June 25

I just got a second wind, so I'm going to try for one more catch-up blog post tonight. You'll remember that we arrived at our destination late the night before, after a long day of driving. Sadly, my children still have no grasp of the concept of sleeping in after a late night, so they were up at 6:30, like always. Since we were all in one (really, really large) hotel room (suite, actually, but that didn't help), I couldn't risk letting Lily wake the others when she woke in the night to nurse. That meant that when she woke up to eat at 1:30 in the morning, she ended up in bed with me (and Chris, who gamely shared the queen-sized bed), nursing all night long. Some people love the co-sleeping, bed-sharing thing. I do, up to a certain point. Honestly, this mama prefers to sleep BY HERSELF. (Or maybe with my handsome husbando, but this is a family blog so I won't discuss that further.) So it was a rough night for me. Lily, however, was perfectly content until Caleb and Daisy woke up at 6:30. Then she was awake, too.

We breakfasted in our room (I made these oatmeal packets at home, and they were perfect for a hotel room with only a coffee pot and a microwave!), and then went to visit my grandparents in their condo. Grandma was having her weekly coffee date with friends, but Grandpa, my mom, and my aunt Deb, who was visiting from Oregon, were there to entertain us. We hadn't been there long, when Lily decided she was tired. 

Exhausted, in fact.

Oh, it's so terrible to be a baby, and she let everyone know it.

So I did the only thing I could do: I wrapped her up in my wrap and walked back to the hotel to put her down for a nap. I hated to do it, but I also hated to subject my family to a very-tired baby when I knew how to fix the problem.

Girl was asleep before I had even walked one block. 

While Lily napped, Caleb and Daisy had a lovely visit with my family. Chris kindly took some pictures for me.

I love this photo of Caleb and Daisy eating some melon with their Great-Grandpa. Even though I wasn't there, I can tell that he is clearly telling a story that Daisy finds hilarious.

Then Caleb found a dragonfly.

Or did Grandpa find it? Who knows. But they were both interested in it.

Grandma came home from coffee, and my mom was thrilled to re-introduce her mom to the kids. The last time we visited, Caleb had just turned two and Daisy was two months old!

Chris snapped this shot of Grandpa welcoming Grandma home, and I think it's pretty special. Grandma's memory is failing her pretty quickly, and her trip out to coffee with friends was a big deal.

And then Caleb showed Great-Grandma his dragonfly!

It looks like they enjoyed each other. Caleb definitely enjoyed Grandma and Grandpa's binoculars! Their new condo overlooks a lovely lake, so there's always a lot to see.

I'm not sure what Deb was showing Caleb and Daisy on her phone, but I can tell from Caleb's face that it was interesting! Daisy's face... well, Daisy made that face a lot this trip. I suppose being three, and being in unfamiliar situations, and being away from home, and not sleeping well meant that she took a while to warm up to most of the family. We saw lots of grumpy, unfriendly faces from her. 

Chris brought the kids back to the hotel for lunch, and then Mom and Deb joined us at the water park. I was too busy having fun to take pictures, but it was a really special time. Caleb was brave and tried a water slide... and loved it! He must have ended up going down that slide at least 30 times. Deb even went down the slide with him once!

After the water park, back to our room to change into dry clothes. I realized I couldn't find Lily, and I momentarily panicked, until I saw two little feet peeking out from behind the curtains!

Peek-a-boo!

Daisy thought it was hilarious.

June 24

We are finally back home from our trip to visit my grandparents, so I'll be working diligently to get the blog all caught up with vacation pictures! I only have the energy for one post tonight, and even that is questionable, so please bear with me.

Grandma and Grandpa live in a small town that's about 8 hours away, when one is driving with normal human beings. When one is driving with small children, all bets are off. Because I had to drop off diapers for the diaper study we're doing, we couldn't leave town until nearly 10 am. That meant that, after only two hours of driving, it was time to stop for lunch. Boo.

Luckily, I packed enough food to feed my family for a week.

Even luckier, we happened to find a lovely roadside park almost immediately after we decided it was lunch time.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch, and then Chris and Caleb played some baseball while Daisy finished eating and I nursed Lily.

Caleb spotted some lilies in the distance, so Chris picked one for our Lily. She was appropriately appreciative.

