Fourth of July with the Extended Winn Family

Much of Dad's extended family came into town for the holiday weekend so CJ got his fill of meeting new people, Mom and Dad's arms got a rest, and Mia had tons of playmates.

Here is CJ meeting Aunt Barbara. (No, the color coordination was not intentional.) We don't have any pictures of them playing, but Mia and Aunt Barbara spent a lot of time together. More specifically, Mia towed Aunt Barbara all around Nina and Taid's house and yard. For days later, Mia kept asking, "Where Aunt Barbara?". Clearly, she misses her playmate.
Mia loves exploring Nina's gardens with Dad.

She and Jabber are finally becoming best friends. As many of you know, Mia seems to get nervous around dogs and takes a long time to warm up to them. Jabber is one of the calmest, most relaxed puppies ever, which has made their "getting to know you" period a lot easier for everyone.
We also got to spend a lot of time with the Bowmans, who live in DC, but life with little kids means that we don't get to see them as often as Mia would like. Mia loves playing with Sarah. Sarah likes laughing at Mia and especially likes her yellow rain boots.

The Fourth with the Gang

Our monthly get together with the toddler gang coincided with the kids birthdays and the Fourth.





CJ also had a great time meeting everyone.

A Visit to the Crib

CJ is currently sleeping in Mom and Dad's room, but eventually he and Mia will share a room. Mia decided to invite CJ into the crib to show him what it was all about.

(Don't forget to check out Mia's custom Olivia pillow case; a birthday present from Grandma.)
We think CJ looks a little frightened in this shot. We hope he doesn't think he and Mia will have to share the crib.

Trip to Zoo

Mia's day care is closed for their summer vacation for a week and a half so today, Nina came with us to the zoo to to help Mommy manage Mia and CJ. It worked out perfectly. Mia had a great time and was so exhausted by the end that she was asking for a nap.


We got to see the new baby gorilla play outside with its mom. Watching the baby climb all over its mother showed how much of a portable jungle gym she really is.

The lions and tigers were even out.

The Check-ups

Mommy was a little crazy and booked CJ's 2 week check-up at the same time as Mia's 2 year check-up. We all survived, thanks to some very nice nurses.

Here are the stats:

Mia
Height - 33" (28th percentile, +1 1/2 inches from 18 mo appt)
Weight - 25 lbs (28th percentile, +3lbs 10 oz from 18 mo appt)
Head Circumference - 18 1/2" (36th percentile)

CJ
Height - 21" (57th percentile, +1 inch from birth)
Weight - 8 lbs 14 oz (50th percentile, +15 oz from birth)
Head Circumference - 14 1/2" (39th percentile)

Birthday Presents

Here are some shots of Mia opening and playing with various birthday presents. She definitely had a great time with her birthday this year.

Happy 2nd Birthday Mia!

Two years ago today...

And today...

Bonding Time

Mia loves being a big sister. She wants to hug and kiss and take care of Christopher all the time. She gets a little frustrated with Mom and Dad when we try to tell her that he can't walk or crawl or even hold his own toys yet. Mia seems to accepted these "faults" of her brother's and now asks if Christopher can have tummy time so they can cuddle and lie together on the floor. Mia is a great big sister.

CJ's First Bath

Rainstorm

We had the most unbelievable downpour today and our whole street flooded. These are pictures from the yard between ours and our neighbor's house, the street right in front of our house, and the stairs at the end of our street from the local elementary school baseball/soccer fields.

Neighborhood Bonding

We are very lucky to have some great families that live on our street including lots of kids for Mia and CJ to play with. This is a typical evening when the kids get together to play in the front yard.

Sidewalk chalk is always a favorite.

As well as ring-around-the-rosie (or tree in this case).

Introducing...

Christopher James
(aka C.J., Chris)

Born 6/14/2009 at 3:59 am
7 lbs, 15 oz
20 inches

Mommy, baby, Daddy, and big sister are all doing well.

Strawberry Picking at the CSA Farm

For our 3rd summer, we have joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) where we purchase a share in a farm's crops and get deliveries of fruit and vegetables harvested from the farm June through October. We finally made it to the farm this year for the Strawberry Jubilee festival and u-pick strawberries (a bonus of being a CSA member). You get to ride behind a tractor to get to the u-pick fields and there are lots of animals and fun activities back at the farm to keep any little kid (and adult) happy. We had a wonderful time with Mia's friends Greydon and Noah and their families. We're also very excited for all the good food to come out of the wonderful berries.

Mia's all ready to start picking.

Mommy and Mia picking (and eating) berries.

"Oh, let me steal another one from the basket.
This is so much easier than picking them on my own."

Clearly, someone got his fill of strawberries warmed by the sun.

We were all very impressed with how well the kids did in the fields. They picked and ate and had a grand old time.

Then it was back to the farm for some lunch and a visit to the animals.

Can't wait for blueberry and blackberry seasons, but given the perfect weather today, this will be a hard day to match.

Early Birthday Present

To help keep Mia busy with a new baby arriving in the next few weeks, we decided to put together her birthday present a little early. Here is Mia playing on her new play set in the back yard.