Good morning and happy Monday! It’s going to be a rainy week over here. But this past weekend, the weather was g-r-e-a-t.

I’ll do a quick recap since the little guy is already up and I get about 5 minutes on my laptop before he starts yanking the thing out of my hands.

I’ve distracted him with some watermelon, so once that’s finished, I’m outta here.

We didn’t do much Friday. Now that I’m working, by the time I’m officially done with meetings and stuff, it’s almost close to bedtime. (Again, the school district I’m working for is on the west coast so sometimes I’ll have meetings after school which is 5:30pm here).

Fortunately, Ishu still gets to go out – even though I’m stuck inside – thanks to Bella! On Friday, she took him to the Children’s Museum. He cried when getting into the stroller when he realized I wasn’t coming with them. But, once they left the apartment, he was apparently a happy little clam the entire time they were out.

Saturday was our big outing.

We drove an hour to Wisconsin and went apple picking at Apple Holler with Rahul and Mecca. Of course, Ishu decided NOT to nap in the car, which made him a little grumpier than usual. But, once we were out in the orchards, he was a pretty content kid, eating apples off the tree (and attempting to eat the rotten ones off the ground).

In order to get from the main parking/shops area, they take you in this little train they’ve created that they attached to a tractor. I called it a trolley and told Ishu we were pretending we were Daniel Tiger.

And then continued to sing “It’s a Beautiful Day” the entire trolley ride.

He wanted to stop and point to every single apple that had fallen from the trees. So, fortunately, Mecca filled up our apple bag for us.

And then we went back to the shops and got some food. We got some apple cider donuts to go. My first time trying them. Actually, this was my first time apple picking too!

I knew that he’d sleep pretty hard on the car ride home. In fact, I hadn’t even left the parking lot and he was fast asleep. Which was a wonderful drive home for me because I got to listen to catch up on some podcasts.

He’s gotten a lot better in the car lately. Which is ironic because we aren’t in the car that often now that we live in Chicago. But the fact that he wakes up and doesn’t start screaming is really nice. It’s probably just because he’s more aware of what’s happening now.

My sweet little kid.

When we got home, the three of us went out to dinner at l’Aventino Forno Romano. It’s a pizza place right across the street from us that we’ve been wanting to try. We sat out on the patio, which was really nice. There was a slight breeze, but not too cold.

Ishu’s also gotten a lot better at eating out at restaurants too.

Basically, he’s growing up. And being better at a lot of things. This is really, TRULY such a fun age.

On Sunday, Ishu and I went to the park and then got some groceries. We came home and made some breakfast tacos. And then Ankur and Ishu got to work, building his new toddler tower.

We’ve used it for less than 24 hours and I can already tell this is going to be one of his most used items. He LOVES being in the kitchen with me. And now loves – even more – that he can be counter level and actually participate in what’s going on.

He’s eaten his last three meals using the toddler tower. So, safe to say this was a pretty great purchase.

My sister-in-law used one with both my niece and nephew and they helped prepare food with her. Eventually, I hope to get to that point. Right now, he’s just a happy kid, getting to be with mama in the kitchen (at mama’s height) as she does stuff.

We also planned to go to Oktoberfest at one of the beer gardens. They were going to have live music and balloon animals and face-painting. But, by the time we crossed the river, Ishu was fast asleep. So I just walked along the river for a little bit and then went back home. Womp womp.

A few hours later, I hopped onto a Zoom baby shower for Beth. And I don’t say this lightly…it was the best virtual event I’ve been to since the start of the pandemic.

Her friend, Kenni, found this guy, Rory, through AirBnB Experiences. And, I’m just gonna say that if you’re hosting a virtual event of any kind, this guy can definitely make it 1000 times more exciting.

We were all dancing around in our respective living rooms and it was so fun celebrating the mama-to-be. So many faces I haven’t seen in SO long and so many women loving on such a special one.

I can’t wait for the day when Ishu can meet her little one! Who knows? Maybe, one day, they’ll hang out over homemade pizza and wine just like their mamas did.

And that’s it!

I’ve got work today, but I’ve got no Bella today. So, we’ll see what can get done – very efficiently – during Ishu’s nap time. (And other times when I can distract him with watermelon and Daniel Tiger).

Hope you all had a beautiful weekend! Happy Monday! May your workload be light and your coffee be strong!

Questions of the Day:

Have you ever been apple picking?

What is one of the best virtual events you’ve been a part of?

What was one highlight from your weekend?