Happy Memorial Day!

I hope everyone has had an enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend! On Saturday we went to the Memorial Day concert on the Capitol grounds. It was the full dress rehearsal for the nationally televised performance on Sunday night. It was a beautiful night and we had a lot of fun. We packed a picnic dinner, found a nice spot on the grass, and enjoyed the show.

Katie loved running around barefoot on the grass while we waited for the show to begin. During the show, she enjoyed all the singing and at one point stood up and started singing along. She also liked all the trumpets (that she called bagpipes) and the bandleader's big fuzzy hat. She was very well behaved during the show and had a great time. The next night we watched it on tv and she got to enjoy it all over again (and could sing as loudly as she wanted).

Today Katie helped Nancy make cupcakes! As you can see in the photos below, Katie supervised and closely scrutinized Nancy's work to make sure she was following the recipe exactly.

Katie has also enjoyed watching the Jon and Kate Plus 8 marathon on TLC all weekend. She likes watching the other kids. We like watching how much crazier someone else's house is.

Happy Memorial Day!

More photos are here.


Katie at the Capitol




Playing with her pinwheel.






Waiting for the show to start.


The concert with a beautiful sunset in the background.


Katie's the Top Chef


Katie raids the powdered sugar.


Katie checks the recipe...


...checks the contents in the mixer...


...and checks the bowl to make sure Nancy is following the recipe...


...and then enjoys the cupcakes she made!


Yum!

Let's Go Caps!

On Monday night Katie rocked the red as she cheered on the Caps as they played the dreaded Penguins in game 6. Unfortunately, she was in bed when the Caps scored a dramatic goal in overtime to win. She heard me clapping and celebrating when the winning goal was scored and asked for me to come upstairs and celebrate with her. It was a cute moment.

Speaking of cute, here are some photos of Katie wearing her lucky #8 Alex Ovechkin shirt. For reasons unexplained, she calls it her "UConn shirt." She loves to wave our red Caps towel and chant "C-A-P-S! CAPS! CAPS! CAPS!" (or "C'mon Caps!" depending on how the game is going).

Game 7 is tonight so we'll be rocking the red in front of the tv! Let's go Caps!


She likes to sit as close as Papa does to watch tv.


Rocking the Red


Clowning around with Mommy during the game. I hope this was during an intermission.

Trikes, Grills, Caps, and American Idol

A few weeks ago Katie got a "big girl bike" to ride around the neighborhood. Being incredibly perceptive parents, we were able to pick up on her subtle clues that she wanted one (like her yelling out "big girl bike!" every 20 seconds). She can't pedal well yet but she loves riding it. It has a pushbar that makes it easy for us to push and steer. She has a horn shaped like a turtle that she uses whenever Rusty is blocking her path on the sidewalk.

She also likes riding the bike inside during rainy days, which has been every day this month it seems like. Some of Katie's other favorite indoor activities are watching the Caps play with her Dad and chanting "C-A-P-S! CAPS! CAPS! CAPS!", helping him put the grill together, and playing her piano and singing while watching American Idol. This weekend promises to be sunny so everyone is looking forward to spending some time outside.

Here are some photos taken over the last few weeks. More photos are here.


While running the Cherry Blossom 10 mile race, Nancy stopped and took this photo (can you tell why they call it the Cherry Blossom race?)


Hanging out with Junebug and Nancy in one of the farm's big window sills.



The new big girl bike.


Riding her big girl bike (with a boost from her Dad).


Giving a helping hand.


Helping put the grill together.


Consoling her dad after a crushing loss by the Caps. They didn't heed her rallying cry of "C'mon Caps!"


Watching the seemingly neverending rain.




Watching Mary Poppins


A future American Idol