McLean Girls Lacrosse 2010

We still can't find where the cord to hook our camera up to our computer was packed, so the blog will remain hopelessly behind for a little while longer. In the meantime, I found this posting that I had started at the culmination of the lacrosse season, but never finished...

So here is a little tribute to the McLean High School Girls Lacrosse Team. It was so fun to coach there for four years.

The 2010 Lady Highlanders

Yep, the girls insisted that Mia be in the team photo, so she made it into the yearbook.

Mia getting ready to watch one of the games. Notice her stroller is coordinated with the school colors... totally on purpose.

This is how Mia spent her afternoons while Mommy coached. (This was a good day when she would hang out and play by herself on a blanket.) As she got more mobile & realized that grass wasn't toxic, she spent more and more time on my hip.

Warming up the team before a game.

We had another great group of seniors again this year & honored them on Senior Night before our last home game of the season.

All the seniors, their parents, the coaches, principal, & activities director during the Senior Night presentation.

At our post-season Tribal Warfare event (inter-squad scrimmage for bragging rights), Mia loved hanging with all the girls on the sidelines.

Thanks for a great 4 years, girls! Good luck, keep in touch, & we'll miss you!

Mia's 1st Birthday!

Mia is one already!

Mia has brought us so much joy every single day for the last year (and before she was even born). She is a sweetheart who loves people-watching, reading books, music, wrestling with Daddy, swinging at the park, barking, chirping, and waving to any animal she sees, and testing Mommy and Daddy to make sure they are being attentive to her at all times. Her tricks include clapping, waving, peekaboo, "so big", finding various body parts, whistling (with an intake of air), snapping (yep, she just started snapping at me one day while waiting for her food), and winking, both left and right (just kidding about that last one). She has just now started taking a few steps on her own as well, so we are excited and scared for that behavior to become a little more commonplace. She is also a great snuggler and loves to kiss all of her books, toys, stuffed animals, and, most of all, herself in the mirror. Kisses for actual people are a little more rare, but that's ok. You don't want to go around just handing those things out, ya know what I mean? Mia loves to explore and loves being outside. She thinks she is quite the big girl and attempts all sorts of things she shouldn't as she tries to keep up with kids who are a little older. Some of her very favorite activities are dancing, Skyping with Grandma & Grandpa, and hanging out with the lacrosse girls Mommy coaches.

Here is a little recap of the festivities to celebrate her 1st year:

She couldn't keep her eyes off of the balloons long enough to smile for the camera.

LOVED the balloons.

This little number lasted for all of 20 seconds before it was promptly removed and smooshed in her birthday death grip. It was a cute idea while it lasted.

Mia approached her first cupcake with caution.

She wasn't so sure about the sticky icing until she got a taste of it.

And then all bets were off and she wasn't entirely in control anymore.

In the end, she thoroughly enjoyed her first birthday cake experience.

The next day was Saturday and we took the opportunity to use Mia's birthday as an excuse to get together with friends before we move. I completely forgot to take pictures during her little party, so the ones we have are courtesy of our friends.

Mia and her buddy (boyfriend), Keller, share a lukewarm greeting.

But are soon laughing off the awkwardness and chatting it up during the party.

By the end of the party, Mia had ditched her headband, but not her birthday girl glow.

We can't believe we brought this little munchkin home from the hospital a year ago!

Trip to the National Zoo

Early one Saturday morning, we packed up for a brisk walk through the National Zoo. It IS actually a pretty good workout to push a stroller at a speed walk up and down all the hills there. Sadly, that was my cardio for the day (ok, week), but we did walk fast.

At first, Mia was not all that impressed. Perhaps she was still waking up, or maybe it was because I was walking SO fast, she just couldn't appreciate anything at first.

She generally doesn't have any problem with strangers, but Mia was not so sure about this guy.

The real pandas are always a big hit and Mia loved watching them sleep...

...and eat.

