Flutterby Butterfly

Something I've wanted to do for a while was to take Chloe to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum to see the Butterfly Exhibit.  It's the one that you can walk through and the butterflies fly all around you.  She loves floaty flittery things, like most babies do, so I thought she'd be interested in this.  It was very cool...there were lots of butterflies, moths, and flowers to look at.  Every minute or so, a mist would blow and the butterflies would flutter into the air, and this was when they were most likely to find there way to a spot on your arm (or tummy, if you're Peanut)!  Chloe seemed to really love watching the butterflies float around.  She went from being mesmorized to giggling, and attempted to touch the butterflies that landed on us (fortunately the butterflies were faster than she was).  It was a small but very fun exhibit! 

On another note, there was a really great exhibit in the museum (Mom friendly; well, Chloe's mom, the history nut, that is) called Written in Bone.  It was a very interesting compilation of forensic investigations into how the real people of Jamestown lived and died.  I'd like to go back...we were reaching maximum capacity and needed an outside walk and nap/bottle before picking Mike up at work.  Such is life in "Adventures with the Peanut!" 

Out Around Town

We didn't have any plans today.  We also awoke to FOUR NEW TEETH poking through Chloe's top gums (cue the lightbulb; now I understand why she's been so fussy).  If I know my little peanut, and I believe that I do, I knew she would need some distractions today. 

I decided to venture over to Lake Royal, which is a nice walking spot around the lake I'd heard about from a lot of people.  If I could suggest one thing for stay-at-home mamas, or any mama/dad really, it would be to find a few nice locations to take peaceful stroller walks, with lots to look at and maybe even a playground along the way.  This walk was a little bumpy for a stroller, but the views were pretty and the swings were swingy (see picture).

After a long walk, we went home for lunch and a nap, then we headed out again to Burke Nursery, which is just down the street from our house.  I didn't really need anything in particular, but I did want to look at some hydrangeas to go in the spot of our ill-fated peach tree.  No leaves, certainly no peaches.  Just a stick in the ground.  Anyways, another thing I find nice is that you don't always need to go somewhere meant for kids, and you don't need to have a purpose for going out and about.  You never know what you're going to find that your kiddo will enjoy...for us today, it was the fountain display with the turtle and frog spitting water.  Giggles, giggles. 

We finished up our afternoon with a little open gym at Gymboree and some play time with our 2 year old neighbor who was "lawnmowering."  Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy and stormy, so I was glad to get out of the house today!

Beach Bunnies

We're back from our big adventure---Chloe's first real vacation to Isle of Palms, SC!  We rented a beach house with our good friends the Gradys and we had a blast.  We spend most of the time at the beach, cooking yummy meals, and wrangling kiddos, but we did get out to dinner one night without the kids and went to the aquarium and through downtown Charleston.  All in all it was a great week...it was so nice to get away to somewhere new!

I'll post a few pics from the trip here...but I should explain first that to see Chloe at the beach was a treat.  She loved the waves in the ocean and really enjoyed digging her little toes into the sand.  It was so fun to see her experiencing it all for the first time.  Check out the little video too!

Sunny Sundresses

You know how the internet is---one minute, you're checking your email, paying a bill, and buying diapers, the next minute you've somehow landed yourself at some site that's has nothing to do with what you originally intended to use the computer to find.  And you can get lost in it!  I swear it's like that sticky paper that catches flies.  Ew, gross.

That's what happened to me this afternoon.  How I ended up googling Lilly Pulitzer, I don't know, but if this dress doesn't say, "I'm Chloe and I'm looking adorble while having a summer adventure," I don't know what does. 

And while we're at it, I think mommy could use a new dress, right?  Hehe, maybe we'll just stick to our Old Navy and Target wardrobes!  I have no problem there!



Beach Practice

We had a little bit of a rainy morning, so I thought it would be a good time to start thinking about our beach trip next week and get a little practice in with something sandy.  I had found this site for rainy day activities for babies and one of the suggestions was to use cornmeal in a pan as a sort of "sandbox."  Cupboards torn apart, I realized that we were out of cornmeal, but we were not out of polenta.  Same thing, and what good Italian hasn't played in a pan full of uncooked polenta?  Hah.  Anyways, it was a lot of fun, and Little Peanut seemed to really enjoy the feeling of the "sand" in her fingers, toes, etc.  She didn't eat any of it either, but her favorite thing to do with it was to take handfuls out and put it behind her, off of the towel, onto the kitchen floor.  Well, why did God invent vacuums? 

