Down by the Bays: A Trip to the Frozen Tundra

Do you know how it feels to go from Florida to snowy Virginia in January?

Cold.

When I booked a trip to see Brooke and meet her sweet baby, the part of my brain that was supposed to remind me that it was going to be cold was stubbornly refusing to work. A week before the trip, I checked the weather and realized that oh yeah - it's not just a mild winter - I live in FLORIDA where it is warm and everywhere else is cold.

That's just a preface to tell you that not only was the week cold, it was COLD. And windy, which to me adds an extra dose of unpleasant to already unpleasant temperatures. We are both from Beaufort, so despite both of us having lived in cold climates before, we spent most of our time indoors, which was fine by me. You get to catch up and cuddle babies more that way anyway.

Here's my view from the window of the plane. A plane which was so tiny that they wheeled little stairs up and we had to go outside before shivering into the warm airport. Welcome to Washington, DC indeed.

Brooke and a sleeping baby were waiting in the pickup line for me, and my bag was the first one off the carousel (that's a first). I got to take in baby Clayton's sweet snoozing self for a second before we we were off to their home.

Brooke and I ventured out that evening for supplies for the baby's nursery.

And I got lots of time to snuggle with Clayton. He fell asleep on me very soon after we met, which is basically my favorite thing ever.

The next day was really cold, so we didn't even plan to venture outside. We cuddled with the baby, ate a late breakfast, did a little crafting, and just spent time inside.

We also bathed the baby, which taught us a valuable lesson - do not bathe a sleepy, hungry baby. He looks happy here, but it really wasn't enjoyable for him.

We exchange gifts each year and decided to wait until I visited to do it in person (and save on shipping). Clayton helped.

While Momma got ready the next morning, Clayton and I hung out by the window. I'm pretty sure it's his favorite spot, because whenever he'd fuss, if I brought him to the window, he'd just stop and stare and coo. His little facial expressions are just adorable.

We went to Tyson's Corner, a huge mall not too far from where Brooke lives. Clayton fell asleep in the car on the way there at about 1:45 and when we returned after 7, he was STILL asleep. That's the way to say we shopped for a long time and had no idea he could sleep so long in a public place.

At the mall, we took our "year" picture, which should probably have been more embarrassing. I heard people whisper "Are they taking a picture?" as they walked past, confused.

The next day, we went to the Reston Town Center, which is right across the street. In the summer, it's an easy walk, but this was winter, and it was windy and the sidewalks were covered with snow and there was a baby involved - and let's be honest, we probably would have driven anyway. No pictures, but I thought it was so cute and would love to explore when it's warm. I'll have to come again.

Once upon a time when we both lived in Beaufort, we made Rice Krispy treats for the fall festival. We think of it as a tradition, but we only did it twice, and then we both moved away and it's been over seven years since the last time. Anyway, because it was tradition and because they just sounded good, we made some. Brooke caught the marshmallows in her mouth easily, and I didn't try because we would have needed to run out for more marshmallows.

We worked on the sailboat mobile for Clayton's room. It didn't get finished before I left, but I have every confidence that Brooke will be able to complete it, despite the protests that she isn't crafty.

Saturday morning, I got some more baby cuddles in and we snuck in some episodes of How I Met Your Mother, which Brooke is trying to finish.

We braved the 16 degree back porch for a picture sans coats.

And I got a Kauffman family Christmas picture, complete with smiling baby.

Brooke dropped me off at the airport and I sailed through security, where they let me keep my jacket and shoes on and just go through a metal detector. It was so easy and strange to me.

I did have to wait outside to get on the tiny plane. I'm so thankful that it was sunny. I checked the weather there and the "feels like" was 5 degrees. Brrrr.