Summer-Perfect Weekend

I can't believe it is already September. It IS my most favorite month of the year, but I definitely wasn't ready for its arrival so soon. I want more summer!

Fortunately, we just had a really great summer-perfect weekend that takes a bit of the sting out of the fact that summer is nearing an end.

Last Friday, we both took the afternoon off work and headed to the MN State Fair. We look forward to it every year, and this year had the added excitement because of Carter. Obviously, he is a baby and doesn't yet seem to know his toe from one of his toys (both are chewable), let alone understand anything about the fair experience. But, it's tradition for our little family, and I was eager to see his reaction to the crowds and the commotion.

My parents joined us, and we met up with Jon's best friend and his son as well. We all decided on our first must-have foods and parted ways to go get them as we were all starving. I couldn't get to my corn dog fast enough! We met back up with food in hand, and headed to the Grandstand so Jon and my dad could get their free My Pillows. More food on our way to Machinery Hill, a quick stop in the Lactation Station (which was a bust, mostly because Carter was way too distracted by everyone to nurse and it was freaking hot in there), some climbing on John Deere tractors, a visit to the Eco Building, more food, a stop by the 4H building to see my friend Suzi, and some pacing about to get Carter to nap. He didn't.

This was Carter most of the time - chilling in his stroller with nary a peep.
Also, he's so proud he can hold his own sippy.

Carter sure is going to miss his grandparents while they travel the world for a couple of months. But we are all super excited they get to spend time with my sister and her family. And I'm sure Carter will have lots of new tricks to show them when they return.

Oh for cute.

"Don't eat the steering wheel, Carter!" LOL.

One of my favorites - Apple Dumpling with Ice Cream.

I expected Carter to be rather chill and well-behaved because he usually is, but a small part of me worried that he'd get bored, or over-stimulated, or hot, or cranky, or tired, and we'd suffer our way through the fair. A mother's mind never stops worrying, does it? As expected though, he was an angel. We ended up leaving a bit earlier than I thought we might, as he was not falling asleep in his stroller and was getting dangerously close to being overtired, but that was okay with me. Jon and I are going back with other people sans-baby this weekend so I can enjoy everything else I missed. Carter slept the whole 8 block walk back to where we had miraculously found parking, and we had a fun evening back at my parents' house.

On Saturday, I had lunch with some girls that used to work with me. They wanted to meet Carter, but of course it was right about the time he would probably be ready to nap again. (Mister used to have a somewhat predictable nap schedule until he dropped his 3rd nap...now it's a guessing game of when and how long he'll nap). I also hadn't been to a restaurant alone with him in a loooong time, so I was nervous about how that would be in combination with no nap. But, I figured I'd give it a shot.

The moral of the story is I need to stop being so nervous. The fair went just great. Lunch went even more fabulously. This boy is just a dream. (This is not to say he doesn't give us plenty of challenging moments...fortunately they are mostly at home where we can deal with them easier).

Carter quietly sat in his high chair and played with toys, chewed on the table, grinned at the girls, watched the servers come and go, and devoured puffs and avocado. I was able to visit with the other 4 girls and eat my lunch rather peacefully, while my little boy sat next to me being a sweetheart. I couldn't have been more proud.

A bad picture of him, but the only one I got. I am loving these table toppers!

Carter fell asleep immediately on our drive home, so I knew an afternoon nap was out of the picture. I wanted to prolong this sleep as much as possible, so I decided I would take the longer way home. Which just happens to go right by a Dairy Queen...and I was craving a blizzard. I figured I could swing by and pick up a small treat, park the car somewhere and enjoy while he slept. Yeah, he's too smart for that. He woke up the instant we stopped at the window. So we went home, I ate my ice cream and he crawled around the living room. That 30 minute nap was apparently all he needed, because he was a ball of energy. Rolling and climbing and chatting away.

Jon was golfing so it was just me and Carter, and we had a rather idyllic afternoon together. Whenever I lay on the floor these days, Carter comes crawling over shrieking and starts climbing all over me. He occasionally bites (ouch), but mostly just enjoys burying his face into me and getting real close. I just adore how playful he is, and grabbing his chubby thighs and tickling him and giving him bear hugs while he squirms and laughs. SUCH A FUN AGE.

Squeaky clean and ready for bed!

Though I adore my child oh so much, that moment he's tucked away in bed and I know I have several hours before he wakes (on a bad night, many more hours on a good night) is glorious. I made myself a sandwich and binged on several episodes of The Walking Dead. I'm almost through the last season and am really looking forward to the new one coming up! Who would have thunk, a girl like me, liking a zombie show. Though it is the storyline about the people that interests me the most, not those nasty zombies.

Sunday morning was very typical for us. I got up with Carter, because I'm the early bird of the family. He crawled around and played and pulled himself up on every piece of furniture we own while I sat and enjoyed a cup of coffee and watched. I tried to hold off Carter as long as possible for his morning nap so he'd be fresh and happy for our family photos. He still gets so tired by 7:30/8am...but a few puffs gave him the energy to keep playing. Followed by a perfectly timed nap!

 

We met Mandy at a nearby park, which was actually where we had our maternity photos taken. That was a trip down memory lane. It was a gorgeous morning, and Carter cooperated fairly well! I can't wait to see how they turned out. I am so happy to finally have a nice family photo of us, not a selfie or a quick iPhone photo in poor lighting or with dirty faces. (Well, Carter's face would be the only dirty one, I hope, but you get what I mean). We were all looking our best this day. 

So curious.

A quick and uneventful trip to Costco followed, and we were back home to nap.

That afternoon we decided to check out our city's fair. It is not a small affair by no means, though having just been at the MN Fair it definitely felt carnival-y. We had some food, walked around and looked at the booths, pondered how different it'll be next year with a 1.5-year-old, and were back home in an hour.

Back at home, we played and played and played some more. These two...they are my everything.

It's times like these I wish my husband was photographically minded like me. Clearly this is not how I was hoping this photo would turn out. Carter's not looking, the lighting is horrendous, and it's a terrible angle (my arm looks like it's 3 times the normal size). Sigh. But? Life isn't perfectly lighted or angled either.

Carter had blueberries for dinner, and I learned a valuable lesson: baby should be naked when eating staining foods such as these. He got blueberry juice all over his once-worn outfit; to this day I'm still stain-sticking the heck out of it (but it's almost gone!). Early PJs it was. There was more playing that evening, mostly at the ottoman that we now use instead of our glass coffee table. Carter is obsessed with standing there. I think he really likes being vertical, and I can't blame him. Though I have to say, I rather enjoy laying around.

And that was our splendid, summer-perfect weekend. No household chores or other unenjoyable responsibilities were completed. Our dishes were stacked and laundry piled up, but we didn't care. It was nice to enjoy a full weekend. (Monday sucked, but when does it not?)  

Sleeping baby...gah!