OK, so, a last-minute trip to Singapore+allergy attacks from the kids and Mom+dad laid up by a sinus infection=a pretty decent excuse for not putting pictures up for a while.
That said, I know I have been derelict in my duties as a father in the internet age, so I'm going to revert to the classic "here's a 1,000 pictures of my cute kids" technique.
The following shots were all taken by my good friend Janna, who is also a professional photographer in the DC area. We spent a very fun hour and a half at Brookside Garden park in Silver Spring, which Ida Jane and Harper both loved. Any DC-area peeps, if you're looking for a good (and reasonably-priced!) alternative to sitting in an over-heated JC Penny photography studio and getting pressed into making split-second decisions about which pictures to keep, the Zoll family endorses Janna's work, as evidenced below. If you're interested in contacting Janna to schedule a session, drop me an email and I'll send her contact info along.
Anyway, without further ado, and with no narration necessary, here are the pictures!
It was only a matter of time before Harper got her wheels.
At long last, Ida Jane's reign of bipedal dominance is at an end. Now the fun really begins!
It's been a very busy couple of weeks here, as usual. In a move inspired by a since-passed spate of warm weather, (and Harper's birthday take, thank you everyone!) Dad went off to Toys 'R Us and got a new play house. It's a hit.
This thing even has a phone!
Some of our other fun activities have included gardening. In news that will surprise no one, Ida Jane loved getting her hands dirty.
We also visited a great kid's museum in Baltimore. This is one of the few times someone was able to take a picture - Ida Jane up on a "horse" learning to be a cowgirl.
Even though the weather has been pretty lousy, Ida Jane still enjoys her rain coat.
But you can only play in the rain so much, so we also got a crazy play tunnel. As an introduction to this video, I'll warn you that Ida calls Harper "little whale." We're not sure where these nicknames come from, but one of the cutest things lately is Ida Jane's million different pet names for Harper. Little Whale is, admittedly, probably the least flattering, but still cute.
Today, although it was on the cold side, we did have the opportunity to take a few quick Easter shots.
And we went next door to Fia's house for a great egg hunt.
Fun!
After all that, the best thing to do is to have a good bath.
Put on matching pajamas, and then it's off to bed.
Sorry for the long delay in posting. As you may know, I was in China for a few weeks. I'll load this entry up with lots of pictures and movies. Because lots has been happening around here.
While I was gone, Ida Jane and Harper welcomed their good friend Alexandra to visit with them, along with Auntie Lora and Auntie Christene. It was a screaming good time.
Here they are, in a quieter moment, with Auntie Christene, getting a morning story:
Here they are catching a breather at the park - one of the few times a camera can be safely deployed.
While I was gone the girls also visited a neat indoor playground that had a big sandbox.
And a big gym to crawl around in. Fun!
When Dad returned, he was greeted by a big snowstorm. Ida Jane was thrilled to get one more good play in the snow.
Harper has learned a lot of new skills. She's taking some baby steps, but we haven't managed to get that on film yet - mostly because whenever she sees the camera she immediately wants to look at pictures of her sister on it. But we did get this nice video of a peekaboo game.
And while she's not reading per se, she is definitely interested in her big sister's favorite pastime.
This next video is one taken by our daycare provider, Ms. Addison. Ida Jane is showing off her color and drawing abilities.
Ida Jane is also developing some new skills - soccer! She went to her first soccer practice on Saturday, and had a blast. Here she is, warming up.
A week ago today we had great weather and took a family trip to the zoo. The girls loved it.
The National Zoo has an "O Line" - where you can watch the Orangs travel from enclosure to enclosure via a cable bridge.
Here's a zoom in!
Here we are, rolling into the picnic area.
It was tough being in China and away from the girls for so long. But I knew they'd be fine - they have a great mama!
It's been fun times in Rockville the last few weeks.
We had some snow to start the month. Snow angels require some serious concentration.
As always, Ida Jane and Harper have a great time with their friend, Fia. Sometimes, Harper and Fia are left a bit confused by the antics of their peer.
Under the bed is a new game, too.
For Valentine's, Ida Jane has learned the unfortunate art of saying "Cheese."
Fortunately, Harper hasn't learned that particular skill yet.
Long time, no post! It's been busy in Washington DC these past few days. You might have heard that there's a new President, for example. Pictures of that (sort of) to come.
In the meantime, Ida Jane and Harper are still learning to play with each other. For every tear or push, there's a thousand of these moments:
We haven't had much in the way of snow, although it's been cold as all get out (for here). Here's a fleeting flurry, which Ida Jane enjoyed despite the lack of accumulation. She's trying to catch a flake on her tongue.
While Harper is unable to participate in snow catching, she does enjoy watching from the window:
Harper is also trying to learn how to drink from a sippy. Currently, it's just kind of a glorified rattle. But fun.
She's definitely developing her sister's mischievous streak.
And we have no idea where that came from.
Yes, so, there was this inauguration thing. We had tickets to the parade. Unfortunately, the inaugural committee, it all of the wisdom that government committees can have, decided to not have a separate entrance for ticketed and non-ticketed parade goers. So there was this line.
It doesn't look so bad until you realize that we were part of the group on the right, waiting to go up the street and then back down in the main part of this line. So, when President Obama was giving his inaugural address, we heard it here:
On that tiny boombox under the tree. Hey, regardless, it was fun to be a part of it. And sorry to our cousin Anne and her friend Megan, that we couldn't get you any closer. At least the subway ride was surprisingly smooth.
Lesson? When two million people are descending on your city, you're probably best off doing something like this:
Just a quick update to share a movie of Harper and a picture of Ida Jane getting her hair cut for the first time. Ida Jane is 28 months on Monday, and this was her very first haircut. This is Ida Jane one year ago, when a haircut was a very distant concept.
And here she is getting her hair trimmed. You can see it was a solemn occasion - but she was very good through the whole process.
In the meantime, Harper is all over the house these days, it's hard keeping up with her. Of course, a year ago we were just hoping she'd stay put until her due date. And now here she is, pushing chairs around the house and (almost) saying "Dada." :)
