The Little Guy's First Cold

Yesterday we noticed that Lon was having a small cough. Phlemy. But he seemed otherwise fine, he was eating well. In the middle of the night he had a small fever. (101). Lon went back to sleep. Mommy stayed in his room watching him breath for two and a half hours. (Lon got up at 12:30, I went back to my bed at 3). Today, we took it easy, we did not even make it to church. Lon stayed in his jammies all day, he played a little, but mainly cuddled and slept. No more fever. I think he is starting to get better. If not, we will go to the doctor!
This is a bummer of a first. I suppose you have to have a first cold. I just wish I could make it better RIGHT NOW.
Pictures will be posted when we are back at 100%!

Congratulations Uncle Vasu!

Vasu came over for dinner tonight. Lon was napping when he arrived, so he very quietly got Bullwinkle's lead out of the closet and took the dog for a short walk. That was very nice. Bullwinkle enjoyed it. Lon was awake when they got back. Lon loves Uncle Vasu. Vasu played peek-a-boo with Lon. That is becoming Lon's very favorite game. Vasu was pleased that Lon likes the toy he got for him.




Vasu shared some very exciting news with us. He and his family have agreed on a Bride. His family and hers are in negotiations now. Good Luck Vasu. Vasu will be a married man by the end of the year. The wedding will likely be in November. I am hopeful we can go. India would be wonderful to see. Even though Vasu's hometown is far away from the Taj Mahal, I would want to see that. Going that far and not seeing the Taj Mahal would be really sad. I always regret not going to the Amazon when I was in Brazil.


Lon is having great fun playing with Uncle Vasu. Mark was helping Lon with his first pony ride.

The sad loss of a hat.

In all the hustle and bustle before we left for Virginia. I misplaced the Cat in the Hat hat. I thought it was in the house. Mark thought it was in the car. Turns out it is in neither of those places. I am not sure where it got lost. I am sad. We will find another one of those great hats, but for now he has to deal with the Curious George hat I made him. However if this is the worst thing that happens this week, it will be a good week.

Four More Museums and a Battlefield

I dropped Mark off on Saturday afternoon. We, my mom, grandmother, Lon and I, stayed in at Karen's house, watching Miss Ing. Karen and Kent and Matt had to be out of town. Miss Ing is a great baby. She laughs and coos and has a grand time no matter where she is. She talks up a storm! She and Lon played a game that Lon enjoyed. I am not so sure Ing enjoyed it as much. Miss Ing likes a pacifier every now and again. Lon thinks that is interesting. Ing would be relaxing on the play mat, Lon would be moving around until he spied Ing with her pacifier. AHA! He must figure out what that thing is! So over he motors, and pulls it out of Ing's mouth and then chews on the edges of it. Ing is just incredulous that he would actually do that! How could he? That was MINE!

He looks sweet, doesn't he Ing? The pacifier is in his other hand, just out of camera range. Ing does not look pleased, for good reason!

Saturday night was spent just watching those cute babies! On Sunday, we went over to Great Grandmother Yetka's and visited her for a bit. The Biggest news of all for that day is LON CRAWLED. No more Marine Corps pulling himself along by his arms! He got up on all fours and motored across the room!! We were all very excited. I had to call Mark and tell him. He was sad he was not there. Me too, I wish he would have been there too.

Then Lon and I got into a cab and went to the American History Museum.

Lon with the First Ladies.

Lon had a good time at the museum. He saw Julia Child's Kitchen. He saw transportation, he saw all sorts of really wonderful things! I like spending time there.

Lon is having a delightful time looking at American History. He really liked the Disneyland 50 years exhibit. They had a dumbo and a teacup, also some memorabilia from the first years. Lon was not too interested in the ephemeria. He liked the dumbo though. When Disneyland has it's 57th anniversary I think we will go there.

OH! I almost forgot, we had to get out of our cab a block early. They were filming a fake motorcade. Lon got to see his first movie or tv shoot.

It was interesting. Over and over again they would film this motorcade going up the street. They were still doing it when we left the museum at closing time. Which is 5pm. The Smithsonians are open 10am to 5pm.

Lon is playing in my shopping bag from the American History Museum. Grandma helps him into the bag. It looks like a big bag, but I don't think I got that much! I got Lon some books. He really needs books. He only has three bookcases full of books. We got some new books on the Civil War (oops, sorry, we were in Virginia, The War of Northern Agression), the Revolutionary War and a kid's cookbook. I like children's cookbooks.

