We had our first family outing together to a more formal restaurant than McDonald’s. After Ethan and Daniel were both up from their naps we went to Home Depot to buy some bulbs for the garden and a wire brush and paint to sand out and repair the rust on the porch furniture before we went out to eat.

First off I can’t believe that they have completely changed their displays to Christmas in the week since we’ve been there. Seriously! The whole store was filled with outdoor light displays and Christmas trees. However we did buy almost $50 of bulbs so I will be out planting this weekend :).

The Cheesecake Factory was mostly a success although we sped through dinner to avoid an inevitable meltdown from a cantankerous toddler and a tiring baby. Daniel sat in a high chair next to me and had a bottle and tried some more of his baby mush (aka “oatmeal”) while playing with a napkin. Ethan sat in a booster seat next to Todd, and I am still grateful to the hostess for bringing us out a little dish right away with some bread and banana slices. It kept him occupied until dinner came out, although I think he mostly ate bread, bananas, and a ton of milk. And of course it wouldn’t be a Stowell outing unless someone pooped…and no, it was not Todd or I :).  I took the kids out with me to wait by the mall entrance while Todd paid, and when he came out Ethan was grabbing at his pants and telling Daddy he pooped his pants.

I must say I LOVE our van even though I was reluctant to get rid of the Camry. The carseats fit in so much better and it is way easier getting them in and out of the car. On top of that it’s very easy to fold the back seats down to change a poopy toddler. We will be driving out soccer mom car until it wears out!

As a side note the Cheesecake factory always makes me think of the time when I was supposed to meet my work friends there for lunch one afternoon when I was still pregnant with Ethan. I had gone to an OB appointment in the morning, and I was at home waiting to be picked up by my friend Dana. Wouldn’t you know my water broke not 15 minutes before she was supposed to pick me up. Instead of a lunch followed by cheesecake I ended with 12 hours of fasting with an IV followed by a c-section! At least now I can take Ethan with me extrauterinely :).