Taking Xander to Chuck E Cheese

Since we are kicking it on the west coast and have no relatives or friends to visit Xander for his birthday, we decided to take him to Chuck E. Cheese's as a special birthday treat. Chris was surprised that Xander knew what CEC's was but I assured him that Xander had only heard it as a sponsor for PBS Kids and has no idea of what goes on there.

None the less, Xander was excited the entire ride to CEC's and was convinced, when he saw the building, that Chuck lives in a castle.

We tried to eat first but Chris had to keep yelling for Xander to eat his pizza. It was noisy, he had to yell. We were almost worried because Xander loves pizza but would barely turn for the flashing lights by the stage area to take a bite. One thing did get his attention though.

When we did finish eating and were all cleaned out, Chris leaned down and asked Xander if he wanted to play games. "Yeah!" was the enthusiastic response complete with jumping up and down in excitement. It's a good thing we put him in a pull-up.

Let me put in a side note here: no one told me that the dress code was mini-skirts and low cut shirts so I felt a little overdressed.

Anyway, Xander had a great time playing all sorts of games. Sometimes he got what to do:

Sometimes he had no clue what to do, but tried to win with great exuberance.

But with Dad's help, tickets were won.

Our prizes included a rubber duck, a silly straw and two Tootsie Pops.

I was a little disappointed that there was no ball pit for the kids. I know, they are disgusting and dirty. That wouldn't have stopped me from tossing the lights of my life in. There wasn't much for Josie to do, we mostly walked around. She did freak out a little when Chuck came by but didn't actually cry. Josie did ride plenty of the vehicles and Xander joined her for one last ride.

Look at their expressions, it cracks me up.

There was birthday cake when we arrived home, so everyone went to bed happy.

Happy Birthday Xander

Today Xander is 3! We woke up at 7am and opened presents.



First was a Diego backpack, which fits just fine.



And a T-ball set...


...which is loads of fun!



We then went for a morning hike with our new backpack loaded with books.



Now off for our first Chuck E. Cheese trip.

Story Time goes bust

Xander has loved going to the library and to Story Time so that is one of the first things I've looked into here. It would have other kids for Xander to interact with and maybe I could find some moms to pal around with (there seems to be predominately nannies and grandparents because both parents have to work to afford this area). I discovered that there is actually a Children's Library here so I was all excited.

We arrived Wednesday morning just before the library opened at 10. Well, Story Time also starts at 10. As we waited the entire yard of the library filled up with nannies, grandparents and even a few moms, all chasing the little ones around the strollers parked everywhere.

I did think that Xander looked a little older than most of the kids but since he is bigger than the average 3 year old (more about that later) I didn't concern myself with that. I was concerned that he said he had to pee and the library still hadn't opened. As soon as the doors were unlocked I was second through the door asking directions.

After the rest room we headed into Story Time, which is in the picture book room. It was packed! Parents and kids everywhere! I nudged Xander and told him to head up front and I looked around for carpet space for me and Josie. Normally Xander would race up front, hug the librarian and have a seat. Since Story Time had already started ("If you're happy and you know it...") I hoped he wouldn't hug the librarian.

In an unexpected turn of events, Xander burst into sobs and latched onto my legs.

Let me tell you, Xander has no 'stranger danger' (which is something we are working on). He says hi to everyone, he hugs the kids in line at the store, he will join in any game already in progress - including grown men playing soccer.

So I stood there for a couple of beats, completely shocked by this behavior. Then I remembered that there was a room full of people still singing ("...stomp your feet.") So I picked Xander up and hussled him out. Which is hard to do when holding Josie and a diaper bag and Xander is limp and sobbing.

He sat on a footstool and calmed down. And he adamantly refused to go back into Story Time. I can only guess that he was surprised by it being different and so full of people. So we wandered around and got the lay of the rest of the library. We headed out to the car, buckled up and, as I put the key in the ignition, I hear "Mom, go to Story Time."

We'll try again next week.

