Here he is the day we left, chillin' in his new car seat we bought specifically for the trip:
At the airport watching planes take off and wearing his very appropriate airplane jammies:
Luckily on both flights to MI (we had a short layover in Baltimore) the middle seat between Erik and I was empty. For the first leg of the trip, Arlo was very interested in everything on the plane and didn't want to sit still, so we used his flight vest to keep him seated between us. He didn't like that very much. But really, which 18 month old ever wants to be restrained against their will? None that I have ever met.
During our layover in Baltimore, we met up with Papa (he works in Baltimore and travels home on the weekends.) We then all took the same flight to MI and Papa drove us to their house.
During the second leg of the trip, we brought the car seat right on the plane and put it between Erik and I, which worked like a charm to put the little man to sleep!
Memere ("Mim-ay"), Arlo, and I all went sidewalk sale shopping on our first full day in town. The weather was amazing during our trip, although the Michiganders were complaining it was too cold. If you ask me though, 70's and sunny was a lovely departure from the high 90's we had been having down south.
As a surprise for Arlo, Memere and Papa bought a huge inflatable pool and we set it up in their backyard. Also, I am giving myself credit for inflating this thing with just a tiny foot pump and the power of my lungs. It took forever but I counted it as my workout that day. And Arlo loved the pool, just as much without water as he did when it was filled up!
One of the things I was most looking forward to during our vacation was a long overdue trip to Meijer. Or Meijers as I like to call it. I never appreciated this store to it's fullest extent when we lived up north, but I sure missed it when we moved away. Memere and Papa watched Arlo one morning while Erik and I escaped for a toddler-free outing, where I happily walked down nearly every isle just for fun. Ha!
We also visited a petting farm which Arlo loved. He seemed to really enjoy seeing all of the animals, but what really grabbed his attention was a big yellow tractor. Here he is staring at it in motion:
Family photo at the petting farm:
We also found a playground near the farm, I think Memere enjoyed playing as much as Arlo did!
And here is a really terrible picture of me (but a great one of Erik) standing outside the Starbucks where we met exactly seven years ago.
And twice while we were downstate I was able to sneak away for some early morning yoga. One class was outside at the downtown amphitheater, which was a really cool experience.
We had a great time downstate visiting with Memere and Papa, and I know Arlo had a blast at their house. We are already talking about returning next summer!
And finally, a few fun Arlo facts! On our trip, Arlo:
took his first plane ride (and second, and third, and fourth!)
stood up in his very first wedding
got to meet great-grandma J!! She is my maternal grandmother, and my last living grandparent.
had two new teeth come in, both "two year" molars on the bottom
learned to go up and down 1-2 stairs at a time without holding on to anything
started giving us kisses on our cheeks and lips, and has since started coming up to us unprompted just to give us random kisses... awwww :)
discovered his love of freshly picked sugar snap peas from great-grandma's garden
next up, part 2 of the trip!
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