Meet Indy!

They say the second kid always gets the shaft (just ask Uncle Doug where all his baby pictures are---on slides, thank you early 80's ;). Well, Addie's first ultrasound pic was posted as the VERY FIRST post of this blog back in May 2007 when I was 12 weeks pregnant. I didn't get around to posting this pic until today and I'm 15 weeks pregnant with Indy....side note:

Steve jokes that we're going to call this kid (whether it's a boy or girl) Indiana Jones Silvestro (don't worry, it's already vetoed), so we've been calling him Indy.

BUT! I didn't get around to posting a belly pic with Addie until week 17 (mostly because there wasn't much belly until then, but shhh) but here they are...15 weeks pregnant with little Indy :)



Proud big sister :) Addie also points to HER belly and says knowingly "baby" :)

Field Trips!

Coordinating an outing for half a day (either pre-afternoon nap or post-nap) can seem daunting (what snacks will we pack? Where will we go? What will the weather be like? Raincoats or sunblock? Will Addie have fun or be a crank?) but it's always well worth the effort. So much fun to be had!!

A few weekends ago, our little family went on a hike. We started out at the Long Branch Nature Center (if you live in the No. Virginia area and haven't been there, please check it out!) and then walked along the paths...

...played pooh sticks on the bridges...
Said "Hi!" to the reflections in puddles
....went rock skipping....



...stopped for the necessary snack...

...checked out some bugs...

...we even stalked a butterfly who hung around us for a good 10 minutes...

Okay, Addie did a lot more of "riding daddy's shoulders" than actual hiking, but overall, the family hike was a lot of fun!


On a Tuesday morning Addie and I went with our friends Jen and Maya to the Live Butterfly exhibit at the Natural History Museum.

We moved Addie's carseat so we could go all together.

Waiting for the museum to open

The outside of the butterfly house

The inside--it was so cool! Well, no it was actually hot and humid :) You have to walk into one room, then wait until they open the next door to go in so no butterflies escape.

2 butterflies lounging.

MASSIVE butterflies on a pineapple.

Before leaving the exhibit, you have to go into another room and look into the mirrors to make sure that there are no "hitchhikers" leaving with you. Did any butterflies hitch a ride with us?

After the girls were done on the inside, they enjoyed running around outside the Smithsonian Castle.

Snack picnic!

Enjoying the sites of DC :)

And for our last field trip, Addie and I went out to Vienna to visit our friend's Sarah and Anna at one of Anna's favorite playgrounds. Addie and Anna had a great time on a merry-go-round--I haven't seen these on a playground in years!

Practicing

Now that Addie knows she's going to be a big sister, she's practicing being helpful.

She calls all baby carriers "ergo" because that is the brand name of the one that we carry her around in. The other day, she said "Addie ergo" and I asked: "Do you want to go in the ergo?" and she said "Noooo. Addie ergo NOW" and pointed to her tummy. So I took a pashmina scarf and wrapped it around her moby-wrap style so she could hold her own baby.




Since pre-natal yoga seems to be something only first-time moms-to-be have enough time to do, Addie and Reese have been sweet enough to help me practice the downward dog until I can get to a real class.


Addie and Lily practiced being birthday girls by helping Uncle Dan blow out his birthday candles


Addie practiced crawling through tunnels. For most kids, this wouldn't be a big deal, but there has been a lot of tunnel-fear in her life, so we're very excited that she's liking the "tunnah" lately :)

Now that Anne is a big sister, Addie is getting tips from her. Here she is practicing sitting in someone else's lap besides mommy's!

And here's Anne's adorable little brother....haaaaaave you met Ed?


I think with all this practicing, by the time March comes along...Addie'll do a mighty fine job :)

Addie has a secret.....

AM I??


Naw....really?

Yay, this is going to be fun!



Watch out, Addie. Coming in March 2010, you won't be the center of our universe anymore ;)

Fun on the Farm

We had been hearing about Frying Pan Farm park from our friends for awhile, so while Steve was still home, we packed up and headed out to the farm!

First stop was to visit the sheep. Two little girls nearby asked Steve what this lamb's name was and he answered automatically, "Ted." So, this is Ted.


Next we saw the ducks. Just out of the pictures' view was a little basin that the ducks swam in. So now when we ask Addie what a duck says she says "quack quack" then thinks for a moment and reminds us that ducks also take baths.

Crouching down with Daddy to see the peacock



And the chickens...


And the horses...

A quick ride on the tractor...

A brief stint at the playground....
...and home we went to take a nap.


I think she had a good time :)

1.5 hour beach trip

You may have heard that the Silvestros are heading north to the great state of Maryland sometime "soon" (the lack of timing all depends on when we find a house to live in) because Steve finished his residency and started a new job at Metropolitan Pediatrics in Rockville.

Because of this whole "Saving for a House" thing and because our car was in an accident a few months back which required mucho dinero to fix, we had to cancel our planned beach vacation back to Chincoteague this year. So instead, we went up to New Jersey to visit Ya-Ya and Poppy and since they live 45 minutes from the Jersey Shore--voila, quick beach vacation! We only actually spent an hour and a half total AT the beach (Avon by the Sea--Hi Schusters!) and spent just as much time in the car, but we had a blast in that short time.

Addie enjoyed the sand and surf MUCH more than last year.

Steve showed Addie how to build a sandcastle....

....but then Addie got a little distracted with putting with the sand on her "yegs"


Addie re-created her "I am seriously considering the vastness of the ocean" look from last year...


...so after a quick snack and grin at the camera, we hit the surf.

The only time Addie had her feet in water was when she had both of her hands firmly in each of ours, so due to our lack of available hands, pictures of this phenomenon were not taken. But trust me, she had what we call "Addie cautious fun" and was so much better than last year when she screamed if we were 5 feet from the shore.

Hi!

Back at Ya-Ya and Poppy's, Addie showed Ya-Ya how to use the phone.

And Poppy continued teaching Addie how to play the drums, and we got a really cute video of it, but unfortunately...the video isn't uploading. :( I will try and re-load so check back to this post!

On the drive home, we made our typical stop to visit the McGee family. Steve played tickle monster with Addie and Shannon


And the girls took turns playing with Shannon's very cool toys

Here are Addie and Shannon back in December 2007...

"Hey...I used to fit under there!" Look how big Addie is! And how little Kelly is :)


Baby Kelly, can I join you?
All in all we had a blast on our vacation and our mini-beach trip.

Now...if anyone wants to buy us a house... ;)