Going on an Edventure...

Another day of travel, another fun museum. I think this is the best children's museum we've ever been to - we hardly even saw everything there was, much less tried it. Even with extending the trip home out to 3 days, we still didn't get to spend as much as we'd probably have liked exploring along the way, but what we did do made for fun times. Evidence of said fun times include Amity as dentist, Amity as West African cook, and Zara as very small person in chair with very large kid (who is actually a play structure!) in background. For anyone going anywhere near Columbia, SC with kids, do check out Edventure. It's TOTALLY worth a stop.

The MoSH

One of the awesome perks of membership to our local children's museum is reciprocal membership at children's and science museums all across the country (and some in Canada, I think, too!) We use this benefit to its fullest extent when traveling, often stopping for an hour just to run around and explore in a new museum somewhere (and not be sitting in the car). Here we are in Jacksonville, FL, at the MoSH. The giant sideways face is the entryway to an exhibit on the human body.

Ormond Beach

The only thing we didn't get to do while visiting family in Florida was get to the beach. So, when Amity woke up from her nap on the first day of our trip home, we got off at the nearest exit of I-95, and headed east. We arrived in Ormond Beach about an hour before sunset. As to not waste time with changing and since it was kind of cold anyway, I figured we'd just all go in the clothes we were wearing and wade a bit in the water and play in the sand. However... 3 out of 4 of us ended up getting significantly wet. 1 of us had to remain dry in order to properly document the expereince... and hold the iPhones and car keys.

Riding River Run

The really awesomest thing about Aunt Debbi's horses is getting to ride! Here Z is getting ready to ride River Run, Deb's very tall (over 16 hands!) horse. Zara did fantastically, of course (video to follow some day soon-ish). And most importantly, she has a wonderful time! She rode every day we were in Florida. Thanks SO much for hosting us, Deb and Craig!

Maté

One of the best parts of visiting excellent Aunt Debbi in Florida is the horses! Here Zara's hanging out with Maté, after helping Deb give him a bath. Zara spent a great deal of time helping with farm chores, and seems to take follow in the footsteps of her various horse loving relatives!

Jekyll Island

We planned our trip down to Florida as a 2 day drive, with a stop in Savannah, GA, as that's about the halfway point. Ironically, however, we never ended up in Savannah proper and just kept driving on by. As we were about to pass an exit for Jekyll Island National Park, Amity started have a mega-meltdown, so we quickly left the freeway and went exploring.

Long story short, here's a pic of our 2 resident cuties relaxing in the rocking chairs on the porch of the Jekyll Island Club Hotel.

Happy Chanukah!

We had a funny chanukah this year, because of the overlap with a good chunk of winter vacation. The first night (pictured here) was the only night we actually celebrated at home. For the other nights we were either on the road traveling to/from Florida, or lighting candles and singing with Aunt Debbi (and Nanny). Also of interest is the homemade menorah representing our 2nd year entering the creative chanukiah contest. This was a fairy menorah, and we called it "Queen Titania Brings the Light." It won the award of "menorah a fairy is most likely to land on" in the contest, so we clearly did a good job! Also of note, Amity likes latkes!

Second Recital

Just a few short months after Zara and friends performed in their first recital, we present you their second one! This time they are doing a reel.

And that's why they call me... Doctor!

This blog is usually devoted to our adorable kiddos, but I must take a moment for some shameless self-promotion. Today, I successfully defended my dissertation, which means pending a few small changes and filing the very large document with the Curry School (that's the name of our Ed School here), I will have earned my PhD. This has been many years in the making - from toying with going for a doctorate instead of a masters when at UMich in '02-'04, and then finally taking the leap to apply to programs outside of MI in '05. I started at UVA in August of '06... and of course in the meantime Amity was born. So it has been a long, not entirely direct path. I could not have done it without the support of friends and family, near and far, and I thank all of you who have helped me along the way - you all know who you are! Of course, this now brings up the larger question... what's next? Stay tuned to find out! (This does not mean I actually have a plan, mind you, just that one will get made. Sooner or later.)

Ball Pit, Jr.

And another in the series of "cute things my daughter was doing while I was working on my dissertation." Amity found herself unexpected solo at Vijay's (other kiddo was sick and therefore didn't come to play) and so they went to Bounce 'n' Play instead. She apparently had a fabulous time, and enjoyed herself in this small ball pit pictured here. Not quite as all-enveloping as this one that Zara played in, but it's a start!

Spring Jackets

Sure, it's December here, but as I've often mentioned, it can be quite balmy. Here the girls show off their Spring Jackets (thanks to the Greene-Hutchings-Schmidt crew for the Amity hand-me-downs!) and their dual ponytails, aka pigtails.

"Doggie" Hat

I'm not sure who started calling this a doggie hat, it looks a bit more like someone took and Ugly Doll and turned *that* into a hat... but monster hat doesn't have such a catchy ring to it? And it does have cute floppy puppy ears.... naming conventions aside, here's Amity showing off her cute to Vijay while I do my final prep for my dissertation defense next week!

Pony Tail

Here's Amity, looking all grown up in her first ponytail. Also 22 months!

Irish Tree

Wes would like to point out that this is the same tree where we took a pic of Zara, Claire, Kiera and Esme 2 years ago on May Day... I would like to point out I spent all summer at this museum collecting data... why are we here the day before my dissertation is due to my committee?

