Memorial Day Weekend: Part 1

Last week Ty and I were both extremely excited about the weekend.  His brother, Paul, and sister-in-law, Amanda, were coming from Florida to their hometown to visit.  To join in on the fun his Uncle Kelly and Mary were coming from Ohio to visit and his Aunt Netta, cousins Megan and Brody, cousin-in-law Scott, and new 2nd cousin Garrett were all coming from St. Louis.  Other family members were traveling from Kansas City.  We had planned to leave Friday evening at bedtime like we have in the past, but Thursday I was so anxious to see everyone I suggested we just wing it, leave right at 4:00, and see what happens.  Ty liked the idea so he used comp time to leave work early, pick Carter up, and head home.  I sneaked out right after dismissing students and we were ready to roll at 4:01.  Unfortunately in our haste to leave town, we forgot to pack our nice camera.  I was left with my phone and my cheapo camera for the weekend.  I was banking on Carter possibly taking a short nap since he's always tired on Fridays from his busy week at daycare.  Shortly after leaving town and getting on the highway Carter was fast asleep and napped for the first 45 minutes or so.  When he woke up he was hungry and we were driving through a town so we stopped to eat and use the restroom.  When we got back on the road I fed Carter and he happily played with toys for a little over an hour.  Then he started getting fussy so we pulled out the tablet and played Sesame Street for him the rest of the way.  I'm super against him watching tv at this age, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do.  We figure watching a show is more productive that staring at his reflection in the mirror while screaming mommy and reaching for me over his car seat.  So the trip up was a win for all.

Carter helping me pack Friday morning.

His sorry face since he took these graham crackers out of his packed bag!

We arrived a little after 8:00.  Carter made the rounds to see everyone and then I took him in to bathe him and get him ready for bed.  Since he'd taken an extra nap in the car, he was fresh and ready to go.  After his bath he said good night to everyone and we headed down to rock and go to sleep.  He was having trouble falling asleep due to all the noise, commotion, and excitement going on upstairs, so I moved his pack and play into an office area in the basement with a door.  Once I did that he fell asleep right away.  We enjoyed our night catching up with everyone, laughing, and having a good time.  Maybe even a little too much as we didn't head for bed until midnight!

Saturday morning Carter woke up at 6:30 am and I headed upstairs with him.  His grandma, Leina, was eagerly awaiting him in the kitchen.  She had woken up early to start breakfast so she would be ready to play with him.  We played around in the house for a while and then Uncle Paul and Aunt Amanda woke up.  Leina had found a library storytime for us to go to that started at 10:00.  I wanted to run and shower beforehand so I got suited up.  When I came upstairs Amanda asked if I was going to run and I invited her to go with me.  She debated, but decided to come along.  After she changed we headed outside and saw it was raining.  She turned to me and said, "Does the rain not bother you?".  I laughed and said it didn't.  We headed back inside, she grabbed a sweatshirt, and we were off.  I was so excited the rain hadn't deterred her from our run.  When we got back we showered, ate, and got ready for the library.

Heading into the library with grandma.

Leina and I dropped Amanda off at her sister's house so she could bring her niece, nephew, and foster nephew along.  We met back up at the library.  It was the coolest library I had ever seen.  The children's area had an aquarium, a boat to sit in filled with board books, a toy kitchen area, a toy garden area, an area that was dark with light up stars and planets, the bottom half of a dinosaur which looked like the top half of the dinosaur had pushed through the ceiling, and a school bus that lit up and everything.  Carter didn't want to leave and I didn't want to either.  Storytime began with a puppet which Carter was really interested in.  He ventured away from me and sat amongst the other children on the floor.  He got up right next to a little girl and stared in her face.  He sat and watched her, rather than the book, for quite a while.  The librarian played a guitar and sang which Carter enjoyed and danced to.  When he read, Carter would wander around, stare at the other children, and take off through the book shelves.  My favorite part of storytime was the Hokey Pokey.  I held Carter and danced with him which was a blast.  He also did "If You're Happy and You Know It" and at one point had the kids stomp.  It was hilarious to see Carter stomp!  When storytime was over we wandered around and checked out the rest of the children's area and then headed home.

Ready to read a book he found in the boat.

Staring into his new friend's face.  She was actually trying to pay attention.

Watching the other kids.

Fish are always a favorite.

He was so excited to discover these stairs led to water!

