Archive for May, 2006
Should the day that you go home really be considered a vacation day? I mean we are leaving the place where there are fun things to do and the really cool hotel room where you don’t have to make your bed to head back home. I’m not sure what to call it yet, as it is a sad day to be leaving all that behind. Possibly Transition Day?
Before getting out of bed, we heard the lovely sound of motorcycles leaving the hotel in droves. Several of them, every 20 minutes or so. They are really loud! Finally Aiden couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to be out of his Pack-n-Play. As I wasn’t ready to get up yet, I brought him into bed. Yes, I know that is a no-no, but we were on vacation, all rules are off. The king size bed fit us all perfectly and we didn’t want to leave.
But leave we must, so we finally got up, ate breakfast and started packing. We thought we would leave after Aiden took a nap, but he wasn’t cooperating, so we left earlier than expected. The drive included a bit more traffic, but nothing as bad as it was going to be tomorrow. We ate lunch at the same Panera Bread that we ate at on the way down to complete the trip full circle.
As always, it was good to be home. I feel if you have some time away you can fully appreciate things (and people), although it was nice to have someone else clean our room and make the bed. I am glad to be home, that is until the next trip!
May 28th, 2006
Today we are attended the Baptism of the daughter of a friend of mine from Junior High. This was the whole reason for us coming down to Dc in the first place. Aiden is still a little sick, but seems to be getting better and after a small freak out from us leaving late we arrived just as the ceremony was starting.
The drive over was shorter than we expected, but Aiden was supposed to take a longer nap which slowed down the getting ready process. We also needed to pick something up as an appetizer and then we drove in the wrong direction for about 10 minutes. Being that the ceremony had just started when we arrived I don’t think we were as late as we could have been. Of course I have a thing for being latek, which made the ride over quite unappealing to Chris.
The ceremony was at my friend’s in-law’s house which is beautiful. It was held outside by the pool and as we stood there watching and listening, Aiden decided to announce that he was hungry. So, during the entire ceremony he was signing and saying, “Eat! Eat!” I tried to quiet him, but he wouldn’t let up. Apparently the fact that it was lunch time was not being overlooked by him. He was hungry and he could not wait. Fortunately the ceremony was short and we were able to feed him. Whew!
It was so nice to visit with my friend and meet her daughter finally. She is a cutie pie (the daughter, not my friend. Not that my frined isn’t cute, actually I would consider her to be pretty, but I was always the cute one of the group. But I digress). Aiden got quite a bit of attention with his blue eyes, curly blond hair and adorable wide-stance walk as he chased their Daschund around. The poor dog couldn’t get out of the door fast enough! We stayed as late as Aiden would let us, although we did want to join the croquet game that was starting as we were on our way out. Catching up with friends is much harder when you have a little one in tow.
As we were there, I did notice how different our parenting styles were. I needed to know where my child was and who was with him if I wasn’t. My friend felt that since there were so many responsible adults around that her daughter was most likely being watched by one of them. I guess I’m not that trusting, even if it was my own family. I know “it takes a village,” but I’m not sure I’m ready to just let the village take over. Too much of a control freak, maybe. I know I will have to let go eventually, but I’m just not ready yet.
Our friends wanted us to stay so we didn’t have to go back to a lonely hotel room while Aiden went to bed early. We left anyway, saying that since Aiden wasn’t feeling well we should let him get some rest. Secretly, we were happy to have the time in the room by ourselves. We were able to put Aiden in the bedroom and close the door. We talked and watched movies and did things we don’t normally do at home because there are just too many things to clean, put away, etc. It was heaven!
Off to bed so we can get up and out tomorrow. I wish we could stay longer, but I am glad to be leaving before the traffic hits on Monday.
May 27th, 2006
We weren’t sure what today was going to bring as Aiden was coughing with yellow stuff coming out of his nose and thunderstorms were approaching this afternoon. So we did what any normal parent would do, gave Aiden a bath and a nap and waited. We waited to see what Aiden’s condition would be like after his nap as well as what the weather would bring.
