Ez is officially at that age where he says silly things out of nowhere that crack us up. It's the best because his personality is shining through so much, and it also means he gives us unprompted I love yous which just melts my heart. But, depending on the conversation and the amount of times he repeats it this can definitely be a mentally draining age as well. I've probably never made as many empty threats in my life as I have in the past three months. Here are just a few of the conversations I've remembered to record lately. Or more likely they've been repeated so many times that they're permanently imprinted on my brain. edit: I was reminded about that last watermelon convo and had to share because it had the whole table cracking up.
Conversation at Michael's
Me: If we buy this play dough we're not opening it until we get home.
Ez: We will open it when we get home.
Ez at register: I want to open the play dough?
Me: Nope, not until we get home, remember?
Ez: We will open it when we get home.
Ez in car: Want to open the play dough?
Me: Are we at home?
Ez: We will open it when we get home.
Ez 1 minute later: Want to open the orange play dough?
Me: No.
Ez 1 minute later: Want to open the pink play dough?
Me: NO!
<Ez repeats for each of the DOZEN colors>
Me: If you mention the play dough one more time I'm throwing them all out the window!
Ez: Orange?
Me: sigh...
Wandering through Target
Ez: No! I don't want this cakepop.
Ez: <takes bite of cakepop>
Me: I thought you weren't going to eat that cakepop?
Ez: No!
Ez: <takes another bite of cakepop>
Garbage Day
Me: Ez! Run to the window! The garbage truck is coming!
Ez (after the garbage truck leaves): It will be back. The garbage truck will come back.
Me: It'll be back in 7 days.
Ez: It will be back in 5 days.
Me: 7 days.
Ez: 7 minutes.
Me: Close. 7 days.
<repeat in constant loop for next 7 days. enjoy 5 minutes of peace while garbage truck is on our street. repeat whole process again.>
Fun fact: thanks to YouTube Ez calls the garbage truck a rubbish truck half the time...
Painting Eggs
Ez: Want to paint eggs?
Me: It's raining today. We'll paint them tomorrow.
7 am: <open my eyes and see two eyes staring back at me 1 inch from my face>
Ez: Want to paint eggs??
Randomly throughout day
Ez: I luhves you.
Me: I love you more.
Ez: I luhves you more.
Me: Not possible. I love you the most!
Ez: I love you to the moon and back!
Easter Supper
Ez (to Joe): Want a piece of watermelon Daddy?
Joe: No thanks bud, I'm good.
Ez (to Grampa): Want a piece of watermelon Grampa?
Grampa: No thanks, I'm good.
Ez (to me): Want a piece of watermelon Mommy?
Me: Yes, I'll have a piece. Thanks Ez, you're so sweet.
Ez: No thanks, Mommy. You're good. <quickly shoves watermelon in his mouth>
During those rare moments we aren't negotiating the garbage truck's schedule, you can most likely find Ez right here playing with his garbage truck:
Every now and then Joe gives me a list of things I should record in this little ol' blog here so we don't forget it, which is usually my not so subtle reminder that it's been a while since I've done a life lately post. Like the way Ez is obsessed with reciting both Little Blue Truck books by heart or how Declan has to get down and dance anytime there is a snippet of music playing. They both seem like completely different people compared to even just a few months ago and I want to remember every crazy little thing they do. Declan is developing into a little jokester goofball who will do pretty much anything for a laugh. Ez is getting to that (mostly) fun age where he says crazy things out of nowhere and cracks Joe and me up. They're each at the perfect age to interact and play with each other and they're really starting to get the hang of this whole "having a brother" thing.
Family Life Lately
We are so, so, so blessed that Joe gets to work from home now. It's been the best thing for our family and Ez and Declan are on cloud 9 having Daddy time all throughout the day. Ez has switched over to becoming a total daddy's boy in the last few weeks and I'm basically chopped liver now. He just shadows Joe all day saying, "look at this Daddy," and when I try to chime in he'll repeat again, "look at this, Daddy." Ok, point taken kid. That being said, Joe working from home goes a little something like this:
Sitting on toys with a basketball bouncing off his head while on his laptop pretty much sums it up. Not sure how he pulls it off, but somehow he does.