We got home at lunchtime so Carter ate and as I was heading to put him down for a nap Megan, Netta, Scott, and Garrett arrived.  We went out to say hello and for Carter and Garrett to meet.  Then I put Carter down for his nap.  I got to hold Garrett while Carter was napping and he was the sweetest little thing.  He snuggled in and had that smell and feel that only newborn babies have.  There is nothing better in the world than holding a baby, especially when they are sleeping or making noises.  Everyone else began to arrive and take turns holding Garrett.  I ended up with him again a little bit before it was time to eat and he fell asleep while we rocked.  I was given the go ahead to hold him during his nap and it made my day.  I sat and stared into his adorable face the whole time.  Every once in a while he would fidget and move, it was precious.  When he woke up I passed him off to his daddy and made myself a plate.

Meeting Garrett

After lunch Carter had been asleep for about 2 hours and I began to get anxious for him to wake up.  I wasn't the only one, his grandma and Gigi made many trips down the stairs to check on him.  Finally after a 3 hour nap, he was awake!  He got to check Garrett out again and then was ready to run around and play after eating, of course.  Uncle Kelly and Mary had brought a wiffle ball set with them and went around getting enough players for 2 teams.  I joked that I would need a tee to be able to hit the ball, but was honestly afraid I wouldn't be able to make contact.  I was convincing enough in my plea for a tee that Leina and I were simultaneously picked last.  Ty's grandma, otherwise known as Gail or Carter's Gigi, surprised me by jumping in to play.  She was first up to bat and knocked the ball way into the outfield.  Then Amanda hit next and again hit way out into the field.  Both hits made me nervous that I was going to embarrass myself, but I hit the ball way into the outfield as well and made it on base.  We had a blast playing and there were quite a few memorable moments.

Paul pitching to Kelly with Ty and Netta in the outfield and Amanda and Scott waiting to bat.

It appears I am leisurely jogging to 3rd base (although I don't remember any base runs that weren't sprints) with Rocky on 3rd base and Leina in the outfield (where I'm sure she wished she stayed after my incident on 1st base).

During the game I came to realize that 1st base was the worst position to play as you tend to get run over.  I am a bit of a bull in a china shop when I get going fast.  I can't stop and have a hard time even slowing down.  I ran over Paul a couple of times (and wasn't the only person to do so) and then during the last play of the game plowed Leina over trying not to be the 3rd out of the last inning.  I still feel bad picturing her laying on the ground once I finally got stopped and turned around.  That wasn't her only injury of the game either.  She was standing getting ready to bat and Scott threw the ball trying to get the runner headed to first out and zinged Leina with the ball on accident.  Anytime Paul was running and Amanda had the ball she would chase after him saying, "You better not!" as he attempted to steal a base.  It was hilarious and we joked she had the look of evil in her eyes.  My favorite part of the game was Carter spectating.  During my first run around the bases I didn't realize he was chasing me from base to base until I reached home and turned around to see him running toward me.  What a great insurance that no outfielder would run me down or zing a ball at me!  The rest of the time he sat in a special giraffe lawn chair and cheered.  Gigi said anytime I was in action he would cheer, "Go, mommy, go".  When a good play happened he would screech and cheer.  He copied the other spectators yelling, "Play ball!"  A few times we wandered out onto the field and entertained everyone.  We kept score but I don't even know who won, I'd say all of us because we had fun and got some exercise too!

Carter cheering us on.

 

Enjoying Garrett during the wiffle ball game.

Aunt Netta and I gave Carter a bath.  She showed him how to open the stopper to let the water out and then push it back up to stop it again.  He thought that was a blast and kept doing it over and over for I'd guess at least 20 minutes before all the water was gone.  I let him stay in the bath way longer than usual because he was having so much fun, so he was a decent amount past his bedtime before he was in his jammies and ready to go.  Before Megan, Scott, and Garrett left for the evening we got pictures of Carter and Garrett together.  Carter was so sweet and even gave Garrett kisses while he was sitting on his lap.  We didn't even ask him to, he just leaned in and sweetly planted one on Garrett's head.  My camera was slow and I missed it, but fortunately Megan captured it!  Carter cried and fussed a little bit while I was holding Garrett, but I attributed that to him being tired and ready for me to rock him before bed.  Megan picked Carter up while I held Garrett and that appeased him.  By the time I took Carter downstairs he was so tired I'd say I rocked him 2 minutes tops before he was sawing logs in my arms.  It was a busy day full of family and fun!  Part 2 to come tomorrow! 

Kisses for Garrett.