Hiking With Babies

Saturday was a perfect hiking day. Overcast with a slight breeze and temperatures in the high 60's.
As the title may suggest, the parents over-estimated their parental powers and supposed they could take a one and two-year-old on a reasonable 3 mile hike. The parents are idiots. 

There's a super-cool hike not far from us that ends, we are told, in a geological formation covered in Native American Hieroglyphics. I cannot confirm this report as we didn't get anywhere near close enough to tell. We borrowed a backpack for hauling S (thanks Stina) and put V in the baby wrap, and headed out. DH and I thought we timed it so the baby would fall asleep while we walked. We are, as I previously stated, idiots. After three different wrap-carries and liberal use of both pacifier and bum patting, we ended up just carrying the baby in our arms. Further complicating things was the toddler who kept saying, "I want down, Dad. I get out now. Go on ground!" And then, "Carry me!" Yep. So not even half way to our destination, we turned around carrying both kids and the kid backpack.
Ah, the lessons of parenthood. I learned if you want a good upper body workout AND cardio at the same time, take your babies on a hike. :) Oh, and take along some ear plugs!
DH and I have plans to return sans kids later in the week. Hopefully I'll have some cool pictures then.

Pretty Birthday Girl

My BABY is ONE. I'm not real sure how I feel about this. A little nervous, a little excited. But there's this strange tick-tocking noise coming from somewhere. Can you take the batteries out of your biological clock? I would really like to get both S and V potty-trained before tackling what are, historically, nasty pregnancies. Oh yeah, and finish my degree so I can go to work had have decent health coverage. Details.

I thought it would be nice to open some presents the night before, so Grandma could watch via web cam. The next day was already going to be a crazy zoo with family and yet more presents, so we had a nice little family moment...which S promptly ruined by "helping" to unwrap the presents and stealing all the toys. Ah, two-year-olds.

V has a pathological obsession with climbing onto things. Here she's climbed onto her present before opening it. Because, you know, it's easier to open something when you're sitting on it.














Opening the present she's sitting on...














Here's *most* of the loot. A pretty good haul for a first birthday!

TRAINS! TRAINS! TRAINS!

 








is in love with trains. After much investigation and debate, we decided the option that would have the least economic impact on our family was to ride the light rail. ($7 for both parents, kids ride free.) This is S waiting waiting for the train.

Here it comes! "I see it Mom!"

First look on board. Do you suppose it's what he expected?

The DH and wonderkins after the ride.
S is watching me write this post and is making "train" noises. "OOH OOH!"

Angsty Motherhood

Angst is: Nursing the baby to sleep and being ALMOST THERE, when the 2-year-old you've been begging and bribing through toilet training announces loudly from the next room, "I go potty Momma! Use my froggy! PLEASE!" Oh the dilemmas of motherhood. What's a mommy to do? Stop nursing and give up that precious 20 minute early morning nap, or ignore the toddler who, for once, is excited about using his potty?

What would YOU have done?

New Job

So the DH realized (finally) that he was being GROSSLY underpaid. His current company didn't feel the need to do anything about it, so M went out and got himself a shiny new job at close to double his current salary. Yep. That's not even the best part.

The best part is, he gets to work from H-O-M-E.

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Can anyone say free babysitting?? (Only during naps, of course. Who wants to go to lunch?)

We are busy re-arranging furniture to give him a space to work. It's probably going to be in the bedroom, but I'll just switch my nap location to the couch. No big. You know, for the one day a month I feel ahead of the game enough to relax.

In other news, I'm going back to school to finish my RN. The up-in-the-air part of that is WHERE. I'm rooting for Idaho...Since M can work from anywhere...

Toddler-isms

Are you shocked to hear from me? I know. I'm shocked to be posting.

Here are some of my cute S conversations.

Right after naps, he knocks on the door and says, "Hellllooo! I in here! Where you? Mom? Come get me? I IN HERE!" (Like I forgot where I put him.)

After finding an old(er) milk sippy, "UK! Mom! It's POOP in my mouth!"

Pretty much all the time when we ask him to quit whatever mischief he's currently up to OR when his sister is anywhere near him, "Stop do that!"

What he calls his sister, "baby". She's a year old, and he still can't say her name. That's funny.

Kids Update

V has discovered rolling as a form of transportation. It's an interesting experience to one day put the baby down on the floor, turn around for a second and go to pick the baby up again only to find her across the room. She's sleeping so well since she's started to move more! V hasn't quite got the hang of sitting, but she IS catterpillering across the floor in addition to rolling. I imagine she'll be crawling by mid-June. She's six months and 1 day old.

S has be so cranky lately. He's always cranky when he's sick. He does have his good moments. I fixed his breakfast one day last week, sat him down to eat and was leaving the room when I hear him say his own prayer. It was SO sweet. "Hebbenly Fadder. Dank you for meal. Dank you Mommy and my daddy, name of Jeesthus Crist, AMEN!" He also says another prayer for seconds. 

He likes going to splash pads. Aunt Di took him this last Saturday to a splash pad, and they both had a blast. He's also likes going ANYWHERE.  He tells me all the time, "Go Bye Bye Momma!" "Go Car!" Most of the time he doesn't like where I choose to go, though.  Also, he thinks he can drive. EVERYTIME we go out to the car he says, "I drive Momma!" I finally had to show him my driver's license and explain about that. I figured it was equally useless to tell him his feet wouldn't reach the pedals and this seemed safer. Somehow explaining that the pedals DID something seemed like a bad idea. 

DH and I are just the same as always. Daily grind and all that. The only thing new and mildly interesting is that I'm planning to decorate Matt's office in the next week or two. Yippy.