In the evening we're all about family walks, or just running laps through the house over and over and over till everyone passes out from exhaustion. Well, when we don't all have a nasty flu, anyway. It's becoming very apparent that I live in a house full of boys because roughhousing is pretty much everyone's favorite pastime. Except mine. Apparently I don't have that gene that likes wrestling. Thankfully that's where daddy comes in.
Ez Lately
Moving to a house with a backyard is basically like Christmas and birthdays all rolled into one. Ez wakes up and the first thing he says is, "Wanna play in the backyard?" Clearly we've been depriving him and he's making up for lost time. Laying face down, elbow deep in the dirt is his happy place. He's my little earth worm. And after a nice long digging and rock collecting session he'll come in with his mud-streaked face and say "that was so much fun!" which makes all the extra laundry so worth it.
When he's not outside he's either asking if he can use "his" ipad, or eating. Seriously, that kid wants to eat every 30 minutes like clockwork. Apples are still the snack of choice and I have to cut him off or he'd eat a tree's worth every day. Also, it's a pretty good sign that my kid has seen one too many Youtube videos when he starts telling us, "Thanks for watching! Please subscribe." We've pretty much got a locked in subscription for the next 15 years or so... ;) Also thanks to Youtube Ez is basically a nonstop jukebox of nursery rhymes and songs. "Brother finger brother finger where are you? Here I am, here I am, how do you do?" is the current soundtrack of my life.
Despite the great upsides of our new place, there was definitely a turbulent little period when all the recent change caught up with Ez and he was basically a storm of emotions all throughout the day. When he's happy and excited he's the most bouncy exuberant little being you've ever met, but when he's pissed he's PISSED. Not sure if it's the move, a growth spurt, his age, or what...but it's a little hard to keep up with. I could do a whole post on "reasons my son is crying" and it would go something along the lines of: he asked to watch monster trucks so I turned on monster trucks; he asked for pink yogurt but all we had was blue yogurt; he wanted the yellow (box) mac & cheese not the blue one I gave him; he wants to play with the one missing toy instead of the 3,574 toys already strewn across the floor; the apple I gave him was "too big".... I think you get the idea.
Declan Lately
Declan is in that adorable gibberish stage and I really really wish I knew what he was trying to say. His made up language sounds like a cross between Arabic and Russian and there are certain sounds he'll repeat daily but I have no idea what they could possible mean. If anyone can translate Ah Shaka Doh for me, that'd be great, thanks. He likes to yell that at me periodically and for now I can only assume it means something along the lines of "bring me food, woman!" His English vocabulary has also grown a lot lately. "Doh!" (go or no), "Ca-kwa" (crackers), "wawawa" (water), "ba" (milk/bottle), "Ga doh?" (get down), Toooo!!! (Tootles - usually followed by a piercing scream) "dadada" (Dada). No mama yet though :(
He's forever my rambunctious troublemaker and whenever he gets caught redhanded doing something he shouldn't be he tilts his head to one side and sidles away without making eye contact, like if he can't see you, you can't see him. Some of his trouble making specialties include: dumping any glass of water he can find all over the floor. Splashing in the toilet. Typing on Joe's laptop the second it's unattended. Turning off the wifi. Storing bits of food in his toy garbage truck and then pulling them out for a snack later.
He does this wonky back and forth run like a little drunken sailor when he's trying to be silly and get a laugh out of us. His favorite perch is on the stairs landing where he can look down on the family room and watch whatever's on TV from his own private viewing box. Joe and I will be sitting at the table and all of a sudden this little blur of a boy goes running past full speed on his way to the stairs like he's on a mission. And speaking of running, running off and leaving us in the dust is becoming a pattern with him. Like that time he ran behind the bar at Outback and scared the crap out of me. He has the opposite of survival skills. If there's danger within a four mile radius he's automatically drawn to it. He just can't help himself. Gives whole new meaning to this meme:
Except there's a good chance I haven't showered...
