Annapolis, MD

The next day of our trip was spent in Annapolis, MD, a 45 minute drive from DC. Annapolis is a quaint fishing village located on Chesapeake Bay which is also home to the US Naval Academy and the capitol of Maryland. We toured the State House, and did some window shopping in the cute downtown square. We drove across the Bay Bridge and checked out Dover, DE. Why visit DE? Because it was only an hour away! Where else can you visit 3 states in 1 day? Nowhere but the East Coast! We had a yummy BBQ lunch in Dover, where we were scared silly by the volunteer fire department siren that rings all over town when they are called. It sounds eerily like a hurricane siren. The locals looked at us tourists like we were crazy as we ran into the restaurant like it was the beginning of WWIII! I am sure the look on our faces was pretty funny. We discovered a gorgeous park in Dover where we let Lindsay stretch her legs and play. We drove through farmlands where there were REAL pumpkin patches and it reminded us of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

 Jarrett & Lindsay in front of the capitol of MD...

 Loved the cobblestone streets of this beautiful little town...

 Inside the capitol... It once served as our nation's capitol from 1783-84...

 Taking a stroll through the gardens

 "Look Mama!!"  There were ducks in the water...

 Where we had lunch in Dover, DE... and where we ran inside from the 'hurricane' siren.

 The adorable park we visited after lunch...

 Mama (23 weeks) and Lindsay Diane

Lindsay was not ready to leave the park, but we had to venture back to DC so we could move onto the next part of our trip: Boston!!

Washington D.C. 2011

Jarrett, Lindsay and I just got back from a lovely trip to Washington DC and Boston this past week. Jarrett had a conference to attend in DC, and Lindsay and I, once again, snuck into his suitcase to tour the nation's capital. Last year she was 9 months, and this time around she is 19 months... oh how time flies! We took TONS of pictures, so I am dividing it up by the places we visited. We had a few firsts on our trip: the airline loosing our luggage, driving a mini-van with a DVD player, and trying Dunkin Doughnut's Pumpkin Coffee (yum!). When we got to LAX for our flight back east, we discovered our flight was delayed, and as a result, made us miss our connection to DC. The airline was really great offering us a non-stop flight to DC that would get us there 3 hours earlier than our previous flight, except it was going to Dulles, not Reagan. This would have been ideal, accept we had already reserved and paid for (darn hotwire) a rental car at Reagan. We did the 4.5 hour flight non-stop, and were delighted when Lindsay slept for an hour, colored and watched Elmo on Jarrett's laptop the rest of the time. It a perfect flight!! We got to the airport and our luggage was put on a later flight to Dulles, so we were given the option of either coming back later to pick it up or having it delivered to our hotel, which sounded pretty good right about then. To make a long story short, our bags were delivered at 5:30am to our hotel, and poor Jarrett didn't get much sleep from calling the airline every 2 hours to check on the status. After sleeping in a bit, we got late start in checking out the parts of DC we missed last year, namely seeing the Constitution and Jefferson Memorial.

 Here's a hot, humid & sleep deprived family pic... wish we would've gotten more, but hey, it's one of the only ones, so I decided to post it, yucky in all :)

 Daddy & Lindsay, 9 months 

Daddy and Lindsay, 19 months

On our walk to the Jefferson Memorial

Doing her 'parade' wave to anyone passing by...

 Mama & Lindsay in front of the Jefferson Monument

Playing peek-a-boo with Daddy in the columns

View from the monument looking towards  the White House and Washington Monument... We couldn't take photos of the Constitution... something about the it fading...LOL.  Next up... Annapolis! FYI.. I am SO behind in blogging, so it is my goal to be caught up by the end of this week! Warning: Lot's of posts with pictures from the Fishers!

Jarrett, Katie, Lindsay & "M" is for...

Madison Grace Fisher

Here's our sweet Maddie, who was feeling a bit shy for the camera last week at the OB. Our doctor said all is well, that her heart, lungs, and other organs look good, along with her spine and skull. I was shocked when he said I didn't gain any weight this month... because I've been eating all my favorite foods. I think I am just balancing out for all the weight I gained during the first trimester, when all I wanted was carbs! Plus, I know I will gain the most weight the last trimester. The doctor also modified our due date slightly to January 31st, so hopefully, she will have her own birthday month, apart from her big sister.  (:

So why did we decide on Madison Grace? Well, we tried out MANY different names, and once we realized that by giving Lindsay a name that begins with the letter "L" we unintentionally created a play on the alphabet, with Jarrett, Katie, and Lindsay. So, with JKL already established, we thought it only natural to continue on, and complete our family, with a name that begins with "M" for our sweet baby girl, "Madison." We also like Grace for the same reason we like Madison, because it's timeless, and in our opinion, sounds good with Madison.  And, Jarrett, always with eyes gazed toward the future, wants his girls to have names that look as good on a business card, as they look on a lab coat. So Madison Grace Fisher it is!

Hello Fall

It's the most wonderful time of the year... FALL in the Fisher house (or Autumn if you are feeling fancy)!! This is my FAVORITE time of the year, harvest and Thanksgiving... sigh.. I can already taste the pumpkin pie. And, let me tell you, being pregnant during Thanksgiving is the best. I get to do it again this year! Plus, I get to wear my "Thanksgiving Pants" (a reference to Joey from Friends) aka maternity stretchy pants :) So this year I decided it was alright to begin decorating after September 1st, and since yesterday morning it was cloudy, it was a good enough reason for me to bust out the Pumpkin Spice Candles!! Here are a few pics of my treasures...

