So we had a BIG weekend around these parts. The weather is now HOT, our patio looks ahh-mazing thanks to Mike’s hard work, and we are ready for fun in the sun! This weekend was also delightful because we had the right balance of planned activities and free time to enable a few spontaneous plans to take shape. One of those spur-of-the-moment events just so happened to be going to the Emergency Room. I have to say, this is our first trip to the ER where I actually feel like we ‘got our money’s worth’ (if that is even a thing)…

Here are the best things we did this past weekend, as they played out:

• Saturday morning bright and early, Caroline had soccer practice up at Oakridge Elementary. She actually dribbled the ball and I only held her half the time (soooo… progress, right?) Mike was teaching so it was just us girls. Coach Ollie did a great job keeping all these littles focused. He had them pretend they were pirates and it was the cutest hearing all the little arggghh noises. At one point he wanted the “pirates” to “steal the treasure” (cones in the goal) and Caroline ran around and cleaned up all the cones all over God’s green earth for him. Sigh. That girl. Here is her Game Face:

• We went to the Arlington County Touch a Truck event. This was pretty awesome and there were so many people there we knew from preschool and daycare. Lots of buses, emergency vehicles, and police cars on site. It was cool except I told one parent that I’d pay cash money to attend a “no horns allowed” event next year. It is hard to relax and enjoy the experience when you hear “eee ooooo eee ooooo eeeee ooooo” in your ears continuously. However I must be an old lady because Caroline didn’t care one bit. She especially loved the school bus:

And looking at this made me realize she may be getting on a bus like that in 3 years! How crazy.

• We enjoyed lunch out with our CCCC buddies. We all walked from the Touch a Truck event to this little Mexican joint and Mike met us there. He had been home dealing with the leaky kitchen sink, god bless him. The best part about the lunch outing was that I was terrified of Caroline having a potty accident in public. The entire time I kept bugging her about going and finally after I stopped, she quietly whispered to me, “Potty.” You know, no big deal. I was proud of our girl!
• We did NOT nap. Not one little second. That was as fun as it sounds.
• We enjoyed Ellie’s 2nd birthday party! It was adorable. Rebecca had set up a little canvas painting station and the kiddos had a ball making their mini masterpieces. Of course Caroline was the first (also only?) kid to ditch the paintbrush altogether and dive in with both hands. Later when my mom visited and asked her about her painting, Caroline did the demo of her “whole hand” technique. So funny. The party was so fun and we were sad to see it end, but Mike and I were heading out to his friend Allison’s concert and were excited for a little date night. And then…
• Caroline fell and hit her head open, sending us straight to the ER. She snuck right past the adults saying the long goodbye at the front door. She ran down Ellie’s driveway then crashed into the stone wall, slicing into her forehead. When she looked up, crying, I instantly knew two things: 1) that it wasn’t serious, and 2) that we just needed to get to the ER right away. So we did. Honestly the thing she was upset most about was that we didn’t have her cappi (paci) in the car. Finally she decided any port in a storm and went with baby’s paci. She let us know it was second fiddle but it did get the job done. She was good as gold in the ER. And thank god for the tiny painting kit I had in the diaper bag! It was SO HANDY to have an activity since the numbing meds took 45 minutes to sink in, allowing them to do the 3 stitches.

• After a night of stiff gin & tonics on the lovely back patio, Mike and I crashed to bed early and we all went to breakfast at Busboys and Poets the next morning. We declared it our new favorite spot because the food is good and it isn’t crowded or loud so you can stretch out and no one cares if your toddler is a toddler. Meg even joined us! Caroline was already over the head wound and had moved on to more pressing items, like making sure baby got her bottle. She did however, tell anyone who would listen, “I fall down at Ellie’s house and hurt my head.”

• That afternoon after naps, we went to Spring Fling up a the local elementary school and Ellie’s family joined us. Caroline has her very first sno-cone and loooved it. She also rode the tiny carousel and afterwards I went to collect her and she didn’t budge. Instead, she looked at me and said RIDE AGAIN MOMMY.

It was so, so hot. We also learned that Vivi Girl is obsessed with the shiny can.

The lovefest between these two is adorable. When they weren’t hugging, they were sharing a tub on the Tubs of Fun ride.

• We had Ellie’ family over afterwards for rose and more playtime fun. Let me tell you—no one goes through rose faster than four adults trying to break up two 2-year-olds squabbling over who gets to hold which Elmo.
• We ordered pizza and stayed up late 🙂 Because isn’t that how the best weekends end? When you try your hardest to refuse to let them end??

Happy Spring!