A Week & A Half Later...

I have a newfound appreciation for all parents who have ever potty-trained a child.  As if I wasn't exhausted before.  Carrying around at least two types of potty seats, one potty in the car, at least three pairs of tiny underwear, a change of clothes, and more wipes than I had in my bag when MiniM.E. was an infant have tested the limits of the bags I have and the arms to carry them.  We've added in at least another (if not two or three) load(s) of laundry per day.  AND there's the occasional clean up.  Not to mention the mental strain of constantly examining my child's facial expressions and body language to determine whether or not she might be gearing up for something I have to remind her to get to the potty for.

love that she picked Thomas the Train underwear

But honestly, it is STILL 1,000 times better than diapers.  I am more than thrilled and excited and I'm extremely proud.  We've come so far from the first couple days ("Hey! I just peed on the carpet!!") to days with just a couple "oops, we were a couple seconds too late...".  I must admit, the first few days I thought we might never be able to venture out of the house again in fear of having an accident in a public place.  But like all other parent-related tasks that seem daunting at first, after the first time we had a huge accident while we were out and I realized, "hey, that wasn't SO bad..." we went back to our normal routine.

MiniM.E. is doing great, I'm adjusting fairly well, and overall, everyone is much happier than we were two weeks ago when a diaper change resulted in a full-on high-speed chase around the house, four or five failed attempts to get the diaper off, one screaming child needing to be cleaned up, and a repeat of steps one and two to get a clean diaper ON.

And with that, here's what we've been up to now that we're back to enjoying the last weeks of summer.

Playgrounds & Our Yard:

Look at her swing!

The Peerless Pool

Quality Cat Time:

Breakfast at the Track:

Followed by A Morning at Congress Park:

Dancing at a Concert in The Park:

Lake Moreau:

The Sandbox:

An Evening at Polo:

what a cute divot stomper!

And we're off... to a last summer week in New Hampshire.  The plan?  Swimming, swimming, swimming, ice cream, the ocean and a boat on Lake Winnipesaukee. Hope you're all enjoying the last weeks of August.

A Weekend With Meamaw and Grandpa

Last weekend Meamaw and Grandpa came to visit all the way from North Carolina!  It's been a while since we've seen them, I think since before MiniM.E. could walk, so we were pretty excited they were going to get to see her again!

Of course, while they were here, we had to do the typically Saratoga-y things that MiniM.E. loves like ride the carousel:

seriously, she looks miserable here, but the "sleigh" is her new favorite thing

 feed the ducks

Sit on the steps at the History Museum (?)

with Meamaw

 And throw gravel in the fountain

Bob and his parents also made it to the track, but I was home nap-sitting, so no photos :(

Meamaw and Grandpa also brought MiniM.E. a piggy bank which she lovingly carried everywhere, cuddled in blankets, fed milk to, dropped lots of change in, and called "a cow" or something "kind of like a goat".

playing with Grandpa

Friday morning while Meamaw and Grandpa caught up with their friends, we played in the yard and went to a playground.

Then Friday night we all went to the Saratoga Winery, which, if you live around here and haven't been to, is awesome.  Definitely child-friendly with a great deck and patio and live music and food on Fridays.

playing while waiting for dinner

dancing

 Saturday we spent the morning at Lake Moreau, our favorite swimming spot for the sand and warm water.

And Sunday we made it to brunch at the Iron Roost for brunch.  Despite a 45 minute wait for a table, MiniM.E. was well behaved and we all got to have some great food.

The rest of the day was rainy, so we took a quick trip over to Meamaw and Grandpa's hotel to swim in the pool.  MiniM.E. had a blast and we kept busy until dinner.  They must have worn her out because she went to bed early and we said goodbye until Thanksgiving.  

Thanks for coming Meamaw and Grandpa!

C & H in Saratoga in July

Last weekend C & H drove over from NH to spend a long weekend with us.  Unfortunately, C. is working this summer (summer school...) and didn't have a whole week to spare, but at least we squeezed in a weekend so they could do some of the things they just missed when they came in the spring.

Seems like every time we get together I take fewer and fewer pictures... I suppose it's because every time we are together are kids are running faster and faster... and are hardly ever in the same location-- even when they are, they are rarely still enough for photos...

We spent a lot of naked time in the yard:

And enjoyed time wearing clothes too:

We treated ourselves to a special treat at Stewart's:

We drove to Moreau Lake (no photos from the lake though... two kids + water was too much for a camera!)

The kids were happy just sitting around:

Or going grocery shopping:

We went to the playground at the Spa Park (and the pool, but again, my hands were busy keeping our kids from drowning):

We had to make a visit to Congress Park:

And you can't come to Saratoga in Racing Season without going to the track, so we did our first Race Track Breakfast of the year!