As just about everybody who reads this blog already knows, we've been keeping pretty busy lately, with both big and small things. I took lots of pictures "for the blog," so in order to not waste all those photos here is a nice looooong catch-up post.
Big: We went on vacation.
This "cottage" is the roughly same square footage as our apartment, except with no shared walls.
This was our first-ever trip as a family of four. (I supposed you could count our trip to Florida last December as a family trip--I was almost-too-pregnant-to-fly with Lady Infant--but since we were staying with family it was a much different experience than the process of renting our living space.) We got an end-of-summer rate on a cottage "90 yards from a private beach!" in the town where my husband grew up.
90 yards and about 90 steps. I actually couldn't fit all of the stairs in the picture, so I took this after descending the first set.
In any case, the beach was worth it.
I love New England beaches. Call me a weirdo who likes cold water.
Nursing on the beach? Check.
Invite your cousins and their trucks.
I love this picture.
We did a day trip to the beach earlier in July with the kids, but it was so much easier to manage them in shorter spurts. We had agreeably hot, sunny weather while we were there, so we could take the kids down for a swim, go home for lunch and naps, and come back, hitting low tide both times. We stayed four days and three nights, the kids slept great, and despite bringing two diaper-clad minions, we got our security deposit back!
Big: We're moving Sir Toddler to a bed.
Despite previous declarations that never would I ever 1) purchase a toddler bed, 2) purchase a toddler bed from IKEA, or 3) purchase a mattress from IKEA, we wound up doing just that after a fruitless trip to Jordan's and countless hours wasted scouring Craigslist. (When you drive a small sedan that only fits disassembled furniture in flat packs and Jordan's only has overpriced twin beds that are four feet off the ground and made entirely of MDF, assembling Swedish furniture with the aid of smirking stick figures is the easiest option). We purchased the TROGEN adjustable bed and the corresponding mattress that comes in three pieces, and I'm actually glad we did since the soon-to-be shared kids' room is not huge.
The adjustment period to the bed is going...okay.
The first day, Sir Toddler was eager to nap in his new "big boy bed!" and I put him right in, assuming that the little wooden side pieces would keep him from rolling out. He fell asleep, amazingly, and roooolled onto the floor with a thump. We found him sobbing with a bitten tongue, and ran out to Babies R Us to buy a side rail. To add insult to injury, it took 20 minutes to get through the line and then the rail didn't work with a slatted bed base. Sir Toddler spend that night in his crib, and the next morning I put two rolled-up towels under the fitted sheet, and an unused mattress section on the floor next to his bed.
The second and third days, Sir Toddler spend his naptime hanging out in his bed, but not actually sleeping. It didn't occur to him to get out of bed on his own. Each night, we have enticed him with a "special light" (a nightlight, which we didn't use with him in the crib) to get him to sleep in his bed. Both nights, he has woken up confused and scared in the middle of the night, but stayed in bed.
Today, the jig was up. Sir Toddler realized that he could get out of bed during naptime and started roaming around his room. I hope he sleeps well tonight, because three days without naps made for a whiny, weepy evening. For both of us.
Big: Lady Infant is pulling up on furniture.
Life as we know it is over.
I keep snapping pictures that make it look like my children are playing together peacefully....
...when in reality Lady Infant, in her quest to be involved in whatever her brother is doing, is just learning how to annoy her brother.
Little: Baby teeth!
Little: Pigtails!
Lady Infant has long hair on top that hangs in her eyes like so...
So I spent 45 minutes trying to wrangle her into pigtails. She did not like it, Sam I Am.
Big: Our backyard is no longer a minefield of feces.
Our neighbors of notpickingupaftertheirdog fame finally moved out and we've finally cleared up the last of the messes (although not before tracking some onto the kitchen floor, blergh). This is a game-changer. Today, with a slow start to the morning, the threat of rain, a napping baby, and and antsy two-year-old, I could just let. him. play. outside. Of course, since our yard isn't fully fenced in and still shared, I was out making sure he didn't bolt or get into our other neighbors' stuff, but it was nice to just let him be a little boy and explore nature.
He spent his playtime picking wild "yucky berries" that had fallen from a tree and mashing them in his fingers. Good times.
I have visions of maybe getting a sandbox. Or even a Cozy Coupe.
Disclaimer: I'll be political for the first time on this blog.
It's time for me to sign off, because I have a team/quarterback to cheer on...
...no thanks to Roger Goodell.
Very eventful! :)
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