I haven’t done a Day in the Life post in about a year, so I decided last month to do one. I’m sure at some point it’ll be fun to look back and remember how we spent our weekends – as of now, most of our days are pretty similar to one another. Not pictured are the most chaotic moments from that day (dinner time, bathtime, bedtime). This was also from when Enzo wasn’t staying in his room, which is why the last picture is of Josh sitting in the hallway.
It’s true what they say about becoming a parent for the second time. You’re more relaxed overall and tend to let more slide. With Enzo I remember being really picky and concerned about everything we gave him to eat. He never had sugary sweets before he turned 1, and then it was few and far between. While we’re still careful what we feed the kids, I think Phoebe had tastes of “bad” foods a lot earlier than he did. We try to stay away from too many processed foods, but when we do pull them out, I don’t feel as guilty as I used to. With two kids and full-time jobs, life gets crazy.
We’re gearing up to go on vacation and I’m recalling some of our first trips with Enzo. Now we’ll be traveling with two kids and I’m hoping to bring even less than with him. Granted, Phoebe is older than Enzo was when we first flew, and we’re “cheating” a tad by renting some things when we arrive (like boosters so that way the kids can eat meals comfortably in our rental condo). The goal is still to travel with less, and that means bringing only our foldable nice umbrella stroller and mostly wearing Phoebe when we’re out and about.
I’m really excited that Enzo has agreed to be worn for part of the trip, though! We bought a new custom carrier that is just a tad too big for Phoebe right now, but fits Enzo really well and he thinks it’s cool (because super heroes). At first I had to talk him into it, but it was so comfy he didn’t want down and wanted me to run around the house with him… while also having to hold Phoebe. Talk about a workout!
I’m really excited about being able to potentially ditch the stroller, though. Josh doesn’t mind the new carrier (again, super heroes) so we can each wear a munchkin and maybe even see about getting rid of our big bulky stroller in the future. There’s nothing worse than being out and about and wanting to go exploring, only to realize that your stroller can’t fit anywhere.
Phoebe is generally happy to be worn, aside from cranky moments here and there where she doesn’t seem to know what she wants and will pull my hair and be naughty. For the most part, though, baby wearing has been a lifesaver with two kids. I can wear Phoebe and still interact with Enzo because my hands are free as well as cook and clean. Plus, carriers have magic sleepy dust… if Phoebe is having trouble sleeping she’s guaranteed to take a nap while being worn.
This also makes for good reading time for mama. 😉
Last month we decided it would be a great idea to plan a last minute weekend trip to Duluth with the kids. Not only that, but we decided to buy tickets for a short holiday train excursion, the only tickets available being for an evening ride. Right after we made plans and bought tickets, Phoebe started sniffling and coughing and we second-guessed ourselves, but decided to press on anyway. It was incredibly foggy, and both kids were not themselves – acting out a bit more than usual and when we arrived at our hotel we found out it wasn’t ready and we couldn’t check in. So, to dinner we went.
Understandably, the kids were wriggly and didn’t want to sit still after a 3 hour ride in the car. We questioned whether or not we should continue with the night, quickly ate dinner, and drove back to the hotel crossing our fingers that the room would be ready. Thankfully it was, however, it was also right next to the very noisy pool. Oh boy. The kids were bouncing off the walls and being naughty, but we had those tickets, so off we went.
Both kids seemed excited about the lights and the train itself. It wasn’t a long ride, but enjoyable nonetheless. We arrived at the train depot and they got to look at a few trains before we were rushed over to the reading. Enzo and Josh sat on the floor, but Phoebe wasn’t having it. She wanted to crawl and move and was tired and fussy, so I walked around with her while everyone else listened to the story. I would have loved to look around the train museum, but we didn’t have much time.
There were a lot of people and older kids, but Enzo managed to play a little before it was time to get back on the train and go. At this point, however, he did not want to go. He was having fun, and proceeded to lie on the floor underneath our seats and make known his displeasure to all.
He gave up once everyone was aboard and decided to strike up conversation with the gentleman behind us, who was only semi interested in having a conversation with our 2 year old. Enzo was not to be deterred, however. Eventually we made it back to our hotel and all 4 of us ended up in bed together due to the pool being too rowdy and loud for the sleeper sofa and Phoebe refused to stay in her pack n’ play.