On a side note, the ages for the Story Time here are very different from home. I didn't even think to check. Toddler Time (which is what we went to) is 18 months to 2 year and PreSchool Time is 3 to 5. So Xander is on the border, which is why he seemed so big. This almost makes me nervous about going to PreSchool Time because it is for children a little older than him. We'll give it a try and I will let you know.

Flying

If you are all caught up, you know we just arrived in California this weekend. We've been trying to prep Xander and Josie for the big move. Well, Josie doesn't really get it. She knows things are different and she knows she doesn't like it and she knows the best way to communicate this is to scream. However, I can have two-way communication with Xander and took steps to help him adjust.

One thing that I did was talk up the airplane ride. We had it marked on the calendar and for the last two weeks we would count how many days until we flew to California. Xander already loves airplanes (and trains and helicopters and fire trucks) thanks to Hard Hat Harry, so he was very excited by the idea of going to the airport and getting on the airplane. He would walk around with his arms out and beg to go to the airport.

On the big day we were fully prepared with a bag of new toys, most of which did not make noise. There were sippy cups and Goldfish crackers and little cups to hold the crackers. I did forget the bibs, but the world didn't end so we moved on.

We arrived at the airport in time to enjoy breakfast looking out the window at one particular airplane. Xander spend breakfast standing in his seat saying we need to go on THAT airplane. He did start to get upset when the airplane left, but we talked him down by explaining there was another airplane for us.

When we boarded the plane, Xander was allowed to step into the cockpit and say hi. He was so excited when he sat down, but Chris and I were too busy trying to figure out who would seat where. The first flight was a 2 seat-aisle-1 seat plane. Xander took a window seat, Chris sat next to him and I sat across the aisle with Josie (who still had no clue what was going on, but Mom was holding her so it was okay). We were then informed the baby could not sit on that side because there was only one oxygen mask. So Chris held her and I sat all by myself.

You can not imagine Xander's grin when we took off. We were going "really, really, really, really, really fast."

Josie's short attention span became even shorter after take off. We were actually letting her sit in the aisle and Chris would pick her up whenever someone walked by. It soon became apparent that she needed Mom again, so we did the great seat shuffle and trusted a nearly-three-year old to sit by himself. We proceeded to go through every book and gizmo in the arsenal to keep Josie happy. By the end of the flight she was just exhausted but would not fall asleep in our arms.

She fell asleep as soon as we were off of the plane and had her in the stroller. We went and ate and headed to our next flight hoping to get seats switched. Two seats were together, the third seat was several rows back on the 3 seats-aisle-2 seats plane. We arrived at the gate to find that they had already boarded nearly everyone. So we had to ask the nice lady in our row to move (and she had already moved, I had guilt).

The second leg was definitely harder. Josie's nap wasn't long enough and she would go from happily playing Peek-a-Boo with the people behind us to needing to be walked up and down the aisle in a blink of an eye. And I won't even go into all of the diaper changes. By the end of the flight even Xander was squirming and whining because he didn't get a nap in either.

When we arrived we were happy to see all of our luggage and quickly strapped in the kids' seats to the car and set out. They were asleep within minutes. So Chris gave me the tour of the town and we headed to our temporary home.

Update!

See my blog!

Camping at Starved Rockzzzzzzzzzz

We went tent camping last week at Starved Rock State Park in Illinois. We left extra early Wednesday morning (5:40 am) with the hope that Xander and Josie would sleep on the ride there. No can do's-ville, baby doll. The ride was supposed to be 6.5 to 7 hours, but we just took our time and took lots of breaks. That didn't help Josie much, once she gets upset in the car it only goes downhill. Her attitude, not the car. The car was mostly flat because we were traveling across Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.


When we finally arrived, we set up camp. No problem! Except that the poles holding the tent up are suddenly breaking. But they'll last three days, right? Yeah. We didn't have to cover the jutting edges with shoes so that holes weren't poked into the tent. Really! (Too bad there is no photographic proof.)

My parents and sister came along but opted to stay in a hotel. This worked out great because there was no pool for the campers but there was a pool in the hotel and every day was about 90. They did come and visit for dinner each night and I'm sure that had nothing at all to do with the s'mores.

