Staycation

Since Evan and I both have very little vacation time (and even less money), we decided just to take a few days off from work this summer and stay home with the boy. Lucky for us, my dear friend Sonia, her awesome husband, Wil, and their 17-month-old daughter, Catalina, were able to come stay with us for a few days (they live in New Jersey), so we had a lot of fun together.

Thursday, Richelle and I took Max and Marino for a walk around the lake and got caught in a huge rain storm! Richelle took this very cool picture of us trying to keep dry under a tree...note Max's innovative way to stay dry...

On Friday, which was Marino's actual birthday, Evan and I spent most of the day getting things ready for Marino's birthday party the following day. My mom, stepfather, dad and stepmother all came over to spend some time with Marino, which I think they all enjoyed.

Saturday was the birthday party (seperate post on that to come once I have the pictures). My wonderful friend Rachel and her boyfriend Wrenford stayed the night and we loved having all our great friends with us!! After the party, we attempted to go watch the fireworks at the Soccerplex but we ended up watching them from a nearby field (which was probably better for the babies anyway, since we could see them but they weren't very loud).

On Sunday, Wil and Sonia cooked breakfast for us, which was awesome! Catalina calls Marino "Momo" which is the cutest nickname ever! I love it!! Then Sonia and I went to Wheaton Regional Park where we met up with one of Sonia's college friends, Cara, who lives local. We rode the carousel (on the big zebra this time), played at the playground, and rode the train that goes around the park.

Sunday evening, Sonia and I went to see "My Sister's Keeper." The movie was good, but whoa, it was sad. I mean, start to finish, I had tears in my eyes...and Sonia is 6 months pregnant so she likely felt like she was being emotionally tortured. I read the book long before I even got pregnant, but being a mom gave me a very different perspective on the entire storyline...I think you'd have to be a mom to really understand the pain that the mother in that story feels; I can't imagine. Anyway...on to happier things...

Here's Sonia and Cat before the train ride.

And here's Momo and Cat on the cars at the playground.


Then Momo decided to work on his big boy skills, like holding his own bottle...

Later that afternoon, I snapped this picture of him...ready to take on the world.

On Monday, we took the kids to the zoo. This was Marino's first trip to the zoo. He was definately more interested in the indoor exhibits, which were closer to his eye level and sight plane, but he seemed to enjoy himself.

We saw some cool animals like...seals

and gorillas.

Momo tried to put his sun hat on Cat.

We saw some creepy crawlies...

And Cat and Marino had a chance to bond. Seeing them play together just melts my heart...Sonia and I have been the best of friends for almost 17 years now and seeing our children together is just a beautiful experience.

As you can see, Marino was very tired by the end of our zoo trip...

Tuesday was my 31st birthday. Let me say that my 30th birthday was the worst birthday ever. And I don't just mean for me. It seriously has to rank as one of the worst birthdays of all time (although no one died or anything, so I realize it could have been worse). Overnight on my 30th birthday, I developed c.diff after having had a blood transfusion (ie: my body was already beaten down) and being put on antibiotics (which killed all the probiotics in my belly). I was already so sick that when the c.diff came, the doctors and nurses had a hard time getting it under control, which was why I ended up having to spend 2 full weeks in the hospital. C.diff is an infection of the colon. The bacteria can only be controlled with hand washing...hand sanitizer doesn't kill the bacteria, which is why it spreads quickly in a hospital setting (where I picked it up). But when it started, I was still immobile, catheterized, etc....I had to have Evan and everyone else leave so I could spend the entire night developing a bed sore using a bed pan. Ummm...if anyone ever told me that was how I would be spending my 30th birthday, I would have never believed it. Then, of course, to add insult to injury, everyone who came in my room had to be gowned and gloved (as if I had the plague) AND I couldn't see Marino until my fever broke (days later). So, yeah, bloody colon, no NICU visits and a bed sore = worst birthday ever.

Back to the present...my 31st birthday was great! Not only do I have a healthy body and a healthy son, I also got to do lots of fun things! In the morning, Sonia and I went to Glen Echo Park to see the Tiny Tots puppet show with the kids. It's really cute...the kids can run around, dance, etc. I really enjoyed it and Marino gave some "YAY"s with his arms up, so I'm assuming he liked it too:) Then we all went to Buy Buy Baby to test out some double strollers for Sonia, before she joins the world of "2 under 2" (we found a great one).

Then we came home for naps and were off to the pool. Sonia and family had gotten Marino this turtle float as one of his birthday presents and he loved it! He was kicking his legs, and dunking his face in the shallow part in the front of the float (don't ask me why, maybe he was trying to drink the water?)

Here's Sonia with Marino and Cat in their boats.
Evan and Wil hanging out in the pool.

When we got home, we gave Momo and Cat a bath together. What's cuter than that? I censored the private bits, so Cat doesn't hate me one day... Marino has gotten so tan since the summer started (I put plenty of sunscreen on him but he tans anyway).

After the baths, we went to dinner at my favorite thai place, Jasmine Thai.

Here's a family shot...

Sonia and Wil

Sonia and I.

And here's Max from last night, snuggling with Marino's new Laugh and Learn Puppy.
Sonia and family left this morning and we all miss them already! I took Marino to daycare around noon today so Evan and I could have some time to relax before we go back to work tomorrow. Today was the first time Marino ever cried when I was leaving him at daycare...it was tough.

Today is Evan's 30th birthday! We ordered in, watched a movie, and spent the day being lazy. It definately wasn't an exciting day, but I hope Evan enjoyed it anyway!