Mother's Day, and the weekend in general, was wonderful in about every way. It was relaxing, I felt thoroughly spoiled, and unlike most weekends which tend to fly by, this was, as Goldilocks would say, "just right." I throw the word "weekend" in the title to tease my husband, who claimed last year, "It's Mother's Day, not Weekend," but has since learned that maybe a little indulgence goes a long way in overall familial happiness. :)
Of course the big news from the weekend is that Ellie started walking on her own on Friday! It's been a long time coming and she's been ready for so long. Once she found the confidence to let go, she's been walking everywhere.
(Adorable outfits courtesy of Brian's Aunt Joyce)
She still crawls of course, but it's so fun to see her walking around the corner when I'm not expecting it as I'm so used to seeing her crawl. Not to mention the look of concentration on her face is just priceless.
She's also become very good in such a short time at recovering herself if she loses her balance, so I wouldn't be surprised if she progresses to running before we know it! On a (possibly) related note, since Friday we have not had one biting incident, so perhaps she wanted to walk as bad as we wanted her to and biting was her way to release that frustration. Needless to say, much of our weekend was spent watching Ellie walk around and start exploring the world on two feet.
Early on Saturday, Brian went in to work for a few hours but later treated me to a morning of shopping at La Encantada, an outdoor mall in the foothills. Because shopping (even though most was just window shopping) builds up such an appetite, we stopped at P.F. Chang's for lunch, which was just okay; sorry to all the P.F. Chang's lovers out there but I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. The rest of the day was a blur of laziness, dotted with church in the early evening and capped off with an lovely evening of sitting on the back patio and enjoying the warm post-sunset breeze, just my husband and I.
Sunday morning Brian woke me up with a great Mother's Day surprise: breakfast in bed! He made his specialty, French toast, with a huge bowl of fresh fruit on the side. I wish I could have slept in, but there's something about the sun coming up at 5:30 in the morning these days that makes sleeping in (as hard as we try) almost impossible. After everyone ate breakfast, we headed north to St. Philip's Plaza for the farmer's market -- Ellie looked less than thrilled to be there.
The market wasn't overly crowded like it is on most weekends, maybe because it was Mother's Day, but I found it to be a nice change of pace. One of the vendors there sells traditional French pasteries -- with a name like Jean-Luc (the owner), you know they have to be good! I decided that I deserved one of his croissants, and I think my junior high French teacher would be been proud that I used the French pronunciation when I made my order.
It really is a thing of beauty. The dark spot in the center? It's semi-sweet chocolate, which runs through the middle of the entire croissant. So.very.delicious. I thought I would be good and only eat half of it, saving the rest for later, which turned out to be a monumental mistake. I should have just thrown caution (and my waistline) to the wind and eaten the whole thing on Sunday because the remaining half that I ate on Monday was nearly dried out -- but I feel no shame in admitting that I ate that second half anyway.
While Ellie (and Brian) took an afternoon nap, I went to the gym for over an hour which was awesome since I usually go in the evenings after Ellie is in bed, making for a very rushed workout so I can get home and in bed at a decent hour. This was quite the exception and so very appreciated. I got home, showered and was treated to Mother's Day dinner at Zinbuger! Brian and I both ordered their burger of the week, the Wildcat, which was piled high with bacon, cheese and their homemade onion chips, dripping in hot sauce. Yum.
I had such a wonderful weekend and feel so lucky to have the family that I do. With almost a year and a half as a mom under my belt, I'm at a point where I feel really comfortable with motherhood.
What can I say, I had a really good teacher (my mother and I on the day I was born):
There are of course trying moments, but Ellie is so fun and loving right now that it makes the good times that much sweeter. It's hard to believe we've gone from no teeth and barely sitting up on her own last year on Mother's Day...
... to walking, talking, eight teeth and all that crazy hair a year later!
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