Havin' Fun

With your father in Toronto earlier this month,
we decided to head home to NJ for a little fun with the family.
As always, we squeezed a lot into our trip.
First up was a visit with Grandpa Tom.
We had an Easter egg hunt and explored his house
(and all those photos on the walls).
You even got a sneak peak of his bar
and saw the very special Port that he's saving for the day you turn 21.

We spent some time with your Great-Grandma Connie too.
It was a lovely visit, and she was so happy to see how much you had grown
and hear how much you were talking.
I was very pleased that we left without breaking anything (despite a few close calls).

We had a sleepover at Nanny and Grandpa's house.
You had a ball.
You had dinner at the grown-up table, you had a tea party with Grandpa
and made sandwiches with Nanny.
You slept the whole night in the big girl bed there,
and then the four of us visited Station Park -
one of the very same playgrounds your mommy used to go to as a girl.
And from there, it was time to visit your cousins (and Aunt and Uncle).
We met them at another playground.
You were so excited to help walk their new puppy, Ozzie.

You loved acting like a big kid at the playground - 

climbing up the rock wall like Cece,

climbing a tree like her too,

(imagine my surprise when you looked at me and said, "Ayudame, help me Mommy."

Thank you Dora the Explorer for teaching my two-year-old Spanish!

playing on the seesaw with Matt,

and simply just doing all the things big kids do at the park.

You even convinced your cousins to play your new favorite game - 

Stop and Go tag (which is awfully similar to Freeze Tag). 

And then it was time to celebrate.

Your cousin Matt just had a birthday, a very big birthday.

So, to celebrate turning 13!, we went out for a Mexican dinner. 

Again, you had a ball.

We treated you to lemonade and chicken and black beans.

You thought this was awfully cool.

In fact, right during the middle of dinner, you looked at all of us and shouted,

"I'm having fun!"

And then it was time to stop for ice cream - our treat.

You devoured your lemon sherbert

(and even snuck a few bites of my mint chocolate chip - a very big treat given your dairy-free diet). 

Then, what better way to round out the night than bath time?

Courtney sang you songs in the tub, Matt played peek-a-boo,

and your Mommy and your Aunt savored a sweet memory-in-the-making.