Hazel at 21 months.

After a few challenging months, we've entered a really sweet stage with our little babe. She's curious ("what's dat?"), empathetic ("you ok?"), and silly - constantly making us laugh! She fiercely loves her blankie and her grandpas, and knows all the names of people in our family. We're consistently surprised at all the things she knows - she's a little sponge picking up on everything we say and do. Every day when we get home from daycare she asks, "outside?", and these moments have become some of my favorite with her. I'm certain there will be other challenging stages ahead, but for now I'm soaking up all the goodness of this one.

Happy Father's Day, Aaron!

We had the best day celebrating the guy who makes our world go round. His one request was BBQ at Myron Mixon's in Old Town Alexandria and I was happy to oblige - just like he's always happy to stop for all the photo ops with me :) BBQ and a stroll around Old Town made for the perfect day with my people. Your girls love you so much, Aaron!

Strawberry Picking!

Nothing says summer quite like strawberry picking in the sticky heat. So grateful to be making these memories with my little family.

My 30th Birthday!

A few months ago Aaron started asking me what I might want to do to celebrate turning 30 and truly the only thing I wanted was a night away with him. We spend so much time together, even now with a baby, yet time with him - especially over a good meal - is still my favorite thing. We decided to book a night at The Line Hotel in Adams Morgan, which was just as fabulous as everyone had said. I stay in a lot of cool hotels for my job, and this one joined the ranks for sure!

We also had the chance to finally dine at A Rake's Progress where all the food is sourced from the Chesapeake Bay region - all within a 150 mile radius. Needless to say, everything was phenomenal. From the cocktails and food, to the service and atmosphere - we were wowed and can't wait to go back!

The next morning, we "slept in" until 7:30 (haha) and enjoyed a coffee as we slowly got ready for the day. There's something to be said about starting the day slowly that you can't quite do with a toddler in tow. We eventually made our way to Le Diplomate where we enjoyed a decedent brunch, and afterward we worked off our meal by biking to the National Portrait Gallery and on to Capitol Hill. It was absolutely the best way we could have celebrated and I feel so refreshed and loved going into this next decade. I'm excited to see what's in store - I can only hope it includes many more nights away with my love.

Hazel Belle. 20 months.

Repeats everything. Quite the ham. Can't get enough of her.