26 Weeks - Presents, Presidents, and a Pick-Pocket

12/22/12

Baby Bachtel had her first trip to the other side of the country this week.  (Well I guess it’s her second trip if you count the Bahamas, but I count that as her first trip OUT of the country).  I digress………..Anyhoo, I was excited for the trip, but dreading the flight.  Turns out, the flight out there wasn’t so bad.  I was mostly comfortable and didn’t have much swelling except for my fingers.  Sadly, it forced me to take my wedding rings off, and since then that’s where they have stayed.

    

All in all, we had a great trip and got to visit with family that we hadn’t seen in ages.  It was wonderful!  Our adorable nephew was impressed by my burgeoning belly and seemed to understand that there was a baby inside my belly button.   He kept giving the button kisses and saying “baby”.  It was the cutest thing ever!  He also began referring to my husband and I as one person.  We were collectively known as “Uhn-key Em”.  That may have been the cutest thing ever.  It’s a toss-up.

 

Christmas was an all-day affair beginning with a delicious brunch and many breaks between gifts for naps and snacks.  Mainly the breaks were for our nephew, but I was thankful for them too.  Between the flight and time difference, daily naps were a necessity.

For the last few days of our trip, my husband and I branched off on our own to explore Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and then we were off to Washington D.C.   It was a beautiful city with a lot to see in a very short time, which meant a lot of walking for this girl.  A. LOT. OF. WALKING.   And only minimal complaining.  Do you believe that? 

   

Day One:  We saw the Department of Treasury, The White House, and the White House Christmas Tree.  The first two were pretty cool.  Although I thought The White House would be bigger.  Movies really set unreasonable expectations.  And the Christmas Tree………Well, lets just say if you’ve seen a mall Christmas Tree then you’re not missing much.   I also stopped to ask the Secret Service where the closest bathroom was.  They were really nice and pointed us in the right direction.  As we began to walk away we heard one say to the other “I’ve been there before!”  Hahahaha

Day Two:  We had our first experience with the Subway system.  It wasn’t as scary as I had imagined it would be and it was actually pretty neat.   We rode it to the Library of Congress which was beautiful!  We couldn’t believe the architecture and details.   From there, we took a stroll around the Capitol Building and then onto the Air and Space Smithsonian where I watched my husband’s face light up with joy while he drooled over the aviation paraphernalia.  He was like a kid in a candy store.  I loved watching him look at things.  I may not have admitted it that day, but it made all of the walking worth it. 

Day Three:   We started our day at the Lincoln Memorial.  This was by far my favorite monument.  Giant Lincoln is way cooler in person than on the penny.  Then we walked down the reflection ponds to the WWII Memorial where we took our final picture.  Would you like to see it?  I would too.  After our final pose we walked across the street to read the sign on why the Washington Monument was closed.  (In case you’re curious, it’s due to an earthquake back in Aug 2011).  While reading, we saw a shadow appear on the sign and I almost turned around to yell at the shmuck that was way too close for comfort.  Against my better judgment, I decided to be nice and not say anything to him.  Well, lesson learned.   You will for sure get yelled at the next time you’re in my bubble.  We’re pretty certain it was at that moment the guy reached into my husband’s jacket pocket and lifted our camera.  Sad, sad, day.  

It sucks about our camera, but we can replace it.  The pictures can’t be replaced.   Honestly, I’m just mad that I have nothing to show for all of my walking.  Can you tell I didn’t enjoy the walking?  Walking D.C. on a good day is tiring enough.  I did it nearly 7 months pregnant.  I deserve a freaking medal for that one!  J   And so does my husband!  Hypothetically, if I were to have complained at all during the trip, he didn’t say a word.  And he didn’t say anything about the up-teen-million bathroom stops we had to make along the way either.  What a trooper!