full disclaimer: This post will be very picture heavy! but, as most of my readers are family...I'm pretty sure they will be more than alright with that.
Ok, I'm about to let you all in on a secret. I'm 32 years old, married, and a mother (you're likely saying, duh Carrie). And, I still love, love, LOVE going home to my parents house. It feels so weird to say that. I have lots of friends that might see their parents every couple weeks (or months), and some that because of geography see them even less than that - but I really love being home. It's so nice to have extra hands around (i.e. my mom/dad gets up with Max and let us sleep a couple extra hours), my mom always caters to my to-do list (and they are comprehensive to say the least), and there is just something about being with my parents that makes me feel safe.
So, this weekend Max and Mama got on the road to Dayton. Papa Rob was at home with his on "honey-do" list and while he missed us....I know he also enjoyed a nice break. We left Saturday morning around Max's first nap time (and Max was still rocking the jammies) and pulled into Casa de Cloud around 11:00. We did not waste any time attacking the to-do list -- first up - a visit to the local Metro Park, Cox Arboretum. The Arboretum did not disappoint! We were treated to lots of spring blooms...daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, and bleeding hearts (a weird name - but pretty plant). Max was in sensory overload. He was pointing to EVERYTHING! He could not get enough of the trees and flowers...even ten turtles resting on a log!
The Arboretum even had a super cool tree house/tower that you could climb! Once at the top were treated to great views of the park. Though, it did make me a little weak in the knees because the tree house "sways" a bit at the top.
(Rob said he would get to work building an identical one for Max :)
(We made it to the top!)
Next up - lunch at DiBella's subs! I have been begging them to go back to the this place since the first time we visited (I think around my birthday?). It was so delicious. And then I found out they had not one, but two locations in Columbus. I had the cowboy sub with chicken, bbq sauce, cheddar cheese, and bacon. The best part? The "everything" style bread it was served on. Max enjoyed bits of my chicken and bits of the lunchmeat from his grandparents sub. We finished things off in a real classy manner by changing a blow out diaper in the back of the car in their parking lot. (Just keepin it real here folks!)
We capped off the morning with a visit to the Boooooooth! My parents have rented a booth space at a spot called Antiques Village. They have filled with it with all their treasures from estate sales, garage sales and more - and they are doing quite well! It's cute to see them so excited about something. I think it fills my mom's creative side (arranging and re-arranging the merchandice nearly weekly) and my dad's love of finding deals on things like fishing accessories, oil cans etc. I could not get over how awesome their booth looked! I even wanted them to sell me a display piece from it. Even with my best haggling and the cutest sidekick (Max) - they would not deal! Turns out they need it to display other things.
(sidenote - this is not my parents booth! Just a crazy booth
filled with kimonos and random shirts from Hawaii)
Max went down for his afternoon nap - mom and I killed some time at Target and we were off to church. I was a little nervous because it's only the third time Max has been to mass. But, he managed to charm all the senior citizens, not make a peep, and entertained himself with the church hymnals. It was almost as if he could sense that we were supposed to be quiet.
Our final stop for the day (I'm worn out just reading this) was to visit my grandparents, Mamaw and Papaw. Max was crawling everywhere, pulling up on all their furniture, and pooping his pants (poor guy - the new antibiotic is making him go...all the time). He's hard to pin down for a diaper change these days...so I let him go pants less for awhile!
When he went to sleep for the evening- I cracked the whip on Grandmim! haha! She actually used her cricut cutting tool (for scrapbooking) to make lots of the musical decorations for Max's party.
(special party preview of the decorations!)
Sunday morning, Grandmim let me sleep till the glorious hour of 10:30 and I nearly didn't know
what to do with myself...except refer to the list and head on over to the plant nursery called Grandm's Gardens. Here again - Max was reaching out to touch all of the plants and tree leaves. He even got to meet some cute little goats. The verdict is still out on whether he liked them or not. I did end up buying him his own little "Irish Moss" plant because he seemed to like the texture. It's a ground cover...so I'm hoping it spreads a bit in our flowerbeds this summer.
(Ready to buy some plants!)
(Loving the coral bells...lucky for him we already have these!)
(Future gardner? I hope so!)
We had quick lunch at Wendy's and then were off to the park!
We went to Activity Center Park by my parents house and I was pleasantly surprised
at how much it had changed since I worked there (in college). They added a whole new
jungle gym with slides galore, swings, and other manipulatives. And they have these super cool adult swings which you can hold your child on your lap and swing with. I'm planning on heading back in the summer too because they even built a toddler friendly splash pad!
(pure joy!)
This rest of Saturdy was filled with a trip to the Carter's store, a walk through Old Navy, and a cookout with my Poppy (Max's other great grandpa). Max chowed on some sausage from the grill, asparagus, and applesauce. We treated him to a little "taste" of raspberry sorbet from Graeters ice cream later. At first, he was not too sure of the cold...but when given the chance to use his own spoon to dig it out...he got right on board with it. Then, he couldn't get enough and was trying to eat my coconut chip! Too Funny!
Mama actually took the day off work on Monday...so Mim and I finished up a few things...namely working in Max's scrapbook and first year calendar. So much to get ready in such a short amount of time for the party!! We capped off the weekend with a trip to Skyline (have to get in all my favorite foods) and then Mama headed home. Max stayed one more night with his grandparents and did awesome things like sort laundry, rearrange their furniture, and demand to be picked up by Grandpa Tim! They enjoyed it, Max had fun, and Mama and Papa got some much needed adult time. ha!
I'm so glad I still get to have weekends like this and until they move here (ha! ha!) I look forward to many more!
xoxo
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