Fall Camping

We're just a couple days into fall and I've already tackled a few adventures on my list.  Last week, we went camping.  Chris and I used to backpack in the summers before we had kids, and we did camp once when Eliot was three months old, but this was our first time in over two years.

I was really excited to take Eliot camping again and for Jack's first road trip and camping trip.  OK, so I was not looking forward to the road trip part at all with Jack because he hates the car, but I figured we'd make it work.  And we did.  The four-hour trip took five hours with stopping to feed him twice, but when we got there, Jack was all smiles while he looked up at the trees.  That kid loves outside.

Eliot was stoked to help set up the tent, climb on rocks, and explore.  We built a fire, played with sticks, and waited for the stars to come out.  It was all going smooth (and wasn't even too cold) until the campground "hosts" came by to check if we had paid.  They were friendly and all, but warned us about the possibility of bears.  And Eliot promptly freaked out.  And hid under the picnic table.  He really wanted to get in the tent, like, RIGHT NOW.  Poor little guy.

We managed to get everyone to sleep and Eliot accepted that we weren't going home and that we weren't going to be eaten by bears.  But, dang, it was cold in the morning.  I can handle the cold myself, but I felt bad for the boys.  Chris and I packed up while letting the boys sit in the [heated] Jeep and took turns keeping an eye on them.

It was a lot of fun to get out camping again, and I'm just glad no one fell in the creek.  We survived, I think we all had a good time, and I managed some cute photos.  And I'm really proud of Jack doing such an awesome job camping at only two and a half months!  I'm looking forward to camping again in the spring.  I think it'll just be too cold to camp again this fall.

Our Many Beach Visits and Christopher's New Board

I kind of hate sand (most of the time).  And I hate getting sunburnt.  And our beach umbrellas often blow away.

However, I love watching Eliot play along the shore, swim RIGHT into the water, and open his mouth for salt water.

And I love seeing Chris get so excited to feel the salt on his skin and dive into the waves.

This weekend, we spent a few days in Chesapeake.  We met Kimmy, Lara, and Kimmy's brother at Sandbridge for some beach time.  Lara followed Eliot up and down the shore as he chased a seagull.  Then we took him in the water as Chris let my surfboard finally find the ocean again.  Eliot wasn't scared at all this time.  We swam way out with him and Lara (who is much taller than me) would hold him up over the waves.  With me, he got a few facefulls of waves, but he didn't mind.

The next day, Kimmy, Chris, Eliot, and I met Lesley, Aspen, Melissa, Bart, Ryan, Ben, and alllll the kids at the oceanfront.  What a big group!  We all had fun splashing in the water, giving one another's kids food, and wrangling up the little ones from time to time when they'd make a mad dash for the water or run down the beach alone.  The water felt amazing--and I learned the next day that it was 80 degrees!

On our last full day in Chesapeake, we kind of splurged.  I got my surfboard from a used shop for my 14th birthday.  It was great for a first board for a teenaged girl, but it doesn't work well for Chris and the small waves of Virginia Beach.  He has been telling me since we met that he wanted a longboard--and a wooden one would be the stuff of dreams.  Since he made such an effort on my little board and I could tell that he really, really wanted to surf, I looked on Craig's List.  Surely, some people would be selling their boards at the end of the season.  I found a couple, but we decided to check out the used shop first.  Of course, there were no used longboards to be found, but then I saw the most beautiful board I have seen in my life--and it was just $50 more than the board off of Craig's List.  I told Chris to get it.  He is always hesitant to spend money (which is a good thing), but we had the cash.  He said it'd be his birthday and Christmas presents, so he snagged it.  Plus, to me, it's like you get one surfboard and you take care of it.  This is the one he will hopefully have for a long, long time and will let Eliot use when he grows older.  Not to mention that the thing is so long (nine feet) that he and Eliot can ride it together in a couple of years.

