Neighbor Buddies

Today when E woke up from his nap, our neighbors asked if we would like to go to the park. We bundled up a little and headed out. It is very blustery and kinda chilly out, we are definitely in the depths of fall. We headed out with some bread for the ducks and snacks for E. It was such a beautiful walk to the park; all the leaves changing, the overcast sky, and beautiful scenery. We laughed and fed the ducks till the bread ran dry then headed over to the playground and ran around with the kids.  Faye and I caught up in between chasing the kids. Brian and Ferrous met us in the park on our way out, much to E's delight. Sophie brought along her poodle suitcase, because she couldn't leave home without it. E had a blast toting that suitcase around, even had some people stop and comment about how excited and entertained he was. We might have to look into getting him his own for the trip to Texas for the holidays. Enjoy the pics of E and his buddies, such a fun fall evening! XOXOX

feeding the ducks!

E: I love this weather, perfect for feeding ducks

So exciting!

E's adventures with Sophie's poodle suitcase

E working on his pull up and slide combos

playing chase already

bounce!

Sharing very nicely!

Cutie Sophie!

Banana Nut Muffins, YUM!

So, yesterday E was tromping around in the kitchen and went to the shelves and pointed to the Kitchenaid and said, "Mix!". I asked him if he wanted to cook with mama, to which he responded a firm YES. So when he went down for his nap, I started looking for inspiration. I have a few browning bananas and they were the perfect ingredient! So I gathered all the ingredients and preheated the oven. I did some other household chores and when E woke up, we were bakers! He was so so so excited when he saw the mixer and all the ingredients. We got right to work. Complete with a bakers hat, but of course! Enjoy the pics! xoxo

Mixing dry ingredients

"Woah!"

The walnuts passed E's taste test

Carefully putting the muffin batter in the cups

Hamming it up during an apple break!

Silly boy

Harbor Harvest Festival

Sunday was a gorgeous day! Super brisk in the morning and warmed up to a breezy 70 degrees. Its the kind of day where you spend it outside all day long! That is exactly what the Schusters chose to. It was the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance's Harbor Harvest. They bring a pumpkin patch, petting zoo, pony rides, and all kinds of other kid fun to the Inner Harbor here in Baltimore. It is such a great time, and there was even a concert by Milkshake. E's godfather called to see if we wanted to go to lunch and ended up joining us for some fun. We grabbed lunch and then headed to the science center, where they had a replica of the telescope that is going to replace the Hubble. Brian and E's godfather, Andy, geeked it up with the representative there. E and I decided walk around. E found the Carousel, and the suckers we are bought a ticket for him and Andy. We then started to meander back home, where we stopped off at Barnes and Noble for some books, then E knocked out. What an amazing day! Enjoy some pics! XOXO

Handsome boy

E rode the biggest horse!

I have to get off?! Boo...

E at the coloring spot

playing follow the leader with Nino Andy

lovin' on Daddy!

E trying out his new bike!

Marathons and Dolphins, Oh My!

Today is a pretty fall day and E and I made plans to head to the aquarium with Anne and C. Brian is out of town till tonight, so we needed to keep ourselves preoccupied as to not miss Daddy too much! We headed out and ran smack into marathon traffic. Like standstill turn your car off 'cause you are going no where traffic. It took E and I 40 minutes to go like 15 city blocks. HA! Anne and C were in the same mess, so we called to commiserate to pass the time. We found rock star parking and headed into the aquarium. E and C got to see a huge bearded dragon up close and personal, then we trucked over to the dolphin show. We all enjoyed it, shared some snacks, and cheered our dorsal finned friends on. Then we went to the Australia exhibit, where E found all the puddles to jump in! We then grabbed the strollers and headed out to the harbor for lunch. E and C were loving the music at lunch and had a bit of a dance party, maybe I joined in too, but who could resist the urge to dance to good 90's music! We ate, talked, and danced our way through lunch and then packed up two super sleepy kids and walked back to the cars and headed home. Such a fun day! Enjoy some pics I snapped today! xoxox

PS. I spent a good 20 -30 minutes watching E sleep in my arms today. Ugh. He is the cutest thing ever and love him so so much that it overwhelms me with happiness. He is so big. How can it be that he so much a boy and not a baby anymore!

C and E waiting for the show to start

Hello!

super jump

checking out the boats while trying out some gymnastics

waterfalls are soooo cool

GQ pose

Splish Splash!

