Friday
On Friday, amid my usual work day, Chase and I headed out for an afternoon play date with a few of my girlfriends and their little ones.
(Pic from my Instagram)
We planned to meet up at Discovery Place KIDS since we had such a great time when we met up there a month or so ago. It really is a children’s imagination paradise and it was incredibly busy thanks to the first day of spring break for a lot of the older kids in the area.
Even though it was crowded, most of the kids seemed more interested in running around and playing in the pretend grocery store, construction zone or veterinarian’s office, so we had no trouble setting up camp in baby land over at the water table. Chase was way more into actually playing with the water toys this time! Last time he spent most of his time in the yellow bucket seat just staring at the toys and fountain so it was fun to watch him interact with everything a bit more!
As always, I had a great time talking with my friends. Our time together is truly invaluable to me since we’re pretty darn open to discussing anything and everything related to the challenges (and joys!) that come along with being a new mom.
My friend Carrie and I had to recreate the car picture of Chase and Lilly from our last visit that we loved so much and this time the picture proved to be quite hilarious…
It looks like Lilly is saying, “Chase, SLOW DOOOOWN!” and Chase is like, “Don’t worry, I got this, babe,” as he’s checking his mirrors.
Once we arrived back home, Chase took a pretty lackluster nap while I tried to work before Ryan arrived home and we went for a walk around the neighborhood before going to town on Publix Moose Tracks ice cream and streaming a couple of episodes of New Girl. It was a rockin’ Friday night, my friends!
Saturday
Saturday morning began with his and hers workouts which we completed separately since Mr. Chase needed a playmate. I ate breakfast and hung out with Chase at home until Ryan came back and we swapped.
A Burn Boot Camp workout was on the agenda for me and after a 45-minute sweat session, I arrived home ready for a shower and a morning snack. Chase fell asleep about 20 minutes before I walked through the door, so I took advantage of a napping baby and quickly showered and got ready for the day. We had a daytime date on the agenda!
Every month Ryan and I take turns planning a date for each other. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy at all – some of our best dates have been totally free – and since I planned a museum + coffee date last month, this month was Ryan’s turn! (We’ve been planning monthly dates for each other forever but took a brief break after Chase was born. We made it a point to bring back our monthly date tradition at the start of the year. I missed it!!)
Ryan planned a family-friendly picnic as his monthly date which was right up my alley since I wanted to spend as much time as possible outside in the beautiful Charlotte spring weather. We loaded up a bag of food (and baby toys) and drove out to Latta Plantation Nature Preserve in search of a nice spot to set a blanket down by the lake.
Chase loved searching for our picnic spot but once we found a spot and put our blanket down, we could tell pretty quickly we were going to be speed-eating and that our picnic date would be a little shorter than we anticipated.
(Denim Jacket: Old Navy // T-shirt: Stitch Fix // Pants: Fabletics Labaree Jogger <— FYI for any expectant moms, I first fell in love with these pants when I was pregnant. So comfy! // Diaper Bag: Ju-Ju-Be // Shoes: TOMS)
We inhaled our Publix subs (<— seriously SO happy Publix came to North Carolina right after we moved!) and tried our best to entertain a cranky baby.
I was hungrier than Ryan, so while I continued to eat, Ryan took Chase around and showed him some things that blew his little baby mind, like tree bark, tall grass and more.
It was adorable and made me even more excited for the next phase of Chase’s life when I have a feeling he’ll be all about exploring everything around him. (Although believe me, I am not wishing away this baby phase at all. I’m pretty sure I tell Ryan all the time that I get so sad thinking that Chase will not be my little baby forever and ever.)
After about 20 minutes, we figured we stretched Chase about as long as we could without entering into Baby Freak Out Territory, so we packed everything up and walked back to the car where Chase passed out within two minutes of being loaded into his car seat. I don’t think he slept too soundly during his morning nap and it definitely showed!
