6 years as of Saturday. On our way to Seattle this weekend we commented that it sure felt like longer, but in essence it really has been. We started dating 12.5 years ago and have lived together since 1996. I couldn't be happier!
Friday morning we got up and hung out around the house. At nearly 11:30am we headed out hoping to keep Leif on his nap schedule, (naps noon to nearly 3pm). We succeeded until we needed a Starbucks fix in Ellensburg. Unfortunately at that point he woke up and stayed awake until we arrived in Seattle. We found our hotel and AB was thrilled about the waterfront location on Lake Union. It was a nice place and extra bonus, had a pool.
We turned Leif loose in the park for a little while before heading down to the Pikes Place Market. I have been there a number of times and still I really enjoy visiting at every opportunity. AB put Leif in the pack carrier and Leif smiled at everyone and looked at all the sites. A number of people commented what a good little boy he was! I beamed, but knew they were getting Leif on his very best behavior. The market was closing so we wandered over and bought some steamers and fish and chips. Afterwards we headed to the carousel where Leif rode a "hoss". I thought this would thrill him since his second biggest fascination behind fish is horses. I don't know if he was freaked out by the up and down and fast speed of the carousel - oh wait, no never mind, that would be ME that was freaked out by that. ("Exactly how high does this horse go and shouldn't someone have warned my that I might not be able to hold a squirmy toddler on a horse 2 feet over my head?")
We got back to the hotel and hurried in for a swim in the frigid pool. This is about the point we realize that we forgot a bottle. OK, *I* forgot the bottle. Leif still takes a bottle every night and it isn't something that we have spent too much time trying to break at this point. This is where the meltdown started. We did happen to find one lone binky in the bottom of the car and here broke the rule about "no more binkies". AB got directions to the nearest grocery store where he had his own series of snafus and 45 minutes later he was back with a bottle.
And Leif was sound asleep.
Saturday morning we were up bright and early. Leif and I sha-sha'd while AB forced his eyes to stay shut. We returned to the room and got ready at which point Leif successfully located every single non-babyproofed hazard in the room. (And I wonder why "no" has become such a vocabulary staple...) This forced AB up and into the shower himself and we made our way down to breakfast. Meals? Ok, I just won't talk about them because I don't want to give anyone any impression that my son is either a spaz or not perfect. ;-) Suffice it to say that the Marriott's restaurant hates us. Sunday when they tried at every opportunity to take our FULL plates away, we got that message plain and clear. We pride ourselves on being good tippers, you are a hotel restaurant, get over yourselves and no tip for you! (Saturday I felt bad and left a nice "sorry for the commotion" tip, Sunday I was ticked and they got jack.)
We made our way to the aquarium where Leif had an absolute ball. He wasn't so thrilled with the seals or otters up top, but when we got to the underwater part, he got really excited. They would dive down and swim by and Leif would squeal "WOAH!" for every.single.animal. It got to the point that the other aquarium patrons were more entertained by Leifer, than the animals. We headed to the underwater fish dome, which is just truly amazing. Leif was beside himself and sat with his body pressed against the glass (face too) trying to see more. He was soo soo enamored.
We moved on to the tanks and he was a little less thrilled, but still thought they were neat. There was a Nemo tank. And I have been completely reassured by 100's of toddlers that Leif's Nemo obsession is completely normal. Any orange fish and there were 10 kids screaming NEMO! Leif joined in and then there were the Dory's too. The kid's interaction area was fantastic. Leif loved sticking his head through the standing plaquareds (sp?). He loved the jellyfish ring, watching the octopus and best of all, touching the tactile animals in the coastal zones. I really think though, that the fascination of that part wasn't so much the animals, but that he got to put his hands in the water.
We left at about 11:45am and each of us had one of Leif's hands. We got outside and his legs failed him. He started stumbling he was so tired. We put him in the carseat and within minutes he was out, dead to the world sleeping. We stopped at Ivars and AB retrieved us lunch then we headed back to the hotel to nap and decide what was on the books for the afternoon. Leif was so so excited and wound up from the aquarium that I hesitated doing the Children's Museum or the Science museum. I wasn't sure he could handle it and so we finally decided on a more low key activity, visiting the Locks in Ballard.
On the way I caught sight of the Mecca... the original Cupcake Royale. The locks were really cool and AB reminisced about his childhood visiting his grandparents in Ballard. We watched two tugboats and two small boats go through the big set of locks. Leif wasn't very interested and was only thrilled to be "owside". We let Leif run around the botanical gardens and then we wandered back to Mecca where I limited us to 6 cupcakes. Drool.
Dinner we decided to brave Buca de Bepo after hearing it was family friendly. It was. Leif played with a 15 month old in the waiting area, but when our wait approached 20 minutes and Leif was doing the body flop and whining we placed a to go order and headed back to the hotel. Another swim, a bottle of milk and he was down for the count again. AB had watched The Chronicles of Narnia on the hotels PPV Friday night but was disappointed that my cinematic narcolepsy set in only 30 minutes into the movie. So Saturday he decided he would surf bad TV again instead while I reviewed my book for book club this week.
Sunday morning was a repeat of Saturday except for the little added entertainment in the restaurant that was NOT provided by my family. Nope, a woman and her daughter were getting breakfast, the daughter (12-ish) went to retrieve her toast. The mom told her "NO Sandra, that isn't yours." The girl said, "yes it is, that is the toaster I used". "But," the mom replied, "that is WHITE toast!" The girl mumbled that was what she made. Mom flipped her lid and said, "Sandra, just so you know, I *never* buy white bread, it is not what *I* choose for this family and I should hope that you would make similar decisions regarding your health." (This was loud.)
Ok yeah, I also never buy white bread, but the spectacle that the mom made was embarrassing for them and frankly very self-riteous! That poor little girl. And geez, give her a break, it is vacation. (I just couldn't resist commenting on someone else's disturbing the meals other than my family...)
We packed up the room and headed to Ikea. Yay, my stop! I was so excited to get there, yet disappointed once there. There was a lot of stuff out of stock and I came home with about half the stuff I had intended. Probably good, we didn't have a ton of room in the car and like I really need to spend the money. I got a wooden shelf/table for the utility room to hold the laundry baskets and that I can fold stuff on top of. A decorative mirror. A lightweight comforter and new duvet cover. A grill pan (AB balked... but I reminded him how I do not BBQ and with him gone in the evenings much of the time, I wanted it.). Some badly needed new bowls. A bunch of stuff for Leif including a hoss he was very thrilled with. Towards the end Leif had reached his limit and we raced. AB was cranky from fielding Leif (although he denies it). He does have reason, the little guy can completely wear a person out.
I shopped, but I didn't drop. It takes a lot more shopping than that to make me drop. But that excursion is for V and I coming in May or so, sans guys and kids. THEN I will shop till I drop.
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