Today was E's first school field trip, we were headed to North Run Farms. E and I trucked out early, complete with rain jackets, rain boots and a change of clothes for E. I get on 83 and it was moving smoothly, then bam - HUGE traffic jam. Called Sarah and she and A guided me through a back roads way to the farm, even waiting for us to follow! We get there and get out of the car and it starts POURING. I run back into the car, already soaked. Sarah and A met up with Megan and N under the tent. Anne and C were chilling in their car. We waited for the rain to pass, about 5-10 minutes. The whole time E was mad because he wanted to get out and play in the rain in his new boots. Went to get E out and he insisted on putting his boots on, wrong way of course, then wanted no part of his rain jacket. After some serious toddler wrangling, I got his rain jacket on and his boots switched. Anne and C waited for us to head over to the pumpkin patch. We took a hay ride over to the pumpkin patch and picked out a pumpkin, which was no easy feat! It had to be up to E's standards :). E picked his perfect pumpkin out all on his own and wanted to lug it around without his momma's help. We got back on the hay ride and E was fascinated by the tractor. We were dropped off at the animals and hay maze. We checked it all out with our buddies! The most fun the kiddos all had was splashing in the puddles. I mean full blown soaking, E even took a big tumble - not one peep, he was having a great time! We decided to head out when the rain started coming again. I stripped E down and changed his soaked clothes. We then all headed to lunch. Of course when we got there it started pouring again. We ran inside and I was drenched through my raincoat and jeans! We all ordered and set up our table - 4 adults and 4 highchairs requires some room! The kids all ate each others food and drank each others drinks, while all the mommies decided that we were so thankful that we all weren't freak moms that panic when the kids share food. I then bought some cookies for the group in celebration of our wet day fun. We gobbled them up then zoomed home to get the kids to bed, and us into dry clothes. I love these ladies and their littles! We have such an amazing time all together! XOXO

You are letting me go in this mess?

Zip up C its gonna get crazy out here!

C: I don't think they know where they are taking us!?
E: Where the heck are we?

Pumpkin pickin'

This one! Its the winner!

Friends splashing

Hay maze tunnel fun!

looking at the animals, N was not a fan of the cow!

SPLISH SPLASH!

Back to Reality

 

So we are back in Baltimore. All unpacked, organized, and the fridge has gone from barren wasteland to cornucopia of plenty. It has been a nice couple of days easing back into reality.  E had school today and was super pumped to see all of his buddies, we even went to lunch with them after! He was so exhausted from this morning that he took a 4 hour nap :) love it. Here are some pics I snapped when he woke up from his nap. He's getting so big, I feel like he's changing again! XOXO

Handsome boy!

"Sheesh Mom, all these pics?!"

Already tinkering, trying to get the screw on his trike!

Sorry that I've been delenquent, but...

 

We have been on a vacation, a well deserved one! Brian, E and I packed up and drove out to the Outer Banks of North Carolina last Saturday. I cannot believe that today is our last full day here. We have logged some serious quality time here, doing whatever the day allows. No schedule, no distractions, and beautiful surroundings makes for an easy time of it. E drags us to the beach every morning after breakfast, and drags us back again after dinner. He makes a b-line for the door proclaiming (with keys in hand), "Beach, please!" We grab our bags and take off the few steps to the beach and play around till E lets us know he's ready to head back with a, "All done! Bye-Bye beach!" We pack up and head back often for lunch and then E's nap. Which then gives Brian and I a chance to sit on the balcony, soak up the sun, soft breeze, and sounds of the waves. Then we truck out for the afternoon and go on adventures. One day we drove out to Corolla, saw the lighthouse and then the Whalehead club. Then we ventured into the NC wildlife center, and then learned about the wild ponies that live on the dunes near the beach of Corolla. They told us all we needed was a 4x4 vehicle and we could go. My friends, Brian can NEVER complain about me getting four wheel drive ever again. He had the biggest grin on his face the whole time we drove on that beach! We found the ponies, stopped to show E - who was amazed. Happened upon a horseshoe crab, which Brian picked up for E to touch. I quickly seized this opportunity to run and jump into the drivers seat and take my turn four wheeling on the beach :)! We have also been to the Wright Brothers monument twice (I'm married to an engineer y'all) and E even got to control the replica plane in the visitor center thanks to a patient and slightly crazy park ranger. I was terrified that my toddler would go down in history as the kid who took down the intricately made Wright flyer. We went to go eat some delish Carolina BBQ, and happened upon a blues concert. E, Brian, and I jammed out trying to burn off those hush puppies! We have taken a few bike rides around town, which E loves. This whole trip has been phenomenal. Perfect condo, perfect town, and surrounded by two pretty perfect loves.

cuties

E thought it was so fun to jump on my back and tickle me :)

Daddy and E watching the waves and pelicans

The Lady on the beach with me ;)

E was not a fan of the crab

wild ponies