Stella's 6th Birthday Party

On Sunday we went to the Redskins game (Stella's choice) and then celebrated her birthday with Diz. Stella had a great time at the game despite the loss and freezing rain, and also enjoyed her family party.

Stella's 6th Birthday Party

On Saturday we had nine girls from Stella's school over to celebrate her birthday. They decorated jewelry boxes, played pin the tail on the donkey, and destroyed a pinata. Stella had a fantastic time and said it was "the best birthday party ever".

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving we were joined by my Mom, Dad, Betsy, Nick, Johnny, and Zoe. It was one of the best Thanksgivings I can remember.

Go Skins!

the redskins beat the lions today, 34-3, while we endured what could be the hottest we've ever been. it was close to 100 degrees today in washington, and the stadium was unbearably hot. there was absolutely no relief from the heat, but like the true fan that she is, stella never complained once.

this is certainly not football weather!

Flowergirl

Flowergirl

tristan's cousin aven was married 2 weekends ago at ash-lawn highland near charlottesville and stella was the flowergirl. ash-lawn was james monroe's estate in the blueridge mountains and, as you would imagine, it was absolutely beautiful. as you would also imagine, stella was a fantastic flowergirl.

The Benders

First Day of Kindergarten

please excuse the sideways photos...

Reunited at last!

As I am preparing to move, I've been sorting through all of my belongings. At the bottom of a box filled with beloved dolls and stuffed animals lay Joanie. I immediately squealed with joy and my eyes welled up with tears.
Joanie is a pillow that was always sitting on the sofa in my Aunt Joan's living room. Whenever I would visit her house, I would jump out of the car and make a beeline straight for Joanie. I can't quite explain what the attraction is, it's certainly not an attractive or soft pillow, but it's just the way she (yes, she) feels and moves. We had a very special connection. You can imagine my excitement when on one of these visits, Auntie Joan said "Amy, why don't you just take the thing?". For approximately 10 years, Joanie and I rarely spent a night apart. Joanie is one of my most treasured childhood toys (if you can call her that) and I'm ecstatic to be reunited with her once again.




This post is dedicated to my wonderful Auntie Joan, thank you! xxoo

cottage photos

betsy's lovely little visit to dc

we took a day trip to saint michaels, maryland. we had some delicious crab cakes, as is custom while on the eastern shore, and just walked around a bit. we especially had fun with the walls that you poke your head through...i think bets has the rest of those photos. i wish i had a photo of our charming waitress named pocket, yes pocket, but alas i don't. very unfortunate.

Stella's 1/2 Birthday

Stella turned 5 1/2 on Saturday. Since we were out of town then, we celebrated tonight with our usual brownie cake and 5.5 candles. It's usually a half cake, but this time Stella wanted it round.
So here's to Stella, for five and a half years of excellence.

oh the life of an only child.






a bonus of tristan in a headband looking like a little girl.

continued...

stella loved new york. we probably walked 100 blocks in 2 days and she kept saying "i love new york" or "new york is so much fun". not to mention the weather called for mid 40's, which turned out to be mid 20's with 35mph winds! when we went into fao schwartz stella spotted the fetal/newborn white tiger within 30 seconds. when it came time to pick an hour and a half later, she wanted nothing else. the tigers name is daisy.