Category Archives: toddler

California Dreamin’ Part 1

Despite being gone for 5 nights we really didn’t take all that many photos during our trip, so I’ve got a jumble of photos from both of our phones and cameras and pictures were taken by both Josh and I and a couple of other random people. Off we go!

The trip got off to an interesting start. We left the house surprisingly on time and were all happily on our way when about halfway there Enzo started making whimpering sounds, so I turned around and asked if he was okay only to have him say that his tummy hurt. Just as I was about to ask him something else, he vomited. Quite a bit. Of course I had just cleaned out the car and had absolutely nothing on hand to help him out and we now had to find a gas station as fast as possible to clean him up. I had a few wipes, but that wasn’t going to do it. I also only had a short sleeve shirt as backup for him because we were headed to California and usually I don’t have to worry about backup clothes for him. Did I also mention that he had thrown up on the only hoodie/jacket we had brought with us? Also, the gas station we stopped at? No paper towels in the bathroom. We finally got him cleaned up as much as possible and changed (I gave him my hoodie) and did our best to clean up his car seat with Subway napkins. He seemed okay, so off we went.

About 5-10 minutes later, he started crying again. I turned around and in a panic looked for anything that he could throw up in… I grabbed his winter hat. It might have worked had he not tried to block his mouth with his hand and had he not projectile vomited everywhere. I really started to panic now. Was he sick? Were we going to miss our flight? If he was sick were we going to be awful parents and make him get on a plane? We stopped again and this time I had to get into the luggage in the trunk. We did the best we could to yet again clean everything up and continued on our way once Enzo happily got back in the car. He no longer looked pasty and seemed to be in good spirits. We got to the airport, got to cut in line at security, made it in time to use the bathroom and then hopped on our flight. (This may be my wordiest post yet!)

The kids really did great on the flight. Enzo looked out the window now and then, but really just though it was awesome to watch a movie on his little DVD player with his own headphones. Also, they thought the beverage service and pretzels and cookies were kind of fabulous. I brought plenty of snacks and activities to keep them busy, but even though Phoebe was bored she wasn’t fussy – just squirmy, and then about halfway through the flight she settled down for a nap.

My mom and step-dad met us at the airport and then it was a matter of getting our rental minivan, getting the kids (and adults food) and then getting settled in our rental condo, which was within walking distance of the grandparents’ condo. 😉 We stayed close to home the day we arrived and the next day as well. Did some driving/exploring and picked up some necessities for the kiddos. The weather was amazing! Beyond amazing!

Enzo really wanted to be adventurous and keep walking, but was still pretty nervous about how high up we were and felt more comfortable being held. I was a tad nervous as well… heights are not my favorite. Ha ha.

Phoebe was asleep in the car, so our family portrait is incomplete. You know what they say, though… never wake a sleeping baby.

She did wake up in time to go see some sea lions, and more importantly (to her) lots of pelicans and seagulls.

Short sleeves in February? Yeah, that might be enough to make me move. Part 2 next week! We went whale watching and we pretty much confirmed that Enzo is a Highly Sensitive Child. That is a whole different post, though.

Legos and Development

Legos are one of those timeless toys. I have fond memories of a little red Lego case, and even now we have a pretty good collection of them, but they haven’t seen the light of day in quite a while because they are potential death traps aka choking hazards. Enzo has finally gotten to enjoy the awesomeness of these little building blocks, though, and he rather enjoyed it.

Phoebe was napping when the boys pulled out the blocks, so we crossed our fingers she’d sleep long enough to create one or two things before they’d most likely need to put away. She’s still in that stage that requires everything be tasted and carried around in her mouth.

I admit, I wasn’t sure how interested Enzo would be, but he did really well following the instructions with some pointers from Josh. We know they’re working on sitting still and listening in pre-school, so we’re trying to focus on that a bit at home… sort of. Okay, mostly we just fail at that, and it’s a good thing we only have 2 kids otherwise I can’t even imagine the kind of chaos we’d have then.

We do need to work on a few things in the evening and on the weekend, though. Honestly, I have no idea what he “should” know at this age, so I looked it up quickly and it seems like he’s well on track (and ahead considering the list I looked up was for 3-4 year olds and not 2-3 year olds. I suppose I should bookmark his next developmental milestones just so we know what we should work on this upcoming year – we kept track of that when he was younger, so we probably should now too. :p I guess that’s the great thing about day care and also the bad thing. He learns so much at day care, but working full time leaves us with so little time to spend with them on the weekends that we don’t always focus on educational or even crafty things very often because when we’re not hanging out with them we’re tidying up or cooking or doing various things that need to be done. It’s definitely made me start to rethink priorities lately and makes me realize we need some shortcuts in our lives so that our free time with the kids isn’t wasted. I’d much rather have more time to play and explore rather than clean and whatever other boring adult-like things we must do.

