Road Trip 2010--Day 3

The reason we had decided to take a road trip to Utah in the first place was for my friend Esther's wedding.  Day 3 was her wedding day.  Unfortunately, with the boys so tired and things just being a bit bumpy, I decided it would be best to miss the sealing and spend time with my family.  I'm sad I missed it, but I'm glad that we were at least able to attend the reception that evening.

So, during the day we ventured out to Heritage Park.  Kai was most excited to ride the trains (there were two) and I was surprised when he quite readily got onto a horse for a ride as well.  We spent a couple of hours there seeing the sites, making crafts, and letting Kai play in the playground.  Once we were done there we headed in the direction of the hotel with the idea of picking up lunch to eat back in the room.  But before we ever got there, both boys fell asleep in their seats.  So, Reid and I spent some time driving around the valley to get the lunches we wanted.  We went through the Taco Bell drive-through and then drove several more miles to get Dairy Queen.  Yummy ice cream!  This started our Dairy Queen vacation extravaganza.

 Riding in the caboose

 In a Native American Tee Pee

 Panning for gold

 Steering the replica ship

 Riding the mini-train

 Trading in his gold at the bank (they give you tootsie rolls!)

 Kai's first ride on a horse

 Playing at the old western playground

 More fun at the playground

 "This is the place!"

Finn woke up in the car as we were headed back to the hotel and we woke Kai up once we arrived.  Then we fed everyone else lunch and decided to go swimming again.  Since it was now evening time, a Friday night, and the water slide was open (with lifeguards on duty) the pool was much more crowded.  We had been swimming for a bit over a half an hour when Reid spotted a little girl with a pretty nasty looking runny nose.  Within five minutes we were out of the pool and headed back to our room to get ready for the reception.

We made it to the reception and I was excited to see another old roommate and good friend, Amy.  We got to chat with her and her family a bit before they headed home.  Then, as we were getting ready to leave, I ran into yet another old friend from a BYU ward, also coincidentally named Amy.  It was so good to see friends and most importantly to see Esther and meet Brian.  Esther looked absolutely beautiful in her dress and so happy.  I couldn't be happier for her and her new husband.  She so deserves it!  Wouldn't you know that I forgot to take pictures!  So, you'll just have to click here and see if you can see her facebook pictures.

Day 3 was a good day and by the end, we knew our time in Salt Lake was up.  We were ready to move onto the next part of our trip--visiting Provo, BYU campus, and Reid's sister Kara.

Road Trip 2010--Day 2

So, day 2 started earlier than we anticipated and we were more tired that we had expected.  So, we enjoyed the hotel's great breakfast and rested in the room.  About mid-morning we decided to take advantage of the pool at the hotel and see how the kids would take to swimming.  Kai had never been swimming before, and neither had Finn. I had brought some inflatables with us and so we blew them up, got the kids ready and went swimming.  As we were arriving, the only other swimmers were leaving.  We had the place all to ourselves.  It was perfect for the kids' first experience.

At first Kai did NOT want to get in.  I took Finn in and he clung tightly to me and shook like a leaf.  I couldn't figure out if he was cold or scared.  We eventually figured out it was a bit of both.  After half an hour of Kai refusing to touch the water, he finally made up a game that got him in the water.  He would throw a ball in and then need to get in the inflatable boat to go get it.  That boat was the only way we were able to convince him to go swimming our entire trip!

After more than a good hour in the pool, we headed back to the room and out to get lunch.  We had lunch at Ruby Tuesday and enjoyed some of Kai's humor.  We were trying to decide between Ruby Tuesday and Applebee's for lunch.  When we finally pulled into the Ruby Tuesday, we walked in to get seated and Kai kept saying "Let's go to Apple Cores."  We chuckled and ignored him.  It's so funny what Kai thinks he hears us say!  After lunch Reid took Kai out to the car, where it had gotten quite hot.  He put Kai in the carseat and instantly Kai began to complain about the heat.  To complete the whining Kai states, "I know.  This game is called scratch me, hurt me."  Yeah, we were laughing pretty hard.

We took afternoon naps and then met up with my brother, Rob, for a trip to temple square.  We enjoyed the sights and catching up, and then we headed to dinner.  We walked to the Gateway Mall where we ate at the food court before heading back to the hotel for the night.  On our walk we ran into these Salt Lake City cops.  They stopped to give Kai a temporary tattoo and let us take a picture.  There were three of these cops all riding T3s.  It was kind of neat.

