More of the National Mall

There were a few places along the National Mall that we still wanted to see. One day we decided to try and see it all. So, we put on our tennis shoes for all the walking and set out.

First, we went to see the Vietnam Memorial. This is the other memorial I had been dying to see since block history class so we went to see it first in the day. We laughed at ourselves when we got there because it is remarkably right in the middle of the National Mall and somehow we had never seen it before. 

 While we were there, a whole tour bus of Vietnam vets showed up to see the memorial for the first time. It was especially humbling to be there with them while they traced the names of their friends who fought.

Next we decided to stop by the Lincoln Memorial since it was on the way.

 As well as the Washington Memorial.

While we were there, Brigham needed to eat. So, like I said in an earlier post, most of our sight-seeing pictures are of us feeding Brigham. So, this was taken on the side of the giant reflection pool just after eating. ha.

We stopped by the Korean memorial to get a look on our way to the Tidal Basin. 

As we walked around the Tidal Basin we were able to see some landmark sites. Honestly, it was a perfect day with perfect weather with virtually no tourists besides ourselves. It made for a great, peaceful stroll around the water.

Here are the memorials surrounding the water:

Martin Luther King Jr.
They centered the entire monument around his quote "out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope" from his 'I have a dream' speech. I don't know if this pic portrays it well, but notice how the stone he is carved into is pulled forward out of the mountain stone behind it.

As we continued to walk the edge of the Tidal Basin we came across the FDR memorial. It was a fitting memorial considering everything he did as president. The memorial was more of an "experience" than a statue or anything. It is designed to highlight his 3 terms. So you start at one end and walk through stone snapshots and quotes of moments in his presidency. For example, his fireside chats he did in his first term:

Soup kitchen and bread lines during his second term:

Quotes and speeches and policies from his third term. It was a lot bigger and more involved than I'm portraying on this little blog post. Very very appropriate memorial for FDR:

Of course they also had to highlight wonderful Eleanor Roosevelt:

On our way to the Jefferson Memorial we saw this 'Japanese Memorial' I think Adam remembered it being a bit bigger the last time he saw it, but I made him take a picture with it anyway. He's a good sport.

The last thing we squeezed in for the day was the Jefferson Memorial. I've only ever driven by it and was amazed with how huge it is. Actually, I found out that FDR was a huge admirer of Jefferson and was the driving force in getting the Jefferson Memorial built. It seems pretty fitting that FDR's memorial is across the water from it then.

Busy day and so rewarding. I'm really glad we were able to fit it all in. Brigham was so cute and seemed to really enjoy walking around outside all morning and afternoon. 

More of D.C.

We've tried to do a lot of exploring the city while the weather has been so nice. As I've looked back at the pictures we took at each place, I noticed a common thread. We seem to feed Brigham at every site we visit. We have so many pictures of feeding him on benches outside famous places.

See...this is us outside of the State Capitol building feeding him just before our tour.

 

In the Capitol they have 2 statues for every state. Of course, we had to get a pic of Utah's since it was Brigham Young. After all, that is Brigs great great (etc) grandpa. 

We also went to Arlinngton Cemetery and spent a couple hours walking around there. We saw the Kennedy graves and eternal flame.

We also toured the Robert E. Lee family mansion home.

We saw a few other little and big memorials as well as just enjoyed being humbled by all of he graves and soldiers who gave their lives.

Ever since my block history class in high school I have been so eager to see specific places. One of them is the change of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was a special experience.

Another day we went to the National Harbor with everyone. It was really fun. It is a lot like Pier 49 in San Francisco but even fancier. 

This is my nephew playing on this cool giant statue of a man buried in he sand. It's fun.

Oh, there is also a Peeps store! In the Peeps store they give a wall to Mike n Ike and another wall to Hot Tamales. It is awesome! They have so many different and unique flavors that you can fill your bag with. It's like a fozen yogurt wall or a giant soda fountain but of different kinds of Hot Tamales or of Mike n Ikes. 

And after that long day of fun, we were sure tired. 

both the Good and the Bad

So, I'll talk more about Brigham since he is just the greatest!
There have been some good things and some bad things develop in the last month or so that we've been out of the hospital and in DC. Mostly good things.

Good news is he has dimples! Love them. There seems to be a trend in my fam and extended fam. The first borns have a dimple or two.

Good news is we took him into the Godiva store and he was so smiley. I feel like this was the official test to see if he has Shields blood in him since we love chocolate.

Bad news is he already struggles with going to church :) Seriously though....I've never seen anything like it. He is normally very happy, but when we walk into the church building he screams for almost the whole 3 hours. Last week, I had to take him on a walk around the parking lot for 45 minutes before he calmed down enough to go back in the building. haha! It was kinda epic.  This is Adam so happy once Brigs finally fell asleep at church.

Good news is that he has amazing quad muscles. Not the best pic, but I think it shows his quads off alright. I've only ever known cute chubby babies and didn't realize they can develop such huge muscles.

Good news? Bad news? Brigham looks like this when he yawns. We didn't think it was that out of the ordinary to have this big of yawns, but everyone reacts to them. It always makes us chuckle.