And… we’re back.

We have returned safely from the warmth of sunny California to the cold embrace of gray Minnesota. I’m not sure why people bother traveling to warmer places in the winter when it’s twice as depressing to return and then you have to get used to the cold all over again and sadly put away all warm weather attire for who knows how many more months. Rant over, and California post to come. In the meantime, how about a post with just random pictures I took and only slightly have something to do with anything?

For me, the hardest thing about coming back from vacation is… everything. Bags are unpacked, though, and half the laundry is done as well as shopping. The kids managed to give the house that nice lived-in feel within hours of being home, so it’s almost as if we never left.

I think this morning was rough on all of us, partly because of the time change and partly because who wants to go to work/day care after so much playtime? Both kids found bedtime to be difficult last night, so Josh had to rock Phoebe to sleep for a while, and Enzo watched some Downton Abbey with me. The stinker couldn’t have been more adorable as he quietly watched with me, sneaking little smiles at me every so often.

Anyhoo, I have (very few… whoops) pictures to upload and lots to think about after our trip, as well as Phoebe’s 15 month check-up tomorrow, so life goes on and off I go!

15 Months

Our Phoebe girl is another month older today, and while I don’t have her 15 month stats yet (checkup next week) I can tell you that she’s growing and thriving. She’s in 18 month clothing and slowly gaining on her brother. Some days it surprises me how much older she looks and seems. She’s definitely leaving babyhood behind and becoming a full-fledged toddler.

As far as toddling goes, she is becoming more and more adept at walking. We haven’t quite graduated to hard soled shoes as she still tumbles quite a bit, so soft soled shoes are easier or going barefoot the majority of the time. Just like her brother, she isn’t satisfied with merely walking and is trying to run everywhere despite the whole not being steady on her feet thing.

One of her biggest obsessions is her big brother (sometimes to his dismay). She follows him around and her face lights up when she sees him. While is she often shadowing someone, she is also becoming more independent. She can get down off of our bed by herself now (and the couch), and it’s cute to watch her head off with her lovie without looking back.

Some of her favorite things right now are still books, but also the star lights we bought her at IKEA. We sing Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star together whenever they’re turned on. She also loves playing with cars and blocks and our cell phones. Her absolute favorite items are her lovies – I think she’s even more attached to hers than Enzo was/is.

She has such a fun personality and I love her big open mouthed grins and little cackle. She often follows me around demanding to be picked up and the only way I can get ready in the morning is to put her on the bathroom counter, just like I used to do with Enzo. We’re slowly getting into tantrum territory, but Josh and I both feel more prepared this time around. Plus, hers are really very minor right now and sometimes even she has a hard time keeping a straight face when she’s fake crying or being dramatic. 😉

She’s a wonderful complement to our family, so I think we’ll keep her. 😉

Munchkin Meals – 15 Months and almost 3

There hasn’t been one of these for a while! I am linking up with A Healthy Slice of Life for Munchkin Meals today.

We are actually in a great stage right now because both kids have been eating really well. Phoebe continues to eat everything just about anything we put in front of her, although lately she’s been a bit more picky about textures. We’ve started introducing utensils as a way around this, and she is slowly getting more and more efficient.

Even Enzo has been better about trying new foods, which has been such a nice change! He still has his favorites, of course, and a few things that he absolutely will not try, but the fact that he took a big bite of orange chicken the other night without us even asking and pronounced that it was “yummy” is a huge success to me. He’s been turning up his nose at it for months!

What has been tricky lately has been Phoebe’s mobility. We try to let them both have snacks at the little red table, which works for the most part, but we often have to play referee to keep Phoebe from stealing Enzo’s food. He can eat hers and she doesn’t care, but if she tries the same, Enzo loses it. Now we just have to make sure Enzo and Phoebe finish eating dinner at the same time, otherwise we have the same issue. She wants whatever he has… and not an imitation.

All in all, I’m really happy with how well the kids have been eating, and I’m hoping to get them (Enzo especially) more involved with making meals once I can find my focus and start meal planning again. While I could eat taco bowls all the time, the rest of the family gets bored. 😉 Granted, the boys could eat pizza every day, so we all have our favorites.

Dino and Bunnies

Every day adventures