Brothers
Ez and Declan are at the stage where they actually share a few common interests and watching them interact is my favorite parenting experience. Declan is loving monster trucks and motorcycles and all things with wheels and he'll roll them all over the house (like literally, up the walls and everything) and then when he's done he'll walk over and hand them to his brother and stand there gesturing and talking his rapid jibberish. Ez has no idea how to react and usually stares at me baffled until I cue him to say "thank you Declan" which he repeats in his little voice and Declan seems satisfies and wanders off to find another toy to share with his brother. Cutest thing ever. Bath time is another bonding experience for them. Splashing water within a 12 foot radius never fails to get laughs out of both of them. Chasing each other in circles around the house. Building, and more importantly, destroying block towers. Ransacking and hiding in mommy's closet. I was shocked that they were able to sit quietly side by side in my closet trying not to get caught. Who knew they could be silent for minutes at a time?? Stealing each other's toys and then tattling on each other... All the normal brotherly stuff ;)
And in case you're not convinced, here are several more glimpses into the crazy I deal with on a daily basis. (Thank you YouTube for turning one of my clips upside down...):
Joe and I are loving this Christmas with one full-on toddler and one not-so-toddler little boy. The days are limited when they'll jump up and down with excitement at the sight of the Christmas tree lighting up. I'm possibly more giddy than they are at the idea of them opening up their presents on Christmas morning. Declan rocking out to Christmas music is the cutest thing ever. BUT a toddler Christmas is its own special kind of Christmas. It's a messy, very un-Pinteresty kind of holiday. I've lost count of the ornament and decoration casualties. I'll probably never forget having to search Declan's mouth for bits of glass ornament fragments. The trauma of visiting Santa. The lack of any concept of time which makes explaining how an advent calendar works or that Christmas is still two weeks away the most useless and frustrating task I've ever undertaken. The never ending threats that Santa only visits GOOD little boys and girls. So, taking it all in, the good, the messy, and the meltdowns, Joe and I came up with our own version of the classic 12 Days of Christmas song to sum up our toddler version of Christmas.
On the twelfth day of Christmas my toddler gave to me... 12 Mickeys Dancing
Which is code for we watch Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, Twice Upon a Christmas, and every other kind of Mickey Christmas show ever made on repeat a bajillion times. And counting. Joe and I actually tried to tally up how many times we've heard the hotdog song and the number is depressing. I'll leave it at that.
On the eleventh day of Christmas my toddler gave to me... 11 Ornaments Breaking
Declan will probably never live down the infamy of eating an ornament. Ever. I've already written it into his wedding speech. There are also several other ornaments that met their end the old fashioned way, by being smashed to bits. And remember all those foam ornaments Ez and I made? At least half of them have been torn to shreds by Ez himself. Turns out breaking them is just as fun as making them.
On the tenth day of Christmas my toddler gave to me... 10 Cookies Stolen
We haven't actually made any cookies yet, what I really wanted to write was advent chocolates stolen, but that just didn't fit as well. It's been a nonstop sugar rush since Halloween, so you can really sub any kind of sweet treat here and I'm sure you get the point.
On the ninth day of Christmas my toddler gave to me... 9 Crumbs a Dropping
Unfortunately this one isn't limited to the holiday season. And the count is way past 9 before breakfast is even halfway finished, but this isn't the 4,945,384 days of Christmas, so 9 crumbs it is.
On the eighth day of Christmas my toddler gave to me... 8 Bottles Spilling
Bottles aren't really that spillable, though Declan manages to find a way. Currently his real specialty is removing the straws from their cups and then pouring all the contents out through the straw hole. Carpets and toddlers are a bad idea.
On the seventh day of Christmas my toddler gave to me... 7 Presents Discovered
Santa really needs to step up his present hiding game because the littlest one is quite the sleuth. I figured I could just set a bag on the counter and hide it later. Nope. Declan can reach the counters now. Which means nothing will ever be safe again. He pulled a bag down, Ez found toys in the bag, and that leads us to...
On the sixth day of Christmas my toddler gave to me... 6 Resulting Meltdowns
The whole toy discovery (and toy taking away) was actually just one of many Christmasy meltdowns. Is anyone else noticing an increase in tears lately? There's also the fact that mommy wants to take extra pictures this month. Nothing causes tears like the sight of the camera. Visits to Santa. Waiting in long lines. All the extra sugar (see day 10). Many more that came completely from left field and I'm still feeling dazed and confused at exactly how they originated. To be fair the long lines have nearly gotten to me a few times too.
On the fifth day of Christmas my toddler gave to me... 5 Lumps of Coal
So far there are have been no actual lumps of coal. What Joe and I are really getting at is the number of times we have threatened lumps of coal when two certain kids are having one of their epic meltdowns mentioned above. This form of blackmail/bribery/incentive/whatever you want to call it is slowly starting to work on Ez. Sadly Declan doesn't give an ef.
On the fourth day of Christmas my toddler gave to me... 4 Missing Shoes
Again, this goes way beyond just Christmas time, but it's just not a legitimate toddler countdown if we don't mention the mysterious disappearance of shoes. Or the mysterious repulsion at putting on said shoes.
On the third through first day of Christmas my toddler gave to me... 3 Children Crying waiting... 2 Freaking Hours to see... 1 Santa at the Crowded Mall
I think this is pretty self explanatory. It's just not a Santa visit without crying children. To be honest, the crying kid on Santa's lap pictures are kinda my favorite. But if you got lucky and it's not your kid crying this year then there's a good chance you're still surrounded by three (or thirty) other crying kids. No wonder Santa looks so traumatized in half the Santa photos we've acquired the past four years...
And there you have it! We love this season of the year and this season of our lives, but it's just not an accurate representation if we don't mention the dozens of times a day Joe and I roll our eyes at each other above the kids' heads and pray that naptime or bedtime lasts just a little bit longer. And then spend that naptime coming up with songs about those very same crazy little kids... ;)
We've been getting all kinds of rain lately, which I love. I just want to curl up with a book and a blanket and read the day away. But of course I can't do that because Ez and Declan go insane and start running/crawling in circles and trying to beat each other up so after several days of rain we decided we weren't gonna let that stop us from going to the park.
At first Ez was walking really slow, like he was trying to avoid the rain drops, but as soon as he found his first puddle he perked right up. Declan kept sticking his tongue out, trying to eat the rain. At one point he was trying to eat the rain out of his stroller tray like a little puppy dog.
After lots of stomping and kicking the ball around Ez decided it was his turn to push the stroller. He is definitely entering the "I can do everything myself" phase, which is mostly cute and occasionally super frustrating (and messy). He pushed Declan straight into the dirt and I thought for sure he would need help getting out, but nope! He figured it out, even though he couldn't see over or around the stroller. I was pretty impressed. Then he started pushing the stroller in circles because the front wheels were turned while poor Declan stared helplessly behind him. Of course I caught it all on video before I stepped in and saved Declan.
I've done a few day in our life posts, including the most recent one right after Declan was born. At that point in our lives it was all chaos and takeout food and survival mode. Lately we've settled into a nice routine, we're completely unpacked (as of last week - don't judge!) and we're loving our new home, so I wanted to do an updated day in our life post. But then, as soon as I thought, Hey, I've kinda got things under control. Maybe I can handle this whole parenting two kids thing, this happened:
After a night of musical beds where I was woken up so many times that I literally had no idea where I was or who was crying, we woke up to day two of a hoarse, raspy-voiced toddler who was just so pitiful sounding and in pain, so off to the doctor we went. It took me + a nurse to hold Ez down long enough for the doctor to look down his throat. That's all, just shine that light thingy down his throat. Imagine how awful his next round of shots is gonna be. Then we got the news that not only is Ez getting more molars (seriously the most awful, horrible, hateful things ever!), but he's also got bronchitis. My poor baby. We head straight to the pharmacy (aka - Target) to pick up his meds. As soon as I pull into the parking lot both boys fall asleep, and all I've got is the single stroller. So I'm walking through Target, killing half an hour while they fill the prescription, using one hand to push Ez in the stroller while also carrying Declan in his car seat. No less than four people stop to smile and point out that I have my hands full. Really? Do I? I hadn't even noticed. And can I just point out that seeing all that cute fall stuff at Target but not being able to touch or browse was really sad. Like really. I did pick up a get well gift for Ez though, because mom priorities. Once we got home I wrestled Ez to the ground in order to force feed him his medicine. He actually likes the way it tastes, but that doesn't stop him from putting up a fight each and every time. Then I go to pick up Declan, who is also screaming, only to find poo up to his hair. And all over my hands. Emergency bath time. While I'm trying to spray down a wriggly, slippery, screaming baby Ez bursts into the bathroom with such force that the door bounces off the wall and hits him right in the face. Cue screaming baby #2. So for about the 50th or so time both kids are simultaneously screaming bloody murder. And did I mention this was all before lunch?
