Ahoy, Matey!

Yes, today is the national Talk like a Pirate day, but it is also the birthday of someone who is such a wonderful person and so very dear to my heart :) Today is Will's 30th birthday!!! He is not overly thrilled about this, so I feel the need to tease him a little bit (and yes, I am more than fine with him returning the favor when I hit 30). Well, not so much tease him but make sure we has a worthy celebration; not only for the milestone he has reached but also for all that he does for Colin and I. Will takes such good of us and is so selfless when it comes to our family. He shows me why I love him everyday, even when he is being a bit of a bother :) I love you honey!

To celebrate Will's birthday I planned a week+ of celebrating!! I know, he is spoiled, he gets even more than a week...:) I tried to make sure that we did something (even if it was small) each day for his birthday. We started celebrating on Saturday (12th) by going to a nice dinner with Wendy and Eric. They took us to Maggiano's Little Italy...it was wonderful! The food was delicious! I went with Eric's recommendation (mushroom ravioli) and just loved it! We also got a nice bottle of Merlot...plus a few glasses of Chianti! Just wonderful! Throughout the rest of the week, I have made a few of Will's favorite desserts and he has had a home cooked meal each night (chosen from a list of his favorite dishes). He usually gets home cooked meals, but I made dishes that I have never made that were his favorites. I even got a recipe from Liz for Will's favorite meal, spaghetti pie. I have not cooked that yet, so hopefully it will taste like the way his mom made it!

Well, you will have to come back later this week to hear about today and tomorrow...but today should be a lot of fun...but it wouldn't hurt to say a little prayer that there are no mishaps or injuries :)

I love you honey and I hope that you have a wonderful day! Happy birthday!!!!

My adorable baby!!

Since I have not posted anything lately, I thought I would share some recent pictures of my favorite little guy...Isn't he so adorable?!?!?

This one is at Will's gig...Colin was in need of a nap by the end of it!

His daddy was playing with his hair before I gave him a trim.

Colin loves to color! He has avoided the walls so far...
Trying to drum on his tambourine...the band does need a drummer :)
Such a happy boy!
Playing with mommy's sunglasses and yes bunny is still around...
I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!!!

All Dressed Up

Saturday Evening Will took me to Melting Pot to celebrate our anniversary. We both love this restaurant and had a wonderful time! If you have not tried it, I highly recommend it! For the west coast friends/family, there is one in the Portland area. It is a fondue restaurant...from what I hear this type of restaurant was popular in the 60's and 70's. The Melting Pot actually first opened in 1975 - a little history for you! Anyway, you get 4 courses; a cheese fondue, a salad, an entree, and a dessert. We chose traditional swiss cheese (they give you apples, bread, vegies, etc to dip into the cheese). We each got our own salad and then we got an entree that included an assortment of meats and stuffed pasta shells - all delicious! For dessert we decided on the yin yang (which is white chocolate and dark chocolate). With dessert you get marshmallows, brownies, bananas, strawberries, rice krispy treats, etc to dip in the chocolate. This is definitely Will's favorite course and I actually really liked it a lot! We also splurged and ordered Chianti, which we both love! Just a wonderful dinner.

On our way home there was a downpour! I was really excited actually...weird I know. We got drenched just walking from the car to our place. I loved it!!!

Just wanted to post some pictures of us all dressed up! I got to wear a dress I bought before I was 21 that I never ended up wearing! It fit a little differently then when I bought it, but it still fit!! Plus, I finally got to wear it!

Introducing the Band!!!

For those of you who do not know, Will has been playing in a band for the past couple of months. The other members are John and Lloyd, two guys that work at the same company as me. Will has been having a lot of fun with it. He played the trumpet and drums in college but decided to try a new instrument, the bass guitar. It amazes me how quick he is picking it up. He sounds terrific!


On Saturday, Will's band had a gig playing at a local youth football fundraiser. They did wonderfully! Like all performances they learned a few things that they need to work on...a few kinks to work out, but overall, I think they did amazing! Especially for only playing together for a few months and this being their second gig. I am learning to recognize the bass guitar (Will) from the other two guitars...I was very excited to recognize Will's parts of the songs! I am so proud of you honey! So, here are some pictures from that day...They are currently still working on a name!

