All Aboard the Hurst Express!: Playdates and Cupcakes...

As we try to establish a weekly "routine," one thing that Brody and I try not to miss is our weekly playdates at the park. When Brody was 2 weeks old, I started attending a new moms group at the hospital on Wednesday mornings. At first, it was a time for all of us to share thoughts, ask questions, laugh, cry (yes, I did cry at my first meeting...blame it on the hormones!), and simply share in the experience with others who had little ones about the same age as Brody. Since then, many of us have hosted playdates at our homes, grabbed lunch, walked a few miles (though I think that I did more talking than walking), and become friends. In fact, many of the moms that I met in the group were extremely supportive when I broke my back in April. A number of them came over to help out, spend time with Brody and Porter, bring us meals, and even kindly remind me to keep my back brace on when I wanted to take the darn thing off.

Now that our little one are becoming more mobile, we've moved our playdates outdoors in an attempt to spend time together and soak up that nice weather while it lasts. Last week, Brody and I headed to the park to "play" with our friends. Here are some shots of Brody and his friends.

This week, instead of a trip to the park, Brody and I spent much of our week at home recovering from colds. Yep, it took 8 months for Brody to catch his first cold. And while I know that he needs to catch a cold to build his immune system, it certainly isn't much fun trying to wipe a child's runny nose every few seconds. To Brody, this was pure torture.

Today, Brody was finally feeling a better, so I thought a little road trip to Palo Alto would be a good cure for the common cold. Especially when their are CUPCAKES involved! Yes, the Bay

Area finally got it's own Sprinkles cupcake store. I had heard about this cupcake chain from my sister (there's a store in the OC), and even saw the owner on a Martha Stewart episode. So, I called up my friend Stephanie, and today we had a "Cupcake Date" with our little ones. And, because Brody and Hattie (Steph's little girl) are too young for cupcakes, it simply meant that we HAD to eat the entire thing! Only a tiny setback in my hopes to lose some baby weight - but it was a delicious set back! Here are some shots of our "Cupcake Date" and my yummy Red Velvet treat!