Modeling Fun

Dearest No Dashiki readers, You, like my facebook and twitter friends (probably 95% overlap here anyway), are undoubtedly sick of me going on and on about all the fun things everyone does while I'm constantly hard at work on my dissertation (with the exception of brief pauses, such as these, in which I upload photos of aforementioned fun things everyone does). Fear not! I've begun the last round of edits and to schedule my defense meeting, so in just a few short weeks I will instead be going on and on about how much fun the kids and I have while Wes works! In the meantime, here's a snap of aforementioned fun. Wes and Zara decided to enjoy some quality Old Navy dress up time - here is the result. She looks fab if I do say so myself, no?

Look up! Way up!

Here's Amity playing at Vijay's house, checking out an airplane getting ready to land. Being just south of a littlle airport like C'ville's is a big win when you are a toddler!

Do we dress for dinner?

Sometimes getting a toddler to keep their clothes on is a difficult proposition.... but enter the big sister with a fabulous dress up idea! Voila, much cuteness! For the record, while these outfits might have gone better with tofu and broccoli stir-fry, we had blueberry pancakes. Still tasty.

Greenleaf Park

Having a sisterly rock on the dino and the motorcycle at Greenleaf Park, getting their yayas out before dinner time.

While I was writing...

I've been spending most of my free time, and some time I don't even have working on the final stages of my dissertation. I currently have my 2nd draft into my advisor, so I have a few minutes to breathe before he sends back critique and we do it all over again :) In the meantime, while I'm writing Zara is generally at school or asleep, and when Amity's not asleep she plays at Vijay's house with a few toddler/preschool buddies. Here's a sampling of their fun... also, despite my complete and total lack of fun, we do have some other pics to post of the kids (and maybe a few of the grown ups) but they will likely be backdated, so the very small number of you who actually still read this blog withh need to scroll down....

Slumber Party

We haven't gotten them sleeping together at night, yet, but this looks to be a step in the right direction....

Humpback Rocks, revisited yet again

This hiking Humpback Rocks is getting to be "a thing." It's the only place Zara ever wants to go when we suggest we should go for a hike. This time around Amity actually walked a good bit of the lower part, some up and quite a bit more on the way back down. By the spring I'd guess she'll be doing the whole gravel/step part on the return, and possibly the ascent, too. Fun times.

Order up!

Amity plays restaurant with me at Pen Park while Zara attends her Irish Dance class. Much cuteness ensues! Also, happy 21 months birthday, Amity!

Halloween on the Lawn

Another year, another Halloween on the Lawn. Zara is a candy acquiring pro, and being a bug with a light up bum made it very easy to zip in and out and in between to attain maximal goodies. We brought the Pegasus costume Zara wore in 2007 when she was a bit older than Amity is now (just over 2 as opposed to a few months shy of 2). Amity wore it for a few minutes and then decided that she'd rather explore. She and Wes found some leaf piles to play in and some bubbles to chase. All in all, everyone had fun.

Ginter Gardens, 2 Ways

The first 3 pictures were taken by Zara. We gave her the "nice camera" to use during the trip, which is now the oldest (digital) camera in our possession and has the nice feature of a wrist strap, so it's of good use to the 6 year old set. As expected, she took some blurry photos and some photos of "nothing." I was fairly surprised by how well some of her pics came out. How cool is the depth of field on the rose? How awesome are those green reedy things? How cute is Amity?

The rest of the pictures, in grand Bromberg/Craig tradition, are Wes' meta-commentrary on our trip. Zara taking a picture of Amity, the girls climbing a tree, and all 3 of us doing the visiting the botanical garden thing. I'm not sure what was going on in the last picture, but I believe Amity was threatening to nap in the middle of the walkway.

Squish!

Here we see Zara and Amity proving the old adage that 2 cute kids are even cuter when snuggling together.

Team Purple

Zara's moved up to U8 soccer, where they now practice once a week then play on Saturdays. They also have the concept of "out of bounds" but the do not keep score or have off sides, etc. She currently alternates between really enjoying it and working hard to help her team, and spending time on the sidelines socializing. Not sure if soccer will end up being a sport she'll pursue much longer, but as long as she's having fun we'll go with it.

Fry Cook

Amity's finally reached the stage where we can actually read (very simple) books to her and she can follow the (limited) plot, anticipate what is to come, and all of the fun associated therein. Here we see her reading one of her current favorites, "Maisy's Firetruck"

Tangled up in View

Zara was at a birthday party where there was swimming (which Amity LOVES) but it was also really cold (which Amity's parents do not love when it comes to swimming for her or for them) and so we had to take her for some non-big kid fun. Turns out the Agnor-Hurt playground was both nearby and had a really cool climbing web. Score on all accounts. Plus afterwards aforementioned parents got coffee. Sunday success!

Monticello Trail

It was a bit of a cloudy, overcast day, but Amity's been so excited to WALK these days we figured we should fine a place that's car-free and little feet friendly. Turns out the Monticello trail fits the bill almost perfectly. Here we see the sisters pause for cuteness on a bench, Amity modeling Zara's hat, Zara playing hide and seek in the remains of a multi-hundred year old tulip poplar that used to sit next to TJ's house, and finally, off to explore!