And then we got back in the car and drove. On and on and on we drove. By 6 pm, we were about an hour away from our destination, and we needed to stop for dinner. I googled the next town to see what our dining options were, and discovered that there was a Village Inn. Poor Chris' heart nearly skipped a beat at that news; in our college/newlywed days in Oklahoma, Village Inn was a special treat for us after a long night of waiting tables at TGI Friday's. We both have fond memories of Village Inn, but there are none within 4 hours of our house, so we were willing to make a slight detour to eat there. 

When we walked into the restaurant, I thought that the couple entering before us looked familiar. The gentleman held the door for us, and I knew he was familiar. As we perused the menus, it hit me: that couple looked just like my mom's cousin Judy and her husband Tom! But Tom and Judy live in Minnesota, and we were in Iowa. There was no way it could possibly be them.

But the resemblance kept bugging me.

I texted my mom, asking her if there was any reason they might be in this small town in Iowa, and she thought it was possible they might be there. So I approached them, and it was them!

We hadn't seen Judy and Tom since our wedding, nearly 12 years ago, but there they were, at Village Inn. It was such a crazy coincidence! We had a nice little visit, and then were on our way.

We finally arrived at our hotel around 8 pm, after 10 hours on the road. The kids were so excited! Really, I'm not sure if they were more excited about the flash on my camera, or about the fact that Chris let them ride on the luggage cart, or that we were finally out of the car, or that the hotel had a water park attached.... They were just excited.

And Chris and I were exhausted.

June 23

Today was a hang-out-at-home day, with one major exception:

Caleb's first kickboard race.

Our neighborhood pool has a swim team, and a kickboard team for the little ones. Caleb and Daisy have been going to practices for a few weeks now, and Caleb has really excelled. Daisy, not so much, but we'll blame that on immaturity. Tonight was the first home swim meet, and the culmination of kickboard practice was a kickboard race before the swim meet. Last night, Caleb wanted to skip the race. He was too nervous. 

Today, he was ready.

Knowing our kid, we got to the meet super-early so that he could observe and get his bearings.

Can you tell how nervous and excited he is? This picture melts my heart.

The little ones had "helpers" who pulled their kickboards down the lane. Caleb didn't have to worry about steering, just kicking.

Oh. My. Goodness. 

This boy had so much fun!

This was right before he finished the race. He was so happy and excited!

Once he was out of the water, Caleb asked, "Can I do it again?"

He was devastated that he couldn't go again because the swim meet was starting. Then he asked, "Did I win?"

Chris and I tried to play it cool, and emphasize that it didn't matter if he won, as long as he did his best. We told him how long it took him to kick down the lane (32 seconds for 25 meters), but he wasn't satisfied.

"DID I WIN?????"

No, buddy. You didn't win.

And then he cried. Poor thing. I suppose it was a double disappointment: he only got to swim one lap, and he didn't even win. This perfectionism thing is going to be hard to tame.

Lily, meanwhile, still has a fever. No other symptoms, just fussy, whiny, and feverish, with a bit of drool. I'd say it's teething-related, except that it's been  going on for three days now... 

Poor baby!

Blog posting will be light/nonexistent for the next few days, so be patient?

June 22

Lily ran a low-grade fever (around 101.6) all day today and the kids were exhausted from being out late last night, so we kept things pretty low-key today.

After church, Chris entertained the kids and helped the neighbors with their gutters while I puttered around in the kitchen, making food for us to take on our upcoming trip. Sometimes days like this are just necessary.

Chris read books to the girls while Caleb built with blocks. I love how Lily chose to lie on her back and roll around, instead of participating in the reading.

Did I mention we're using disposable diapers right now because we qualified for a diaper study? Hooray for that!

Caleb's block creation. He's exploring the concept of symmetry, which is pretty cool.

And this girl was just a stinker all day. So it goes. At least she's in bed now.

June 21

What a long, glorious day! Before you read this post, you should bop over to my friend Amber's blog and read her post and see her fantastic pictures about our fun playdate yesterday. She's such a talented photographer!

