Frying Pan Farms

Brenden loved all of the things he saw at the farm. The animals were use to people and children, and so he was able to pet them.

One of his new favorite games is ring around the rosies. He also likes hide and seek, freeze dance, wrestling, and of coarse - anything that has to do with a ball. If we ask him to, he will now sing us a song - although we don't know what he is saying he is practicing for our Toone quartet.

Late Easter Update

We are now 26 weeks along, and life is great!! We are excited for our little arrival this July, but love every moment we have to watch Brenden grow. His personality continues to shine through with each day! It is so fun watching him change and being a Mom and Dad.

DC is amazing. We just had the Cherry Blossom Festival, which was beautiful! A way to describe the beauty of the blossoms would be an image of pink cotton candy against the brilliant green of other trees.

The following videos were taken at Easter time, and so they are a little old - but still good. I think we are a little bias in that we love our son. :)

It's A ....

This past Friday we got to learn the exciting news if we are having a little girl or another little boy. We are so grateful for this opportunity to have another child come into our home. Matt and I have felt all along that it was a girl up until about two weeks ago. We had no guesses going into the ultrasound what we were going to have.

That night we went on a little family date night to Roosevelt Island to open the envelop. We chose this place because it has become significant to our family for various reasons - mainly because it is a quiet and sacred place in the midst of a bustling city, signifying our desire to be in the world but not of it. Afterwards we picked out its first little outfit, and then went home to celebrate. It was a wonderful evening, and we are thrilled (we would have been thrilled either way) by the outcome.

We found out that we are having a little BOY!!!! We are thrilled that Brenden will have a little playmate, and that they will be so close in age. Hopefully they will become best friends throughout life.

We took some video of that night, so that you could share in the excitement with us.

This is us at Roosevelt Island

Intermission - Brenden's reaction to airplanes

The Big Announcement

This Weekend, in celebration, Matt and I went on a very romantic date in Old Towne Alexandria. We left Brenden with some friends of ours, and missed him the whole time. However, it was so fun to be just the two of us, and have a chance to talk about us, the baby, our family, and our future (it was like we were dating again). We parked at the top of the Main street of Alexandria, and walked 16 blocks through little mom and pop shops that are unique and sell everything you can imagine. The trees were lit up with lights, and we were surrounded by people enjoying the spring evening. As we got near the Potomac River, we stopped into a fun little restaurant called the Fish Market. There we enjoyed a taste from the sea, and a fun evening together. Afterwards we walked along the port and saw a lot of yachts and restaurants. The view of the Potomac River and DC in the distance was incredible. Alexandria is so unique with its history and its old fashion town. It was wonderful!!

We love Virginia, and everything that it has to offer. Here is one more video to enjoy of Brenden's love for excitement.

Heather and I have realized that our little baby boy is no longer a baby. Brenden, so quickly, has become a little boy. It is so fun to watch him learn and grow, change and develop, and see his little personality blossom. He now loves talking to mom and dad, and having long conversations with us. He also loves going outside, playing with balls, reading his books, seeing buses on the road, and finding any animal he can. We certainly love him.

We are excited this week to find out the gender of baby #2. Heather, Brenden, and I will go to the ultrasound this Friday and find out if we are having a boy or girl. We will announce it as soon as we know.

Below are just a few updated videos of Brenden and his crazy parents playing with him -- hopefully you can get a feel of how he is changing and growing up.

February 22, 2008

Brenden loves catching and throwing the ball with Dad! He is able to distinguish the difference between a basketball, football, and soccer ball.

Whenever you ask Brenden a question he always responds by raising his hand and saying, "ME."

Oh the "joys" of mobility

Everything becomes a game

He hasn't quite grasped the meaning, but he is really good at saying no.

His favorite games are thinking that he is to heavy to lift, and playing steam-roller with Dad. (Mom's tummy kind of gets in the way now)

This is one of his favorites. He usually isn't this excited with the Hooray portion, but he knew he was on camera.