On Monday, Lon and I got in another Red Top cab, and we went to see the new Native American Musuem.

I enjoyed the museum. I had heard mixed reviews. It still feels cavernous. Lots of empty space. My three complaints about it were it is very dark. The second complaint is that Nathan Jackson's beautiful Totem is in the GIFT SHOP. the GIFT SHOP. That was really weird. The third is that no where did I see that you could open the drawers under some of the displays to see even more. I saw someone else do that so I figured I could too. That was cool, once I figured it out.

One of the best parts of the museum was the food court. They have FRY BREAD (love love love fry bread) and indian tacos! YUMMY. Seaweed salad. Salmon, Lobster rolls. The food was great! I got Lon some real sweet potatoes and mushed them up for him. He liked those. The best part of the food court was an employee named Delores. What a great person. She saw me pushing the stroller, trying to carry the tray of food, she helped with that and not only that, she found us a much nicer table near windows so we could watch the waterfalls outside. She was the nicest person! Made my whole day.

Tuesday Lon and I were in yet another cab and we went to the Zoo! It's all happening at the zoo!

The zoo was so cold! The wind was really cold. Lon and I saw the cheetas, the baby panda, and the elephants.

The baby panda out on a limb.

MMM. Lon is eating his new shoes. They have elephants on the toes. Very nice for the zoo. He got so cold I got him a hat. The smallest one, and it still did not fit him very well.

Then we got so cold we left the zoo and went to the Air and Space Musuem.

Air and Space was much warmer. We had a grand time in the museum.

Looking at airplanes. They had a carrier exhibit, Lon was not too impressed with feeling like he was in a Navy Carrier. But he liked the other exhibits. He thought the planes were really interesting. We wanted to go out to the Udvar-Hazy but we ran out of time. Maybe next time.

On Wednesday we went back to Fredericksburg. I made Grandmother Presken some chicken soup. She had a doctor's appointment on Thursday, so we went back to DC and got in another cab and went to the doctors. Took 10 minutes at the office. Took longer in the cab. But it was good to hear she is doing great with her eyes. The best part of the visit came at the end. My mom, grandmother and I were about to leave the building, and elderly gentleman and his wife were also leaving. The Gentleman (in every sense of the word) looks down at Lon and looks up at us and tells us, "He is simply magnificant" HOW COOL IS THAT? All I could say was Thank you. Magnificant. A complete stranger thinks my son is magnificant. What a great word that is, magnificant. I like to say it. Lon the magnificant.

On Friday Lon and I went to Chancelorsville Battlefield.

That was very interesting. They have a wonderful interprative center. Miles of trails, maps and walking tours. The only real downside is that the trails are real trails. Not stroller friendly in any way, so we had to skip those. Next time we go we will be able to walk/run around and see more. We saw the exact spot where Stonewall Jackson was killed by his own troops. They have a big hunk of marble there. Then about 30 feet away they have a monument to him.

Jackson's Momument. It is right on the highway, cars whiz by so that is why we did not get a photo from the front.

That was the only trail we could go on. Lon enjoyed being outside. That was nice. The center had some driving tour tapes, a little over an hour each. The tapes were on Fredericksburg, Spotslyvania and Chancelorsville. They came with maps and looked as if they would be very interesting. I got them, left them at my mom's house, so we can use them the next time we are out in Virginia.

Lon has now mastered pulling himself up on furniture, or whatever else is handy and walking around the perimeter. He is only 8.5 months old.

Lon is in the pack n' play. Portable crib/play yard. Apparently they are no longer called playpens. Lon enjoys spending some time in there, not all day, but sometimes he wants to play with his toys an be left more or less alone. He likes to see me, but hovering is another story. He is getting some independence. Heavy sigh.

That ended our adventure in Virginia. Saturday afternoon we got on a flight and went back to Seattle. The flight was great. No problems. The lady sitting in front of me, remembered me from the zoo. I talked to her in line. She was nice. She remembered Lon, the beautiful baby boy getting a lunch at the zoo. Remember the line from Desiderata? if at all possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. I try to live by that, so far it seems to work.

