Devan was such a trooper! He held my hand as we walked through the mall and stayed with me while I was shopping. (Side note: at the last store he started riffling through the clothes and saying "cute". LOL).
After our purchase, he wanted to carry the bag. So we wandered back to the center of the mall and watched people skating on the ice rink for awhile. He was in awe and really wanted to go try it for himself. I felt bad I had to say no. So after a quick bathroom break, I found the little kiddy play area in the mall. He had been so good so I wanted to reward him :)
At first he was really timid and overwhelmed. There were 2 kids around 4 or 5 that were really aggressive and running all over the place (see pic below: she's the blurry one). After some encouragement, he started getting braver. A few times down the slide (his absolute favorite thing in the world), I was able to sit on the side and let him explore.
This place has TWO slides!!!
After I got the call from Dustin that he was on his way, we left the play area and started walking the streets. Devan got another bonus point for not throwing a fit when it was time to go! He was the only kid there that didn't throw a tantrum when it was time to leave :) Score one for me too! Several hours at the mall, we never had one meltdown, I never had to yell at him for wandering away, and I never once heard "I eat!" (for those of you that know Devan, you know this is a HUGE deal!)
We left the mall and started walking the streets, headed to Chipotle several blocks away. (Side note: later that evening, I was informed by Erin that the Lloyd Center is the ghetto mall and it's not that safe to walk around town in that area. I, however, felt completely safe- especially compared to Richmond! I was met with smiling faces and cars waited patiently for Devan and I to cross the street or parking lot entrance). It was a gorgeous sunny day- close to 80 with a slight breeze. Ahhh.... I just love being in Portland when it's like that :)
Waiting in the outside seating for Dustin to park
Since Devan had been so good I got him a kiddy meal at Chipotle. And get this: they have corn tortillas for kids with allergies!!!!! I was shocked! They don't have that in VA. So Devan got his own kids meal and I let him eat the chips and apple juice :) Another treat for him, but he had been so good. Of course, he doesn't like apple juice, but at least I let him have a drink from the juice box. But he was happy with water.After the mall we drove around a bit and then headed down to Wilsonville to the Family Fun Center. We had to kill time before heading to Erin's house for a BBQ with our college roomies. We walked around the fun center and Devan had to push all the flashing buttons in the arcade room. Then we went outside where we watched the Go-Karts (pictured below) and the water bumper cars. Then we headed to miniature golf. This proved to be kind of frustrating because he liked to run and pick up the balls after you hit them, and then not give them back. It took us a long time to get through the game. (I won by 1 stroke). Devan got to hit a couple holes. I was hoping this would be fun and he would leave the balls alone, but it didn't work. After the game, we enjoyed a big snow cone. I haven't had one since I was little! It was delish and hit the spot on a warm day :)
Then we headed to Scott and Erin's house. The BBQ was fantastic! It was so great to catch up with everyone (Megan's preggers with her first baby and due at the end of this month), and the food was perfect. They have a lot of land so Devan had fun running free and chasing their 2 labs. He ate a huge dinner- a whole chicken breast, almost an entire ear of corn on the cob (his first time ever having one and he loved it! A great way to get him to eat a vegetable since he's been so anti-vegetable lately), and 3 bowls of strawberries for desert. Thanks for hosting the get-together Erin! It was perfect :) After 4.5 hrs, we hit the road back to Corvallis and Devan crashed as soon as we hit the interstate.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Friday, our last day in town before heading up to the wedding venue, we met my parents downtown for Crazy Days. First stop: Five Star Sports. Usually they have great deals on shoes, but not this time, and nothing I really needed. After wandering around town looking at the sales, we headed to University Hero for lunch. I haven't been there since college! It was so good. It's just a sandwich but the combo of all the ingredients with the bread make it so good....
After lunch we headed down the street to Central Park. Devan had a blast climbing around and going down the slides (of course). Dad and Devan played while my mom and I snuck across the part to the Art Center to check out the exhibit. Then we hung out enjoying the sunshine until it was time to go. Devan stayed behind for another day while Dustin and I went up to Portland.
More pics to come.... I still have some pool pictures and a couple from the wedding to post. Still waiting to get pictures from everyone so the only ones I've posted are from my cell phone.Have a great weekend!
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