un week-end sans bébé...en France!

For those of you still brushing up on your French, I'll save you a trip to googletranslate; a weekend without baby...in France! Two years later - but we finally did it. No longer breast-feeding and an extended visit from Grandpa meant we were getting the heck out! Five days in Antibes France while Simon bonded with Grandpa.

Martin and I had been looking forward to this trip (or the idea of this trip) for a very long time. While we love spending time with Simon, we were both ready for a little time away. Sleeping in, not scheduling your whole day around naps (or at least other people's naps). And in France? I could hear the patisseries calling my name...

We weren't nervous about leaving Simon. We weren't afraid we would miss him too much, knew (hoped) he would behave for Grandpa, and didn't really think he would miss us too much. And it all worked out. I did miss him, but not too much. I sometimes wished he was there just for a moment to play in the fountain or run along the beach, but mostly we just enjoyed ourselves. We called in to check on Simon each day, but didn't have Grandpa pass the phone on to him as we didn't want to mess with a good thing. And Simon, well, he didn't even ask about us. He was so happy to be with his super-fun grandpa that he didn't want to bring us up, just in case that meant that we would come home.

Martin and I enjoyed delicious French food and SUNSHINE! It's been a while since we've seen the sun shining here in Düsseldorf, so this was a very welcome change. We each read a book within the first 24 hours. We lounged around in the morning (I had forgotten how nice that is!). We simply relaxed. It was divine.

When we got back I was really excited to see Simon. I was curious as to how he would react. He heard us come through the door and came running out all excited, but then he wasn't so sure. I picked him up, but when he saw Martin then he got excited. He reached out for his Pappa like I've never seen. Well, good for Pappa. I'm sure he missed me too though. 

It was funny just to see Simon again - he looked different. Like he'd grown up a little. And he definitely weighed more (seriously, we don't have a scale, but he gained some weight). I can tell that time with Grandpa was good for him, he was acting a little differently. More verbal. More active. It's good for him to spend real time with someone other than ME!

For all you parents out there contemplating a little get away - do it!