Road Trip 2010--Day 1

So, 8 days of vacation.  Here it comes.

We left the house on Wednesday September 29.  Our goal was to be out by 8am.  We actually got out at 8:15am.  Not too bad.  I was definitely proud of us.  The first part of the trip went very well.  We stopped for gas about two hours out, and then about an hour and half later we stopped for lunch.  We grabbed some sandwiches at Subway in Glenwood Springs and took the chance to change diapers and use the restrooms.  Then we were back on the road.

 What the kids looked like in the car.  We turned

Finn's seat around specifically for the trip.  Don't worry,

we have since turned him rear-facing again.

Finn had taken a 40 minute nap earlier in the day and so I expected his nap after lunch to go longer.  Unfortunately, I was wrong.  After another short 40 minute nap Finn woke up somewhere around Grand Junction, and he was not happy.  We tried to keep quite to let him go to sleep but he was not comfortable in his seat and not happy at all.  Finn's a tummy sleeper and so in the last several months he has not been a good car seat sleeper.  And this trip was not a good time to find out that he can't sleep in the car.  We pulled over in a small neighborhood right at the state line and did our best to calm him down and then kept plugging away.  Four hours later Finn was still awake and unhappy in the car.  It seemed that he spent a good portion of the last two hours crying.  I seriously was not looking forward to the ride home.  It was a long day and we were so happy to pull up at the hotel and get everyone settled.  We checked into the Staybridge Inn and Suites in West Valley and got the kids down around 8pm.

My set-up in the hotel room kitchen.  I had to have everything

ready for mid-night feedings and medications.  It was great to

have a refrigerator to keep formula in and a good place to wash

bottles, bowls, and spoons every night.

Another lesson learned this night was that the boys were not at all prepared to sleep in the same room.  At about 2am Kai woke up and claimed he was hungry.  So, Reid and Kai went into the living room to get some food (we had a two room suite) and Finn woke up.  We spent the next four hours of so alternating waking boys.  We eventually gave up and got up, exhausted.  Our decision to take it easy on day 2 was easy!

Eventful Week

These two boys keep me on my toes!  Last week was just very eventful.  I'm sure you don't want to hear all of the details, so I'll just hit the highlights.

On Tuesday we were out playing in the yard.  Finn likes to walk up and down the walkway to our house, despite the fact that I always try to steer him back to the grass.  I think he likes that there are stairs to climb at the door.  :)  Anyway, he was walking the walk and pushing a toy lawn mower when he stumbled and fell.  His face kissed the sidewalk and he you could tell it hurt.  I wasn't able to stop the fall, but I was there right afterwards to pick him up.  I could see right away that he was bleeding from his mouth.  I called Kai and we ran to the kitchen to try and assess the damage.  I couldn't tell where the blood was coming from and I couldn't get him to calm down.  I finally pulled out an Otter Pop and he calmed down to take a few sucks.  The bleeding slowed a bit and I saw a scrape on the side of his mouth and blood still from the inside.  I thought I saw some loose tissue in his mouth, too.  I decided that it was a mouth injury and like all mouth injuries it would bleed a lot and heal quickly.  So, I let it go.

On Wednesday morning we went into the toy room to play.  I immediately saw there was a mess that needed my attention and I didn't want the boys near it at all.  So I took them back upstairs, locked the gate, and ran down to spend the couple of minutes I thought it would take to clean up.  Well, I'm a wimp so it took a bit longer than I anticipated, but still within 3 minutes I hear a thud.  Turns out Finn managed to squeeze himself between the railings along the side of the stairs and fell.  According to Kai's eyewitness account, he fell the entire 7 feet to the landing.  I question that story, but can't really prove either theory.  I kept questioning Kai and the only decent thing I got out of him is "Mom, I think he can fly!".  Well, Finn seemed ok, but I still wanted him checked out.  So we got an appointment about an hour later at the pediatrician.  She said he was tough and just fine from the morning's fall.  She said the previous fall on the sidewalk was worse and noted that he had a torn upper frenulum (that little skin that connects your gums and your lip).  She says those tend to bleed a lot.  Yep, my shirt was covered!

