Nana G. is Back to Visit

Mike's mom was on April Break this past week and so she decided to come for a visit! She arrived late Saturday night. Sunday morning Mike made his famous breakfast and we also fed Louis his first bite of solid food! We gave him rice cereal and he LOVED it! He was all smiles and just gobbled it down - we got great pics and a cute video - it was so fun! That afternoon we headed to the Arboretum and Japanese Garden in Seattle before touring the garden we ate lunch at a cute bakery on Madison Ave. The garden was much smaller than anticipated but it was a beautiful day and just nice to be outside. Sunday night Mike bar-b-qued some pork and we sat outside and had happy hour on the porch. Mike was tired and went to bed early but his mom and I stayed up to play Scrabble. I almost beat her but she put down the "J" on her second to last play and ended up beating me....you know how I feel about losing : )

Monday and Tuesday Mike's mom stayed home with Louis while Mike and I worked. Louis and Nana had a great time together and Nana even tried teaching him to creep by making him reach for toys on his tummy. (if he can push off something like your legs or hands he can do it!) Monday night we ate in but Tuesday night we all went to the Cliff house for dinner and then made it back home in time to watch American Idol and make chicken noodle soup with left over chicken for tomorrow night!

Wednesday I was off but Mike had to work. Nancy, Louis and I met Mike for lunch at our favorite Thai place in Southcenter and then the we went shopping while Mike went back to work. We bought Louis a new outfit with lobsters on it, a sun hat, sunglasses, and an outfit to wear to the three weddings he is going to. Nancy also bought us an umbrella on a stand to put outside - after seeing the little rain umbrella we put in the grass and crouch under to keep Louis from getting sunburned she decided that Louis needed something better! We ended our fun day of shopping with Starbucks (sorry Mary)_and headed home! Nancy and I were on our own for the evening (Mike had a kayak class that he had signed up for long ago) so we played with Louis and put him to bed and ate our chicken noodle soup! Mike got home from class just in time to take Nancy to the airport - as always it was sad to see her go and hard for her to say good bye too - she is just crazy about Louis- but she was able to book a summer trip out here earlier that day for July and we will be out there in May!

Pictures!

Mike's 30th Birthday

Mike turned 30 on April 9th. I thought that I would surprise him with a babysitter and a night out! Denise and Bob (the best neighbors in the world) offered to babysit. I was trying my best to get ready, pick up the house and get Louis ready for bed without telling Mike what was going on. I was going to tell him to go dress up for the wonderful dinner I was making but I didn't even get that far as I said to him without thinking "I wish Louis wasn't so tired I would really like to keep him up till at least 6:30 so he doesn't wake up for Denise and Bob! I was so mad at myself but at least he was surprised that Katy and Ed met us at Salty's!

Mike, who had been looking for an excuse to take a little trip, tried planning himself a surprise trip. HE was trying to surprise ME, however, he was so excited about it he couldn't keep it a secret. It was a good thing because we were going to stay in a cabin at the Sun Mountain Lodge and I couldn't imagine him packing food and all the stuff for Louis on his own. In fact I didn't do so good myself as I forgot to pack a toothbrush, hair brush, deodorant, hiking shoes, waterproof jacket, my pillow....we did turn back for my shoes and jacket but I didn't remember that I had forgotten other things by that point.

We left Tuesday night right at Louis' bedtime. It was smooth sailing until we got to Bluitt Pass and then it started snowing these HUGE snowflakes that were coming down hard and blowing right onto the windshield. It was pretty much a white out and it was VERY hard to see the road in front of us. Mike didn't want to pull over because we didn't have chains and we didn't want to risk the snow getting deeper and us getting stuck on the pass. We finally made it through snow but we weren't out of the woods yet (literally) because as we neared the lodge, the road became full of deer on the side of the road and some even darting out in front of the car- we must have seen at least 30 deer!

Wednesday was our only full day. We started the day off with eggs, English muffins, and bacon (all cooked by Mike). We then sat on the porch drinking coffee, viewing the lake and playing with Louis. After naptime, we put Louis in the front carrier and headed out for our hike. It turned out to be warm and sunny, and this time, instead of worrying about Louis being cold I was constantly worried about him getting sunburn. We did stop by the gift shop and buy him some sunblock but he could have used a sun hat instead of a winter hat - I did manage to keep the trail map over his head like a visor the whole time and prevent any burn!! After our hike the trip went slightly downhill with Louis being a huge crabbypants! He FINALLY fell asleep around 7pm and then we were able to make dinner (Vodka Tomato Pasta) and watch the movie we brought on Mike's computer (amazingly there was no TV at the lodge in the woods).

Thursday morning we ate more eggs and Bacon and sat outside drinking our coffee and viewing the lake. We packed up while Louis napped and then headed out. We stopped at a state park near the Columbia River Gorge and ate the lunch we packed. The whole trip turned out to be a great little get away even though it was only a couple days.

Pictures from the trip!

A Visit to St. Louis

I found a super cheap plane ticket to St. Louis for April 1 - 6th and I couldn't resist buying it! So Louis and I headed to St. Louis for no reason at all! Anne was able to come home from Rockhurst for the weekend and my cousin Amber came from Kansas to spend the weekend.

Thursday we went to church in the morning and then to the coffee shop so dad could show off his grandson! We spent the day hanging out at the house and letting Louis get back on a schedule. Amber arrived just in time for some chicken enchiladas!

Friday, Kate, Amber, mom and I went to the mall. Louis did not let us down as he had a huge blowout right before he had to leave (fortunately we caught it in time to keep my cousin's carseat we were borrowing clean). That evening my mom and I went to the "SSJJ 1994 and Friend's reunion" that I had organized. Somehow my mother ended up making most of the food with, I am sorry to say, very little help from me - the food was awesome and about 8 people from my graduating class showed up with a bunch more people from other classes. I bet there was 50 people there total! It was so much fun to catch up with everyone!

Saturday, Brianne, Mary, Karen, Travis and Jennie came over to hang out and play with Louis (and me). (Brianne, Mary, Maria and Jess were in town for the Final 4 basketball tournament). We spent about 4 hours chatting and eating! Later that night (after stopping by Katie and Jim's for a visit - Katie is 34 weeks pregnant) Amber and I met up with everybody to go out "Big and Gay." I am serious about this. We first went to a straight bar for dinner (I think it was a least) and then to the gay bar, Novak's. There was actually a drag show, which was awesome! Amber and I had a great time, but we had to leave early to make sure Louis didn't wake up hungry and of course I was tired by 10pm - Times have changed! Louis went to the Sedar Meal without me but my parents said he did great and gave everyone smiles!

Sunday afternoon Doris and Bill, Laura and her family and Karen and her family came over for pizza. It was so much fun putting Drew and Louis side by side - I got some good pictures but of course I left my camera in St. Louis - however, Laura got some GREAT pics and they are on her blog!

Monday morning, while Amber went to shadow another pharmacist at SLU hospital, Louis and I met up with Brianne, Mary and Maria and Jess at Rooster in downtown to say good bye. Then it was back to the house to say goodbye to Amber, Anne and Kate. My mom flew to Chicago to help me with Louis but the good bye in Chicago was very very sad with lots of tears (not Louis'). It was such a great trip home!

Pictures to come once I get my camera back!