4 Years Ago

Four years ago this weekend we got engaged! I think I tend to remember the anniversary of the weekend we got engaged better than the weekend we got married. We were supposed to go look at rungs, then go to the Book Festival. I really thought we were just looking. Andrew knew we were buying.

And so ring shopping took longer than I thought. And we never made it to Book Festival. 

But I think it was worth the trade off. 

And so this weekend, as we head to the Book Festival, I always reflect on that weekend we didn't make it.  And how fun that weekend was. 

Camping!

We went to Assateague Island this weekend. Always so fun! September is the best time to go. Warm enough during the day. Cool enough at night. It should be noted Lydia wasn't a fan of sleeping during the night, (which is code for she was hysterical) which was frustrating. But she was happy as a clam come morning. And she slept the whole way home.

Birdland!

A few weeks ago Andrew surprised me and took me to a Ravens Preseason game. It was ugly, but we won! And we went with fun new friends from our ward!

The next night was Mormon Night at the Orioles! We didn't win that game, but still had a really good time! Did you know that at any MLB game, you can move seats after the second inning. We always buy really cheap tickets, and then move down to REALLY good seats. It makes it way more fun. :)

These are our post-second inning seats. 

The 4th

So we're a little behind over here....

On the morning of the 4th Andrew took a friend to the airport at the crack of dawn. He totally surprised me by stopping by the store for things that I had mentioned I had forgotten the day before. He also picked up these cups. "They didn't have any Fourth of July Flowers, so I built you this tower." :)

Out for our morning run/bike ride at Fort McHenry!

The parade. in the shade. 

Our neighbors at the parade had this little chair and she LOVED it. We promptly went and got her one of her own. It was longest she had ever sat still. I love her focus, and the clapping. :) 

Cute little steppers.

Our festive Gelati! Order something red, white, and blue and get 50% off. Don't mind if we do. 

Later that night we had a BBQ with friends, and did some sparklers. We had plans to actually go to fireworks, but Lydia was terrified of the fireworks that people were shooting off into the sky, so we decided to wait until next year. 

Monday

We went out for a run yesterday, and misjudged when the rain was coming. We ran along the harbor, and luckily there are lots of places to duck into. We spent an hour or so at Barnes and Nobel, and Lydia was SO excited to see other kids and play at the train table. On our way back at the car we stopped at the fountains. The rain had kept all the crowds away, and Lydia loved having the fountains to herself.

I accidentally planted a WHOLE LOT of basil. My garden tactic this year was just plant all the seeds left over from last year. 

And all the seeds grew. 

So now we have TONS of basil. We have a few recipes that call for basil, but just a leaf or two. So yesterday I made some pesto. It took 4 cups of basil leaves, and that didn't make a dent in the backyard basil supply. I think I'll make tons of pesto and freeze it? And hope we still like it come December?

Eating her grilled pesto-mozzarella sandwich.  YUM!

Friday

It continues to rain everyday. And I still love it. Lydia reading on Friday while we waited for Dad to get home for our family night out. 

Our original plan was to go get some Italian takeout in Little Italy and play Bocce Ball. The courts were flooded, but I think Lydia probably had more fun that way. :) We opted to take her dress off so that when she was done splashing, we could trade out the pants, and put on the dress. We decided a LITTLE modesty was a good idea, since we didn't want to carry a wet toddler the rest of the night. 

A rainbow on our way to get Gelato. 

Drumming in Fells point. Lydia LOVED the beat, and these ladies were really fun!

We stopped at Harbor East in the Under Armor Flagship store. Lydia loves going through the hangers. It's really funny to watch. 

They had a killer dressing room. With free bottles of water. Which came in really handy after gelato. 

Saturday morning bike/run! I rode this week, and Andrew surprised us all by running fast and far!

climbing at the park!

While Dad's Away....

Andrew was at ISTE this week. He comes back TODAY and we're so excited!

A few pictures from his absence. 

Lydias eating habits have been all over the board this week. For dinner Sunday she wanted nothing but blueberries. So that's what I let her have. And a pound later, she was done. And diapers were awesome for the next two days. 

Who is this child, and where is the baby that lives at my house? All on her own, folks. It looks pretty vertical, but it's really at a slant, she's not THAT advanced. Check back next week. 

A friend invited us to go to the fountains in the harbor Monday Morning. They are awesome. A little high for Lydia, but there is one that is just her size. That's where we hung out the whole time. She is getting braver and braver around water. We hope someday she sits down in the bathtub?

After fountains (not pictured) Indian Food with a friend from church. Lydia loved it, I was totally surprised! But also so happy! 

Tuesday morning we went for the longest run of young Lydia's life: we made it all the way around the harbor. I had planned it out so that we parked at a point where if she hated running in the first mile, we could just turn around. At about mile 1.5 and 2.5 and 3 there were parks we could stop at if we needed. And the Ferry ride back to the car was at the end, counting on her needing to get out of the stroller

She really liked playing these chimes.  We've been to this park before, but I think she gets overwhelmed/distracted by other kids. You might not know this, but parks in the middle of downtown in the tourist part of town aren't filled with kids at 7 am. 

Our view while we waited for the ferry back to the car. We ran over there!

Checking out the water from the ferry. We've ridden the ferry a few times, and she always chews on the zipper. Gross? Probably. But you have to choose your battles. Trying to jump off the boat vs. Chewing the Zipper. There's a clear winner of the battle I fight. 

Later that day, lots of book reading. It was HOT outside. We read all the books at our house, and then went to the library. The little girl in the background was helping Lydia put on all the costumes. One of Lydia's favorite parts of the library is all the other kids that want to play with her. She was the firefighting-police-doctor. She loved it. 

Today while eating yogurt. She thought she was so funny!

We went back to the fountains yesterday afternoon. After the fountains, it was much cooler than I had thought it would be, and I could tell Lydia wasn't ready for a nap. So we went to the park at the top of Federal Hill. 

We have walked to the park about a million times. But we always walk on the same side of the street. Today we crossed and walked on the other side, and we walked by this gorgeous house! I've never noticed it before. This is actually the side of the house, looking into the side-courtyard. I kind of wanted to take pictures of the front looking INTO the house, because it was just gorgeous. But I felt too self conscious. So instead this was me pretending to check my phone...while taking a picture. I could probably be a spy with my skills....

Lovely planters on our walk. 

And TODAY Andrew comes home. :)

Yay!