August Allie

August is almost over and our glorious weeks of summer vacation are officially 'kaput,' but we're not going down without a fight. What better way to keep the summer feeling going than to schedule a family reunion for the weekend of your first full week back to work? We ordered up some fabulous weather, a beautiful park, a ton of cute second-cousins, and two tons of food and had a blast with our annual 'Kathleen and Richard Wintrode's Reunion.' These are my grandparents on my dad's side and Kathleen is 'Grandma,' the feisty lady who is Allie's middle-namesake. We think both would have approved of the day and what a great time everyone had catching up. We're also pretty sure that Grandma would have especially appreciated catching Allie on a regular basis doing things like this...

Wearing her bloomers around her neck, by choice.

What?

Mommy, seriously. I rock these bloomers.

 Or kickin' it old skool style with Mommy's hat and Daddy's race medal. For the record, she requested both of these fashion accessories.

'Wickee-wickee-wickee.'

 Or just workin' it for a photo shoot with her Abby.

'Cheeeeze'

'Chaaaahhhhze'

'Cheeheeeeze'

Seriously, where's the cheese?

OK, fine. If I can't have cheese, I'll take my Daddy.

Or every so often, giving us this little slice-of-heaven-smile. :o)

(While wearing no clothes and clearly getting ready to go shopping.)

Still with me? Grab a snack! Here come the reunion shots!

These brothers are SMOKIN'!

Allie couldn't get enough of the big girls. Kiersten was her bubble-blowing-icon.

And of course, she was thrilled to get the chance to see her buddy Lukas again.  This time they matched wits in  their nap-avoidance skills. We're calling it a draw.

Well, 'Hello!' Alice.

Enough resting. Bring on the bubbles, lady.

Um, I wouldn't play that card yet, girls.

Dad. You just throw it straight. I'll be over here staying hydrated.

And the newest member of the family - Jennie! We've had a wedding drought in the group while we were all busy populating, so we're thrilled to get to see these two tie the knot in March! (Plus she's a high school teacher, bonus points in my book  - nice work, Matt :o).

Just...a...little...higher. (Lukas has declared himself King of all things ice-cooler.)

Lukas: Crazy kids.

A true 'foodie' finds multiple ways to wear her food.

The Gang. (See Facebook for tagging :o) Toddler goal: just stay within the frame, kids. 

What a difference a year makes! 

2nd Cousins, 2011.

2nd Cousins, 2012.

In fact, we've grown so much, that we are officially...

A 2-ponytail girl :o). (At least for the first 20 minutes of every day.)

At the end of the month, we took Allie to her first baseball...stadium. Unfortunately, the Nats vs. Mets game was rained-delayed past our toddler's limit, but her Grandpop and Grammy made sure that she was inducted into the baseball world of stadium food and team-swag. Up until an hour past her non-existant nap, she was a HUGE fan :o). We'll give it another shot when we go to Wisconsin to visit the Chamberlains and catch a Brewers game. Can't wait!

Nattitude!

'Fan of the Game' nomination...in the bag.

Barrett, Birthdays, and Bonkers

Last post I promised pictures of our little buddy, Barrett, and here they are! He was even cuter in person than in his fridge picture. During our last glorious days of summer, Mart (Christina) and her daughter Olivia and Allie and I piled into their fabulously spacious mini-van and road-tripped it to Lynchburg, VA for our first sighting of Barrett and a visit with his parents, Katie and James. Barrett was a perfect gentleman and took the girls' chattering and overall exuberance in stride.

Daddy's face with Mommy's smile. 

Hey, where's YOUR bow, Barrett?

Hey, you sure have a soft head. And it looks like it could use...

A hug!

Miller Time :o)

I love this picture. The kids could not care less about (or cooperate less with) our desire for a nice picture.

 Back home, our goofball continued to do her thing with her favorite four-legged sidekick.

She's going for gold in the chip-clip-all-around.

Don't try anything funny on their watch...

unless you include them in the fun, of course.

 We finished off the week with a pair of Grandparent birthdays. Grammy's was an especially big one this year, so much so that Allie decided she would help out with the cooking. Her first culinary delight, baked corn. (Plus it kept her quiet for a solid 10 minutes...golden.)

Step-back, Julia Child, I've got this.

Always willing to help, Grammy...you gonna eat ALL of that?

Country Bumpkins

Northern Virginia can get a bad rap for our 'hustle and bustle,' but we are fortunate to have the benefit of DC  only a metro ride away and the country just around the corner if you know where to look. This summer, we've thoroughly enjoyed getting out and practicing our animal noises at local farms and petting zoos. We also took a long weekend and went even further into the country in Lansing, West Virgina. We stayed in a cabin in the woods with Chris' parents (Grammy and Grandpop) where we perfected out s'mores-roasting skills and zip-lined our way through the tree-tops. Allie and I are conveniently ignoring that my count-down to returning to work is under a week, and trying to hang on to the last days of summer. To help us squeeze out the most fun possible, we've enlisted the help of one, Brady Gonzales, whom you'll see featured here often as Allie's partner-in-crime and all around good bud.

Friendly Farming at Frying Pan Park with Grammy!

Fortunately, these little guys weren't scared of our toddler's anatomy lesson for anyone willing to listen.

Wooahhhh! These guys aren't baaaaa-shful at all!

Who are you calling a turkey?

Wagon rides. The closest Mommy lets me get to off-roading...for now.

Allie and Brady take their playing VERY seriously. Sometimes they work in a little higher math while they're at it...

Hah! I forgot to carry the one!

Allie: Hey, can someone take my shoes off, I need to keep counting over here.
Brady: Amateur.

Hey! We don't need those Mommies! We've got our diapers, our water and the open road...

Seriously, we just need to wait until they're not looking...and...

NOW! Go! Go!Go!

Country Roads took us right into the heart of the country in West Virginia.

To quote Tom Hanks in Castaway: 'LOOK, what I have created!' (only this time with a double-meaning :o) 

A family that s'mores together...

Wait, did someone say 'S'mores!'?

Stays together :o). Please note the leg pop. We have no clue where that came from.

Sure Grammy, I'll have just a little bite.

Back in Virginia, and ready for more furry friends.

Hey, come over this way, friends.

Brady, our problem is we're OUTside the fence.

Ah, that's better. 'C'mere Sheep!'

I could totally take you in a race, old timer. (This guy's 100 years old!)

Back at home with her favorite 'aminal' of all. 

 And a little bit of water-fun to round out the week, courtesy of the Gonzales Family Backyard!

They're not enjoying this at all.

Nope, not one bit.

 Brady was kind enough to share his sprinkler which was a huge hit with our girl! But she may be watching our other girl a bit too closely these days...

Brady: Oooh, feel that water! Come on, Al! Dive in!
Allie: HERE...I...COME!!!

Allie: Let me just get a closer look.

Allie: Yep, that's better.

Brady: Don't worry, Buddy. I gotcha covered.

Allie: Phew! Playing's hard work...You gonna eat that?

Tomorrow we're heading out with Mart and Olivia to finally meet another fan-favorite, Barrett Miller! We've tried to convince this little guy to stay a 'little guy' until we were able to make our way to Lynchburg for our official introduction, hopefully he listened! Pictures to come..