We didn't have a great start. When Gavin was so sad about Dylan leaving on Monday morning, I made a split second decision to pack the kids up and go to the zoo to distract G and make him happy. It was really great...until it wasn't. Gavin had a meltdown on the playground. I was wearing a crying baby and had to carry him under one arm, kicking and screaming, while pushing the stroller. I had no plan. But things improved quickly when a kind stranger offered to bribe Gavin into behaving with some fruit snacks. Not the kind of lesson I'd typically like for him to learn, but I was much more interested in surviving the moment. I thanked the nice lady up and down, backwards and forwards, for saving my life. Experiencing the kindness of strangers is always uplifting. Then Gavin crawled into his baby brother's car seat on the stroller, insisting that he is indeed a baby, and we walked the 15 minutes to the car.
After that, we had a really nice week. We went to my parents' house on two different occasions where Gavin played with his cousins. Both times, they all ended up in the pool in their underwear. (Or diaper...for those of them late to the potty training game.) Gavin played with his cousins on a third occasion while my mom was babysitting across the street. This overlapped with an hour of G2's nap, meaning some peace and quiet...and sanity revival...for me. Gavin had a sleepover at Nonna and Papa's house on Tuesday night, and my mom met me with him at his swim lesson the next morning. Super convenient and a nice break from the bedtime craziness around here! G also hit up Dawn's house twice this week, and G2 and I visited the gym a couple times. One of those time, G2 slept for 2 hours in childcare. Thanks for the break, tiny baby! He is proving that he can indeed sleep on his own without being held for up to an hour or more. It's a real game changer...in the best possible way. Graham and I also enjoyed our regular Babymoon group and some errand running. And the best of all...our field trip to the dump on Friday morning. I had signed Gavin up for this a couple weeks back, and he was every bit as thrilled with it as I'd hoped he'd be. Graham slept or chilled in the carrier the whole time, and Gavin's mind was blown watching the trucks dump their loads and do their thing. He got to ride in three different trucks and even had an encounter with a street sweeper. I love doing things with him that I know he'll love.
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| The zoo crew |
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| Making our way to the car with my "baby" in his stroller |
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| But he got much happier when we got to my parents' house and played with his cousins |
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| Graham getting fresh with Selah at our Mom's group. She wasn't having it. |
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| We went to my parents' house on several occasions, and my mom watched G2 for me for an hour or two so I could get all my classwork done in one uninterrupted sitting, |
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| My dad's Maverick was parked in our garage for a few days, so G took G2 on a "ride." |
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| An overnight at Nonna and Papa's house! |
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| A chill morning with this sweet guy. |
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| We found a little time to play at home. |
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| Watching a show in the baby seat. I fear the baby phase will stick around for a while. |
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| Playing with Cruz. |
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| The dump! |
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| How do you misspell "Gavin?" |
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| G and Frank |
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| Mind = Blown |
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| Street sweeper! |
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| Honk honk! |
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| Overjoyed! |
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| Sweetest guy, back at my parents' house. |
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| Shenanigans with Cruz |
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| Brrrr |
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| Chillin' with my sleepy babe. |
We did better than I thought with Dylan gone all week, but I could definitely use a recovery nap tomorrow after being woken up six...yes six...times last night. As far as sleep goes, this week has been one of the worst. You know how I am about sleep. The amount I've lost is almost inhumane. But, it was nice to clean up only a fraction of the usual mess around here and also not care about what was for dinner all week. I also switched up my daily routine and showered at night when the boys fell asleep because it was so much easier than doing it in the morning. Plus, I felt like I could declare victory on the day when I could finally get in the shower. I rocked a top knot and yoga pants every day. I am looking forward to cleaning up my appearance and eating some real food, though!
On another note, Gavin's personality continues to evolve. Just when I think he can't get more spirited, he comes out with something else that makes me laugh. I don't love the fact that he protests just about everything I say, but that's a 2-year-old for you. My patience is tested daily, and sometimes I really lose it. Like, really. He loves to sing and asks me what every song is called that he hears in the car. He also asks me what each road is called and knows the name of almost every road on our usual route. Here is just a sampling of our conversations. We've had so many more, but I haven't been good at remembering them. I'm making a point to be better at this since it will only get more and more funny.
G: What is this song called?
Me: Little Lion Man
G: NO, it's NOT Lion Man!! It's Bunny Rabbit! I want to hear Jingle Bells!!
G: I want a jelly bean.
Me: I'm all out of jelly beans. Do you want an applesauce?
G: Yes. But jelly beans make me SO happy.
G: (on his monitor at 6am) Mom, get me out of here! Mom, it's time to wake up!
Me: (after ignoring him for 39 minutes until his OK To Wake! clock turned green at 6:39) Hey Gavin, good morning. How was your night? Did you have nice dreams?
G: My clock turned green and it's time to wake up and eat donuts.
Me: Gavin, if you're all done then you need to put your bowl in the sink.
G: (Runs to sink and chucks his bowl and spoon into it with full force.) Slam dunk!
G: Joey's a food truck ya know, he's always on the go.
(Joe is our dog, and Gavin sings this song he made up on repeat every day.)
Me: ???
G: Mommy, do you call me a chucklemaker?
Me: Hahahahaha, yeah I guess so.
As far as Graham, he is just a bundle of joy. I have him mostly figured out, and though he keeps me very busy, he's really only upset when he's hungry or tired. He does okay in the car, for the most part, unless we over-do it. Sometimes we clock over a 100 miles or more in a day, so he really is a champ. And such a smiley little guy. Sometimes it makes me so sad to think about how angry Gavin was as a little baby. I wish I could re-do it and help him feel better so that we all could have been a lot happier. I wish I'd known then what I know now. Oh well, we all just do the best we can, I guess, and I think he'll still turn out okay. Even though on most days I feel like I want to run to a quiet cave and sleep for days, I am actually really enjoying the heck out of these boys and smother them in kisses whenever they are near me.
I've learned that the key to making weeks like these as enjoyable as possible is to remain patient, be flexible, stay busy, keep good company and accept help. This isn't a job that anyone was meant to do alone. Man...I am so glad we made it to the weekend!
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