Feels Like Fall

I never knew that would miss summer so much until I had a toddler. I used to bemoan the heat and humidity and wish for fall but now that the cooler air is coming round, I'm so sad to see summer go. We had a great summertime routine: after work I would pick up Conrad and we'd go to the stream, walk through the neighborhood on his tricycle, go for wagon rides or runs in the jogger, go to the library or for ice cream. Now I have to find some fun indoor activities! Even though the weather is getting cooler, we still had some time to fit in some last outdoor fun times.

Pumkin Patch with Nana, PopPop, Cousin Brayden, and Aunt Sissy: My sister and I used to go here every year as kids! It was awesome to be able to bring our own sons here as well.

Happy 2nd Birthday Conrad!

I decided not to do a big birthday this year but instead took the day off of work and took Conrad to the pumpkin patch with a good friend. It was a great way to spend the day!

We then had a small family party for Conrad at our house the next weekend. This little guy got so many new toys that we held some aside for Christmas!! We are sooooo proud, enthralled, in love, and excited that Conrad is 2. It's been an amazing year full of fun times and we can't wait to see what the future holds for our smart, sweet, sensitive, funny little guy.

Our Hometown Summer Fun

Every spring and summer our town hosts live music every Friday night. It's a great time for all because we can walk there with friends and neighbors, listen to great music, have a couple beers, let the littles run around, and walk home. It's a great family-fun way to kick off every weekend.

Beach Baby Year 2

This year's beach experience was SO MUCH BETTER than last year's! Conrad loved, loved, loved the sand, the ocean, the pool, and hanging with his family. It made things so much easier and more enjoyable! Once again, we are such a blessed family to have my wonderful in-laws around to help and provide us with this family vacation. Here's just a little recap:

Loved the sand!

Conrad and Big Pa

Cousin time!

Loved the water

Love his Me-Maw!

This litle fish!

My dinner date

Family happy 

Summertime Baby!

Our little guy has loved spending so much time outdoors this summer...and I have as well! Our usual routine is I pick him up from the babysitter then we go to the park, to the stream, play with chalk and bubbles, or play in the backyard. It's awesome having so much to do outside!

Chalk! We love "hopstotch"

"Mommy look, Mommy look!"

"big boy park!"

At the stream...we now know to go in shorts and sandals!

Big boy swing!

All our supplies needed for a run!

As the days get hotter and hotter I try not to complain because before we know it winter will set in and then I'll actually have to get creative on how to entertain a two year old! So 89 with 60% humidity? I'll take it.

Thankful Thursdays: Its The Little Things

I had originally taken off last Friday to get stuff done around the house. Working 9+ hours a day and then spending the evenings with Conrad does not leave a lot of time to get stuff done so every now and then I take a day off to actually cross chores off the list(clean, laundry, errands, organize). That was my intention last Friday. But after spending some extra time with Conrad in the morning I decided that time with my little man was more important. And I'm so glad I did! We first went to visit Daddy at work:

Daddy's work is fun because he has soccer balls, yoga balls, a small trampoline, and lots of space to run!

Also, can we please note the watch - he's obsessed and it's adorable. Although don't count on him for accurate time readings. Whenever you ask, it's always "two o'clock".

Back home for Popsicles and playtime in the back yard

After our nap it was time for a wagon ride to drop off the dry cleaning




I'm sure you may have recognized all the outfit changes - this kid gets dirty! I remember when we were finding out the sex I kind of wanted a girl so I could dress her up and accessorize her. But this little guy has just as many clothes, shoes, hats, sunglasses, and accessories (watches, ties, suspenders!) as any girl I know.

I was so happy to spend so much time with Conrad last Friday that I didn't even care that the house was still a mess (if not more a mess) by the end of the day. We didn't have any agenda, just hung out. In fact it was fun to just say "Hey Conrad, what do you want to do?" and have him pick "wagon" or "park" or "popsicle". Letting the schedules, cleaning, and organizing fly to the wind was awesome and I'm so thankful I had a day full of amazing moments with him.

Snow, Snow Snow!

We've been fortunate to have a semi-mild winter so far...except for a couple weeks when it was below freezing for about a whole week. But, we had our first BIG snow of the winter - we've had small snows and flurries but this recent snow got us out of the house for exploring, sledding, and snowman making!

Conrad loves him some snow! It's hard to get him out of it despite his red nose, frozen fingers, and chattering teeth - oh to be young again!