Here's a little clip of our polenta princess:

 Like any good bambina, she dug in with both hands.  Can't wait to visit the "big sandbox" next week!

Just Ducky

Welcome to spring...unseasonably warm today, rainy and cool tomorrow!  We decided to take advantage of the warmer temps today and get out and about! 

We headed over to the Burke Centre Library for a program called "Just Ducky."  It was really cute; songs and stories with ducks.  Chloe loved the songs and applauded with gusto after each one, but there was so much going on with other little peanuts during the stories, so it was hard for her to pay much attention there.  Last week we went to the "Lunch Bunnies" program at Kings Park.  That was great too, and much quieter, because everyone was happily munching away.  Chloe was much more attentive to the stories, but she also had some finger food to keep her happy and focused.  I think library story hours , especailly here in Fairfax, are great, and they have programs starting from itty-bitty up through school age.  In fact, I'm fairly sure that there was a lady there today who had come right from the hospital with her newborn, hehe.  Anyways, here's a pic of Chloe enjoying "Just Ducky." 

After that we had a nice little picnic and walk at Burke Lake Park .  I'm really excited for the later spring and summer because there is a little train and carousel there too, along with trails, playgrounds, and the lake.  We also decided it would be fun to watch the ducks, in keeping with the "Just Ducky" theme for the day, but that was pretty short lived as some wayward geese got all nasty and violent with each other.  Haha...thank goodness for fast moving lightweight strollers. 

 Little Peanut enjoying lunch...wearing her new hair bow, courtesy of Mommy's crafty moment.

               Before the geese started going ape (?can geese go ape?) on each other.  Not pictured, cute, calm little duckies.

Thinking Spring

Today was one of thoooooose days at the Trupo House...no one napped well (there may or may not have been a noisy ironing board closing involved in exacerbating the situation).  It was also just generally cloudy and misty and cold, gross.  Anyways, it made for a bit of a whiny day.  It wasn't a total disaster though, as we did go to a family Gymboree class and out to dinner at BGR (great burgers...Mallons...you have to give it a second chance, I think they've got their act together now). 

But the real find for the day, and I don't know how it is that I haven't seen this before, was this activities website.  It's called, "Fun Things To Do With Kids," so the name is pretty self-explanitory, but a with a little more in-depth research you'll find all kinds of great activities (free and not) around the DC metro area. The events are listed by date, so you can find things coming up.  It's supposed to be a nice day tomorrow, so I'm hoping to capitalize on this find and do something fun!

Also included (if you click around you'll find it, but I'll link to it here too) are Easter-y activities (hunts, The Bunny, etc.)  I know Chloe is a little young, but I'm thinking I'd like to hunt down some eggs myself.  Yeah, having a baby is a good excuse to do all of those fun things again.  Pretty soon she'll start to remember it all too...you never know when that little memory is going to kick in! 
                                                            

                                Happy Hunting!                                                        

Hello Blog-a-riffic World!

After much hemming and hawing (hawing? is that right?), I've decided to jump in and do it, so hey blogging world, here I am! 

I guess I'll start with a quick about me?  I'm a (current) stay-at-home mom of an adorable little peanut, my 9 month old named Chloe.  In my pre-mommy life, I was a special education teacher, and I will be again, I'm just not sure when. I have a wonderful husband who is working so I can stay home to raise our daughter. 

So for now, (during the weekdays of course) it's me and Chloe against the world. I have always been a pretty busy person...I enjoy being outdoors, cooking, reading, dancing, traveling, and being social, and these are all activities I hope to pass on to Chloe! I'm determined to continue not being a boring homebody just because we've started a family, and I want to raise Chloe to be a brave little explorer of the world around her, because it has so much to offer.  I haven't seen it all yet either, so here it starts (well, continues in blog form).....THE ADVENTURES WITH PEANUT!  I'm hoping to chronicle here our happenings during the week as a mommy/daughter duo, and our experiences as a family of three as well.  As well as keeping our loved ones up-to-date on our lives, I'd love to give other stay-at-home moms ideas of things to do, and maybe get some ideas in return! 

                              
                                                    Chloe and Me in Central Park