After Weekend #1 with friends & family, we headed out for a little family excursion to St. Louis! We went to church Sunday morning, had lunch with my in-laws and then drove the 200ish miles to St. Louie! Elyse always misses her morning nap on Sundays with church and this definitely worked in our favor...she slept ALL the way only waking up a few minutes before we stopped to shop for a bit.
We shopped at The Galleria (one of my favorite, within driving distance, shopping malls), I found some great deals and then we had a quick dinner at 5 Guys Burgers & Fries. Elyse was tired of being either in a carseat, stroller, highchair, or someone's arms so we opted for a quick dinner. Definitely the right decision. My parents decided to join us for the weekend getaway last minute and met up with us just a few minutes before dinner.
We checked into the hotel and Elyse was in LOVE! She had tons of room to crawl around, new areas to explore, and a floor to ceiling mirror all to herself!
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| LOVE this picture, she was hilarious talking to the baby in the mirror! |
Earlier in the day while mom & I shopped a bit...Elyse was treated to her first trip to Build-A-Bear. They didn't actually stuff a bear, but they have new small bears that are just her size...she loved it!
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| Pretty proud of her new bear! |
Having my parents there was super nice, they actually fed Elyse her bottle and put her down while we headed up to the 22nd floor of our hotel. They just opened up a new 360 degree bar that has incredible views of STL! We enjoyed the view and a few kid-free moments before heading back down to the room...but not without a stop for froyo first!
Monday morning we had breakfast and then spent the morning in the room so Elyse could have a good nap. Of course her first St. Louis Cardinals game fell right during her afternoon nap so I wasn't really sure how things would go...
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| All decked out & ready for the game! |
It was a really warm afternoon, and thankfully Hubby had made an incredibly smart decision when he bought our tickets. We were on the 2nd level & had access to an air-conditioned area where we could take a break or grab some yummy food...definitely the way to go with a 9 month old!
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| Not so sure about everything going on... |
Hubby wanted one souvenir from the trip...a build-a-bear commemorating the 2011 World Series Champions! So...once again Elyse got to visit Build-A-Bear and even got to help push the pedal this time!
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| I love this picture of my loves! |
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| Our first of many family photos @ Busch Stadium! |
We even managed to find Fredbird before we headed to our seats! I was so happy! Elyse didn't seem scared of him one bit, even letting out a little giggle as we walked away.
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| Family portrait with Fredbird! |
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| Elyse's serious expression in this one cracks me up! |
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| One of our favorite views! |
After we had lunch, Elyse was just wanting to to chill...of course with everything going on it was so hard for her to just give in and take a quick snooze. However, I wasn't gonna complain about the midday snuggle session!
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| Sweet baby girl & her momma |
After a few more minutes of fighting it, she snuggled up with Gigi and went sound asleep...I eventually woke her up so she could eat. Poor baby was so hot and just ready for an air-conditioned nap. Overall she did so incredibly well and we couldn't have asked for a better first trip to a Cardinals game.
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| All snuggled up with Gigi... |
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| Hanging out with Daddy in the air-conditioned area...check out my teeth! |
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| One last family photo before heading home! |
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| The beautiful arch as we were leaving town! |
We were honestly a little nervous about how the 3ish hour drive home would go and I know we had God certainly on our side. She slept for about an hour and a half and then woke up when we stopped just long enough to grab a quick dinner. I hopped in the back with her hoping I could keep her happy for at least part of the 120 miles we had left before we got home.
Somehow I managed to entertain her and keep her happy for ALL 120 miles...we played with tags from a Build-A-Bear, empty food bowls, straws, random toys, bibs, hats, burp rags, etc., etc., etc.!
It might seem like such a small thing, but felt like such a huge accomplishment! Hopefully I can have similar luck as we travel to Destin, Florida...which is you know, just a 13 hour drive! ha!
6 comments:
Looks like you guys had tons of fun! Your sweet little girl is getting so big!
AWESOME! I love that she got to experience her first Cardinals game and was such a trooper in the heat! Good job Elyse! We have yet to take Mac to a game, but hopefully will before the season is over. And I was at the Galleria on Sunday too...perhaps our paths crossed and we didn't even know it!
Elyse has the best sets of grandparents in the world. If anyone ever feels like coming to Cali to babysit, we would welcome them :) Looks like an amazing trip!
elyse looked adorable for the game!!! what a fun trip! eleanor is going to her first mizzou game next week and i'm so nervous about it. we are driving separate from everyone else in case things go haywire! haha!
well how sweet was her grin in her walking picture :)! LOVE IT.
Elyse is such a good
Sport...too cute!! Looks like you guys had a great time:-)
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