The kitchen make-over is done!

While we've always loved the blue/yellow/white color scheme of the kitchen, we've been longing for some much-needed extra counter space and a flooring upgrade (the time had come to replace the torn white linoleum). So, we decided to stick with the color scheme, but added a little more than three feet of counter space without losing much in terms of storage and decided to go a little fancy with tile flooring -- a mix of ceramic tiles and small blue glass tiles for accents. We got rid of the crazy mini-cabinet that used to be next to the back door and now have a fabulous FULL sized cabinet in its place. We have a new sink and faucet which have been heaven to use (those low-rise sinks rock), and are enjoying a place for all of our cookbooks.

Here are some before and after photos. I wish I had taken some more of the "before" photos, but you get the idea. The best part is that the contractor finished just in time for us to host our friends Steve and Ruth for Thanksgiving!! :> Perfect. What's difficult to see in the photos is the fancy new Silestone countertop - all blue. It replaces the old, beige-ish laminate countertops, and especially since there is more of it to use, it's great.

Some recent photos.

For his second birthday, Edward and I bought Sebastian a ride-on toy, and his favorite thing to do is ride around on it with his stuffed doggie. He also puts one of his other doggies on it and pushes it around the house. It's awfully cute.

Today, he was helping Papa clear out all the leaves from our back garden. He actually helped out the ENTIRE time...unbelievable.

Happy Halloween!!

Sebastian seemed to really enjoy Halloween, again, this year. Last year, he and Maddie Mailloux got to hang out together, and they had a fine time! This year, we walked over to Sebastian's friend Ellie's house, but the two of them were so super mobile we couldn't get a single photo of them together! I guess that's what happens when you have two active toddlers running around. We'll have to learn to snap the photos more quickly in the future. Hoping everyone had a fun and festive Halloween!!!

Playing in the park!

Some photos from a day in the park/playground up the street...

SBB and Maya in DC

These photos are courtesy of our friends Chris and Beverly. They're from an afternoon visit and picnic downtown at the end of the summer. It was a perfect day.

Apple picking with the Morrisons

The Blisses, Morrisons, and about a million other families decided to spend the day apple picking! :> Given how few apples were left on the trees, I have a feeling this may be the last weekend possible, so I'm glad we squeezed in the trip.

We went to the same orchard we visited two years ago with the Maillouxes, so I thought it would be fun to throw in a photo or two from our prior visit. It's unbelievable to think about how much has changed in the past few years. Not only did baby number one arrive about a month and a half after that visit, but now we've got baby number two on the way!!

Sending much love to everyone,

Jeanne, Edward and Sebastian

Here are some of the photos from 2006... :>

The Blisses say "hi!"

Is it really October, already???? The last part of this summer absolutely flew by.

All is well with the Blisses. Year two of teaching 8th grade English is in full swing and keeping me plenty busy (alas, 12-hour days are not yet a thing of the past...).

Sebastian is growing like a weed and becoming more and more of his own little person every day. His younger sibling-in-training is also growing like a weed and is even more active in the womb than Sebastian was and is making getting a full night's sleep difficult already. Bliss baby two should make his or her formal entrance in January.

That's all for now. Sending much love to all and posting a few recent photos. (I haven't figured out how to give them captions, yet. One is Sebastian and his friend Maya playing in the kitchen. Another is the Morrison family after a lovely hike in Prince William Forest. The third is Sebastian and Uncle Kevin enjoying a BBQ in the back garden. Up top are photos of Sebastian and his favorite "woof" on the planet, Gobi, and Sebastian and Papa after a gorgeous bike ride on the C&O Canal near Harper's Ferry.)

Adventures out West!

We just got back from a wonderful trip out West to visit family and friends. We had 6 wonderful days in Colorado (including two days in the Rockies) and 7 days in Oakland, CA (including a side-trip to Tahoe)! Sebastian had a blast seeing all of his little cousins and his aunts, uncles and grandparents on both sides. We were treated like royalty the entire time and miss everyone already. These are just a few of our favorite photos from the trip.

Sebastian's first pony ride!

This took place while we were visiting friends in Argentina in June. Unfortunately, the "gaucho" stopped walking when he saw my camera, and I don't know any Spanish so I couldn't tell him I was taking video and that he could keep walking. I had to put it away before he would begin walking again. Oh well, you get a sense of the ride from this clip! :>

When Sebastian points backwards at the end of the clip, it's because he decided he wanted to get back on the BIG horse (he rode on a real horse with Edward for over 2 hours the day before his pony ride).

Trying this one more time...

Okay, so it's now 2008 and I'm just adding blog post #2...told you I was new at this...





While these aren't the most recent photos of the little man, they're only several weeks old, rather than months and months. Enjoy!