Oh no she didn't... YES, I even have Cinnamon-Spice hand soap for our kitchen.

Funny story: Our sweet neighbors across the way told Jarrett one day that they get excited for the holidays because the first sign they see is the Fisher's door and whatever wreath and mat I put out in the hallway... Welcome Autumn!!

Although I adore the four seasons, today reality hit me and I realize I live in Southern California. It is 88 degrees right now and my air conditioner is going. So we packed a lunch and I took the girl to the pool or "Pooooool" as Lulu fondly calls it.

I have been horrible about getting pictures of Lindsay this summer at the pool because I have been terrified to get my new camera near the water. Plus, I have been in the water with her :)

 Mmmm... PB&J and ruffles chips. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed THIS in the kiddie pool to the left of us....

 Oh my goodness... Did this pregnant Mama move fast!! We were going to eat lunch and then Lulu was going to the kiddie pool... I think I would have gone into labor if I saw this little guy swimming with me and Lindsay!

I high-tailed it out of that pool, and called public safety to come fish our little friend out. Yuck. You think living in the country with snakes I would not be so freaked out, but the Mama Bear came out and we ran. I am sure if anyone saw us it would have been pretty funny... Me, pregnant and running with a crying baby (she was not happy to leave the pool) a lunch pail, camera case, yellow raft and floaties dangling behind me.

Can I just say, goodbye summer (warm weather and snakes) and HELLO FALL!?

I am ready for you to be here! 

It's a...

Sweet Baby Girl!!!

Here is a picture of the balloon of how we told our families we were expecting a girl...

 17 weeks and growing...

 Sweet baby girl! Can't wait to meet you! We do have a name in mind; just finalizing it and been practicing saying & using it, before sharing with all our family & friends.  :)

18 Months

Eighteen months... Wow! Lindsay has been pure sweetness with a little bit of sassy-ness thrown in for good measure! I think that our monthly picture really captures her 'toddlerness' :)

Here is Miss Wiggle Worm! Sitting still and posing is not an option for 18 months.

 Testing the limits... we have been having lots of fun with this one...NOT! A glimpse of 2? Yikes!

 Learning our limits... it's hard being 18 months! LOL

 A minute later, all is right in the world, and she is a happy girl once again :)

Lindsay is all girl, and likes to go places with her sunglasses and purse...

Quick story: Lindsay and I have been going to the pool or "poo" as she calls it a few times a week. We took her to feed the ducks, and all she wanted to do was go swimming in the nasty poop-filled water. Jarrett had to keep her from diving in the stinky water with both hands.

We have a Dr.'s appointment in a few weeks, so I will post her stats then. Here are a few things our girl has been doing new this month:

-Favorite word: "No"

-Hugs & Kisses... My absolute favorite :)

-Favorite TV show: Sesame Street, hands down!

-Shapes: Lindsay recognizes and says shapes and letters, "Oval" (any circles) "Star", "Heart", the letter "e" and likes to 'count'. She can count up to 3 objects.

-When we meet someone new, she likes to introduce us. She will touch me and say, "Mama", then touch Jarrett and say, "Daddy". We have been trying to get her to say "Lindsay", but no success yet.

-Favorite food(s): Blueberries, Buttered Sourdough Toast, anything that Mom or Dad have on their plate, guacamole, chips & dip, cheese, chicken strips... bacon! The Dr. mentioned at her 15 month check up for us to help her gain a little weight, and give her lots of high-calorie foods. Although she will go straight for the veggies on her plate first, we have discovered she is more of a grazer, rather than a three-meal-two-snacks kind of girl.

-Phrases/ words: "mmmmm... Tat's good!", "Peas" (please), "Hi/Bye", "Shooos" (shoes), "Juice", "cheese", "Ffff"(flower), "Shhh" (either sleeping or fish), "Pup" (dog), all the embarrassing body parts (lol). She knows many animals sounds, and will make the sound if you ask her. There are so many I can hardly count. She is learning new words every day!

-Tiny tot... she finally wearing size 18 month clothes, although many of them are still a little big. She recently out grew her size 3 shoes and we are trading up for size 4!

-Lindsay loves to be outside, whether it is picking flowers, running in the grass or swimming at the pool, she adores the outdoors.

-She was still taking 2, 1.5 hr. naps per day since a week ago, when we have been in the process of going to 1 nap. She refuses to sleep more than 1.5 hrs during any given nap time, even though I have been trying to shoot for 2-3 hrs in the afternoon. Oh well. I think I miss the two naps more than she does! She has been sleeping through the night, so I can't complain :)

We have been getting the question does Lindsay have any concept that she is going to be a big sister, or that there is a baby in Mommy's tummy? Well, all I can say is sort of. We talk about big sisters, read our big sister books and we are careful of baby sister in Mommy's tummy. At night Daddy tells Lindsay good night Big Sister, and she will pat the baby in Mommy's tummy and we all tell Little Sister "Love you and goodnight". We were at the park the other day and one of our friends asked Lindsay if there was a baby in Mommy's tummy, and she lifted up her shirt and looked down at her own tummy. LOL. She has been really good around little babies; she has no problem with me holding other babies, when she actually notices. Love our busy, sweet, sassy little girl!! xoxo

Dancing Girl

We were at Best Buy yesterday and our girl heard some music! Girl's got some moves... our favortie is the booty shake!