Christmas in Michigan 2015

Nothing makes for perfect blog weather like a  blizzard! Rob and I have been enjoying a nice, relaxing and slow day snowed in. So here I am, catching up on a few entries I've been meaning to record!

Rob and I have tried to make a point to take turns spending Christmas with either of our families during the holiday. This year, it was our turn to go to Michigan. It was even more perfect, since we were already relocated to Maryland. We decided to make the alleged 8.5 hour drive (which turned out to be more like 12-13 with stops, traffic delays, and some unanticipated snowfall). Surprisingly, Uriah did amazingly well with the commute and slept most of the way, with no hiccups in nighttime sleep either! 

It was an interesting road trip since we also took Sophie with us! It was fun to be able to bring Sophie on vacation with us ( we were in MI for 10 days). She took turns sleeping in our laps and whining out the window.

We had a nice time in Michigan. It was really great getting to spend some quality time with Mom Taylor. It was a nice, relaxing trip. It was fun having Daryl, Cal and the gang, Monica and her group all get to meet Uriah for the first time. Uriah had just started his separation anxiety phase, so it took him a bit to warm up to everyone, but by the end of the trip, he was more comfortable. He took to Monica right away though! She credits it to FaceTime and Uriah being used to her voice. Aunty Ashley also fed Uriah, and Aunty Karmen and Aunty Cassidy took turns holding Uriah. Cassidy was particularly fond of Uriah, and wanted to carry and hold him as much as she could! I didn't mind, either, having such a doting helper :) 

Aunty Monica!

Cassidy loved her some Uriah! <3

Opening presents with Grandma Taylor

 

Uncle Calvin loved Uriah

These two were holding hands for the LONGEST time. So sweet!!!

While we were in Michigan, we decided to go to the mall to take pictures with Santa! The wait was about an hour, and Uriah was pretty tired, but the waiting rooms were so entertaining! They had fake snow falling from the ceiling, snoopy Christmas videos playing, and Christmas music. By the end of it all, Uriah was so tuckered out!

Ran out of fumes 

This present is delicious!

Aunty Tiff

 The unfortunate part of our trip was that Uriah (along with about 7 other family members!) caught a nasty stomach virus. Uriah woke us up vomiting, and I thought he was just spitting up. An hour later, he was vomiting again, and when I checked on him, his outfit was soaked. I changed him, then started to nurse him, and he started vomiting again! He ended up vomiting 7 times in a 1.5 hour span. We were worried since he is so small and was not able to keep anything down, so we took him to the Emergency Room at Genesys. The doctors seemed pretty unconcerned and chalked it up to a bug that was going around. After waiting a few hours and having them run an x-ray to rule out other more serious conditions, we were on our way home. Uriah was sick a total of about 4 days, each day doing better. Rob and I caught the same bug, though thankfully, we caught it when we had already driven home (we got it the very next day from getting home!) It completely wiped us out. Thankfully, it was gone as quickly as it came. 

My poor baby :(

He looks so sad

and since we don't want to end on a sad note, let's compare crinkle nose grimace and smile pics... LOL
Uriah's been really into this smile lately!!

Olivia Pope Reports: Christmas at the White House!

It is 12:39 a.m. and I am still wired. So here I am finishing the blog that I've been meaning to complete! Also - we are in the middle of a blizzard. Something about a blizzard makes me want to cozy up on the couch with my sleeping dog and work on my blog! So here goes:

Our family was lucky enough to be able to go on a tour of the White House a few weekends ago. We were majorly assisted by Angela's Mom to get our application reviewed, and we were offered to "jump on" to another local family's tour. Normally, tours of the white house take a lot of advance notice (we had to write our senator to request permission, and once processed, complete a background check), but they are particularly busy during Christmas because the White House gets absolutely DECKED OUT with christmas flair!

The tour started at 8am, and we needed to check in to the tour 15 minutes early. On top of that, we needed to meet even earlier with the Hawaii family (who we had never previously met) to coordinate our entry ticket, which they held. So we planned on meeting at 730 a.m. near the Treasury side of the white house. We live about 40 minutes away from D.C. with no traffic, and since we had no idea how traffic would affect our commute, we opted to stay in D.C. within walking distance of the White House. If you haven't had a chance to read the Yelp review I wrote of our hotel, please do so here: 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/harrington-hotel-washington?hrid=1LQoK8fZPBz7SOmIuOvzIQ&utm_campaign=www_biz_share_page_share_review&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

 I venture to say you will find it wickedly delightful. The moral of the story is: it was scary, it was expensive, and we were not murdered despite our fears of the same.

We walked the two blocks to the White House (it really doesn't get much more prime than that!!) decked in our winter gear (it was, after all, 34 degrees while we were walking outside) and made it on time, which is a record for the Taylor family. Everyone knows we generally arrive fashionably late to most occasions. We met our group, then walked through four different guard shacks where we had to have our ID and name verified against their printed list. Our last and final screen involved the same type of screen at the airport. The security was crazy, but totally understandable considering the circumstances. Secret Service was also swarming at every corner, and while they were polite enough, it was still somewhat intimidating!

He said he technically couldn't pose, but allowed me to get his photo - Secret Service. Chillin. With guns and bulletproof vests. This was from our first trip to D.C.

Waiting to start our tour!

Every single room in the White House was decorated with Christmas trees. It was so beautiful, and smelled wonderful. Every room also had different themes. I think the Christmas spirit made the tour that much more special. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to see the White House decorated so elaborately. 

Section dedicated to service members on deployments

Rob sending a Merry Christmas e-mail to deployed troops

Hallway of beautiful hanging snowflakes.
Every state had their own snowflake.

EO! Found em!

 

Fine China from multiple presidents

 

beautiful presidential portraits throughout the white house

The largest room in the white house. It is used for wedding receptions, parties, and even held the bodies of assassinated presidents (I know they said Abraham Lincoln's body was held in this room post mortem)

HUGE, GORGEOUS TREE! Red, white, and blue.

 

My favorite room was decorated like Babes in Toyland!

 

 

GIANT gumball machine

The president is often seen coming down these steps to do state of the union addresses 

The exit...

Which is what everyone sees as the "front" of the white house (see pillars)