Spring Chickadee

Margot will be 3 months old on Friday and her little personality is blossoming. She's babbling, laughing (and imitating her daddy), smiling, holding up her head, rolling over, batting/grabbing things with her hands, kicking her legs, following us with her eyes and generally being absolutely adorable. Also, her hair is looking more and more red! (Thanks for the outfit Gerald and Beverly.)

Auntie Katrina

Last Thursday, Tucker's sister Katrina flew in from Austin to stay with us through the weekend. She left the boys at home, (her husband Ryan and son Chance) and showered her new niece with attention. She was such a help around the house and with Margot. We loved having her here!

On Friday, Katrina, Margot and I embarked on a little meet-and-greet tour. We first headed to my school, White Oak Middle School, where Margot wooed my co-workers and some of my students with her sweet smile. Only 5 days until I return to work! Unfortunately, we forgot to take pictures...

After a quick stop at home, we headed into the city to pay a visit to Tucker's office. As soon as we stepped off the elevator at the 8th floor, we crossed paths with the President of the union, Fred Rolando. He took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to hold our sweet girl. You could tell he's an experienced dad since he didn't even flinch at the opportunity to hold our girl.

A family pic...we have so few of these!

Ernie and Cortenia

Later that night, Katrina volunteered to be our babysitter so we could get out for a "date", sans bebe. I was inspired to check out the restaurant of a French pastry maker that comes to the Silver Spring farmer's market each weekend. We were a little surprised to find that this quaint little bistro was actually situated in a strip mall (right between Karate Kicks and Edible Arrangements) in Bethesda. Not quite the romantic setting we had envisioned...oh well! The food was delicious and it was great to get out.
Tucker had his favorite: mussels!

Grilled shrimp with goat cheese ravioli...mmm!

On Saturday night, we met up with a good friend of Tucker's who was in town for a law conference. Dustin and Tucker grew up in Lubbock together and Dustin is now teaching at Texas Tech Law School. Here's Professor Benham, endorsing the Hefeweizen at the Biergarten on H Street.

Dustin, Katrina, Tucker

Holly and Lock (who is also a former Lubbockite) joined us too!

Katrina and Holly

On Sunday, we had a fun brunch at Eric and Amy's and got to see Holly and Lock again, too. On the menu were baked eggs, asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, Texas waffles (yes, I schlepped the waffle maker over because I love them so much!), and mimosas.

Amy made an incredible dessert, too. The last time I'd had a clafouti was in Muret, France when my host mother made it with cherries. Here's Amy's beautiful blueberry clafouti.

While we watched the UNC game (Lock's alma mater,) we cheered on Margot to show off her new trick: rolling over. Alas, I think all the pressure got to her. She showed us her superman moves instead.

Eric and Abner watching the game.

It was a great weekend with Katrina and we can't wait to see her (and the boys!) again in May.

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12 Weeks

Here we are at 12 weeks. Our baby girl is sleeping through the night (yippee!), giggling (see photos below), rolling (old news!) and exploring people and things by batting her paws around at whatever's in front of her. Here are some shots of our big girl:

Game face, pre-roll.

Apres roll.

She's in her last days of fitting in to these adorable PJs.

I woke up from a nap to the sound of Margot giggling back and forth with Tucker. Here they are, mid giggle-fest. It melted my heart!

Margot snoozing next to Auntie Kat...more on Katrina's visit soon!

Gearing up for St. Patty's day and showing off her twinkle toes!

Slow your roll, Margot!

Is it too soon to be feeling like Margot is growing up too fast? She's exploring things using her hands and has decided that my hair works well as rope for her to pull. She's loves to smile, squeal and laugh too. Today, our rosebud added a new trick to her repertoire: she rolled over. With lots of drool and determintation, she did it. I didn't even see this one coming!



After the excitement of "the roll" sank in, Tucker and I both felt like these moments are coming at us too quickly. While it's exciting to see her growing, it's hard to believe how fast 12 weeks has flown by. Tucker and I need to toughen up because these milestones have only just begun:)

Texas + New York

At my shower back in October, one of the activities was to decorate onesies for Margot to wear. Here's our girl wearing one of the more unique creations from the shower. She is pretty amazing!

Judy & Jim's Visit

Tucker's mom Judy and her friend Jim visited us from Texas for a few days. They were in town to see Margot, (of course) and visit some friends in Baltimore who throw an annual Texas Independence Day party.

In preparation of their visit, I felt inspired to bake. What a shock! I made these muffins so we'd have them around for breakfast.

As soon as Judy arrived, Margot was in her arms. Here they are, catching up.

Judy brought Margot a pair of Hello Kitty leg warmers; a staple in any fashionable baby girls' wardrobe!

Having Judy and Jim visiting meant that we wouldn't have to do much cooking and that they could eat out at places that are a little different than ones back home in Texas. The first night Judy and Jim were here, we went to Mrs. K's Tollhouse; a great neighborhood spot.

On Friday, we went to one of my favorite places, The Parkway Deli, for lunch. It's a classic Jewish deli that's very friendly to families and babies...perfect for us.

We had lots of time to relax at home and oggle over our little sugar plum. Margot had fun showing off her Tummy Time skills and being her sweet self.

Sunday was a beautiful day, so we brought Margot to Eastern Market for her first time, and made a quick stop over at Amy and Eric's on the way home.

On Monday, Judy, Jim, Margot and I went to Lincoln's Cottage for a little historical adventure. We had a tour of Lincoln's house (the equivalent to Obama's Camp David) and learned a lot about what it was like for Lincoln during the Civil War. I'd highly recommend a visit here to anyone who's never been!

(On our way home, it started to snow!)

On Monday night, we met Tucker in Bethesda for a last hoorah dinner at Mon Ami Gabi. Judy and Jim will be going to Paris in September with some friends so there was lots of talk about what they'll see and do in the city of light.

We had a great time with Judy and Jim and hope they come back again soon!