The BIG 3-0!

Yesterday was Alex's birthday, and sadly he had to go to work. But, we celebrated as much as we could when we saw him! We started the day with buttermilk waffles, strawberries, and whipped cream. Alex worked really hard and got all of his reports out so that he could come home a little early. We opened presents with Nicole, and then my sister, Megan, babysat so that Alex and I could go out.


We went to dinner at a local pub that everyone raves about. Our review? Eh, it's ok. But it was fun, and now we can say that we've been there! Then we headed to the movies. Every year around Alex's birthday there is a new Disney Pixar film out, and it has been our tradition to go and see it for his birthday. So, we went and saw "Up." Cute film. Very enjoyable.


When we got home, we ate some birthday cake with Megan and Andrew. Alex's request this year? German chocolate cake! Yum! Happy Birthday, Alex!

Happy Father's Day

We had a great Father's Day, starting with Alex not having to go to meetings before church! We had blueberry sour cream pancakes, bacon, and sausage for breakfast. Nicole gave daddy her present in a picture frame:



Alex grilled up some hamburgers for dinner, and then we had hamburgers and fries for dessert (thanks to Bakerella for the idea!). It was almost too cute to eat.

Nicole's Birthday!

I have a 1-year-old. Ahhh! Nikki had a great birthday and was lucky enough to have her Grandma there for the party. We went into the city to have lunch with Alex, and then Alex came home a little early from work to start the party.

Nicole got to eat her dinner all by herself - spaghetti noodles with ham and peas and cheese (all things she loves). And then we did the birthday cake! She was so cute - totally surprised that we were letting her play with her food. It took a little while, but she demolished the cake and ate quite a bit, too! Here's a before and after shot.

After cake, we opened presents. She got some very cool things, like a quiet book that her Grandma made, and a foam play mat. Happy Birthday to my big girl!

Visit from Grandma!

Alex's mom came to visit for a week and we had a ton of fun and kept very busy! We drove down to Virginia to see Alex's uncle and aunt and stayed with them for a night. I forgot my camera so we don't have any pictures, but we went to the Manassas Battlefield and walked around there. Then we went up to the Washington DC Temple and Alex's mom babysat Nicole while Alex and I did a session. On our journey back to Philadelphia, we stopped in Baltimore at the Broadway Diner (it was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives). It was everything a diner should be - a cool metallic boxcar building, the diner crowd, a huge menu with everything you could ever want, and a glass case full of their desserts!

We went to Fort Washington State Park and enjoyed a little picnic and walk there, and we went to Longwood Gardens. Nicole's favorite part was definitely the children's garden in the conservatory where they had water features for the kids to play in. She was soaking wet by the time we left!

We went into the city and had lunch with Alex at Rittenhouse Square. We got some falafel sandwiches (my first time having falafel) and they were delicious! We also stopped at a gelato shop and tried just about every flavor they had. Yum!

On the last day with Grandma, we went to Chestnut Hill and walked around all of the shops there. The highlights are always Robertson's Flowers, the Philadelphia Print Shop, and Penzey's Spices. We had lots of fun and Nicole already misses her Grandma!