Fortunately, Aiden woke up in a pretty good mood and the sun stayed behind the clouds with no precipitation. So, we packed the backpacks with snacks, diapers and other baby stuff, the camera and Aiden and walked across the street to the Metro. It was about 2:30 pm when we boarded the train so we didn’t expect to stay at any of the museums for hours at a time, but we were determined to have fun. Aiden enjoyed his first train ride and perked up once we started walking around the National Mall.
We hit the Air and Space Museum first to take pictures of the Wright Brother’s planes and Spaceship One. We enjoyed a lovely lunch there as well. Next we headed over to the Capital and found some virtual geocaches. To the left (if facing the Capital) there is a cool little place called the Summer House and it has a fountain and benches. A neat, off the beaten path, place to wonder and cool off.
We walked back down the National Mall and ventured into the American History Museum where we missed the rain that poured down for a bit. I wanted to check out the Jim Henson exhibit. We had dinner there and made one last stop at the Museum of Natural History. Aiden was starting to have a meltdown so we hopped back on the Metro and called it a day.
Quite a full day for the little guy (and us too!) but he seemed to enjoy himself. We’re off to bed now so we can rest for tomorrow’s outing, an at home Baptism and party of my friend’s daughter (whom we have not met yet). I can hardly wait to see them!
May 26th, 2006
Today we headed out for our first vacation with Aiden. It is exciting on many levels because we will be experiencing a lot of firsts: the first time Aiden will ride in the car facing forward, his first stay in a hotel suite, the first time meeting his west coast girl friend, his first ride on a train (Metro) and the first time Aiden will visit a museum. To think we are going to squeeze all of those firsts into 4 days, it should be interesting!
The trip came about from an invitation to my high school friend’s daughter’s Baptism. They live near Seattle, Washington and since we haven’t met each other’s kids yet it was the perfect opportunity to see them. We decided that in addition to seeing them we could fit in a day of fun visiting the museums. Now that the itinerary was in place, all we had to do was pack and get driving.
The day started out with Aiden waking up with a cough and stuffy nose. We tried to get up and finish packing in time to put him in the car right before he was set to for his nap. Packing took longer with Aiden wondering about unpacking the bags that I was trying to fill. We gave up and put him down for a nap in his crib. The car was packed in no time and we were able to take our time and make sure we had everything. An hour later than I wanted to leave we were exiting the driveway. It wasn’t not too terribly off schedule as I usually add extra time to any driving expedition for such unforeseen obstacles.
The drive was not bad and even with stopping for lunch we made it to the hotel just after check-in. The hotel suite is better than we could have imagined with the living area the size of a regular hotel room and a separate room for the bedroom and bathroom, which is just as big. The best part was when Aiden was ready to go to sleep we put him down and closed the door so we could read, surf the internet or watch TV. Ah, deals on the internet rock!
After we explored the hotel (found the exercise room, pool and other cool things) we drove around for some dinner. We originally intended to have dinner with my friends, but since Aiden was not feeling great we decided to put him down early. He hadn’t slept much in the car so he needed some rest. It was nice and relaxing. Hopefully the drugs will help him so we can head out tomorrow to the museums.
May 25th, 2006
Today is Aiden’s 1st Birthday! When he woke up this morning we sang, “Happy Birthday To You.” When Chris came home from work to have lunch with us (he has 1/2 day Fridays during the summer) and Aiden woke up from his nap, we sang, “Happy Birthday To You.” After his second nap and he was fussier than usual, we tried to distract him by singing, “Happy Birthday To You.” Before we tucked him into bed, we sang, “Happy Birthday To You.” I think he thought we were nuts!
Today on Aiden’s 1st birthday, lots of family and friends called to sing, “Happy Birthday To You,” he opened presents and played with his new toys. His birthday was quiet, peaceful and happy, just the way I hoped. He won’t remember this day, but I will for many years to come.
Tomorrow is the family party. Going to get a good night sleep since I spent the rest of the night cleaning and preparing. Don’t worry it wasn’t all that bad, Chris helped too.
May 19th, 2006
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