Billy Goat Trail

On Friday morning, Will and I headed towards Maryland to go hiking at Billy Goat Trail. This is a trail that Will has hiked many times since his childhood and is a place that is very special to him. We had such a great time! The trail is not a simple straightforward path. It involves quite a few rocks you must climb over and one in particular that is very intimidating with its straight down view of the water below! I think I impressed Will, not that he expected me to suck at hiking, but he hasn't really had the chance to see my athletic side. It is kind of nice to be around someone who doesn't know me from my school days and doesn't automatically think "tomboy" when they think of me! We were both pretty tired afterwards. Both of us were ready for a nap, which after a nice lunch out and before getting Colin we did lay down for 30 minutes or so. We were dreading Saturday thinking we were going to be really sore, but it wasn't so bad. The worst for me was my bad knee was hurting a little today, but it is tolerable.

The trail was beautiful and I think that this was a great way for us to spend our day off together. We were able to talk about our current plans, our childhoods and just joke around and have fun together. I loved it! Thank you Will for a wonderful day! It was perfect! I cannot wait until the next visit to Billy Goat Gruff...I mean Trail!

Almost Two Years!!!

In a few days my honey and I will be celebrating 2 wonderful years of marriage! It has been a busy two years; we have become parents, started new jobs, both started school (again), and have been making steps towards creating a nice life for us here in Virginia. We have also been learning together as parents, friends and partners. He is my best friend and my match! I love you honey!!

Last year, I surprised Will with a couples massage (which we are both a big fan of), then we went to a local cafe for some coffee (fancy coffee is a treat for both of us) and then had a nice lunch at a restaurant neither one of us had been to. This year we had plans to go to Hershey Park (PA) for some fun, but there has been a lot going on this summer so we decided we would prefer to stay home.


We both took off Friday, so will have a day all to ourselves! We are going hiking!! We have been wanting to go hiking at Billy Goat Trail for quite some time. That is a favorite haunt from Will's childhood and we have not had the chance to go since we have moved here. I am very excited! I love to hike and I love seeing Will when he is really excited about sharing something that is a part of him with me!

For our actual anniversary we have a few things planned. During the day Will's band will be playing at a fundraiser for a local boys sports team. Yay!!!! I am so excited to take Colin and go support my hubby! My sexy rock star!!! Afterwards, we got a babysitter and Will is taking me to Melting Pot!!! Will has been wanting to take me there since we started dating. I went there recently with some ladies from work and I think it is a place that Will and I will really enjoy going together. I am so excited!! Our anniversary happens to be during DC Restaurant week, so participating restaurants (Melting Pot being one of them) offer really good deals in the DC area! Bonus!

We actually have been trying to follow the traditional gifts for our anniversaries. So, for our first year we gave paper. My sweetie bought me two copies of Little Women. When the book was originally published it was printed in two parts. Will thought he was getting both parts, but one of them actually is the whole book (another bonus)! The book that is the first part was printed just a couple years after the original publishing date (1868) and the other (whole book) was printed in 1880. The oldest one actually has an inscription from the person who originally bought it, it was a Christmas gift - I love it!!! This is my favorite book and I love old books, so this was perfect! Will always gets the perfect gifts!! For Will, I started a journal the day we got married and wrote in it throughout the first year without him knowing. After I gave it to him and he was able to read it, I started writing in it again and will do so until the pages are filled up. I actually started one for Colin as well and hope to give it to him for his birthday (probably 16th or 18th).

The traditional gift for the second anniversary is cotton, so we will see what we come up with!!

I am also excited to open our bottle of wine from North Carolina. When we were on our honeymoon we bought it and we waited until our year anniversary to open it. Cake does not really get me excited so I thought this would be different and fun! We both really liked it, so each time we go to NC we try to buy a bottle for our next anniversary.

Will - here's to a lifetime of happiness! Thank you for all that you do. I thank God every day that our life choices led us both to Barnes & Nobles, so we could meet, become friends, and then man and wife! I love you!

Na na na na na....BATMAN!!!

Just wanted to share some recent pictures of Colin wearing his "big boy" pajamas. Thank you mom! The pjs are so cute! Colin seemed to really like them, I think he liked the bright orange and big picture of batman. Colin has yet to learn who Batman is, but I am sure his daddy is very excited for that lesson...and Colin will have all the pajamas to match the characters thanks to the grandparents!


Colin was trying to figure out how to take the pajamas off. He likes to strip his clothes off...great phase! I don't think he is as bad as Uncle Greggie was though...Sorry Greg! The pictures below are his attempts, which he was able to accomplish last night. Will and I went into Colin's room last night to discover him sitting up (not sleeping) with his arms out of the sleeves and the neck of his pjs around his neck and under one of his arms. He was close!

Colin is also becoming very talkative! Well, he has been for a while but now he sounds more like he is carrying an actual conversation. His newer words are "cheese", "big jet" (from Little Einsteins), and he is still working on "please", that word always seems to make him giggle.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Let the Games Begin!

Football Season!!!!



