Lovely Day

First thing this morning, Ed and Blanden presented me with cinnamon rolls, a (decaf) vanilla latte, and a huge bouquet of magenta tulips. Later, we headed out for our brunch reservations at Le Central, a little French restaurant, one of Ed's and my longtime favorites. (During our early years, long before children and even before we were engaged, we spent many a date night there.) This was Blanden's first visit, and we both couldn't help but get a kick out of the children's menu, with offerings such as a small plate of escargots (three snails) or a petite serving of mussels. We decided Blanden might not be ready for such culinary adventures quite yet, so he stuck to a fruit plate and portions of Mommy's Omelet Caprese and the pommes frites that accompanied Daddy's mussels. Blanden was a real trooper throughout the meal, especially considering that it took two hours right in the middle of his usual naptime. He fell asleep on the 10-minute drive home and for perhaps the fifth time in his life actually stayed asleep while we carried him up to bed.

While Blanden napped, Ed set up his camera equipment in the backyard in preparation for a little mother-son photo shoot. ... However, by the time Blanden woke up, 2 1/2 hours later, the best sunlight was long gone and Blanden wasn't exactly in the mood to sit still for a photo...

But I still love that face!

So we decided to head to a playground -- not to Washington Park this time, our usual, but to Blanden's future elementary school, just about six blocks away.

Blanden loved playing on the big playground, especially the slide, which is much taller than the one he plays on at school. Every time he went down, his expression turned to a little bit of fright and a lot of surprise at how fast he was suddenly going, then he'd come to an abrupt halt at the end, his face would light up and he'd say, "Weeeee!," and he'd head back up the stairs to do it again.

Dad got to practice taking some more photos...

And we got to see our now-smiling-again son having a great time.

Such a big boy!

In fact, Mommy and Daddy were not-so-subtly pushed away when either one of us tried to get onto the play equipment with him or help him out -- just two years in and he no longer needs us!

By the time evening rolled around, we decided we just didn't feel like heading to the grocery store or cooking, so we went out to eat again, much more fun -- this time for Italian, always a favorite of Blanden's, especially if the meal involves cheese pizza (which it did today) or spaghetti. He sat through another two-hour meal, but as you can see I think he was enjoying every minute of it just as much as we were.

And the final treat, and a big surprise: This morning, between the at-home latte and brunch out, Blanden presented me with a pretty little navy blue box -- a box that I must say I feel quite lucky to have come to recognize due to select, very special occasions over the past four years. A box that always sparks some excitement at the anticipation of its contents. On behalf of Ellis, Blanden and Ed gave me a Tahitian pearl and diamond pendant necklace, the complement and contrast to the Akoya pearl and diamond pendant necklace Ed gave to me on Mother's Day two years ago for the upcoming birth of Blanden. (And yet, last fall when we found out I was pregnant again with almost the same due date, I really took him seriously when Ed joked that he could go with a two-for-one special on jewelry honoring the birth of our babies.) Indeed, a lovely day. Happy Mother's Day!