To Grandmother's House We Go!

On Saturday, Miles said he wanted to go out and visit his Grandparents in Tooele on Sunday. I thought that sounded great, and after one quick call to Grandma Wright, it was settled - we were going!

Side note:

Saturday we had to put the car seat back in the car. We decided to go ahead and finally put it forward facing. Shortly after I had Owen, there were new recommendations that came out stating babies and toddlers should stay facing backwards until a minimum of two years. I vacillated about what to do, but decided that if experts were saying that was the safest way for my child to be in my car, then that was what I would do. It wasn't easy. From the time Owen was six weeks old, he hated riding in the car. Sometimes our trips would be good, relaxing and tear-free. Other times they were nightmares filled with crying, screaming, throwing, tantruming and general mayhem. But we stuck to it. I wasn't even sure that turning him around would change anything anyway. However, since Owen will be two in a month, we decided to go ahead with the change.

Here's my big boy in his seat facing forward:

And as far as the trip went, he was awake the whole time both there and back, and did exceptionally well. There were some minor whines and requests, but generally he seems to be a much happier toddler. He loves looking out the window and commenting on all the cars and trucks he can see. I hope this continues and he's not just faking us out. This would actually make me consider taking a road trip that is longer than an hour and a half.

Ok, back to our visit with Grandma and Grandpa. When we arrived, Grandma immediately brought out a bin full of toys and books that she had just for Owen. It was so sweet because she mentioned she had gone to DI the day before to get some "boy toys" for him since she had gotten rid of all her toys when they thought they were moving. She did such a good job picking them out. There was a ball, a big race car that would rev up and race off, a tractor with sounds and lights that also moved on its own, other cars and trucks, and a small airplane. She couldn't have done a better job of picking out all things Owen loves. Owen was especially in *love* with the airplane and ran around making plane noises while "flying" it in the air.

After a little bit, we put Owen down for his nap and had some time to visit with Grandma and Grandpa, eat a delicious, tender, roast-beef dinner, and catch up on all of the family news.

Once Owen was up, it was back to playing. He threw the ball at Grandpa, and Grandpa would moan and groan and act like he got hurt. Owen thought it hilarious. Here is a play-by-play look at how it went:
And here's a few more, just cause it was so dang cute.After Owen was done abusing Grandpa; Grandma, Miles and I went outside to let him run around for a bit and play with a fun bubble blower Grandma bought for him. Owen was in heaven with all the space to run and play. It was pretty windy (as evidenced by Owen's hair all over the place).

And here are some of my favorite pictures from outside:

We eventually went back inside, ate some dessert, and visited some more. Owen found all of Grandma and Grandpa's bears and brought each one upstairs into the sitting room. Miles swung Owen around while I chatted with Aunt Darlene on the phone. Then we eventually said goodbye just before 8PM.

It was SO much fun to see them and spend some quality one-on-one time with them. We love Grandma and Grandpa Wright and are so grateful for the opportunities we have to be with them. They were so great with Owen and he adores them. It was a wonderful trip, and I'm glad that Miles suggested it. You never know how long you will have grandparents (which is all too real for me since both of my sets of grandparents are gone), and how long Owen will have great-grandparents. But we certainly hope that it will be for a long, long, long time!