The trip continues...
On Tuesday, Ruthie took the day off work & we were so excited to hang out with her! We took Bubs to the new pool in Boonville which is AWESOME!!! It's a baby/kid (and let's face it, adult) heaven! I loved the zero-depth entry which allowed us girls to loll about in the shallow water while Brady played without fear of him getting in too far.
And they had really awesome slides. Fun kid ones that Kate, Mindy & Ruthie took Bubs down. And awesome adult ones that we all played on. Brady loved the slides!
The splash park area of the pool was his favorite part though, by far. He did not tire of it at all.
Warming up for awhile...
Almost time to go - Brady was exhausted from all the sun & fun! It was definitely time for a ne-ne (*ne-ne pronounced"nee-nee" is code for nap in Suzanne's family & after she and Rob lived with us this spring, we adopted the term).
While at Grammy & Papa's house, we practiced lots of stair climbing. We even taught Brady how to turn around & come down the stairs slowly on his belly instead of headfirst which was his previous method.
B got to sit on his very first hay bale. First of many. We had a great time exploring the farm while Mom cooked dinner that night.
Uncle Charlie tickling him with grass. So funny!
Mindy, acting natural & beautiful.
Sweet buster LOVES to be outside so he was quite enjoying himself despite the staggering heat & humidity even at 7pm! Please note how big my hair is in the MO humidity...don't miss that!
LOVE THIS!!! So cute of Ruthie & her favorite nephew.
The drive to my parents' house is so beautiful, I must've taken 100 iPhone photos out of my car. The canopy of trees just never gets old.
One night we had a sweets craving so Mom & Ruth whipped up an impromptu cake which we sliced like pie & called pie-cake! It was DELISH.
Morning walks with Kate, Bubs, the hounds & me were awesome. Highlights of the trip for sure...they were so peaceful!
There was minimal fussing from a certain someone...
Couple of hound dogs. Very faithful companions on our morning walks.
One day I spent the afternoon with my old friend Lisa, who I met when we were both 12 years old in sixth grade!! Crazy. We had a great time catching up where we left off & playing with our kiddos. So fun to be in this stage of life with her.
Styled with sweat :)
Three hot, tired, but adorable babies!
We took Brady to the mall children's play place several times but the candy display outside was more enticing to him. He kept shouting "ball! ball! ball!" and making a mad dash out of the play area every two seconds.
What's a vacation without a trip (or two) to Target? Brady again found & requested his favorite item: a ball.
There's this obnoxious penguin toy at my parents' house that Laney & Audrey just LOVED. One morning we got it out to show Brady, thinking he would love it. At first he just stared at it.
And then started screeching & squalling. I guess it scared him too.
Another first! Shakespeare's Pizza!! We met Ellen there for lunch on Thursday. It's very delicious...
Flying a helicopter at Shakespeare's is very serious business. He was very stoic, but every time the time ran out on it he grunted to do it again, so he must've liked it!
After our pizza lunch, we went back to Aunt Yaya's house so B could nap & we three girls could hang out. Plus Milo. The cutest puglet ever!!
He's a very friendly guy.
After Bradykins woke up from his nap, we gave him Grandma Price's chair from when she was a baby. Brady looked HUGE sitting in it. He was a blur in every photo we took, as post-nap he had no time for sitting around. There was too much to explore at Yaya's house!
We also did a little swimming out back - Milo graciously let Brady swim in his doggy pool. But he did insist on keeping a close eye on B, I guess in case he tried to poop in the pool ;)
No time for photos!
Thursday night we headed to the ballfields to watch Charlie & Papa play their weekly game. It wasn't Brady's first time at a field, as he first attended a game (Mike's) at 5 days old...but it was definitely his first time enjoying all the perks of bleachers, dirt & balls.
Brady must've been a good luck charm, as the boys won their game! (by the skin of their teeth...but it counts as a win)
Min was the master baby wrangler & spent most of the hour long game entertaining B in the mulch beds.
Ballgame selfie with Mr Flat Smile.
He throws now. EVERYTHING that can be thrown!
Getting a batting lesson from mama.
Let's get out of here! Game over :: it's time for dinner!
Friday morning we loaded up the munchkin for a round of goodbyes (Yaya's work, Grammy & Ruthie's work, and Papa & Mindy at work)...and headed to the airport!
Burning some energy at the St Louis airport...
Baby heaven :: an abandoned ticket counter with a gazillion drawers & cabinets to play open-close with for thirty straight minutes!
We got on the plane to head home & B kept it together for the first little bit. He acted very charming & innocent to all our seat-mates who complimented him on his good looks.
He quickly became bored with being cute & charming and started expressing his interest in getting DOWN. Putting objects into larger objects is a fascinating game to him, so we tried that for awhile for distraction & entertainment.
Soon though, he'd HAD IT with being wallered to death on the plane & started thrashing around and screeching like a wild animal. Thank goodness there were two of us to wrangle/trap him in the seats.
Ah - relief for all three of us (and the six closest rows). There was a lot of screaming preceeding this catnap...but isn't he so innocent & sweet looking?
Brady slept til we landed...whew we made it!
We had an absolutely wonderful time in Missouri this year, like most years. It was very special to take my Bubs back there for the first time since last August - to start introducing him to the country life, and to get to spend good time with my family. I miss them already - it's always hard to say goodbye, no matter how old I get. Love you guys!
