Car Show

Attending the DC Auto Show is basically a family tradition for us. We have probably been for the last 5 years in a row, maybe more. That means Penelope has been when she was less than two months old, when she was just over one, and this year when she was just over two. Each year she gets something different out of it, (I am pretty sure the only thing she got out of it the first year was the chance to get out of the house, where she had been otherwise confined with her mom & dad since birth). This year she got to sit in the cars with her dad and press some buttons (or as she calls them "butts"). She also got a free toy car from the kind folks at Scion who chased after us to give it to her. Below are some shots of her dad explaining to her the magic of this event:

And Don't Forget Christmas

Oh yeah, and in the midst of everything, there was Christmas. As with her birthday, Penelope got a lot of gifts and had a great time. Below are some shots of her with her baby doll (complete with diaper bag, bottles, and diaper changing kit), her ladybug backpack, and some in the green bag special books that come with an electronic reading friend...

Welcome 2012!

Here's a decent family shot from New Years Eve of the three of us (four of us really). Happy 2012 to everyone, we are looking forward to a big year around the Champa household!

Penelope's First IU Game

This past weekend Penelope attended her very first Indiana University Men's Basketball game. We traveled up to Penn State to see the 14-1 and 12th ranked Indiana Hoosiers become the 15-1 and 8th ranked Indiana Hoosiers! It was a good game. We played well, there was some excitement in the closing minutes, but in the end Indiana was victorious. Also, Penelope got to trot out almost all of her Indiana gear at once. She wore her IU socks, IU t-shirt, IU hat, carried her IU pom pom, and the night before slept in her IU pajamas! Here are some shots we took over the weekend:

Adventures in Pottyland: Part Two

Stop reading if you are not interested in the topic of potty training accomplishments!

Again in the category of catching up, the week that Penelope turned two she pooped in the potty twice! It was a major accomplishment, and apparently one that would not be repeated again for some time as she has not done it in the four weeks since. Oh well, plenty of time to work on this skill.

Penelope's Second Birthday

Penelope had a great, low-key, but nonetheless eventful birthday. She started off the day by getting to wear the special birthday dress her mom and dad picked out for her -- she even called it her birthday dress.

Then she had cupcakes at daycare and got blow out candles (well, one candle, her friend Zachary, whose birthday was the month before, blew out the first one for her to show her how it was done).


Then it was time to come home and open up presents! Oh the presents, presents, presents...

Where to start?

Wow, it has been a whirlwind of a month! I am not sure where to start: Penelope turned two, Christmas came, lots of family visited, and we continue to plan for the arrival of a little boy! I guess each deserves it's own post in turn! So read on...