Jonathan's Biggest Fans

We were treated to a stream of family and friends after Jonny was born. It was so much fun! I definitely needed the help and appreciated the company. We had my mom and Ellie for a week, Matt's parents for a few weeks, his sister for a weekend, my dad for a long weekend, and my best friend Emily for a long weekend. This boy is LOVED.

WE LOVE YOU, JONNY BOY!

Welcome to the World, Baby Boy!



Well, he's here and we are IN LOVE. Life with a newborn is no picnic, but with a face like that, even during those first few weeks, it was hard to stay down for long (even if I was running on 4 hours of sleep). At two months he's doing much better with sleeping and napping, but my world is still consumed with feeding, baby talk, diapers, cuddles, and exorbitant amounts of spit up. He is growing and changing every day and I feel so blessed to have a front row seat.

Jonathan was born on at 3:10 pm. I had been having stronger, more regular contractions all week, and on Thursday they were starting to hurt. So of course we downloaded our contraction timer app--hoping to be checked in to the hospital before dinner. Matt didn't want to go to work in the morning, and I was ready for this baby get out! But no such luck; the contractions died down, and we went to bed. Matt had a restful night's sleep. I, on the other hand, lay awake all night breathing through contractions and fervently timing them so that we could get the show on the road the second they had been 5 minutes apart for an hour.

We were checked in to the hospital around 6 am. The nurse was surprised at how fast and strong my contractions were coming . . . that made two of us. I have to say that my three hours of real labor before the epidural were intense and excruciating and I don't know how anyone could survive natural childbirth. I have so much respect for those women, but I'm an epidural girl. All the way.

Post-epidural labor was great. I ate orange popsicles, took naps, and enjoyed time with Matt. We were so grateful that he could take the weekend off. I couldn't have done it without him. I was nervous, terrified actually, but so excited to finally meet our little boy! The most uncomfortable thing was itchy arms and face (weird epidural side effect) and severe hunger. Of course once I started pushing it was a different story, but you don't want the details on that. Let's just say that after 1.5 hours of pushing, there was a baby! And he was mine! It was so surreal. They placed him on my chest and I was overwhelmed by the love and protectiveness that I immediately felt. And don't even get me started on the emotions of seeing Matt holding him for the first time. Watching my husband become a father was one of the most perfect moments of my life. I have never been so happy and grateful! Thus begins our life as "Scott, party of three."

Remember that time when we went to DC?

Our spring break to trip to the DC area was amazing, and this little post will not to do it justice. But this was months ago and my blog life needs to move on! So here is a quick recap of the rest of our last "pre-baby hurrah."

On our way out to Antietam we stopped for a quick run through of the famous Air and Space museum. Matt was in heaven! 

Bloody Row at the battle of Antietam. The history of these Civil War sites is sobering--we were never really sure how to pose for these pictures. It felt strange to smile in a place where such horrible things had happened. This was a fun day though! We met up with a couple of Houston friends who just happened to be in the area, and Matt played "tour guide"as he explained some key points of the battle.

After Antietam we said goodbye to our friends and drove to Gettysburg. The next day we got an early start and joined the masses of retirees for a morning tour of this enormous battlefield. To be perfectly honest I think I would have been a little bored spending so much time out there if Matt hadn't suggested I read Killer Angels before the trip. It is a historically accurate account of the Battle of Gettysburg, but it reads like a novel. Reading the book helped me to visualize and understand the complexities of the battle, but it also brought the names to life and made the experience much more personable. I highly recommend it!

 That afternoon we drove to Baltimore and enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the wharf after a delicious dinner in Little Italy.

We spent the next morning exploring the city . . .

 . . . and then spent a few hours driving along the Chesapeake Scenic Byway. This drive was something I really wanted to do and Matt was a good sport to agree to more time in the car. I had envisioned a waterfront drive along the bay, but it ended up being mostly farms and fields with a beautiful beach at the end. The landscape was gorgeous though, and I even saw a bald eagle sitting in one of the fields! So I'd say it was definitely worth it.

After Baltimore we drove back to DC and we spent our last couple of days running around the city and seeing as much as we could!

Library of Congress

Capitol Building

US Botanical Gardens 

Symphony Concert

Ford Theatre

We also went to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and did a quick run-through of the National Gallery of Art. This was the perfect trip for us and we really tried to appreciate the luxury of doing whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, knowing that once the baby comes things will be much more complicated!

From "Miss" to "Mom"

(This picture was taken a month ago . . . my stomach is twice that size now)

Friday was the last day of school and my last day of teaching. I feel so lucky and grateful to be able to stay home with our little guy next year! 

The past three years of teaching have been a serious roller coaster. My two years at Taylor have been good ones overall, but any teacher (high school teachers in particular) knows that teaching is a love/hate kind of job. I love all of my students . . . I don't always like them. And I'll be honest, sometimes I may have hated them just a little bit. At my lowest moments I would go home and vent in frustration to Matt--"I'm tired of investing so much time and energy into kids who just don't care! The apathy is killing me!" And then I would get a note from a student (this just happened on Friday) telling me how much they really do care and that they are grateful for me, thanking me for caring so much about them. Ups and downs people!

So, here are a few things I'll miss, a few things I won't miss, and a few things I have learned.

I will miss . . .
- Having an excuse to geek out over things like figurative language for six hours a day (nerd alert).
- The occasional student admitting that what we're learning is actually pretty cool.
- All of the amazing teachers I've been blessed to work with.
- Standing in the hall to welcome current students and say hi to past students as they walk by.

