My little toddler is turning into more and more of a little kid these days, and it's (usually) lots of fun! Current cute sayings - "want to play some catches?" He's obsessed with watering and our wildflowers that we planted back in February look amazing thanks to his green thumb. I just need to make sure he doesn't OVER water all our plants, trees and grass haha. I bought a big, soft Frisbee that we've been having fun throwing around in the yard. He's also been digging some inside play action with block building, train conducting and car driving on his road rug (including stops for red lights and at pedestrian crossings - ha!). And racing with mom or dad in circles around downstairs, as always!
Our garden is phenomenal right now, and E has been quite the attentive gardener. He loves checking for red tomatoes every morning and we always have several to pick. He begs to eat one every day, but after the initial burst of juice he spits it out. Luckily there are so many I don't even mind! He can name all the plants in the garden and loves checking on their status every day.
Luke and I got to start out the month sneaking off to Houston for the weekend for my friend Alison's wedding. She's one of my sister's oldest friends, so we had a ball staying at Lauren's house and going to the wedding just the four of us and partying with lots of friends. It's always fun to see my nephews and just be auntie, not mommy. Luke and I snuck away the afternoon before the wedding to go to lunch, hit up the museum district to see some dino bones and visit with my dad! This awesome weekend was made possible because my wonderful in-laws came to Austin to watch him. They had lots of fun, and I was impressed at how much they went out and did!
We embarked on our second family road trip, this time to Branson, Missouri, to enjoy a lovely resort in the area with Luke's folks. Daniel Tiger was Emmett's companion on the trip and he was happy as a clam in the car, just a couple quick leg stretch breaks and a stop for lunch both ways. The resort we stayed at was lovely and had a baller playground that E loved. He also got to try playing tennis and mini golf and was obsessed with both. We rented a boat which he was nervous about and did NOT want to wear the life jacket for, but we persevered and he was super zen (he even fell asleep on my lap for 30 minutes!). He loved swimming, hiking and checking out the trolley in downtown.
It's been a pretty chill month otherwise. E had his last day of school (no summer school at his preschool, which is a huuuge bummer) and had to leave early due to falling ill. Luckily it was only a 24 hour bug and he was good as new!
Now onto a super fun Memorial Day weekend-in-the-life!
Friday
7:30 a.m. A generously late wakeup call from Emmett, great! We keep things simple with a cereal and fruit breakfast so Luke can get out the door to work at a decent time. E and I go on a bike ride around the block (he found his tricycle after we've had it hidden for the last couple of months) and he surprises me by either riding it or walking alongside it pushing the handles the whole way - woohoo!!!
9:30 a.m. We drop Benji off at the neighbor's house for a doggie playdate since the mosquito spray man is supposed to come this morning and we head off to meet his school besties at Balcones District Park. The boys are soooo excited to see each other after a whole week apart and happily play for a few minutes before demanding to go on a hike. The six of us happily set off down the trail, and except for a few tears and missteps, have a wonderful time and cover about a mile. Back at the playground more fun ensues along with some snacking.
12:30 p.m. Lunch is served! Leftover black bean burgers that are surprisingly delish with avocado, home grown tomatoes and Sir Kensington's special sauce served with a shaved cucumber and (home grown) zucchini salad with homegrown tomatoes and feta. Yum! E's not that hungry after snacking on the hike and playground, so he has a few spoonfuls of peas and a roll. We say bye to dad and then play in the backyard with some bubbles.
2:00 p.m. Nap time! E drinks some milk while I read a handful of books, then he snuggles up on his lamb rug. I hop in the shower because it was suuuuper muggy on our hike. Then I head downstairs to relax for a hot sec and watch the first couple episodes of the Netflix show Girl Boss (addicted!) then I whip up a mango coconut and sweet cream ice cream base to freeze the next day. After cleaning the kitchen, I get us ready for our next adventure.
