• A California driver I am not.  They go so fast.  And I know you all think I am an aggressive driver, but I'm really pretty lax. At least comparatively I am.  I mean, these people are in a rush.
• We should have kept the Range Rover to keep up with the Jones.  People here have money I guess.  But with premium gasoline at $4.50+ and that car getting 11mpg, we're doing just fine with one car (with 100K miles on it) Maybe that's what I'll get for my birthday.
• There are a lot of snails here.  Which means there are a lot of dead snails here. And i hate them,  and Bobby is fascinated with them. 

Good post nap bedhead. He's been sleeping like a champ

• And I'm just going to put this here, more for myself, although I don't think it applies to many items, I will be sharing my wishlist/registry/birthday list soon...Through April 12, get $10 off every $50 purchase of select in Amazon’s Baby department with coupon code baby2012

Just a reminder this kid has parents

23 Weeks

We went to Boston for a wedding for 2 nights and Bobby stayed with Grammy and was a good kid.  I personally think he can't handle too many adults at once and that's part of the reason he acts up.  (Sometimes it's just attitude) They shopped and went to church and the Science Center and played a lot.  We are very lucky to have a Grammy.  Bobby didn't miss us at all.

We are moving on Thursday! I think I have Bobby updated on the plan, I just don't think he knows it's a one way trip.  But he does like love planes, and he likes saying "California."

And in the "You get what you pay for department" file Ricks flights.  Raleigh to Boston to Las Vegas - $264.  But on American - and there was no plane leaving RDU so he missed his connection at JFK.  Then leaving Boston they cancelled his flight from JFK to LAS, so he got in a lot later and had another delay in LA. He is staying with Carolyn, then hopefully getting our beds and some toys out of the container before we get there later this week.

Bobby often says I love you too.  Without it being said to him first, so we say I love you three, I love you four and so on.  But today he said, "I love you number one."  Close enough.

Somebody woke up at 3am this morning and trotted into my room as if it were 7am.  After a pee break, downstairs of course, I got him back into my bed.  This is what it looked like by morning.

He has probably helped Grammy get ready once too many times                                    

His own idea and application

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Another ultrasound, more unclear pictures.  Baby was still on his stomach or something, so they couldn't see a ventricle, but I'm going to assume he has it.  One more check next week to make certain though.

When Bobby saw this picture, he, who did not go to the ultrasound, said "there's mommy's fat belly."  I do regret calling my belly fat or chubby, because he says that now.  He does like to rub it but doesn't get it at all.  He has said Cora is in there and that the babys name is Bobby.

I got this snapped before he could cover his face.  We made pizza for dinner, but he wouldn't let me take a picture of it either,  but he was very proud of it and had about 8 bites.  Point was, his hair is very very short, especially at his bangs, but it's pretty cute and will grow back. He looks like a totally different kid. 

A little brag

Bobby is the best at going to sleep.  I can say this because we all know he was the WORST for the longest - and that's probably my fault (which is another post all in itself).  He was actually super good early last year, books, song, cuddle, dump him in his crib, lights out, done.  Then we went to the beach in August,  he slept in a big bed, we got home and he started climbing out of his crib. We got him a big bed, but then I had to lay down with him until he fell asleep.  Which meant I did too, especially in the first trimester.  This went on way too long and we never got better at it (sometimes 20', sometimes 90').  Then we'd had enough (by January!) and did a little sleep training.  It worked like a charm. Maybe a week or two of 5 minutes of crying or whimpering, and there was a lot of sad and pathetic "i don't want to sleep alone" "i want you to stay with me" but eventually, just lights out, see you in the morning.  Now though, he seems to be really into it. And it can be 7:30 or closer to 9 (oops) but now although he always asks for one more book, we say no, you've had them all, and he says, "go out that door" "bye" "love you too" and chipperly pulls up the covers.

Likes his warm gear that we have no use for

But not to hide our warts, he is otherwise a holy terror.  I don't know if it's the moving adjustments catching up, or Rick coming home after a month, or this cold/fever he's had on and off for a week, but we are ready to give him up for adoption.  Maybe he's just realized he's two and has free will and the power to use it.  He says no all the time, he is so difficult and pissy. He can't handle us all at once and really just picks one favorite adult and lets the others have it.  Grammy might be in for a treat when we go out of town next weekend. And if I dare get mad at him back, he puts on this fake super super nice act, trying to cheer me up and be cutesy.  No joke.  We are in trouble with this one.

