Down on the Farm

I think Judah is a country boy at heart. Endless pastures evoke hours of running. Farm animals bring out his sensitive side. And let's face it, what little boy doesn't love a tractor?! We were able to find such a place just outside of DC in Maryland a few weeks ago. While the main goal was pumpkin & apple picking, Judah made lots of new friends...

And never wanted to leave this wonderland of hay and tires...

His best buddies, Sasha and Marilyn, joined in on the fun, too!

Thumbs up for hay!

After a little apple picking....

It was time to board the tractor out to the pumpkin patch. Apparently Marilyn thought it was romantic;) Oh how these two love each other!

The race is on!

Happy with their choice.

A Perfect Pumpkin Patch Day down on the farm!

Now we're off to hunker down for Sandy. It's inevitable that we'll lose power eventually. Hope it'll be back in time for me to show you the cutest super hero ever on the 31st :-)

Visitors and Visits

Hopefully, this post will explain my absence of late? We've been busy this past month~mostly entertaining visitors and doing a little visiting of our own.

Grandma came for a visit a few weekends ago. We had a wonderful time enjoying the city, as Fall made its grand entrance. And what better place to celebrate than here?!

Mount Vernon, September 2012

With a picnic, enjoying this view of the Potomac.

It was a beautiful day to enjoy our first President's home.

The very next weekend, Jeff's friend "Uncle Drew" came for a visit and met Judah for the first time. It's safe to say they hit it off right away :-)  Judah kept referring to Drew as "Daddy's best friend." It was so sweet.

It was another beautiful weekend, so we spent a lot of time outdoors...and eating...and cheering for the Tide.

Jeff army crawling with Judah and a friend.

We ended the weekend by taking Uncle Drew to an Ethiopian restaurant in the city....his first experience with wat and injera :-) It was all rave reviews for Drew's first Ethiopian dining experience!

Several days later, we had the BEST unexpected visitor...my mom (aka, KK)! During her business travels, her connecting DC flight was delayed, so she stayed overnight with us. Sadly, I have no pictures of her 18-hour visit, but it was such a great surprise and gift.

Finally, it was our turn to travel. Someone is a pro at flying these days :-)

While it was wonderful to spend time with Jeff's family in Kentucky for almost a week, it was a sad time for all of us as Jeff's Granddaddy Cunningham went Home to be with Jesus and his bride last Friday. He was an incredible man...husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather....a humble servant to his family, his country, and his Lord for 90 years.  We will miss him so.

We're finally home and resting for a bit...in between all of the Fall fun that I'll try to share with you next time. Until then...

Can You Tell Me How to Get??

While it wasn't a very sunny day, we ventured to Baltimore a few weeks ago to visit Sesame Street! Judah isn't necessarily obsessed with the friendly monsters who occupy this street, but he does give some love to Elmo, Cookie, Abby and the gang every once in a while. So I thought it would be a good live show for starters...the first of its kind for Judah. It was a little long (as evidenced by lots of crying toddlers in the audience after the intermission), but overall quite entertaining. I was surprised how well he followed the story and can even retell the plot when we ask him about it several weeks later. We had a great time as a family, and I'd recommend it as a fun half-day outing.

As you can see, Judah was ready for the show quite early that morning! 

And he had a great time in the Interactive Play Zone before the show began. You can see from his hugs that he was super excited to see Elmo! 

It's show time everybody! Luckily, we had third row seats. I don't think our little active man would have done as well if we were far from the stage, lost in the crowd.

Of course my favorite part of the show was watching the many faces of Judah. He stuck his tongue out a lot during the performance. After a few songs, I realized it was because he could see the "tongues"/little pink circle in each characters' mouth as they sang and was trying to mimic them. So funny! 

Sunny Day 

Sweepin' the clouds away

On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get 

How to get to Sesame Street...