4:45 p.m. I go to wake up Emmett. He's not in the most chipper mood so we chill in a room for a little bit while he wakes up and calms down. We play puzzles for a minute and get him freshened up, then hop in the car, turn on some Daniel Tiger and head to Austin Beerworks. We meet up with Luke and his coworker gang and enjoy some beers, chatting, East Side King Thai food from the trailer (there's a different food truck there every time) and E runs around playing with his dump trucks and soccer balls.
7:30 p.m. Oops, we stayed a little late - that tends to happen when we go out on Fridays. Oh well! We head home and E is happy to go straight upstairs. We play a super fast version of "beach" then hop in the tubby. Jammies, milk, books and brush teeth, then we say goodnight. He says, wait! I have to go potty. A new little trend. After we're all squared away there, we say goodnight for real.
8:30 p.m. We kick up our feet and start season 4 of Sherlock from the BBC, which just came out on Netflix, hooray! Unfortunately the combo of two beers and a loooong week of momming has made me sleepy mcsleeperson and I can't keep my eyes open.
9:15 p.m. I cave and head upstairs for bed.
Saturday
7:30ish a.m. Another sleepy morning and 10 hours of sleep for this mama. It's great to wake up feeling refreshed! I head downstairs to start making coffee and whole wheat strawberry pancakes while Luke gets Emmett.
8:00 a.m. Pancake time! E loves talking about strawberry pancakes, but actually prefers not to have strawberries in his pancakes - go figure. He pounds his plain pancake with syrup and berries on the side and we enjoy our pancakes WITH strawberries.
8:30 a.m. The boys head to the backyard to play bubbles and I clean up the kitchen, then we chat about our plans for the morning.
9:10 a.m. I throw on my swim suit and drive to the gym to swim some laps. Luke puts Emmett in the trailer and the boys bike to the playground (though apparently they spend most of the time at the trail by the creek right there watching fish and turtles). I arrive to an empty pool and bang out 30 laps feeling good, then reward myself with 10 minutes in the hot tub.
10:20 a.m. I arrive back home after making a pit stop at my friend's house to feed her bunny while she's out of town. The boys aren't back yet so I get showered and dressed and pack the backpack for our next adventure.
10:50 a.m. The guys get back home and E is pumped to "go see the chickens" at Springdale Farm, so we hop in the car and head that way. He enjoys some Daniel Tiger in the car while Luke and I listen to "Ask Me Another" on NPR - love that show!
11:25 a.m. First things first, we go and visit the chickens and ducks at the farm and take a cursory glance at the flowers. We're all hungry, so we walk over to Eden East to order brunch (we land on the tostada, smoked chicken gyro and boudin balls) and have fun playing with cars while we wait and sip on our Ciderweizen by Texas Cider Keeper (Eden East is BYOB). After digging in, we frolic about in the farm for a while, and I pop into the farm stand and buy some potatoes.
1:10 p.m. Time to head home! Play time and then nap time. I make the ice cream and a strawberry sheet cake - yassssssssss. The FedEx guy comes and delivers Luke's early Father's Day present - new hiking sandals and boots. He's pumped!
4:30 p.m. I wake up Emmett a little early so we can hop in the car and head to our friends' place in Mueller for a dinner and play date. These are the two toddlers we adventured to Colorado with last summer (both of whom now have little sisters!). It was a million degrees out (ok not really, but the heat index was 110), but that didn't stop the boys demanding to play outside and having a ball. E loved riding a scooter around. My friend made a delicious casserole and we dug in, then we had cake and ice cream for dessert (which Emmett some how missed! He was digging getting a chance to play with all the toys by himself, not realizing that the reason why was CAKE.)
7:30 p.m. Oops, we stayed too late (that's the theme this weekend) and trundle on home. We play a power game of beach and do a super speedy tub and bedtime.
8:24 p.m. Score, not a horribly late bedtime! Luke and I head downstairs to watch Sherlock again. 20 minutes in, his friend texts asking him to play games, and I encourage him to do it. Bridget Jones's Baby is on Netflix and I make it half way through before heading upstairs to read and go to bed (at 10:45).
