Cherry Blossom Festival

Week before last, I met up with a few friends down by the Tidal Basin for what was supposed to be a relaxing fun day with friends and Baker's friends.  Thursday was the day the blooms peaked but since it was a weekday, we didn't think it would be very crowded.  Wrong.  It ended up being so chaotic that more than half of our friends couldn't even get to the basin because of the sheer number of people that had the same idea.  Parking was a nightmare, the sidewalks were a nightmare and the Jefferson Memorial is under construction (the grounds are), so it was a mess.  Four of our friends gave up and went home but Baker and I got to hang out with the two Sara Beths and their kids so we still had loads of fun.  

There were loads of helicopters flying over that day so he's probably looking up at one here.

How cute is he?

You can't get a prettier picture of the memorials than with the cherry blossoms as a background.

We were the first to get there, thankfully because I took the train in and didn't have to park.  So to pass time, we hung out on the grass, ate a few Cheerios, and, of course, I took loads of pictures.  Notice how hight the water was.  It was up on the sidewalk in some parts, esp here, when it's usually about 2 feet below the sidewalk.

Then Sarah Beth, Hartford and baby Bailey showed up.  Thankfully she brought bubbles so the boys were entertained for a while!

Chasing bubbles is so much fun!

One of the million helicopters we saw that day.

Love this picture!  They were running for bubbles.  You can actually see them faintly on the left.

Serious about his bubbles.

The blossoms up close

This how they spent much of their time...Baker holding the bubbles and Hartford sticking the wand in for soap.  These two were so cute playing together.  Then Sara Beth came over with Sam, baby Eloise and another little girl she was watching that day.  We had so much fun!

After about 2 hours of fun by the basin, we all headed out but Sarah Beth and I decided to stay out with the boys.  On our walk up 14th Street, we noticed the street was getting really quiet, no cars around but lots of police.  Sure enough, just as we thought, a motorcade came zooming by.  It's amazing how many cars are involved in this.  We still don't know if it was the President or a diplomat though because the flags on the front of the car didn't look American.  Who knows but it was pretty cool to see up close!

We decided to forgo going home for naps that day.  It was so pretty out and we were in the midst of a million museums so we just hung out instead.  Baker was clearly wiped out after a big morning and fell asleep on the walk away from the basin, way earlier than his usual nap.  I've never seen him turn over on his side, practically his stomach, in the stroller to sleep.  My baby was tired!

We walked through the Hirschhorn Sculpture Garden and I couldn't believe that it was my first time!  What a neat little oasis in the middle of the city!  This is tree is made of stainless steel and concrete and was too cool to not take a picture of.

After a quick walk through the National Gallery of Art for a snack, we walked over to the American History Museum.  We knew the boys would love to see the transportation exhibit.  Baker LOVES this exhibit and it's safe to say that Hartford did too.  They ran all over this museum pointing out every train, bus and car they saw.  Here they are sitting on the Chicago "L" train.  They were pretty funny because they thought they were really riding on the train.  But it is slightly simulated so I can sort of understand why!  Even funnier, we're moving to Chicago at the end of the month so Baker will be riding the L train a lot!  More on that later.  :)

He was obsessed with these stairs that led to absolutely no where.  ????

A Hippity Hoppity Easter

We had a wonderful Easter this year. I feel so blessed to have my little family and all that God has given us. It's an honor to celebrate Easter with them and show our gratitude for all that Christ did for us. We kicked it all off Easter morning when we gave Baker his Easter basket. He was so excited to see it. Then we went to the first service at church and worked the nursery (Baker's room) the second service. That's always a hoot. Then a bunch of our friends met up at the Espinoza's house for Easter brunch and an egg hunt. Naps were thrown out the window and we just hung out all afternoon! It was a great day altogether!

This is him running straight for it after breakfast. You can see how excited he was when he saw it!

He went straight for the candy and opened up a chocolate rabbit right away. And yes, we let him eat it. It's Easter! Limited candy rules on Easter!

All dressed and ready for church.

This is Baker's latest smile...his major goofy, squint the eyes smile. I guess all kids go through this awkward smile phase. It's pretty hilarious but it does make it difficult to get a cute smile picture!

Serious face

What a handsome boy. We were determined to find a bowtie for Baker this year after not being able to find him one last year. I think he looks so cute!

Catch me if you can!

He travels in style.

Getting these pictures of us and him were a real feat. They look much cuter than the process to get them! :)

He really wanted to get down to play!

This is his "Oooo" face. Every time he saw an egg, it was "Ooooo"!

Score!

The three amigos - Baker, Hartford and Noah

With his best big friend, Sam.

He found a lollipop in his egg!

Sara Beth with Sam and baby Eloise. Can you tell they are all related?

Staring each other down over lunch.

With my sweets.

Enjoying a rice crispy treat

Boys, playing in grass, digging rocks and filling them dump trucks up!

Later that afternoon, he was busted with chocolate all over his face. I thought I had done my best to hide all of the candy in his eggs but when we were in kitchen, he opened up every egg and found one I missed! I found the wrapper and chocolate fingerprints and knew immediately what he had done. Then I saw his face!

Look what the Easter bunny brought!

Video: Baker and his Easter basket

Video: Egg hunt at Noah's house - Please excuse how loud and chaotic we all are. Watching it makes me realize how excited and oddly excited we were to help Baker find eggs! :)

Church Egg Hunt

The Sunday before Easter, our church had our Easter egg hunt.  It was scheduled to be outside but due to the rain, we had to have it inside.  We may have been packed like sardines but we had such a great time and the kids were a riot running all over the place!

Baker, trying to get into the big kid games.  He had to be front and center, he and all of his little friends.

That was pretty much Baker the entire time we were there...running like a mad man in the fellowship hall maze of tables...

And playing on the stage behind the curtains.  He would fling the curtains open and say "Tada!".  Lol!

He and Noah up to no good.

They were the ring leaders, getting all of their friends to do things they shouldn't do.  Noah knows exactly where the snacks are!   :)

Playing under the parachute.  I was amazed at how much Baker loved it this time because last year, back at our Gymboree class, he hated it!  I guess he's growing up!

He was squealing and running under it from one side to the other.  He was one happy camper!

Gathering all of the kids together before they went their separate ways for the egg hunt.

Since it was held indoors, they had sectioned off rooms of the church for the different age groups so the little kids had a fair shot at finding eggs too.

I was happy to see that Baker knew exactly what to do.  He knew to find them and put them in his basket.  I guess all of the books we read and talking about it helped!

He got some serious eggs!  Not bad for his 2nd time, if you count last year.