A Successful Weekend

On Memorial Day 2011, Minh and I took our first vacation together to go camping with a group of friends at a cabin on Lake Texoma. It was a weekend filled with drinking, swimming, sunburns, and unexpected fires.

Record scratch and freeze frame.

This past Memorial Day weekend, Minh and I hauled a 16-month-old — and probably half of our house — on an eight-hour road trip to visit my family in Missouri. Only slightly less sexy.

Honestly, I was extremely nervous about the whole thing — I imagined Leon screaming from the back seat and the trek taking hours longer than it should. We broke the trip there into two parts and stopped in Joplin at about 10:30 Friday night. We had such a hard time getting Leon to sleep once we got into the hotel room, but Minh (AKA the real MVP) rocked that 22 lb. screamer for about 45 minutes — all after driving for five hours! I would say I was swooning but I was literally asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

The next morning, I excitedly dressed Leon up in our matching t-shirts (because I only have so many years left to do this) that said “The Original” and “The Sequel.” I thought we looked adorable but Leon literally stained his shirt during breakfast which kind of took away from our cuteness factor. Anyway, he enjoyed seeing his grandparents and great-grandparents, and he loved playing with his cousins! We walked around a lot and ate a lot more.

Leon slept the entire ride home. I worried the whole trip back (can you see a pattern here?) that we’d thrown his schedule out of whack and he’d then be awake all night. But to my surprise, he woke up at 6 on the dot the next morning, per usual, and has been back on track ever since. That’s what I get for underestimating his circadian rhythm!

On Memorial Day, Minh and I took Leon to our local natatorium for his first real “splash pad” experience. Initially he was hesitant due to all the stimulation — a lot of screaming, splashing water, and unruly kids makes for a skeptical toddler. But after about five minutes, he happily joined Minh in splashing from the edge of the water. At ten minutes, he stood up and walked a couple steps, splashed, and came back to safety. Minh took him into deeper water, but he had the most fun getting out of the pool and then asking to go back in over and over. Cool.

Side note: Did you know that swim diapers only hold poop? That means there’s like a gallon of baby pee in a swimming pool. Want to guess how long we waited between getting out of the pool and taking a shower?

Oh, and I took Tuesday off to sleep in, draw in silence, and eat food I didn’t want to share. A successful weekend indeed!