Spring Break: Day 2 & 3

We started the day off with cartoons and juice.  I believe we watched Penguins of Madagascar.  That has to be one of my favorite cartoons right now.  A few episodes of Spongebob followed and I was ready to throw a pineapple at the television.  So, we shut it off and played with Play Doh.

We stayed in our pajamas through breakfast.  And lunch.  And nap time.  It was awesome.

At 3:00, we started getting ready for Hansel & Gretel at The Grand Theater.  We picked up Aunt Colleen and went downtown.  Found parking.  Waited in the lobby for Nana Wanda.  Found our seats.  And waited.  And waited.  And waited.  The 4:00 show started WAY after 4:00 PM, but Nolan and Madeline were great sports!  Nana Wanda on the other hand... let's just say she's lucky she didn't get sent out to the car.

After the show, we went to Grandpa Larry's house and had dinner with him.  Then, it was back home for a bath and bedtime!  It was a nice quiet evening to prepare us for our big trip to Mall of America.  And then, Erin arrived.  With Gunner!!!

 

Sleeping was not on his agenda for the night. Nolan & Maddie drifted off into La La Land and Gunner and I walked around the house, sang lullabies, and drank bottles.  Well, he drank the bottles.  Finally, around 11:00 PM, we were in bed and starting to doze off.  Gunner doesn't just fall asleep; he puts on a production.  It begins with fussing.  Then, there is a period of flailing around, tossing, turning, and grunting.  Then, he starts moaning.  After about 45 minutes of this, he's out.  

So, he woke up at 1:00 AM to begin his production all over again.  And then again at 3:45 AM.  And then we just decided to call it good and wake up at 4:55 AM.  

It's amazing how much I can accomplish with a one-year-old attached to my side.  We picked out Nolan and Madeline's clothes for the day, picked out my clothes for the day, brushed my teeth, showered, and packed two travel bags.  I made Nolan and Madeline waffles with Gunner standing up at my feet and clinging to my leg to keep him steady.  Talk about multi-tasking, I fed Gunner a bottle while putting on makeup. 

  

Colleen showed up at 7:15 and we finished getting everybody ready, then loaded the car for the 190 mile trip to the Mall of America.

Gunner cried and fussed almost all the way to Eau Claire.  There was about a 45 minute stretch where everyone in the car (except me) was sleeping.  And then, Gunner woke up and fussed the rest of the way to Minnesota.  We were ALL relieved when we finally made it! 

We parked the car, loaded up the stroller, and away we went.

Madeline Making Sure She's Tall Enough!!

They couldn't reach the buttons!

 

So cute!!  Gunner LOVES his Aunt Colleen!

Madeline behind the wheel was a little scary to watch!

Aunt Colleen having more fun than the kids!

Gunner thought the Dippin' Dots were AWESOME!

I was getting sick just watching them on these things!!

He wasn't feeling very good!  This picture sums it up.