Thursday was a slower day, thankfully.  However on Friday we had a playgroup date at the pumpkin patch.  It was the first day the patch was open and so things were slow and not quite as exciting.  Kai seemed to enjoy the hay bale maze.  Unfortunately in my run out the door (I'll explain that in a second) I forgot Finn's shoes, so the poor guy was stuck in the stroller.  And not happy about it!  It was so warm and sunny that Finn got a slight sunburn on his face.

The other Friday adventure was navigating the Similac recall.  Finn has loved his Similac from day one and I was quite nervous about switching brands.  I simply didn't think he'd take it at all.  So I talked to the dietitian at Children's and she suggested buying the liquid concentrate and then diluting to the strength that he needs (26 calories per ounce).  So, we ran out the door to find liquid concentrate.  Two stores later I realized that everyone else was having the same idea and we weren't likely to find enough of it to meet our needs.  So, back to brainstorming.  A friend (also a dietitian) calls and as we were talking I mentioned the formula debate.  She suggested trying GoodStart.  So, back to the store we went.  And wouldn't you know, he liked it.  He didn't even seem to notice that I changed things.  In fact, since he took to it so well we decided to try the Wal-Mart brand today (it's much cheaper) and he liked that, too.  So for the next four weeks or so, Finn will be drinking Wal-Mart formula.

Anyway, that was our eventful week in a nutshell.  There's more to come, but it'll have to wait until after our family vacation.  We're so excited to get going tomorrow.  Kai has been counting down all week.  I can't wait to see his excited face in the morning.

All About Finn

What do I say about the craziest 10-month old I've ever seen??!  Finn is absolutely a doll.  Our home teacher has said a couple of times now that "Finn is good for the ego."  He is such a happy baby.  He loves attention and will smile and reward you greatly for any attempt you take at making him laugh.  He has captured the hearts of all of the women at church and pretty much every man, too.  The most frequently heard comment is "He's such a happy baby."  And it's so true.  He's our smiley little guy who has the most determination.  Not only has he mastered walking, he can now turn in circles, dance, and pretty much run.  He even managed to climb up on the couch (without the cushions) and the bathtub yesterday.  I'm not kidding.  He's very independent and is good at entertaining himself.  But if I turn my back for 10 seconds, I may never find him again.....and when I do find him there's normally a disaster, too.

Finn is also learning to talk.  There have been several random words that we've thought we've heard him repeat.  He seems to have picked up on "bye bye", though.  I have heard him several times say "Buh" as Reid goes through doors and even once when Kai did.  I think he's saying "bye".  He also loves to make noises with his lips.  He will grab our hands and have us pat his lips or wiggle his lips as he makes noise.  And if we stop when he's not done, he will continue with his own finger.  He also has a tendency to blow raspberries on my arm when he's having a hard time settling down for bed.  Of course, sometimes I end up getting bit when he does that.  He has been biting a lot.  Maybe we have more teeth coming??

We sure do love this little guy!

Soccer

Kai had his first soccer class on Saturday.  He has been looking forward to this day for quite a long time.  I told him all last week that he had soccer on Saturday and we spent the days counting down.  On Saturday morning, I was a bit apprehensive about how he would respond once the day arrived and so I didn't say anything right away.  While we were in bed with Daddy, I asked Reid to watch the kids so that I could go get ready to take Kai to soccer.  I said it quietly with the thought that maybe Kai wouldn't be listening.  Instead, he turned towards me and asked what day it was.  When I said Saturday, he excitedly yelled out "Soccer!" and then insisted on running to get his jersey and get dressed in his soccer clothes.  He was ready an hour beforehand and kept telling me that we had to go right then.  He was so excited.

Kai did well at his class.  He listened to the coach pretty well and did exactly what she said.  He loved having a real soccer ball and being on the field.  He struggled with some of the instructions and I realized that we definitely need to work on his flexibility and coordination.  But I guess that's what the class is for.  He stayed actively involved in the class for about 35 minutes and then his attention began to wane.  I had to pull him back onto the field several times in those last 15 minutes, but overall he was great.  He LOVED going to soccer and told me that he had a great day.  I'm so glad he had so much fun.  Next week Reid will take him so that he can play soccer with Kai, too.

Kai with a soccer ball.

Warming up--stretch way up....

then touch your toes.

