Grandparents stay-cation with Emma

While mom and dad are in Germany, we get to have a staycation with Emma!

Day 1: After taking parents to the airport we picked up Emma from school and took her to Brighton Imagination Station. This park offers the only adult-child swing I’ve ever seen along with lots of climbing steps and slides. This sunny fall day offered the perfect opportunity to enjoy the outdoor playground for a long time.

When her little tummy started getting hungry she sat on grandpa’s shoulders and we walked to the Mexican restaurant downtown. We ate and danced to the music until everyone was full. Then Emma jumped back on grandpa’s shoulders to go back to the car.

We came home to grandma and grandpa’s house and put on Jammies to start getting ready for bed. She had cookies and milk before brushing her teeth, reading a book and going to bed. Bitty Baby also put her Jammies on and slept in the little crib next to Emma. Good night.

Holding onto Bitty Baby so she doesn’t fly out the open window

The best view of Brighton from grandpas head

This double swing was so much fun with Emma and grandma swinging together.

Day 2: After a good nights sleep and a yummy breakfast, grandma and Emma went to story time at the library. We started in the library playing with brio trains with triplet little boys. The story time theme was “bats” and the teacher read three books with movement between each one and then we used Emmas hands to make a bat out of construction paper.

We went to the Hartland Village park where Emma loved the underdog blastoff swing as well as the climbing structure and slide. We then went home for lunch and a very long nap.

Emma helped grandma make cookies after she woke up about 4:00. She then played on grandma & grandpas swingset, made soup in her little house and rode on her new borrowed tiny bike. She loved to visit with the neighbors. We had a good dinner and then bath time with bathtub crayons. She had a cookie and milk with grandpa before reading books, saying prayers and singing with grandma before bedtime.

My favorite words came as she lay down to sleep “I had so much fun with you today grandma” and my heart melted. This girl just fills my soul with love.

She needed to change clothes after playing at the park

Emma can make the swing go by herself and she’s very serious.

Day 3: Emma slept in and we had breakfast before taking her to school. She was excited to see her teachers and her friends. So excited that she didn’t take a nap today.

We brought Nala with us to pick up from school and Emma was excited to pet her. When we got home we played on the swingset and she rode her bike a little bit before an early bedtime.

She wanted the slide wiped off before going down.

Strawberries for breakfast! She enjoyed factime with mommy and daddy while eating breakfast.

Day 4: Grandpa made Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast to start the day off right. Grandma’s friend Donna came over with her grandsons Derek and Drew for a play date. We had a lot of fun on the swingset and in the playhouse.

Emma had a good lunch and a good nap in the afternoon. We took a walk around the neighborhood with the dogs including Nala, Bo and many stuffed animal dogs. Emma sat on the potty many times today and sat for a long time but so far nothing has gone into the potty. Overall it was a very fun day.

Derek (5), Drew (3) and Emma played very well together.

After our walk Emma wanted to push the wagon herself.

Grandpa and Emma have cookies and milk before bedtime.

Day 5: It’s a cold and rainy Sunday. We started the day in church where Emma made everyone smile. She confidently took a dollar to kids koins and listened amazingly well throughout Mass.

We had second breakfast after church and played indoors all day. She ate well and was silly most of the day. She took a good nap and enjoyed the company of Nala and Uncle Andrew. She wanted mushrooms on her pizza and ate three pieces!

She wanted three braids in her hair so grandma got creative. She put stickers on her mommy’s calendar.

Emma always wants to fix the cars and Uncle Andrew was encouraging her skills.

Day 6: We had a yummy breakfast of Mickey Mouse pancakes with peanut butter and syrup, raspberries and yogurt. We then drove to Toledo to visit Great Grandma. It was so much fun! Emma explored Great Grandma’s house and made us all laugh. Reneé had stuffed animals in all the chairs and had purchased a Hello Kitty Squishmallow for her to take home. At Emmas request we went to Culver’s for lunch for grilled cheese and fries with a scoop of custard ice cream for dessert.

Emma napped in her car seat on the way back to Hartland. She put on a warm coat and played on the swings. She wanted to help grandpa in the garage before eating mushroom pizza and sweet potatoes for dinner. Grandpa put her to bed while grandma went to church for a meeting.

Grandma attempted a new hairdo and Emma was very patient.

Emma loved this picture from mommy and daddy and kept wanting to see all the Baby Nalas.

Emma loved her squishmallow from great grandma.

It was chilly so Emma needed her warm coat while playing outside.

Day 7: We started the day with pancakes and had plans to go to the library but we decided to go to the park instead. We found the new park in Milford and Emma enjoyed the big swing. It was cold and wet so we didn’t last too long. We had a glorious time shopping in Milford.

We came home and enjoyed the swing at the Gaga house. We had lunch followed by a long nap. We ventured to Costco tonight and she ate a lot of chicken noodle soup and bread for dinner. We’ve been spending a lot of time sitting on the potty but so far nothing has happened except have potty training songs in our head. 🤣

This cute ponytail just keeps getting longer.

The swing in Milford allowed underdog blastoffs. However, the rest of the playground was wet and cold. Luckily Milford has a nice shopping district.

Rykin’s family didn’t make it to the cottage as expected so she made this video for Emma. Emma watched it several times and kept asking “Where’s Mabel?”

We went for a walk with Emma in the wagon and then she wanted to drive.

She really liked the soup.

Day 8: Emma slept well and woke up wanting to play with Legos. Her memory is amazing since this is what she wanted to do last night before bed. At breakfast she asked for braids and said she wanted to see her teachers today.

After school we came home to play outside on the swings and went for a walk with Bo. She likes to push and pull the wagon all by herself. She played in her playhouse while Grandpa grilled salmon. She ate a good dinner and then took a bath. When I presented her pajamas she politely asked for “options” and I laughingly offered two other choices. 🤣🤣🤣

We had a FaceTime call with great-grandma Renee and she told us there was supposed to be a full moon and a comet visible in the sky so we put on our coat and shoes and went out on the dock to see the sky. We saw the full moon in the east and Venus in the west. I’m not sure if she will remember but it felt y was magical for me.

Emma was trying to swing by herself on the big swing. We spent time on the smaller swing giving underdog blast offs and also went down the slide. It was chilly and sunny.

Vehicles must make an alert when backing up. She loves pushing and pulling the wagon.

Emma wanted pajama options after bathing. She also enjoys coloring with bathing crayons. I noticed she used both her right and her left hand.

Day 9: We started the day with grandpas yummy Mickey Mouse pancakes and ended the day with new Minnie Mouse zip hoodies. In between we went the Hartland Settlers Park, had lunch at Culver’s, took a very long nap, went for a walk and played outside.

Emma keeps trying to go potty and spent a lot of time here.

Day 10: After having straw-babies for breakfast Emma and grandma went to Spicers Apple orchard. We had so much fun seeing the animals and playing in the playground. We went to the store and got cookies and a husky. It was getting crowded so we went to the Hartland Heritage Park before coming home for lunch. Emma played with Grandpa in the garage before taking her nap. It was a glorious morning!

Emma talks to the chickens.

Grandma and Emma went down this cool slide.