the Beach!

As I mentioned in the last post, the day after Lucy's godfather James visited us, we drove to Virginia Beach to visit our good friends Amanda and Steve. When we were first talking about moving to DC, one powerful selling note for me was that Amanda was moving to VA and we would therefore be relatively close. Annnnd, now they're moving to Minnesota. I am bummed, but at least we got to visit them once. Anyway, they took us to the beach, which was very exciting. I've been wanting to go to the beach all summer, and James and Lucy have never been to the ocean. All of the pictures are courtesy of Amanda.

Lucy was not at all sure she felt about the ocean.

The waves were a bit large and overwhelming, especially if you've never seen them before!

Amanda and Steve very sweetly offered to sit with Lucy while James and I played in the waves for a bit.

It was very fun, but very exhausting. I pretty much got pounded into the sand repeatedly.

Here is Lucy playing in the sand, which I think she could have done all day long.




So, the verdict is yes to sand, no to waves.

Despite the immense amount of driving that we did in this day, it was ridiculously fun. I always forget how wonderful it is to catch up with old friends. Lucy also really enjoyed their dog Reggie. She even gave him hugs. Clearly, she has joined my campaign for a dog (not now, but someday).

On a side note, poor Lucy is having a rough time lately. She's had some very fever-y, very cranky days and nights this week. No other symptoms though, so I'm pretty sure she's not sick. Maybe her molars are coming in? What a mystery...

Godfather comes to visit

Lucy's godfather James came to visit us this past weekend. We have not seen him since Christmastime, so it was very good to catch up and spend some time with him. He is a FOCUS missionary and had been stationed in New Jersey this past year, and will be in Vermont this coming year. He brought Lucy a bear, and James some Spotted Cow. I'm not sure who is more enamored with their gift.

We figured we'd take him downtown. We have not explored DC that much since we've been here, so we were kind of the blind leading the blind. We figured we'd ride the metro downtown and just find something fun to do. Lucy is not a particular fan of the metro, but is mostly good.

After getting some really confusing advice from locals, a nice woman finally walked up to us and said, "You should go to the Old Post Office. It's only a couple blocks away, and it's the best observation point in DC." We're finding that people in DC are mostly nice and willing to help out, they are just sometimes confusing or don't know what you're talking about. Chances are if you ask repetitively, someone will know what they're talking about.

The Old Post Office was a great suggestion. Free and a beautiful view.

Lucy played the harp on the metal strings.

And she enjoyed the view too.

A mysterious picture of Lucy's godfather, James.

This trip began to remind us all of a trip that we happened to take together in college. I think James and I had just started dating, and the other James asked us if we wanted to take a day trip to Chicago with him so he could go to the Chinese Embassy. It was a very fun and random trip that entailed us driving into Chicago, not really having a plan for what we were going to do, so we just walked around and goofed off all day. Also, both trips ended in us eating in Chinatown.

Both trips also involved a lot of walking. More and more, Lucy is wanting to walk herself (and will even say "walk! walk!"). I am always surprised at how happy it makes her, and how those tiny little legs do pretty well at keeping up with adult legs.

There was a wonderful godfather moment when Lucy was tired and cranky, and starting to scream. James took off his hat and plopped it on Lucy's head, who was extremely pleased.

More awesome thrift store finds...

If you haven't heard me say it yet, I'll say it now: the thrift stores here are amazing. AMAZING. I am a proud card-carrying member of a couple of the thrift stores here, which means that I get 25% off on Thursdays. (Membership is free too). The 25% makes the deals even that much more amazing. My first really great find here was a child carrier. We had been looking at getting one for Lucy since she has outgrown all the baby ones, and sometimes they are just really great to have when you are out and about (hiking, fairs, farmer's markets, etc). The cheapest one I could find was $100. I found a barely used one in a thrift store for $4.04. Since then, I have found all kinds of good things: sippy cups not even taken out of their original package, clothes, a crockpot... My most recent finds are some toys for Lucy. I'd been hoping to find a little shopping cart for her, as she seems to be in that "put stuff in something and carry/push it around" stage. I finally found it last week at a great price. She kept gesturing toward it desperately in the check-out aisle until she finally burst into tears (she thought the check out lady was taking it away). We got home, and I gave it to her with a couple of cans of food and other sturdy non-perishables. I expected much pushing and laughing to ensue. Instead this is what happened.


She refuses to sit in one at the store, but of course, it's all she wanted to do with this toy one. Luckily, this only lasted a few hours and then she realized that it was more fun for her bear to ride in it. I'm hoping that this purchase is helping her to learn how to deal with frustration. Almost every time she's pushing it, she runs into some kind of obstacle and subsequently has a melt down. I'm trying to teach her how to say "Help, please!" We'll see how it goes...

Blackberries

In farewell to our rough July, we had a wonderful little field trip. There are lots of farms here, once you get just a little out of the city/suburbs, and I've been wanting to go to a pick-your-own farm for a while. Most of the pick-your-owns only have one crop available though. We found this great one with a wide variety: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, apples, flowers, pumpkins, etc. (all in its appropriate season). After a nice little drive out there on a beautiful morning, we decided upon blackberries. It wasn't very crowded, and you just drove out to the field yourself (instead of riding on a trailer).


Lucy just ran around for a little while, oblivious to what was going on, and then I placed a blackberry in her hand. She just held it for a while, thinking about it.

Then she tentatively put it up to her mouth.

Then her eyes lit up and she shoved it in her mouth!

Then she looked around like a mad-woman: "I need more!!"

And we couldn't really blame her. They were the best blackberries I've ever had. So sweet and juicy. We ate quite a bit out in the field (which is totally cool with the farm!).

Soon Lucy was picking her own blackberries and just popping them in her mouth. Occasionally she would even put on in the basket that she was carrying around.




James was on Lucy patrol (mostly just making sure that she breathed between blackberries), while I searched for the best blackberries (which later turned into an awesome cobbler).

After you were done picking, you just drove up to the general store (where they had even more selection of pre-picked fruits and veggies) to weigh and pay. They had a homemade fruit slush made with apple, strawberry, and honey. We got a small cup to share, and fought ridiculously over who was drinking too much of it. Next time we're getting two : )

All in all, it was a wonderful morning. Quite a deal for $6 and all the blackberries we could eat.

I have a feeling we'll be back for apples...