We had breakfast in our hotel room the next morning before deciding to just head home a little early. Enzo was in full on toddler terror mode and Phoebe wasn’t feeling 100%, so we figured it was for the best.
I’m still not sure what had gotten into them that weekend. A full moon perhaps? Change in routine? Let’s just hope that if we continue to surprise them with spontaneous jaunts it will eventually go more smoothly. 😉
Our nightly bedtime struggles may actually be over! I can’t even tell you what an exciting prospect that is. Not only will Enzo get more sleep, but that means we can finally have time again for ourselves. Everybody wins!
After last week’s post, we decided that (despite what many parenting websites say) Enzo is done with daytime naps. We weren’t entirely sure because on weekends he’d often say he was ready for his nap and sleep for several hours, but he was definitely not tired in the evening when he needed to be. From around 7:45-9:30 (some nights) we would be going back and forth with him trying to get him to settle down and stay in his room and go to bed. He’d stall and beg each of us to sleep with him and it went on and on. Then he’d be up at 6:00am and he was often cranky and tantrumy. So, this weekend we decided to take a chance and see how it went.
He skipped naps just fine and we noticed no extra crankiness whatsoever as we rolled closer to bedtime. He was asleep by 8:20 Saturday night (though it would have been sooner had we not been trying too new things at once – more on this later in the post) and last night he was asleep before 8:00. It was blissful to have a few hours to ourselves again. This morning he wasn’t too keen on waking up, but he left the house without having a single tantrum. We also learned from day care this morning that he has been the last to fall asleep at nap time every day and only sleeps for about 45 minutes to an hour (which is apparently enough to completely ruin bedtime). They said they’d try and work with us, though, so hopefully they are able to get him to play quietly today and he doesn’t end up falling asleep from sheer boredom like he’s been doing.
The other thing we started is the 1-2-3 Magic method of “discipline.” It was from this book that we decided we’d sit in a chair outside his room to keep him from leaving. He didn’t mind the first time, but this was because he had napped that day and was bored in his room and liked the company of someone right there. The next night he didn’t have a nap and kind of flipped out that one of us would be keeping an eye on him. He threw clothes around and eventually fell asleep in his chair in his room. Sunday night when Josh pulled the chair out again, Enzo started getting mad, so I suggested that Josh close the door so Enzo couldn’t see him in the chair, and sure enough he fell asleep in 5-10 minutes, and in bed no less! (He’s been sleeping on the floor lately).
Anyhoo, the 1-2-3 Magic has to do with counting and showing no emotion and not being overly talkative. It can take a week or two for kids to really start responding, but Enzo already began to respond this weekend. I asked him to do something, he refused, so I simply said, “That’s 1,” and he got down. (When you get to 3, they go on time out). We did have a lot of time-outs this weekend, but I think this method is really going to work.
For anyone out there without kids this is probably horrifically boring, so I apologize, but I want to savor and remember this turning point. 😉
In an effort to read more this year, I thought a Book Challenge could be fun. Granted, I only ready maybe 12-15 books this past year, so 26 is a lofty goal for me. That saddens me on so many levels… pre-children I read ALL THE TIME. On the plus side, both of our kiddos also love to read, so yay!
Anyhoo, I came across the 26 Books in 2015 challenge and thought it would be fun. I might “cheat” a tad to fit in books I was already planning on reading this year, but it’s still a fun idea.
I’m still finishing up the Harry Potter series and had plans to re-read The Hobbit and LOTR series, as well as a handful of other books, so we’ll see how they fit in and what else I’m inspired to read. We’re starting something new with Enzo when it comes to getting him to stay in bed at night, so I should have a little extra time to read for at least a week or two. The idea is that you sit in a chair in their doorway silently and just read. Every time they get up, you put them back and so on. We’ll see how it goes. We’ve discussed the possibility that he may just not need naps anymore, but I have to talk to preschool about that and see if that’s an option.
In the meantime, I just wish he’d be happy sitting in his room happily looking at books in the evening until he fell asleep. That is not the case, though. While I may often find that Phoebe has wandered into her room to look at books, our high energy boy just doesn’t can’t seem to stop wiggling. Hopefully we’ll get it all worked out soon.