Lesson learned. Never ever ever tempt fate by thinking you've got things figured out. She will laugh right in your face and throw you curve ball after curve ball until you admit that you know nothing. Nothing at all.
So I totally acknowledge that I'm just taking parenthood day by day, and sometimes it's literally all chaos and tears, but the other days when all pandemonium hasn't broken loose look something like this:
Our weekdays follow the same basic formula. I get up whenever the earliest riser wakes me up (not counting Joe, who usually leaves before we're awake). On the off chance Declan wakes up before 7am, he hangs out with daddy while I get some more zzzs. Typically Ez and Declan wake up between 7 and 8, then Declan likes to cluster nap till 9 or 10. We appreciate lazy mornings and start off with breakfast, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and of course iced coffee for me.
Ez is generally pretty good at entertaining himself in the mornings. He likes being reunited with all his cars after a whole night away from them. So if Declan is napping this is my blog and chore time.
Late morning/early afternoon is when we gotta get out of the house before everyone starts going crazy. Some things we like to do are story time at the library, a trip to the park, walks around the neighborhood, errands, meeting my sister for lunch, or just playing in the garden. Declan is always strapped to me in his Bjorn carrier, facing outward because he's very social and likes to people watch.
Sometimes Ez falls asleep in his stroller and naps up to two hours, otherwise we eat lunch. Then Declan naps and Ez and I get some one on one time (unless they're both napping - hallelujah!) We read books, color, do puzzles, play monster bowling, or I sit on the floor while he plays cars. Sometimes he just needs an audience.
Around 5 I'll start prepping dinner while Ez and Declan either join me in the kitchen or entertain themselves (Declan loves playing in his exersaucer - a total lifesaver!) Joe gets home around 6 and we eat dinner shortly after.
Post dinner we usually head straight to the park where Joe and Ez play together while I walk laps with Declan strapped to me. We usually spend about half an hour there then head home to clean up, bathe everyone, and relax.
Ez and Declan both go to sleep at 9. Declan was waking up only once or twice a night, but in the past week it jumped up to 4 times. Probably another instance of fate laughing at me.
On Fridays we pick Joe up from work and go out to dinner as a family then walk around, check out some shops, play at the park, and just unwind for the weekend.
Weekends are for exploring and we always like to get out of the house and do stuff together as a family. Now that we're in a brand new area there's so much stuff we wanna check out and our Bay Area bucket list seems to grow daily.
This season of life with multiple littles is just so much everything. So much fun. So tiring. So many laughs. So many tears. So many cuddles. And most importantly it goes by so fast. I know when I look back at this in a month or two our lives and routine will be completely different and I'll probably be laughing at the whole poo bath/door straight to the face memory. (I may have had to turn away and stifle laughter at the door slamming incident right when it happened. Does anyone else's kids injure themselves daily, or is mine just extra accident prone?) I probably won't ever find the bronchitis or molars funny, but by then hopefully it will be a distant memory.
A lot of people have asked how Ez is adjusting to Declan, and for the moment his views on big brotherhood are a mix of emotions. He's curious, affectionate, and every now and then he can be persuaded to share his cars (aka, he lays them gently on Declan's chest for half a minute before he hurriedly takes them back). He has a fascination with touching Declan's face, which isn't Declan's favorite thing in the world, but it could be worse. He's also extremely jealous of all the time Declan spends on mommy's lap, but that was expected. So for a two year old, I think he's handling all these changes like a champ.
Joe has been working from home, so most of our days include lots of couch-time snuggles while we avoid the midday heat. My favorite part of the day.
We're settling into a nice routine of morning and evening play dates so Ez can run off some energy while Declan naps in the stroller.
Some of our favorite ways to cool off this summer include splashing in the water table or the hose, pretending to wash mommy's car, froyo dates, the splash pad, and evening walks.