I bet Judah can ;-)

The First of Many

Tuesday, September 11th, 2012, was Judah's inaugural school experience. I'm still staying home with full-time job of Mommy, so we debated sending him to "school" at all. But he was so ready....with a thirst for learning, routine, and meeting new friends. And this Mommy uses the 6 hours each week to get lots of things done and even (gasp) devoting some time to myself (reading, going to the gym, etc). It is fab.

I was anticipating tears from both Mommy and Judah...but there were none. Just curiosity on Judah's part; peace on Mommy's part. And excitement and smiles from both :-) He truly did great and his school attendance just reinforces his own proclamation of his "big kid" status. (sigh).

Exploring the playground on Orientation Day

Looking cool with "Safety Sammy" 

Early morning picture time on the first day

Yes, he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up. However, this is also what he wants to be for Halloween.
Maybe he was slightly confused by my question ;-)

And we're off!

Obsessed with his backpack.

And he remembered (from orientation day) exactly where to hang it when he entered the room.

Washing hands with his teacher.

Ready to explore!

Bye-bye Mommy, I got this ;-)

Perhaps his favorite part of the day..."Two special treats,!" he kept saying when I picked him up.
Bagel and a juice box. Couldn't be happier. 

The first of the first was a success! Here's to 14+ more years! 

Enkutatash

Melkam Addis Amet! (Happy New Year) That's right, it's a new year in Ethiopia today.  "Enkutatash" signifies the new year and means  the "gift of jewels." It is representative of the time period when the Queen of Sheeba returned to Ethiopia from her expensive visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem, as she was adorned with beautiful jewels. The date also traditionally marks the abrupt end of the rainy season in Ethiopia.

We are blessed to live in a city that celebrates Ethiopian holidays, and we are trying to soak it up while we are here. DC held an Ethiopian new year event on Sunday with food, music and dancing on our National Mall near the Washington Monument. We had a great time playing, jammin' to the Rasta music, and making new Ethiopian friends.

It's fascinating that our Ethiopian friends maintain the Julian calendar, which is approximately 8 years behind our (Gregorian) calendar...making today the beginning of 2005 there!  Meskerem (September) 1st marks the first day of the year in Ethiopia, which translates to September 11th in the States. Kind of ironic, don't you think? While one country celebrates newness and the excitement that brings, another country (along with the world) remembers the tragedy of a horrific event on this very day 11 years ago. Today, our family grieves with the rest of the nation, remembers the fallen, and celebrates freedom...all while remaining grateful for new beginnings.

Won't You Sing with Me?

Someone is ready to start school...good thing it begins on Tuesday!
p.s. he asked if he could play the piano with his foot.
p.p.s. I come in a little late with the filming. I promise he knows A-D :-)

So Long, John (John)

There's no denying I'm a Southern girl. Thus there's no denying my love for all things smocked, embroidered, and monogrammed~especially when they adorn sweet little ones.

As an Alabamian, I know it's not uncommon to see a six year-old dressed in this.

Oh, John-John how I love you. And although they were made popular by this little guy....

Let's face it~ although it sounds stereotypical, it's really just fact that only Southern white boys wear these things in the 21st century.

In DC, you will never find even a 6 month-old in one. So you can imagine the looks we get when our little brown child wears them above the Mason-Dixon line. If I had my way, I'd dress Judah in one everyday, but I refrain and mostly save them for church and other "dressy" functions. The few people who are brave enough to say anything say, "You must be from the South." Why yes, yes I am. And it doesn't matter if Judah's John-John has dump trucks and diggers, the only other comment we receive  is "Well, she's just precious." Time after time. So I'm finally agreeing with my husband that it's time to move-on.

Before we say our final good-byes, let's take a trip down memory lane shall we?

And here's one last photo shoot with Judah wearing perhaps my all-time favorite. Apparently Judah thinks it's time to move on, too. When I put this one on him this week, he said "No likey this." First time I've ever heard him express an opinion for clothes. (Sorry, KK). So I did what every Southern-at-heart Mama would do, I bribed him with baseballs and juice :-)

So long, John! We hope to see you again someday. (Lord, help me if we are ever blessed with a girl :-)