The rest of the first week

When we arrived back in DC, after the sunset crossing of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, we stayed at Karen's house in Arlington. The next morning, My mother and I took Grandmother to get her cataract removed, leaving Lon in the capable hands of his father!
They both survived very well. After the successful surgery, Mom went back to work and we took Grandmother home to rest in her own bed.
Thursday, I took Grandmother to the doctor for her post op check up, again, leaving Mark and Lon to survive on their own. Again, they proved up to the task.
On Firday, Mark and I got a private tour of the capital. Given by Lon's Grandmother!

Lon in the Capital Building

The tiles that are in the background were made by Minton. The English company. I love those tiles! Lon is eating his pass. When you get a tour you have to wear a badge. Lon ate most of his.

Lon and his pre-eaten pass

Lon is being pushed around the capital by his Grandmother.

The capital is being restored. The work looks painstaking. But it is so beautiful when it is done.

Lon is statuary hall, in front of one of Washington State's Statue. Even though you can only see the top of Lon's little head, he is there!

Lon in an undisclosed location inside the capital

After our great tour, we got to have lunch in the members dining room. VERY cool.

Lon was having a really good time. He had part of a freedom fry! Yep, on the menu there they are still called Freedom Fries. We had a marvelous lunch, expert service and lovely company. After lunch, Mark, Lon and I walked down to the United State's Botanic Garden. It was cold outside, so the inside of a large green house sounded like a really good idea.

The view of Mom's (grandmother's) office

Outside the Botanic Garden. Yes, it is really cold outside!

Inside the Botanic Garden

The Botanic Garden was Lon's first Smithsonian. I think Mark liked the gardens too, they were pretty, they were warm and there was no gift shop! There are lots of fun things for kids, so when Lon gets older we will take him back. They have things to sniff, things to touch, it is all in the west section of the building. They have a Children's garden, but it was closed for the season. After our tour of the gardens, Mark and I headed back to my sister's house. The next day Mark had to return to Seattle. Karen's house is so close to Reagan Airport even I could figure out how to get there. I can now even give directions on how to get there! It was hard to see Mark leave. I know we were going to miss him. And we did, even though the next week was busy for us! More on that in the next post!

If It Is Monday We Must Be Going To Connecticut!

On Monday morning, we waved goodbye to my mother as she went to work, started loading up the jeep with our overnight stuff and snacks. Lon did not have a clue on what awaited him. Mark and I thought that since we were so close it would be nice to take a drive up to Connecticut and see his parents. Lon should meet his Grandfather! So off we went. I moved the front passenger seat of the jeep as far forward as it would go and Lon and I sat in the back seat and Mark drove. It was very comfortable. We took I-95 up. Mark thought we would avoid the George Washington Bridge in New York City and go up farther north to take the Tappan Zee Bridge. He could have been telling me that he was going to take the detour to Mars for all I really understood any of that. We missed the exit to go north and took the George Washington Bridge. It was easy. The traffic we were worried about never materalized. I was sitting in the back gawking at the sights of Manhattan. Even though it was farther south. I have only been to New York City once. I am still in awe that that many people live in one place. I think that more people live in one large apartment complex than live in my hometown!

Lon in his Curious George polar fleece hat. I think we were at a rest stop somewhere in New Jersey. We were on the turnpike.

It took just about 8 hours to get to Mystic from Fredericksburg. That included all our stops on the way. I was thinking about what kind of souveniers I could get for Lon. I get myself a sterling silver charm from everywhere I have ever been. (I am up to 7 bracelets now). I was trying to think of something to get Lon along those same lines. Something small, something that would be cool when he was 12 and 26. hmmm. Then at the rest stop in Maryland, there it was! A smashed penny machine! PERFECT. I still have some of mine from when I was a kid. They are great! Now I will look for smashed penny machines where ever we go! Lon now has smashed pennies from Maryland, New York (New Jersey really) and three from various Smithsonians. We did not get to the shops as Mystic, so next time we will get one from there.

We found our hotel, a Residence Inn in Mystic. It was really nice. Mark was in the office checking in and there was a man walking his 8 month old baby girl bassett hound. He was from Virginia, his company moved him to Conneciticut for 30 days, but he has been there 90 so far. Poor guy. The bassett was a nice tri color girl with polka dots. Super cute girl.

We called Mark's Dad and they came over with dinner. It was really nice, they had us already checked in and when we got up to the room, there were flowers in the room, and some stuff for dinner. Creme brulee in the fridge. Dad and Maureen came over with a yummy beef stew, bread, green beans, wine and coffee. The meal was great. It was even better to see Mark's Dad and Maureen.

