Topeka Trip

Ty's brother, Paul, and sister-in-law, Amanda flew in from Florida last week to visit family. Ty took a half-day on Thursday and a full days on Friday and Monday so we had one heck of a trip/mini-vacation. We would love to see Paul and Amanda more often and wish we could afford to fly to Florida, but we will some day. They are pregnant with their first baby and are due in mid-October. The highlight of the trip for me was getting to feel the baby move and watching Carter feel the baby. When I was pregnant with Elise he would want to feel her and would put his hand on my belly but when I'd go to move his hand so he could actually feel her moving he would get upset and take his hand off. He was at that whole "I do it myself or not at all!" two year old stage. So that made it even sweeter to see him loving on his cousin. He would kiss Amanda's belly and wanted to be around her all the time. We were trying to get a picture of all the kids with the pregnant bellies (Ty's cousin Megan is also pregnant and due a week after Amanda) one day and Carter wouldn't cooperate so I told him to sit by Amanda so he could be by the baby, he immediately ran over and kissed her belly. I just couldn't get enough of the sweetness. For some reason he's dead set that Paul and Amanda need to have a girl too so he kept saying that Amanda was growing two babies, one boy and one girl. I kept telling him it was just one baby so he would tell me, "She's doing it like we did it. Grow one boy first and then grow one girl next." It was the cutest. When we got home he kept asking me when Harper is going to have a baby. Sorry, buddy, never on that one. He does say he wants another baby but he only wants a little brother, not a little sister because he already has one of those. So we're still up in the air about that.

Carter feeling the baby kick.

Uncle Paul got in on the fun.

All the kids and babies, plus me because neither of my kids wanted to be in the picture without me.

Friday was a super relaxed day. Thanks to Leina, Ty and I both slept in. Then I got up and ran while Ty picked Paul up from Amanda's grandma's house. We all ate brunch together and then played around the house. That afternoon/evening Gigi and Papa (Ty's paternal grandparents) came over along with his Aunt Tina, Uncle Kelly, and Mary. We had cheese mets for lunch and then Ty's parents had smoked a bunch of meat so we had a delicious dinner. Carter had a blast with Uncle Kelly, telling him jokes and yelling across the table to him. He kept going on about eating different foods and how you would then have "milk bones" or "chocolate bones". I'm not sure how it started, but it was quite entertaining. The weather was actually quite cool and perfect for hanging around outside which was what we did most of the day. Carter enjoyed playing basketball just like Uncle Paul and Uncle Kelly. He was desperate to play while they were playing so I set up a little basketball goal for him made out of a tote sitting on a chair. He did really well. We also played the longest game of hide and seek ever, just me and Carter and Elise who wouldn't let me put her down. It turned into me continuously hiding and Carter coming to find me.

Elise snuggling with Gigi while playing with Papa.

Uncle Paul let Carter try out the binoculars.

Carter playing on his basketball court.

Saturday was Amanda's baby shower. Family on both sides came over around 11 to hang out and then eat lunch at noon. We got to see Ty's Grandma and Grandpa Cox, Aunt Tina, Uncle Kelly, Mary, Grandma and Grandpa Shupe, Aunt Gena, Uncle Karl, Aunt Netta, and cousins Brody and Megan, along with Megan's husband, Scott, and son, Garrett. Megan is due with baby #2 in October. When they first arrived Carter was all about Megan and wanted no one else. Then he was on to his cousin, Garrett, and they had an absolute blast playing once they warmed up. They were both pretty darn tired and ready for naps at first. After naps they got along wonderfully and Carter wouldn't stop talking about his friend, Garrett. After another delicious lunch we got all the kids down for a nap and then were off to Amanda's baby shower which started at 2. It was fun to hear Amanda's family share stories about her as a kid and then Amanda's mom had asked Paul some parenting related questions and had Amanda guess his answers. I had never seen that done before and it was so cute! When we got back from the shower both the kids were still asleep so Ty and I went for a walk and got back right as they woke up. Megan brought Garrett's water slide with them so we set that up and had a blast playing on it. Paul got out his Go Pro camera and had some fun videoing the kids running around and riding bikes. Then we all played a game of wiffle ball which was a lot of fun.

Leina getting snuggles from both Carter and Garrett.

The boys ready for the water slide.

Amanda, 27 weeks, and Megan, 26 weeks.

Carter was finished with his ice cream cone so he gave it to Elise.

Aunt Netta played with the kids so we could play wiffle ball.

The Cox family: Papa (Verl), Uncle Kelly, Gigi (Gail), Mary, Leina, Elise, Rocky, Aunt Tina, Paul, Amanda (and baby), Carter, Ty, and me.

Sunday was spent mostly around Ty's parents' house. Aunt Netta, Brody, Megan, Scott, and Garrett left early to head back home for work on Monday so we didn't get to see them. But we got to spend more time with Gigi, Papa, Tina, Kelly, and Mary. It's kind of a blur trying to remember details about each day since we ate a lot of smoked meats and saw a lot of people. My favorite memory from this day was Aunt Tina putting together puzzles with Carter, he loved it! Well, that and Leina and Rocky offering to watch the kids that evening so Ty and I could go on a date. That means we've had 2 dates already in July! We haven't had more than one date in a month since Carter was born, so it was incredibly awesome! I wanted to go somewhere special to Topeka that wasn't a chain and we were limited since many of those kinds of restaurants were closed since it was Sunday. We ended up at a bar and grill and I enjoyed a delicious patty melt. We got home in time to put the kids to sleep and Carter got to have a special ice cream with Gma.

Ty talked me into a large beer. It was much bigger than I expected! He helped me with it.

Date night!

Special ice cream.

Monday morning we went to Gigi and Papa's house for breakfast before heading home. Carter had an absolute blast playing with Muffin, chasing her around the house and throwing toys for her. He is quite the inventive little guy. He didn't want her to try to grab the toys out of his hand as he picked them up, so he'd put a bar stool over the toy and reach through to pick it up. I went with Amanda to make some returns from her baby shower so she wouldn't have to take home duplicate items with her. It was nice to have some time to chat with her. When it was time to leave Carter was actually tired enough he wanted to go home. That night he laid in bed and cried for his Gma. It is so sweet to see how much he loves his family and enjoys visiting them. Now it's back to the real world for us!

Elise tinkering with parts in Gigi and Papa's backyard.

Trying out Papa's special bike. It was more difficult than expected.

Zonked in the car on the way home. The longest dual nap they've ever taken in the car, 1.5 hours!