Mean face. Oh yah, we chopped his hair off.

And he throws stuff a lot just for the sake of making a mess. And when he gets angry he likes to take a swing at you, which we unfortunately think is funny, but we're not messing around with that.  He is so short tempered and must have his way.  It's not easy to explain his quirky pissed off-ness, but boy when he was feeling bad from being sick, I was done with him.

"I want to beep my forehead"

When he was really sick for about 8 hours, it was really pathetic though.  But I do feel bad about that last paragraph.  Of course, he is really cute too, just not sure which moments are dominant right now. But we went to church today and he was great.  Very quiet and still.  We went up for communion and he asked "why did mommy get that?"  I said it was a long story, but he said he wanted a chip too.  And he puts his jazz hands up at the Our Father.

We are very tired

Thursday: 4am - "I need a tissue"
Friday: 5am - "I need to go wee wee"
Saturday: 1am - fell out of bed? once he was already up i think, going somewhere...
Sunday: 5am = "That man took my train"

Why?

I was putting Bobby to bed and told him Wiley and Archer were coming over tomorrow
Where are they?
They're probably in bed already
Why?
Because they're good boys
B: "Archer's not a good boy"
Me: Why not?
"Archer drew on Grammys wall and floor.  Archer didn't draw on paper"

Oh yah.  I told him he was cheeky but Archer is still a good boy.  I am consistently amazed at some of the things he pulls from his memory.  I really like watching him grow up. His vocab is impressive, but even more so is how he uses is, like a real adult "Look at those beautiful flowers."  He really does ask why to every single statement I make.  I give him about 5 answers in a row best I can, but it eventually comes down to "because" or I just change the subject.  Because he seriously never shuts up, especially in the car.  And sometimes is literally just, bah blah bah bah ba ba.

I don't know if we need more books or he's just good at telling the end, or just a bit conniving, but 2 or 3 pages before the end of every story, he asks for 'just one more' before the story is even over.  I love that he loves books, (even though I have to read to him about 4 times a day) I also love that he takes them out of my hands to look more closely at them.

Back home for now

We had as good a trip to California as we could have.  I left Sunday, Grammy brought Bobby out on Tuesday. He was excellent on the flight and connecting with no stroller etc.  Same with me on the way home.  Somehow he slept for Grammy on the plane, but our naptime was right during our layover, but he hung in there - even on the flight where we had no window in the last row next to the engine.

A nap is a nap right?

We had the tvs at our seats even on one flight, but the only thing on was about 2 hours of Spongebob on Nickelodeon so we opted for half an ipad movie and playdough.

Once we got there, he was crazy happy to see Grandma and Daddy again.  Well, mostly Grandma.  He didn't go to the funeral, but did really well at the reception with 50+ people.

There was some of this. People hung out for a long time.

Sliding down the hill, I guess he was a little bored of the party

He did great again on the 7+ hour car ride down to Orange County - somehow his first legitimate road trip,  not including the drive from Michigan which we did in the middle of the night and he slept the whole time.  We got settled at Judys and did a quick day and a half of house hunting and somehow found a place.
Out there, you can have two of the three:  nice house, nice yard, or nice neighborhood.  We chose the latter two seeing as how weather is super nice, I figure its worth having a little yard to play in and have the doors open if #2 is napping or something down the road.  All the neighborhoods were nice, but some more planned and community like with playground and parks and such.  This is one is close to the harbor and beach and now I just hope that they are real beaches like outerbanks/topsail or even Santa Barbara and not just a sliver down the hill from a cliff.

In other news, Bobby is getting really big.  Not from food, just from the passage of time I guess.  All his pants are floods, so it better be shorts season soon.  I wonder if I should get his eyes checked sometimes...

Looking at his cousins,  closely.

 This is normal right?  Easiest trip to Target ever.

So pretty

So, on said shopping trip, we got some glitter markers with plans to make easter egg cards and other lovely crafts, but this is pretty much what happened...  It was entirely his idea and execution. 

