By the end of the day yesterday, Chase was eating normally and told me his tummy felt “a lot a bit better” so my hopes are high he’ll wake up this morning feeling great. Poor dude!
A Weekend with Nona and Papa
Backing up a bit, I wanted to share a glimpse into our weekend with you guys! My mother-in-law and Les came to visit for the weekend and we loved having them here! They arrived on Friday and we spent Friday night catching up and headed off to bed at a decent time so we’d all have energy for Saturday’s activities.
When Diane and Les initially planned to come to Charlotte, I had the idea to schedule Chase’s birthday party during their visit so they could be a part of the fun. When I reached out to Diane with the idea, she was all about it so our Saturday centered around Chase’s special day!
We spent the morning at the house digging into French toast casserole and assembling goody bags as Ryan and Les put a special surprise together for Chase in the garage.
Diane and Les knocked the ball out of the park with an incredibly generous birthday gift — A Power Wheels Jeep!
Chase was in heaven as he drove his new Jeep and we had to coerce him off that thing in order to make it to his party in time!
We planned Chase’s party at The Pit in Mooresville after he had the best experience driving go karts on the Peanut Track for kids back in April. We figured he’d have even more fun driving the mini go karts with his friends and planned a party with pizza, cupcakes, go karts, bumper cars and arcade fun for his fourth birthday celebration. (His actual birthday is at the end of the month.)
(Chase was clearly too distracted by the adult go karts to take a good pic!)
The Pit took care of everything other than goody bags and cupcakes which made the whole ordeal a breeze! I just ordered bundtini cupcakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes, topped them with some race car flag cupcake toppers and we were good to go!
The party kicked off with the go karts on the peanut track and watching a bunch of three- and four-year-olds race was too darn cute!
Chase was in his element and driving like a champ until a bumping incident occurred that totally thew him for a loop. Chase is a very cautious kid, especially when it comes to driving and trying new things (the first question he asked when he got his new Jeep was, “Where is my seat belt?”) and, to be honest, we were all a little surprised by just how hard the kid-friendly karts could bump! I’m not sure if any of the other parents out there can relate, but all it seems to take is one little incident to occur to upset Chase and then he’s off his game for a while and that’s how things stayed until close to the end of his party.
Chase managed to have fun during the bumper cars with Ryan and ran around smiling with his friends but I could tell he just wasn’t himself and seemed a little more sensitive than usual throughout the afternoon.
On the bright side, he loved his cupcakes and the arcade was a mega hit with him and all of the kids!
We gave out arcade tokens to all of the families at the end of his party, expecting most families would save them for another time and want to head home but we were pleasantly surprised when all but one family stayed to play arcade games!
Chase was psyched that he had enough tickets at the end of our time in the arcade to get a growing dinosaur and two race flags for him and Ryder to wave at the big go karts and I was just happy to see him acting more like his usual joyful little self!
We made it back home to our house around 2 p.m. and both boys promptly went down for a nap. We ended up spending the rest of our Saturday at home and enjoyed a cookout with my in-laws before putting Ryder to bed. I then offered to head to the grocery store to pick up ice cream for everyone for dessert and what was supposed to be a quick trip ended up being a bit of an ordeal. I drove Ryan’s car to the grocery store and somehow lost his keys. Ugh! I looked everywhere for nearly an hour and came up with nothing. Eventually Ryan picked me up and since Ryan couldn’t find his spare key anywhere, we ended up calling an auto locksmith to come make a new key. All is well again but it wasn’t exactly the rockin’ Saturday night I had planned.
Sunday
Sunday was less eventful than Saturday but that’s what we were all in the mood for after Saturday’s birthday adventures! We kicked things off with a walk/ Jeep cruise around the neighborhood before we made our way to the siblings class at My Gym.
The My Gym class was just under an hour and the boys had a blast practicing their gymnastics skills and running/crawling/toddling around.
When we got home, we put both boys down for a nap and while they slept, Diane and Les taught us how to play Mexican Train Dominoes and it was unbelievably fun!
Ryan and I both enjoy playing games and this one was new to both of us. It didn’t take long to catch on and we all got a little too into it! We played right up until the boys were awake and then we changed into our swimsuits and headed out for an afternoon on the lake.
We threw down our anchor at a little beach and floated around for a while before digging into the sandwiches and snacks we packed.
By the time we made it home, it was nearly 6 p.m., so we quickly bathed the boys, fed them dinner and managed to get them to bed around 7:30. This opened up our evening for some distraction-free dining with Diane and Les and we grilled up some shrimp and scallops for our crew to enjoy before we spent a few more hours playing Mexican Train Dominoes before bed. That game is addicting, I’m telling you!
Diane and Les headed home in the late morning on Monday and we are so glad they made the trip up to see us!
As for the week ahead, it looks like it is going to be a H-O-T one in Charlotte! I’m hoping to fill our days with summer fun including pool play dates, park playtime and more. I hope to check in with you guys again soon! Have a great Tuesday!
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Sounds like a fantastic birthday party weekend! Chase must have been so excited to share his party with some of his grandparents :). I grew up playing Mexican Train with my grandparents, such good memories!
I was honestly surprised by how fun the game was — I figured Dominoes wouldn’t be all that exciting but we were all SO into it!!
Sounds like a fantastic birthday party weekend! Chase must have been so excited to share his party with some of his grandparents :). I grew up playing Mexican Train with my grandparents, such good memories!
