A mommy and me day

Today was a special day for Oliver and me.  Since I had the day off (I'm between the end of the semester and the beginning of my Maymester class) and had the babysitter (who we pay for set hours regardless), I decided to spend the whole day with Oliver, just doing fun things together.  I probably could have taken him to run errands with me and he would've loved it.  We probably could have stayed home and played in the backyard all day (although there were two babies inside with the sitter, so that seemed like a bad idea).  But I wanted to do things I knew would be difficult or less fun with Emme in tow.  And with that -- and the nice weather -- in mind, I made a plan.

Ollie was up this morning about 7:30am, and we got a shower.  Once Hailey was here and I was ready to leave the house, we walked to Frothy Monkey for hot chocolate.  Oliver asked to bring Cookie Monster along, and for once I relented to let him leave the house.  Our neighbor's dog came down to sniff us and showed some interest in Cookie, which made Ollie nervous.  We sat on the couch in Frothy sipping our hot chocolate while Oliver asked me about everyone else there.  Cookie even got a sip. We walked home and got in the car to head to Murfreesboro, where we went to the Children's Discovery Center.  It's one of those children's museum/learning center/play spaces all in one.  The downstairs has a fire engine and an aquarium with turtles in it and an area with rocks that kids can "excavate" for fossils.  There's a big water play area where kids can learn about waves and aquaducts.  There's a play house and shop and a tot area with a music store, Home Depot, post office, play house, and grocery store (a Kroger!). The upstairs has a big "Wheels" exhibit with a car that kids can service, a coal mine section, and lots of other things we didn't even explore.  We were there about two hours, skipped the outdoor walking area around some manmade wetlands, and played briefly on the small playground.  After our first (and last) ever lunch at Zaxby's, we headed back to Nashville, about a 30-40 minute drive.  I actually took my nursing cover and pumped on the drive back (and was very happy not to have had an accident or been stopped by a policeman).  Oliver, as I expected, fell dead asleep.

I had given him a few options for what to do in the afternoon, and he asked to go the playground at the zoo.  He was asleep when we got there, so I called Wes to chat for a few minutes, at which point he woke up.  He was sluggish at the zoo but still having fun.  We were at the zoo for probably a little more than an hour.  We saw the macaws and the crane, played on the playground, got a chocolate soft serve ice cream cone, rode the tiger on the carousel, and fed the lorikeets.  By then it was time to head home, with a detour at Home Depot for bird food.  Unfortunately, when I got to the car, I realized my wallet was missing.  I thought briefly that it had been stolen but thought it strange that they would have left a camera and phone but taken a wallet.  I decided to go back in the park to see if I had left it at the cafe where I'd bought the ice cream cone.  I didn't have my zoo membership card, though (obviously), and when I told the person at the ticket counter that my wallet had disappeared, he directed me to the information counter.  Mercifully, it was already there.  I don't know whether I left it at the cafe or some kind person found it and turned it in, but I was beyond grateful to not have to deal with having lost my ID and all my various cards.

At this point it was too late to get our bird food, so Oliver and I braved the crazy traffic (4pm on Thursday?) and headed home.  We got back to find Emme cooing and smiling on her playmat in the living room, having evidently had a pleasant day herself.  The afternoon and evening were spent swinging on the couch, doing puzzles in the living room, and just hanging out.  Cookie got hungry, so Oliver fed him the remainder of one of Emme's bottle (and when that ran out, nursed him a bit).  Ollie started acting out as the evening wore on, but he did fine through dinner.  Afterwards, though, he was obviously just worn out.  Once I got Emme down in her crib (though unfortunately, not for the last time), I took Ollie up, got his pajamas on him, read him a new book from Grandma, and said goodnight.  This, I might add, was just before 7pm.

I have no idea what time Oliver will be up tomorrow morning, and I have no idea if he saw any difference between today and other days.  I hope that I get to keep having "mommy and me" days with him (and Emme) over the years, though.  Siblings are great, and all kids need to know how to get along without the undivided interest of their parents, but there's something special about getting a day (or at least eight hours) all to yourself -- both for him and for me.