February 17, 2013

happy valentine's day!

valentine's day 2013
Baking heart shaped sugar cookies. Blowing up red balloons & erupting into giggles chasing these balloons around the house with H. Making homemade chocolate dipped cinnamon bears. Creating Hudson's first art project for daddy- his footprints in a heart shape on a canvas. (much easier said than done.) What ensued was red paint everywhere! 2 baths for Hudson and some vigorous scrubbing later & all but one little smudge washed right away. That little stain on his high chair will forever remind me of my attempt at making my child's first sentimental holiday gift. Aww. Setting up a candlelit cabana for our dinner for two. And how can we forget the explosion. That alone will make this a valentine's we will never forget.

This year was my year to plan. I planned a scrumptious dinner of filet mignon, creamy garlic mashed potatoes, homemade heart shaped french bread, steamed green beans, fresh pineapple slices, and white grape sparkling cider with heart shaped ice cubes all to be eaten in our romantic cabana. Sounds perfect, right? Too good to be true? 

 Just seconds after Kyle put Hudson to bed & right as I was taking the tender and juicy filet mignon from the oven, it exploded! everywhere! Okay, not the steak, but the baking dish. I was stunned. There, lying on the floor among chunks and slivers of glass was my precious filet mignon- the key to winning my man's heart (okay, that is a little dramatic). Needless to say, sweet Kyle came to my rescue. We spent the next hour deep cleaning the kitchen from all the glass as the rest of our dinner grew cold amidst the flickering light of the candles. Nothing more romantic than rolling up your sleeves, vacuuming corners, scrubbing stoves, & washing every pan, dish, and piece of silverware. The good news is that along with flowers, I got a sparkling clean kitchen for V-day this year! 

Even though nothing turned out as planned, it was truly an unforgettable day. I felt so grateful for my two sweet valentine boys. My little Huds who is all smiles and giggles and reminds me to enjoy every moment of life. I don't know where this first year has gone, but a million times every day I reflect on how happy i am to be his mom. And my man, who makes me laugh and find the bright side of life, who loves me even when i manage to explode our valentine's steak and serve up chicken instead. 

I'm such a lucky girl to have these two amazing guys in my life! Happy Valentine's Day!

February 12, 2013

DC

Kyle travels frequently with his job and we were lucky enough to get to go on two back-to-back trips with him. Not only was it fun to take a trip out of the city, but we also loved getting to spend time with Kyle in the evenings instead of having him away!

I fell in love with the quaint Old Town Alexandria where we stayed. We had been there before when we came to DC for our marathon & then another time when we made a surprise visit to see my sister & her husband who were traveling in DC a few years ago, but it was just as charming as if it were the first time! Huds & I took morning runs along the banks of the Potamac, window shopped up & down the cute shops on King Street, devoured the most scrumptious brunch at Bread & Chocolate, met up with my dear friend Liz and saw her sweet new baby Caroline, and even went into downtown DC for a day to meet up with my cousin Becky. She was sweet enough to work straight through lunch so we could meet up for an afternoon stroll in the 60 degree weather to see the Mall and the US Capitol. It was just lovely. Huds & I continued our walk to see the White House & several other monuments, but decided to hit up the Lincoln Memorial as our last stop just as the sun was beginning to set. I am so glad we made it to this memorial. Hudson had been such a patient boy all day in the stroller, but I let him get out and crawl around. He even climbed up about half of the steps to the memorial! I absolutely love the pictures I took of him there.

As close as we got to meeting Mr. President.

I love the dirt smudges on his cheeks from crawling around. So cute!
This is my favorite pic from our trip! 
After our fancy dinner on King Street our last night there.