Happy Mother's Day!

I hope any mommies reading this had a spectacular Mother's Day yesterday. Our weekend was FANTASTIC!! Saturday we got a slow start but had an enjoyable morning. We packed up the car and slowly got out of the house. When we got up to the hotel Eric asked them to upgrade our room for free to a suite. They couldn't do that but they upgraded us to a premium room and we got a pool view. Very cool! After settling in to our room the first thing we did was go for a swim! We were so anxious to get in the pool and take Jarem swimming. He has been a couple times before but now that he's older we knew it would be more fun. The water was a little chilly for him but he still loved it!
We got this awesome raft/canopy from Wal-Mart and it was a total hit!

We had so much fun playing in the water!!



Jarem loved walking on this ledge.



When we got back to the room, we let Jarem walk around for a couple minutes and play in his swim diaper. He loves Melmo!
This scrunched face is what we call Ojitos. Ojitos means little eyes in Spanish. When we say ojitos he blinks his eyes and scrunches his face. It's my new favorite thing. LOL


After swimming we went back to the room and cleaned up a little. We were all three hungry for dinner so we went to Oregano's. We scored one of only two parking spots in their lot. WOO HOO! Then we enjoyed yummy BBQ chicken pizza and Jarem had some pasta. It was a great dinner and Jarem was in a really good mood. I don't know if it was just that we were thinking the dinner was special for Mother's day but this dinner stands out as special to me. Everyone seemed happy at the restaurant and we loved just being there as a family. It was really nice. After dinner we walked down Scottsdale Rd. and I got a scoop of ice cream from the Sugar Bowl. YUMMY! It was too big to finish but a nice little treat while we walked the street. Jarem even walked some and held our hands.

When we got back to the hotel bedtime was a little difficult for Jarem. We brought his pack and play but being in a new place was really tough. His normal bedtime routine was missing and he just couldn't go to sleep. Usually we just walk him to his room and lay him down. He goes to sleep on his own without making a peep. But we understood that in a new environment it would be hard. Eric ended up singing J to sleep and then we just laid him in his pack and play. (I fell asleep too, but only for a couple minutes. hehe) After Jarem was asleep, Eric and I snuck out onto the balcony. Our room overlooked that pool and we had a beautiful view! We stayed up late and played cards out on the balcony. I beat Eric the first time but then he won. Despite ending the night with a loss, I still had fun just enjoying the fresh air and being with Eric. It was nice to not watch TV or feel like cleaning or doing something more productive. We were able to just be together and enjoy the moment. That's truly what a staycation is all about. :)

In the morning Eric let me sleep in a little and took Jarem for a walk. There was a playground on the grounds (although a little too big for Jarem) and lots of beautiful pathways to walk. They had a blast playing and getting some energy out. Jarem being a true boy even fell into some mud and played a little. Too funny... When they got back from their walk, we all went down and had breakfast. There was a fantastic buffet that Eric and Jarem chowed on and I ordered some eggs and bacon from the menu. We ate outside and again, the weather was just PERFECT! Spring was in the air and lots of birds were out to play. Jarem loved watching them fly in and try to steal food. He was bewildered by those birdies flying all around us.

After breakfast we all three went for a walk around the hotel and took in the beautiful sights. It was nice and cool still so the walk was more than pleasant. Jarem was in the backpack with Eric and enjoyed being so tall and seeing so much. We thought he might take a nap but instead he was more alert and playful. We didn't mind since he was having so much fun. When we got back to the room Jarem took his morning nap. We packed a little while he napped and then snuck back out onto the balcony for one more game of cards. I beat Eric this time and it was sweet revenge. LOL We're totally hooked on this game called Five Crowns. Very fun...

When Jarem woke up we went for one more family swim. It was very hot out but the water still wasn't very warm. We only stayed in there for about 30-45 minutes but we definitely enjoyed every minute we were in there. We dunked Jarem under the water twice and that was fun, too. (Scroll to the bottom of the post to see these pictures.) We're hoping to start him on swim lessons this summer and get him more acquainted with the water.

After checking out of the hotel, we headed off to lunch with my family. We were late getting there cause we noticed that we didn't have Eric's cell phone. We're not sure if we lost it or if it was stolen but that was the only bummer of the weekend. Quite frustrating... Lunch with the family was nice. My favorite part was giving my mom her gift. She loves the Diamondbacks so we got tickets to a game in a couple of weeks. We're all going to go together so it should be fun! Jarem's only been to one other game so we'll see how much more into it he is this time.

When we got home, Eric unveiled his present to me. He planted a new tree in our front yard. We have two plants that died and that we wanted to replace. Last year Eric and Jarem got me a hibiscus plant (my favorite) and planted that in the front yard. This year they planted a tree. I love it!! The funny thing about it is that Eric had planted it on Wednesday and I hadn't even noticed it. He said that sometimes he distracted me from it by having me look elsewhere but there was definitely plenty of opportunities for me to see it. Shows how spacey I am! hehe I love that Eric plants things for me and for Jarem. I know how good it is for our environment and also how much Jarem will enjoy exploring those plants and trees as he grows. Thank you babe.

Jarem kind of missed his afternoon nap and was really excited to see his toys when we got home. We tried and tried to get him to go down but he only napped for 15 minutes. Rather than taking him to church and holding him more, we opted to stay home and let him play. Eric searched desperately for his phone but had no luck. So sad. We enjoyed a yummy dinner that Eric made and then went for another family walk through our neighborhood. We've been more active lately and it feels so good to be outside. Jarem loves it and thrives off being outside. He is so happy outside. After an hour walk through the neighborhood it was time for bed. Jarem loved having his evening routine back and went down with no problems.

The only other mishap of the weekend was that after nursing Jarem before bed, I always beg for and steal kisses from Jarem. Last night while stealing some goodnight kisses, Jarem barfed all over me. It was gross and funny at the same time. Eric was hysterical and I even giggled a little. I guess I deserved it for stealing so many kisses and being so greedy. I just love cuddling with him though! It was the perfect end to a great weekend and my second Mother's Day. It was the humor we needed to remind us that life is perfect even when you get the unexpected.










Here is Jarem going under the water for the first time!








Again, Happy Mother's Day! Eric and Jarem, thanks for making mine so special.