The Great Cloth Diaper Change

Most people who know us know that we chose to use reusable, cloth diapers with Michal.  In the beginning, we encountered many who predicted that this would be short-lived, but to the contrary, we have been going strong for 20 months.  It is no surprise then that we opted to participate in the Great Cloth Diaper Change, an attempt to break the world record for the most cloth diapers changed at the same time.  We attempted to take part in the event last year, but we got lost on the way and missed the official change.  This year there were more than 300 hosts across 16 countries - pretty impressive!

We signed up for a location not far from where we live, meeting up with Michal's friend Liam (of sock stealing fame if you followed the 365 day blog) and his awesome parents.  We had fun hanging out with other fluff-loving folks and enjoyed a yummy lunch afterwards.

Borrowing Jaime's sunglasses - the kid LOVES shades 

Looking at Jaime's pictures on her phone as we wait for the event to begin 

Love this kid!

Getting her diaper ready for the big change, checking out everyone around us. 

After the official change - you can see us near the back - I'm holding Michal up with her purple shirt and belly hanging out.  HEAVY KID. 

She seems pretty blase about being part of a world record breaking event!

Yeah... I think the idea of lunch is trumping everything else. 

LUNCH!  And Michal shows us her unique flossing techniques.

"Hey, y'all!"

Silly kids!

Technology Rocks

This happens to be one of those crazy weeks where I have three late work evenings, which means I miss one of my favorite times with the Goose - bedtime.  Luckily we live in the 21st century, where distance can be overcome by some amazing inventions.  Josh helped Michal Facetime me (a Skype-like video chat function on the iPhone) as she got ready for bed, which meant lots of "Hi!"s and "Mommy!"s and the inevitable attempt to beep my nose or gouge out my eye through the screen. She's an awesome kid, and even if I couldn't be there for bedtime, it was great having some face time with her.

Don't mind the crazy hair - it was bath time.  

She made sure to show me bubbles and splash her daddy.

I'm behind on posts, but I have much to add soon, including Michal's most recent attempt to set a Guinness World Record!

South Carolina: Part III

Our final photos from our South Carolina trip - miniature golf and beach/pool day.  Fun!

Just hanging out on the huge rocking chair, waiting for everyone to get ready to leave for a fun day. 

Showing off her very own golf club.  It is only slightly smaller than a hockey stick!

Teeing up with Daddy.

Getting a quick lesson from the pro.

Carving her own path to follow her ball.  Unfortunately the "grass" was wet!

Trying to make par on her own - stubborn kid!

 Calling in the reinforcements - help from Grandma.

Uh oh... getting impatient with the club and decides to take matters into her own hands - literally!

... taking it to the hole.

 She doesn't quite get it in the hole on the firs try.

 Collecting her ball again.

Success!

Waiting for the rest of the group to catch up.

Later, it was time to hit the beach (and, later, the pool)! 

Sooooooo excited to don her swimsuit for the first time.

Beach baby!

While she had some huge aversions to the sand at first, she did seem to enjoy shoveling sand into the pail, then emptying said pail and starting all over again.

Testing out the water - brrr! 

It was pretty cold, so after we played in the sand a while later, we headed over to the heated pool.  Michal adored it - I have a feeling our neighborhood pool will be a big part of our summer!

River Farm Playdate

Today was a fun day!  We met up with Michal's friend Henry and his lovely parents, Laine and Jesse, and spent the morning at River Farm, once the property of George Washington, just up the Potomac River from Mount Vernon.  It is a lovely site, now the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society, dating back to 1653 when Giles Brent and his wife, a princess of the Piscatawny tribe, received a grant of 1800 acres named Piscatawny Neck.  As you will see in these photos, it is a lovely settings, and the kiddos had a great time!


We spent most of our time in the children's garden, which featured a number of cute structures and landscape settings.

Checking out the house.   

Hi, cuties! 

Laughing at Daddy. 

We also found a little bridge - Henry LOVED climbing up and down its steps.  

 Here is Michal, playing "Ring Around the Rosie" by herself - a new favorite.  She falls down and everything.

Henry checks out the structural integrity of the bridge.  Or something. 

 Silly goose kids, checking out the view.

Haha, I tried to get their attention by calling them "Goober Butts" - Henry obliged and showed me his tush.  

 Snack time - apple slices. YUM.

Michal "rolled" down the hill. Sort of. 

Henry... or, as Michal says, Henri.  She thinks he's French. 

Checking out Laine's SUPER awesome glitter toenail polish.   

 Her bow fell out, so here is Michal's impersonation of Cousin It.

 Gorgeous setting!

I would love to have this view, sitting on the porch, watching the river.  Gorgeous.

South Carolina: Part II

Day two in Charleston - Fort Sumter, where the Civil War began.  We've taken the trek out to the fort in the past, but it was Michal's first trip, and she had lots of fun running around, climbing on canons, and trying to jump off of high platforms - Josh and I did plenty of running around to keep up with her antics.

On the boat ride out

A cruise ship was in harbor - very big and fun looking!

A view looking back at the Battery and the Painted Ladies, some beautiful homes that line the battery area of Charleston.

Getting her sea legs

Whoa!

Love this face - not sure what she's thinking but boy is she cute!

And she's down!

Pretty sure she was doing her "sleepy" thing and didn't fall over from the rocking

Ft Sumter

Checking out the lower level from the upper level

Checking out a grassy flat area

.... aaaaaaand she decided to scale this incline

 Gave up and decided to lean against it instead.

 Decided to go for a walk with Daddy instead

It was a very windy day, but it made it easier to see each of the flags.

The blue background is the current flag of the state of South Carolina.

The white flag with the red square with blue diagonal stripes was the second flag of the confederacy - the first official flag of the Confederacy is the one in between the white and blue flags - the one with two red stripes with a white strip in between, a blue square in the left corner with stars - THIS is the flag known as Stars and Bars.

The others were flags of the United States.

Checking out a canon

 I think she's trying to maneuver the artillery all on her own. Strong baby.

Later, once we got back to land, we took a walk down to the battery, one of my favorite parts of Charleston.  Love these twisty, gnarled trees with the gazebo.

 A few of the Painted Ladies.  We've decided that when we strike it rich with the lottery, we're going to invest in one of these.  Lovely.

Walking near the Charleston City Market - one of the many women weaving beautiful works of art - sweetgrass baskets.

Another favorite part of Charleston - the pineapple fountain.

Taking a dip with Grandma - she wasn't so keen at first, but she was quickly persuaded to get her feet wet.

 Silly, pensive goose.

Goofball

Such a ham!