Vera’s First stroll on May Day At North Beach Centennial Kick-off!

 The first week and a half with our newborn baby girl Vera has been bliss.  She is adjusting very comfortably to her home with us.  Sean is healing and recovering very well.  The family took Vera out on her first stroll on Saturday, May 1.  It just happened to be the kick-off celebration for the town’s centennial year!
http://www.ci.north-beach.md.us/Pages/NorthBeachMD_News/02A0A8AD-000F8513

LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULER: HAPPY MARDI GRAS 2010

Here’s a brief, but picturesque overview of how and why Mardi Gras is celebrated.

http://www.fineliving.com/fine/cda/article_print/0,1983,FINE_22196_5938916_ARTICLE-DETAIL-PRINT,00.html

THANKSGIVING BLESSINGS

We hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We are happy and feel very blessed to let everyone know that we will be having a baby girl in April 2010!  Sean and baby are doing just fine.  As you see, Duncan has already visited Santa once at the Greenstreet Gardens in Lothian, MD.  We look forward to seeing some of you over the Holidays.  I am planning for Sean’s 40th Birthday in late January to become a Birthday Party/Baby-shower.   

BABYMOON WEEKEND PT2

We did some of the tourist attractions since we were in the downtown area.  I figured these sites would be too tiresome for Duncan and Baby anytime in the near future.  We spent Sunday morning on a leisurely stroll up the street to The White House.  I didn’t even know it was open to  pedestrian traffic again.  Imagine the many couples since the White House beginning in 1792 that have  walked past it in the same fashion we did.  Strangely romantic. 

We checked out the D.C. Madame Toussaud Wax museum, which I have some comment on.  Bring a AAA card and you get 15% discount.  The wax figures are situated and posed a little awkward.  Speculating that they are probably moved to different areas within the museum at times.  The faces representing older persons are more realistic than the younger ones.  The cool part is that there are interactive displays and you can pose with them and touch them any way you want (except on the face).

We also visited Ford’s Theater where President Lincoln was Assassinated on April 14, 1865.  It was our first time inside the theater.  Even though it’s been over a 140 years ago, there is still the spectacle of looking at the scene of a murderous crime (although you are not allowed inside the Presidential box).  The original chair and portrait of George Washington that was there that night can still be seen.

BABYMOON WEEKEND PART 1

Through some incredibly nice piece of luck that happened to land in our laps, we were able to have a night in Washington D.C. at one of the city’s most prestigious hotels at NO CHARGE! 

This is because of a free night from a Holiday Inn we received for a stay there last June ( Thanks Paul, Stephanie & Andie Grace).  We were able to exchange it for this fine hotel. 

So, we made a “Babymoon” weekend out of our stay there.  Shopping for Sean&baby, relaxing, taking in a movie and leaving Duncan at his Grandma Joan ( thanks mom) so we could get some true relaxation before our lives irrevocably change next year with the addition of our new baby.

For those of you who don’t know, Wikipedia defines a “Babymoon” as “A period of time that parents spend bonding with a recently-born baby. More recently the term has come to be used to describe a vacation taken by a couple that is expecting a baby in order to allow the couple to enjoy a final trip together before the many sleepless nights that usually accompany a newborn baby.”

The Willard Hotel is a famous hotel promoted as “The Residence of Presidents” because every President since Franklin Pierce has either slept here or spoken here.  Abraham Lincoln was sneaked in here undercover before his first Inauguration for fear of an assassination attempt in 1861.  Martin Luther King Jr. used the Willard as his D.C. hotel many times and it was here (in the suite I am posing outside) that he was bugged in a compromising situation by the FBI with white female prostitutes.

One of King’s closest friends, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, wrote a book in
1989 in which he talked about King’s obsession with white prostitutes.  King would often use church donations to have drunken sex parties, where he would hire two to three white prostitutes, occasionally beating them brutally. This has also been reported by the FBI agents who monitored King at the Willard Hotel in January 1964.

As sordid as this allegation is, I had to include information about it since we stayed steps away from the suite Dr. King normally used when staying at the Willard.

There are other more notable moments that the hotel is known for; the “Battle Hymn of The Rebublic” was penned here during the beginning of the Civil War.  Many other famous guests include: P. T. Barnum, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, General Tom Thumb, Samuel Morse, the Duke of Windsor, Harry Houdini, Gypsy Rose Lee, Gloria Swanson, Emily Dickinson, Jenny Lind, and Charles Dickens.

We can’t believe that we are almost at the end of our First Trimester!  Sean and baby are doing well.  We want to send some loving thoughts out to J’s Aunt Marilyn who is going in for medical procedures this week.

DUNCAN AND FAMILY OCEAN CITY 2009

We spent a lovely day and night with Duncan’s Grandma Donna, Pappy Mike & Aunt Jessica in Ocean City, MD.  Donna, Sean & other family members have been going to the same place in Ocean City for over 25 years.  This was Duncan and J’s first visit with family at Ocean City.  Thanks Aunt Jessica for winning the plush Cookie Monster toy for Duncan..mmmmmmmmmm

A MAGICAL NIGHT IN GEORGETOWN

We had a magical night out with our friends Corbin& Sam at Filomena’s Restaurant in Washington D.C.   Filomena’s is our favorite Italian restaurant, probably our most favorite restaurant ever.  What’s their secret?  Homemade pasta made daily and rich flavorful sauces with all fresh ingredients. 

Check out their website and go visit:  http://www.filomena.com/

Corbin& Sam have been good friends for sometime(See October 28, 2007 & February 8, 2008 on our archives page), and it was nice to catch-up in a romantic setting on our ever changing lives.  Thanks Cobin &Sam and Good-luck with your future plans.  Thanks Grandma Joan & Granddaddy Willie for babysitting Duncan.

FAMILY VACATION:BUSCHGARDENS,WATERPARK.U.S.A &WILLIAMSBURG

Hi Everyone!  Thanks for all the Birthday Greetings!!  WE just returned from our week stay in Colonial Williamsburg.  We wanted Duncan to experience the fun of the newly opened Sesame Place at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.  So, we purchased a very affordable “bounce pass” online which allows for unlimited access for 7 days to BuschGardens, Colonial Williamsburg and WaterPark U.S.A. which includes parking at all these facilities.

Duncan took his first amusement park rides at the “Fun Forest”. The Sesame Street themed toddler park area at Busch Gardens.  Some he enjoyed, some he cried on, and some he wouldn’t even go near:)  The best part of our week was the “Dine with Elmo” breakfast we had at Busch Gardens.  Duncan was thrilled to have an hour mingling  and dancing with his favorite Sesame Street characters.

MEMORIAL DAY 2009

Duncan at Calvert Marine Musuem Aquarium