Chase still naps at 4? And goes to bed at 7:30? Ur a lucky mama! Coco
Naps are veeeeery hit or miss for Chase these days and they’re often just “quiet time” in his room but he definitely still needs them. He truly doesn’t stop moving when he’s awake & naps/quiet time seem to really help his moods in the afternoon. Oh and that 730 bedtime is not usual for him… I think it was just a combination of a busy weekend, a late night on Saturday (he didn’t go to bed until 10pm) and time on the boat. His bedtime is typically closer to 8/8:30 but yesss we will definitely take advantage of naps/early bedtimes whenever we can, for as long as we can!
Mexican train is one of my favorite games. I learned it one summer with my friend and her aunt and in college I had all my friends hooked on it. So fun. Looks like Chase had a great party. Glad he seems to be feeling better.
So sorry Chase was sick! My oldest has done that before…so weird and definitely not fun to wake up to. Glad he’s feeling better!
Isn’t it so strange!? I truly have no idea how he didn’t call out for us and it was definitely huge mess. Thankfully he seems to be all better today. Phew!
I’m probably totally paranoid, but was Chase showing any other concussion symptoms? I think his initial out-of-it and later vomiting are both concussion symptoms. I’m definitely not a doctor, lol, and you know your boy best. Maybe just something to keep an eye on! Sounded like a great party. <3
Thank you for your concern and I can absolutely see how you’d think that could be a possibility! The bumping incident was actually with two other cars and his car was only lightly tapped but all kids are okay! 🙂 I absolutely appreciate you bringing this up in such a kind way. <3
But you wrote in the post that you were surprised just how hard the kid go-carts could bump. His symptoms (being out-of-it, vomiting, and tired for the 7:30 bedtime) are classic concussive symptoms. I would definitely speak with your pediatrician. I say this out of concern, not judgment!
Thank you for your kind concern! The two kids behind him bumped hard and one of their cars went out to the side and tapped Chase’s car. He truly wasn’t bumped hard and was more upset by the loud noise of the bumping of the other two cars. I would absolutely be on the cautious side of things had I not seen the bump on his car that was truly more of a tap.
Ryder looks just like his Nona!!
Mexican Train Dominos is so fun! We have all our friends hooked on it and play it nightly at the lake. It’s perfect to include the kids with the adults.
We put tiles on every set of keys/IDs we have. After dropping several hundred dollars to get my car re-keyed, it was worth it to grab a few at Target (they have replaceable batteries and tell you when they’re running low!) to keep track of everything. It has also helped when a toddler has swiped and hidden my wallet.
I need more info on this! What do you mean by tiles? How does this work? Sounds right up my alley!!
https://www.amazon.com/Tile-Mate-Slim-Combo-Pack/dp/B01MF9VQOP/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_107_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=P84PRJ6DXJ181NXQESDQ
Excuse the long link but these are the BEST! I have one on my work ID, my keys, and one of the thin ones in my wallet. I constantly set my keys down and forget where they are and this has saved me literally hours of frustration. The batteries seem to last between 18-24 months for me. I’d bet there are some Amazon Prime day deals or sales at Target right now!
this is GENIUS!!!! thanks for sharing!
I’m exhausted from reading your post Mama! Such an action packed weekend! Hope everyone has a nice, healthy, uneventful week. Happy early birthday, sweet Chase. xox
I just learned how to play mexican train dominos! So much fun!
http://www.themilestraveled.com
Poor kid! At least he wasn’t sick for his party! And arcade tokens are an AWESOME idea—we totally would have stayed to play, too, ha ha! I might have to steal that!
Happy Birthday to Chase! So sad to hear he had some upsetting parts of the day and that he got sick, but sounds like all in all it was a HUGE WIN.
Your family Julie is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!! I always feel happy when i read your blog. Very long time reader here.
Have a great week!
I LOVE your navy rug in the picture with the goodie bags! Would you mind sharing where it’s from?
Cuteeeeee. Also, where is your white shirt from? Love it!!!
It’s free people from Zappos!
Happy Birthday Chase!!!
Please share that amazing bike/stroller combo that ryder is cruising… my daughter is about to turn 1 and that looks like an AMAZING gift idea that she would love.
Also, would you be interested in sharing when/how you did or plan to wean Ryder?
Thanks for sharing… love following along!
Hi Samantha! It’s the 4-in-1 Trike that will actually grow with Ryder and turn into a bike as he gets bigger. We got it for Chase and now it’s Ryder’s and both boys have loved it. Here’s the Amazon link: http://bit.ly/32Gx9Xc
As for weaning, I’ll be sharing an update soon! I’m still nursing at the moment but definitely in the process of weaning.
Watching you guys in the lake without a PFD (especially Ryder!) makes me so nervous! A 23 yr old drown in LKN this weekend after jumping off a boat and never resurfaced. Please please re-think having something on when you’re in the water!!
Happy Belated Birthday Chase!
It sounds like he had an amazing birthday party and birthday weekend!
I thought partly goodies bags were slowly moving out of style, however it made me smile they’re still around! An in Spain too. Writing this I remember a few weeks ago in a bazaar shop a girl and boy of about 6-7 with their mums were buying bits for the bags. I can also see where Chase and Ryder get their smiles from, Ryan’s Mum!
*party goodie bags!