Great news is that Brigham can take thin liquids! We've been waiting to redo a 'swallow study' for months since after birth he aspirated his food and has major reflux. I've called the radiology dept every weekday for 3 weeks and never got through to anyone in scheduling. So, when we were seeing the cardiologist I asked Adam if we could stop by radiology. Well we basically stormed in, told them we'd been waiting so long to repeat the swallow study, and told them we wanted it today. They were SO nice and accommodating since it was the end of the day and mult docs had to stay late for us. Those doctors are amazing. We were able to repeat the swallow study that day (which is quite the ordeal by itself). The best news is, he was cleared for thin liquids! YES! Basically, that means we don't need to add a Tbsp of rice cereal to every ounce of formula. It may not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but it is huge to us. It also means he can eat frozen bm. I'm not going to lie, we felt so much parent pride in storming into radiology. ha.

Us in the x-ray room getting ready.

Brigham eating a normal, thin liquid for the first time. Yay for him learning how to eat correctly.

Since we've come to DC we've had about a week to explore before Adam started his crazy schedule. Of course, a couple of those days have been spent going to doctor's appointments for Brigs. Besides that, we have been trying to see some of the sites we haven't been to before. Well, Adam has been to some of them when he lived here a couple years ago, but he wants to see some again now, naturally. 

When we went to Teddy Roosevelt Island we tried out the baby carrier for the first time. I can't tell if Brigs likes it or not. He made that face the whole time - hilarious.

 Oh, here are the boys on our first official outing. Teddy Roosevelt Island.

Then we stopped by Iwo Jima memorial. I was very excited to come to this memorial. My sister-in-law was with us when we went here and all of us agree it is a very special site.

Another day we went to see some Smithsonians. While we were crossing the street, 2 women started commenting on Brigham in Japanese. Adam was able to chat with them and give them directions. It's really cool for me to see Adam actually converse in Japanese rather than just hold a one-ended convo with me - it has already happened a number of times since we've moved here. Oh, but because we ran into the Japanese women we were a little distracted and this is the only shot I got of the Smithsonian castle. ha. a stuffed peacock. ha. not the best photo documenting skills.

When we went to the Air and Space Museum, we saw Amelia Earhart's plane. She is one of my heroes so I was a little too nerdy-excited to see the Lockheed Vega plane she flew. 

There were so many things to see. I LOVED it! Adam and I both love space so hopefully Brigham will like it too since we spent a whole afternoon at the museum. Oh, just in case you're wondering there is a great 6 part documentary on netflix that really portrays our history's space travel well. it's called "when we left earth: the nasa missions"

Judging by that smile he is going to love air and space travel history like his parents :)

This is at Great Falls with Adam's sister and her fam. beautiful place to be.

While Adam was at orientation, Brigs and I went to the National Zoo. Brigs slept the entire time, but I had a nice time seeing all the animals and chatting with my cousin, Steph on the phone.

We've had quite some fun since moving here and we still have such a long list of places we want to go check out.

 If anyone wants to come visit, feel free! We have a guest room you could stay in...It'd be great fun!

Sayonara!

  

Sayonara Hospital! Last picture Adam took from the hospital. 

Brigs looks so ready to get out of there.

 First real car ride on the way home for the first time.

Total time Brigham spent in the hospital: 53 days

 WELCOME HOME!!!!!!!

Adam set out some of his toys and things and a sign we made him. 

We were stoked to finally have him all to ourselves.

4 days later....Sayonara Pittsburgh! Just feeding him at a Subway on the way down to DC.

More Visitors!

Last weekend Jen came to visit! It was so nice to hang out with a best friend and get to know her little boy (who we will refer to as kiddo for safety's sake) since we haven't lived in the same state since before he was born. It was such a fun weekend! Jen is so chill and her kiddo is such a trooper to play in the hospital lobby all day, most days.
Oh, we were able to drive around Pittsburgh and show them some of it and where Adam goes to school.

And, since this doorag is still too big on Brigham, we decided to try it on little kiddo. Turns out his head size was perfect for it. Look at his best biker face?

 Oh, and we did take Jen's little kiddo on a walk to a nearby cemetery. It is beautiful - Pittsburgh's largest and oldest cemetery. They have huge tombs, graves and monuments with stain glass and statues as high as office buildings. It was quite an experience.

On their last full day here we were able to take Brigham outside where he and kiddo could meet :) (as long as they didn't touch. there are certain precautions since Brigham is still getting antibiotics) Look at those faces!

When Adam and I first brought Brigham down to meet kiddo we found him like this: doesn't this remind you of peter pan in Hook?

disclaimer: Jen was standing by even though it doesn't appear so. she was letting him get a nap.

Adam's parents gave little Brigham his own little jersey. Adam is pretty stoked they'll get to wear matching BYU paraphernalia for the upcoming season. I have to admit, father and son look pretty awesome and stoked for this year.

Brigham has been strong enough to do tummy time. In fact, he's super strong and growing everyday.

Also, we've been able to take him on stroller rides back behind the facility on this walkway. It's so nice to get him outside since all three of us get a little cabin fever in his room, so we just walk up and down that little walkway. It's so fun for Brigham!