with winter in virginia
proving once again to be nothing
but very cold weather and ice,
we signed up for little gym classes
for hutch since we weren't
out and about with his usual playmates.
it was chaos,
and i was crying i was laughing so hard
at the weirdness of it all.
hutch loved it, so we will continue doing it,
but the class was really one of those things
that makes you realize you are truly a initiated
into parenthood.
this photo of another parent infatuated with the springboard
says it all.
and you KNOW alex had a lot to say
about this
when she came flying past him.

qUIet TIme witH ElsA

in an effort to have one-on-one time
with the kiddoes every day,
elsa goes to bed a couple of hours after hutch.
that way, we get time with her in the evenings,
and some qt with hutch in the morning.
our gal is four months old, sweet and cuddly,
and marvels at the lights of our tree.

Goin' oN a TRee HUNt

while living in colorado,
we usually cut our own tree down
outside of winter park.
this year we found our tree virginia-style.
at james monroe's 3500-acre estate, ash-lawn highlands,
you're allowed to hike in and cut down your own tree.
so armed with a saw, a toddler, and an infant,
we drove the fifteen minutes with the usual
family combo of enthusiasm and poor-planning,
and hiked and scouted this year's Jehle Christmas Tree.
there were a couple of hitches-
we didn't realize how much walking would be involved,
and forgot the hiking backpack to carry hutch
(find the picture of him bawling),
and his need to be held made for a couple of
safety hazards in the actual cutting of the tree.
however, it was the first beautiful day
we've had in weeks, and it was great to be outside.
just making commonwealth memories, people.

i've been tagged...

I've been tagged!
Here are the instructions:
1. Go to your pictures
2. Upload the fourth picture in the fourth file
3. Post the pic
4. Tag four friends

hmm..i tag mer, katie, annie, heather

hutch snooping in a gift bag and rocking
his wrist bands...he still wears all 6 of them at once
almost every day.