Bath time, et al.

The past week has just flown by. I'm not sure if you heard about the little book that came out last weekend, but we definitely fell into the HP black hole. It only took us 4 days to read it (that's not bad considering we shared one copy and are now parents... that makes submitting completely to a decent novel more difficult, fyi). The downside is that we seemed to have lost those 4 days to other things. It was worth it, though. In the end, I give two thumbs up to J.K. Good job, lady. I hope you can climb out from under that pile of money to enjoy your work.

We had a minor mishap yesterday with the Explorer keys and had to have new ones made... drama. BUT, even though the Explorer caused us some heartache, we have fun news: we bought a new car! We traded in the Tiburon for a 2007 Sonata (silver). We love it! It's much safer and fits regular adults in the back seat. Yay!

So, after all the fun, one must take a bath (how was that for a segue?). Here are some pictures of Brayden in the bath (he LOVES it!) and also with one of his friends, TJ, from last week. Babies in bubbles, it gets no better.

The 'ole beard and fedora... a classic combo

Lovin' the bath

Brayden loves the duck faucet cover (thanks Gigi!)

B and TJ (the initial boys)

Baby booties... too cute

Caught in the act

This post is mostly for fun. A few days ago, Nicole and I were in the family room when we heard some jabbering coming from Brayden's room. He had grabbed his new Leap Frog learning board (thanks Aunt Nancy!) and was "reading" to himself. What a trip. He had been doing it for about 6-7 minutes when I finally got the camera going. I snuck up on him from the hallway (which is why it looks a tad sketchy in the beginning).

One funny kid

Although we play many games, this one was especially great. Brayden was practically in stitches as we ran around the house. I can watch this one over and over again... but I suppose I'm the Dad, right? Enjoy!

Touring DC

As promised, here are some pics of touring the area. Even though this was not the first time in DC for Gido and Gigi (not by far), it was fun to see everything with Brayden. Here are some of the highlights:

We begin in Old Town Alexandria.

Gido, B, Nic, and Chris walking around Old Town

With Gigi in Old Town
(in front of a house that's significant...)

Next, we tripped over the Shirlington. It's a little place very near our apartment with a great strip of restaurants. This is the fountain in between the restaurants.

B in the fountain

Next, we visited the National Cathedral so I could show everyone where I'm working for the summer. As you can see, Brayden LOVES to walk all the time. He typically doesn't like any assistance... independent child.

The Washington National Cathedral

Walking around the grounds

Walking the main aisle of the Nave

The last place we visited (and have pictures to prove it) was Arlington Cemetery. This was the first time Nicole and B had visited and the first time Gido had taken the tour.

The Trio at Arlington

Getting ready for the tour

Happy 4th!

Well here we go, a week late. Yes, the DC residents DID celebrate the 4th of July, I promise! Gigi and Gido Girata came up to celebrate with us and we went all over the place. Before the 4th celebration began, Gigi and Gido scoped out the digs around the capital to see what it really looks like before the C-list extravaganza began (Florence Henderson, again?? really!?)...

A Capital Fourth

The Capital Stage

Gido at the Capital Stage

The Mall, pre-fireworks

After touring around the Mall in the morning, we headed up to the Iwo Jima memorial to view the fireworks. According to many reliable sources, this site was a perfect place to watch the fireworks without being IN the fireworks (like on the Mall). We figured that the booms would be a little intense for Brayden if we were literally underneath them. So, the next best thing:

The view... check it out!

In case you wondered, Brayden LOVED the fireworks ("Wows" all around).

Here they go!

Some more booms

There will be one more post with the touring Giratas, but I thought the 4th in DC deserved its own show. Go DC!

Corny little B

Let the games begin... For those of you who saw the birthday cake video, perhaps you thought, "Gee, what polite manners at the table!" Well, that was then, and this is now. Brayden has officially discovered how funny food can be. AND, like uber-responsible parents, we discourage him from playing with his food, right? ...right? Find out...