Better than me with my left hand

In other news

Little Elroy/Elroyetta is growing well, right on track, a whopping 10 ounces.  Which is depressing since I have put on a colossal 10 pounds, or more. Definitely more.

He/she has all the parts in the right places.  I love my doctor here and he's even going to give me another ultrasound in March since the baby was moving/oriented the wrong way to check the right nostril.

Foot

Upside down

Circus

The circus is here and we were lucky enough to get great seats and go see it.  Bobby loved it.  His face was completely lit up. It was amazing to watch him.  He is also adorable when he claps.  He was a little more into the animals and clowns than the acrobats and other performers, but it was all very cool.

Good, but no Seigfried and Roy

Bobbys favorite part

You can't tell, but they got EIGHT motorcycles in there

 I do have a video of the motorcycles, but I don't want to get in trouble for posting it.  I might still, shhhhh...

YEAR of the DRAGON

It had sort of a dragon theme, but it wasn't super tied together.  While super cool, it was a crappy environment for taking pictures - obviously.

Friday night

Rick and Bobby played baseball
Archer and I made a cake
Grammy and Wiley went to church

I'd say 5/6 of us matched our personalities pretty well to the event.
(in addition, that's not fair to Archer, he's really not a fat kid with a sweet tooth, but he was a chubby baby and as a second child, he might as well be)

Saturday morning, we got had sausages and donuts for breakfast then packed off to the dinosaur exhibit at the Coliseum.  We could have used about 3 more adults.  Or sedatives for the kids.  It was comical trying to get a picture of the three of them as you can. But it was a cool exhibit. The bouncy houses and ride on dinos were $6  each in addition to the $9/kid entry. So we skipped them, duh. Plus the line was forever and it was full of 10 year olds (but somehow I think we could hold our own).

Next time, bright yellow matching shirts all around.

When kid3 decides he's done posing and walks away

Another typical attempt. 2 won't look, 3 won't turn around

Zoo

We went to NC Zoo on Saturday.  It's fairly close and the it was supposed to be sunny, so what the heck.  Bobby really enjoyed running down the paths and climbing in the mulch and jumping on the rocks.  I don't know how he wasn't more worn out; we brought the stroller, but he only really rode in it between North America and Africa.

Seals

 It wasn't too crowded when we got there at 11.  They opened at 9, but we wanted to give it a chance to warm up to see more animals (and let Rick sleep in) Most of the animals were indeed out, the polar bears were closed, and otherwise the North America part is pretty unremarkable.  Just bears really.

"Look at the elephant Bobby"

 We hiked over to Africa and the elephants, zebra, giraffe, ostriches and all were out. The rhinos were pretty far away, but the chimpanzees were very playful and near the glass.  Bobby enjoyed reading the map, or hiding behind it, I wasn't sure.

When we realized we hadn't taken any photos

It was a nice day, we spent a long time eating lunch of course, but were still in the car by 3, with a little nap on the way home. The worst part was that the ice cream stands were closed. Such a travesty.

Ice Skating

After two days over 60 degrees, it only seemed natural to go skating... I wondered what was the right age for it, but we just had to try.

Pretty excited at the prospect

 We got suited up in the smallest skates they had, which seemed to be the right size, but they were wobbly and only got worse on land.  But like an adult, the more you go around, the better you get.  They both got very comfortable and got going pretty fast.  Bobby would hang down to get more sliding on.  He would also run and pick up his skates.

Still excited, just wobbly

 We took a little snack break and then he decided he was done.  I thought he'd go for another round, but he said no. In the meantime they had blown some snow/crushed ice down a tiny hill for some sledders.  I thought they would have a little extra bit for little kids or those without sleds, but no.  Just the pathetic hill and hundreds of kids in line to go down it.  Not sure how long the snow lasted, but we were home before 7 probably, so we missed out on disco skate too.

Underway and getting faster

A very fun excursion.  $8 per person.  I would recommend it, but unless they can give adults spikes or special ice shoes, the ratio of stable adults to kids needs to be high. Or they could build in a handle bar at 3 feet tall.  If you can find double blade skates, I think a 5 year old could handle it on his own.  I got chatted up by a 6 year old and he was hugging the wall at first, but was pretty confident by the end (his Grandma was on the bleachers)

Future obstetrician

Help the baby, on Flickr.