We weren't planning to go back to the beach that day since we had work to do, but how could we not?  We loaded Eliot up yet again and Chris took to the waves.  He did great and got up twice despite the waves being choppy and small.  Plus, we didn't stay but an hour or so.  I'm very proud of Chris's efforts and I know he will love that board for many, many years.  Maybe I'll get a new board some day....  It'll probably be a while because it will be many years down the road before we can surf together.  Someday, just maybe someday, perhaps we'll both be surfing on longboards, each with a little Robinson holding on tight up front.

 Chris might try to get in one last beach trip early tomorrow morning before we head back to the mountains.  We have had much more beach time this year than any other year before.  Yet, somehow, it never feels like enough.

A Lesson in Thomas Family History

Christopher's grandparents came from North Carolina.  His grandmother (Glenna) grew up in Eden, NC, which is just two hours away from our house.  Shortly after Christmas, his dad and mom took Glenna to Eden.  She has Alzheimer's, but it seems that every time any of us went to see her, she talked about wanting to go visit.  They knew she would probably forget if they went and might not even understand what was going on, but they wanted to give her that trip to see that sparkle of familiarity, even just for a moment.

Christopher really wanted to go along ever since Glenna began mentioning the trip, but he had a week-long class the day after Christmas.  His dad is on a sabbatical this month (the first one he has ever allowed himself!), so we made the trip today.  I think it was really special for Chris to go with his dad and bring his own son (Eliot) along with him.

Eliot's middle name is Thomas--after Glenna's maiden name.  First, we went to Eliot's great-great grandfather's house, James Oscar Thomas.  This beautiful house (with amazing grounds) has been maintained, added onto, and turned into a restaurant.  The owner knew we were coming and met us to give us a tour of the house.  While it looks huge from the outside, it actually was just a three-bedroom home with a den and (maybe) kitchen.

After lunch, we headed over to one of the previously-owned homes.  That is, James Oscar did not raise all of his children in this larger, white farm house.  Instead, Glenna and her brothers and sisters (all eight of them!) mostly grew up in this house.  Chris's dad remembered visiting this house frequently and told stories of playing on the porch and in the very hot boys' room upstairs.

When we got there, Chris's dad knocked on the front door to explain why we were taking photos outside--we didn't want anyone to get worried or confused.  The lady was actually really nice and understanding.  Then she invited us in!  She came over from Belgium and casually mentioned that we weren't the first to come by.   Instead, she said we were about the third group of people saying this was their family members' house.  "What is this?" she asked, "A historical monument?!"  It was quite funny because Chris's dad immediately knew which of our family members had been by.

It's really neat that Chris has this, and that Eliot will have these photos.  How often do you go back to your great-great grandparents' house to be served lunch?

More photos

Travels with a Sick, Then Un-sick Baby

My legs feel like they just might fall off!  The past few days have each been very... different... than the next.

Eliot's little fever grew worse.  By the night, he went from 100.2 (not too big of a deal) to 101.3.  In the morning, it was 101.7, so we took him to the doctor.  I thought it could have been an ear infection because he has been tugging at his ears and shaking his head more.  Turns out, he has just recently discovered his ears after finding Christopher's and he is learning how to communicate with his head shakes.  The doctor concluded it was a virus.  Headed to get some Baby Motrin and Tylenol and settle in for major cuddles.  Eliot would not let me put him down.  He was stuck to me.  And Chris's cuddles were not good enough.  This made everything difficult, but the poor guy really didn't feel well.

In the morning, we were supposed to drive to northern Virginia to visit family.  The doctor said it was fine because he'd feel bad no matter where he was and we should just avoid small infants.  Well, Eliot is the only baby in the family, so it was fine.  But Eliot's temperature was now 101.9 and he seemed especially upset.  It is really hard to pack with a baby attached to you, and even with Chris helping the best he could, we were taking forever.  We decided not to go.  We both were upset about it.  Eliot took a nap, ate a bottle, and seemed pretty darn OK.  So we changed our minds.  We just ended up leaving four hours later than planned.