At the farm section of the zoo, we found the 3 Billy Goats Gruff ready to cross the bridge, but no sign of the troll. Mia's favorite animals on the farm were the cows though. (Cows are in more of her books; the poor goats are a rarely featured animal.)

The highlight for everyone, however, might have been the gorillas. There was a mother gorilla with her baby who kept coming right by us on the other side of the glass (we got video, but no pictures). Sometimes the baby was on her back, sometimes hanging on for dear life underneath her...

...but Mia was bouncing with joy in anticipation for them to come by.

The day ended on a slightly higher note for Mia. She started showing the appropriate amount of awe and wonder for all the animals.

It was fun to finally show her all the live versions of the animals she always reads about in her books.

Snapshots from April

In my efforts to catch up on the blog and our lives over the last few months, here are a few moments from the month of April.

Mia has still maintained a special relationship (aka obsession) with water bottles over the last year.

Yep, she's still in love.

Grandma and Grandpa Selden dropped by at the last minute for an afternoon visit on their way back to Ohio. It was so great to see you guys, even for just a few hours!

Mia discovered the joys of climbing.

Mia enjoyed an evening of all things that go with her buddy, Keller, and has fostered a new-found love of trucks, cars, and trains.

She also discovered the driver's seat. We suddenly got really scared for 15 years from now.

She becomes even more and more of a daddy's girl each day. She's so enamored with Nick. I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual.

Overall, a great month for the Inzerellos.

Charlottesville Half Marathon

In mid-April we had the chance to spend a weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, home of the University of Virginia, Monticello, and...the Charlottesville Half Marathon. Nick was inspired by friends of ours to train for, and run, his first real race.

The evening before the race, we were able to carbo-load at a great local Italian place in town and enjoy dinner with friends. (I carbo-loaded too, even though my knees, sadly, make it impossible to run more than a mile anymore.) We were even able to meet up with an old friend of Nick's who is now coaching at UVA. He held Mia almost the entire time he was there.

We are all smiles after puting some good food in our bellies.

Race morning came early, but Nick was ready. He stuck to his pacing strategy and felt really good the whole race... a whole lot better than the lady next to him here, at least. Apparently Charlottesville's marathon and half-marathon courses are one of the highest rated and most challenging in the nation because there are so many hills. Nick didn't know about that until he had registered, but he actually liked the hills... he would.

As he realized that he was already at the finish line, Nick kicked it into gear and passed everyone in front of him in the last 100 yards at a full sprint. I thought he started running faster because of my awesome cheering, but he couldn't hear me, he had some lame song pumping from his iPod and had no clue we were even there to see his finish.

The official time for each individual is based on when you cross the starting line at the beginning and finish line at the end. There is a little sensor in everyone's number bib so they can get an accurate reading. I think Nick's official time is a minute or two less than the time on the clock because he was in the middle of the pack at the beginning, but either way I think he did a pretty good job! He was just glad he didn't get beat by any of the marathoners. (Some 1/2 marathoners really did. I think the guy who won the marathon came in at around 2 1/2 hours. Crazy!)

Some of the fearless racers after their task was complete.

After showers and food, a group of us headed over to Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's famous home) to take a tour. I've been meaning to get to Monticello since I moved to DC and was glad to finally make it happen. It was a beautiful day for it.

All the runners were feeling the effects of their early morning exertion, especially after lunch, so every time the outdoor tour guide stopped, this is the scene he was faced with in the back of the crowd:

Nick can truly fall asleep anywhere, anytime he wants. I wish I were blessed with that talent.

While we waited for the house tour, we did a little Mia photo shoot on the grounds behind TJ's home.

Waving and doing her squinty face. I love it.

Getting her first real grass stains.

Prowling the gardens.

The happy fam.

I've got to say that despite the recent tragedy there, I was totally charmed by Charlottesville that weekend. It made me want to go back to college and to go there. I would even love living there now if it were a little closer to a major metropolis. It was a great college town... beautiful, quaint, historic, and hip all at the same time. Everyone should get there at least once!