February found us taking two trips to Iowa. We had planned on going up the last week as a inlaw visit but then Bert's grandfather died the 8th so we took a 5 day trip then as well. The ONLY way to travel with 2 small kids is at night. A few people told me this and I remember tucking it away in the back of my mind but forgot about it until this trip. We left on our first trip at 9 pm and pulled into Remsen at 3:30 am. That's a record and I don't remember making it that fast before...even without kids.
We had planned on leaving to come home at night as well. Bad weather was predicted to be showing up the night we were going to be leaving so we left around noon instead. Two hours into the trip, we decided we were never going to do it this way again. Even if we had to stay an extra 2 weeks...we would not be traveling during the day again. There wasn't a period of time longer than 20 minutes that one or both of the kiddos weren't upset. Ethan, my little cuddle butt, had had enough 8 hours into it and screamed constantly for the last 2 hours of the trip. We'd stop, try to feed him, burp him, change him, etc etc...and as soon as we got back on the road, he was totally POed again. It took us just over 10 hours to get home with all the stops as opposed to the 7 1/2 on the trip up. New parents mark my word, only make long road trips at night!
And then we left again on the 22nd around 10 pm and made it in record time. We came home on the night of the 28th, barely missing a huge snow storm. I called my mother-in-law today and she's sitting in her house with 4-5 foot of snow surrounding her.
The visits went fine and the kids did as well as to be expected. Emily has jumped into the "Terrible Twos" head first and she alone was a full time job in a house which was not baby proof. I really looked forward to nap time and bed time for a chance to sit down and relax. Ethan is all smiles and developing a great personality. He's so much different than Emily was at this age because she hated to be held or cuddled or anything. She was always on the go, wanting or trying to crawl or whatever. Ethan is the exact opposite. He doesn't even go to sleep at night now unless he's being rocked to sleep. I realized just the other day that Ethan is 6 months old this week and this was about the age Emily was when we started trying for baby #2.
Emily news: She had her 2 year checkup last week and she's doing great. I always think she looks small when compared to others her age but she's charted average on the charts for weight, just below average on height and she's got a huge head. She's still not eating what I consider good and the doc gave us some suggestions on how to deal with that, ie: less milk, less juice and the infamous phrase I've grown to hate, "she'll eat when she's hungry". She should be talking more but the fact she doesn't hang around kids much has made her a little behind so I'll continue to read to her and work on things to make her talk more.
As I said earlier, the Terrible Twos have arrived. Some of her favorite activities are:
*Throwing not only her diapers, but Ethan's diapers all over the house.
*Emptying the lid drawer and potholder drawers in the kitchen. The rest have latches so another big part of her day is trying to manuever smaller items out of the drawers and cabinets that might fit through the 2 inch gap.
*Climbing on anything to get to light switches and after flipping it on, proudly saying one of the words she says perfectly clear...."light"....while pointing just in case we don't get it.
*Emptying her own drawers in her room. Then walking back into the kitchen with either a shirt or pair of pants on over her head...yet stuck to get any further.
*The edge of the counters are no longer safe. All items have to be back atleast 6 inches from the edge in order to be "Emily safe".
However, she's sharp as a tac and I'm amazed at what she picks up and retains. For example, she had a 'female problem' for several months after she was born which required us to apply Premarin to her privates with a Q Tip. We had to do this about every 3 months for a week and actually havn't had to do it in over 6 months now (knock on wood). The other day, she found a Q-Tip in the bathroom and immediatly did several wiping motion on her backside with it. I actually missed the scene but Bert couldn't wait to tell me as he rolled his eyes. haha!
As for Ethan, he's a ball of fun right now. He's very cuddly, requiring lots of holding throughout the day and at night. He hates to be alone in a room and gets upset if you even leave the room for a minute. He loves to watch Emily run around and she is quick to give him kisses which he loves. She's finally over the hitting phase however has yet to learn to be 'real careful' if they are both on the floor. My little guy is developing a great personality and is nothing but smiles all the time. Oh and another thing...his hair is coming in RED!
Ok, I'm done for now. I'll be posting some birthday pictures soon so stay tuned.
2 comments:
taking notes about PM travels...
My son at 2 wasn't speaking a whole lot. I was a little worried too. Gad! He's made up for it. I think 2 is where they first begin. She'll take off soon, leaving you wondering WTH happened. By 3 she'll be chatting away! They ARE smart. Keep talking to her, she's listening and soaking it up.
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