We arrived in Woodbridge at dinner time.  Eliot was clingy and disoriented, but we'd be fine.  We really felt the need to go because Chris's aunt Barbara was in town from Florida.  We saw her when we went to Florida this summer, but before that, Chris hadn't seen or talked to her in about fifteen years, so it was a big deal.  Then something weird happened.  After about two hours, Eliot exploded into this happy, energetic, normal, not fever-y baby.  What the heck?  He was completely fine!  I couldn't believe it, but was so thankful!

Eliot and Dexter watching as Abed-nego freaked out over a Charlie Brown Christmas tree

Eliot slept great and just got up for his one bottle like usual.  In the morning, we debated going to DC.  Barb really wanted to go (and should!), but I didn't think Eliot could take such a long day in the cold.  Heck, we didn't even bring a stroller because we were counting on him being miserable the whole time.  Chris's mom just loves alone time with Eliot and was so happy to watch him for the day while we went into DC with Barb and Chris's sister.  So we went for it, missing him all the while.  Eliot was in great hands, though, and we got to watch videos of him helping re-organize (read:  destroy) her cabinets and pantry.  Eliot loves to explore.

We all went to the National Gallery since it is pretty awesome and Barb majored in art history.  I always wanted to take an art history class, but never did.  Maybe I'll take one somewhere someday.  Hm.  Here are some shots throughout the day.

This one was taken by Barb!  Elizabeth, me, and Chris.

Grabbed a late lunch in China Town amongst hundreds of Santa Clauses and Chris got a cool [diaper] bag from Urban Outfitters.  I got some mittens to match my scarf!  We drove by the White House and headed home.  That doesn't sound like a lot, but we were gone for seven and a half hours!  I haven't been away from Eliot that long since July--maybe never.

Chris felt bad about getting a reasonably-priced bag and also a scarf, so he wanted to buy me some boots that I have been hoping for.  Oh, Chris.  Not a big deal!  But we headed to the mall like crazy people anyway (with Eliot in tow, minus a stroller).  It was crowded, hot, and Eliot was heavy.  No luck, even!  Darnit!  By then, it was 9:00 pm and we were hungry for dinner, so Chris, Barb, Elizabeth, Eliot, and I got some dinner.  Eliot covered it.

And here we are at Sunday.  We're heading back to Lynchburg today at some point.  It has been a great trip, and especially awesome to see Barb, and I'm so glad we pushed ourselves to come despite worrying about whether it was the best choice!  I guess the "best choice" was to wait for Eliot's nap and bottle.  Then we were set.

Williamsburg!

I'm watching Eliot dig his three little teeth into an apple.  It is just too adorable.

We're almost back from our Williamsburg trip.  Just stopping over in Chesapeake to get "the dogs".  We stayed in a nice hotel across the street from William and Mary.  We were pretty much as close to Colonial Williamsburg as we could get without staying at a bed and breakfast.  The three of us were able to share a king-sized and we loved it.  I had never slept in one!  After we came back, my parents asked how in the world we managed to sleep with two dachshunds and a baby (those dachshunds are wigglers all night long), and the truth is that we have considered kicking the dachshunds out lately.  Like cruel owners, we have thought of buying them comfy dog beds to use at night, banishing them from our bed.  They would have to sleep on the floor.  But that is just talk.  Anyway.  If you were to ask Eliot what his favorite part of Williamsburg was, he'd undoubtedly say the headboard.  I fought so hard to keep him from standing at the headboard and re-arranging the picture frames.  He seemed to think they were constantly crooked.

After we grabbed some lunch and checked in, we took a walk to Colonial Williamsburg.  While in Woodbridge a couple of weeks ago, I left his umbrella stroller (oops!) and also forgot his sling at home (ah!), so he spent a lot of time of Christopher's shoulders, which was simply too cute.

