Toadfrogs and Elephants

Alex woke up once at 4:45 am; took a bottle; and then slept till 8. We all woke up well rested and ready to go. We decided to see what Alex thought of the pool. He did pretty well, but Wade and I wished the water was warmer:

Then we packed up and decided on a stop in Annapolis. As we were driving we turned right onto the interstate on-ramp and ran into a line of cars exiting the interstate. We aren’t quite sure what happened, but evidently there was quite a back-up and they decided to come up the on-ramp to get to an alternate route. We finally made it to Annapolis and walked the area before having lunch at the Federal House.

Alex slept for the drive to DC and was wide awake when we arrived at The Inn at Dupont Circle, our Bed and Breakfast. Lemonade and cookies were waiting in the dining room so we had a little snack while Alex entertained us:

We love the brownstone and especially our suite. Alex quickly decided he was king of the king bed:

We got everything unloaded and the pack-n-play set up before we headed out for a walk and dinner. The walk took us to the actual Dupont Circle and Alex seemed to enjoy the fountain:

Dinner was an old favorite – Lauriol Plaza. We even got special treatment in an elevator ride to the terrace so that Alex could stay asleep in his stroller. He woke up half way through the meal, but we still thoroughly enjoyed the food and drinks. We walked a little more to a Yelp reccomendation – Larry’s Ice Cream. Conveniently they also had yummy cupcakes!

Then it was time for bed for Alex. Now we just have to get him in his crib.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today I found Alex’s favorite part of the hotel:

Heather, Tyler, and Katrina drove to Baltimore and we walked around outside before entering the aquarium. I thought the aquarium’s policy of no strollers made for a much easier walk through. They provide a stroller check and front or back carriers free of charge.

After the aquarium we had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Alex got a little fussy but did pretty well watching us eat lunch and share dessert:

Heather, Tyler, and Katrina had to get back in time for Tyler’s football practice. That left Alex and I with a little time before Wade got home from work. Alex enjoyed his new book from Tyler and Katrina:

After a nap for everyone, we headed out for a seafood dinner. We ended up at L.P. Steamers and had an awesome dinner. The wonderful staff served fantastic crab cakes and steamed shrimp. They even offered to run down the street and get Wade a Mountain Dew when they didn’t have one.

Wade had to work today so Alex and I took a trip to Virginia to see Heather, Tyler, and Katrina. We spent most of the time talking while Alex was entertained:

Then we went out to lunch and stopped by a park:

Then it was back to Heather’s house for some more pictures:

It’s been three or four years since I was last in DC. I can’t believe how much Tyler and Katrina have grown! Sadly I didn’t get to see Aunt Gayle and Uncle Bob, but maybe on the next trip. Now it’s early to bed for Alex who didn’t get a good nap today. Tomorrow we get to see the cousins again!!

I almost forgot – Wade got me Chick-fil-a for dinner – yum! And of course he brought me a milkshake too!

Today was the big day – Alex’s first plane ride. I spent all morning trying to get the three of us packed. It turns out babies require quite a bit of stuff for a five day trip (the pack-n-play is in the big bag):

We got to the airport with a little extra time – we weren’t sure if babies required longer. It turns out we got to skip to the front of the security line. It also turns out our flight was delayed for two hours. Alex did really well while we waited and played with his toys:

He also decided a nap wouldn’t hurt:

We had a nice surprise in first class seats so we loaded early and had a little time to get Alex settled. He proceeded to sleep in my arms (and he is NOT a cuddler) through take-off and then did some playing and laughing while in the air:

He had a few minutes of fussiness as we started our descent, but Wade worked his magic. All in all, it wasn’t a bad trip.

Our days seem to be crazy and full of activity. We made our daily trip to the Y and then got ready for PlayGroup. Amber hosted and served lunch. Alex watched the other kids and the moms did quite a bit of talking. I got to hold Nola, the youngest at 8 weeks. I can’t believe how small she is compared to Alex!

Alex had a nice nap and I got a little work done before we headed out for dinner and minigolf with the Young Couples. We met at Louise’s. Nate and Amy quickly grabbed the babies (which is great for us):

Alex and Emelia seemed to at least notice each other on their third (or fourth) date. The next stop was minigolf. Alex had been working on his swing, but he looked too tired to play. Instead he got carried around by dad:

Wade had no trouble keeping Alex entertained while we paid, picked ball colors, and got our clubs:

Then it was onto the course. We broke up into two groups – boys and girls:

In the beginning we were going to give extra consideration to Wade and Carissa for having to play with babies attached, but Carissa was beating us all one-handed.

The boys posed themselves for this one and it was too cheesy not to post:

Now we are all worn out and leaving for Baltimore tomorrow. I think packing will have to wait till tomorrow morning!

Alex and I start every morning (except Sunday) with a trip to the YMCA. I always see funny things and have stories to tell about my hour a day at the Y. Today I was waiting and waiting for this large black man to finish with the leg press. I finally noticed that his towel was gone and half of the weights. (I have a big pet peeve with people not re-racking their weights.) I walked over and started removing the remaining weights. The man comes running over and I thought maybe he wasn’t done. I asked and he laughed and said he was done. He apologized for leaving the weights on there and said he assumed anyone using it would at least need that much. I smiled and told him he was really going to laugh because I was doing one leg at a time and not using any weight.

I also decided today Alex needed to learn to make cookies. He seemed more interested in his rings, but I think he’ll get it eventually:

Tonight I had book club. My friend Amy started us out and I am loving it. We not only read a book each month, but we talk and eat and have a good time. It also means Wade has to babysit and get Alex to bed. I think they are getting better and better at it. When I left they were having a good time and Alex was asleep when I got home.

Alex decided to start the day early. Even Wade’s magic didn’t get him back to bed at 6. I got him ready for church and then he seemed content to sit beside me while I read:

We went to church and decided on lunch at Chili’s. Alex slept through the appetizer, but wanted to participate in table conversation during the entrees:

I spent the rest of the day reading my book (book club meets tomorrow night) while Alex napped. The sky was dark and gloomy and we got some good rain, but not the big thunderstorms I was hoping for. The weather obviously had Madison in a lazy mood too. She joined me on the couch for most of the afternoon:

Wade spent the morning working on the bathroom. I’m not sure what Alex and I did. Mostly played I guess:

We decided the day wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the fair.

Fair food is always an adventure. We had heard about chocolate covered bacon, but we didn’t find it. (Turns out Amy and Nate did.) Instead I had a turtle-on-a-stick and a funnel cake (Did I mention that was dinner?). Wade enjoyed a lemonade and a corndog. (More about Wade and his corndogs here).

We introduced Alex to all of the cute baby animals – his favorite was definitely the goats (hint, hint Jerry):

We love to people watch at these events and thoroughly enjoyed some of the competitions (strangest vegetable and largest):

We stayed for a couple of hours and had a lot of fun. Alex got a lot of attention with his hat and took a nice nap without anyone knowing. Then we headed home to put our tired boy to bed: