Just when you think you can't take anymore

Long story short, there is quite a bit going on in our family...
-daddy's work is undergoing changes
-daddy's car is in not so good shape
-which means we need a new car
-the little man is growing, eating lots, and sleeping 'strangely?' (morning naps again???)
-the squeaker is driving me crazy with his inability to self-soothe and requiring mommy to go to sleep

but, it is all worth it for moments like these:


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Going our separate ways

Our weekend was different than most -- usually we spend the weekend together, running errands and doing chores. This weekend was a bit different:
Since the Squeaker dislikes riding in the car, and we aren't quite ready to listen to his squeals/screams/cries for 2+ hours, The Little Man had his first solo trip with Daddy. They headed south to Charlottesville and then to Richmond for some family time. Daddy's birthday (and Daddy's brother's birthday) was on Sunday. We (The Squeaker and I) were sad to miss it, but I think it was probably a more enjoyable trip for the boys because of it. Sounds like they had a good time and everyone did well.

The Squeaker and I did well at home by ourselves and pretty much did a lot of nothin'. Nothin' included laundry, sleeping, and cleaning, mostly. And really, not much cleaning got done after the laundry and sleeping. We went to the Squeaker's friend's baptism yesterday, which was lovely, had dinner at a friend's house, then the weekend ended with a wonderful four month check up at the pediatrician. whoopie!

Now, we are all happy to be back together and have some stories to swap.

A glimpse of the future

I dunno... maybe 14 years from now... The Little Man has all of a sudden decided to eat us out of house and home. It is really unbelievable. I wish that writing this down was enough, but it really isn't. You have to see it for yourself.

Now, typically, he isn't much of a breakfast person. He would eat a bowl of cereal and have some milk. Occasionally, we'd throw in some fruit or something like that. If we were 'making' breakfast, he'd eat a small pancake, an egg, and usually a couple pieces of meat (canadian bacon, sausage, etc). We rely on this eating routine these days. It takes about 15 min or so to eat and he is done until about 10:30 when a snack of a handful of crackers or an apple will tide him over until lunch time. Not the case these days and it is MESSING ME UP! First of all, we plan on a short breakfast to make it out the door to whatever event we have planned, and secondly, we don't have enough food. :)

For example yesterday: a bowl of cereal, strawberries, yogurt, and a granola bar. About 20 min later, add in a handful of crackers and an apple. Snack time as usual - crackers, then for lunch he ate a small chicken breast and noodles, and dried fruit. then he wanted more. Well, we were out and I didn't pack more, but luckily Mrs Fields was nearby where he proceeded to devour a huge cookie (he doesn't really like sweets, strange, i know). I forget how he did at dinner, but i am sure it was great. Then this morning, it was 4 pancakes, an egg and a half, and two pieces of canadian bacon... and some fruit? I am not sure. Geez, he is eating more than I am! It is unbelievable. My fear now is that he is going to outgrow his winter clothes before it gets warm enough for spring clothes and we'll have to buy two new wardrobes... or wear the same thing everyday (and that is too much laundry).

I don't have time

The Squeaker was crying and I was explaining to the Little Man that he was just tired and needed a nap. I then asked him if he was tired. Here is his response, word for word (without his cute little voice, of course):
I'm not tired, I'm a big boy. I don't have time to be tired... soooo, what should we do, Mom?

How cute is he!?

Happy Valentine's Day

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Snow Days

The Little Man absolutely LOVES the snow. He woke up yesterday morning and saw the snow and within 5 minutes came out of his room looking like this:

This outfit was accompanied with this statement:

Mommy, I need to go out in the snow. I need my jacket on, my hat on, my gloves on. I have my boots for the snow.

How can you resist that? Don't worry, after breakfast and after getting properly dressed, he did go outside to enjoy a few flakes.

I don't care if you don't want to

The Little Man's new favorite thing... I don't (fill in the blank).
I don't like it
I don't want it
I don't have it
I don't, I don't, I don't

I am torn because it is really cute to hear such well articulated and full sentences come out of his little mouth, but on the other hand, I don't like "I don'ts". For example, he was given a cute overall outfit that is 24 mos, but I wasn't sure that it was going to fit since we are just on the downslope of 24 mos/2t. So, tonight we tried it on. As you can see in the picture, he was thrilled and all he kept saying was "I don't want to try this outfit". (Such big words for a little guy!) And being the mean mommy that I am, I had to capture this with a photo.

(By the way, it fit)

Non-stop is much better than a layover

So, our flight back was the complete opposite of the flight out. I have to say, that we have discovered the perfect time to fly (at least until our nap schedules change again). Our flight was to leave at 1pm... so we left around 10:15 or so from Ga-mommy's house, returned the car, took the shuttle to the airport (with all our bags), checked in without a hitch, ate at Rubios (yummy), and then went through security to board the plane. The plane was a few minutes late in boarding, so the Squeaker HAD to eat while waiting to board and The Little Man decided that he really couldn't go much longer without a nap. Once on board, everyone was content, and the plate took off. The Little Man was enthralled with the whole takeoff and shortly thereafter fell asleep with his head in daddy's lap. He slept 2 hours. The Squeaker also slept 2 hours. Then with 1 1/2 hours left on the flight, both boys awake, we at a snack and turned on the portable DVD player where the Little Man zoned out for the rest of the trip home watching Baby Songs and Elmo's World. Seriously, he never moved out of his seat during the whole 4 hour flight. He was equally enthralled with the landing and all in all we had a WONDERFUL trip! Yeah, let's do it again - but not for a while.

Things to do in San Diego

Our trip has been wonderful. We came out for no other reason than to have fun and relax. Both agenda items were accomplished. We did manage to do quite a bit of sightseeing, but it really didn't seem like it. Here are some pics from each outing.

Legoland:
Balboa Park (aerospace museum):

San Diego Zoo:
Old Town:

A great night for the boys

Both down by 8pm and both up just before 7am!!! Yeah for us. Too bad I woke up at 1am and every hour thereafter feeling like I needed to feed the Squeaker! :( I guess we can't have it all.

The good thing about not adjusting to time changes

Being from the east coast makes traveling to visit grandma a bit difficult as far as sleep schedules go. We are three hours ahead, therefore we wake up at 4am in the morning when in California. This trip it took a bit longer to adjust to the time change this trip, and we still aren't completely changed over. But, that is okay, because then you get to see the sunrise!

Times sure have changed

Hard to believe that it has been so long since high school. I remember when we used to have sleepovers and play games, get pepsi from the chevron station, and go to the mall on our half days at school and eat at Red Robin. It was a carefree life. Now, we have passed that on to our kids. They have the same fun times in store for them (in several years from now, granted) and will look upon those days with nostalgia as I do now.

Oh dear, I am liking my minivan

I have been pretty adamently opposed to minivans --- not their existance, but my use of said vehicles. I think they are great and useful, but have been turned off by them ever since my mom's minivan when I was in high school. I am sure there were only 3 made before they were taken off the market because no one bought them (due to their hideousness). For those who are interested, it was a Nissan Axcess... and if you can find one on the road, you should win a prize. Anyway... we rented a minivan on this trip. As noted previously, we did not like the first minivan we rented. Luckily, we were able to trade it in for another which we totally love! Of course we love it, it is a toyota. I am in love with toyotas. They are great. I can't believe how wonderful this minivan is. Don't worry, though, I am keeping my Highlander... but my next car just might be the Sienna...

Oh what a wonderful day

I am not sure who to thank but I need to thank someone... We had such a wonderful day, I am waiting to wake up and find that it was a dream. We went to Legoland today, and all three kiddos (my two and a friend) slept in the car there -- including my little squeaker who hates the car and has had 4 silent car rides in his life (he is 3 mos old). The kids were fantastic at the park and on the way home the two older ones slept while the squeaker enjoyed the ride silently. It was BLISS! It was amazing how well the kids did, riding in the wagon together, riding the rides, and just enjoying the scenery without buggin each other (too much). To top it off, it was warm and sunny the whole time too. It was a wonderful, amazing, and peaceful day! Let's do it again!!!!!

A virtual birthday gift

Today is my best friend's birthday and since we aren't supposed to give each other gifts, I am sending her a virtual birthday gift. It is something I know she will like and if she feels like she has free time and inspiration, she can make one for herself, which might actually be more fun than getting it all wrapped up. :) However, if I do find one like this in a store, I am sure my lack of self-control will cause me to scoop it right up. So here it is: