For Steven's birthday this year, MD and I had a trick up our sleeves.
We (I the word "we" loosely) planned a surprise overnight trip to the Mall of America!
Steven and I attended a wedding at the new hotel at MOA recently, and thought it was beyond cool.
We really wished we had stayed overnight.
So I decided....I mean "we" decided...that it would be the perfect surprise trip for "Dada".
We stayed last Friday night at the Radisson Blu at MOA.
It's seriously a way-cool hotel.
Very modern.
Very hip.
Yet, somehow, completely child-friendly.
We (I the word "we" loosely) planned a surprise overnight trip to the Mall of America!
Steven and I attended a wedding at the new hotel at MOA recently, and thought it was beyond cool.
We really wished we had stayed overnight.
So I decided....I mean "we" decided...that it would be the perfect surprise trip for "Dada".
We stayed last Friday night at the Radisson Blu at MOA.
It's seriously a way-cool hotel.
Very modern.
Very hip.
Yet, somehow, completely child-friendly.
I read online that if you tell them you're booking a room with a young child
(older than MD) they will put a cool little kids' tent in your room for the
kiddos to play in. Awesome.
This was the first time, in a while, that
Steven & I stayed in a hotel with little MD.
The last time he was a MUCH littler MD (I know, Mom..."littler" is not a
word).
This time was more interesting..and fun...but interesting.
MD wasn't walking last time.
He wasn't into EVERYTHING last time.
We made it work and it was awesome.
First, MD helped carry our luggage up to the room.
Okay, so we didn't let him carry the luggage up, because if something tipped on him we'd be the worst parents in the world. We let him push the luggage rack back to the elevators. Same thing to him.
(older than MD) they will put a cool little kids' tent in your room for the
kiddos to play in. Awesome.
This was the first time, in a while, that
Steven & I stayed in a hotel with little MD.
The last time he was a MUCH littler MD (I know, Mom..."littler" is not a
word).
This time was more interesting..and fun...but interesting.
MD wasn't walking last time.
He wasn't into EVERYTHING last time.
We made it work and it was awesome.
First, MD helped carry our luggage up to the room.
Okay, so we didn't let him carry the luggage up, because if something tipped on him we'd be the worst parents in the world. We let him push the luggage rack back to the elevators. Same thing to him.
Then, MD decided we needed room service.
He actually decided this A LOT over the course of our stay.
He figured out which button made the phone go on speaker phone, and then which button ("0") would cause the phone to ring. We eventually unplugged the phone. Who needs a wake-up call when you have a 16 month old anyways?
He actually decided this A LOT over the course of our stay.
He figured out which button made the phone go on speaker phone, and then which button ("0") would cause the phone to ring. We eventually unplugged the phone. Who needs a wake-up call when you have a 16 month old anyways?
They had some pretty cool décor in the rooms.
Like I said, very modern.
MD found this silver bowl and decided that it was the perfect spot for his goldfish crackers.
Like I said, very modern.
MD found this silver bowl and decided that it was the perfect spot for his goldfish crackers.
First stop a the mall was Build-A-Bear Workshop.
Steven and I had talked about taking MD there the last time we visited but he was too young.
I found a coupon on Groupon for a discount..and, of course, forgot it at home.
We went anyways.
MD picked out his bear with glee and then cried when it got butt-violated by the stuffer machine.
You can't shield your kids from everything, right?
We picked out a pretty sweet Army uniform for his new bear as a tribute to Steven (who served 8 years in the Army).
MD spent the rest of our stay making sure his little Veteran was treated with the utmost care.
Steven and I had talked about taking MD there the last time we visited but he was too young.
I found a coupon on Groupon for a discount..and, of course, forgot it at home.
We went anyways.
MD picked out his bear with glee and then cried when it got butt-violated by the stuffer machine.
You can't shield your kids from everything, right?
We picked out a pretty sweet Army uniform for his new bear as a tribute to Steven (who served 8 years in the Army).
MD spent the rest of our stay making sure his little Veteran was treated with the utmost care.
Next up were our dinner reservations at Crave, which is where we had a little hiccup in the plan.
I scheduled our reservations for 5pm because that's when MD eats dinner so I thought it best to stick to his schedule for the highest probability of success.
I was wrong.
MD fell asleep after Build-A-Bear in our hotel room...and his pack-and-play was blocking our door to the hallway.
We were trapped.
Luckily, I texted a girlfriend who was willing to call Crave and change our reservations...*thank you*.
Crave was...interesting.
REALLY good food.
SUPER packed.
I have to give them credit though.
I had read online (yeah...I research EVERYTHING online before doing it) that they were one of the top kid-friendly restaurants at MOA which really surprised me. I had always imagined it as kind of a 20-30 year old demographic for young hot couples and singles. Which it was...but they were great.
Crayons? Check!
Fruit bowl before dinner for the kiddo? Check!
MD decides to spill his milk all over the floor...and you're willing to clean it up? Awesome!
MD was a trooper overnight.
Slept like a baby...literally.
The next morning we got up early to check out Sea Life.
We'd taken MD before, but he was much younger and didn't get it at all.
This time he LOOOOOOVED it.
The fish! The sharks! The fact that it opens 1/2 hour before the rest of the mall so it was practically vacant! (Okay...that last part was my favorite!)
The only downside is, there's no possible way to take quality pictures there (even with a nice camera). The lighting is horrible, everything is moving (hello...it's fish!), but the memories will stick.
Now, enjoy these pretty shitty quality pictures of Sea Life :)
I scheduled our reservations for 5pm because that's when MD eats dinner so I thought it best to stick to his schedule for the highest probability of success.
I was wrong.
MD fell asleep after Build-A-Bear in our hotel room...and his pack-and-play was blocking our door to the hallway.
We were trapped.
Luckily, I texted a girlfriend who was willing to call Crave and change our reservations...*thank you*.
Crave was...interesting.
REALLY good food.
SUPER packed.
I have to give them credit though.
I had read online (yeah...I research EVERYTHING online before doing it) that they were one of the top kid-friendly restaurants at MOA which really surprised me. I had always imagined it as kind of a 20-30 year old demographic for young hot couples and singles. Which it was...but they were great.
Crayons? Check!
Fruit bowl before dinner for the kiddo? Check!
MD decides to spill his milk all over the floor...and you're willing to clean it up? Awesome!
MD was a trooper overnight.
Slept like a baby...literally.
The next morning we got up early to check out Sea Life.
We'd taken MD before, but he was much younger and didn't get it at all.
This time he LOOOOOOVED it.
The fish! The sharks! The fact that it opens 1/2 hour before the rest of the mall so it was practically vacant! (Okay...that last part was my favorite!)
The only downside is, there's no possible way to take quality pictures there (even with a nice camera). The lighting is horrible, everything is moving (hello...it's fish!), but the memories will stick.
Now, enjoy these pretty shitty quality pictures of Sea Life :)
All-in-all it was an awesome time.
We'd do it again in a heartbeat.
We were especially lucky that it all played out so well considering MD's condition the weeks leading up to the adventure.
MD has had the world's nastiest cold for going on 3 weeks now.
(Which he kindly shared with Steven & I)
He also got 2 more molars in during the cold, so basically he was in hell.
He's a trooper though...and I snapped this picture of him in the midst of the whirlwind of fevers, runny noses, coughs, and snuggles.
I can honestly say it's one of my favorites...even though he looks so miserable.
Look at those EYES!! Hello.
We'd do it again in a heartbeat.
We were especially lucky that it all played out so well considering MD's condition the weeks leading up to the adventure.
MD has had the world's nastiest cold for going on 3 weeks now.
(Which he kindly shared with Steven & I)
He also got 2 more molars in during the cold, so basically he was in hell.
He's a trooper though...and I snapped this picture of him in the midst of the whirlwind of fevers, runny noses, coughs, and snuggles.
I can honestly say it's one of my favorites...even though he looks so miserable.
Look at those EYES!! Hello.
...for the record, it is lotion & left-over snack on his face, not boogies :)
XOXO
Laurel
XOXO
Laurel