As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the perks of my job is spring break. I love that I get a week off to relax and get some good quality family time in. So this is the long picture heavy post, where you can read about our super fun week!Hadley and I headed down to Humble to my mom's house for the week. I had early release on Friday, so as soon as school was over, we started our four hour road trip. Unfortunately it rained most of the way (and the next couple days), but we made it safely.
Saturday the weather was disgusting, so we basically spent the whole day around the house. We played, danced, read some books and played some more. I made a pretty good and easy beef enchilada recipe for dinner ( I am still loving trying out new recipes anytime I have more people to give me feedback). They were really good and ridiculously easy AND Hadley liked them, that's a win all the way around! Sunday we did some shopping. I finally bought Hadley's Easter dress and started the search for mine, with no luck.
Monday we headed out to the Woodlands to do some more shopping. I had to go to Sam Moon to find a bright summer purse. I found an adorable Easter dress at Dress Barn (I don't care if Barn is in the title, I love that store). We also looked at Sperry's at Famous Footwear, I almost bought Hadley a pair, but I couldn't find a pair I liked for me, so she is not getting Sperry's before me- I don't think that is unreasonable... After a whirlwhind day of shopping and chasing Hadley around every store (yes, it seems I am that mom with THAT child), we headed home and I tried another recipe- artichoke chicken...super easy and pretty good, and again Hadley LOVED it!
Tuesday, the weather was supposed to be fairly clear, so we headed to the zoo. We took Hadley to the zoo in July on free day when she was 7 months old- she slept the whole time. It was like 100 degrees and all of Houston was there, so it wasn't the best trip. I was excited to see how at 14 months she would respond to all the other animals. Plus it wasn't free day and was a nice 70 degrees. When we got to the zoo, we saw that a lot of people had the same idea...and after some driving around searching for parking we finally found a spot. Our first order of business was lunch. We all enjoyed a hot dog, even Hadley. It drizzled off and on, but it was pretty nice otherwise.
We started at the birds (boring, sorry, it is true). Hadley enjoyed them, especially the peacock. Then we saw the zebras, which of course she loved!Then we headed to the "kids' zoo" and the petting zoo. Petting zoo evidently is code for a come and pet some goats that are clearly sedated and do not move. Whatever, it is what it is. Hadley didn't love it as much as I expected. I mean Hadley is obsessed with Maggie, my mom's beagle and always wants to pet and kiss her, so I expected she would want to pet these goats just as much, perhaps since they weren't running away, it wasn't as much of a challenge, thus not as appealing to her, who knows?!?
My mom, was excited to take Hadley on the carousel, evidently she loves them. So we waited in line to do so. I wasn't sure what to expect, but was excited to let Hadley ride on the giraffe (instead of horses, they had zoo animals). We started to walk towards it and wouldn't you know it some little girl got there before us. So we went to the next best thing, the zebra. I put Hadley on it and we waited for the thing to start. At this point I start getting a little nervous. She is a little antsy and I am having an internal panic about when the thing starts trying to hold a squirming baby on a moving zebra (I am worried about both the up and down motion as well as the fact that we will be going in a circle). Finally we get going and that thing zips around, I mean really it was fast. Hadley likes it for about 2.5 seconds. She starts wiggling around, and I start imagining her just falling right off the carousel, it is a disaster! In the end I end up holding her, or trying to hold her as we go round and round. It was very stressful, but at least she didn't have a tantrum (which she loves to have these days, complete with throwing herself down and trashing about, it is quite the sight). Luckily, the giraffes were close by, so we were able to redirect her attention quickly.
Our last stop at the zoo was the elephants. I don't know what it is, but I love elephants (of course NOT for any political reason, so don't go thinking that). The elephants weren't there last time we were there, so I personally was excited to see them. I think Hadley might have liked the elephants even more than the giraffes. It was cute they even had baby elephants. Overall it was a great trip. Hadley was so well behaved and really seemed to enjoy it. I see many trips to the zoo in our future!
