DC 2010

Henry took his first sink bath in DC.

In mid-May, Amelia, Henry, GG, and I headed out to Washington DC (or Virginia, really) to visit my brother and his family. I had a lot of concerns about who would give me more trouble on the flight--my 4 month old or my almost 4 year old.....turns out they were both pretty good!

The ride there was virtually uneventful. Henry took his first flight in stride. Not even a whimper escaped from his lips and he slept all except for about 15 minutes of the journey.



Amelia wasn't much trouble either--just very, very excited (can't you tell?). But, luckily she brought her listening ears on the plane with her and the two hour flight "flew" by.

Once we arrived at my brother's house, the fun started immediately!

The kids got some quality time at the park together and Henry took his first ride on a swing!

The kids became one with nature:

And the recycled tire mulch (which translated promptly to bathtime once we returned home).

Andrew tried to teach Amelia how to pump her legs.

While Henry mostly hung out in the shade with GG.

There was also some strawberry picking on the side of Andrew's house. Despite the slim pickin', the kids were thrilled!

We got to see not one, but TWO of Andrew's T-Ball games. So fun!

Amelia took a great interest in the plentiful dirt located near the bleachers. This, of course, also translated to an immediate bath upon our return home.

Nothing like having a hot dog at the ball game! Our all-American blonde haired, blue eyed girl!

These two couldn't be any cuter. Si or no?

GG turned 59 during our visit, so while Derek took her out to get a birthday present, we decorated the house. She was surprised and the kids did great!

Henry did great on the trip with the exception of one night. I think it had something to do with the early evening 1/2 priced frappuccino I indulged in. Lucky for him there was always about 400 things to watch going on between Amelia, Andrew, and Jacob (and Uncle D for that matter).

He got the chance to snuggle with both Aunt Amy....

and Uncle D.

With the exception of the plane ride home (think traffic+vomit+broken car seat), a good time was had by all!

This is the EXTREMELY short cliff note version because I am so behind in posting. If I get a chance, I will go back and try to fill in more details about our days!

Andrew and Jacob Come for a Visit

Over the Labor Day weekend my brother and his family visited us in St. Louis! Its always so much fun for me to see my nephews and I especially enjoy watching all of the kiddies interact with each other.

Our first stop was none other than the Museum of Transportation because we really just cannot get enough of that place. It worked out perfectly since our membership expired at the end of September, I was able to use the exact necessary number of stamps and treat my entire family to admission into the museum, creation station, and unlimited train rides.

Can you tell Amelia is in playmate heaven? She absolutely ADORES Andrew! Still, nearly a month later, she cannot see an airplane without wondering if Andrew is aboard....on his way to visit her!

Checking out the streetcar!

It was great that GG and Papa joined us too. Papa even took off work which is quite a rarity!

And not to forget about poor baby Jake! Amelia loved "babying" him during their stay and seemed to especially enjoy his shrieking noises! He was such a trooper keeping up with the older two!

Amelia was beat after the Museum, Steak N Shake car in hand!

Our second stop was the Zoo. Since our Museum of Transportation membership was about expired, we had been talking about getting another membership at a different St. Louis hot spot. After learning about their corporate matching program AND learning that Jason's company was part of it, it was very clear that we would be Zoo Friends for the next year. Jason's company paid for half of our membership. It worked out well since we all decided to take a train ride (which was $40 alone for our group of 9).

We enjoyed a carousel ride:

and the children's zoo:

Can you tell Amelia's been working on her acting skills? I told her to look scared.

Trying to sweet talk the goat....

Goat Grooming...

And so ends the pictures I took from their trip. I misplaced my camera for part of the time of the visit and was just plain lazy the rest of the time. Aside from the Transportation Museum and the Zoo, we also visited my favorite New Town playground, took a trip to the Mills, and got our fill of Steak N Shake with not one, but two visits there!

Derek, Amy, Jason, and I even had a night out to ourselves while the kids had a sleepover at GG and Papa's house. Their night was filled with crafts, a movie and staying up WAY too late and we opted for dinner at Vivian's Vineyard and a trip to Jive and Wail. Unfortunately, because it was a Sunday night, there was no Jiving or Wailing going on when we arrived and hardly anything else was open. After much discussion we opted to go bowling (pretty much the only place open). Interestingly enough, though, none of us had socks on so we stopped at Walgreens and bought a 10 pack of ladies tube socks to share! It was packed when we got there and ended up shutting the place down.

All in all it was a great visit and we are already looking forward to their return trip in December!

As promised..

I decided to hijack some pictures from other sites out there since I don't have any of my own yet. Check out this cutie!

Meet My New Nephew!

Congrats to Amy, Derek, and big brother Andrew on the arrival of the newest Banocy!

I would love to show you a picture of my new nephew, Jacob Ellis, but I HAVE NOT BEEN SENT ANY YET (other than the fuzzy shot via my mom's cell phone). Ahem....hint, hint!

Be assured I will certainly post some pictures just as soon as they are in my hot little hands. After much anticipation, Jacob finally decided to make an appearance yesterday morning, June 14. Amy's water broke Friday evening as they were getting up to leave the restaurant where they were eating dinner. They headed to the hospital where Amy was induced. Everyone is doing fine, including Derek who nearly passed out during delivery. Fortunately, the nurses told him to sit down and gave his some juice. He is expected to make a full recovery. Andrew seems to be warming up nicely to his little bro.

Interestingly, we ALL thought this was going to be a little girl. So much for my intuition......

Congrats again! We cannot wait to meet the little man!

As a side note: we return from Boston tomorrow where I will be slowly posting some pics from our trip!