Weekend in the Life - Memorial Day

A while age I shared a glimpse into a day in our lives so today I thought it would be fun to do a weekend edition. Our weekends have changed a lot since Max was born. Whereas they used to be fairly low-key (i.e. Netflix marathons, DIY projects), they’re now a lot more kid-friendly and action packed. Each one is different, especially when grandparents are in town. Here’s a look at what we did this past Memorial Day weekend when Pops and Bebe were visiting.

FRIDAY

Max’s daycare was closed for a teacher in-service day so Aaron and I decided to take the day off.

5:30 a.m. - Max wakes up. Aaron gets up with him. I sleep in til 7:30 (wahoo!). If you read our day in our lives post, you might remember that Max used to be a consistent 4:30 a.m. riser. I’m happy to report that for the past 5-6 months he has pushed his wake up time to 5:00 - 5:30 a.m., with the occasional 6:00 a.m. wake up. Max is like me and wakes up ready for breakfast, so he isn’t one of those kids who plays in his room for an hour before calling for us (so jealous of all you out there who have kids who do that!)

7:00 a.m. - After a light breakfast of scrambled eggs and cantaloupe, Aaron takes Max to Pops and Bebe’s hotel to have breakfast #2 and “eat waffles”. Going to the hotel and eating waffles are currently two of Max’s favorite things to talk about. Lately he has been having an elevator aversion so he makes everyone walk up the stairs in the hotel. We all hope this phase will pass soon.

7:30 a.m. - I wake up. Make 2 fried eggs, a bagel and a bowl of cereal. It’s a luxury to eat a high carb breakfast without a toddler insisting he wants the same. We are trying to keep Max on an eggs and fruit breakfast and limit the bagels and cereal he eats. If it were up to him he would eat nothing but bread, fruit bars and graham crackers all day. I lounge around for a little with the morning news and scroll through my phone, appreciating the quietness of the house. Then I throw in a load of laundry and fold the remaining clean clothes that have been sitting in the dryer for 2 days.

1:00-3:00 p.m. - After lunch, Max takes a nap. Ever since we switched to a toddler bed (~6 weeks ago) it takes Max a lot longer to fall asleep. Some days we start the nap time routine close to an hour before he actually falls asleep. We have even considered putting the crib siding back up because he was such a great crib sleeper, but at this point we are just toughing it out.

3:30 p.m. - We all go to Stony Point Mall so Max can run around in the Water Play Park. It’s a cute spot with a Splash Pad and play area that has plenty of outdoor seating for adults. After a little, Aaron and I leave to go see a movie at CineBistro while Max stays with Pops and Bebe. They hang out for a while longer, then grab Chipotle for dinner.

7:00 p.m. - Aaron and I get home. Max is bathed and in his PJs relaxing on the couch with Pops and Bebe. We let Max wind down with a show before bedtime. He switches between watching the Pixar movie Cars and this terrible Netflix show that he calls “School bus”. We let Max stay up until 8:00 p.m. because he looks so cute snuggled up with Pops and Bebe. This particular night he is watching Cars, while in his new Cars PJs (from Bebe) and holding his new Cars pillow (also from Bebe).

9:00 p.m. - Aaron and I watch the latest episode of Silicon Valley. This season has been so good!

10:30 p.m. - Sleep

SATURDAY

5:45 a.m. - Max wakes up and starts calling for us. Aaron gets up, makes him breakfast (scrambled eggs and strawberries) and feeds him. Pops comes by at 8:00 a.m. to pick up Max. Max is a tad grumpy this morning, but his mood immediately picks up as soon as he sees Pops. He is spending the day with Pops and Bebe so Aaron and I can make a trip up to IKEA to pick up the big boy bed that they bought for him.

8:30 a.m. - Aaron and I head to IKEA. The drive is a little more than an hour and a half, but we don’t mind because it’s a nice time to spend together. It was so quiet without Max talking in the back or listening to an endless playlist of Wheels on the Bus. Normally when we plan an IKEA trip we are fully prepared – we’ve browsed the catalogue, taken measurements and made a precise list of the exact items we want. We inevitably always end up with a lot of extra items that we didn’t know we needed (IKEA does that to you). Considering this trip was a little more impromptu, we ended up with a LOT more stuff! Most of it was for Max’s new big boy room but we also grabbed a few updates for the house (i.e. new curtains….yay!). Somehow it was 3:00 p.m. by the time we checked out, packed up the car and headed home.