Hadley enjoyed a nice nap on the car ride home, but once we got home it was clear she REALLY wanted to play outside. My parents' backyard has horrible drainage and it was a lake out there, so that wasn't an option. So we decided to check out a neighborhood park that I personally used to love. I knew Hadley would have a ball, because she loves being outside and always has a good time at the small excuse for a park at my apartment complex. She really loves to swing and slide. She actually seems to love trying to climb up the slide just as much as going down it! She ran around and played for a good 45 minutes! When she started playing the water and insisting that she eat anything she found on the ground- it was time to go.Wednesday, was gorgeous weather, so we needed to do something outside. There is a place called Old McDonald's Farm in Humble, that is basically a farm/petting zoo.
When we left we headed to Sonic to get some happy hour drinks and an ice cream cone for me and Hadley to share. She loved that! I wish I had taken pictures of that, but I didn't (mom fail!). Hadley seemed to have lots of energy so I thought it would be a good idea to take her somewhere she could run around. So we drove to my old elementary school, The Timbers. They have a large play ground (which was way too hot to play on), but have a huge grassy area perfect for Hadley to run around on. She just loves wide open spaces, she just runs around with no fear!
Thursday was an exciting day! My BFF Tara and I had plans to take the babies and her step daughter Janelle to see the Easter Bunny at the mall. I made my mom come along, because I get unreasonably stressed in picture taking situations. I just can't handle melt downs or when Hadley won't smile or cooperate- I am not sure why or what this says about me, but I just can't do it. Anyway, before we took picture, the Easter Bunny was walking around and Hadley went right up to him and seemed fine, I thought "awesome, this will be a breeze." So since they were already friends she went first. She seemed okay for a while, but once I walked away, she kept reaching for me. She didn't cry or scream, but wouldn't put her arms down. We got a decent picture, which I will post later, I can't get my scanner to cooperate. Landon did much better, he is only 8 months and he did much better, he just acted like he and that Easter Bunny had known each other forever! Our last picture was of the babies...I think the picture speaks for itself....After Easter Bunny pictures, Tara wanted to get portraits made since both her kids were dressed so cute. We ended up at Wal Mart and of course I couldn't resist pictures and we got some cute ones for super cheap! We ended the day with a lunch date at CiCi's. The babies got some good quality time together. Landon is so adorable, clearly Hadley just wants to kiss him every time she sees him!
While we were at Walmart we also made a purchase, we got Hadley a potty. I am not sure if she is ready for it, she isn't even 15 months yet, but there are two babies in her class that have already started using the potty, so I thought at the very least I needed to have one to have around so she can get used it, and it can be something we work our way to. I decided on the Fisher Price potty that looks like a real toilet and sings a little song when it is used. I really that it had a place for toilet paper and a handle to flush, because those are things that she is already familiar with and has shown an interest in. S, I am not going to say we are officially potty training, we are doing what us teachers like to call front loading. I am pretty much just prepping her, so when it is time she isn't overwhelmed by newness...we shall see how this goes. She already knows to sit on it, which is great; however, she also likes to pick it up and carry it around, you can imagine how problematic this can be. I am just amazed at her brute strength, seriously! 
Friday, I had to head back to Dallas, to take Hadley to her Nana's since it was her father's weekend. I was pretty bummed that I bought Hadley a St. Patrick's day outfit and I wouldn't get to be with her on the actual day, so we pretended that it was St. Patrick's day and took some pictures. Hey, you know me, I love the holiday outfits, I wasn't missing out on this! I am also a little bummed that the outfit was pants and long sleeved, I had thought about sending it for her to wear on actual St. Patty's day, but it was just too hot!
Overall, we had such a great time. I just love being with my family and getting to see them with Hadley she loves her Gigi and PaPa James so much and they really enjoyed the time with them, and of course I did too. It is so nice to have help, I mean that really made it like a vacation for me! Now that spring break is over, the countdown to summer begins. I am super excited for all the adventures I have in mind for us. It is so much fun to have a toddler. Last summer she was barely even sitting on her own, now she is a walking, talking, ball of energy!
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