Monkeying Around

(Thanks to Josh & Julie for the adorable hat!)

Sunset Stroll

We wanted to spend as much time as possible outside on Friday so as soon as Amelia got home from school, we headed to Huntley Meadows to watch the sunset.


(Amelia had a party at school to celebrate the 100th day of school. She was very excited to be wearing the froot loop necklace she made, which had 100 loops. She was not excited when Elsa found it and had herself a little snack.)









We were sad that Ben missed out on the fun, but he was busy having a great time visiting his brother's family in San Antonio for the weekend.

River Farm Picnic

Last Friday was a dream. We headed to River Farm Garden Park for a picnic. It was cloudy when we arrived but by the time we left it was 75 and sunny! Elsa was so happy to run around with her friend Bria for a few hours. We are ready for Spring!

Meerkat Love

I'm already looking back fondly on our adventures spent outside in the beautiful weather last week. Because it snowed this morning. Ugh. But, I still feel like spring will be here soon. Our tulips and daffodils are poking up and there are buds on the trees!

We headed to the zoo last Thursday. The animals were all outside enjoying the weather as well. Elsa loved every minute. Except when it was time to leave.

She particularly loved the meerkats:




(For some reason, Elsa struggled identifying the farm animals. She insisted that the cow was a horse. She finally agreed to call it a cow horse. She called the donkeys horses. Later on, she called the monkeys donkeys. And yesterday she couldn't remember what a farmer was called. She kept calling him a barn boy.)


Oliver seemed to be stimulated by it all.


A porcupine eating!





So many lions! We were excited that all the new lion cubs were out.

Quinoa!

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

Dressing:
5 T. fresh lime juice
1t. salt
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
1 t. cumin
1/3 c. olive oil
1/2 t. pepper

Salad:
1 1/2 c. quinoa (uncooked)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 c. corn
1 chopped red or yellow bell pepper
1 minced jalapeno (I left this out)
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 c. chopped green onion

Dressing:
Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor and set aside.

Salad:
Wash quinoa and cook according to package directions (I cooked mine in the rice cooker just like rice).

Combine the rest of the salad ingredients in a bowl then add quinoa. Toss gently with the dressing and serve. Tastes even better the next day.

3 months old!

Oliver is 3 months old today! He still tends to be really fussy or really smiley. Three doctors and three diagnoses later, we're still struggling with his fussy eating problem. He's still on medication for reflux. I was hoping we would see an improvement by 3 months, but I guess we'll hope for 6 months now.

But...he's so cute. And he is an excellent sleeper at night. And he makes cute sounds. And cute faces. And his sisters adore him. He weighs about 12 1/2 pounds now. He still LOVES to be on his changing table. He would be happy if someone talked to him all day long.

Warm at last!

We are having some delightfully warm weather this week. Yesterday we spent a few hours outside walking, running, riding bikes, and playing at the park. It felt sooooo good. It was nice to enjoy some time outside with Ben before he left today for Texas, where he will be enjoying warm weather for the next week.






(Amelia stopped in the middle of her bike ride to answer a pretend call from a pretend friend. She also pretended to be annoyed that she was being bothered while on a ride.)


(Elsa watching for dad who was running laps around us while we walked.)

Date Night

Go to Rasika and order the palak chaat. And bring me with you.

We have been wanting to check out Rasika (an Indian restaurant in D.C.) for a long time and finally made it happen this past Wednesday night. It's always hard to get reservations there, especially with our last minute planning. Thanks to a mid-week date night and snow that evening, we were able to get in without trouble. Our palak chaat appetizer was amazing. It's crispy spinach with sweet yogurt, tamarind, and date chutney. Don't like spinach? It doesn't matter. You will love this. The crispy, melt-in-your-mouth spinach is mind boggling. They have really good breads there. The warm goat cheese kulcha was fantastic. Our entrees were good. Nothing too different from what I've had at other Indian restaurants. I would love to try some of the other dishes though.

After dinner we drove aimlessly around D.C. for a bit and enjoyed the scenery and conversation. I took random photos out the window with my little Canon PowerShot.




















(Lincoln in the rear view mirror.)

We live in a cool place.