We just returned from a trip to Denver to visit Gina, Nick and Stellan, who moved there back in June for Nick's three-year residency. We had a wonderful time!
We weren't sure how Jackson would handle the plane ride, since he hasn't been on one since he was 10 months old, but he was an old pro. We were super prepared with snacks, every DVD he owns, a portable DVD player, books, and magazines (he loves to look at them and hold up each page and tell you to "Wook it!"), but he was a great traveler. The only rough patch was when we arrived at the airport to find that escalators (aka "moving stairs") scare the heck out of him, so elevators quickly became our friend.
Once we got to our gate, he got to enjoy some DVDs while we waited to board.
He was a little nervous on the flight (can you tell?) and definitely looked like he was going to cry a few times during takeoff, but with some snacks, his Elmo stuffed animals and his blanket, he was good to go. He even took a nap on my lap for half of the flight (haven't had him nap on me in ages - loved it!)
He enjoyed playing with Stellan, seeing their cat Tyson, and enjoying all of Stellan's toys. J made himself right at home, even deciding it was okay to empty an entire bookshelf of books to read.
Jackson didn't mind sharing Corey a bit, even when Stellan wanted Corey to hold him, which I had been a little worried about. Corey did a great job handling two kiddos at once...looks like he'll be a pro come January!
The first morning there, we woke up to head to breakfast and to the Children's Museum only to walk out of Gina and Nick's apartment and not see our car where we'd left it. It's quite a strange and scary feeling to know you parked your car exactly where there is now an empty spot in the lot and not know if it had been towed, or if it had been stolen. Lucky for us, it was just towed. Apparently their building management has gotten strict and because we didn't have a parking permit in our window, they towed us within hours of us arriving. After a call to the towing company, who couldn't tell us if they had our car yet and to call the police, who then told us that yes indeed, that towing company had our car, we were back in business and picking up our car in no time.
We didn't have time for the museum that day, but did still have time to make it to Snooze for breakfast - it was delicious. Even Jackson literally cleaned his plate, which included a side of bacon (apparently our vegetarian has decided bacon is okay to eat!).
We hit up two parks that afternoon and the boys had a blast. I couldn't believe how nice and big their parks are, with new playground equipment and acres and acres of grass. Amazing.
The following day, we headed to the Children's Museum, which was great. The Seattle one is nice, but the Denver one had many more interactive activities and J had a blast. That is until he decided to forget how to share and started hording balls and throwing tantrums when we wanted to move him along to the next activity. But, nothing a little Sassafrass milkshake afterwards couldn't fix. He even shared his milkshake with me, offering me "another sip?", followed by "mmmm" as I took a drink (he really does pick up on everything we do and say).
We wrapped up that day with a fun trip to our third and final park of the trip, which even resulted in a family photo op, which never happens! I can't remember the last time all three of us were in a picture.
Couldn't help but post this picture of Mr. Stellan playing at the park. He is such a cute, chunky monkey, complete with baby crack!
After the park, we stumbled across a music festival, which had Stellan clapping and J dancing. He even held hands and danced with me for awhile. Apparently we need to find more festivals to take him to - he had a blast.
We had such a great time with the Gordens and were thrilled J did so well on the flight, and with sleeping in a new place. It was great to catch up with Nick and Gina, relax, eat, and watch the boys play, laugh and interact with each other. Can't wait to see them grow up together.
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