a first for Annie

her first french braid!!!

This may not seem like a huge deal to all of you, but considering I was a BALD baby until I was three years old, I am so psyched for my little girl!!!

I was also totally floored (and you all should be too) that she sat still long enough for me to do it. The key? Letting her play with all the markers she wanted to, uninterrupted . . . 

Another fun thing we did this week . . . finally put up Annie's swing on our balcony at this new house!

(This picture's my favorite; I just wish I'd gotten the camera set right so it wasn't so blurry!)

We've also been replacing and moving around some of the pitifully dinky ceiling fans in our house, just in time for these warm days and nights! Luckily we have a lot of help :)

Happy Friday!!!

growing and blooming

sugar snap peas

spinach

swiss chard

our side porch

hyacinths!

lavender

potted herbs 'n' Annie

my favorite grower and bloomer!

HOT

So, out of the blue (almost) it was over 90 degrees today! By the time Brant got home from work, Annie and I were melting inside, so good ol' Daddy fixed that!!

Who'd have thought we'd bring out our sprinkler and bathing suits on April 6th??

a cheery cherry blossom day

Annie was so psyched to go!

We met up with my brother in Arlington and took the metro in to DC

Annie, the Jefferson Memorial, and cherry blossoms!

my brother, Thomas, and his fiancee, Caroline

Annie and Uncle Thomas going on a walk after lunchtime :)

We got a chance to walk through the FDR memorial, which I had yet to see. 

I really liked so many of the quotes . . . here are my favorites . . . 

We also stopped by the American History museum and saw the First Ladies display.

My favorite gown belonged to Grace Coolidge--isn't it cool??

ready to head back home!

Annie was an incredible trooper the whole long, sunny day! She never took one nap and was so delirious and funny on the way home!

springtime fun

I'm just gonna say right now that this post is going to be picture-heavy. :) We've been having a lot of fun!

Annie got a beautiful Easter dress from GramE. Here she is before church . . . 

. . . and then with Teddy Bear, putting the bow in his hair

We threw a springtime birthday party for our friend Spencer. It was so great with amazing cheese fondue and yummy cake! I made a bread braid for the fondue and we had a lovely time with friends . . . I forgot my camera, though. So this is the only picture I have of that night, Annie's party outfit:

Here are a few other pictures from our sunny days . . .

Annie is getting to be very good at folding her arms

waiting patiently for Grandma at the gate

what our yard looks like most afternoons . . . 

So, today we went down to an Easter egg hunt in Reisterstown, MD, at the home where I grew up! It was so fun to bring Annie and relive a lot of my childhood memories. There were a ton of kids there, and they said that was only about half of their usual turnout!!

waiting with her basket for the hunt to begin!

working the crowd

and . . . GO!!

Annie picked up on the whole idea of hunting for eggs tremendously well :) See that competitive look in her eyes?

True to form, Annie picked up a cute, older boy along the way to help her with her loot :)

swinging on the swing--so many memories!!

Leisa and Sam were in town visiting, so we got to see them, too!!

Heading home, so happy

Happy Easter, everyone!