I was kind of worried about our plane trip. Ethan is such an active guy that I was nervous he'd be all over the place! (On the way back, he totally was, which is why I only have pictures of well-behaved Ethan. :) On the way there, he was enthralled with the seat belt, the lights above our seats, the tray table, his socks...who knew that planes were so exciting?! The best discovery was the seat belt we bought for Mr. Ethan. In preparing for this trip, I got tired just thinking about hauling around his humongous car seat, so we found this CARES restraint, which is just this awesome seat belt that you can hang around the seat and strap the boy in. Fantastic.
He was even tired enough at one point to take a little nap on me, which was GREAT. He doesn't usually fall asleep in odd places anymore, but on this trip, he fell asleep on the plane trip, several times in the stroller, in the car, etc. We're back on a regular schedule now, thank you very much. :)
Ethan also decided that he was going to be a super cool boy. Here he is in the car (rented car seat) on the way to the grocery store to pick up the requisite applesauce, cheese, and crackers. We made trips almost every day to the Whole Foods store in Santa Fe. I love Whole Foods! We so need one in Central Illinois, but I don't see it coming anytime soon...The interesting thing is, as healthy and environmentally-conscious as Whole Foods is, EVERYTHING has nuts in it there. (Or at least the threat of nuts....processed in a plant where an employee ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when they were five or something...) I expect nut dangers in trail mix and granola, but white bread and bags of dried fruit???
We didn't stick with yogurt and applesauce every day, though. There are way too many great restaurants in Santa Fe, and most of the ones we visited had wonderful outdoor seating that we took advantage of. Here we are at Louie's, a place we liked enough to eat at twice! I now have to find a recipe to make Ethan banana and brown sugar crepes again, since I ordered it for the two of us to share, and he ate it all. :)
We didn't just shop at Whole Foods and eat, though. :) Canyon Road, a narrow street lined with all sorts of galleries, was a short drive from Anda's house and a great opportunity for a walk after naptime (for all of us) one day. Here we are looking at a huge pink pig that moved when you pushed on it - Ethan had some fun with that one. Of course, every single item on the entire street cost more than what I make in 6 months, but it was all fun to look at.
We also took the opportunity in New Mexico to visit with one of Brian's best friends - I haven't seen him since our wedding in 2005, and have never met his wife or his adorable son! Here is our photogenic baby at this great Audubon Center in Santa Fe where we all took a little walk on Monday. (Shortly after this photo, Ethan did a belly flop in the dirt beside this bench, so I'm glad I could capture this shot before the tears. :)
The grounds of this place were gorgeous, and the walk was nice, but I think the best part of that day was spending time with Tim, Inna, and Daniel. Daniel at 7 ("almost 7 and a half") is just one of the kindest little boys I've ever met, and loved Ethan instantly. After our walk, the two boys played and played while we grownups talked and talked. I so rarely get the opportunity to see Ethan play with other kids!
Now I can't wait to see Tim's family and my sister again sometime soon! However, I think that they'll have to come to Urbana. I'm tired. :)
1 comment:
It looks like you had so much fun! That CARES restraint thing looks so cool! I might have to hunt one down:) I feel your pain on shopping with the stupid nut allergy. I read EVERY label when I went grocery shopping this week. I wanted to cry when I saw all the things Charlotte will never have--including half of the pancake mixes! It's a good thing we live in the time of the internet and can at least order "nut free factory" stuff:)
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