To be honest, part of our original plan for visiting Williamsburg wasn't just for fun.  We've been trying to think of the best place to live in order to be closer to family.  We thought maybe Williamsburg could be a good middle ground since it is right in between both my parents and Christopher's parents.  Close enough for a day trip.  However, after looking at a few houses of interest, I think Williamsburg is a beautiful area, but more of a place to visit.  I can't see us living there.  And Christopher agrees, so I think that might off of our list.

The next morning, Chris attended an e-conference.  Then we checked out, had some breakfast, and walked back to Colonial Williamsburg.

From there, we headed to Chesapeake for the dogs.  We played with Eliot's cousins some and got sushi for dinner.  We'll be off to Lynchburg in the morning.  I'm glad we went to Williamsburg.  It was nice to celebrate the end of B-term and the beginning of my dissertation.  It was nice to get out of town.  Williamsburg was always a place to vacation for both Christopher and me growing up.  My parents actually own a timeshare there.  I don't know if it is the right "compromise" for us as for a place to live, though.  I love our home in Lynchburg.  It was the right place for us for a while.  It might still be.  Or it might be time to "come home" in some ways.  We'll have to see.

To Northern Virginia and Back Again

We are back from our trip!  While we had planned to go to New Orleans, it didn't work out, so we had a nice, long visit with Chris's family instead.

It was Elizabeth's fall break, so we took her up with us.

We got this very cute sweatervest cardigan for Eliot.  He'll be wearing it in our Christmas photos.  Now if only we could find him a clip-on tie.

Chris's parents got Eliot this very awesome pirate ship!  I had been wanting to get him a ride-on firetruck because he seemed to love Sydney and Matthew's when we visited my parents.  Then we found this ship version.  He had too much fun on it.

In the morning, Chris's dad set up Chris's old wagon for Eliot.  They all pulled him around the neighborhood and Eliot just had the most nonchalant attitude.  He acted like it was completely normal, no big deal.  It was rather funny....  But when they would stop, he'd hit the sides like he wanted to go again.  Silly boy.  He was so ready for a nap.

After his wagon ride, he fell right to sleep.  We had Panera for lunch following Eliot's nap.  He is simply nuts about their soup.  I think it is his favorite food.  Then it was back on the road to head home.

I've said it a thousand times, and I'll probably say it a million more all throughout Eliot's life.  So often, children only experience one side of the family.  Whether it is distance or disinterest, I can think of few people who have two sets of grandparents who are very active in their grandchildren's lives.  Eliot has that, though.  We live four hours from my parents and three and a half from Christopher's parents, yet both sets were there when Eliot was born.  Both sets see him about once a month (or more often).  He's really blessed in that way.  And I'm so thankful that Eliot receives mountains of love from everyone around him.

The Time I Didn't Go To New Orleans

Yesterday was so strange that I don't know where to start.

We were supposed to go to New Orleans to speak at a conference.  Chris and I both would be presenting Friday in the morning.  Christopher's parents were to watch Eliot.  I had a weird feeling about the trip from the beginning, but was just going with it anyway.

In the morning, we left at 8:00 am for the airport.  We were flying out of Reagan in D.C., so we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time.  The traffic was bad, but Chris's dad gave us a ride so we took the HOV lane. We made it at 9:00 am--plenty of time.  We weren't checking any bags, so we made it through security and to the gate by 9:20 am.  Our flight was still "on time".

As we walked to the gate, we heard a few announcements about other flights with U.S. Airways (our carrier) being cancelled.  Some issue on the ground with the other arriving plane.  Something to do with communication on the computer and those flights not being released.  There were at least two flights cancelled with this same situation.  Chris asked, "What do you do if your flight is cancelled?"  I said I didn't know.  Schedule another one?  But surely it was those plane at that other location, not our plane.

