Sunday, April 18, 2010

Babymoon Getaway









































































































So Ryan and I had been planning on taking a trip during March for some time. We were originally thinking somewhere warm and tropical. However after finding little Holland would be joining us soon we decided our ‘babymoon” plans were going to be a little different. Ryan had not been to Washington DC since he was a kid and since we could fly there straight from DFW with our ticket vouchers we had earned, it was decided that that was the place to visit. As a side note, I knew it would be YEARS before we could take a small child somewhere like that for a vacation so I knew we better jump on the opportunity! Our trip began with flying into DC, riding in this cool car to our hotel, and going to Chinatown for dinner at a well-known pizzeria. Anyone who knows me knows I love pizza- it was awesome! It was in a very crazy part of town and there were so many people milling around. As we were leaving the pizza place it was freezing cold and snowing, and I have to admit I wondered for a few minutes as we walked to the subway with the snow blowing on our faces if we had lost our minds in deciding to come there. Now that I am a deep southern girl I am just not made for wind and snow! The next day it was decided to satisfy our inner geekness and go to the Smithsonian museums. I admit I LOVE history. Ryan will admit that he LOVES science. So of course I chose the museum of American history and Ryan wanted to go see the dinosaurs etc. at a different museum. Ryan was very patient with me as I would have been happy to have read every single poster and watch every video about the history of our country. I tried to be patient with all of his stuff but I admit he was the better person in this situation. We also squeezed in an IMAX movie at the museum which gave us a much needed sit down break. That night we went out to dinner at a steakhouse at the W Hotel. It was right downtown and very cool. As a side note I was paranoid about being cold after our first day experience that I ended up wearing so many layers that I was hot the rest of the trip! The next morning we got up really early because my wonderful friend Ashley had gotten us tickets to go in the White House. I had never done this before so I was pumped about it. She had warned us that the tour would be really quick and would only last a few minutes. After going through security we were walking to the house’s entrance when I noticed the famous first dog, Bo. He was just running around on the south lawn with no one around. We made it into the house and started our tour. However instead of the ten or fifteen minute tour we expected, we ended up being trapped in the white house for over an hour because some lady had passed out in front of us! So Ryan and I hung out with the secret service guys while the ambulance, etc. showed up. Quickly after that we went next door to Old Ebbit Grill for brunch. The restaurant is right beside the White House and presidents as far back as Teddy Roosevelt have eaten there. After brunch we made our rounds to all of the big monuments, etc. I was especially excited to go to the World War II memorial since it wasn’t there the last time I went. My feet were about ready to fall off by the end of the day. Before we knew it, it was time to eat again. This night we ventured into Georgetown to eat at Filomenia. This was one of the neatest places I have ever been to eat. It was an authentic Italian restaurant. When you first walked in you saw an old lady hand rolling all of the pasta that they were serving. When we sat down the front and back of the menu was covered with names of famous people that had eaten there. I saw everyone’s names from presidents to Julia Roberts to Eric Clapton. The food was amazing! We started off with fried rice balls that had been featured in The Godfather movie and then I ordered the seafood cannelloni. The funniest thing about it was that the pasta was black…a little different looking but delicious! We then proceeded to talk about how weren’t hungry but we still ordered the Oreo cheesecake and ate the whole thing! Overall one of the best dinners ever! The next day was Saturday and our last full day in DC. We decided to hit up a couple more museums (Holocaust and Air and Space) and walk around the town a little. Ryan also had to find his important souvenir- space ice cream. For some reason he loves that stuff so we had to make a stop at the Air and Space museum gift shop. The highlight of the day was getting a chili dog from a vendor on the street. I had never had a hotdog with chili and it was great! Yum! Finally we decided to finish off our babymoon with a relaxing dinner in the hotel- I got Subway and Ryan got Chipotle. As I write this I realize that it sounds like all we did was eat. At least we did a bunch of walking to burn it off! All in all it was a great trip and a wonderful break for both of us from the stresses of school/work. Can’t wait to one day go back with baby Holland!

The Big News


















Okay, anyone who loves us enough to read our blog already probably knows our big news. We are having a baby! People kept asking me when I would blog about it so finally here it is. To make a long story short Ryan and I found out this exciting news a few days before we went home for Christmas. I actually found this out in the wee hours of the morning while Ryan was on overnight call. I knew I needed to think of some way to tell him so after school I stopped by Old Navy to try to find an appropriate outfit to spread the good news. After selecting the ‘My First Christmas” attire I hurried home and stuck it in his stocking for when he woke up. Finally he arose and I told him that Santa had made an early stop. He was ecstatic! And I can honestly say that his excitement if anything has just grown more and more. I don’t know if there has ever been anyone more thrilled than Ryan to get to be a dad. Of course I informed him that we needed to go out to eat to celebrate so I wouldn’t have to cook so we went to Chilies for fajitas and then stopped at Barnes and Noble for a baby name book. We decided to stay with the “My 1st Christmas” theme and wrapped up an outfit for each of the grandmothers to open. Needless to say they were shocked and thrilled. This past year has been such a crazy roller coaster with Ryan matching and the move and now a new baby. Craziness! Before I knew it, it was time to find out what we were having. Ryan and I had always promised ourselves that we would never find out and it would be a surprise. However five minutes after telling our parents they had pretty much convinced us that we needed to reconsider that plan. The day we found out Ryan couldn’t get off work but luckily Marianne was in town and went with me. My doctor was sweet to give us an extra ultrasound so we could go ahead and find out and not have to wait any longer. When she said “boy!” I couldn’t wait to tell Ryan. Once again I wanted to tell him someway special so I drug Marianne to the baby store to look for inspiration. When we found baby blue medical scrubs for size 0 to 6 months I knew that I had to get them. We wrapped them up in a bag with pink and blue paper for Ryan to open when he got home. Needless to say his excitement somehow managed to grow even more! He can’t wait to meet his son. I would have been thrilled with a boy or a girl but of course having an older brother myself I was so happy to be blessed with a boy. Hopefully he will watch over and protect all the other little Hollands to come! I feel doubly blessed to have such an amazing husband to share this experience with. Ryan- thanks for putting up with my 5+ months of sickness and everything else I have put you through so far! We are both so thrilled and excited and feel incredibly blessed by this gift from God. It’s amazing how much you can love someone you have never even met. Baby Holland- we can’t wait till august to meet you!