Outer Banks

John and Kelley played the role of gracious hosts as we headed to their rental house in Corolla for a long weekend. Seems like everyone we knew went to the OBX this summer, so we finally joined the party and got down there. Awesome house plus family equals fun.

With cousin Elena.

With Tita Kelley, Grayson and Elena.

Lola also made the trip down with Tito Junior and Tita Ayong.

De Plane! De Plane!

How's the expression go? Like swatting flies in a trash can...or something like that.

The little ones.

Poolside with Papa.

It was gameday Saturday, so the family represented in UVA colors. Too bad TCU had bad intentions in C'ville and dismantled the Hoos. Oh well, at least we were at the beach!

Trying on Mama's shades.

Big feet and little feet.

Strolling Down 10th Street

Tommy's got his walking shoes working these days. He loves to walk and wriggles out of most any attempt to hold him still.

Fun With Pal Sophie

Tommy's been spending a lot of time with Sophie lately. They seem to be getting along nicely, and it's so precious to watch them as they grow together. They're learning and doing so many new things everyday.

One Of Our Favorite Spots

For those that don't know, CC has been on a one-year leave of absence from work since late August to care for Tommy full time. It's been an awesome, memorable experience so far, with more than 10 months left to go. Our days are filled with playgroups, naps, diaper changes, playtime, eating, spending time w/EZ at some point during every day, going to the park, going to museums, wandering the streets aimlessly and good father-son bonding time. It's unreal, and I would not trade it for anything right now. One of the places we go often is the National Portrait Gallery near EZ's work in Chinatown. Here are some pics from outside there when Tommy got interested in chasing pigeons around one day.

C'ville

The Pangles were in VA for a weekend in August, so we made a trip over to C'ville to meet up with them. Tommy got along famously with Walker and Henry, and the adults enjoyed spending rare time together. Walker was particularly sweet to Tommy, and Henry was cracking us all up with his antics.


Inside the Rotunda.

Walker and Tommy were hamming it up together at the bookstore. It was hilarious watching Tommy rolling all over Walker, and the both of them giggling like crazy.

We caught up with Vu at his restaurant Zinc. 16 years ago that weekend, we met at Webb as first-year UVA students and suitemates. Hard to believe that. Really hard.

The trip wore these two out...

Time Is Flying By

It's been a little while, okay a long while, since the last post. Time to catch up with Tommy's adventures...

Here are some random shots from various times in August...


After his birthday, we got Tommy into a new forward-facing car seat. He absolutely hated the old rear-facing one, and would cry and protest at the sight of it, so we were hoping the new one might make car rides more manageable. While we can't say he loves it, he at least cries less, and does like pointing out every "ba" we see. That's Tommyspeak for bus, and actually any other large vehicle on the road. We also like to see his face in the rearview mirror from time to time.

We went down to Richmond to stay the night at Rick and Michelle's for a pool party that got half rained-out (sorry no pics, not sure how that happened!). First we stopped at the Petersons' house to visit. David and Tommy had fun tearing around the house and showing off their pottying skills.