Picnic with Daddy

Last Friday Carly, David Jr, and myself piled into the van and headed south to Columbia.  Our goals for the day were to  A) survive  B) go to the zoo  C) have lunch with my parents and brother  D) not get sunburnt  E) return home in the same day.  Well we accomplished all of this AND Carly got a new lunch box that matches her book bag - both of which she plans to use this fall at preschool.  Over the weekend and for most of yesterday she carried them both around having a lot of imaginary role playing by herself and occasionally saying "preschool."  This morning she told me she wanted to use her lunch box for real.  I told her we would take it for a picnic one day when it wasn't raining and maybe we could have a picnic one day with her dad.  She was satisfied with my response and continued on with her play.  While her back was to me I grabbed the phone and sent David a text message about having a picnic lunch with us one day this week.  A few text messages later we were scheduled for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich picnic in his office's cafeteria for noon that day.

As Carly, David Jr, and I headed off to the gym I told Carly about our lunch plans - in hopes of speeding her up.  This absolutely made her morning.  She told EVERYONE at the gym about her lunch date that was scheduled for later on.  After the gym we came home and made our lunches and packed everything up. Once we arrived at David's office she told and showed EVERYONE her new lunch box.  We had a very short, but pleasant lunch with David and even got to see a few friends.  He was also able to show off both of his children to various co-workers.  Carly is definitely looking forward to using her lunch box again, soon.

Playing Together

I knew that David and Carly would not begin playing together as soon as he was born, but I was surprised to see it start today.  David was on his activity map and began kicking his legs.  This triggers music to play to help develop the idea of cause and effect.  While he was doing this Carly was bouncing around from toy to toy, not really settling on anything.  Unfortunately, every kick to the mat does not trigger music and David has not yet learned that each animal character sports the sensors.  However, when he would actually trigger the music to play Carly would stop what she was doing and begin dancing all around.  I encouraged her to move over some so that David could watch her dance.  David began kicking harder (maybe dancing too?) and smiling and cooing at his big sister.  This lasted at least 10 minutes - which is a LONG time in our world.

Carolina Raptor Center

Carly, David Jr, and I ventured out this morning with Carly's playgroup to the Carolina Raptor Center.  I wasn't really sure what to expect from our outing.  Carly recently has developed a fear of birds entering the house when we have our windows open and asked if the birds were going to get her when we discussed the trip this morning.  Thankfully she saw two of her friends in the parking lot as soon as we got there, and was all about following them.  She willingly got into our single stroller while I got David situated in the front baby carrier and we were on our way.  We saw a variety of rescued birds - various vultures, hawks, owls, and eagles were some of the "main" attractions.  Thankfully it was quite shaded and had a very clearly marked gravel path, so the kids were able to walk or ride and not get too warm.  At times they led each other (or really chased each other) from exhibit to exhibit and at other times they rode along.  Overall we were at the center for 2.5 hours with almost 2 of those hours being spent to look at the various exhibits.  Carly never got nervous about the birds and actually asked to go back another time as we were leaving.  The cutest thing of all is that she is currently talking about the Raptor Center in her room right now (instead of napping).

Within 30 Minutes

I absolutely love my 2.5 year old but did text Dave this afternoon and comment that she was up for sale.  We had a fabulous day, minus 30 minutes which I would love to completely erase.  It all started with me pulling her up on my lap to re-tie her shoe while we were at the vet's office for Jake's annual heart worm test.  She began kicking me and her brother's stroller.  This then landed Carly in time out while we continued to wait.  She was very, very angry at me over this and decided to have a potty accident in the car during our 5 minute ride home.  (The "on purpose" look was all over her face when I asked her about it.)  After I got everything cleaned up and unloaded from the car I realized that the diaper bag with my wallet and phone were still sitting in the front seat.  I returned to the car prior to changing Carly out of her wet clothes, which resulted in her locking me out of the house.  Thankfully, she wised up and unlocked the door after my second knock on it.  Thankfully this was the end of her negative behavior and our day returned to "normal" once she was done having time out and a fit in her bedroom.  

On a positive note about today - I decided to blow off some steam tonight by going for my first postpartum run.  I was able to run a full 5k in just under 34 minutes.  While my time may not have been quite what I would have liked, I did run a lot further than I had anticipated being able to go.  