And that pretty much sums up our summer so far. Since I feel somewhat comfortable in our routine, that means it will change again soon. Like tomorrow. Parenthood has a way of always keeping you on your toes ;)
I've already mentioned quite a few times how helpful Joe has been this whole pregnancy, but I think Ez deserves some credit too. For a toddler, (I'm pretty sure calling him a high-energy toddler is a bit redundant, but that he is), he's been making this whole pregnancy fairly easy on me. He can't quite climb up onto the counter to make his own lunch just yet, but aside from needing to be fed several times a day he's a fairly independent little guy. So here's a little list of a few things I really appreciate about him:
He entertains himself for hours on end. It's seriously amazing. He already has a great imagination, and will narrate things as he's playing with his cars. I have no idea what he's actually trying to say, but I'm pretty sure he's got a super entertaining scenario going on that would be absolutely captivating if only I spoke toddler fluently.
His attention span has grown by leaps and bounds. I know I mentioned in my pregnancy confessions that Cars (the movie) has been a lifesaver, but I'm honestly still a little shocked that he'll even sit through a feature length Disney film. Perhaps watching it daily is overkill, and I sometimes question whether he's been brainwashed by Disney, but from what I've heard from parents of Frozen fanatics, that's pretty much par for the course once you've got kids. (And the answer is yes, we've all been brainwashed by Disney. There's no resisting their magicalness.)
He's started reading his books to himself. Usually this only takes place after we've read it together 20 times in a row, but hearing him narrate the story in his cute little toddler voice is pretty much the sweetest thing I've ever heard. Oh, and did I mention that he now sings to himself constantly? I take it back, listening to him sing nursery rhymes is actually the sweetest thing I've ever heard. ABCs, Wheels on the Bus, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star are the current faves. He can already carry a tune better than I can, and it never fails to bring a smile to my face. Also, it blows my mind the amount of info he soaks up and retains. Toddler brains are incredible.
He follows directions surprisingly well. He'll pick up his messes and fetch me things within his reach, and trust me, I take full advantage of both those things. I'm sure he goes around telling all his friends how much work it is having a parent ;)
Lately he's been giving me all kinds of extra snuggles. Maybe he senses that his time as an only child is coming to an end, or maybe he's picked up that mommy now struggles like a beached whale just to get off the couch, but whatever the reason, I'll take those extra snuggles and I'd bottle them up if I could.
Aside from Ez's easy-going and independent nature, here are a few things that have been getting us through these last few weeks:
puzzles (the peg board kind)
books (anything involving vehicles of any kind)
the Cars & Planes movies
his water table
coloring books
That's pretty much our daily life lately. I feel bad that Ez is getting a little jipped in the parent department lately, but he's taking it all like a champ. And my parents are coming into town tomorrow, so soon he'll have plenty of doting grandparents to entertain him while I continue the baby waiting game.
I was in love with Ez's wild curls. Brushing out the giant tangle of knots on the back of his head? Not so much. Also, nobody ever mistook Ez for a girl until the last few months, then suddenly everyone started telling us how pretty she is. Even wearing superhero shirts and light up Cars sneakers, he'd get mistaken for a girl. That doesn't really bother me, and usually I wouldn't even bother correcting them, but it was just one more sign that it was time for a haircut.
I found a cute kid's place with the car chairs and toys and hairstylists who were experienced at dealing with a squirmy toddler. I figured I'd make his first haircut experience fun and then he wouldn't mind going again. Wrong. Ez did like the car chairs, and the toys, but as soon as the stylist sprayed water on his head he lost it.
Judging from these photos, you'd probably think it was a decent experience, maybe average at worst. No. Ez acted like she was cutting off limbs with every snip of the scissors. There were giant crocodile tears and "mom, how could you let her hurt your baby" accusing looks. There were escape attempts and genuine terror on his face. The whole experience was way more traumatic than shots, mostly because it took so much longer. The only reason I don't have any pictures of him crying is because I had to put my phone down and try to wrangle him to sit still since there were sharp objects near his face and he was flailing around, trying to grab the scissors out of the stylist's hands. Fun times.
We managed to get through it in one piece by filling his hands with as many car toys as he could hold, and substituting them out for new ones as soon as he started to lose it again. In between I managed to snap a few non-crying shots. Priorities.
At the end he got a certificate saying how brave and tearless he was (lies) and he got to pick a toy from a giant shelf filled with all kinds of dollar store toys. Of course he cried again because he only got to pick one toy, when clearly he needed two new balls to add to his collection at home of 500 balls. (I swapped them both out for a toy airplane/air-pa when he wasn't looking.) And then he cried when we left. Of course. Apparently he'd decided he was a fan of the place and wanted to stay and play with all the toys.
