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. 😉
Since I’m trying to focus more on reading and the things that generally make me happy and feel good, what better thing to talk about than books? Especially since the kids seem to be just as into them as I am. I won’t lie, it pleases me to no end to walk in and find both of the kids quietly reading and looking through books. Apparently being surrounded by books does rub off. 😉
Right now Phoebe is very much into Eric Carle and Sandra Boynton. Her first favorite book was Moo, Baa, La la la, but then that changed to Are you a Cow? I think she’s starting to grow bored with that one, though, because lately she’s been shaking her head No when I try to read it and she tries to find something more interesting, like Brown Bear, Brown Bear (and Baby Bear and Panda Bear, and so on). She could really just read all of those over and over again.
Lately Enzo has been enjoying the Berenstain Bears and Little Critter, but he’s a big fan of Pete the Cat and just got a new Frozen book. We’ve been getting some of those Step Into Reading books that are fairly short, but will be good for when he starts reading on his own. He’s also asked to read Pacifiers Are Not Forever a lot lately, so I’m hoping that means we can get rid of his soon.
As for me… I’m going to finish up The Order of the Phoenix and then take a break and read something else on my 26 Books list. Since I’ll be flying on Monday, I think I’ll stick with something on my Kindle, so maybe Hollow City (really liked Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children). Or maybe The Girl on the Train, which I just heard about and sounded interesting. Granted, people keep saying it’s a great read for fans of Gone Girl, and I was not a fan. I plan on seeing the movie anyway, but the book drove me crazy.
Anyhoo, so many books, so little time!
I thought for sure when we found out we were having a girl that we’d have a little lady who would be a balance to Enzo’s high energy, all-boy nature. Nope. Phoebe is definitely sweet-natured and more of a cuddler than Enzo, but she is just as rough and tumble as he is.
Before she was even walking, she was trying to climb up on everything and she has to follow her big brother wherever he goes. They also love climbing all over each other and wrestling and tumbling. We sometimes have to remind Enzo that he has to be gentle with her, but she’s pretty tough. If anything we have to sometimes tell her to be gentle with him.
In reality, I like that they’re both a healthy balance of… whatever you want to call it. Phoebe is kind of tomboyish like I was, and hopefully will stay that way because I won’t know what to do if she starts asking me to do something fancy with her hair in a few years. Now, give Enzo a mohawk? Done. Curls and symmetrical ponytails and braids? I get clammy hands just thinking about it. I also do a really bad job of painting fingernails and toes (my own included).
While we do sometimes tend to buy standard boy/girl gifts for the kids, we fully encourage them to both play with whatever toys are available. Phoebe often just wants to play with cars and trucks and Enzo can frequently be found having a tea party and has started requesting to watch Frozen again. Sometimes I do find it annoying how so many toys are still geared towards boys or girls with lots of pinks/purples v. reds/blues, though. Why can’t there just be a mix of any and all these or rather why does there need to be a pink version of a garbage truck?
But then again, sometimes my son likes the purple or pink version and maybe it’s grownups who have it all wrong. I mean, it’s not kids who are deciding what are boy toys or what are girl toys. I made the assumption that the pink garbage truck is for a girl when a little boy could easily like that color just as much, so the option should be available.
I do think there should be a better mix of colors with toys, though. A little blue/purple/red/pink/green mashup, and also that toy companies should stop ruining good classic designs. That’s a topic for another day, though. 😉
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. 😉
