Labor Day Parade

On Labor Day we went to the Kensington City Parade. Not sure if I never realized this as a kid or if it is because we are getting close to election time, but the parade was just one big walking advertisement. Kind of weird. But Kate liked it because we got candy. We made out with quite the stash. It was like trick-or-treating in September. After the parade we went to the little Labor Day festival and Kate got to jump in the bounce house. Best dollar spent. That made for one happy kid. And the pure joy on her adorable little face as she bounced around with other kids made for two happy parents.

 

ABC 123

The day Kate has been anticipating for YEARS(ish) finally came... the first day of school. Ever since Kate has vaguely understood the idea of Daddy going to school, she has wanted in. When Ryan was working on his PhD, Kate would beg me to let her go to school too. She would say "I want to learn too!"

Two weeks ago Kate had her first day of pre-school and she could not be more excited about it. When we dropped her off the first day she went right in and started digging through the toys without a moments hesitation. I had to pull her away and make her give me a hug before we left her. She did not care one lick that we were leaving her. [Tear] When we picked her up after school she asked "Can I go again?!" Kate has a very sweet teacher and is making lots of friends. And the best part is that I get to go to school with Kate once a month to help out, so I get to see Kate in all her preschool glory. Super cute! Here is our little bean on her first day...

 

They have a "little potty" at school that Kate is obsessed with.

Here is the hug I had to steal her away for. I am very touched by it being the first day of school and Kate is like "Yeah, yeah Mom. See ya later."

A happy kid after her first day of pre-school.

Just so I don't forget this... A few weeks ago Kate and I were sitting on the couch reading books and she looks up to me with loving eyes and says "Mommy, you make me happy." It just melted my heart. I tell her that all the time, but to hear her say it to me, with out being prompted, just made my day. I just love 3 yr old Kate. She is so fun and adorable and hilarious. She cracks us up all the time by the stuff she says. I need to write more of it down because I forget, but she is so funny. I would keep her 3 forever if I could.

iphone dump

Question to all iphone users... When I upload my photos onto my computer they end up being upside down or sideways and they won't turn the right way. It is really frustrating. Anyone else have this problem? More importantly, anyone have a solution? Thanks!

Swimming 101

Kate is really becoming a big kid now and I cannot believe it. She talks like a big kid, she acts like a big kid, and now she is in school (preschool...more on that later) and has big kid extracurricular activities! Kate had her first swim lesson on Saturday. And she loved it! On the way back to the car she asked, "Can we do that again?!" And yes she will be, until she is on a swim team or something because Ryan and I are tired of freaking out every time we are within 100ft of any body of water. Kate fortunately or unfortunately inherited the fearless Darby gene. I will be a much happier mom when I know my baby won't sink like a bowling ball if she gets near the water.

Kate and Ryan both had a ball playing in the water together. I however had the challenging job of taking photos of a constantly moving Kate with out getting any other child's face in my pictures (per pool rules). A little tricky. 

Ready to dive in!

Already a pro. Kick those legs!

Blowing bubbles... a favorite past time in the bath and in the pool

Who had more fun... KATE?

or RYAN?

Two happy faces all cozy and warm. First lesson was a success!!

After a fun morning of swimming we headed into D.C. and went running at the mall. Who doesn't feel more patriotic after seeing the nations presidents carved in stone? I know I do! It is so cool how you can see all the monuments (more or less), the white house, and the capital building from one spot. Especially beautiful at night. I don't know who planned out the Mall, but job well done! We are facing the Lincoln Memorial here, but behind us you can see the Washington Monument and if you really squint you can see the Capital Building just beyond it. Not sure if we will be here forever, but it sure is a cool place to live right now.

East Coasters

Well we did it. We moved. We are officially East Coasters. We left our paradise in San Diego for the hustle and bustle in our nation's capital- Washington D.C. Our lives have been busy the past two months. Here is what we've been up to.

Back in March our wonderful Ryan graduated with his PhD in Psychology from UCSD. Woop woop! We are SO proud of him. And not only did he get his PhD but he got a job to go with it. Yea! This working mom could not be more excited. It is Ryan's turn to bring home the bacon.

