On the Road Again - Day Three

After a fitful night's sleep (Tate ended up in bed with me before midnight and tossed/turned) the little man woke up right before 6 professing "I had a good night time!" Sigh...I wish that had made two of us.  But I got us up and packed.  I wanted to be on the road by 10 in order for him to take a nap around noon and to arrive back home by 2:30 or giving us time to unwind, relax, grocery shop and be home before the work week started.  I have quickly learned that though an early exit greatly dampens our visits, having the time at home in the afternoon is essential in relieving my stress level, and since Tate loves being at home it works for both of us.

We headed downstairs to get some breakfast, for Tate :)  About 30 minutes later O joined us while Angela dozed.  Uncle J entertained both kids while I made several trips to load up the car.  

Tate obviously made himself right at home.....

Angela had wanted me to do an exam of O's teeth for her.  First O wanted to show me what a great patient she is for her Dr. Mommy.  I have to say the dental exam was not nearly as peaceful (yes I brought a mirror and explorer from my office).  But no cavities were found, and I gave her a clean bill of dental health!

And then O decided she needed to wear some of her mother's shoes.  Tate was not about to be left out. What commenced was a fashion show to end all fashion shoes.  'Project Runway' watch out!

But first admire this absolutely stunning chandelier hanging in Ang's bath.  Just gorgeous.   

On to the show...

Yes the trains were a manly necessity.

Angela has taught O how to pose.  They gave Tate some quick pointers..."Hands on your hips Tate, put one hip out!"  Ummm look how quickly he understood.

O says..."Move that foot out just a bit more Tate"

He's got it going on!

Tate asks..."Do these shoes make my butt look big?"

Down the runway, umm hallway in the next offering.

And lest anyone think that these two kiddos were on their own all weekend, Angela and I finally took some pics together with our babies.

And we had to outfit them in yet another pair of shoes.

And even after this....

Tate still adores his Princess O....

Tate and I were on our way home shortly after this.  A stop to gas up and we headed out of Dallas by 10:15.  Tate was amazing the entire trip home.  We played alot of Bon Jovi and the little girl.  He entertained himself in the back seat with his books the ENTIRE ride home.  Note I said entire.  Yes, because he did not take a nap.  I tried playing lullaby music.  I gave him his beloved hippo.  Nothing worked.  And today 8 days later I cannot for the life of me remember what he did the entire time.  I do know that the first 90 minutes or so he sat back there sulking for reasons unbeknownst to me.  He had said over and over again that morning he wanted to go home.  Maybe he thought it would be a five minute jaunt, but he never cried or fussed.   Finally, a little before noon I stopped at a McDonald's to get myself a hamburger, and I got him some french fries.


Yes...Tate's first taste of fast food.  He has never had fast food before.  He's never been through the drive-thru at McDonald's, and though he has been through the Chick-Fil-A drive thru, I've never gotten anything for him.  So he has no concept of what those yellow arches mean, and I'm 100% sure he still doesn't.  I got him a small order of fries, and he was happy.  I don't see us going back anytime soon though. 


Once he had a full belly, he was in a fabulous mood.  No cajoling would get a nap out of him, so I just gave in after 20 minutes of lullaby music lulling me to sleep and drove the two of us back to Houston.  Four and a half hours later we drove into the parking lot of Whole Foods and shopped for the week.  


And finally home to Vincent.


Such an amazing adventure.  I'm so very glad we went, and so blessed to have such a good little traveler. I remember saying in a Christmas letter the year he was born that I was going 'to strap this baby to my back and see the world.'  Well we haven't quite seen the world, but we've seen some of these United States together, and I intend to keep traveling with him.  I want him to enjoy our travels together, get used to being just the two of us on the road, in the air or on the rails, so that when he's older and thinks I'm not cool he'll still want to see some cool places with his mommy.