I won't miss . . .
- Telling the boys to pull their pants up, turn their pornographic t-shirts inside out, and fold over their drug socks.
- Excessive eye rolling and dramatic sighs from the girls.
- All of the whining about assignments and classwork. ("Miiiiisssss why you always have us be doin' too much?")
- Grading persuasive essays and "short answer responses." Adios STAAR!!

I have learned . . .
- How to pretend like I have super hearing powers and have heard an entire conversation even if I only caught a couple of words.
- A lot of new words and phrases (including, but not limited to "finna," "turn up," "dip," and "roachin").
- To master my death stare.
- Patience. Still working on this one, but I've gotten better (example: A couple of weeks ago, after a month of reading Fahrenheit 451, someone answered "Julius Caesar" when I asked who the protagonist of the novel was. Patience. Lots of deep breaths.)

On to my new job! Only a couple more months before I'm a full time mom. I can't wait :)

Washington DC Part 2

Sunday: We caught an early church meeting, then went to lunch at Ben's Chili Bowl--the kind of famous place that's been there forever and is covered in pictures that boast of all the celebrities who have eaten there. I was so excited, as you can tell by the picture. I'll blame my chili dog enthusiasm on the baby . . . But seriously, they are famous for dumping delicious chili on delicious meat. What's not to like?

The National Archives was next, and was one of the many times on this trip when I thanked my lucky stars that weren't there in the summer. It was already so crowded! Lots of those "read every sign and then stand and talk about it with my family while people are waiting for me to move" types. Luckily Matt and I are good at weaving through the masses, so we saw the popular exhibits first--Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Magna Carta, then moved on to the other rooms. Definitely a must-see if you're visiting the area. And can I just say, there is no way that National Treasure's ancient document heist could ever happen? No way. There were security guards everywhere.

The Air and Space Museum was Matt's must-see Smithsonian. I wasn't quite as excited for it, but my low expectations meant that I was pleasantly surprised! There were lots of planes, rockets, and space shuttle type things that I didn't know much about. But most importantly, there were really good informative displays that actually taught you what everything was. I especially liked learning about the Wright Brothers and seeing one of Amelia Earhart's planes. Matt was very impressed by the space command modules from the Apollo missions, and the Messerschmit ME62 of course.

The coolness of our dinner locale requires a little back story. Our ward at church has a weekly tutoring program that Matt and I participate in. This year we were assigned to tutor some kids who just moved here from Africa a little over a year ago. They are from Eritrea, which is a tiny country on the eastern side, located right next to Ethiopia. So imagine my excitement when I find that one of the top restaurants on Yelp was an authentic Eritrean place not too far from the National Mall! We hailed a cab and rushed over there to make it before they closed. The food was delicious, and it was so fun to come home and tell the kids about what we ate. As far as I'm concerned, there's no better way to learn about a different culture than with a good meal.

Washington DC Part 1

Matt and I have been so lucky to have our spring breaks line up two years in a row! Last year we went on an awesome road trip; this year we decided to splurge a bit and go to Washington DC for the week. Since this was our last big trip without a carseat in tow, we decided to go all out and make the most of it. We ran around like crazy and saw as much as we possibly could! It was a little tiring but still relaxing enough to feel like vacation.

The trip kind of fell into four parts I'll be breaking it up into multiple posts so I have room to give a little more detail and avoid overloading you with pictures . . . 

Part 1 would be our first two days in DC. We started out early each morning and made very good use of our metro cards to see the tourist sights but still find the good local places to eat and explore (You'll notice through these posts that the food was a highlight for me--all of my "food pictures" have turned into a running joke at our house).

Natural History Museum--our first Smithsonian of the trip! Man, this place was impressive. They had everything here, from mummies to aquariums to dinosaur bones. I imagine it gets pretty packed here in the summer, there were lots of kids and families, but I would say its worth it.

National Museum of American History. You guys. I was so excited for this one. (Nerd alert) Julia Child's kitchen is on display here!! We also saw some other cool stuff like the flag Francis Scott Keys saw as he composed our national anthem, a great exhibit on the presidents and first ladies, Dorothy's ruby slippers, an original bar from a Civil Rights sit in, the original Sesame Street puppets, and the first Apple computer. Pretty random, huh? We loved this museum just for that reason.

After the museums we hopped on the metro and made our way to Eastern Market. I had read about this place online and was excited to go on a Saturday when all of the vendors and stands were set up. We found an amazing El Salvadorian restaurant here--Tortilla Cafe.

We finished up the afternoon walking around the National Mall to see the monuments and memorials: Jefferson, Washington, WWII, Lincoln, Korea, and Vietnam. We enjoyed the beautiful weather and loved watching the sunset on the Potomac. Those memorials are so beautiful all lit up at night!

Christmas!!!!

(Note: I wrote this a couple of months ago and forgot to post it . . . better late than never?)

Looks like my blog has fallen to the sad state of blog disrepair which entails only posting for holidays and major events. Sad. In my head I want to be the kind of blogger who finds randomly interesting things to post about regularly--you know, the everyday kind of stuff you would normally forget. Oh well. On to Christmas!

I love Christmas.  Everything about it. This Christmas was no exception! We spent a couple of weeks in Utah being spoiled by the Scotts with lots of good food, good company, movies, and adventures. We saw an exhibit of the Dead Sea scrolls, Olympic Speed Skating trials, went sledding, made a quilt (Sarah), watched about 2 million hours of football (Matt), finished 2 books during said football watching (Sarah), got together with old friends, spent some time with extended family, saw Christmas lights on Temple Square, went to Elf the Musical . . . it was quite a party! We are so grateful for them and always look forward to these holiday reunions.