      Ryan ready to defend his dissertation. I think I was more nervous than he was.

Ryan's proud parents

Hooray! Ryan passed! We get to eat cake!

Our Dr. Ryan

Good job Ryan! We are so incredibly proud of you. You worked hard and you did it! Congratulations!

Well, after Ryan defended his dissertation (literally the next day) we left for Michigan for my cousin Erin's beautiful wedding. We spent time with family and had a blast. Thank you K.C. and Erin... oh and Heidi and Michael too ;-)

The bridesmaids showing some leg. We lucked out by having custom made Allison Parris dresses made for us by the one and only Allison Parris- my awesome cousin. Check her out... www.allisonparris.com

Finally we made it to our Nation's beautiful capital...and just in time for all the beautiful spring blossoms. We were sad to leave San Diego, but it sure it green and beautiful here. We spent the week before Ryan started work exploring our new home.

Visiting the sites...

Enjoying the beautiful flowers...

Filling our brains at the Smithsonian...

Cheering on the Nationals (Kate had more fun than it looks)

Unfortunately they don't pay Daddy to play. He had to start work. Here is a picture of Kate and Ryan as he leaves for his first day of work at The Gallup Organization. We were all really excited. It was like your first day of elementary school all over again.

Ryan is really enjoying his job. He works with really nice, upbeat people, just like him. The stresses of school wore on him this past year. It is nice to have our old happy Ryan back. And life as a stay at home mom is great! I love being with Kate everyday. She is quite a joy. She is hilarious and still has a lot of spunky energy. She is becoming quite the independent little girl. We spend our day playing chase, taking care of her babies, reading books, coloring, dancing in the kitchen, and whatever else that crazy creative mind comes up with. Our lives are great!

Okay well that just takes us to the beginning of April, but when I get a moment I will blog the rest. Stay tuned....

Last Days

As we are getting closer to moving day, we are experiencing some exciting last days. On Wednesday Ryan had his "last day" of school (he still has a few more odds and ends to wrap up, but he turned in his dissertation- whoop whoop!). And today I had my last day of work. Very exciting...but a little sad because I will miss my friends.

On Wednesday Kate and I escorted Ryan to school and Kate got to ride the bus for the first time. She was SO excited. She has been wanting to ride the bus for a long time. It was a great way to send Ryan off on his "last day" of school. We are "totally" excited for Ryan to be nearly done (totally is a new word Kate is having fun using- "Mommy I'm totally freezing"- translation "Mommy I'm cold"). He defends his dissertation on the 14th of March and then he will be Dr. Ryan. We are so proud of him. He has worked so incredibly hard. Unless you or a very close loved one have been through the grueling PhD process, you can't quite understand how much work goes into it. Anyone who gets their PhD is crazy because it is a TON of work.

 Here are some picture of my cute students on their way to school.

A Long Lost Summer

So, I was editing my blog and I came across this post that I never published. I figured, better late than never. It is kind of a random assortment of photos from our summer of fun. We didn't go on any big vacations but it still managed to fill up with lots of great adventures. The most exciting of all was that my little brother Chris married a wonderful and beautiful girl named Summer. It was a beautiful wedding and it gave all the family an excuse to get together. We had a blast. I am not going to label all the pictures so you are just going to have to figure it out, but here are some of the highlights from the Summer of 2011 :

• Visiting with LOTS of family
• Kate's first haircut 
• We got to see John Stamos rockin' it out at the fair (oh yeah and the Beach Boys too)
• Kate got to spend a lot of time with her "nanny" Frank
• Ryan and I celebrated our 4th anniversary at the nickelcade and viewing the midnight release of the final Harry Potter. Its fun doing silly things just the two of us.
• Saw the Dodgers win with Grandma and Aunt Amy. Kate found the best seat in the house.
• Chris and Summer got married- HURRAY!
• Kate finally potty trained- DOUBLE HURRAY!
• Kate is in a big girl bed- yikes :(