From here on out Daddy buzz cuts Ez and baby bro's hair. I'm not falling for that cute car chair ploy ever again. So much for the fun experience I was anticipating.
Afterward we both needed a pick me up so we stopped by Barnes & Noble where I got to browse a stack of best sellers and Ez got to play with the toy trains. Win/win.
How old was your child when they had their first haircut? Did they love it or hate it?
It's been awhile since my first Toddlerville post, and if there's one thing about Toddlerville, it's that the landscape is constantly changing. Toddlers like to keep you on your toes. One day they love something, the next day they hate it. So here are 5 new, updated ways to know when you're in Toddlerville.
1. If you've ever scooped up a Gumby-like, protesting child who has collapsed into a heap of Jello on the floor of a public place, then welcome to Toddlerville. This is pretty much a rite of passage. Bonus points if you successfully accomplished this while pregnant, because I can speak from experience that it's no easy feat.
2. If you're suddenly aware just how many things in the world are not lickable, and you find yourself saying things on the daily like, "Don't lick that basketball that 20 other toddlers just touched (and licked)" then you're definitely living with a toddler. Good luck, because the amount of unlickable things they still manage to lick is pretty disgusting if you stop to think about it too much. Somehow they survive though.
3. Getting dressed every morning has gone from a simple 2-minute affair to a rousing game of tag, where at least one person is thoroughly not enjoying the process (usually me). Once a certain toddler is caught, he reverts to the Gumby-like position I talked about in #1, which makes getting pants on super easy.
4. You put way more thought and practice into making animal and motorized vehicle sounds than you ever thought possible. If they gave out degrees on how to make elephant sounds, Joe and I would both have Masters by now. Well, Joe would probably have his Doctorate, because Ez has decided he's the top elephant trumpeter in the house. He's basically certified to give lessons now, if any of you are looking to improve your elephant sound game. He also does a good lion, goat, and airplane. If it puts a smile on a fussy toddler's face, there's no shame in pulling our your best choo choo train in public. #happytoddlerhappyparents
5. Despite the physical rigors and public embarrassment that happen daily in Toddlerville, you find yourself saying I love you at least a billion times a day. If a casual acquaintance or a co-worker put you through all of this, you'd most likely block their number or start looking for a new job, but somehow a toddler manages to pull this off and still comes out looking like the cutest, sweetest, cuddliest little person on the planet. It's a mystery of science how one person can be so simultaneously exasperating and completely lovable, but only a toddler can pull it off.
And, while we're on the topic, here are a few of the most recent #reasonsmysoniscrying:
- It's time to brush his teeth
- It's time to stop brushing his teeth (I think we can all agree toddlers are hypocrites)
- It's time to get dressed to go to the park/Gymboree/anywhere
- It's time to leave the park/Gymboree/anywhere
- It was actually not a good idea to leap face first into the hardwood floor
What about you - any crazy toddler moments to share this week? What's the most embarrassing public meltdown you've dealt with? It's nice to know we're all in this together!
Lately I've been reading up on helping a toddler adjust to becoming an older sibling, and I really liked the advice in this article. She gives 8 different tips, and all of them are great, but #6 really stood out to me. As far as pregnancy hormones go, I haven't gotten super emotional at all this pregnancy, but then I read this, and it got me all teary-eyed:
6. Let the toddler still be a baby - Little Man still loves to be the baby. When he gets of the tub he asks to be swaddled and rocked like a baby. Every. Single. Time. I have chosen not to take that away from him, because he will always be my baby. I never want him to feel like Princess has replaced him in anyway. Even though he may not be able to put it into words, I feel like when he holds his arms up to me and asks to be the “baby” what he’s really asking is if I still love him the same way that I used to. He’s making sure my love has not changed. He’s my big boy, but he’s also my baby and he’s free to alternate between titles as much as he wants.
Part of me wants Ez to stay my baby forever. I'm sure all parents can relate. Of course I do want him to grow up and be independent and successful and happy, but I'll miss all the snuggles, and the cute toddler way he talks, and being there for all the major milestones of his life. So if he wants to stay my baby for a little while longer, even after baby #2 arrives, I'm all for it.
