Grape Ape is that you?

If so, where's Beegley Beagley?

Lions, Tigers, and Bears OH MY!

Last Saturday the weather was beautiful (not too hot and not too cold). Daddy decided that we should all go to the National Zoo for the day. So after my mid-morning nap I awoke to find my Mommy packing the car and my Daddy helping me get my shoes on.

When we arrived at the zoo I was well rested and ready to see some animals. I was very excited but, I think that my Daddy might have been the most excited. Daddy had it all mapped out which is a switch since Mommy's the planner of our family. First we went to see the lions, then the apes, pandas and of course a zoo trip wouldn't be complete without seeing the elephants. It was a toss up between the apes and the pandas on which I liked the best. I have a video of Daddy, the apes and myself that I'll post later.

Did you know that the pandas came all the way from Wolong, China just to hang out at our zoo? Well, me either until my recent trip to the zoo. We saw Tian Tian (pronounced "t-YEN t-YEN" which means "more and more") that day but did not get a chance to see his female friend, Mei Xiang (pronounced "may SHONG" which means "beautiful fragrance").

Here's some photos from our adventure:

"Mom, you tricked me... there's no cheerios in your hand!"

"Simba is that you?"

Lions, Tigers, and Bears OH MY! (continued)

"Elephant's are cool" "Ask Grandpa about the time Daddy taunted one"

Tian Tian hanging out having some lunch

"Mom, check out how big this frog's peepers are!"

"And so it's time to say farewell for now." "Have a good week everyone"

Love,

Emerson

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

Emerson Maxwell Barr here reminding you that Tuesday,November 4th is Election Day so don't forget to vote!

I'm only 7 1/2 months old so of course I can't vote (tell that to the Obama folks though.... I keep getting calls from the "On the Move" campaign team). That's why I'm counting on you to do exactly what my shirt below says "Vote for my better tomorrow". This presidential election is not only a historic one but has definitely struck some (we'll call them light hearted) debates in the Rahm-Barr household. It's no secret that my parents are for different candidates. I often wonder how they ever ended up together with such different political views. Hey, it works for Mary Matalin and James Carville whom coincidentally also have a child named Emerson too (hmm) then it must be cool.

O.K. so remember, DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

Love,
Emerson



"I'm so excited about this election that I wet my pants." "Just kidding, it's only water from my sippy cup". "Sippy Cups are hard".

"O.K. so, Senator McCain was like "really"...... and then Senator Obama was like "no you can't be serious"........ I got tired of them arguing so I just left. "

"High five to those of you that vote."

"So, I guess you're wondering why I called you all to my office."

"Boy,whomever said that campaigning was easy lied..... I'm off for a nap!"

Shenandoah National Park

On Saturday afternoon, my parents decided that we should all take a drive to admire the beautiful fall foliage. My Dad is always boasting about the wonderful four seasons that Northern VA has and thus one of his common rebuttals for not wanting to move back to Texas.

After breakfast, Mom packed my essentials (food, diapers, and of course Cookie Monster... he's my new favorite..shh, don't tell Elmo or Big Bird) and off we went to Shenandoah National Park. The Shenandoah Mountains aren't very far from the D.C. Metro area (about an hour and a half away) so, we decided to go there. Plus, my Dad has a parks pass and wanted to make use of it since he says that he hasn't been able to use it much since March. Hmmmm..... I wonder if that's because of me, nah... it couldn't be :-). Anywho, Skyline Drive is the name of the road that runs through the part of the National Park that we drove through and it was a great time! I overheard Dad tell Mom that he'd like a vacation home their. Here's some photos of our excursion.

Love,
Emerson




"Really, the hat is too small for me now !"


Shenandoah mountains.....

"Mom, let me down.... I see a deer that I want to chase"

"Dad, it's freezing out here.... get me to the car quick!"

"Mom, Dad..... do I have a surprise waiting for you in my diaper :-)"

Happy Halloween Everyone!

This morning I started off on a good foot by making Mommy happy wearing a shirt expressing my love for her. Nana had bought it for me when she was in town last and told me to save for when I needed brownie points.

For my first Halloween, my Mommy thought it would be funny to dress me up like a hot dog and as you can see from the photos below my Daddy thought it would be funny to pretend like he was eating me (see photo # 3). Needless-to-say, Daddy needs help :-). At 6 pm tonight our subdivision had a parade of costumes. This parade involves all the children from our neighborhood, grilled hot dogs (no I didn't know this advance otherwise I would have selected another costume), a graveyard with fog, and lots of candy. It was a great time and a chance to meet our neighbors. I thought for sure that I would be the only hot dog but as it turns out, there was a dog that was dressed in a hot dog costume too. Great minds think alike I guess! We didn't stay that long because I started to get tired and was ready for my bath, book, bed and bottle. However, while Daddy helped me get ready for bed, I could hear all of my neighbor friends come to our door yelling "trick or treat". Mommy handed out handfuls of candy while admiring all of the fun and unique costumes. Boy, I can't wait until I'm big enough to go trick or treating.... FREE CANDY, what a great gig!

Well, that's all for now. I've got to get my beauty rest as tomorrow we're heading for a nice drive along Skyline drive in the Shenandoah National Park. I'm sure I'll have photos of the beautiful fall foliage so be sure to check my blog later this weekend.

Love,
Emerson

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Every year in the first week of December since 2004, my parents have been schlepping out to Germantown,MD for their Christmas tree at Butler's Orchard. This year was the first year that we went to visit their pumpkin patch. My Mom bribed my Aunt Anne into coming as well and we had a blast. There were sooooo many pumpkins.... big ones, little ones, white ones, green ones and of course orange ones. My Mom just loves this time of year and in fact Aunt Cookie and Nana Banana will tell you that the first sign of the weather changing from Summer to Fall, my Mom calls and sings "It's the most wonderful time of the year". It's no secret that Mom's a little nutty but I'll keep her around for entertainment purposes.

Halloween will be here soon and I can't wait! I'm already starting to prepare by watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown".

Love,
Emerson