Well, I can hardly believe April is long gone, and May is nearly gone as well. It reminds me that time flies when you're enjoying life with a toddler. Tommy is growing and learning things so quickly that we can't keep up with all the words he knows, and we can barely keep up with him as he darts around the playgrounds and parks we take him to. He really does things full speed ahead and feels emotions and holds opinions very strongly. I guess it comes with the territory when you're raising a nearly 2 year old. So here are the highlights from April, which brought a lot of beautiful weather along with lots of fun times with friends and family:
One beautiful day, Papa took Tommy down to the National Mall to wander around among the tourists and see the cherry blossoms. We brought his little blue ball down with us, and he kicked and threw it in the shadow of the Washington Monument (see previous video for live-action kicking).
Tommy has a slight obsession with band-aids ("beed ade" in Tommyspeak). Preferred locations on his body are on his nose, wrist, hand, chin and forehead.
On another fine April day, the family took a walk down to Washington Circle near GWU and caught the metro to Courthouse in Arlington for dinner w/the Chen-Nguyens and Alison. We took our time walking and hung out at the circle for a while, running around, eating bananas, greeting passersby with exposed bellies. You know, our usual round-town activities.
Love this picture of EZ and TZ.
Tommy absolutely loves Sydney ("Shydney") and Julia ("Joo-Joo"). As they found out, he hugs hard!
Easter found us at the annual Price-O'Rourke brunch in Arlington for food, drinks and fun. The main events were an egg hunt for the little ones and an egg-toss contest for the big ones. Our little one loved finding the eggs, but may have loved reenacting the tossing and SPLATTING of eggs more. He came away with a bag full of chocolates and snacks which were promptly eaten by the adults in his life (burp).
Our Wednesday playgroup took an excursion to the National Arboretum, where the kids ran around in hats, and the parents chased and chased and chased.
"Shydney" had a birthday party at a golf range, so Tommy brought his sticks and showed the older kids how to hit a ball for real. FORE!
Tito Rick doesn't often make trips up to DC, so when he called to ask if Tommy and I would like to come support his 2nd Amendment rights at a rally on the National Mall, we had to take him up on it. Interestingly enough, it's the first rally of any kind that either Tommy or I have attended. Understandable for Tommy, since he's not even 2 yet, but kind of sad for his Papa, who has lived in the DC metro area for over 10 years. Guess I'm not really a cause-supporting, rally-attending type, but I must say it was a neat experience for us to see a diverse group of people who believe in the same thing peaceably exercising their right to assemble.
Tommy spending time with one of his girls, Nina.
Peeking in the window.
CC played in a golf tournament in Richmond, so we made a family trip out of it. Met the Zwicker clan at Lewis Ginter, which is a great fun place for kids and adults. Tommy and his cousin David (Tommy calls him "D," almost always very excitedly) ran through the maze, played in the sandbox, tried to hulahoop, and basically romped throughout the gardens together. Well, it was really Tommy chasing David and trying to keep up with him, but it was a joy to watch.
EZ is teaching Tommy her green thumb...He loves to dig(!) with his shovel ("shubbel") and to play in the dirt ("det").
Our handyman, Ron (or "Mon," as Tommy calls him) worked on several projects around the house. Tommy loves to imitate him painting ("peet"), and drilling ("raarraarraar") and climbing ladders ("lala"). Whenever he hears a truck out back or opens the garage door, he repeats, "Mon, Mon, Mon, peet, peet, peet, lala," over and over, complete with appropriate hand and body language. It's too funny.
Mon painted the exterior of our house and the door and rebuilt the window sills. Tommy approves of the work.
One beautiful day, Papa took Tommy down to the National Mall to wander around among the tourists and see the cherry blossoms. We brought his little blue ball down with us, and he kicked and threw it in the shadow of the Washington Monument (see previous video for live-action kicking).
Tommy has a slight obsession with band-aids ("beed ade" in Tommyspeak). Preferred locations on his body are on his nose, wrist, hand, chin and forehead.
On another fine April day, the family took a walk down to Washington Circle near GWU and caught the metro to Courthouse in Arlington for dinner w/the Chen-Nguyens and Alison. We took our time walking and hung out at the circle for a while, running around, eating bananas, greeting passersby with exposed bellies. You know, our usual round-town activities.
Love this picture of EZ and TZ.
Tommy absolutely loves Sydney ("Shydney") and Julia ("Joo-Joo"). As they found out, he hugs hard!
Easter found us at the annual Price-O'Rourke brunch in Arlington for food, drinks and fun. The main events were an egg hunt for the little ones and an egg-toss contest for the big ones. Our little one loved finding the eggs, but may have loved reenacting the tossing and SPLATTING of eggs more. He came away with a bag full of chocolates and snacks which were promptly eaten by the adults in his life (burp).
Our Wednesday playgroup took an excursion to the National Arboretum, where the kids ran around in hats, and the parents chased and chased and chased.
"Shydney" had a birthday party at a golf range, so Tommy brought his sticks and showed the older kids how to hit a ball for real. FORE!
Tito Rick doesn't often make trips up to DC, so when he called to ask if Tommy and I would like to come support his 2nd Amendment rights at a rally on the National Mall, we had to take him up on it. Interestingly enough, it's the first rally of any kind that either Tommy or I have attended. Understandable for Tommy, since he's not even 2 yet, but kind of sad for his Papa, who has lived in the DC metro area for over 10 years. Guess I'm not really a cause-supporting, rally-attending type, but I must say it was a neat experience for us to see a diverse group of people who believe in the same thing peaceably exercising their right to assemble.
Yes, despite all the nice-weather activities pictured here, there were days that brought the fabled April showers last month. On one such day, EZ happened upon Adrian Fenty, who was campaigning for a second term as our nation's capital's mayor. EZ said that right before the shutter clicked, His Honor slapped that big green sticker on Tommy. Gotta admit, the man knows how to press the flesh (and probably grease some palms while he's at it, but he is a politician after all).
Tommy spending time with one of his girls, Nina. 
Peeking in the window.
Another favorite thing: bubbles!
CC played in a golf tournament in Richmond, so we made a family trip out of it. Met the Zwicker clan at Lewis Ginter, which is a great fun place for kids and adults. Tommy and his cousin David (Tommy calls him "D," almost always very excitedly) ran through the maze, played in the sandbox, tried to hulahoop, and basically romped throughout the gardens together. Well, it was really Tommy chasing David and trying to keep up with him, but it was a joy to watch.
EZ is teaching Tommy her green thumb...He loves to dig(!) with his shovel ("shubbel") and to play in the dirt ("det").
