we do stuff

just in case you didn't know.

i haven't been blogging, but that doesn't mean that there hasn't been stuff to blog about.

there is so much in this area to do - most of it free - which is just one of the many reasons why we love living here.

in addition to frequenting neighborhood playgrounds (there are at least five within walking distance), strolling around our favorite haunts (the streets of Old Town, Mt. Vernon Avenue, etc), taking long "exploration" drives in the car*, and hunting down iphones (unsuccessfully - long story), we also try to visit national parks, monuments, museums, and the like. i like to call these "field trips" for lils.

*last weekend, Bradford and I got in the mood to drive and drove over the Potomac into Maryland. we found a historic colonel farm and a lighthouse that we plan on going back to see. lils was asleep in the backseat, so we couldn't get out and explore right then.

a few weeks ago, lils and i took bradford to one of her favorite field trip locations, oxen hill farm.

she loves it there. and, i find it interesting, as did bradford. farm animals, old farmhouse, barns, birds on a wire - what's not to like?

we have also visited the national zoo twice in the past two weeks. bradford, lils and i went when bradford got home from his weekend in atlanta (bachelor party), and i took lils back one day last week on a whim. we had fun both times. lils' favorites: the great ape house (no surprise there if you know her love of monkeys), the turtles, and the prairie dogs. i took photos, which i will share in a coming post.

until then, here are some pics of her at the playground.

[i must totally apologize for the quality of all of the pictures in this post. somehow, my iso got bumped to 2500 (eek!), and i didn't realize it. - if you have no idea what that means, just disregard!]

she loves to slide! the higher, curvier, faster the better! she laughs like a hyena the whole way down.

see.

she also enjoys going through the tunnel (which is high in the air and connects two parts of the slide apparatus). she learned this trick at little gym.

her hair stands on end because of the static - so cute!

oh yes, i must also mention the weather situation around here. it is fantastic. this past weekend it stayed in the 70s. we broke out fall weather garb to walk down to the farmer's market. here's lils modeling something from her fall wardrobe.

[we did put shoes on her before we left!]

and, to throw in the kitchen sink, our neighbor linda was nice enough to drop off some balloons for lils. they floated down from the sky into her yard (random!), and she thought lils might like to play with them.

she was right.

other news: we are in the middle of planning little's one year birthday bash, which is keeping us busy. bradford is almost done painting the house, which has been keeping him busy. business is going well for me - i have a shoot this weekend in the district.

life is good for lils. she walks all over the place now. she still has a very healthy appetite and will eat anything, although she is starting to show preferences for certain foods in a way that she hasn't really before. she plays with the dogs. she prefers fabiola over petri. she still pretends to go night night. she climbs - everything! she still liberally kisses and hugs. she takes off her diaper at every opportunity.

enough for now. have a great day.