I'd say he's ready for a litte brother, no problem

15 Weeks

How Far Along: about 15 weeks.  Baby 2 is sooo different.  I hardly know how far I am instead of knowing week, day, hour and everything about that stage.

Size of baby: 4", about an apple

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 6 pounds - so 5 pounds of thanksgiving and Christmas cookies and 1 pound of baby weight.  I'm told my face is that not that fat in real life.  Right.

Maternity Clothes: not yet, but I don't know what I'm waiting for.  I don't need them really, mostly because I spend a lot of the time in yoga/workout clothes, but by the end of the day when I wear jeans sometime I wish I had them.

Gender: I don't know and you're not going to either!

Movement: not yet, I didn't feel Bobby until 21.5 weeks

What I miss: Turkey sandwiches a bit. Diet Coke. 

Sleep: absolutely terrible.  

Symptoms: Again, no morning sickness.  I feel quite great.  What I am dealing with is some pain in my pelvis/back at my SI joint.  Pretty sharp pain if I lean back, lay wrong or want to roll over.

Cravings:   nothing, everything.  I do want a margarita though.

Best Moment this week: ?

What we are looking forward to: getting back on a good schedule in Greensboro; going to the Science center and seeing Dinosaur bones.  Regarding #2 - Napping?

January 6

Yesterday was the first day Bobby didn't ask about presents or Santa.  Until then, he would ask us what we wanted for Christmas. Or comment that there were no presents in the dining room anymore.  Or for the first several days after Christmas, that Santa was coming!

He is super funny theses days and it is cool to watch his personality and vocabulary continue to develop.  He says things like, I have a question,  or Nice to meet you.  He also puts his hand on your shoulder and cocks his head in sympathy and listening sometimes.

Spent the whole time avoiding eye contact

Spent the whole time avoiding eye contact, a photo by sld78 on Flickr.

But he did tell Santa that he was 2 and that he wanted "presents"

But while waiting in line, he told us he wanted balls and a fire truck. then he named all the reindeer.

But for Santa, he was near mute. But he did run up and sit on his lap promptly.

A few curiosities

• I literally have 2 diapers in my car.  We are going to have to risk it one of these overnights...
• Bobby had a night terror the other night.  I think it was b/c he didn't nap that day.  It pretty much sucked. He was wailing then would just flop back asleep, then wail again.  He was oblivious to me and didn't talk to me.  It didn't last long thankfully.
• Bobby has been talking about ghosts and monsters and such.  they hide under his bed, in his closet, are coming to get him and stuff like that.  he hides from them, and says 'protect me'.  not sure where this all came from.
• luckily, his defense to that, and a lot of other things is to shoot them with imaginary water. full of sound effects.  i think that came from a combination of playing with a toy gun and seeing a lot of firehoses.  
• he is also into wrestling and pushing me around.  i think i can attribute (not blame) that to his cousins.  And being a 2 year old boy.  

We are getting into Christmas.  I wasn't going to play it up b/c it just creates more hassle for the move, but I have a two year old, so sort of have to.  And Rick is into it too, so it's on.  My decoration stash is still paltry, but I can bake and craft with the best of them.

I am ridiculously proud of my advent calendar everytime I look at it.  Way more than last year for some reason.

We did Toys R Us and Michaels today. God help us, but there were good sales (that everyone knew about).  But Bobby really was a trooper (Rick too) and seemed to enjoy shopping a bit (in a toy store - you think?) Unfortunately, this was him during tree shopping...

But he did like the toy guitar, and the mini piano a lot at the store.  And naturally all cars and trucks, but we had to squash that quick.

Just wait until we get our inflatables blown up!  Now how to explain to him that we only pull one link off the chain a day, and only put up one ornament...

Wish lists continued

Bobby
- a starter lego set
- Cars 2 from Vietnam
- slippers he will actually wear
- Etch a Sketch

Me
- running sunglasses to replace the ones Bobby broke
- camera to replace the one Bobby broke (I did actually return it to Costco within 90 days, but I haven't replaced it b/c I didn't like their options)