10:00 a.m. - Pops and Bebe take Max to the mall where he rides the train. They meet up with Bebe’s sister, Aunt Laurie, who happens to be in town visiting friends. They all go over to Barnes and Noble for a “Pete the Cat” story time. A few weeks ago Aaron and I took Max to see the Pete the Cat author, Eric Litwin, which was a blast. We assumed the Barnes and Noble story time would be equally as fun, but it ended up being a bust. Luckily, Max didn’t mind and still had a good time. That’s one of the great things about toddlers, they don’t always realize when something isn’t fun. Max ends his morning with “More cookie, please Bebe!”.

1:00 - 3:30 p.m. - Max takes a nap.

5:30 p.m. - Aaron and I get back and find Max playing with the 2 awesome trucks (this front loader and dump truck) that Aunt Laurie brought him. Then we all head over to our neighbor Christina’s house for a party. Christina has an adorable puppy that Max took a special interest in. He has always been very cautious around animals, so we were thrilled that he was petting and playing with Meeka. We hang out for a while until Max started to show visible signs of grump. At that point we take our cue and head home.

7:00 p.m. - Typically Aaron and I trade off giving Max a bath and putting him to bed, but occasionally we do it together. It’s not a practical nightly routine, but every once in a while it is nice to both cozy up with Max to read him a bedtime story (or three). I’m making an effort to enjoy these moments when it’s just the three of us.

10:30 p.m. - We get into bed and read a little before falling asleep. I’m currently reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I’m only a few chapters in but the story is so intriguing and I have a hard time putting it down.

SUNDAY

6:30 a.m. - Aaron and I managed to wake up before Max. This has only happened a handful of times; I thank Pops and Bebe for completely wearing him out the day before. We go downstairs and make breakfast together, something that we almost never get to do anymore. We made scrambled eggs, bacon and cut up the last few strawberries in our frig. Max wakes up and we all eat together.

10:30-11:15 a.m. - Romp-n-Roll Toddler Tunes class. We don’t go to Romp-n-Roll regularly anymore, but it is still a great activity for dreary days and Max loves it. This time Pops and Bebe take Max and Aaron and I stay home and go for a run. Our running routine is a lot less consistent than it used to be, but we do our best to squeeze it in whenever possible.

3:30 p.m. - After Max’s afternoon nap, Pops and Bebe take him to the Children’s museum. Aaron and I clean up the house, fold laundry then head out to meet them. Getting a family membership to the Children’s museum has been one of the best purchases. There are 3 locations near us, and Max never tires of cooking food in the diner or shopping for groceries in the store.

5:30 p.m. - Dinner at Chuy’s. Max has his first taste of nachos, but his favorite part was watching the woman make the tortillas. She even gave him a little piece of dough so he could try making his own. In true toddler fashion, he immediately tried eating the lump of raw dough.

8:30 p.m. - Once Max was down for the night, Aaron and I relaxed on the couch with ice cream and watched Married at First Sight. Don’t judge, we know one of the couples!

11:00 p.m. - We are exhausted. Aaron falls asleep with his kindle on his lap and I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

MONDAY

5:00 a.m. - Max wakes up and Aaron gets him. I wake up too and make a half hearted effort to get him, but as soon as Aaron tells me to “go back to sleep”, I don’t argue. I’ve always considered myself an early riser, but more of the 6:00 a.m. type. I sleep until 7:00 a.m. (thanks Aaron!).

9:00 a.m. - Pops and Bebe get to our house. We pack a cooler of food and head to Maymont Park for a picnic. We didn’t make it around to see the bears but Max had just as much fun chasing a gaggle of geese up the hill. Not shown in the picture are 4 out of breath adults. About 5 minutes after the picture below was taken the mama goose realized a little human was chasing her babies. Aaron bolted up the hill and grabbed Max! I didn’t grow up around Geese and had no idea they could be so vicious!

12:30-2:30 p.m. - Max takes a nap. He is exhausted from the park and goes down more easily than usual. Aaron and his dad play baseball on the Xbox and Bebe and I go for a walk. After a very rainy week, it was nice getting out of the house and getting some steps.

3:30 p.m. - Max has been taking swim lessons for the last few weeks but this was our first trip to our neighborhood pool. We slathered on sunscreen, grabbed a toy, packed towels and headed to the pool. It was crowded but I think Max enjoyed seeing all the bigger kids running around. He loved being in the water and did not want to leave.

5:30 p.m. - Aaron and I squeeze in one more date night. We are so appreciative that both our parents insist on giving us date nights whenever they are in town . Neither of our parents grew up close to their parents, so they understand the importance of getting a break once in a while. Pops and Bebe take Max out to dinner then to sweet frog for a special frozen yogurt treat.

7:30 p.m. - Aaron and I get home. As we lounge around with Pops, Bebe and Max, it reminds me that weekends like this give me the space to realize just how lucky we are. Hope everyone else had a great Memorial Day weekend!