I love picking E up from daycare. I love opening that door, spotting him and waiting for him to look up. That moment of recognition is the best. A grin spreads across his face, and he will book it across the room toward me. It doesn't matter what's in his way - toys, books, other babies - he'll climb right over.
The other day, though, was a bit different.
I'm not sure if it's on a commercial or TV show or the radio.. but someone has been playing "My Favorite Things" lately. And so it's been stuck in my head. Which has lead me to want to document what E's favorite things are lately. Because I'm sure they will change, and just the fact that he has favorite things are amazing now. For so long he was just a baby. Now he's developing opinions and it's just too cute.
Is time moving at warp speed lately? I've always felt like summers go by quicker than winters, but given that we still have snow in the forecast and I'm already feeling like time is slipping between my fingers, I'm a bit worried.
Take Easter for example. {How/When/What!?!?} Yeah, that pretty much describes how I feel about it. It came out of nowhere and then blew past me super fast. All of us being sick might have had something to do with it, or the fact that it was early this year, but WHERE DID EASTER GO!? Ever the practical one, I just decided that it was still here and took E's Easter pictures last weekend. Close enough, right? I'm not sure he was on board with the idea, though. Sure he humored me for a bit in the beginning, mostly because I was bribing him with puffs, but as soon as I tried to lie him on the ground he decided he was done. Oh well.
Recently I pointed out a few things that haven't changed, but now I want to talk about things that have. Things that are new and different around here lately!
New Tricks
Some times it seems like E doesn't change or learn anything new for a few weeks, and then there are weeks where he learns a new trick every hour. All of a sudden you're watching him and saying "Wait, since when does he know how to turn pages in a book??" And then you scoop him up and smother him with kisses because you're so proud and he's so squishable!
Recently I was looking at a post from a year ago, and I started laughing at how much it sounded exactly like our life now.
Maia checking out all the baby stuff? Check!
It's pretty funny how quickly she'll jump on something if she thinks it's for the baby. Her favorite spot is still the changing table, although she'll take just about anything she can get. And that car seat she wouldn't test out before? Officially taken over. We had a baby gate delivered the other day and before it was even out of the box, she was jumping all over it, claiming it as hers.
I've been going through a hard time at work lately. The powers that be have decided to change, well, pretty much everything about the way we work. People have gotten new jobs, teams have been split up and regrouped in different configurations, and the physical space has been transformed. Which means I've been working in a construction zone with people who aren't sure what their job description is anymore, or where they even sit. It's a bit.. chaotic.
Oh have we got it.
Poor Bubba's had it pretty bad. He was fighting off a virus for about a week, but seemed happy. Then came the puking. Oh so much puking. At daycare. At home. On me. On the bed. On the floor. Everywhere. Just when he seemed like he was getting better, he got hit with another virus/cold. Suddenly he wasn't eating, not acting like his self, all stuffy, and hit with a fever.
Nick Names: Bubba, Sweetness, Love bug
Height: 28 inches (Estimated - No doctor's appointment)
Weight: 19.5 pounds (Estimated)
Special Outings: Still going to count the trip to Florida, since that was also part of this month
Visitors: Alice and family, plus we went to visit Grandma and Grandpa!
Loves: Exploring, playing with friends, trips to Target, his moo cow, mooing, the kitty
Hates: Throwing up, being hungry, not being able to sleep when he's tired
There's a reason parents will give a knowing smile when people without kids, or parents-to-be, say they'll "never" do something.
And maybe you won't. You'll have rules and routines and will stick to your convictions. And then one day you'll find yourself in a new place, on vacation, and routines will go out the window. It will be late and everyone is tired and crying. You'll be at the end of your rope and you'll think...well maybe...
Yes it's easier to leave him home. Let him stay with Tom while I go hang out with my two favorite ladies. Two on one, big people to littles. It's a lot less hectic, a lot less tiring.
But.
The look on their faces when they see each other? When they realize that this wasn't just a normal outing, that they get to see their buddy? Pure joy, happiness and excitement.
I don't want to talk about it. Nope. I'm so over it, so done with it, I just want it to go away. So I won't talk about how since my last post, we got another storm which dumped 30+ inches of snow. I also won't talk about how today we're supposed to get ANOTHER storm today. I'm ready to jump back on a plane with a baby and run to Florida because I would rather deal with flying than shoveling at this point. I'M DONE!
So instead, I'm going to focus on a few small moments that have happened lately.
In case you were wondering how much sand a baby will eat before deciding it's not edible.. I don't have an answer for you. We never got to that point with E! Eventually we were able to distract him with pickles and oranges, but I swear that kid would have sat in the sand eating fistful after fistful.
I'm not sure where he'd rate the sand on the list of things he tried while in Florida, but I think I'd put Florida farmer's markets at the top. We spent one afternoon eating our way through one, and I think I'd gladly go every day if I could.
Despite declaring that I was done with winter, especially after a week in sunny Florida, winter has decided it's not done with us. In the form of some pretty big, back-to-back storms. First there was a wind and rain storm that knocked out a lot of power and flooded many areas (although we were mostly fine). Then there was a mini snow storm, but the snow melted by the time I got home from work. That wasn't that bad either.
E's been having a rough time lately. I think he's finally entered the separation anxiety phase. (Thanks Wonder Weeks for telling me it was going to happen back in December and making me think we'd skipped it entirely..)
It's weird for all of us, because it's not his personality. He loves strangers! He's independent! But he also needs to be touching us at all times now. But still running across the room.
There's something I love about family vacations. Especially low key ones with not a lot of plans. I'm talking the rent a house and go to the beach type vacations, as opposed to exploring a new city, every day has an itinerary type of vacations.
Something happens when you have that kind of time to spend together. To eat meals together, to get to know each other's quirks, to just be together. You get the moments that end up being my favorite memories from vacation. Not the baseball game or the children's museum or the beach - as fun as those might be.
While it wasn't his first Sox game, it was his first visit to Fenway South for spring training. You know we couldn't let a trip to Florida pass by without a Red Sox game!
The whole week was full of new experiences, big crowds, and schedule changes for E. It was a lot to take in, and sensory overload for sure. We did our best to make sure he still had some sort of a schedule, and got enough sleep, but he was still overwhelmed at points.
Allow me to completely skip over our vacation for a minute, an answer the question that everyone really wants to know: How did we survive flying with a baby?
Not easily.
While it worked out pretty well, and I haven't ruled out flying in the future, it was something I spent a lot of time thinking about and planning for. I always find I handle situations better if I've run though every possibility ahead of time, so that when something does happen, I don't have to think. I just react. And I've got everything I could need at hand, so I can do it quickly.
I alluded to it in E's nine month update, but we recently went on a BIG TRIP!
Now this wasn't what I would have considered a big trip, pre-baby. In fact it was a trip I've made many times with various people. My parents go to Florida every year for spring training, and so I've visited them there multiple times. With cousins, with best friends, with Tom... Easy, quick trips.