The first night was a little rough. Josie had trouble falling asleep (sorry to the teenage campers next to us), I was a little ill due to lack of sleep and stress, and the raccoons were crazy and maybe a little rabid.

We pushed our cooler and bins of food under the bench of the picnic table so animals couldn't get into them. This is what we have done on other trips and occasionally there are little, muddy paw prints on the lid of the cooler. I guess this bench was a little higher because the raccoons were making a lot of noise. Chris pinned the cooler lid down with some candles, but that didn't stop the raccoons from trying to dig through the bench to get to the cooler.

I also found part of the tortilla chip bag on the ground. And a little later the lid to the baby formula. There was formula everywhere in the one bin and I had just opened it, so I was ticked! At around one am, I put every bin that had food into the truck. The next day we discovered there were hot dog buns and marshmallows missing. No wonder there was so much hissing and growling in the woods. It was scary.

The next morning we woke up bright and early (thanks to Josie) and were able to horse around for a while.


Then we went hiking. We went on an 'easy' hike, so Xander walked and Josie rode.


The first trail that we tried had so many bugs that Xander actually freaked out a little. Most of the bugs were right at the height to fly in his face. We tried a different trail and the view was spectacular.


That afternoon Chris took the napping kids back to the campsite while the rest of us checked out the chainsaw carvings near the lodge. While it's not the most moving or complex art, I'm always amazed how someone can make a sculpture, let alone one make with a whirling, hacking blade.


That night was more campfire food, but we added pies to our repertoire. I think they would have tasted better with white bread but Chris was in charge of groceries and bought wheat. He still enjoyed them.



On the second day we went on a more challenging hike, so both kids rode. This was especially good since we were mobbed by mosquitoes. Even with bug spray on I managed to collect six new bites when we stopped for a drink. On the way back through that area I was just "Move, move, keep going. He fell down, he's left behind, forget him now!"


We had lunch, the kids napped and then Chris and I left the kids at the hotel and went out together. I'd planned for us to see a movie, but that didn't work out. So we sat at Applebee's and watched some huge rain storm roll through and wondered about the tent. When we got camp there was mild damage and the tent was still standing despite some big trees that had come down at the campground.


However, Saturday morning was all a steady rain. Poor Chris had to pack up camp while I hung out in the tent with Xander and Josie. After everything was packed, we made the slow ride home. At one point we just pulled over at a park and let the kids burn off some energy.

The upside of this trip is that it finally has Josie into the routine of sleeping through the night again. I was worried that Xander would throw fits and want to sleep in the tent but he's ok with the excuse that the tent is still wet (we are still airing it out in the garage). Overall, it was a good trip. It really helped to have some family there to play with the kids, thanks Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt T!

Second thirst different from the first

Ok, just to warn you, this is a post about breastfeeding. Not that I'll be graphic, but if you are squeamish then begone.

I don't think I really mentioned it, but Josie (like Xander) is a breastfed baby. And, as if I haven't emphasized it in other areas, she is very different from her brother. Xander would always latch on and have his fill. Now he is that way with food. Seriously, I'll set a plate in front of him and turn around and it will be gone. Unless it's vegetables.

Josie would always get distracted while nursing. She'd stop and look around and then realize she was still thirsty. It was a little frustrating for me because I would think she was done and get put back together and then she'd start rooting around. Even now with bottles she will drink half, put it down and a minute later start "Baa, baa"ing looking for her bottle.

One thing about me was that I was a lot less embarrassed about nursing in public. That's probably a good thing since Josie always wanted fed when we were out. Especially at church. Although I have to admit I was pretty embarrassed the time I had to nurse her at church with three of my students within a six foot radius. Other than that, I was ok with draping a blanket over my shoulder and taking care of her. Of course then she became good at dragging the blanket off so she could look around.

Now that she is a year old, I'm working on weening. She has some formula a few times a day and sits down to meals with us, where she'll down some food and play with other food. I mainly nurse her at naptime, maybe bedtime and when she wakes up at night. And any of those are more for me because I need her to sleep and not that she needs the breast milk. Oh, and we go camping next week so I figure nursing will be the easiest way to get her to sleep while we are in a tent. Is that selfish of me?