Saturday
Saturday temperatures in Charlotte were predicted to reach the upper 90s so we knew from the start that we were going to spend as much time as possible near water and on the lake.
After his and hers workouts (I headed off to boot camp after Ryan’s gym workout), we spent a few hours at home where I worked on yesterday’s Father’s Day Gift Guide and Ryan did some yard work as Chase napped. Once our little man was up and ready for action, we drove to Birkdale Village for Chase’s first experience at a splash pad!
Before heading over to the splash pad, we walked around Birkdale Village and popped in and out of some of the local shops before stopping in Clean Juice for a little pick-me-up.
So refreshing!
Splash Pad Adventures
While we sipped our juice, we changed Chase into his swim outfit and walked to the splash pad located in the middle of Birkdale Village’s roundabout.
(Picture from my Instagram – For those who asked my romper is Dolce Vita but I bought it on thredUP.)
We could tell right away that Chase was feeling rather apprehensive. I saw his little hands dig into Ryan’s shirt and his feet stop swaying and lock around Ryan’s waist. But he was curious! His eyes were wide as he watched the bigger kids run around, splash, scream and have a ball.
As Ryan approached the streaming water, Chase’s skepticism held strong, but his curiosity got the best of him and he reached out his tiny finger to touch the water. It naturally sprayed everywhere which didn’t seem to bother him but a couple of minutes was all he needed to get his fill of the splash pad before we could see tears bubbling up.
We spent a few more minutes lounging with him on a bench along the perimeter of the splash pad so he could watch the other kids play which seemed to suit him well.
Eventually we made it back to our house for Chase’s afternoon nap. I made a quick lunch to enjoy on the couch beside Ryan and spent Chase’s naptime taking more notes from the Tasty Food Photography ebook I purchased a couple of weeks ago and watched a few YouTube tutorials since I am trying my best to embrace my bubbling interest in food photography. Plus, if becoming more familiar with my DSLR camera allows me to take better pictures of Chase (almost every single one I have of him so far was snapped with my phone), I’m all for it!
Once Chase was up, it was time for more outdoor fun and we headed out on Lake Norman for a few hours of sun and swimming! Even though my Snapchat filter said it was 95 degrees, it didn’t feel too hot thanks to a lovely breeze and perfect water temperature.
Chase did pretty well in the water and seemed happy for quite a while as we swam around and splashed with him in his canopy float. (A few of you have asked about what life jacket we use for Chase and we have the Sterns Infant Life Jacket that seems to work well, though it’s undoubtedly cumbersome which seems unavoidable when it comes to baby life jackets. We’ll occasionally swim with him in it, but mostly use it for on-the-boat safety since he seems to prefer the canopy float for water fun.)
I’m pretty sure Sadie had the best time of everyone, repeatedly jumping off the boat and swimming all over the place. I get so much joy out of watching Sadie in her element. She seems happiest when she’s sprinting around and sniffing everything in sight on a hike or jumping off the boat and swimming around in the water. Sadie loves anything active, that’s for sure!
(Pic from my Snapchat –> juliepbfingers)
By the time we made it home, we had a feeling Chase would be ready for an early bedtime, so we quickly bathed him and I nursed him before he was out like a light before 7 p.m.
Ryan and I spent the rest of the night eating sushi for dinner and digging into two new-to-us flavors of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
It was my first time trying one of their non-dairy flavors and I was pretty darn impressed. The peanut butter flavor was spot-on and there were tons of cookie chunks among the creamy ice cream. Loved it!
While we ate our ice cream, Ryan stuffed invitations for Chase’s birthday party while I addressed them to get them ready to send out on Monday.
I ordered the invitations from Minted and customized them a bit by changing the fonts and some of the wording. I think they fit the “You Are My Sunshine” theme and color scheme of the party (yellow + mint green) well.
I’m pretty sure Ryan and I were in bed and asleep by 10:30 p.m. It was a rockin’ Saturday night over here!
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
Sounds like a wonderful weekend, I love when you ca take advantage of nice weather outside. And YUM sushi and Ben and Jerry’s sounds like a fabulous saturday night! Have a great week.
