virginia is for lovers.

in the past six and a half months, travis and i had spent 14 days together.
so it seemed about time that i headed out to virginia to see him.
remy stayed with my parents thursday - sunday, and then with travis's parents sunday until i got in that night.

here i am, all geared up to head to the dirty souff.

meanwhile, oma took remy to his two year old well-child. (i had scheduled the appointment six months earlier and by the time we scheduled my trip to see travis, there weren't any open spots until july. i was pretty bummed to miss his appointment though; it's like one of the only concrete mom validations you get.) anyway, bragging moment, remy blew the socks off of dr. blackburn. his language and writing skills are of a 3+ year old. aaand he went from the 4% in weight to 16%, which made my worrying heart happy. also, isn't my mama beautiful?

it was THE BEST travel day ever.
at the airport, i had enough time to get lunch and devour pinkberry frozen yogurt.
then when we were boarding, the plane that came in was different than the one they planned on and didn't have enough seats. because i was in a row that didn't exist, they upgraded my seat. tons of leg room, free drinks and actual good snacks. i made friends with the guy next to me, a yoga teacher with lots of stories, and the stories got funnier as he drank those mini jack daniels with his cola. he also shared a lot of thoughts about God, which i enjoyed hearing. seems like my circle of friends are either hard core LDS or atheist, which is fine, but it was nice to talk to someone who is more on the same page as i am.

so excellent seat for the long leg of the flight, then had a layover long enough to eat dinner and got a window seat next to the cutest nine year old. spitting image of big al jefferson and had intensely good dance moves. of course i joined the dance party. we were bffs by the end of the flight from atlanta to newport news, VA.

then, got to the car rental place and they were out of the smallest cheapest cars, which is my jam, so they hooked me up with an upgrade! i should have played the lottery that day, because people kept giving me free stuffs.

 here i am at the mulberry inn, after a long, but excellent day of travel. i really do love flying, meeting new people. you get to sit by a stranger for a couple hours, hear their stories, and not worry about seeing them ever again.

the only part of flying that freaks me out now is taking off and landing, and not because i'm afraid of crashing, but because i'm terrified of getting nauseous and throwing up. since HG, i'm way more prone to motion sickness. so i always sit up straight, take deep breaths on a four count. usually works great.

 the next morning, i slept in until 9:30 utah time, so 11:30 virginia time. so glorious to sleep until i felt like waking up and then only have to worry about feeding myself. i always take oatmeal packets when i travel so i don't have to worry about finding breakfast unless i want to. after the oatmeal, i had a few hours to kill until travis could meet me, so i took forever getting ready and watching mad men. i didn't think i was nervous to see travis until he called saying he was on his way. then the butterflies came. i was waiting in my car and saw this figure in the side mirror sprinting toward me. we hugged, travis picked me up and spun me around, the whole nine yards of cuteness.

 then we headed to this diner i found on trip advisor and were blown away by the chocolate chip waffles. other adult activities may have ensued. yeah, being apart long term is hard, but seeing each other again is nice.

take as you will.

then we headed to yorktown for beach views and dinner.

soooo bright.

i wanted to take travis out for a fancy seafood dinner for his birthday, so we found this cute spot right on the water.

 he's pretty good looking.

the food did not disappoint.

the army is fantastic and wouldn't let travis stay the night with me at my hotel.
so we said goodnight and i spent a glorious evening reading my books and eating m&ms from the hotel vending machine.

the next morning we headed back to the waffle place, and yes, had mooooar chocolate chip waffles and whip cream and maple syrup.

then we headed back to the hotel, showered and cleaned up, and headed out to virginia beach, about an hour drive from where we/i stayed.

this poor dog looked miserable in the rain.

when we got to virginia beach, it was raining so we headed to the aquarium.
one of our favorite parts of our honeymoon was the amazing aquarium in myrtle beach, so we have kind of a thing for them.

after lots of snacks and seeing these giant sea turtles that were bigger than me, we said, who cares to the rain and headed to see the beach.

travis insisted i buy the only umbrella we could find, a kid sized little thing.

after getting drenched, mostly the un-umbrellaed travis, we took refuge in a starbucks overlooking the water and played that "31 questions to fall in love" game. it was fun, but had a lot of questions about impending death, which was weird.