Are you back? I started the morning by going out to breakfast with some friends, which was just what I needed. Chris and the kids stayed home and played, and when I got back Lily had just gone down for her nap and the big kids were ready for lunch. Caleb was really missing Mommy, and feeling a little bit needy since he got to bed late last night, but I needed to get lunch ready. I had just read an article about how Babywearing can be great for big kids, too, especially ones with sensory processing disorders or other special needs. The close contact with their caregiver and the pressure of the wrap can do some pretty remarkable things. With this concept fresh in my mind, I asked Caleb if he wanted to ride on my back. He was thrilled!

That's my 40-pound almost-five-year-old rocking a double hammock in my linen wrap. He was so happy up there, and he cried when it was time for me to set him down. Amazingly, it wasn't painful or uncomfortable to carry him around; he didn't even feel that heavy! However, when I set him down my whole body seemed to spring back up a few inches. 

When Daisy saw that her brother was being wrapped, she wanted to go up, too. Chris is such a trooper - he willingly submitted to having Daisy wrapped up on his back. For him, I did a ruck tied at the shoulder with my short tablecloth wrap.

I love how happy she is! Poor Chris clearly thinks the situation is ridiculous, but he will do anything to make his daughter (and wife) happy. What a good man.

After lunch, Chris took Caleb and Daisy to the pool, and I took Lily grocery shopping. Lily woke from her nap with a low fever, which I hope is teething-related, so I thought it best to keep her with me. We got home right as Chris and the big kids returned, and Caleb and Daisy were exhausted. I put them both down for a "rest", knowing full well it would result in nap, then put Lily down for her nap, and we had some blessed silence.

After dinner, we hoped to see some college friends who were in town for the weekend. But before we went to see them, we crossed off an item on Caleb's summer to-do list: Turtle Park. 

Daisy was so excited to find a birthday cake at Turtle Park, and insisted on having her picture taken with it.

Caleb didn't want to have his picture taken with the cake, but I managed this shot with him off in the distance, running around the turtles.

As we drove to the park, Chris and I noticed some serious dark clouds to the north. They looked intense, but we hoped they wouldn't track far enough south to affect us. 

Wrong.

Just when the kids were really starting to climb and play, the wind started gusting cold and hard, and thunder and lightning came.

And like that, we had to leave Turtle Park. We seem to have a bad track record with that place, because the last time we went we had to leave really quickly because it was so cold! Maybe one day we'll actually get to play there for longer than ten minutes!

Our plan was to play at the park until Shawn and Rachel and their kids were ready to meet us for some frozen custard, but the storm threw a wrench in those plans. Since we were already on the road, Chris and I headed south to the custard place, hoping that maybe it wasn't storming there.

Wrong.

But we were already there, and we had already promised the kids custard, so Chris braved the storm and we enjoyed custard in the car.

Daisy is crazy-eyed because she had ice cream two nights in a row.

Lily attempted to drive the car and eat Daddy's custard at the same time. (Don't worry, Mom. The car was turned off and in park. She wasn't actually driving.)

Mmmm... custard....

And then I remembered that there was a birthday cake at the custard shop, too! Two cakes in one day!

Aren't they cute? We didn't stay like this for long - wouldn't want to risk a lightning strike!

Finally, we picked up some custard for Shawn and his family and met them at their hotel. 

My husband is handsome, no? I love how my children are the only ones not looking at the camera.

We ended up leaving the hotel well after 9:00, and the kids didn't get to bed until closer to 10. That is a really late night for us! We are serving in the church nursery tomorrow morning, so I'm hopeful the kids wake up feeling like normal human beings!

June 20

Today was Caleb's last day of Sillygarten, and while he was at school, Amber and her kids came over to play. Caleb was thrilled that they were still there when he got home from school, and we had so much fun! I'm pretty sure the highlight for everyone was after lunch, when we filled up the baby pool and got out the sprinkler. The party really started rocking when we put the sprinkler at the top of the slide, and had a water slide in the backyard.

Sadly, I only got one picture of Michael and Caleb climbing up the slide while Catherine and Mary prepared to go down and Daisy supervised. Even sadder was that our happy, giggling, joyful children were so scantily clad that I probably shouldn't post that one picture here. There was also a diaper-clad Gussie in the mix, which brought things to a truly hilarious level. I wish I had thought to record the sound of the kids laughing, because it was the sweetest thing I've heard in a long time. 