Absolutely love Chase’s little outfit! That canopy float is such a great invention! Glad to hear that the non-dairy Ben and Jerry’s are worth buying. I was skeptical at first but I mean, it’s Ben and Jerry’s so…;)
Same!! I figured it would lack creaminess, so I was pleasantly surprised!
WHAT?! I had no idea Ben and Jerry’s came out with non-dairy ice cream. I can’t wait to try it! Sounds like a fun Saturday with the family, I bet Chase will like the splash pad more once he is a bit older. Have a great week!
https://thedogtribe.com/2016/06/14/10_things_you_should_know/
I love your romper!! Too cute!
I can’t believe Chase’s first birthday is coming up! All the tears when our babies turn one. I think I’ll be a bubbling mess on our girl’s sweet birthday. Parenthood is so bittersweet. <3
How is he already almost one? They grow up way too fast and it’s cruel.
It totally blows my mind!
Love your romper! Chase is such a cutie! My little dog is obsessed with the water. We can’t keep him out if he sees a lake!
I know blogs are changing and shifting away from the details of day to day, but it is odd that you now only reference lunch and don’t even mention what you ate or share a picture. Just wondering your thoughts on the shift your blog is making and if you are done with food outside of recipes?
I truthfully haven’t given it much thought! I guess I just got out of the habit of regularly photographing my meals and most meals around here are eaten in a bit of a rush by my computer during Chase’s naptime while I’m working these days. I’ve toyed with featuring “recent eats” on the blog from time to time though! Is that something you’d like to see in the future?
I wish the non dairy Ben and Jerry’s were coconut or soy milk rather than almond (nut allergy over here) but they look amazing!
Sounds like so much fun! I’m sure he’ll get used to the slash pad – though they sometime look overwhelming to me and I’m bigger than (most of) the kids, ha!
Definitely going to check out the food photography ebook. After our conference, I know I need all the practice I can get and have a lot to learn!
Hope you’re having a great start to the week!
XO, Jessica
Fun day!
Your romper is adorable on you.
Can you even BELIEVE it’s time to start thinking about first birthdays? It literally blows me mind!
Blows *MY mind
My daughter loves the splash pad! This looks like a blast! 🙂 His Cheerios onesie is the cutest thing ever.
I remember the romper from your ThredUp post a while back and it looks even cuter ON you! So obsessed.
Looking forward to the post about Chase’s upcoming birthday party. I’m sure it will be adorable (except how is he already almost 1 year old?!)!
That romper’s so cute! Sounds like a perfect summer weekend to me!
where did you find Chase’s cheerios onesie?? thanks!
OH my word does Chase look so cute when he scrunches his little face in joy! (And he always looks cute, that should go without saying.) Looks like you guys did a great job at beating the heat. It was 95 degrees up here too (blah), so we went to a movie! Did you try the Cake my Day too? I’m a huge fan of cake and buttercream, is it worth it? Have a great day!
yes!! i really liked it! I would prefer a swirl other than raspberry (i love raspberries, but have never really loved raspberry cake filling) but it’s definitely worth a try!
Such a fun weekend! Yay for Romper season :). Chase’s hair is getting so long, he’s too adorable! Sadie looks so happy to be in the water, I wish our corgi liked the water.
I loved the P.B. & Cookies non-dairy – sooo amazing! We’ve been making fruit and yogurt popsicles to hold over my sweets cravings, any way to stay cool after hot walks.
Chase is so cute! Sounds like the perfect Saturday. We spend a lot of time in the water with our daughter. She is 17 months and loves it!
I bought a DSLR around Christmas time after wanting one for years and have yet to use it. I find it so cumbersome and awkward and the few pictures I’ve taken aren’t that much better than the ones I take on my phone. Maybe I should check out that ebook!
Looks like you had an amazing weekend! And that is SUCH a cute romper! May I ask where you got it?
Lovely pics! As a fellow small chested lady, I’m congratulating you on your new cleavage 🙂
Ha! This was clearly right before Chase needed to be fed! 🙂
I took a course on DSLR photography online through Groupon for SHAW ACADEMY for only $5 and the differnece n my pics is staggering.i