Confessional Friday ~ Getting to Know You MORE

Linking up again this week with Leslie @ A Blonde Ambition 

1. What's your middle name?
    Anne - after my mother and both grandmothers

2. If you could live anywhere else in the world where would you live?
    Tough one...somewhere on the water but still east coast to be near      
    family...Annapolis, Charleston, Hilton Head...not very glamorous but I'd 
    be happy

3. Tell us about your guilty pleasures.
    Anything on Bravo TV! It's gross and decays your mind but it's an     
    awesome way to just veg out

4. What do you like best about your job? If you weren't doing that, what 
    career would you have pursued?
     I LOVE helping my residents realize a better life. If I wasn't doing that, 
     I would want to be a teacher...K through second or third grade most 
     likely

5. Five items you'd grab during a fire. (People and pets don't count. Those are 
    a given.)
    Conrad's lovie and Mr. Bear (which was mine when I was little), box of 
    my Gampi's photos, box of important files, Conrad's baby book...and I 
    can't think of anything else. I'm not really attached to my stuff

6. Marathon running...something you'd like to pursue or just plain crazy?
    Well I've already run three but I still think it's crazy! I'm definitely 
    wanting to do more or even a triathlon in the future

7. If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
    Pizza, pizza, and more pizza!

8. Last person you spoke to...annnnnd....go!
    My husband

9. Favorite childhood toy
    The aforementioned Mr. Bear and my Barbies! I was a girly-girl


10.Breakfast cereal of choice
     Honey Nut Cheerios...I can eat these by the boxful!

Thankful Thursdays

For those of you who've been hit by the recent snow storms and cold weather (below zero here at some points!), you know how important a nice, warm home is. In times like these it breaks my heart that there are those that go without heat and home. So, this Thursday, I am so thankful for my home. For my job that allows me to pay for this home. For the education that took me to this job and therefore my home.

It's amazing to me that in our Northern Virginia area, an area that holds two of the wealthiest counties in America, there are still so many that have no place to call home. Growing up it was important for my parents to instill in us a sense of gratitude for what we have so we were constantly volunteering at homeless shelters, soup kitchens, food pantries, and drives or fundraisers. I hope to teach Conrad the same.

During these cold winter months, if you can, please consider donating your time to one of your local shelters or kitchens. If you don't know of any, check out www.volunteermatch.org for places near you. If you can't donate your time, then perhaps try to donate food you know you won't eat or coats you know you don't wear.

Be thankful and stay warm, friends.

It's the Little Things

Linking up today with Ashley at Words About Waverly for 

Being a working-out-of-the-home mom, "the little things" are absolutely the most important things in the world. It's so hard when you have limited amounts of time at home to just let go of the cooking, cleaning, and laundry and devote your time to your family. For instance, last night as I'm trying to prepare lunch for the next day for Conrad, he came up with a new toy and said "hep you Mama" (meaning, "help me Mama"). Now, to be honest, if I'm on a roll with a chore or task, I sometimes say, "it's ok sweetie you can do it" and let him play by himself. Ugh. Last night I just said "f-it" and threw everything back in the fridge and reveled in my evening with just him. I can wake up early to make lunch. Since I only get about 4 hours a day with my beautiful son, I'm going to spend every second with him even if it means the dust bunnies take over the house. I mean, who wouldn't want to spend all their time with this munchkin:

There will be days soon enough where he won't want his Mama to "hep you" (still trying to get him to understand that it's "help me") so for now, dishes and laundry be damned, I'm going to try to spend as much of every second of every four hours with my little guy so that I don't miss any little moments.

Confessional Friday Linkup

Hi everyone! Linking up with Leslie over at A Blonde Ambition for today's Confessional Friday...and today it's all about introducing ourselves with a bio. 

I'm Elizabeth...30 year old hailing from Virginia (Northern VA, to be specific...which if you know anything about VA, this area is very different from the rest of this beautiful state!). I've lived within 25 miles of our Nation's Capital (DC, the District, Washington...etc) my entire life. I was born and raised here, went to college here, and have lived here always. And both my parents were born and raised in DC and Northern Virginia...trust me, it's rare to find a native Northern Virginian! As you can probably tell, I'm proud of where I come from. My Mama always said "Always remember who you are and where you came from" and I always do! My husband was born and raised here as well...we met in college in 2005.

And were married on May 15, 2010

Sean's an amazing partner and father. He won me over with his humor, candidness, sense of hard work, and confidence. We are total opposites - where I'm more introverted and shy, he's the life of the party. Where he's all over the place, I like things orderly and planned out. But it works and we wouldn't have it any other way. He's a physical therapist and is the Director of a physical therapy clinic here in Northern VA.

On October 7, 2012 we welcomed our son, Conrad Cayce, whom we love so much more than we ever thought we could. Spending my days chasing after him and watching him grow are priceless.

I work for a large retirement community in sales and I love it. I've worked with seniors for about 16 years (my first job was as a server in a dining room at a home when I was 14!) and couldn't ask for a better career (except for maybe being a stay at home mom!).

My little sister, Cayce, is my best friend

And my parents are awesome...they've been married for 37 years!

My Mom is the most generous, loving, and best party-hosting woman I know! She's constantly looking out for others and I don't know what I'd do without her. My Dad is so hard working and takes such good care of my family. They are amazing parents!

I love having this blog as a place to write about what I love best: my family, my son, and being a mom! Looking forward to getting to know everyone :)