Lon with his Grandfather

The three boys

That night we could not find the thermostat for the room, so we were all really cold! It was 8 degrees out side! brrr. We all cuddled up in the bed. That was fun. Lon likes to sleep next to us. I put him in the baby bjorn carrier so that if I fell asleep he would not roll away. He seemed to like that.

The next morning we checked out and went to see Mark's mom down in Niantic.

Lon and Grandma

On Grandma's porch overlooking the pond

We called up Godfather Damian and Uncle Jeffy and we met up with them at the Niantic Diner. Good breakfast place.

Godfather Damian

Lon, Damian and Jeff

After a wonderful breakfast we went to the beach called Hole in the Wall. It was seriously cold. still. We took Lon to the Pacific, so we wanted to take him to the Atlantic also. See previous post for the Pacific photo.

Lon at the Atlantic!

Grandma, Uncle Eric, Lon and Mommy, and Daddy.

Uncle Jeff was taking the photo.

After our Atlantic photo session, we went and warmed up back at Grandma's house. Then we were off, back to Fredericksburg.

Lon started to hate the car on the way back. At one rest stop he grabbed the door jam of the car not wanting to go back in the car! Poor little guy. He is just now starting to get used to the fact that every time he goes into the car he is not going to be spending 8 hours in the car!

We took a scenic detour on the way home, down through Delaware and over the Chesapeke Bay Bridge. We hit the bridge just at sunset. It was so pretty. The pictures do not do it justice!

It was a good trip to Connecticut. We all enjoyed ourselves. We made it back to Karen's house before my mother got off work. We stayed at Karen's house that night.

more on our trip as the week goes on. Should I put up more pictures? I am not sure. I have TONS of everything...

Miss Ingrid's Baptism

The next morning, Sunday, My mother, Grandmother, Mark, Lon and I treked back into DC to meet up with the rest of the family for Miss Ingrid's special day. We arrived about noon. The Baptism was scheduled in Georgetown's Holy Trinity Church for 2:45. We got everyone assembled, had a snack and off we all went! It was cold and windy. We followed Kent across the Key (as in Francis Scott) Bridge. That is really convienent. Drops you right from the GW parkway into Georgetown. We found parking and walked over to the church. IT WAS SERIOUSLY COLD AND WINDY! brrr. We wrapped Lon up in my mother's pashmina so he would stay warm. It was only a couple of blocks we walked. No big deal.



















Some of the interior of Holy Trinity. It is a very pretty Historic Church. The Baptism was just that . Seven families had their children baptized in an afternoon ceramony. I have to say that Ingrid had the only custom gown. There are a few times in a girl's life when off the rack just will not do. And her baptism should be one of them.

Miss Ingrid looks at her Aunty Suzy from Mommy's shoulder.

Miss Ingrid is also wearing the heart shaped locket given to her by her Great Grandmother Presken. It is a very nice locket.

A rather blurry picture of Matthew. He is all dressed up just like Daddy. A shirt and tie, with a dark blue suit. He looked very grown up for just turned 3. Matthew was in constant motion before the ceramony. Once the service started he was very well behaved. He is really a very good boy.

My favorite picture of Karen and Miss Ingrid.

I am just going to put up some photos of the ceramony. They were third in line to get Ingrid baptized. No one up until then got out in the aisle to take photos. I figured what was the worst they could do, tell me I have to get back in the pew? After I took a bunch of photos of Ingrid getting baptized, the other families went out into the aisle to take photos also. That is me, such a trend setter.

Miss Ingrid is now a member of th Catholic Church!

I am now going to put up some photos of the family. It was so nice we could all be together for this.

Miss Ingrid, Her parents and her God parents.

Miss Ingrid and her family

After the ceramony we all went back to Karen's home and had a lovely dinner! It was great. Roast pork stuffed with dried fruit, sauted red cabbage, spatzel, roasted asperagus and assorted grilled squashes. For dessert we had assorted pastries and a real *girly* cake. It was a white chocolate cake, filled with cream and raspberries, with lady fingers on the edge. All Karen told them was she wanted a real girly type cake. It was a great cake!

MMmm cake.....

We all had a great day. It was so much fun. I am glad Mark, Lon and I were there.