Once we made it home, Chase went down for his afternoon nap and slept like a rock for more than two hours which is kind of crazy for him. He clearly needed the extra sleep and since Ryan had some work to do at home, I took advantage of the free time to run some errands by myself and drove off to Target and The Fresh Market before heading home for dinner and a chill night at home.
After putting out a request for an easy read with a little mystery on Twitter last week, I settled on Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight which has actually been on my reading list for a long time. I finally started reading it on Saturday night and am about a third of the way through. It sucked me in right away and I’m really enjoying it so far.
Sunday
I’m not going to lie, I woke up on Sunday feeling a little sad that we didn’t have any big family plans on the agenda for Chase’s first Easter. (The fact that the weather was dreary also probably impacted my mood.) When we lived in Florida, Ryan and I would always drive to my mother-in-law’s house for a big family party and then last year we had a blast decorating eggs and grilling out with our friends Kevin and Chandra who moved away two weeks ago. Since we traveled so much last weekend, we wanted to stay home this weekend which was nice but definitely a little more quiet than I’m used to on a holiday weekend!
I woke up around 6:30 a.m. and spent the first hour of the day making Greek yogurt pancakes for breakfast and working on the computer before Chase was up and Ryan headed off to the gym. In an effort to do a better job at staying on top of my blog and business-related finances, I signed up for QuickBooks (only $5 a month for the self-employed option!) and it felt good to begin the day on a productive note.
Once Ryan was back home, we did the Easter basket thang after Chase’s morning nap and then drove out to a local park for a walk! It was misty and cloudy all day on Easter but the temperatures were in the low 60s, making it perfect walking weather.
We covered around three miles and hit up Redbox on the way home so we could grab the latest Hunger Games movie to watch after Chase went to bed later that night.
The rest of our Sunday afternoon included meal planning and meal prep, a grocery store run, typing up this blog post during Chase’s nap and cleaning. It was definitely a low key Easter but also a rejuvenating one.
I hope you guys had a lovely weekend!
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Looks like an awesome weekend! Love the picnic idea for a day-date!
Do you mind sharing what size labaree joggers you have? I’m much shorter than you so trying to decide whether I’d be a S or XS.
Hope you have a great Monday!
I would definitely size down. I ordered a medium when I was pregnant and wish I had a small now. If you’re on the fence, I’d absolutely choose the smaller size as I think they do run a bit big.
Thank you so much ordering now!!
Love the picnic idea! I can’t wait until we can do those things as a fam, too. Did Chase transfer sleeping from the car to the crib?! I used to be able to get my little one to do that but sadly, it hasn’t worked lately. I can’t imagine not being around family or friends who feel like family for Easter but it looks like you were able to enjoy it, especially after such a busy week last week!
He did! When he falls asleep in the car seat, he will usually wake up when the car stops, but I can usually nurse him for a bit and he’ll get sleepy and go back to sleep in his crib. This really only started for us once he 6 months or so though!
aww you got some great picutres this weekend of Chase!! What a cutie–love that car one! hahaha
So many cute babies!!
Such great photographs. Love the one with all the babies and their Moms. Picnics are the best. Looks like you had a wonderful weekend.
Being away from family on the holidays can be tough, but you have such a beautiful little family of your own! And believe me, next year will be a whole new ball game. My little guy is 18 months and eggs were king this year!
I just love your little blog. I look forward to reading it everyday, especially, your Monday, weekend recap!!
Thank you, Tiffany!! That means a lot to me. And thanks for taking the time to comment!
Sounds like a fun, low key weekend! Btw, I love QuickBooks. It really helped make things easier when the small business I work for purchased it. My favorite feature is the Reports section. You can do so much to customize!
It’s unbelievable to me how much more enjoyable I find this season of life having young kiddos when I have other mamas to share it with. So glad you’ve found that in Charlotte!
I TOTALLY agree. It makes such a difference!
Love the UCF rep in this post! Go Knights!
WOOP WOOP!!!
