I Don't Think Thumper Accurately Describes His Energy Level...Perhaps Tazmanian, or Nuclear?

Last week Thumper, Bambi and I ventured out to an amazing off-leash dog park in Shirlington, VA.  Bambi had a good time, but Thumper had a GREAT time!  The park is about a quarter mile long, running along a small creek, and Thumper walked and ran the entire way.  He stuck his arms out like a T-rex and ran and giggled to his heart's content. He loved pointing at all of the dogs and saying, "Doh!"  A few of them were even so kind as to let Thumper pet them.  He's getting much better at understanding "gentle" and all of the K-9's were very appreciative.  He also learned how to shake his hands off when he falls and gets them dirty.  He grins wildly and scissors his hands back and forth knocking any debris off of them.

Another big adventure last week was a trip to Gymboree.  I don't mean the store Gymboree; I mean the small segregated section of the world where children roam free to do as they please in a jungle of mats, toys, wedges, balls, slides, and many other obstacles which I can't even begin to name.  Thumper crossed over the threshold into this magical land and his eyes instantly glossed over like a kid that had just consumed 4 gallons of soda.  The T-rex arms shot up and he was off.  I could see the constant struggle in his head whether to begin collecting toys or run for the slides, and then he saw it...a big bright colorful tunnel.  He pounced on the ground and crawled like he's never crawled before.  As he made it in one end, I ran to the other side to pop my head around with a smile and a giggle.  When he saw me he laughed hysterically and struggled to recall how to move his arms and legs in unison.  He managed to turn around in the tunnel and do something resembling a crawl in between his fits of body convulsing laughter.

Our class was about an hour long and we did some structured events like singing songs and pushing a giant inflatable log/tube across the floor with about 15 other 1-ish-year-olds.  The kids went crazy and the parents did their best to prevent swan dives off of the top of the slides or fights over toys strewn about.  All in all we had a great time, and I loved getting so see Thumper interact with other kids his own age.  Hopefully in Hyderabad we'll get him enrolled in some kind of part time day care so that he can get some real play time on a regular basis.  I know I'm fun and all, but I'm well aware that I'm no match for 15 kids his own age :-P

Time is flying by and we're getting ready for all of our visitors!  Thumper and I go to Hawaii in a little over a week, and then it starts.  After returning from Hawaii we'll have a constant stream of visitors until January with a few short breaks intermixed.  We are so ready for a taste of home, and some babysitters!  Ha ha.  Legs and I already have a mental list of date night things to do when family arrives.  We're doing great and we can't wait to see all of you that are coming to visit!

Happy Travels!

Pancho

Life Outside DC

We finally got out of town!  Last weekend we went to a friend's family house on Smith Mountain Lake and enjoyed the water, sunshine (I swear there was sun), and quiet time.  It was a long 5.5 hour drive from DC but it was well worth it.  Poor Bambi got sent to the dog hotel but Pancho, Thumper, and I greatly enjoyed our time without dog responsibility.

We felt so welcome and are honored to have such wonderful friends in our lives.  Paris Chica's family was so kind and it was good to catch up with her.  

Out on the boat!

View from their house

One of the highlights of this trip was seeing the house where What About Bob was filmed!  One of our all-time favorite movies.  The house has changed a little since 1991 but I still recognize the porch and the staircase out back from the movie!

What About Bob house

What About Bob house and dock

We are relaxing this weekend and catching up on to-do items.  Then for Labor Day weekend we are off to Amish Country!  Thumper sure is getting some traveling in these days :-)

Legs

It's Official...I'm Running MCM2012

I won an entry in the Marine Corps Marathon in an essay contest that I entered through Arlington County Parks and Recreation!  I'm so excited that I'll have the opportunity to participate in this race.  It's one of the biggest marathons in the country.  They cap the entrants at 30,000 and it sold out in 2 hours and 41 minutes!!!  Although I've been training for a marathon in October for quite some time now, it brings a new sense of urgency to my runs.  Now that I'm officially signed up for a race I really need to start logging the miles.  I'm running a little over 30 miles per week now, and hope to get into the 50's before the race.

Thumper is still as active as ever.  Sometimes I think he'd be better off entering the marathon!  He's starting to make some animal sounds, like monkeys (ooh ooh ooh, AH AH!), and mice (squeak squeak squeak).  He can also point at the ceiling, dog, ball, monkeys (little figurines we have from Costa Rica) when you ask him to.  He is so rambunctious that it seems like every day he has a new bonk, scrape, or bruise from running into something, falling, or hitting himself with something.  He loves to walk outside in his new shoes, and he regularly walks to the car with us.  He absolutely loves his books.  They are almost the only "toys" he brings out of his toy box now.  He brings one over to you and kind of whines until you take it and then he gets really excited and tries to sit in your lap for you to read it to him.  Thumper is also signing for 'more' and 'milk' very well these days.

With the exception of having a bit of a cold right now, I'm doing wonderful and so are Legs, Thumper, and Bambi.  We are looking forward to a trip to Smith Mountain Lake this weekend to get out of the city.

Happy Travels!

Pancho

Halfway

Legs has reached the halfway point in language training and she passed her progressive test with flying colors.  She is right on track to get to where she needs to be in November.  She has put a lot of time and effort into learning Telugu and it is really beginning to show.  She loves small-talking in Telugu with the shop-keepers at the local Indian grocery store we regularly visit.  We have both come to enjoy watching Tollywood movies (the Telugu equivalent to Bollywood movies) that we get for free from the store.

Thumper is beginning to walk with us when we go out, instead of riding in the stroller.  I finally got him a decent pair of shoes so that he can start trying to walk around the block when we take Bambi out.  The shoes are a little big, and create a bit of a challenge...especially on carpet.  He picks his feet up REALLY high with the shoes on.  It's pretty funny to watch.  He's still such a happy little person, and he literally waves at everyone.  This morning, on my walk with him and Bambi, people on the bus started smiling and waving at me and then I noticed Thumper was grinning ear-to-ear and waving like he was on a parade float.

Not a very eventful week, but things are good.

Happy Travels!

Pancho