A Door?

The past few days (or really 10 days) have been quite trying in our household - however last night won the prize (at least for the moment).  Carly was fighting bedtime and it quickly turned into a battle over who was more strong willed, her or her daddy.  We tried good cop, bad cop approach.  We tried talking to her in hopes of finding the underlying issue.  At points we have thought she had become afraid of the dark or us abandoning her.  We also questioned if she was regressing back to being a "baby" since when David cries at night we jump to his side.  However, the only major common thread in all of her break downs has been her desire for us to not leave the room.  Sometimes asking that one of us gets in bed with her or just sits with her.  At some point after 2:00am (yes, over 6 hours after it all started) Dave and Carly had a break through.  He for some reason offered to leave her door open if she promised to stay in bed and stop crying.  Well she did.  She at some point between then and 3:30am fell asleep - which allowed me to sleep until she awoke at 7:00am bright eyed and bushy tailed.  (David on the other hand slept from 3:30am until 10:00am.)

Well at nap time I thought I would resort back to our pre-David Jr. nap time and bedtime routines.  They had been altered slightly during the four weeks Carly was either away or we had company helping us and were much shorter than this lengthy routine, but I was DESPERATE and had read a ton of articles, blogs, and random advice during our 6+ hour battle.  A common thread was that sometimes older kids needed longer to wind down for bed when a new sibling arrives, may need extra cuddle time, etc.  I was willing to try it.  However, it didn't seem to help.  We had our typical nap time battle and I was struggling on my 3 hours of sleep.  Finally she asked if the door could stay open.  Out of desperation and being tired of her coming in and out of her room I allowed it.  Well it worked again and within 10 minutes she was asleep.  She took a 90 minute nap and only woke up because I refused to let her sleep past 4:00pm.

Tonight we went straight to the door resolution (with the LONG bedtime routine) and wouldn't you know - it WORKED.  She stayed in her room and didn't cry.  She didn't fall asleep immediately, but she did fall asleep on her own before 9:00pm.  (Unfortunately, David Jr had a hard night with his reflux so didn't get into a deep sleep until around 10:30 - maybe one night they will fall asleep close to 8:00pm and I will get things done around the house in time to be in bed by 9:30...)

Note - I fully anticipate this door trick not working tomorrow and it all just being a fluke.  

Out and About

Life is quite different with a second child.  With Carly we did not venture out unless it was mandatory for the first 2 months (if not longer).  A lot of precaution was due to the warnings we received from the pediatrician and nurses who were with us during our final day at the hospital and during our discharge and their fears of the H1N1 virus that was currently working its way through our community.  David Jr was born in the spring and has a an active older sister.  He has been out quite a bit during his first 5.5 weeks; however, tonight was his largest outting.

Today was a tiring day for our family, so Dave decided we would load up into the car and head out for a drive - hoping that both kids would nap.  Thankfully his goal was a success.  We drove up to Lake Norman State Park and checked out the swimming, boat launch, and camping scenes and the kids napped the entire time (except for when David Jr wanted to eat quickly while we were at the park).  These successful naps allowed us to have a fun evening out as a family.  The small town just north of us holds concerts in May through September twice a month and was hosting one tonight.  The weather was perfect for this outing - 80 degrees, breezy, and partly cloudy.  We had a picnic dinner, listened to music, danced, and even ran into our pediatrician.

Pizza, Pizza

This week was my first full week home with both kids (and it was only a 4 day week thanks to Memorial Day).  On Tuesday morning Carly, David Jr, and I had breakfast with some friends of ours playgroup friends.  The moms who had recently had a baby were all joking about how the day is much better when their is an activity planned for the morning, so as a result we were looking to fill our calendars.  This idea was in the back of my mind throughout the remainder of the morning.  We had plans for each day, except for Friday.  Then while fixing lunch I realized that we had most of the ingredients for homemade kid pizza and would be able to make more than one.  This gave me the idea to host a pizza making activity for today.

So for lunch today we had three moms, three two year olds, and three new babies (a 4 month old and two 1 month olds).  It made for quite the full and crazy house.  The toddlers and moms had a great time, and the babies seemed unaware of anything going on.  The mess was HUGE but manageable and left us all thinking about how large it will be when 6 kids are pulling out toys, instead of 3.