Family Playground

Due to the nice weather, Nathan and I had the opportunity to take Holden and Maura out to the Cardinal Forest Elementary playground this evening.

We bundled Holden up in his jean jacket, and Maura in her pink jumpsuit (thanks Molly and Tim!). Once there, Nathan took Holden and chased him around while Maura and I were stuck together via our Ergo.

I had the pleasure of playing close-face with Maura. After a few silly faces and some wiggles, Maura let out her very first laugh. Nathan and I were blessed to hear such a sweet sound from our little girl.

Brotherly Love

As parents, Nathan and I were worried Holden might not react too kindly to a new baby in the house. I've heard stories from others moms about the older sibling getting quite jealous and even resorting back to many baby behaviors.

On occasion, Holden will protest Maura using certain toys, and it is his lovie (Lammie) who usually reverts back and does tummy time, sits in the swing and uses the bouncy-seat. For the most part, though, Holden is such a sweet and kind big brother.

When Maura wakes up, Holden gets a big smile and coos at her. He loves to touch her hands and feet and give her gentle pats on the head. Right now, he calls her, "Maa-mar."

The best mommy moments I have these days are watching my sweet boy as a sweet big brother. I know the two of them will be the best of friends.

First Snow

On January 9th, the Washington DC area experienced our first snow of the year. While we had an epic snowstorm last year, Holden was too young to really enjoy it. This time, we bundled him up and let him experience the joy of snow.

Maura and I had just returned from the chiropractor. Driving in the snow was enough of an experience for me.

While there wasn't major accumulation, Holden made his first track prints, made a snowball and had fun playing with his Daddy.

BAH--BULS

Holden has LOVED bath time since he was a baby. Every night after dinner, Nathan starts the water and Holden gets a spark in his eye, signs bath, and runs to the bathroom.

While we were visiting our family in Itasca, Holden had an aversion to the bath. He stood up and didn't want to play in the water. One night, I decided to add some soap and make a bubble bath to see if that would snap his anti-bath streak.

It worked wonders and he throughly enjoyed the bubbles. So much so, that now, every night he demands, "BAH BULS" in the tub and wants multiple baths a day with bubbles.

Good thing we have a lot of soap.