Columbia, District of: Day 2

Friday began bright and early. Well, actually, I think it was just early, so early, in fact, that it may not have been so bright. Maddie woke up at 5:30 a.m EST, which would be 4:30 a.m. CST, which is the time zone we were trying to keep her in. Since Jon had classes to attend, it became my job to keep her up until 10 a.m., which would be 9 a.m. at home, until it was time for her first nap. So, at 7 a.m., my already sleepy daughter and I were roaming the still quiet streets of National Harbor in search of coffee and a little breakfast for Mommy. Having found a decent latte and a blueberry scone, we sat on the pier, and I shared my scone with Maddie and a rather persistent Potomac-dwelling duck. (Seriously, this duck almost flew up and took a piece of scone out of my hand. I'm not kidding.)

Following the walk, several other baby-distracting activities, and a nap, Maddie was in a much better mood. Jon and I dropped her off with Nana and took a shuttle into D.C. for a whirlwind tour of the mall, which unfortunately for me did not include sunscreen... We saw the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the WWII, Vietnam, and Korean War memorials. Then, because I was starting to turn really red, we hit up the Museum of American History for some, well, history and air conditioning.

We then spent 40+ minutes waiting for our shuttle before calling a cab so we could get back to National Harbor and clean up for Larry's ACOE retirement reception. Maddie decided that the speechifying portion of the reception would be a good time to practice screeching, so I took her out in the hall where she played with a very nice little boy named Ryan and fell off a chair. (Yes, I am taking nominations for mother-of-the-year.) She then returned to the party to chew on her shoes, wave at people, and eat most of a baguette. There were at least three people feeding her small bits of bread. I have no idea how much she ate...

Following the reception, Maddie and I went back to the hotel where she was awake for a whole half an hour before crashing for the night. I watched more Harry Potter and waited for Jon to bring me Mexican takeout at 11 p.m. So hungry... Maddie slept through the night again, and Saturday, she woke up at the perfectly acceptable hour of 6:15 a.m. (5:15 CST).

Here are a few pictures of our time on the mall. For a link to all of the pictures from our trip, see Columbia, District of: Day 1.

The Whitehouse, home of President Obama and family

Lincoln Memorial and reflecting pool

World War II Memorial

Jon and I at the Kansas portion of the World War II Memorial

World War II Memorial with the Washington Monument in the background (and the Capitol, if you squint really hard)