Friends, Food and Cherry Blossoms!

We had a very busy day on Sunday!!! A few weeks back, we heard that some very good friends of ours from California were going to be in DC for the weekend, so we decided to trek it on up there. And yes, it was a haul with Elijah and all of the goodies you must pack to be gone all day! Anyway, since we hadn't seen Mark and Indira for almost three years (yikes! Have we been here that long?!?!) we had no problem making the long haul up there. Our first stop was Springfield, VA where we took Elijah on his first Metro ride. About an hour later we were trying to find where their hotel was in regards to the Metro station. Mark made reservations for us at a really good restaurant for brunch. But for the life of me, I can't remember the name, but the French Toast was great! Shortly after lunch, Mark and Indira had to catch a plane back to California, and since Elijah was doing so good, we decided to check out the famous Cherry Blossoms (sorry Rach, that was a last minute decision or I would have called you!!). Since the crowds were astronomical, we didn't head around the Tidal Basin, we just stuck by the Washington Monument and checked out the World War II Memorial since Chris hadn't seen it. After walking around for a bit, we headed up the street, where I nearly sprained my ankle, to catch the Metro back home.

Now for the fun part!!! When we got back to Springfield, it was about 4:00, give or take. We finally get on the interstate and, shock of all shocks in Northern Virginia...TRAFFIC!!!! After about 5 miles, it started moving really good again. Then we get stuck in MORE TRAFFIC!!! All I have to say is that it's a good thing that signs were posted that the interstate was closed due to an accident (again, shocking!!!!) so we were able to get off and take the back roads home. By this time, poor Elijah is hungry and is screaming to get out of his carseat. After singing a few rounds of 'Wheels on the Bus', 'Take me out to the Ballgame', the Marine Corps Hymn and yes, '99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall', we finally made it home at 6:00. So we had a VERY long day and up until the very end, Elijah handled it wonderfully! But I don't think we'll be doing that again for a while!

Success!!

Just as I thought...Elijah did wonderfully this weekend! And so did Chris! Yes, they both missed me but they had a good time together. Chris did tell me that it was really strange for him not to get up this morning and go to the gym and run and do what he normally does on Saturday mornings. And since Elijah slept until about 6:30, Chris even got to sleep in! Chris was able to get to they gym and they only called him to the nursery once. Overall it was a great night for them and I had a blast at my conference! I really enjoyed the experience and loved having girlfriend time!!! So now it's back into the swing of things with dinner, bath and bedtime. Hopefully Elijah will sleep good tonight because I am exhausted!! Too much girlfriend time I guess!

A Day (and Night!) without mommy!

Ok. We've left Elijah overnight before with my parents a few times. The first time was in November so we could go to our Marine Corps Ball. The other time was so we could go to a wedding. Chris has been out of town a few times for work which has left me alone for more than a few days. Well, tonight and tomorrow, Elijah gets to spend some one-on-one time with just Daddy!! I am going to be in Richmond for Mary Kay's Career Conference. I'll be back sometime early tomorrow evening. I have complete confidence in Chris while I'm gone. It'll be interesting because Chris has never been alone with Elijah for more than a few hours, so I can't wait to hear about everything! It's going to be a lot of fun! I told him he couldn't cheat and call my mom! I can't wait!!!

I know, I'm horrible. But what can I say. I'm not wishing or hoping that Elijah's schedule gets way off, but it'll be nice for Chris to experience what I do on a normal day.

A visit with Grandma

Chris' mom came down to spend a few days with us while she is on her spring break. So far we've had a great time!! Elijah loves spending time with Grandma! Today we decided to go to the park. It was a beautiful 71 degrees outside, so we took full advantage! Elijah got to sit in his first 'big kid' swing and he loved it! He also liked going down the slide with Chris. Hopefully the weather will stay nice so we can get out more often!

Happy Easter!

Elijah celebrated his first Easter this year, and boy did we have fun! On Saturday, we went over to Nana and Granddaddys and had dinner with them and Elijah's Great-Grandmother. Then on Sunday, we went to church and up to Quantico to have an Easter Brunch at the Officer's Club. It was sooooooooooooooo good and we were majorly stuffed when we left. Thank God Elijah took a looooong nap so Chris and were able to sleep too! Once we were all awake and alert, Elijah got to discover his first Easter basket. Since he obviously can't eat any candy, the M & M's are for us! But the Easter Bunny did bring him a really cool cammo onesie and some Spiderman sippy cups. He really liked playing with the Easter grass, so we took that away very quickly! But he seemed to enjoy himself.

Elijah's first St. Patrick's Day

Elijah had a great first St. Patrick's Day!! Since he's a little young to be out late, we decided to celebrate on Sunday with lunch at the Irish Brigade, an Irish Restaurant in downtown Fredericksburg. Mom and Dad met us and it was sooooooo good. On Monday, I made Shepard's pie and mom made corn beef and cabbage for a traditional dinner. It was awesome. Overall, we had a good time and Elijah looked so good in his Irish outfit and his Notre Dame sleeper that Grandma gave him.






















Getting ready for bed!

Some pictures of Elijah

Just thought I'd add a few more pictures of Elijah. As you can see, he's getting soooo big!! Yes, he's standing on his own!! Of course, that's only next to the couch, he can't do that standing in the middle of the living room yet. He's such a happy baby!