friends, family, and fun

We made one last summer trip home to Louisiana last week to catch up with friends and family before the craziness of school and work starts next month. It was a whirlwind visit as usual, but everything well as smoothly as I could hope for. We left Houston around 10 am on Friday, hoping the strategic timing would allow us to miss both Houston morning rush hour traffic and Baton Rouge afternoon rush hour traffic. Great idea in theory, but nothing ever runs according to schedule with a toddler. By 11:30 we were both hungry so against my better culinary judgement, we stopped at a McDonald's ONLY because it had an indoor playground. Otherwise I would never ever set foot in that establishment. (If you haven't read Fast Food Nation do yourself a favor and read it. You too will never again want to consume a McNugget after you've been enlightened with the details of the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of overly-processed chicken parts.) Luckily I had packed a sandwich and mandarin orange cup for her lunch, so it was only my health that was being compromised by our restaurant selection. She gobbled up her lunch and then spent a good 20 minutes playing on the playground. This was probably the highlight of her day, and I was glad to let her stretch her legs even if it meant a delay in our travel itinerary.

On Saturday we met up with several of my landscape friends from college for a toddler playdate. All of these kiddos are within 5 months of age, 3 of them (Liam/Caroline/Nolan) being born within 4 weeks of each other! It was our first time to meet Liam and Nolan in person, and I was curious to see how Caroline would play with all these boys. I saw firsthand how boys and girls are definitely very different! She mostly avoided them, not wanting to instigate a conflict if she reached for a truck or other toy.

the dirt pile was a big hit with the boys

water break! there was frequent stealing exchanging
of sippy cups going on.

the tractor was another big hit with the boys.
Caroline barely even looked at it.

Nolan tried his hand at driving the tractor

Liam and Charlie supervise the tractor operations.

what a bunch of cuties!

She loves slides in any form, so Charlie's hill slide was a big hit in her book. Love this wonderful little outdoor playscape!!

In true toddler style, the only way we could get all of them to sit still for a decent photo was to bribe them with snacks. 

everyone smile and say 'crackers!'

The rest of the weekend was spent lounging around with family, just hanging out. We went swimming in Mama's pool a few times and played at the neighborhood playground. Aunty Em and Mama came over to visit quite a bit, and Caroline especially enjoyed when Emmy brought Kline along!

trying to commandeer Aunty Em's phone

Showing off her boots to Mama!

going for a stroll with Emmy and Kline

Not sure what happened here but it must've been funny!

playing at Susu's house

the electronics queen, zipping through Susu's ipad

sporting her Louisiana style

"higher, higher!"

On Tuesday we loaded up and headed back home, this time without a stop at McDonald's playplace. So instead I took her to the giant indoor playground as soon as we got back in Houston so she could run around and burn off some energy. This time, she finally mustered up the courage to attempt tackling the giant alligator slide. She had been eyeing it all summer long, wanting to try it but definitely feeling intimidated. Finally today she asked 'up? up?' so I lifted her up and let her begin the steep climb up the ladder.

She would only proceed all the way up if she knew I was coming with her, so we both climbed to the top. This was no small climb for an 18-month-old! And then we slid down together, and repeated the process over and over and over. She loved it!

Next week will be the beginning of our big transition...she starts school on Tuesday! I'll put up another post with all the details of our new school orientation and 'meet the teacher' day!