Labor Day Weekend!

This Labor Day weekend was a little different than those of years past. Usually I was out of town, either in Aspen playing volleyball or Vegas gambling and staying up way too late. This year, not only do we have a new baby, but Chad is involved in a major move at work that required him to work all of the weekends in September, including the long holiday weekend. Needless to say, we stayed in town :-)

Friday night we stayed home and had a little family barbecue. We have definitely used our grill more this summer than any other. I have really come to appreciate a relaxing Friday night at home (I never thought I would say that :-)

Since Chad was working on Saturday, I scheduled some fun Braeden and Mommy adventures. My parents have been going to the Cherry Creek Farmers market on Saturday mornings for the past several years. I have always wanted to join them, however, they go at 7:30 am, and in all summer's before this one, I was definitely asleep on Saturday morning at 7:30 am. As all of you mom's out there know, 7:30 am is now a perfectly acceptably hour to be up and out and about. So, Braeden and I headed down to Cherry Creek to meet Grandma and Grandpa Staebell. I really can't express how cool it is to see my parents with Braeden. I knew they would be great grandparents, and that doesn't even begin to describe them. That Saturday morning at the Farmer's market, I couldn't help by smile as my dad proudly toted Braeden around to all of the different shops at the market. He loves his grandson and jumps at any opportunity to carry him around and show him off. I am soo glad my parents are nearby, not only for all the help they provide me, but for all of the memories they get to share with Braeden. It was a great morning at the Farmer's Market and I know it will be even more fun next summer when Grandpa is chasing, rather than carrying, Braeden around.

After the Farmer's market, my mom, Braeden and I met my Aunt Luanne at an antique fair that was near my house. Braeden fell asleep on the way there and slept in his stroller for the next hour and a half. My little guy isn't the greatest sleeper. In fact, he sleeps best in his carseat/stroller. This is a situation I am working on fixing (meaning getting him to sleep longer in the crib), but on this particular day, I was just happy he was getting a nice long nap. He looked so comfy in his stroller and I thought it was really cute the way he had his hand resting on his toy cow.

Our Saturday didn't stop there. That afternoon Braeden and I met Liz and Declan at Wash Park. We don't get to see them as often now that Liz is back at work, so this was a special treat (more for me than Braeden :-) When we arrived at the park, we found a nice shaded area and spread out a blanket to play with the boys. However, nature and the weather had other plans for us. Within about 15 minutes of our arrival, it began to rain. At first it was just a light sprinkle and with the shade of the tree, we could hardly feel it. When the rain started to come down a little harder, Liz and I quickly realized we needed to find cover, and fast. We loaded the boys into their strollers and headed for a small covered area near the rec center. We proceeded to stand there with 2 other ladies who were out for a walk for the next 45 minutes, huddled away from the rain. Luckily, Braeden fell asleep and Declan took a bottle, so both boys were mostly happy. Not quite the afternoon at the park we had planned, but not much goes as planned these days :-) This picture was taken after the rain stopped and we were getting ready to go home. Trying to get them both to look at the camera at the same time was a daunting and unsuccessful task. Braeden and I are definitely looking forward to lots of future visits to the park with Liz and Declan.

After a long Saturday of events, Sunday and Monday were fairly uneventful, and thankfully so. We hung out with dad, cooked out and relaxed. There is no other way I would have rather spent my Labor Day weekend!