Missing DC?

It's amazing that I am admitting this but...I miss DC...home really. I miss the 14th street bridge, the Metro, Georgetown walks, seeing the National Mall daily. Even the hustle and bustle of traffic and people with their important jobs is something I miss being in the Philippines. Everyone in DC has an agenda (not so much in the P.I.). We stayed in MD so unfortunately we didn't get to spend as much time in DC or VA as I would have liked. Plus the weather was too bitter cold to really do any outdoor walking or exploring in our old neighborhoods. We didn't even make a trip to Whole Foods, Carlyle, Maggie Moos, Clarendon! Arg! The lesson I learned with our R&R home was that all those favorite places aren't going anywhere. They will be there when we get back. Thank goodness! The hardest for me was driving down our street in Arlington and going back to our house. We met our tenant, saw our property manager, checked out the work we had done on the house and I couldn't stop from tearing up. I miss our little home and all the memories we have in it. It was hard to see it there without us living in it. Addie climbed up the stairs and I think vaguely remembered the place. Anyway, it was sad for me and made me miss home even more than I already do.

Our trip to DC involved a wonderful visit to the Museum of Natural History (my all time favorite of the Smithsonians). The new ocean exhibits were completed and we had so much fun showing Addie all the displays. Our favorite part was the new butterfly pavilion where we observed hundreds of live butterflies. They actually landed on us. Amazing! Addie still points in the air and says "fly" whenever we see pictures of butterflies now. It made an impression on all of us.

Daddy time

For three straight weeks Adelaide had an endless supply of time with her Daddy. I loved the shared parenting and the break that it allowed me. Addie loved the quality time she had with her Dad. Justin soaked it all up and enjoyed it as well. We are starting the count-down to March 18 when Addie and I head to the Washington to wait for the birth of Hokie Bird #2. Sadly this means we are going to be without Justin/Daddy for maybe a month before the birth and then the same amount of time afterwards (he'll be with us in the middle of course for the birth). He's dreading the separation and I am too. Addie won't dread it until it's upon her so right it was good they got some good Daddy-daughter time in.

Gunning Family Fun

The first weekend we were in the States a Gunning Family Extravaganza was planned. It worked out so wonderfully that we were in town for the get-together (although it might have been planned around us coming into town, I'm not sure). Justin's awesome Aunt Terry hosted the afternoon and Kiki did most of the cooking for the traditional spaghetti dinner. The meatballs are so yummy. That and the seven-layer cookies, I was in heaven ("Watch the pregnant lady eat" could be the name of this blog right now!). It was so lovely to see all of the Gunning family (Justin's Mother's side). The kids have all grown and Addie fit in so nicely you'd never know we'd been gone for 8 months. It didn't help that Terry has a clan of wonderful dogs. I loved the food and Adelaide loved the dogs! Plus then she started receiving a few late Christmas gifts! She's a really lucky girl. She loved the stuffed puppy from Chris and John, the aquadoodle from Donna and Brian, Hello Kitty from Auntie Brienne. As the evening went on Addie adopted a new love for her older cousin Paige who was extremely patient with her. Addie was soon grabbing Paige's hands and dragging her down to play. It was so fun connecting with family we don't get to see as often as we'd like to. We took a group shot which has all of the kids but only a few of the adults.

Baltimore National Aquarium

We thought the day after New Years would be a great day to hit the Baltimore National Aquarium with our friends. Turns out all of Maryland thought it would be a great day to go as well. Unfortunately the aquarium was almost too crowded to really enjoy any of the exhibits. We mostly packed around our gear and tried to keep the kids fed, watered, and happy. In the end the dolphin show made entire trip worth it. It was so fun. Addie really got a kick out of the dolphins jumping. We completed the evening with a "challenging" dinner at the Cheesecake Factory at the Baltimore inner harbor. I say challenging because dinner with four adults, a four year-old, and two one-year olds really isn't anything but challenging. There was lots of drumming the table with silverware and spilled water glasses. Despite the craziness, the day was a blast and the meal was heartwarming; not only because of the good food but because of the company.

friends

New friends were made during our trip home. We were lucky enough to spend a good amount of time with our good friends who have two adorable little boys while we were home. Addie and Eli were too little to play before we left for Manila so this visit was like their first time meeting. They played about as well together as one year olds can. It was fun seeing Addie interact with both Ben and Eli. She was familiarized with Star Wars light sabers, remote control tarantulas, and tons of other cool boy toys. She really loved the moving train sets. It was so nice to spend time with our friends and have some grown-up time too. We went out to dinner (taking advantage of built in babysitting), played games, talked, and just visited in general. The guys even got some Maden in. Justin and Joe got to bathe their kids together and I imagine that wasn't something that they ever thought they'd be doing when they were enjoying their younger years in high school and college (funny how times change). Addie completely fell in love with Joe almost immediately. She'd pull him along where she wanted to go, snuggled up on his lap and in his arms. She was pretty enamored with him. Joe is a pretty awesome dad to his boys so I'm sure she picked up on that. I don't think Joe minded the girl time he had with her. Little Eli was a little jealous though!

shy face...but only for a minute

Addie has moved into a new stage of self-realization. She started making a shy face when we got home. Every time we saw someone new she'd make her shy face for the first few minutes before warming up to everyone. The face is hard to describe and I didn't get any pictures of it. It's basically her looking down at her feet and making a tiny o with her mouth. Kind of funny. Luckily it only took her minutes to warm up to all the family and friends we spent time with in the States. In no-time she was grabbing her grandparent's hands and pulling them down to play, dance, watch a movie, or you-name-it with her. She was in heaven. Everywhere she went was a new playmate. All her grandparents and relatives were great sports about getting down and actually playing with her. It was awesome. She's a lucky girl.

Here she is coloring with her Uncle Tyler and Grandpa Ray. She insisted they both sit down with her.

Hanging with Po. "Not a finger" only lasted a few moments!

Dancing (a nightly occurrence) with Kiki and Po. It HAD to be in the kitchen and both Kiki and Po HAD to dance with her. She'd have it no other way.

Rough-housing with Grandpa. She loved how Grandpa tickled her and let her climb all over him.

Kisses from Grandma Kathy

Probably her favorite place of all: snuggled up with Kiki under a blanket watching The Little Mermaid for the 20th time. It's Addie's new favorite movie.

Playing with Kiki. I'm not sure who was happier of the two during the visit. Addie had her Kiki and Kiki had one of her granddaughters to dote on.

Home again, home again, jigidy jig

Home is the key word here, surprisingly coming back to the Philippines after our three weeks in the States felt good. When we arrived at our apartment I got that peaceful feeling you get when you come home to all your familiar things. I guess that's a sign that we've made a little home here in Manila. As you noticed I took a blog-vacation while we were on R&R. We had so much fun during our time away, Addie's grown and changed, and I took a ton of great pictures. Right now we are experiencing 3AM meals and playtime before we can get back to sleep again. The 13 hour time difference takes a bit to get adjusted back to. Slowly but surely I'll try to update the blog with our adventures.