My mom came to Santa Barbara the first weekend in November so Nick and I could have a weekend getaway in Las Vegas. We had originally intended to make the trip so we could see Debbie Reynolds in concert, but she canceled at the last-minute so we quickly changed our hotel and entertainment reservations and headed out for a more traditional Vegas vacation. Our good friends Alethea and Mark joined us. We had a great time, indulging in scrumptious food, doing a little gambling, and taking in a classic Cirque du Soleil show:
Nick and I cherished the alone time and chance to sleep in, shop, and relax, but agreed that, if we were given the opportunity to go on another weekend getaway, we would skip the long drive and stay closer to home (giving us more relaxation time). Big thanks to my mom for watching Graham so we could have some time to ourselves!
While we were off on our adults-only vacation, Graham was busy bonding with his Grammy Taub!
The day we left, Graham and Grammy went to Penelope’s 2nd birthday party and it sounded like a spectacular event with everything from a petting zoo to face painting. Graham loved all the backyard activities that were set up and although he was a little scared of some of the animals, he quickly forgot about his fears and went right back to playing:
The next day, Graham sent us an email and let us know what he was up to.
He wrote: “Hi Mommy and Daddy,
I had a fun day with Grammy. This morning I went to the park. I had fun climbing and running and kicking my ball. You know what? I found a credit card. Grammy called the bank and the bank called the lady and she came back to the park to get it. The lady thanked Grammy and me. After my nap Grammy took me to the pet store. I had fun seeing the birds and fish and the bunny rabbits. At home I had a lot of fun when Grammy chased me. I am very fast but somehow she always caught me and tickled my tummy. After all the running and adventures Grammy said I needed a bath. I am sparkling clean now and tired so I am going to close my eyes. Look forward to seeing you tomorrow
Love,
Graham”
When we got home, my mom shared the pictures that went with Graham’s email and I took a video of Grammy and Graham playing the “chase you” game:
The next day (the day we arrived home late at night), my mom was scheduled to get the house ready for our housekeeper (Maria) and take Graham to his Growing Times class. Here is what Graham had to say about his day: “I surprised Grammy this morning by getting up at 6:30. We had fun playing and getting ready for Maria. See how I helped Grammy get all my dirty clothes in a bag. After a yummy pancake and banana and blackberry breakfast, I got to go to play with my friends at Mommy and Me. I reminded Grammy about my hat. I am now driving my orange and yellow car around the playground.
Love,
Graham”
Along with pictures, Graham also updated us twice more that day about how much fun he was having and how he was looking forward to seeing us when he woke up from his nap. When my mom emailed me the pictures of Graham loading his dirty laundry into a garbage bag, I called Maria in a panic to make sure she didn’t accidentally put the garbage bag in the trash can. Phew, disaster averted:
When we got home, I took a picture of Graham’s war wound (a cut on his upper lip from a face-plant incident):
The next day, I took a picture of Graham enjoying Grandpa Taub’s homemade granola sent all the way from Sacramento:
There were also some sweet pictures of Daddy and Grammy reading to Graham:
and Graham got a big treat when we happened to catch three firemen leaving their truck. They stopped to visit with Graham and even turned on the flashing lights on their truck:
The next day, as I dealt with unpacking, an electrician, and a plumber, my mom and Graham went to the park. They spent two full hours playing at the park, which is a record for Graham. Graham practiced his balancing skills along the lip of the perimeter of the playground, did lots of climbing, and ended up dunking his hat in the water fountain, so my mom got a picture of it drying on a tree in the distance:
On my Mom’s last full day in town, we packed in a trip to the zoo and sea center.
It had been a while since our last visit to the zoo and I was thrilled to see how much more Graham enjoyed it now that he is a little older.
First Graham checked out all the cool animals:
then we headed to the grassy hill, which is considered the main attraction at the zoo for kids five and under. For Santa Barbara children, who are not regularly exposed to snow, taking a piece of cardboard (or a plastic sled in our case) and ‘sledding’ down the fake grass hill is the next best thing to real snow. Graham enjoyed his trips down the hill and was doing it by himself by the end:
but what he really loved was dragging his sled behind him through the kid-sized nature trail:
He also loved stomping back and forth over the bridge (sans sled):
and bonding with the stone animals:
Our next stop was the sea center. Graham played with the display shells and ventured to put one little finger into the touch tank:
He made sure to enjoy the ocean views before we loaded back up into the car:
The best part of the visit was seeing how much Graham loved my mom. As she was packing, I took a video of Graham calling Grammy by her name:
When Graham woke up from his nap, after my mom left, he jumped out of bed and went running down the hall, saying “see Grammy, find Grammy.” He has taken her signature tea cup out of the cupboard a few times and said “Grammy’s cup.” My mom taught him to say “warm and cozy” when he hears the heater go on and he has been saying it along with “Grammy, warm and cozy” ever since she left. Graham’s favorite bedtime lullaby is now the one that Grammy sang to him and his favorite book is the one Grammy read to him.
I think Graham is going to be one excited boy when he is reunited with Grammy tomorrow. Sacramento, here we come!
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