Last Sunday, Grandma Sue and Pepere came out for a visit. We are in the process of setting up a swing set we bought from our neighbors, so our back yard has a pile of swing set pieces, including a slide. After the rains, the slide had become a pool. Yep, Grandma Sue and Jack had fun playing in the "slide pool". Luckily it was warm enough outside. Jack would put on his swim suit to play outside in the middle of a snow storm if we let him!
Grandma Sue and Pepere's visit also gave Steve and me a chance to hit the outlet mall just the two of us. In about an hour, we were able to buy Steve some new clothes and make a stop at Trader Joe's for a few things for dinner. We both marveled at the experience of shopping without anyone crying or asking for his own cart. We also found it much faster to shop without the kids :).
On Wednesday, Jack had a pajama party at school. He loved being in his jammies so much, he stayed in them the entire day! And he's asked for a pajama party every night since. (We did relent on Friday night, but more on that in a minute). This picture is from about 4 in the afternoon.
I feel so lucky to be able to stay home right now with my family. And I definitely feel the benefit when Steve has to travel. It's a little rough not having any adult interactions when he is gone, but it's so nice to not have to worry about anything but the boys and the house during that time. This week's trip was the first in several weeks, so even though it was only one night, we definitely all missed him. Jack decided he wanted to surprise Daddy with cookies when he got home. So on Wednesday afternoon, we baked a batch of cookies for Daddy. We had lots of fun making Funfetti cookies from the cake mix. My mom has been making cookies this way for years, and I tried this a month or so ago without as much success. However, Jack and I figured out the trick this time. You have to make little balls of dough and then squish them down with your hands. Not only does this make for a better cookie, it also makes for way more fun!
Daddy definitely enjoyed his cookie surprise (and Jack and I loved taste-testing!). And since Grandma always makes us cookies, we decided to surprise her with some the next day. We drove out to Wheeling to make a surprise visit to the Villa where we knew Grandma Sue and her friends had been working very hard lately. I think the surprise was a hit.
We didn't stay long though, since they had work to do. We left and headed over to Nibbles Play Cafe for some fun and lunch. Even Reid got to play there since they have a great little baby area. I find I love watching Jack play and interact with other kids. He made a little friend at Nibbles, and they played in the puppet show theater and the kitchen for quite a while.
I recently joined a Mom's group through Meetup.com. We've been to a couple of playdates, and we're all making new friends, which is definitely fun. We also found an amazing park that's pretty close to our house, closer than the other park we really liked. On Friday, while Jack was at school and Steve was working, Reid and I went to brunch with the Mom's group. It was a pretty big turnout with about 7 or so moms and several kids there. And this time, I actually got to talk to people! I love hearing people's stories. I really miss my friends from Wheeling: Sandra, Cindy, Erin, Jen, Meredith, Christine, Wendy, and so many more. So this brunch gave me a little feeling of being with them even though they weren't there. I think I'll invite the WHS ladies out this summer for something similar!
So I alluded to the Friday night pajama party earlier. Here's the details. Jack had been asking for a pajama party all afternoon (as well as the days before!), and he also asked for a fire in the fireplace. Since it was a little chilly, we decided that would be kind of nice. So, Steve stoked a fire and ordered a pizza. Jack put on his jammies, and we all hung out in the great room (except for Breyer, she had to play outside while we ate pizza on the floor). We played a rousing game of Superhero Chutes and Ladders, which Jack won fair and square. Reid played on his playmat and worked very hard to roll over. (He's so close!). We even watched a movie afterwards (an episode of the Avengers cartoon from Netflix). All in all, it was a successful pajama party. Of course, now Jack wants to do that again, and I'm sure we will!
This weekend was packed with fun too. My cousin Kelly came over for a visit on Saturday morning. I'm not sure who enjoys that more, me or Jack. He loves to show off for her. This time that meant jumping on the trampoline and playing hide and seek. I love to talk to her about life. I miss my 20s sometimes, and I love hearing about all of the cool stuff she gets to do. I think Reid is also becoming a huge fan of Aunt Kelly. He couldn't stop smiling at her and eventually fell asleep in her arms. I was too busy visiting with her this time to take pictures, but I'll remember to next time!
On Sunday, (wait, that's today!) we went to brunch with Papa (Steve's dad). We love brunch, and brunch with good company is always a good thing!
We finished up our weekend with a birthday party. Our good friend Olivia turned 4 yesterday and had her party at Pump It Up today. Jack got to play with all of his friends from Little Wildcats, so needless to say, he was pretty darn excited. Steve and I got to visit with our WHS friends, and needless to say, I was pretty darn excited.
The birthday girl
And to close out this post, how about a few pictures that didn't necessarily fit in with the narrative of the week, but are cute nonetheless. Enjoy!
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