Family Vacation, Day 2

Friday morning, after a somewhat difficult night of sleep (none of us sleep easily in new places), we got up and hit the ground running … Liberty Bell and Independence Hall were our major sights to see.

The Liberty Bell really is huge!  (Benjamin wasn't quite as impressed as Will and I were)

But he was super-excited that he could stand on the ledge by the windows and look out … what can we say?  the kid likes a good view!

Independence Hall was equally awe-inspiring (though we were a bit disappointed that there was some construction work going on to refurbish the tower).

What an incredible feeling to stand in the very room where our founding fathers debated and then signed the Constitution!  The chair you can see over Will's shoulder is the very one George Washington sat in as he led the discussions.  It all made me excited to teach our kids about our history, the faith of our fathers, and God's provision for our nation, and then be able to take them to the very places where it all happened!  (I'm gonna be such a dorky homeschool mom! :)  (And of course, Benjamin will be much more excited about it at that point than he is in this picture :)

Then, after a delicious lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall pizzeria, we made our way to Benjamin's treat for the day … the playground at Franklin Square (give you three guesses who that's named after :)

As far as we can remember, this was Benjamin's first time on a real playground, and he just ate it up!  He would have stayed all day, but the wind was getting quite chilly, so we had to call it quits and head back to the hotel.  We were all exhausted and just grabbed a quick dinner before we fell into bed.  Whew!

Family Vacation, Part 1

This past weekend, we took our first "family vacation" - in the sense that it was just our little threesome, staying in a hotel, seeing sights and having fun.  We went to Philadelphia, PA and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves - though Will and I came to fully realize how different it is to vacation with a toddler than when its just the two of you.  I now understand all those parents who come back from vacation saying, "I need a vacation from vacation."  But Benjamin was such a trooper - he slept well in the hotel, ate well in crazy restaurants, and generally let his mom and dad drag him all over creation.

The car ride down was pretty uneventful … snacked, read books, played with the new truck that we found at Walmart, and napped …

He clearly has it really tough.

Then, we stopped just outside Philadelphia to catch dinner … at CHICK-FIL-A!  That's right, folks - we got to introduce Benjamin to our favorite fast-food restaurant.  (I must clarify that we don't generally eat fast food, but Chick-fil-A doesn't qualify as such in my book).  Actually, Benjamin was still sleeping when we pulled in the parking lot, so I slipped in first for a visit to the little girl's room … and almost got teary … it was clean, it smelled good, there were families smiling at one another, i could almost hear the angels singing … it was a CHICK-FIL-A!  (When I got back to the car and relayed this to Will, I think he started to doubt my mental stability … but then that's probably a regular occurrence for him :)

Anyway, so Benjamin ate his first Chick-fil-a … because of his food allergies, we couldn't get the classic kid's meal with nuggets, but he ate waffle fries, grilled chicken, and a fruit cup…

He saw … 

He ate … 

HE LOVED IT!  (actually, that look says, "Mom, can you quit acting
like the paparazzi? This is embarrassing … its just chicken!"

And may I just say, whoever at Chick-fil-A headquarters came up with those adhesive kids placements?  Pure genius!!  I was tempted to grab a stack for use throughout our trip...

After dinner, we tried the indoor playground for a little while, but after a long day of driving, Benjamin wasn't sure why we weren't just heading on the hotel…

We even took our picture with a cow … oh yes we did!

Isn't my husband a good sport?  I think the employees thought we were a little odd, but charming :)

And that pretty much sums up Family Vacation Day 1.  More to come!

An Ode to our Couch

We have a couch.

It's a lovely couch.

Though not so much lovely in looks as in comfort.  It's long, deep, and insanely comfortable.  In fact, I would venture to say its the most comfortable couch I've ever sat on … or slept on.  I found it through the want-ads right after I graduated from college.

Note:  this was before Craig's List existed … there was a thing called "the classifieds" which served the same purpose but was more expensive.  People in Tennessee called them the want-ads, I suppose because you looked there for things you wanted, and I would be remiss if I did not point out that the correct pronunciation of "want-ads" is actually wawnads … I used this word in conversation with a NY friend last week in telling her the story of our couch and she had no idea what I was saying … the accent does come through rather thickly sometimes still :)

Anyhoo, the blessed couch came to me all those years ago and has stuck with us through more moves than I would like to count.  It almost didn't make into our current flat, but thanks to the perseverance of a few courageous men from our church, the dining room window was forced to allow it in.  The couch is actually starting to show its age, and beige is not really best upholstery color for raisin' chillin's (if you'll excuse another Tennessee-ism)…

Remember tiny newborn Benjamin, all passed out on the couch after his first walk at the park?

Benjamin and Daddy both have developed a special bond to the couch … a long time ago, Daddy actually took the cushions off the couch so he would have something to sleep on when he moved into an empty apartment right before we got married.

And Benjamin's bond to the couch is what brings me to the whole point of this crazy little post (you can tell I haven't written in a while, right?  WORDS WORDS WORDS!  They're bouncing off of everywhere!  I can't control it!)

Anyway, Benjamin is like his mommy and prefers to wake up slowly, so our habit has been that Mommy gets him out his crib when he wakes up in the morning or after nap, and then we go snuggle on the couch for a little while until he feels he's ready to face the daunting world of a toddler.  Sometimes its five minutes, sometimes its closer to half an hour depending on his mood.  But lately, he's wanted to just chill on the couch on his own … he gets done snuggling with Mommy, and then just wants to do some chill-axin by his lonesome.

And now we're actually thinking of replacing the Couch with a sleeper sofa, since our guest room will be lost to the nursery in coming months.  Guess I'll be gettin' myself on those new-fangled wawnads they call Craigs List.

And can I just say that after-nap hair has got to be the cutest thing ever?!?!  All frizzy and sticking out everywhere.

And today was house-cleaning day, so forgive the lack of cute outfit … sweats and old shirts for the both of us today.  (Thank goodness he can't turn the camera on Mommy yet :)

And can I finally say … HE IS NOT ALLOWED TO BE THAT BIG!  What happened to my tiny fuzzy-headed newborn?

Holy Cow!

Has it really been six weeks since I posted?  craziness!  and my apologies to any of you who are still checking this little deserted corner of the internet.

But what have we learned over the past 6 weeks?  Evidently, that I am totally incapable of blogging during the first trimester…

What was that?

Yup!  Benjamin is going to be a big brother!  We are through the first trimester.  The sick and the fatigue and the hormones and the sick and the fatigue (did I mention the sick and the fatigue?) are waning, becoming distant memories that will be conveniently forgotten until the next time I get pregnant and think, "What was I thinking?  This is awful, terrible, no good, very bad!  Why didn't I remember this?"  Ah, the amnesia of a mother's love.

And by the way, I know the fatigue is better because its 9:30 at night and I'm awake … hark! I'm awake and coherent and typing things!  (I guess coherent is a matter of degrees :)

Anyway, evidently I'm also incapable of reading anything at all during the first trimester, as my poor neglected "Book Nook" in the side bar shows.  Truthfully, the evenings have involved me crashing on the couch, moaning for Will to bring me a snack, and watching West Wing episodes on DVD.  Goodness, I love that show!  I always pull it out when I'm not feeling well (cold, flu, pregnant, whatever) and it's like a good cup of hot tea … warm, comforting, the perfect blend of meditative and uplifting.

Anyhoo, since that's more than you ever wanted to know about my feelings about a TV show that went off the air five years ago, I'd better wrap it up.  Funny anecdotes, pictures, and videos of our active toddler will come soon!