Swing

First Day at the Beach

Trip to Florida.

Ada saw the ocean for the first time a few weeks ago.

She loved the sand (but not the taste), sunbathing (in the shade), admiring beach life, and even took a nice nap wading in the shallows (or being carried in the shallows). 

The weather down there makes a person in the mid-Atlantic feel pretty envious this time of year. 

It's so great down in the Tampa Bay area. These pictures are from a day at Fort Desoto beach.

Our Herbst family- You're the best, we miss you.

She also flew for the first time, she is 6 months, full of curiosity, and just getting her lungs, so we were nervous as hell, but it turns out Ada loves flying. She's a born traveler- at least for 2 hours at a time.

This is her thoughtfully listening to the safety presentation.

Don't Mess... Miss Addie M isn't playing.

What has to be the cutest f#ing passport photo ever taken.

Sitting Up All The Time Now

There are about 10,000 pictures I would love to post for you here, but here are just a tiny few I love. 

The little one proudly prefers sitting up all the time now
(ok, a few weeks ago maybe, but I'm late sharing). 

She's all radiant and glowing these days with new discovery.

For our dear loved one's who aren't Sleeping In The District Tonight 

Bartholdi misses you (those who know what I mean, we miss you too).

"-Declare independence- don't let them do that to you."

--[You Are] Unstoppable.

Saying Hi

Novemberish 6 Months

Ada had her 6 month milestone on the 9th! Happy Birthday Ada.

It's beautiful out there now.

First Halloween

Ada roars, she roars like a pro. So Ada went as a lion. Adalion. She took the role very seriously.

Hallowe'en with kids in the District absolutely kicks ass, who knew?

October 28th

Ada spent some time with her cousin's foal Izzy at the Vienna Va. Halloween Parade (in which Ty her cousin proudly showed off her training skills), it took Ada a few seconds to enjoy straddling the pony. 

I think it was the hat that closed the deal.

She had a great past couple of weeks... aside from the teething. As you can see: she teethed, read, played, took in some art, grew out of clothes, and learned how to drive an automatic.

I proudly picked up Ada's birth certificates down at vital records, and the Vespa odometer rolled to an even 1,000 right when I pulled up to the office, which struck me as memorable timing for such a small thing. I guess that's about 500 errands in it's life, mostly getting groceries 5 minutes before the store closed.

And on a non-Ada related note... the all-too-enjoyable two month long 'renovation' of PALOMA, our 1971 G30, is finally finished (sans a few small things). Here's a random picture of her shiny new topsides being carried back to the water. I'll miss the boat yard, but we're looking forward to getting under sail again.

Pumpkin Patch

I've been to a lot of pumpkin patches in my day,

done a lot of Jack-o-Lantern selecting,

done a lot of hay bale related things,

drank a lot of apple cider, and hunted the great pumpkin king all night,
done more pumpkin picking than a grown person should admit to, 

and I have to say- this was the best time yet.

Adachu had a good day.

She got a chance to pick a pumpkin, in the way a 5 month old does that. She rolled in hay, fell into a pile of stuffed animals a few times, and we all got to hang around fields on the Eastern Shore. We parents learned that if for some reason you forget to bring daipers, you can always buy the "huggies emergency pack" from a 7-11 somewhere on the road, and even if the emergency scented winnie the pooh diapers are a few sizes too big, they'll still work just fine.

D&C Visit

Ada's aunt and uncle visited a while back... Cristina took some beautiful pictures, here are two.

2nd Weekend of Oct

Second week of October in this area always means: sailboats, orchids, cider, and pumpkin patches. (among other things). 

Ada finding the National Arboretum's koi pond.

Ada's selection.

A beautiful show winner in the Fuukiran category this year, a Kinroukaku with leaves so yellow they look autumnal. The plantings were perfect.

And Ada had a chance to hang out at her cousins house, try out a few new toys and all.

First Food-ish Meal

Ada ate with a spoon for the first time the other day. 

She enjoyed it more than I ever could have imagined. 

Realizing that it's the first time this little person ate something in her life- 

she had so much fun eating 

what can I say... it made me too happy.

Cool weather & the Metro

Some random shots of Sept.

Just some pictures of Ada that were lying around, so I put them in a little collage. 

September was the rainiest September here in the mid-atlantic since the 1930's, we thought the sun would never shine again, but Ada rolled over for the first time, grew so much, and among it all there were a few other minor triumphs.

Sept 25th: Perfect Days

Starting to Bounce

Ada got a bouncer and started to bounce this week, it's making her happy, and giving her a chance to work out those baby legs. Puns on Ada hanging-out are all over the place. 

Ada flying with Dad

4mos.Tuesday Morning Smile

Time with Family

Found some pictures I wanted to share... from a while ago, early Sept.

Ada got to spend time this weekend with family, 

her Uncle Jack, her cousin, and her Aunt Julie. 

We think she had a really great time with everyone, 

we know we did.

Scanty Disasters

It's been a strange month around home.

After so much hardship all ending well... There's a little rumble in the earth, and panic in the streets
(that brought nothing more than interesting conversations).

And here's big old messy, blustery, Irene threatening her way up the coast.

  

Well at least we were prepared this time: the boat was pulled, garden gnomes strapped down, provisions acquired, and safety abounds.

To all of you on the USEC stay dry tonight.

Post Date: Ada at 14 Weeks

Baby Feet. Ridiculous. 

Ada: Aug.