SUPER BUSY weekend! :)

I took last Friday off since our daycare was closed (staff work day) since school starts back on Monday. I had scheduled portraits in the morning for the kids since I hadn't taken them in a while but the day ended up being way more busy than just pictures. I wanted to try somewhere new but Portrait Innovations is so close and their prices are reasonable so that's where we went at 9 in the morning. Alyssa was a doll and smiled for the camera. Jacob was the complete opposite and didn't like the portrait experience AT ALL (typical guy!!! LOL). Regardless, we still got some good pictures that I will send out to family soon (I promise!).

After portraits, we had a play date with some of Alyssa's friends who had moved up to the 3 year old room at school - Patrick and Grayson. The playdate was at Monkey Joe's which just opened up in the Northeast a few months ago. All of the kids had a great time! Even Jacob - who won't walk more than a few steps at a time but tried to climb up on everything he could find and do what the older kids did. I think it's funny that Monkey Joe's has an adult lounge area with wi-fi, massage chairs, etc when I didn't even have a moment to sit down the entire time we were there!

We played till lunchtime and I ended up feeding the kids in the car (don't judge!) because I didn't want them to fall asleep and not eat on our way home. Alyssa ended up just relaxing on the couch while Jacob slept but his nap fell short since we had to be at the doctor's office for his 18 month appointment at 2. Alyssa was quick to tell the nurse that we were just here for Jacob and not her! When the doctor came in, Jacob freaked out while Alyssa tried to have numerous conversations with him (since she wasn't there for her appointment). They couldn't get an accurate weight on Jacob because he squirmed too much but he's somewhere between 21-23 lbs. He's 30 inches so he's grown but still not quite on the charts. Jacob got his 2 shots (but is done until age 4!!!) and we were on our way. Home, you say?? Nope....we went to the kids' new daycare....well new as in different from the one we were at the day before. Monday we are switching the kids back to their previous daycare so I went with the kids to make sure we were all set to go and see their rooms. Alyssa was excited since our neighbor's son also goes there and the owner said I could leave the kids there for a few hours to get aquainted. So I left Alyssa and she didn't even care - not even a Bye Mommy for me....so that was great considering we usually have a lot of llama drama. Jacob on the other hand had no desire to stay but I can't blame him considering he had 2 shots so I took him home to rest.

Later that evening, I picked up Alyssa and went back home in time for Jamie and Meghan to come up for the evening and spend the night. Jamie was so gracious to watch our kids while we went out for a surprise dinner party for Jacki and Dan who are moving next month. We had a nice adult evening out and came back to hear that the kids had been great. Jamie and Meghan had a party to go to the next morning in the Northeast so after breakfast, they headed off while I took Alyssa to My Gym for her weekly class this month. I had bought the My Gym groupon a while back for 4 classes and 4 free plays in one month and I'm glad I waited to use it since the summer had gotten so hot that we didn't go outside that much and My Gym was a perfect way to use up some 2 year old energy! Alyssa loves the classes and participates well so we have been enjoying it alot.

After My Gym, we all took a nap at home and then headed out to Lake Wateree for a birthday party for our friend Cole who turned 2. The kids had a great time in the lake, which was surprisingly warm, and we hung out with great friends and had a cookout.

Jacob continues to "cheese" when he sees my camera which makes him look like he's in pain rather than smiling!!



Happy 2nd Birthday Cole!!!




Whew! Long weekend and I haven't even gotten to Sunday yet. Sunday, we kept it a little more low key and the whole family went to the zoo in the morning. Did our usual routine (and Alyssa rode the pony AND the carousel by herself) and then went back home to rest and run errands before the work week began again. All in all, very very busy but a lot of fun at the same time! This weekend also made me realize how far we've come - I used to be scared to take both kids anywhere by myself but now it's no big deal to be running around all day with the kids now that they are older! :)