Gateway Arch

Probably the most famous, and certainly the most visible landmark of the St. Louis area is Gateway Arch. Any trip to the area wouldn't be complete without a visit. This being the case, we made it our first stop on our trip. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't really willing to cooperate. As you can tell from the picture, the sky was gray, and we were bundled up. From a distance you could barely see the top of the arch. Further dampening the day was the fact that the tram to the top was sold out for the day. We were already planning a second visit as we walked back to the car. Our second trip, later in the week was much better.


The weather was great, and we bought tickets to the top ahead of time. The "pod" that takes you to the top only seats 5 people, and was a bit claustrophobic. Even the viewing area at the top was a bit tight for comfort. I will say the view was amazing, there's nothing like a view from 630' in the air. The view of downtown with Busch Stadium and the Historic Old Courthouse was fantastic.

We're Back!

We got into Portland around 5:30pm yesterday. Won't make that mistake again. Gabe and I could have used a day to recover from our vacation before heading back to work. Guess that's the way our vacations will be now that we've got the little guy.

Flying did not go so well this time around. On the trip to St. Louis, Levi refused to nurse on the airplane. So, he pretty much went from 7am to 7pm without drinking anything! We brought along a few cans of food, which he ate, but I was pretty worried about him not having enough. On the descent into Kansas City he refused to nurse, refused his pacifier (Which he really doesn't take anyway. He mostly likes to chew on it.) and refused to suck his fingers. Therefore, he screamed for quite awhile. After that, I did not want to get back on an airplane for the short flight from Kansas City to St. Louis.

Coming home we were more prepared. For the return trip, I had a bottle ready for him and we also got some apple juice. Things went much better. But he hardly slept so he was pretty cranky. Definitely wasn't the same as flying with a 2 month old who slept the entire time. I think we'll hold off on flying again for a while! It's too exhausting!

Anyway, it was great to see family and explore the St. Louis area. As I type this, Gabe is downloading pictures off the camera so I'll have to work this week at getting pictures edited and uploaded. So...I'll be back soon.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hope you enjoy the luck of the Irish today!
Gabe is enjoying a Guinness now. I'll be enjoying mine after this little guy is down for the night. That's as "Irish" as we're going to get tonight!

What's the world coming to?

Two posts in one weekend. I think it's my attempt to avoid the pile of work I brought home with me this weekend. It's the end of the grading period and spring break is in sight. I just can't seem to get myself motivated to do any work. After I'm done here I'll probably find something else to distract me...like filling in my bracket.

We actually had the camera out quite a bit yesterday and this was one of my favorite shots. I just had to share it!Levi loves it when you blow in his face. Seriously loves it. Like busting up...full on...hysterically laughing...loves it. He's also really into grabbing faces. So, that's what he and his dad are up to here. And the explanation for Gabe's funny face.

Our schedule is a little off today with the time change, and spending what was suppose to be Levi's afternoon nap at his friend Taya's 1st birthday party. Hopefully the little guy will be ready for bed at his usual time and Gabe and I can get back to playing this. Super fun. When Bryan ever wants his copy back, we might have to go get it.

I probably won't make it back on here before we take off to see the my sister and her family in St. Louis for spring break. So be thinking of us on Saturday morning as we try the whole flying with baby thing again. Levi is so much older now. I'm not sure what to expect. I'm going to assume the sleeping through the whole fight thing won't happen this time around. Plus it's not a quick two hour flight this time either. Although, at this point I'm not sure I'll make it through 5 more days with 150 8th graders the week before spring break. It's always a wild ride. After surviving that, what's a 5 hour plane ride with my 7 month old teething baby?

Double Trouble

Levi has TWO teeth!
Yes, you read that right...one broke through last weekend and the other one early this week. I think I first felt it on Tuesday morning. They don't look like much (look carefully at those little white things on his bottom gum or you might miss them) but we're pretty excited. We've all been sleeping better the last few nights and we are starting to see our old happy baby again!

Happy Birthday Gabe!

It's Gabe's birthday weekend. And it is a celebration literally lasting all weekend. Yesterday evening his dad and Joanne came up. We had a nice dinner, cake (sour cream orange...one of Gabe's favorites), and presents. He was thrilled to finally have this in his hands. I'm a terrible wife. He picked out, and purchased, his own birthday present. He even had it delivered to himself at work. I never know what to get him. I think it makes things a little better that I wrapped it up and made him wait until his actual birthday to use it. I'm sure he disagrees. He was like a little kid, asking me every day if he could please just get it out early.

Today, Gabe and his dad took off to spectate at the Doo Wop Rally. The weather is perfect for it. I think every year I've gone up there it's been pouring rain or REALLY cold. Levi, Joanne and I are holding down the fort here. We took a trip to the park and enjoyed the sunshine. I need to get out and work in the yard, but our baby has been on a sleeping strike.

This week was definitely the worst sleeping week we've ever had. Even worse than when he was a newborn. Almost every night this week Levi has woken up screaming several times. A few nights he literally screamed for hours. (Usually between the hours of 1 and 3am). The only time he'd stop was when Gabe held him upright and rocked him. We thought maybe he had an ear infection, so Gabe took him into the doctor, only to be told he's probably teething and suffering from separation anxiety. Great! Neither of those things will be easy to fix. Needless to say Gabe and I were both on edge most of the week.

But I'm glad this week from hell is ending by celebrating the birth of the man I love. Tomorrow my family will come over for dinner and the final party. It's my sister, Tricia's, birthday today. Good times!