A Winter Saturday

It is freezing cold here at the moment and therefore I have had very little to report. A cold snap arrived this week bringing the highs down into the 20's, which kept Colin and I firmly indoors. The house does not even feel warm and I have spent a lot of time bundled up in my fluffy slipper boots and two sweaters. With the boring week behind us, Colin and I were very excited to get out this morning for his good friend Gabby's 3rd birthday party! This year's shindig was at Paradise Pond, one of Colin's all-time favorite places to go. The party was a blast and Colin had so much fun playing that he even skipped cupcakes! That is a pretty major deal. He had a lot of fun, but displayed some of his familiar fears with a large crowd. The food was served in two rooms that were packed with the kiddos and their parents and Colin got very upset when I tried to get him to go in as well. If there is one thing that Colin does not do well with, it is a large crowd in a somewhat confined space. Despite not wanting to join snack time, he had the best time and we were thrilled to celebrate another birthday with Miss Gabby. I only managed a couple of pictures at the party and got zero with Gabby, which is unfortunate because she was too adorable for words in a giant multi-colored tutu and personalized shirt. I got these of Colin playing with the trucks:

After the party, I decided on a whim to take Colin to MY all-time favorite place, La Madeleine. I have been eating there forever and there is nothing that I love to eat more than their chicken caesar salad and tomato basil soup. It is my weakness and also a place that I rarely get to visit since leaving work. There is one in Grapevine very close to my old office, so I ate there weekly. Sadly, there is not one right around our house and since Jer does NOT love it, we hardly ever go. Since we were in Grapevine, I informed Colin that we were going on a date and he was taking me there! It ended up being one of the best times that we have had together! He walked through the line with me and picked out his own fruit cup. He was so good and stayed with me in line and through the whole process of getting our drinks, silverware, bread and jelly. He picked out our table and carried his own booster seat over. He loved the fact that they have a fireplace! I showed him how to dip bread into the soup and he absolutely adored it and ended up eating more of it than I did. We laughed and talked together (he was very impressed with their selection of jelly) and I snuck out the camera to take a picture of us. It was such a sweet moment together and I was very proud of him. He was so well behaved and the whole experience hints of what is to come with him. He is moving into a time that will be so much fun...a time of sharing more fun together now that he is older. I just love being with him!

Here he is enjoying his soup...or what is left of it!

My handsome (albeit messy) date!

I love him SO!