it was a nice way to spend the afternoon. no pictures, but then we drove back and found THE BEST barbecue place of all time. the locals eating there told us we found the greatest place in town, which is the best stamp of approval. 

the next morning we, you guessed it, went back to the waffle house for, you guessed it, choc chip waffs. we went with a few of travis's friends and their ladies. i felt really old, because we were ten years older than the others. 

virginia is really pretty.

travis gave me the tour of the base and where he lives and goes to school, which looked like a summer camp and smelled like bleach. i can't imagine how homesick he gets. i got all kinds of homesick in college, and it was a party 24/7. travis is on the night owl schedule, so he gets up for school at 11pm and goes to bed at 4pm. he's a trooper for sticking it out.

the day passed too quickly and we said goodbye.

but then we decided i need to come back out in a few weeks. (bought tickets today!)
it's just no good not seeing your lover for so long.

great trip seeing my best friend.

and it was pretty great coming home to see my other main man and giving him the souvenir we picked out at the aquarium. (he immediately planted kisses all over the baby turtle.)

i'm lucky to have these two boys.

xo.

remy turns two. (his actual birthday day)

dear remy,

can you believe how fast time is whizzing by? you turned two last week!

i'm having a hard time expressing the love and joy i feel toward you, but let me try. first thing in the morning, my heart gives a little jump when i hear you jabbering in your room. i don't even realize it, but i'm smiling. i open the door and there you are, usually standing up in your crib. your face lights up and you call out, "hi!" and start filling me in on all the important things- which stuffed animal you are holding, what you want for breakfast.

you hold my hand as we walk down the stairs. you laugh and tease me during breakfast, you usually thank me for whatever i make you and tell me it's "delicious."

remy, you are the joy of my life.

every day you amaze me with new words and ideas you understand. yesterday, you came running in from the backyard and said, "i'm cold! i want shoes and jacket!" today you said, "i put on shoes! i do it!" and then you put your own shoes on your feet. you understand almost everything i tell you and you can say everything. you sing all day long, and you have a beautiful little voice. i love seeing you feeling proud of yourself when you accomplish something, coloring or carrying something heavy across the room.

you never stop moving. i think that's why you take such good naps and sleep 11 or 12 hours a night.
you love music. ohhhh i love seeing how much you love music. you're a pretty good dancer, too.
kid, you're brimming with personality. everyone who meets you instantly adores you. i feel like the luckiest, that you are mine.

we've had some good times together while it's been just you and me. the past six months have just been us while dad's been away. i couldn't have gotten through this past year without you. anytime i am having a rough day, you can tell. you're always comforting me, patting my arm. tonight you even rubbed my shoulders all on your own. if you catch me in tears, you say, "mama, mama." and you hug me.  it's been hard being the single parent, but it's also been really beautiful to have you all to myself like this.

your sense of humor and comedic timing is spot on. i don't understand how someone so young can be so hilarious, but you are. seeing the world through your new eyes is refreshing and innocent, and healing. i've learned a lot about slowing down, changing priorities, and laughing when before i would have gotten angry. being your mom has made me a better person, more confident, patient, and giving.

i don't know how it all works, if before this life you chose me, or we made a pact, or it was just random, but i know that i'm infinitely blessed to be your mother, and i'll always be indebted to you for bringing me such joy. thanks for being my little son and know that my love for you always comes first.

i'm excited to see what this next year brings.

love, mama

birthday breakfast of french toast. 

 played out in the backyard and then baby boy took a nap. 

when he woke up, we met my parents for thai food lunch, rem's fav. 

after lunch, we headed to barne's and noble for remy to choose a new book 

and to play with the trains. 

"the charles sneer." 

didn't get pictures of this, but hung out with cousins kohen and hadley 

in the afternoon, and then had italian soup and homemade bread at papa's house. 

then we headed home for strawberry shortcake and presents. 

whip creeeeeeaaaaammmmm 

jumping for joy. 

he ate three bites an then was over it. 

 i think remy had a good birthday. crazy that two years ago they induced me for preeclampsia and travis and i had a fantastic day waiting to meet remy.

love watching this boy grow up and humbled to be his mom.

xo.