Sunday
7:00 a.m. A little earlier wakeup today and Luke is a little groggy from staying up later than me, so I snag E and head downstairs. He asks for Daniel Tiger and an apple and I oblige, then work on making coffee and whipping up some breakfast tacos!
7:45 a.m. Breakfast time! We dig in to our tacos, but Emmett isn't all that hungry after his apple snack. The boys go outside to play bubbles and I tidy up and get dressed.
9:15 a.m. We head out on a family hike at Walnut Creek and have a ball! We cover some good ground and actually discover a trail we haven't hiked before. We hear a turkey which is fun and surprises E. Then lots of time at the creek throwing rocks, and we carry him back out.
11:10 a.m. Emmett isn't tiring yet, and he and Luke head around the block on a tricycle walk while I prepare some lunch. Tortellini with fresh basil and tomatoes from the garden and the last bit of black bean burger and boudin balls. Random, but delicious! We walk over to our neighbor's house after so Luke can keg a beer he was fermenting there, and Emmett helps push it home in his wagon, ha!
1:45 p.m. E asks Luke to put him down for a nap and he goes down at 1:45 - the earliest in a while! I head out to meet my friend Meg to get pedicures, which is a treat I only indulge in once or twice a year, and we have fun catching up. I grab a few groceries and get home in time to prepare us for the evening's festivities.
4:25 p.m. Emmett wakes up from his nap and we get ready to head out the door. We go to our friend's house about 20 minutes away (they were neighbors, but moved away last summer sadly) with our other neighbor pals. The kids are amped up and have fun running around, then we get them dressed to play in the pool. The dads take them in while we moms chat and drink wine. Then I see the sky turning dark and offer to grill up dinner just in case the sky opens up. Good thing, we got it all done just in time! Our friends are amaaaazing bakers and brought homemade hot dog buns - holy YUM!
7:30 p.m. What do you know, another late departure. Another speedy bedtime and we eek it in before 8:30. The thunderstorm has knocked out our wifi, and Luke and I turn to antenna and watch America Ninja Warrior which is pretty entertaining. He laughs at how quickly I get invested in the show. We head upstairs to bed around 9:20 where I read for a bit and he finishes watching a Formula 1 race. Lights out at 10!
Monday
7:30 a.m. Wake up and smell the cereal! We have a lazy breakfast and play time.
9:30 a.m. We hop in the car and head to Mueller for a Hike It Baby stroller hike. Luke is the only dad but doesn't mind at all (he's the best) and we have a great hike with 6 parents and kids, then enjoy playtime at the playground afterwards. As we cross the street we spot a turtle in the road, so Luke rescues it and stops for a (not actual) kiss.
11:50 a.m. We head home to have a simple PB&J lunch with carrot sticks and grapes in the front yard because E is busy playing and just runs over for bites. The we walk over to feed my friend's bunny who Emmett FALLS in love with.
2:00 p.m. Naptime! Once again, E requests dad. That's great, I get started making some mac n cheese and marinating chicken. Then I deep clean my house which is pretty gross after 2 weeks of ignoring housework. Luke and his friend load up the old fence materials and head to the dump.
4:50 p.m. I wake up E a little late and we head downstairs to watch Daniel Tiger while he snacks on a few pretzels. Then our friends arrive and I shake up some blackberry gin fizzes and we dig into the cheese and crackers they brought. The guys fire up the grill to cook the chicken and asparagus and the toddlers happily play inside then out. It's so darling, Emmett holds the bubble wand so his friend can blow the bubbles (he's 7 months younger and hasn't quite mastered holding the tube upright without spilling while also blowing bubbles - yay teamwork!).
7:35 p.m. Emmett comes in the room pantless and diaperless and we realize the evening should wrap up immediately haha! I bid our friends farewell and clean up the kitchen while the guys do tubby and books, then I come up to help say goodnight.
8:40 p.m. We finally get to finish Sherlock! Lights out at 10:15.
Wow, what a crazy weekend, but lots of fun! We'll have to be better about sticking to that 8 o'clock bedtime this week, but I have a feeling with summer it might slip a little. Time will tell!