After reading that article, I realized I really want to cram in as much one on one time as possible in the next few months, before we go into the sleep-deprived, reclusive newborn phase this summer. And what better place for some one on one time than a mommy son date to Disneyland??
Love this boy so much!
Since we have season passes and we're only about 40 minutes away, I figured that'd be a fun morning outing for us. We got there, rode three rides, had lunch (aka, fruit and a cinnamon roll), and then headed home in time for Ez's nap. Added bonus: since we were only there for a few hours I parked at Downtown Disney and only paid a few bucks for parking, so it wound up being a super cheap date.
I'm sure you've all seen this video floating around the internet. If not, go watch it now, because I'm sure every parent (especially the stay at home ones) can relate. It's hilarious, and also slightly depressing because it's true. That video is pretty much reason I try to cram in any chores while Ez is sleeping, which means not a whole lot gets cleaned around here. A few chores Ez likes "helping" with are laundry and sweeping. He actually is somewhat helpful with the laundry: I hand him clothes out of the washer and he throws them into the dryer. But this is what happens when we try to sweep together:
In case you're wondering, that stuff you see flying through the air are the little bits of dirt and dust I'd already swept into a pile. And then, a few minutes later, while I was getting dinner ready, this happened:
Apparently Ez's armchair was a bit bland, so he spiced it up with the entire contents of a salt shaker he swiped off the kitchen table. First of all, when did he get tall enough to reach stuff off the table? And secondly, why is he the one crying about this mess? I took "his" salt shaker away and told him the salt doesn't go on the furniture. A complete meltdown ensued, which only got worse when I brought out the vacuum to clean the mess up.
By the way, you might have already seen that photo last night on Instagram, with the hashtag: #reasonsmysoniscrying. Going through all the other photos on instagram with the same hashtag was pretty hilarious and comforting. A few of my favorite reasons why these kids are crying:
- I pressed play on a movie he picked out.
- the "toothpaste tantrum" : He sure did think the toothpaste tasted good.
- He hated his Everglades outing because we wouldn't let him get down and play with the gators.
- I offered him a piece of cheese.
What are some of the funniest meltdowns your kids have had recently? Sometimes it's nice to know all moms have been there.
It goes without saying that you pack an extra change of clothes pretty much every time you leave the house with a toddler. If you're thinking worst-case scenarios, you'll probably pack two. Not to mention clothes for whatever possible weather change might happen. Whenever my parents take Ez for a day trip to Disneyland, I usually send him off with a duffle bag full of "essentials" and they question how long I expect him to be gone for. This weekend we took a mini family getaway and spent one night in San Diego. One night and Ez wound up needing 5 pairs of pants. Five pairs! How is that possible, you may ask? (Though I'm sure you already know, if you've got a toddler.)
The first pair gets soaked in poo less than halfway through a two-hour drive. Along with the carseat, of course. After a make-do wipe down of the carseat, and a new pair of pants you're on your way again. Check into the hotel, smell poo, check diaper, and find poo creeping out the diaper and up the back. Now down 2 pairs of pants and 1 shirt. Not to mention having to handwash the carseat cover in the hotel sink and dry with a hair dryer.
The next morning, while at breakfast, there's another poo explosion, which means we're on our last pair of pants for the trip. With the way things have been going, we don't want to gamble on that last pair of pants lasting the whole day, so we stock up on two pairs of clearance pants at Target.
Next stop: the zoo. About twenty paces away from our car, on the way to the zoo entrance, Ez dumps a full cup of water all over himself. Now we're onto one of the emergency, recently-purchased pairs of pants, as well as another top. So, to sum it up: Ez has worn 5 pairs of pants and 4 tops in 24 hours, and we're down to our last emergency pair of pants. Thankfully the clothing catastrophes stopped there, but the amount of clothing changes that kid went through was unreal. We kept joking that he thought he was presenting at the Oscars or something.
Here's my basic list for Ez and I. I thought for sure I was overpacking on Ez's part, and it turns out we needed more!
Probably should also mention that parents are often caught in the crossfire with these poo explosions, so Joe and I should have brought an extra change of clothes as well. Live and learn. How much do you usually pack on a typical outing with your kid(s)?
Despite all the crazy messes, we really did have a great time! Expect lots of zoo and food pictures in the near future.
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