I live in Fairlington, which is close to Shirlington, in Arlington! (Week 1)

This week has been so exciting! I have loved every minute of it! It has probably been one of the busiest weeks I've had in a long time though, just because everything is new. The first night that I arrived I spent time with Danny and Megan. We took a walk around the neighborhood together. All of the houses here look exactly the same, so I felt like we were walking in circles. I think it will take me some time to find my way around. She pointed out some of the bus stops to me and showed me the exits of the neighborhood that lead to stores. Everything is close by and within walking distance that I could need, which is very convenient. There are two grocery stores, a pizza place, McDonald's, Olive Garden, several restaurants and fast food places, clothing stores, a bagel shop, bike store, library, movie theater, and even other places that I have yet to see. The nice part of this neighborhood is that it feels secluded, but once you leave there is so much to do. I also discovered that there is a bus that leaves from right outside of my apartment that goes to the Pentagon Metro Station. This is very convenient because it makes it possible for me to go anywhere I want in D.C. easily. The bus comes about every 20 minutes, and it only take about 10 minutes to get there on the bus. It is really great!

The second day I was here, I went to church. What a surprise it was for me to find out that the girl who offered to give me a ride (via the relief society president) was a girl that I knew from three years ago from a youth camp that I worked at!!! I was so excited to see her here and to have an instant friend. What are the chances of us both ending up near D.C. and of her being the one to pick me up? Another great surprise for that day was learning that there is another girl who moved here just for the summer that lives just across the street from me! Her name is Carissa and she is interning at the Smithsonian this summer. I'm so glad that she is here too! Church ended up being wonderful and I felt so good after attending it. It definitely lifted my spirits and I felt ready to begin an exciting week of work. I am excited to be able to attend church here every Sunday. I left not only feeling good, but making several new friends that I hope to see this next week as well. It was a great way to start off the week!

This week I also went to a fun Sunday dinner where I met a lot of new people, F.H.E. on Monday, shopping with my new friend Michael for shirts for his job (afterward we saw the white house at night and Washington monument), to Chinatown and the Washington D.C. LDS Temple with Allison (Yes, I learned how to use the Metro and figured out the bus system all by myself--I was very proud! :)), and got to know Carissa some more.

This week with Danny, I had a lot of fun as well. We spent time locally together in the neighborhood so that I could get used to the neighborhood and he could get used to having me as a nanny. Typically I am ready by 7:30am, make him breakfast, do an educational activity, have a snack, go out on an adventure, come home and have a nap, lunch, go out again, and finish up around 5:30pm. I spent a lot of time at the park and meeting other nannys/moms, and at the pool. It is fun because watching Danny makes me feel like a mom. I have watched a lot of kids before in school, but never really every day all day, and the "mom" feeling is a new experience for me. I definitely enjoy it though! He is a very cute kid!

Here is a picture of Danny: (I think this picture is hilarious because there are only organic foods in his house, but one of his friends brought over a bag of Oreo cookies. He kept seeing it on the counter and asking me over and over if he could please have a cookie. He was being really good so I eventually said yes, he could have one cookie. This made him so excited! I have never seen a little kid get so excited about just being able to have one mini Oreo cookie. :) He didn't even ask for more. His mom has him very well trained about snacks.)

One of the cutest moments watching Danny this week was when he was showing off for the little girls he was playing with at the playground, offering to carry things because he was strong. Danny also has memorized the book "Sleeping Beauty." We usually read it every day before nap time. Eventually it got to the point where I could stop and he would finish my sentence. One time I was getting tired of reading the whole book, because it is really long, so I skipped a few sentences on each page. He pointed it out to me, even though I didn't think he would catch on! This was really cute to me. Also, one night after bed he came downstairs and announced to his mom that he could read. She asked him to come downstairs and show her. I was slightly embarrassed, but thought it was really cute when he read the book exactly how I had, almost word for word. He used the same expressions, tone of voice, and pauses. He catches on so quickly!

I felt good this week because one of the other caregivers at the park came up to me and complimented me on something I had done a previous day, even without really realizing that it was a big deal. At the park there was a girl who was playing with a truck and he asked to play with her. She couldn't talk yet, so she didn't respond. Danny reported to me that she was being "mean." I explained to him that she could not use her words yet and gave him some tips about how to tell if kids are old enough to talk (if they can walk, etc.). Later that day this lady came up to me and said she had liked what I told him earlier because he came up to her daughter (who couldn't talk yet) and first asked, "Can she use her words?" I had not known this had happened, but was very pleased to have made a good impression on the other parents.

This week we also went to the nursery and bought red peppers that we planted in the garden! I am really excited for them to grow, and so is Danny! I taught Danny about roots, too, and while we were walking around today he kept pulling weeds out of the grass and pointing out the roots. It was really funny, but at least he learned what roots are and what they do!

Watering the garden this week has been a struggle because Danny loves the hose so much that he just wants to be sprayed with it, so it takes us a really long time to finish watering all of the flowers.

Overall, a very good week 1! I love Danny and Megan, the city here, and all of the fun things that I have found to do!