But I didn't record laughter or take more pictures because I had this going on:

Sweet Lily (who weighs 18 pounds exactly) was playing in the baby pool. Since she's currently obsessed with standing whenever and wherever she can, I had to keep a constant eye on her.

I love that mop of hair! And I have no idea what's in her hand...

Amber and her kids left just as Lily was ready for a nap. Caleb and Daisy were occupied in another room, so I snuck away without telling them. Honestly, I just wanted to avoid having the "Can we watch something while you put Lily down?" battle. So Lily and I crept off to her room, where I put her down for a nap. When I returned, I found this: 

Two happily exhausted children, reading to themselves. 

I love it.

Daisy got really whiny, so after a while I told her to go back to her room and rest. Surprisingly, she listened! Thirty minutes later I went back to check on her and found this: 

Sound asleep, on top of her covers, using her giraffe costume as a blanket. It was absurdly sweet. Not absurdly sweet? Waking her up for dinner. She shrieked for a solid ten minutes. Yikes!

After dinner, Chris had a work event. The kids and I were feeling frisky, so Caleb called my mom and asked her to meet us for ice cream. I was too busy wiping chins and hands to take any pictures, but we had a lot of fun. Grandma is still Lily's very favorite person, which is absolutely hilarious. After ice cream, the kids and I explored the riverfront. We came across a grove of pink day lilies, and Daisy was so excited!

"OH! Lilies! I LOVE lilies!"

Do you want me to take your picture?

"Oh, YES!"

Funny girl.

June 19

Sheesh! It has been a busy week for us! Today alone we had school for Caleb, a MOPS playdate, kickboard practice, and book club for me. Luckily, I managed to sneak in Lily's 11-month birthday pictures. They didn't turn out super-great, but given our limited time, I'm fine with that.

A picture of Lily standing/cruising was a must; it's all she wants to do these days! 

(And yes, that's her amber teething necklace around her ankle. We keep it there at night, and I must have forgotten to remove it! Whoops!)

Hi, sweet girl! I love how the light in our dining room creates that dramatic black background. It didn't look anything like that when I was taking the picture! 

 

There's a silly Lily smile! 

And here are her 11-month stats. I didn't get to weigh her today, so maybe I'll add that info tomorrow. My guess is something just over 18 pounds.

June 18

We picked Caleb up from school today and headed out for another picnic playdate.

This time, we got to play with my friend Jill and her sweet baby, Naomi, who is a month younger than Lily. I was worried because it was 95 degrees out, but it ended up being just perfect. Jill and I sat with the babies in the shade on the beach while Caleb and Daisy played in the sand. It was breezy and lovely, and I think I might want to do it again every day.

When I started trying to take this picture, both Lily and Naomi were trying to stand. It was so funny to see both girls doing the same thing!

I brought some pinwheels to entertain the babies, and Naomi loved them!

I gave the big kids some watermelon, and Daisy exclaimed, "OH! THAT'S a special treat!"

This is her making a watermelon rind "smile".

 

Caleb did one, too, but his watermelon had sand on it. So did his water bottle. Everything had sand on it.

And Lily chewed on my necklace.

Goodness. Her wild hair!

Oh! Now it's a watermelon frown!

Daisy did it, too.

And this girl? She practiced pulling up to standing over and over and over again. In this picture, she pulled up on my knee, then began licking my leg. It was both gross and hilarious.

Also, do you remember yesterday's post, in which I lamented that she was making me crazy with the night waking? Today I discovered why.

She has a tooth!

You can kind of see it in the picture above, though it's not in the shiny-white-tooth stage yet. It's more of the crack-in-her-gumline phase, and if I press my finger down I can feel the sharp ridges. Tomorrow is her 11-month birthday, so I'm excited that she finally has her first tooth! It's funny that her only teething symptom has been having a hard time falling asleep. Maybe that amber necklace is working, after all!

And then she got my phone. I love how she mimics me! It's especially appropriate because my ridiculous introversion means I never actually talk to people on the phone - I only text them. So the girl only mimics texting, not talking.

"What? I can talk into this thing? No way!"

And Caleb practiced climbing trees. He was pretending to be Tarzan. Funny boy.