Proud Momma

The weekend went really well. I was pleasantly surprised and so proud of my little guy. He had a couple of pushy moments, and one minor meltdown when we tried to get him into the “stranger’s” minivan the first time, but other than that he was happy and playful. He didn’t eat much all weekend, but as it turns out he came down with a pretty nasty cold on the day we left, which explains it. I hope we didn’t leave our lovely hosts with that present!

We arrived in Toronto on Friday afternoon. We relaxed in our friend’s backyard while Ben and their daughter climbed, slid and swung on the awesome play structure and ran around the spacious yard. Ben was so tuckered-out just before dinner that he climbed into my lap and promptly fell asleep in my arms for a 20 minute cap nap. He hasn’t done that in a long time, and I have to admit I loved the cuddle time. It felt like when I used to rock him to sleep for his morning naps when he was an infant. He had his head buried in that same spot in my neck that he always did when he was only weeks and months old. That is definitely one of those special things that I am looking forward to when the new baby makes his/her debut. That, and the new baby smell. Good stuff.

On Saturday, we all piled into our friend’s van (mini-meltdown because he was very unsure about the van and all the people crammed-in) and headed to Niagara, Lakeside Park. We had a lovely morning - a picnic, rides on the 104 year old Carousel (5 cents a ride! Can’t beat that!), swings/slides and a walk on the pier. After the park, we headed over to Happy Rolf’s Animal Park. Ben loved the animals. He fed goats, sheep and a llama. The park also had several kick-ass play structures that Ben also enjoyed very much! After Happy Rolf's, we piled back into the van and made our way home to Mississauga and Swiss Chalet for dinner (all 3 kids and the 2 moms had a little sleep in the van). I was slightly leery about dinner because Ben had a very good and very full day, so there was a good chance that a pleasant dining experience might be too much of a stretch. However, Ben was patient, behaved and happy (and he only ate ½ of a crayon!). I was absolutely bursting with pride. All the work at daycare, at home and with the speech therapist is really starting to show.

Sunday morning we made the long drive back to Ottawa. Ben watched a lot of Dora and Thomas the Tank Engine on the ride home, and he was happy with that. He has always been an absolute champ on car rides, so I am never worried about a road trip with him.

By the time was made it to Ottawa, Ben had developed a pretty nasty cold. Poor fella. Funny thing about his cold - it made me even more proud of his behaviour over the weekend. This cold was brewing under the surface over weekend and he still was so well behaved. I am amazed and excited about the promise that this shows! Hurray for Ben!