We finally got a play date with Bethany and her 15 month old daughter Ainslie! They were in town visiting for a few days, so Carter and I met up with them at the Bellevue Square play area after work. This is the first time Bethany has seen Carter since he was born … and boy, I think he left an impression.
Ainslie is a doll! So cute, so sweet, so mellow. My child had all the wrong stars aligned for him – a weekend of no sleep, one nap only today, teeth coming in … it was the perfect storm and I think it made Bethany decide that having all little girls wasn’t a bad thing…
Let’s talk about dinner. Ainslie was sitting sweetly in a high chair, navigating her dinner like a champ, she would sit there watching us chat, enjoying just hanging out. My monster, er, I mean child, was trying to climb out of the booth by scaling the wall, trying to climb over the table, throwing crayons up and over a partition, getting up, sitting down, oh, and then I would chase him up and down the aisles when he finally did escape. The only quiet time is when I put “Michael, Michael Motorcycle” on my phone. And thankfully that is right about when our food came so that we could eat.
The walk back out to the cars was peppered with tantrums, him not wanting to go where we did, not wanting to sit on my shoulders, and a general whininess that has recently exposed itself. The contrast between he and Ainslie was staggering. She mellowed even more as she got tired – he got more active, but in a haphazard way where all his decisions were bad. (Sorry B – my kid really is a sweet guy and loads of fun, I think you got to see him at his all-time worst night yet!)
And to top the evening off, when I got home and we put him into his crib for bed, he wanted nothing to do with it. Screaming, crying, carrying on like no ones business. And then we heard the “THUNK” and our lovely security of a crib has been completely shattered. He climbed out. More than once. We will be getting a big boy bed very very soon. As in tomorrow.
By the way, our weekend was great! Denise did fantastically on her run (photos below) – she ran over 9 miles and then walked the rest. Not bad for someone whose longest run was only six miles! The kids played really well together and Carter didn’t try to beat Cole up – there still is hope! (they were actually very cute holding hands one morning). Enjoy the photos!
At four miles, she was still smiling!
At the finish, she was still moving!
Some lovely fall colors while I was watching.
Oh my friend, Ainslie more than outdid Carter on the plane ride home. She was the non-sleeping, screaming, seat-kicking banshee every airplane passenger fears, and she was alllll mine. I will not be flying alone with her again any time soon, so I’m glad we had some quality time this visit!!!!!! xoxoxo