Coach Sarah told them to sit right by her.  Kai took that quite literally!

Learning to stop the ball with his foot.

Scoring a goal.  Then he had to go get his ball.  There was a big pile-up.

Telling Coach Casey that he lives by I-25!

The YMCA cheer at the end.

All About Kai

Kai is growing up so fast and we love him so much.  I've been wanting to document a few of things that he is doing these days, so please just indulge me.

Kai LOVES numbers and counting.  We've been working with him on basic math and he's pretty good when he focuses.  Like any other 3 year old, Kai has a tendency to throw out answers or say "You tell me", which is his version of "I don't know."  But when he really concentrates, he does know the answer.  He also loves playing on the computer.  His favorite websites are Sesame Street, Thomas and Barney, and Playhouse Disney (in that order).  We also have a game on our computer, Purble Place, that he really enjoys.

This summer Kai has learned to pedal his tricycles and drive his plasma car.  He has also jumped on a trampoline for the first time, and has mastered climbing all the way to the top slides at the playground.  His vocabulary is still fantastic and growing.  His imagination is much better than mine has ever been and he has started asking the questions that can drive parents crazy.  He loves learning the names of roads and will proudly tell you that he lives next to "the big road called I-25."  He loves to talk and tell you about what he's doing and he still loves to give hugs.

 Kai with the "plant" that he planted last week.

We have decided not to enroll Kai in preschool this year.  Instead, I am looking for activities and playdates to make sure that he socializes about once a week.  Our first activity is soccer.  He had his first soccer class this past Saturday and absolutely loved it.  (There will be another post on that.)  He has also expressed interest in music and gymnastics classes.  Actually if you ask him now, he will tell you that he wants to take football class next.  Ha!  I told him he had to be 6 for football (flag football at the Y) and so then he decided that basketball will be next.  Another Ha!

Kai has had days in the past month or so that I have decided must be "be a big boy" day in his mind.  Out of nowhere he brought me a regular plastic cup instead of a sippy cup one day, and ever since he's been ok with drinking out of a cup.  (He used to throw fits about it.)  He also has had 2-3 days in the last month that he has wanted to wear underwear instead of diapers.  Those days we have stayed in and talked about the importance of running to the potty.  We haven't had any real success yet, but I have seen improvements.  Inevitably, he ends up in diapers the next day, but then he spends that day telling me when he has gone in his diaper.  There was even one night that he came into our room at about 11:30pm to tell me that he had wet his diaper and needed a change.  Seriously, that's huge for him!  The biggest change is that he has pretty much permanently dropped naps.  About twice a week when he is too cranky for words, I will force him to take a nap, but he won't fall asleep until about 2 or later.  Obviously we can't let him sleep too long at that point, but there are times when he just needs it.  But the other 5 days or so, he just goes and goes.  His bedtime is pretty set at 7:30pm and he normally sleeps until about 7am.  We do have nights when he gets up scared of the wind or other things, but he is pretty easy to put back to bed (most of the time).

Eating a hot dog like a big boy.

One of Kai's newest phrases has been "I say."  For example, he will tell me the demand of the moment and then add "I say" as if he's the king of England.  This morning I wanted him to play outside and he replies, "No playing outside I say."  Seriously, it's funny and obnoxious all at the same time!

We have had trying moments with Kai as he struggles with sharing my attention with Finn.  He lashes out at times and has hit Finn, us, and other kids with things such as toys, pillows, or just his hands.  He frequently knocks Finn to the ground and takes toys from him.  For a few weeks I was struggling with him and really having a hard time with his behavior.  I found myself wondering what happened to the little boy that I loved and adored and in those moments I realized that I needed to start seeing him that way again.  I need to look at Kai and see the sweet boy that I know is in there and treat him as such.  As I have done that over the last week or so, I have found the Kai that I love again and I'm so proud to be his Mom.  He really is a good kid and as I focus on that, the behavior seems to be getting better.  But it is a constant thing that we have to work on.

We love Kai so much and are so glad to have him.  He keeps us on our toes and certainly wears us out, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I'm so grateful for our loving little boy!

 Kai's line up of tricycles and his plasma car.  He calls this part of the yard

"Tumbleweed park."  Eveytime we go out to play, this is what he does.

I just love the colors in this picture.