Getting ready for Halloween

Alona, our bff who just flew in from Chicago, brought Andrew the most adorable Halloween costume. We're excited for Andrew's first real Halloween, since last Halloween we didn't do much celebrating--we took Andrew home from the hospital Halloween night around 7pm!



When Alona got here I was so excited to try it on Andrew (despite Alona's repeated warnings that Andrew was too tired). He screamed the whole time.

Here is Andrew saying, "Mom, get this off me!"

Here I am taking the giraffe costume off him. He is looking at Alona with pleading eyes. I hope he lets us put it on him when the real Halloween comes along.

Buddies

Abby's son Jackson is 18 months old. When Abby and I get together, Andrew and Jackson get to hang out together.


This past week they were both watching baby Einstein while we were cooking our Chicken Tikka Masala, and it was the most adorable thing.



Sitting on the couch was a first for Andrew. Abby taught him, which basically meant holding him down every time he tried to get up until he stayed put.

Thanks boys! And the Tikka Masala turned out great.

Lunch in Fell's Point

Fells Point is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Baltimore, full of tiny row homes along the harbor and little neighborhood diners that have been there forever. We took Alona to lunch and then gelato.

Baltimore cuisine is all about diners. We tried a new diner that we had read about: Jim's Diner. It was okay, but nothing like our favorite standard, the Blue Moon Cafe. I don't think we'll be going back to Jim's.
At least our fave gelato place Pitango delivered. Mike and I love the Chocolate Noir, but tried something new--raspberry. Oh, divine. Alona got the Chocolate Orange and loved it.



Alona was so great at getting Andrew to laugh in the car. If you know Andrew, you know he doesn't like to be in his car seat. He was lucky to have Alona in town!

National Aquarium

Alona, our good friend from Chicago, was in town. We got free tix from Mike's work and went to the National Aquarium.

This is the first time Andrew truly enjoyed the Aquarium. The last time we took him in Chicago, he was too young to actually appreciate the fish. He kept looking at the people standing next to him!


He kept staring at the big fish and pointing and babbling to them. It was adorable.

The top of the aquarium has a big tropical rain forest with birds, bugs and the like. It was so hot up there carrying this huge boy on my shoulders!



The striped fish were so friendly!

Here is Andrew and his fabulous "Na."

And lastly, a picture in parting.

Chicago trip

I took Andrew back to the city of his birth to visit friends and help host my BFF Heather's baby shower. The strangest thing about the trip was that I felt like I still lived there, even though we've been in Baltimore now for 2.5 months.

Baby showers are so much fun. Heather's little boy Ari had already arrived by this point (she had him early) so it made the shower even more exciting.

Heather and I joke that I we had baby boys that are opposite in size. My Andrew is huge (born at 10.5 lbs), and her Ari is tiny (born at 4 lbs). Needless to say, we had to get a pic of them next to each other. I know they will be good friends in a few years.

After meeting up with Simbo and Chiara for breakfast (at Grand Lux--my fave with the best views of Michigan Ave.), and Payal for lunch (at Chipotle--our trademark & sort of a running joke)---BTW, I can't believe I didn't get pictures of all of us together!--I went for a walk to the lake with Heather, Alona, and the little ones. The weather was gorgeous.

I think we had too much fun. Goodbye Chicago, we miss you already.

Long time no post

Andrew and I recently returned from our big cross-country trip. Detailed pics to come.

Gelato heaven

Mike & I met up the day before my big trip at our favorite gelato in Baltimore: Pitango.

Weekend trip #2: The beloved Capitol

So we know it may not be far enough away to count as a weekend trip, but we're going to count it anyway. Mom watched Andrew so Mike and I made a weekend of it. It was especially fun for me since I spent so much time here during college.

Of course, we made the obligatory mecca trip to Ben's Chili bowl. Now the sign on the wall says "The only people who eat here free are Bill Cosby...and the Obama family" (used to just say Bill Cosby).


Here is Mike ordering his Chili Half Smoke.

Yes, it's crowded. Since we've been back from this trip, we watched the movie "State of Play" which shot a scene inside Ben's Chili bowl (good movie by the way).

After lunch and checking into our hotel (did I mention parking was $45?), we headed to my favorite place in DC, Georgetown.

We got our early evening cookie fix at Dean & Deluca. I think we picked a Peanut Butter cookie this time. Oh, to die for.

Honestly, who doesn't love Dean & Deluca?

And then our last stop of the night was dinner at The Good Stuff Eatery, the gourmet burger joint owner by none other than Chef Spike from Top Chef.

From there we walked back through the mall at night back to our hotel. It is always a beautiful walk.

As we walked by the Senate buildings, I had all sorts of flashback memories of my intern days: taking notes at Iraq war hearings with Rumsfield, giving tours of the capitol during... I even ran into Senator Reid's speechwriter (who I helped with on a speech or two) on the Metro.

Thanks D.C. for showing us such a good time.