown. i'm kind of in denial that my baby is really a very capable, sweet and stubborn little boy.

rub a dub dub

Here's a quick shot from Christian's bath tonight. He LOVES the water on so once it gets too high (as in the pic) we have to drain it a bit and coax him into letting us turn it off. He's a total water baby. And quite a poser for the camera at this point.

Wonder where he gets that from?

c'mon, get happy

It's Thursday. I LOVE Thursdays. It's truly my favorite day of the week. There's just something about knowing an entire weekend is before you, and yet, you haven't quite started it yet. On Thursdays I feel like I can do anything -- conquer the world -- because the next day is Friday and then Saturday. I LOVE that feeling.

So, I'm counting down the minutes till I get to leave the office. And listening to Brandi Carlyle on pandora. Have you heard her? I love her voice and style. This song of hers in particular makes me happy:

Let me know if it makes you happy, too.

time for summer sandals

With the change in the weather for the better (with the exception of today's rainy forecast), it got me thinking about updating our summer wardrobes. I snagged some super cute polos for Christian at H&M on Friday and now I'm thinking he needs would look adorable in some Saltwaters (I already have a pair so we may be twinners).

And for me, well, according to Shane I have a ZILLION pair of sandals already but these Ssekos have been on my mind for a while and I just might have to have them {good thing my birthday is coming up soon, right?}. I may even be willing to part with an older pair in order to justify yet another sandal purchase.

Bonus: you can purchase different colored ribbons to swap in and change things up (like this lovely looking green). Even better: all the sandals are made by Ugandan women working to send themselves through college. {Look, now i really HAVE to purchase them!} Read the story behind the sandals here.

flinging update

Yes, today is the March 21st. No, we are not done with our "spring flinging." We've got a good start (in fact, I need to update our blog list), but with all the family in town the past two weeks we've had plenty of reasons to play and not so many to dig through our closets. We've been too busy swimming, sliding, sunning, shopping, eating, gabbing, laughing, sewing -- you name it. {Stay tuned for pictures of Christian's first dip in a pool. For now I'll just say that he LOVED it.}

So, i've decided to give myself one more week to make it happen. We'll likely have dumped more than 100 items by then. It just feels so good to clear things out...you know what I'm talking about. {Side note: I can't believe how much clutter we've accumulated with less than five years of living in the area!}

'real simple' pasta with asparagus

LOVING the april issue of real simple right now. maybe it helps that its the 10th anniversary issue so it has a decade's worth of helpful suggestions, tricks and shortcuts. i've thumbed through it in my spare time for a few days now and i still have more to read.

all the reading about how to be more productive must have made me hungry because i decided to try out one of the weeknight meals on friday night. it was delicious and so easy to prepare. can't wait to try it again in different variations. {wish i had a taken a picture because it's not yet posted on realsimple.com.}

linguine with asparagus and pine nuts (serves 4):

- 12 oz. linguine (3/4 box)
- 1/4 c. olive oil
- 1/4 c. pine nuts
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 lbs. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- salt and black pepper
- 1 c. shaved parmesan (about 3 oz.)

1) cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain the pasta and return it the pot.

2) meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. add the pin nuts and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. add the asparagus and cook, tossing occasionally, until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes.

3) add the asparagus mixture to the pasta along with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and toss to combine. sprinkle with the parmesan before serving.

{time saving tip: instead of peeling and slicing garlic, simply smash the unpeeled cloves with the blade of a heavy knife, discard the skins and cook the crushed cloves.}

spring has sprung

{view on the walk to my car from the capitol, snapped on my blackberry. these trees will soon be FILLED with cherry blossoms.}

while i realize the official spring doesn't happen till this weekend, it is finally feeling like spring in d.c. spring and fall here are without question the most perfect times of the year. {although they'd be a bit more enjoyable if all those tour buses weren't part of the package.}

last night was pretty darn perfect. well, the weather all day was pretty perfect. it was so nice to leave work without a coat and still get to enjoy a bit of sunshine. we've been a little bogged down with big decisions lately, and i think we've been forgetting to just enjoy the moments. i feel like yesterday evening i came alive again. it felt so wonderful to feel the sun on my face and roll down the window and enjoy the fresh air as i worked my way through rush hour traffic to pick up shane.

{view driving down constitution ave., passing the washington monument}

it was the first time in SEVERAL weeks that he was able to come home in time for dinner. we had such a great time cooking together in the kitchen while christian walked around us, squealing in delight to see us both home at once. yes, life is good.

{if you look carefully, you can see the white house tucked back there. shane's office is across the street from it.}

cherry blossoms are due in the next few weeks. doesn't that make you want to plan a quick trip to come visit us? if you time it right you can help us celebrate easter and christian's birthday.