Soak Up the SON

Nolan has been longing to go swimming for quite some time now. He absolutely LOVES staying at hotels. We decided to make a combination of the two for one last "Hoorah" as a family of 3. The past couple of months I have been truly soaking up the time with my son. I've been trying to take in and truly appreciate every moment with him whether it's through cuddling, playing, or observing. Yes, I realize and am grateful that there's still many more to come, but for the past 1,445 days he has been my baby. I'm thrilled to see my abounding love expand even more to heights that I never thought possible in a short amount of time, but to those that know me well, know that I have also been trying to wrap my head around the possibility of actually visualizing this expanded love. I'm told it's a common fear for many Mommy's going through the process of 1 to 2. In addition, I'm also told that it just magically happens and in that one moment you forget how it could have been any other way. Just as Nolan has longed for his swimming adventure, I've been longing for a bigger family for so, so long. My love for this new life inside of me is so great, so please don't get me wrong, but for now, I'm not taking any time with my family of three for granted. I really am incredibly blessed.

So without further ado, here are a few pictures from our outing with Nolan yesterday.

We started the day off by going to The Old Spaghetti Factory, where Nolan had a teddy bear balloon hat made:

We then checked into our hotel in downtown St. Louis (I know a real far journey for us, huh?! But, the point was a hotel, swimming, & enjoyment - traveling wasn't required). Nolan was giddy the whole way inside and down to the pool. It took him a little bit of time to figure out exactly what an "indoor pool" was and just how you don't get in trouble for water splashing out of the pool onto a floor unlike the bathtub at home.

After quite awhile in the pool, it was time to get dressed, so we could walk to his surprise...Disney on Ice:

He had so much fun & was SO content during the show. We couldn't get over how well he behaved. The last 5 minutes of the show was a real struggle as he was spending all of his energy fighting heavy, drifting eyes. We checked out of the hotel this morning and he proudly pulled along his Buzz bag.
(Side note: this is the Buzz bag that I couldn't pass up in Phoenix last month at the Disney store...it was on clearance for $8! Then, of course I was too big of a cheap skate to check it in, so I used it as my own carry on...let me tell you, I received plenty of strange looks & giggles pulling it through the various airports on the way home - as it lit up with each turn of the wheels!)

All in all, mission was accomplished: We had a FABULOUS day spending quality time together as a family sharing smiles. Now it's time to focus our time on this little boy turing FOUR in just a couple short weeks and preparing for the arrival of a new boy or girl shortly after. Time really does pass by much too quickly.