Steeler's Country !

What a great weekend for the White Family ! Elaina and I joined Eric in Monroeville, PA (near Pittsburgh) for a gun show. Boy, was Eric in his element : Steeler's garb everywhere you looked, the smell of ammo and gun powder and his two favorite girls at his side ! Since he has been insanely busy with work and 3 consecutive gun shows, he invited us to join him for the weekend. And, because the show was only 2 hours from home, I gave in and decided to have a weekend getaway with my husband.

The trip there and back was flawless and Elaina slept the entire time. Eric had already been in PA since Friday and so the biggest obstacle for me was just trying to get out of the house on Saturday. What a challenge ! I tried to pack everything possible the night before to ensure that Saturday morning would run smoothly. Elaina woke up at 6 a.m. and drank a whole bottle before falling back to sleep. We snuggled together in bed for over an hour (that time is priceless !) and then it was time for her bath. A warm, relaxing bath is always enough to put her right to sleep - just as I had planned. This allowed me plenty of time to get myself clean and clean up the house too. Just as I finished, I walked into Elaina's room to an overwhelming stink and my smiling, little sweetheart just waking up. Okay - get the stinky diaper out of the way before we begin our trip. Good Girl ! The only trouble was that her brand new shirt that she was about to show off to to dad, didn't fair so well. Fast forward : Wardrobe change. Laundry duty downstairs. 2 jars of baby food to fill my little girl's belly. Leave note for dog sitter. And finally, I remember to get the newspaper off the front porch. To my horror, I found that Keegan had gotten sick in the front foyer. (I miss Eric more than anything a this point) Gross ! Clean up barf. Finally.... out the door !!

As we arrived at the show to an anxious dad, Elaina beemed as she laid eyes on her dad. Since we had gotten there so late, we stayed for the remainder of the show until Eric dropped me off to shop as he went to the hotel to clean up and play with his little girl. After that, we were off to enjoy a nice dinner out. With more than a 60 minute wait at all 3 restaurants we went to, we called ahead to the Outback which was located directly next to our hotel. Basically, right back where we started !

Now for the part I had been waiting for ... we took Elaina to the swimming pool ! Unfortunately, it didn't go quite as I had planned. We walked into the pool room which bore the echo of at least 100 kids with at least 12 kids in a 10-kid-pool. Elaina was so scared, she tried to crawl up me as she clung tight and whimpered. Poor baby ! We sat with her for at least 10 minutes to allow her to decompress and adjust before Eric made his way to the far corner of the pool and I handed her off. He sat with her for awhile as the monkeys were splashing all around her and as Eric dipped her toes into the pool, she peed on him ! It wasn't the best experience for her, but she sure looked cute in her bikini !! So that the bathing suits weren't a total waste, Eric popped Elaina in the hotel bathtub along with him and they played and splashed around on her own terms. She squealed and smiled as her daddy poured water over her head and played with toys. (Which are still water-logged !)

Sunday was Eric's final day of the show and an opportunity for Elaina and I to do some shopping ! With the most beautiful baby in the world, it's hard to want to look at anything other than baby clothes ! It's not nearly as fun to shop for my size and see what I can and can't squeeze myself into. Needless to say, we found several cute outfits for Sweetness and a Pittsburgh Steeler's shirt for dad. Later, we met Eric at the show before getting on the road. After kisses goodbye, we made our way back home. All in all, it wasn't the most profitable show for Eric to have done, however, the time we spent together was absolutely priceless !