U. and I had a great weekend together in Santa Barbara. This was our 1st weekend getaway in 2.3 years without the baby. You can read about our trip by clicking on the two links below:We arranged it so that Astrid's babysitter (who babysits on our date nights) would be at our house by 1 PM on Friday to get Astrid ready for her nap, so U. and I could head on out to Union Station in LA to take the afternoon train to Santa Barbara. Then at 5 PM Astrid's Godmother arrived to relieve the babysitter, and took it from there.
We called every morning and every evening to talk to Astrid (and Jill) to see how everything was going, and just for the sheer reassurance we wanted to give Astrid to hear our voices and know we were coming back. On Saturday evening Jill had me on speaker phone to talk to Astrid and Astrid kept telling Jill, "Again. Again." and asking for "Papa", which I found very sweet.
Astrid had fun at her Godmother Jill's house (in nearby Glendale), playing in her big backyard, swimming in a baby pool, playing with her 2 dogs. Meanwhile U. and I were having fun ourselves - wine tasting and fine dining.
It felt strange to not have the baby with us, as we've always taken Astrid with us on all of our vacations and excursions (including our vacation in Europe last year). A few reasons for always traveling with the baby: 1) she's a good baby, (and a good little traveler), 2) we both want to be with her and spend quality time with her which our vacations allow, and 3) since we don't have family that can care for her, we don't have any choice but to bring her with us.
So far we've been fortunate in that when U. and I have had to travel out of state on business, one of us is able to stay at home to care for Astrid, and Astrid's Godmother is able to help if we're both going to be out of town. But this weekend was different. It was just the two of us - together - having a great time without the baby. After 2.3 years of course it felt strange. But after this weekend - I gotta tell ya - I dunno why we waited so long!
On Saturday morning, even though we had to wake up relatively early to catch our tour bus to go wine tasting, we could still leisurely wake up and not have to rush to get the baby, or pack the diaper bag - it was just the two of us lying side by side on our pillows talking - like we used to do as DINKS (dual income with no kids). I asked U. if he missed Astrid and he responded, "Yeah, but not right now."
Throughout the day we (especially me) kept thinking about Astrid and how she would have enjoyed this, that or the other (the ostriches, running around the peach orchard, walking through downtown Santa Barbara, etc.) but we had to remind ourselves that this was our weekend and time to unwind and enjoy ourselves.
We arrived home on Sunday well rested and happy to be home (until we realized our car had been towed b/c we parked in a lot that was not designated for overnight parking and it cost us $250 in cash to get it released, but other than that...). We brought home several bottles of wine we purchased on our wine tasting tour, and had one reserved for Astrid's Godmother Jill as a special thank you for taking care of Astrid to make this weekend getaway possible. And even though Astrid was a grouchy bugger this evening, we were happy to be reunited with our little one again.
We called every morning and every evening to talk to Astrid (and Jill) to see how everything was going, and just for the sheer reassurance we wanted to give Astrid to hear our voices and know we were coming back. On Saturday evening Jill had me on speaker phone to talk to Astrid and Astrid kept telling Jill, "Again. Again." and asking for "Papa", which I found very sweet.
Astrid had fun at her Godmother Jill's house (in nearby Glendale), playing in her big backyard, swimming in a baby pool, playing with her 2 dogs. Meanwhile U. and I were having fun ourselves - wine tasting and fine dining.
It felt strange to not have the baby with us, as we've always taken Astrid with us on all of our vacations and excursions (including our vacation in Europe last year). A few reasons for always traveling with the baby: 1) she's a good baby, (and a good little traveler), 2) we both want to be with her and spend quality time with her which our vacations allow, and 3) since we don't have family that can care for her, we don't have any choice but to bring her with us.
So far we've been fortunate in that when U. and I have had to travel out of state on business, one of us is able to stay at home to care for Astrid, and Astrid's Godmother is able to help if we're both going to be out of town. But this weekend was different. It was just the two of us - together - having a great time without the baby. After 2.3 years of course it felt strange. But after this weekend - I gotta tell ya - I dunno why we waited so long!
On Saturday morning, even though we had to wake up relatively early to catch our tour bus to go wine tasting, we could still leisurely wake up and not have to rush to get the baby, or pack the diaper bag - it was just the two of us lying side by side on our pillows talking - like we used to do as DINKS (dual income with no kids). I asked U. if he missed Astrid and he responded, "Yeah, but not right now."
Throughout the day we (especially me) kept thinking about Astrid and how she would have enjoyed this, that or the other (the ostriches, running around the peach orchard, walking through downtown Santa Barbara, etc.) but we had to remind ourselves that this was our weekend and time to unwind and enjoy ourselves.
We arrived home on Sunday well rested and happy to be home (until we realized our car had been towed b/c we parked in a lot that was not designated for overnight parking and it cost us $250 in cash to get it released, but other than that...). We brought home several bottles of wine we purchased on our wine tasting tour, and had one reserved for Astrid's Godmother Jill as a special thank you for taking care of Astrid to make this weekend getaway possible. And even though Astrid was a grouchy bugger this evening, we were happy to be reunited with our little one again.
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