I totally get where you are coming from with feeling sad that Chase will not be your little baby forever & ever. My son, Tate, just turned 1 last week and while I love how active he is, I miss all the baby snuggles! The emails I signed up for when I was pregnant followed me through ‘my pregnancy this week’, then ‘my baby this week’, but now it’s ‘my toddler this week’! Just about broke my heart!
I also have to add that we never leave the house without the wubbanub & my husband & I also watched the last Hunger Games movie last night. I knew the scene at the end with the kids would be sad, but now that I’m a mom, oh my goodness!
YES!!! I swear since becoming a mom I cannot keep it together when it comes to stuff like that involving kids (especially things on the news, etc.).
Hi Julie. I don’t post much but wanted to commend you for not wishing away Chase’s babyhood. Too many parents can’t wait for the next phase – which is understandable – or can’t wait until their baby is more independent. You’ve got the right attitude. My “baby” will be 14 next week, and just this morning, I thought, “How did this happen??” Enjoy your beautiful baby. You seem like a very loving mom.
Thank you, Julie! I think this is the number one piece of advice I’ve received from moms since having Chase — to cherish every moment and every stage — and I am REALLY making an effort to do just that. Thank you for such a kind comment! <3
Chase is so cute and I love love love that picture of him in the car
Such a nice weekend! So glad the weather is starting to feel like spring. Now I just want the trees to start blooming! Oh and I love reading about how you and your husband can coordinate a workout schedule, that’s always a fear of mine when we decide to start having kids.
Chase is too cute! I love the picture of him ‘hanging’ from the branch : )
Sounds like a great weekend!! Sometimes it’s nice to just have a low key weekend. I’ll have to check out QuickBooks!
Sounds like a fun and relaxing weekend! I read Reconstructing Amelia last year and loved it. So sad but it kept me hooked the entire time. I love the date planning you and Ryan do!
It sounds like a wonderful, low-key weekend – my favorite! I’m sorry you didn’t get to spend time with family over Easter, I’m sure that’s a bit of a bummer, but I’m sure you had fun with your own little family! I LOVED Reconstructing Amelia. I thought it was so good, it is one that I will definitely read again!
We totally grabbed the last Hunger Games to watch this weekend. My husband managed to sleep through the second half on Saturday night, so we had to keep it so he could watch it on Sunday night again! Hope you enjoyed! I only cried a little at the end
Aww, all the babies are too cute! Love the weekend recaps and glad to hear you guys had a good Easter!
Such a perfect little weekend! You make me want to start a family, but I don’t think I’m ready just yet!
A picnic/hike sounds like a wonderful date! Hope you enjoy quickbooks (says the accountant )
What a fun weekend! I love how Chase is smiling in like every picture! What a cutie!
It seems like you and Ryan are able to take Chase out and about a lot which is great. I know you are currently breastfeeding and as a fellow breastfeeding mama I was wondering how you choose your outfits to work with breastfeeding? I am still trying to get the hang of feeding our daughter in public!
I used to be ALL about nursing tanks and cardigans… I swear I wore them everywhere in the beginning. Now I honestly prefer a comfy loose-fitting t-shirt I can roll up easily. I then just use a lightweight swaddle blanket to cover my stomach/breast but it’s definitely an art I haven’t fully mastered! Whenever possible, I try to feed Chase at home before we head out but since we do go out a lot, I’ve done my fair share of nursing in the backseat of our parked car, too!
We’ve lived overseas for 3 years now and I totally get the funk that comes with not having the big family gatherings.
Rememebering what the day is about is what has helped me most. I was in a funk before our first Christmas until the pastor reminded me what Christmas is really all about. Now even though I miss them I think of each holiday more deeply and have a better understanding of the meaning. The meaning of the holiday isn’t lessen by the lack of family or where we are in life! Now I am so much more grateful when we have the meaning and the family all in one package =)
Chase is getting so big! I absolutely love how you and Ryan still continue your monthly dates. My boyfriend and I have been doing the same ever since we started dating 3 and a half years ago and it’s still so fun to try to guess what the other person is planning
This post is overflowing with cuteness! What wonderful dates of you and Ryan