Our household is very excited for football season to start! Will has been talking about it for months! I mean, this is the reason we have cable! Will is a Redskin fan (number 2 team is Tampa) and has crossed me over from a Cowboy fan (I know - how can that be??)... Well time away from the sport (I went 6 years without cable), the fact that the team (Redskins) is in the area I live in (being from Oregon you don't have that & I have always hated the Seahawks - sorry Mel), and TO helped a bit too. I don't like any of the Cowboy players (sorry dad) and I love Randle El!!!

I was a little nervous when talk of Michael Vick coming to the Skins was going around. I would not be a fan of him, but would still want to cheer for the team...dilemna...well one that did not happen! Don't get me wrong, I know Vick served his time and there are people playing in the NFL have done things just as bad if not worse that are still playing, but I don't want him on my team. He can go play for the Seahawks!

So you know what we will be doing on Sunday and Monday nights! Drinking beers, eating "football food" and screaming our heads off!!! Colin loves to growl so I am sure that his Daddy can teach him what teams to growl at.

Hopefully we will be able to go to a few of the games. So far we have made it to two (Will has been to 3). While I was pregnant Will took me to see the Redskins play the Steelers. It was fun to watch. I enjoyed seeing Troy Polamalu since he went to high school near where I am from and I think he is an exceptionally good player with a great attitude. After Colin was born, we also went to see the big rival game (Cowboys vs Redskins). This was very exciting for me since I did grow up a big Cowboy fan and always wanted to see them play.

Seeing Blue

On Saturday, some friends of mine and I drove to Pennsylvania for another friend's baby shower. We had a lot of fun but it was definitely a long day. I was picked up around 7:30 AM and got home after 11:00 PM. The shower was at a really nice club (originally a men's club) in downtown Lancaster. The place was beautiful and the food was great! The mother-to-be was beautiful in her white dress and blue toenails :) She is having a boy, so everyone was supposed to wear blue. After gifts and lunch the shower was over but we were staying for dinner at her parents' home as well, so we had some free-time beforehand. We ventured to the cute little boutiques in the downtown area and also the farmer's market. We got to the farmer's market as it was closing down, but I had enough time to buy some fresh tea ingredients and I even bought a cute little steeper (I think it is called a tea ball infuser) from The Herb Shop. The owner was very nice and loved hearing about Oregon.

I thought the dessert setting was so cute, I had to take a picture. Can you guess what the baby's name will be??

So, seeing all the baby clothes and gifts makes me want to have another one now!!! We have been planning on another one but not for a few years...which is probably a good idea because I am enjoying the amount of sleep Colin lets us have now compared to a few months ago. Yeah, I guess I am not quite ready to go back to that yet, but babies are sooo cute!

...Will you can breathe now :)

Big Brother Birthday Wishes

Now it is time to wish a 'Happy Birthday' to my other brother, Willie. He is the oldest of us three, so I will be nice and not say how old he is turning, well I do not think he will care...29! Not quite the big hump, but next year I can tease him relentlessly and then in a few years he can return the torment! Now what to say about Willie??? My brother is a very interesting character. He always keeps you on your toes in your conversations with him. You never know what direction he will go with the conversation; when he will choose to argue with you or throw out a totally random joke! I adore my brother and all of his crazy rants that he goes on about, especially the most recent, zombies! A few years back I bought him the book, The Zombie Survival Guide (located in the humor section, yes it really was Willie). Both of my brothers are not huge fans of reading, unlike me, but when I was poor and working at Barnes & Noble that is what everyone got (you got to love employee discounts)! Anyway, Willie is reading parts of the book and loves to share the information with me. It is hilarious!! I think that he has a bit of a conspiracy theorist in him!

I am hoping to convince Willie to come out for a visit (hint, hint). Poor Colin has yet to meet his other west coast uncle. I know that like Uncle Greggie, Colin will adore Willie. For one, Colin is amazed by tall people. He just stares, so if you are a taller person you already got it made! I just need to get him on a plane!!! Or Will and I will just have to hurry our plans to visit Oregon. Most likely the latter (I am pretty sure that I am the only person in my family that enjoys flying. I think Willie is the winner for being the one to dislike it the most)!

Willie - Happy Birthday!!! I love you and miss you! Cannot wait for you to finally meet Colin...there are a lot of Civil War sites to see in Virginia (hint, hint)! Hope you have a great day! The next time I am home I will treat you to a Bob's Deli sandwich!! I miss that place, please do not tell me if it has closed! There are so many food joints that I miss there and all of them are on my list of places to go when I visit! I cannot believe that it has been almost 2 years since I have seen you :(