Happy Halloweekend!

Jason carved the family pumpkin at YM last week. A squash with a geometric soul. Julia made her Halloween debut as a Formula 1 racer with her pit crew in tow. We flew to Chicago in time to catch Magnus in his skeleton suit - what a cutie! We celebrated Magnus' blessing and Jenni and Reid's Chicagoland tour and enjoyed spending a few precious days with our family.

Smiles!

Denise found a spunky new friend for Julia in the toy bin at Old Navy. We named the pig Olivia Dora. And here's a shot of Jason reading to Julia before the plane took off from Chicago. The man next to us said that he was grateful to see that parents are reading the same books he read to his kids 20 years ago. I read "Where's Spot" at least 100 times to Tristan...and now I'm making the rounds again with Julia, who is also quite fond of Sally's hunt. Unlike the flight to Chicago, which had a serious crying spell (Jason heard a passenger behind us say to his neighbor, "You're just going to have to get used to it, man"), the trip home was a dream, thank heavens.

With Denise at Matisse

Last week Julia and I went with Denise Doolan to see the Matisse cutouts at the National Gallery. The security guard told us that he wasn't supposed to voice any opinions about the art but he took great pride in showing off the cutouts and discussing their history. He said that he takes notes when the curators come through. I love the faces that Matisse painted in the middle of these cutouts - they convey a unique grace with such spare brushstrokes.

New trick!

Today, out of nowhere, Julia decided it was finally time to start lifting herself up on her elbows and rolling over. I couldn't believe it! Normally she fusses during "tummy time" and endures my cheerleading for a while until she feels she's given me enough of a show with a slight head raise. Last week I started rolling her over like a child on a grassy hill, so that she could try something new. Did this trigger something? Who knows. In any case, today was a quantum leap for Julia's physical tricks! I thought it was so fun that I put Julia on her tummy at least ten times in a row and she kept on rolling over. She is also super into "walking" - when she's supported, she'll step all over the place. It's so fun to see how mobile she wants to be!

West Virginia, Wild and Wonderful!

We spent this past weekend in a cabin near Berkeley Springs, WV, with Peter and Bethany. Having started "The Music Man" on Jason's birthday, we finished it in celebration of Peter's birthday and now we're all stuck with "Shipoopi" in our brains. Our cabin gave us a scenic view of the railroad, much to Jason's delight, inspiring visions of a hobo lifestyle dancing in his head. We enjoyed walking among the yellow and orange dashes of birch leaves and curling up with our books by the woodstove. Peter and Bethany played with Julia while Jason and I got to sleep in...such a luxury! What a beautiful weekend.

Fun with Jules

One of Julia's favorite books is "Barnyard Dance" (thanks for the recommendation, Cassidy!). She also loves another Boynton book, "One, Two, Three" - we discovered yesterday and again today that when we get to the page "Ten makes a celebration LOUD LOUD LOUD!" Julia just breaks into smiles and laughs - something about that page really strikes her as funny! Tristan, the lizard photo is for you. Now you need to teach Julia about the real deal. And thanks Jenni, for the cute pajamas, and Aunt Laura, for the smashing hot pink dress!

Our little "wild thing" is learning how to smile!

Happy birthday, Jason!

First day of school

My former colleague in the College Guidance office at the National Cathedral School, Erin Johnston, is teaching a Psychology class this semester and she invited me to bring Julia to class as Exhibit B for their human development unit. (Exhibit A was the still-in-the-womb baby of another faculty member, a biology teacher, who came a few weeks earlier to talk about conception and pregnancy.) The girls asked great questions and did several reflex experiments on Julia (who performed like a textbook case!). Julia could not have had a better first day of school, and I really enjoyed seeing the my friends at NCS again!

Mumford babies on the town

We got to watch Reid and the Kellies race in downtown DC and then we so enjoyed seeing Lyle and Susan play with their new grandbabies. We took an evening walk with Reid and Jenni down to the sculpture garden and celebrated Jenni and Reid's wedding anniversary - congratulations! Jenni conducted an early morning photo shoot with the "super hero" cousins. (Thanks Jenni, for these pictures!)

Julia's Blessing

We are so grateful to the family and friends that surrounded our little Julia with love and support on her blessing day at the Chevy Chase Ward. Our parents, Reid and Jenni, Heather and Josh, Bethany, and Leslie and Kevin were all with us on that lovely morning.

Celebration of life

Bethany and Peter prepared and hosted an amazing dinner party for our families in celebration of Julia, with a Mediterranean feast, speed scrabble, good music, a super cute cake, and a guest appearance by Julia's new cousin, Magnus! It was so fun to gather as a family to delight in these new little people. Thank you parents and sisters and brothers for coming to be with us for Julia's blessing, and thank you Bethany and Peter for a delightful party.

Family weekend!

Our family weekend in September got off to a fun start with a spirited game, lots of time talking at home, and an excursion downtown to the FDR memorial where we happened upon a polo match!

Out and about with friends

Lots of adventures in the last month! Denise Doolan took us on a wonderful tour of the Franciscan Monastery in NE DC, as well as to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and to Colonel Brooks' Tavern (great hamburgers!). We celebrated Bethany's birthday under the trees at the National Cathedral, followed by cupcakes (and a striking pose by tough girl Julia, "What part of NO don't you understand?").

Dr. Reid!!!

Last Friday Reid defended his dissertation in particle physics at Johns Hopkins. We were honored to have the newly minted Dr. Reid stay with us for a few days - and not just because he came bearing pictures of the cute Magnus baby! Reid's expertise runs from Lambda-B lifetimes (the world's best measurement, explains his advisor, Petar) to The Milkshake, a field-tested pre-burping ritual (see photos). Jason got to see Reid steer through an hour and a half tour of the world's most amazing science and celebrate with his colleagues over Yoo-Hoo and champagne toasts. Reid, we so admire your determination of mind and body to succeed through eight years of study and work. Congratulations to our amazing brother, and to Jenni and Magnus!