What a weekend!
Even though it is only Saturday night as I write this, it feels like SAM and I have already had a weekend due to the fact that last night (Friday) we took a "mini trip" and spent the night away from home! We used hotel points to book a room at Le Meridien which is in a quieter part of town, and pretended we were away on a trip.
There was date night dinner in the hotel coffee shop, TV couch potato time and room service breakfast in the room. It all felt very grown up and utterly refreshing.
It was our first time away from M as a couple and it was incredibly liberating to just spend time together as a couple and not as parents.
She was only the topic of every other conversation.
After checking out around noon, we returned to the baby you see in these photos.
It certainly didn't seem like she missed us.
Actually, she seemed quite happy to see us, and we were really glad to see her again. It was nice to spend alone time as spouses, but coming home to M was just joyous for all of us.
After her lunch, we spent the afternoon out with M running errands.
She is getting quite heavy to carry now and we went to the mother and baby store to pick up a sort of fanny pack style hip carrier for Margaret called a "Hipseat."
It's pretty awesome.
The Baby Bjorn has been getting a little bit heavy with Margaret getting ever bigger and heavier, and with this thing, she simply sits on the little seat that straps around your waist and the adult simply slings an arm around the baby to keep her attached.
While at the store, one fellow mom told us that when the child is older it can be worn with the seat in the back and and the child can hang on piggy-back style.
It's quite comfortable and we'll be looking forward to trying it out.
While picking it up, however we discovered that M + Walking + Store = Independent browsing.
I think we've got a shopper.
In the baby store, we had her out of the stroller and I watched as M strolled up and down the aisles browsing all the interesting products. She especially liked a toy lion that played music when his nose was pressed, and spent quite a bit of time handing her Daddy many different stuffed animals that caught her fancy.
Then, later at the kid's book store, she found a box of rubber balls for sale, and spent much of her time bringing them to her mother one by one.
She must have been very curious as to why the number of balls in the box didn't change no matter how many trips she took (Daddy was putting them back)!
At the grocery store food court for the grown-ups' lunch, she wanted out of her seat and was walking just everywhere, mingling with the other shoppers and flirting with the counter ladies. Please see the video below for evidence.
It was fun to just watch her walk around independently and exercise her own will in terms of what she wanted to do and where she wanted to go.
It was the first time I've really observed Margaret being so independent in a public environment that was not the park, and it really hit home how much she has developed and how much independent will she now has.
It's like she's becoming a person!
And while I'm sure that we're going to wish she was a little less independent later on, it's incredible to observe it now and to think that we made this thinking, walking, (sort of) talking, person.
At least for now, she's always coming back to us.
6 comments:
Andrew and I are both amazed at how much she looks like her mother in the first couple pictures. Not that we didn't see it before, but maybe it's the gigantic smile that brings the "McLean" out even more! :) Margaret is becoming quite the accomplished walker - how wonderful to see it all from this side of the world!
What a nice weekend for you three! Love the sounds of the "get away" time. I'm sure you benefited from that break. Refreshing!
Isn't it amazing how quickly the walking seems so much steadier and more efficient? Competence builds fast. "Toddler" is such an apt term for this little person. :-)
Thanks for sharing! Love you all.
Wow. These photos, with her full mouth of teeth, really look like a toddler. No more baby here. She's truly a little person- looking so grown up. Thank you for the pictures and videos. They're wonderful and ever helpful to make us feel connected.
Glad that you had a good break...Here come the holiday visitors!! :)
wow, that first photo that flashed on the screen as I got to your blog reminded me of Sarah at that age!
nice memories! She is beautiful and growing in leaps and bounds. That pink hood!! Changes everything!
Shouldn't the correct plural for 'spouses', be 'spice'???
Great blog -- no more baby, we are talking full-fledged toddler!
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