All About Jameson Weekend!!

We wanted to have a babymoon before we had Jameson and never really ended up doing it because of many factors. So, this time, we wanted to make sure we had a weekend all about Jameson before Baby Peanut arrives (even though, let's face it, most weekends are all about Jameson!!). We decided to get tickets to Sesame Street Live as part of his 2nd birthday present. Once we did that, we thought we should just make a fun weekend out of it, which essentially became the "All About Jameson" weekend! It was a little earlier than planned since we still have about 3 months before his baby sister arrives, but it worked out perfectly!

After buying the tickets, I found out that a fellow March Mommy had bought tickets for her Marchie. So, we decided to arrange a Midwestern meet up! It worked perfectly and we met Jackie and Cordie from WI (and Joe!), Jamie and Shayna from the Suburbs (and Duke!) and Ashley and Audrey from Iowa (and Cory!). We were originally going to go to the zoo and Jameson was so excited about that. But, in the days leading up to it, the weather did not look promising. We decided to have a Plan B, which we ended up needing! After much deliberation, we decided on Yu Kids Island at Woodfield. The kids had a blast! I wish we had one around here because Jameson had a great time! It was so fun to watch him explore and play. At one point, a Tigger character came out and Jameson thought that was the greatest thing ever! The 4 kiddos didn't really interact too much while we were there because there was just so much to do and explore!

After an hour and a half of playing, we decided to head over the Rainforest Cafe. The kids loved all of the decorations and overall, did an amazing job at lunch, considering it was approaching nap time and they all had a very busy morning! Jameson loved wandering around the restaurant, looking at the animals and fish and whatnot. He managed to walk out of the place with two stuffed monkeys (a mommy and a baby monkey according to him!), a centipede figurine, a frog and a parrot (he somehow managed to find the parrot in the restaurant during lunch!). Guess I am just like my parents when it comes to buying stuff for the little man! We tried to get some pictures of all of the Marchies and the Moms, but that proved to be somewhat difficult! We finally left around 2:30ish and headed to the hotel...someone needed a nap (OK, all of us needed a nap!).

This was Jameson's first time staying in a hotel and he was very excited when we got to the room. We tried to get him to nap, which failed. But, we did get him to rest for an hour and a half or so, which was good enough. After we rested, we decided to go swimming! He had a great time running around and splashing. We figured with the busy day he had, plus no nap, that we would just go back to the room, order pizza and watch a movie. Of course, we watched Lion King and had a little picnic on the floor while we watched. We watched a little Tom and Jerry after that and then crawled into bed and read a few stories. Surprisingly, he did not put up a fight and about 15 seconds after the lights went out, Jameson was sound asleep. He is quite the squirmer, so we snuggled rather closely all night! Baby sister got kicked a handful of times and I had about a foot of room the whole night! But, I love getting to sleep next to him and we don't really ever get the chance since he is such a good sleeper on his own.

He ended up sleeping for almost 12 hours, but was a little out of sorts after he woke up. We kept talking about Elmo, which helped. We had a few very minor fits before we were able to get out of the door, but once we started walking over to the Rosemont Theater, he was super excited! And, once we walked in, all we heard was, "oooooh" and "Elmo!". It was adorable. We ran into Ashley, Cory and Audrey too, which was fun. We got a few cute pics with the kiddos. Since we had some time to kill, I let Jameson pick out a souvenir (Big Bird stuffed animal!) and a shirt and then we got some popcorn while we waited. He was fabulous the whole time and once the show started, he was the happiest kid!

I have to admit that I actually got teary when the show started and I looked over at his excited, sweet little face! OK, I actually didn't get teary - I full on had tears flowing down my cheeks! I had to wipe them away quickly so that Darin wouldn't see me! I just can't describe how happy it made me to see him so happy! He danced, sang along, and clapped and it was so fun to watch. During Intermission, we got up and ran around and went potty and I could tell he was starting to get tired. I was a little worried he wouldn't make it through the rest of the show, but once it started again, he was captivated. He kept wanting to "go see em!', but didn't get upset when I said we had to wait until the show was over. He did manage to maneuver himself so that he was in the aisle though and I was a bit nervous that he would just take off, but he never did. He would inch closer and closer, but would giggle as I pulled him back. The characters came down the aisles a few times and he got a hug and a pat on the head two different times and that was so fun for him!

After the show was over, we walked back to the hotel and the whole time we walked, he had his head on my shoulder and I thought for sure he would pass out as soon as we got on the road...nope! He stayed awake the whole drive home! We stopped once to get some lunch and go potty. We got home around 3 and went up to our bed to watch some cartoons and hopefully get him to take a nap...nope! He would not fall asleep! So, we went back downstairs and played for awhile. At about 5:30, we put in Wreck It Ralph and Darin started dinner while Jameson and I snuggled. After about 10 minutes, I looked down because his breathing seemed heavy and sure enough, he was sound asleep on me!

We let him sleep for about a half hour and then decided we would just put him in bed and if he woke up in the middle of the night, so be it! But, he woke up during the transition and was NOT happy. Had a good meltdown, but once he was over that, he ate some dinner and was an angel, albeit tired angel, the rest of the night. We watched some Bubble Guppies in bed and read a book per our usual routine and got him down by 8. He was one tired little man and rightfully so. We had quite the adventurous weekend! I am just so glad that he had a blast AND I got to meet some of my March Moms and kids! What a great weekend - I was sad to see it end, but I know this will not be our last "All About Jameson" weekend!

Having a blast at Yu Kids Island!



Goofy!



He was so excited. I think we need to go to Disney!



Can we go here, Mom and Dad?!



Marchies! (sans Cordie because she was scared of the Crocodile
behind them!)



Watching the crocodile!



Enjoying his hot dog!



New toys!



All the March Moms and Marchies!

Shopping!

LOVES his new monkeys!



Attempting to nap at the hotel.



Napping didn't work, so let's swim!!

Splish Splash!!

All done swimming! Love that sweet face!



Hotel baths are so much fun!

Time for Lion King!



Pizza Party!

This was the most room I had all night!



My snuggle bean!



Eating some breakfast before Elmo!



So excited for Elmo!!



Minor meltdown!

Hanging with his new Big Bird!



Audrey and Jameson. They are way too cute!



Getting ready to take our seats!



Cheeeeeese!



Waiting patiently for the show to start...
and stuffing his face!



Showtime!



This is when my tears started!



Singing and dancing along (while stuffing his face still!).



Taking up residence in the aisle now.



LOL!  Keeping one arm on him so he doesn't make a run for the stage!



Grabbed his popcorn and made himself comfy!



Sleepy bean!



He just got a hug!



Back at the hotel waiting for Daddy to pick us up...
he was so tired!

And, delirious!!!

And, then grumpy!

Interesting place to take a rest!

Watching his Leap Pad, refusing to just fall asleep
on the way home!



We tried to get him to nap for over an hour when we got home...no luck.
Then, as soon as we start getting dinner ready, this happens! What a fun weekend!!!