Fun with Mom and Bro

Since I've had a few requests to blog about my mom and brother's visit, I figured I better get to it. I was waiting until I had a block of time to write. I took Inara to the pool this morning, so I'm hoping I'll get a good nap out of her this afternoon.

My mom and brother arrived on Wed the 7th. As I already shared, my brother's visit was a total shock but well worth it. I was so thrilled that he came out here so that I could share this new experience with him. It meant the world to me that he took the time off work to come see Inara and I. Thursday we did a little shopping because I needed baby formula. We then went out to lunch and I drove around pointing out some of the favorite homes I've found here. It was drizzly and a bit chilly, so we didn't do much. Actually, Michael and Mom said there wasn't really anything specific they wanted to do while they were here besides spending time with baby girl, so we didn't do a ton of stuff. Also, since Michael was only here a couple of days, I figured he wanted to maximize baby time. That was probably the highlight of their trip out here. I loved seeing my little brother playing with my daughter. A few months back when Inara was going through her stranger anxiety, Michael didn't get to do much with her. This time around though she had a blast with him. He played with her, sang to her, and she loved every minute with Uncle Spanky. She even kept putting her arms out for him to pick her up. Little stinker! It was super cute though.

We pretty much laid low most of Friday. That afternoon I had a Mom's Day photo shoot with the mom's club. Our organizer set-up this event for us to get photos taken by a professional photographer, who only charged us $5 for the shoot and for a 5x7. Mom and Michael went too, so they got to meet some of the moms I've gotten to know in the group. It was a pretty day and the park we went to was really nice as well. The pictures turned out fantastic. I ended up ordering 10 additional prints and only have to pay $30. Not bad! I also had made goodie bags with Arbonne stuff to pass out to all the moms at the shoot. I got a few Thank You emails, which made me feel good.

On Saturday, we drove up north a bit to have lunch at Jose O'Shea's, which is a yummy Mexican restaurant. We wanted to treat mom for Mother's Day before Mikey left. On our way back, we drove through Red Rocks. Unfortunately, Michael started getting a bit car sick from all the winding up and down the hill. Mom got motion sickness one day when I was driving her around too. Big babies. Just kidding. Michael had to fly home that night. Bummer! I really wanted him to stay longer, but I totally understand he has to work too. I'll take the 3 days I got with him over not seeing him until I come back out to CA in July any day of the week. I really miss him alot!!!!

The rest of the time my mom was here we stayed around the house and ventured out for short trips here and there. I did take her to Park Meadows mall one day. I love the architecture of this mall, so I wanted to show it to her. This mall is a lot like South Coast Plaza, which means not much shopping going on. Most of the stores are name brands, high end stores, so pretty much out of my price range and just not my thing. I don't need a purse just because it says Coach. I'd much rather buy a bag at Target instead. That's more me. My mom did end up buying me a pair of socks and Inara a onesie that says I learned to rock before I could walk in Hot Topic. That's so my mom, the rocker that she is. We had a good time walking around and just spending time with each other. I had my mom walk the path by our house one morning too. She struggled a bit because the elevation is so different it does take you awhile to adjust. I think she enjoyed looking at the houses and stuff though.

As you would expect, my mom had a total blast with Inara. I know she only came to see her and not me. Ha ha. Mom got to feed her quite a bit. We all know the kid eats all the time, so it was nice to share the feeding duties for a few days. Mom also got to help bathe baby girl. Inara now loves to sit up in her little bathtub and splash. It's really cute. The best part was watching mom play with Inara. You all know what a goof my mom can be, and Inara couldn't get enough. She loved all the funny sounds my mom would make. Inara loves to sit up and play so much now, so mom got a good fill of playing too. It was great getting to see mom play with baby girl. I know how much she misses her, so that was the main goal of her visit in my opinion. I have some pictures to share and will post them on www.shawnandmarisa.com next week when Shawn gets back from CA. He flew out on Wed night with mom because he had a bachelor party to attend today. They are going wine tasting, golfing and gambling in Temecula. Enjoy the hot weather, honey. Ha ha.