At 10:00 am, we got some food.  Back to the gate to wait.  Our flight was supposed to board at 11:05 am and then leave at 11:35 am.  By 11:40 am, nothing, and no word of a delay.  A passenger made an announcement that she spoke to someone from U.S. Airways.  They said they'd make an announcement soon and our flight would be delayed or cancelled.

After a little while, someone came up and said our plane was still in New Orleans.  It hadn't been released yet due to communication or computer issues.  Some passenger yelled, "What does that mean?" The U.S. Airways person said it meant we'd be delayed, but we don't know how long, but at least three hours since it is a two hour, forty minute flight.  But another flight was leaving at 1:50 pm for New Orleans and had no word of a delay yet.

Yet.  I didn't believe for a second that this 1:50 pm flight wouldn't have the same situation.  Like everyone else, we got in line to ask questions.  Well, that 1:50 pm flight was already booked full.  We had two options:  fly with Delta to Philly and then to New Orleans arriving at 8:00 pm (but it was packed and no room for luggage) or fly out in the morning.  We obviously needed luggage and there were so many people in front of us that those flights would probably fill up before we had a chance.  There was no point in flying in the morning because Chris's panel was around 9:00 am and mine about 11:00 am.

U.S. Airways would refund us since our flight was cancelled.  We booked our hotel through Priceline, but they said they'd refund the hotel if they could verify that the flight was cancelled.  We called Charity to let her know we wouldn't need a ride and wouldn't be coming and wouldn't be presenting. I felt bad, but what can you do?  Chris's parents came to get us.  We arrived back at their house about 1:30 pm.  We should have been in New Orleans by then.  What a strange, strange day.  I don't know why it happened this way, but I really think every little thing happens for a reason (some big reasons, some little reasons).  And now we're just hanging out in Woodbridge for the weekend instead.

The Golf is in a Coma--But Pizza Fixes Everything

I'm in the process of composing an "Eliot User Manual" for Christopher's mom.  I'm hoping that isn't insulting, but I think it'd be helpful to know our established routine so she can recognize his signals.  I am not looking forward to leaving Eliot....  And I'm kind of worrying about Eliot giving her a hard time.

I have been so wrapped up in the terror of leaving my baby for a couple of nights that I haven't really considered the fact that Christopher and I might actually have fun in New Orleans.  Fun without Eliot?  Having Eliot around makes everything so much more fun.  But maybe we'll make do.  I promise not to whine on here about leaving him.

He is so cute.

About a week ago, my car gave some coughs when Elizabeth and her boyfriend borrowed it.  It is that time again.  New battery!  We weren't certain, though, but when Chris went to drive to campus for a meeting, it was surely dead.  We live on a tight street.  It's an old city and many of the houses don't have driveways, so the streets are lined with cars.  It has been difficult at best to find a good time to jump start the old Golf and take it in for a new battery.  We got it going and Chris went off to get a new battery installed. Both Advanced Auto and Auto Zone would not install the battery, though, because it is by the fuse box.  Those tricky Volkswagens and their German engineering.  Chris then headed over to Sears.  They would do it, but they didn't have the right battery in stock.  We're not looking at any sort of special battery here....  Chris came back home and quit.  We'll just set up an appointment with the dealership or Sears when we get back from New Orleans.  We're leaving in two days.  I have way too much to do before we leave (grading, schoolwork, laundry, cleaning, a couple of appointments, the usual). 

After that frustration, we treated ourselves to pizza.  I joked with Chris that if I were the type of person who updated Facebook a lot, I'd write that I was making bad decisions at Rivermont Pizza.  It is too good and I eat too much.  Eliot flirted with everyone around him and snacked on puffs.  We got at least four baby compliments on how cute and sweet he was.  Everyone loves Eliot.  I can't blame them.  Right now, he keeps putting his fingers in my mouth, and laughing hysterically when I pretend to bite them.  He's the funniest little guy.  I need to video tape his giggles soon because he has developed the best sense of humor and sensitivity to tickles.  Ah!