Weekend Recap: Daddy's Back!!

Andy was gone at school all last week, so we were beyond excited to see him on Saturday.  Although the week wasn't as hard as I was anticipating, it is still much better with him home!  Ben asked where daddy went every day and kept asking for him to come home.  It was so cute, as is everything he says these days.  It was a really busy week, but Ben and I managed to have a lot of fun too.  Ben's favorite event was undoubtedly when we went to Maddie's on Friday night.  Her birthday was on Sunday, so Ben picked out the perfect birthday presents for her: markers, a big roll of paper, and a giant  Frozen balloon.  :)  Even though I am pretty sure he wanted to keep everything, he graciously left everything for Maddie and he was genuinely excited to give her the presents.  And he helped open them too. ;)  As always, Sarah and I had a great night of girl talk and our college friend Sheila even drove up to join us. I really wish we could all hang out more often!!

We skipped swimming lessons again on Saturday morning. (I'm definitely not one to skip class like this, I'm just not impressed with the program at all.  It is essentially open swim, which can be done anytime, anywhere, more or less.)  Plus, we had bigger and better things to do like seeing Andy after a week without him!  We decided to meet him at school, so Auntie Anna, Uncle Joe, and Nana all took a road trip with us.  We stopped for a little lunch first and we met up with my Auntie Gail who lives in the area.   Ben loves spending the day with his aunties and uncle!

And of course, his Momma too!

There was so much to look at which was great, except that Ben was more interested in exploring the restaurant than eating.  We finally had to "motivate" him (the feeding clinic says "motivate" instead of "bribe") with a trip to the candy area.

All it took was a quick glance at all the goodies, and he polished off a good quarter of his grilled cheese sandwich.  I know that isn't much, but it was huge for him!  Auntie Gail let him pick out some treats. He had no problem making decisions.  :)

After the sweets, he got to go on the carousel with Auntie Anna.  I think it goes without saying that he loved it.

I'm not sure where Auntie Anna is in this picture, but he is looking like a riding pro in this picture.

The grand finale was Ben getting to eat the odd looking, over-priced sucker he picked out.

This quickly became a shirtless affair as green, yellow, and red sugar slobber dribbled everywhere.

The next stop was our beloved shoe store.  We've gone here every year for the past countless number of years and it is so fun each and every time.  Ben was really getting into it too.  I will have to take a picture of the cute shoes he got.  Size 7 already!

We all found a pair or two so I'd call that a successful trip!  Yes, we are spoiled by Auntie Gail.

We stopped by Auntie Gail's house for a bit before it was time to go meet Andy for dinner.

I can't believe we didn't take any pictures at dinner, but needless to say it was happy reunion for all!!  Ben was a little angel all day despite only taking two brief naps.  I just love spending time with that boy.  He makes everything so fun!

On Sunday morning, Daddy and Ben went to breakfast so I could go to the gym.  I ran, well, ran/walked my first 5k of this pregnancy!  I've been running a mile or two here and there, but it felt good to run 3!  I'm planning on doing a 5k run/walk in October, so I want to keep running as long as I can.  The doctor gave me the go ahead this morning and I'm feeling awesome.  Anyway, back to my boys!  We all ran some errands before Ben and I decided to give daddy some free time for homework.  (I see a lot of this in his future!)  It was about a million degrees outside plus it was raining on and off the whole day, so Ben and I decided to check out this indoor play area near our house.  I didn't know what to expect, but Ben LOVED it!

It was like all of Ben's favorite things in one location.  Digging and dumping.

Pounding!

Choo choos!

Dinosaurs

Shopping

And MORE!  We were there for a good two hours and then Andy joined us for more fun.  There were barely any people there, you can bring in your own snacks/meals, and you only have to pay for the kids, so it was $10 well spent!

This essentially wraps up our weekend!  It will be a busy two years with Andy back in school, but we've got this!  I'm so, so, so proud of him for taking this on and he is already studying like a machine!  We can't believe Ben is going to be 2!!! in a few weeks, so we know the next 2 years will fly as well!

Those bump pictures are still coming...