Sunday, July 31, 2011

15 months old

I thought I was being clever and proactive, starting this post the day before I left for my conference.  I thought hey!  I'll be kid free!  I will have all sorts of time to update my blog!

WRONG.

My hotel was VERY VERY far away and the conference started VERY VERY early every morning and my team hung out VERY VERY late at night.  So, no blogging for me.  :-P

That said, I did want to update you guys on how Callum's changed over this last month, because, if you haven't noticed, he's now 15 months old and a crazy bucking tantrum-throwing sunshiny-smiling running and terrorizing LOUD toddler!


Callum babbles a ton.  He loves to talk - but look at his family, starting with his brother.  So, I suppose it's not a surprise.  He's not picking up words as fast as we'd like (but then I have to remind myself, C'MON, he's FIFTEEN MONTHS!) so you know, he's doing all right.  ;-)  For the most part, I think this is his current repertoire of words: Dog, Hi, Bye-bye, [All] Done, Night Night, Bubbles, Dada, Ju(ice).

I've noted before that this month has been big with Callum wanting to eat his food on his own, using utensils (WHAT a mess folks).  And, he enjoys sitting on his potty (still with his clothes/diapers on, but how exciting!).


He's walking like a maniac.  Unless he's chillin' in the stroller when he's out with Dad for a jog or a walk with Mom, he wants to be up, out and exploring on his own.  Don't tie this little dude down!  He also LOVES to throw tantrums, arching his back and kicking his arms and legs with all his might.  And he is VERY strong!  I can't tell you how many times he's tried lunging out of my arms, attempting a deep dive to the floor to either get away from me, or continue screaming on the floor.  He lashes out so wildly that he's actually bucked his face BLAM straight into my mouth/teeth, which then gets him screaming for an entirely different reason.  What a mess - I can't wait for this phase to be done with.

We're still having some trouble getting him to sleep through the night.  He was starting to improve and sleeping through MOST nights of the week a few weeks ago (thank goodness since Jon was traveling so much!).  But, then he started having some terrible constipation which led to terrible soreness around his butt which led to his terrible skin infection, so I feel like we're back at square one again, with regard to getting him to sleep through the night.  *sigh*  However, he has been known to surprise us (it's rare, but it happens!) and sleep through the night and very late into the morning.  I think it's his way of helping us not completely topple over with exhaustion.


While Callum's attention span still isn't that long, he's really loving books right now - he'll go pick one out on the shelf and bring it to me, sitting in my lap (for a few minutes) while he points to the pictures and we talk (or sometimes read) about the book.  It's adorable!  Our little guy is serious, calm and observant but also very happy, all at the same time!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Date Night

Jon's work took everyone out to the movies tonight (Cowboys & Aliens, pretty cheesy and crappy btw). So we're spending the night at the swanky Westin St. Francis on Union Square and will be seeing Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City tomorrow. Should be fun! :)

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Loganism of the day

Can I have a hug and a kiss good-bye?

No.

Why not?

Because I'm allergic.


(Of course, later when I was leaving the classroom, he said but Mom, I love you and I miss you!)

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Butt hurt

Today, I took Callum back to the doctor's because he's still constipated but more than that, his poor butt is still red and sore and the prescription cream we've been using since last week seems to be helping but the raw redness hasn't completely gone away. Unfortunately the doc thinks he now has a bacterial skin infection, on his butt!, which means EXTREMELY painful pooping, peeing, sitting, you name it. Poor guy. :(

We got antibiotics, and instructions to do everything we can to soften his poop (like give him Miralax once a day), as well as give him lots and lots of baths to soak his bottom. Luckily, he LOVES bath time (in fact, he throws a fit when we take him out). Here he is, just after bath time, waiting for Daddy to bring his antibiotic for the night, before he goes to bed. I'm hoping all of this will mean he starts feeling better very very soon.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Happy to be home!

I like to think my kiddos are happy to see me too. ;-)

Friday, July 22, 2011

The Infamous Red Rocks Amphitheatre

At a concert tonight to close out the conference. Seeing Nickelback and Christina Aguilera. :)

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Fire and Ice

Had a nice time dancing my ass off tonight. Haven't done that in awhile!

Lunchtime!

Getting ready to stand in line.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

How do you feed 14,000 people at a conference?

This was my breakfast and lunch bag for the day. The green dot means it's a veggie meal. There were also A TON of snacks throughout the session today. And I just got back to my hotel after a huge dinner with my team.  Suffice to say, I'm STUFFED.

(And yes, that's no typo - there really is 14 THOUSAND people at this conference!! It's amazing in its size alone!)

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Waiting for a foul ball

Out gallivanting with the sales team.

Not exactly a stretch limo...

My turn to travel for work. Out the rest of the week. Hopefully nothing crazy happens for Jon to juggle while I'm gone. :/

Monday, July 18, 2011

Jungle Fever

Another one complete!

The Jigsaw Puzzle Master

A good 30 minutes of concentrated quiet time. I'll take it!

15 month check up

Time for another check up!  Callum's doing quite well, other than some nasty constipation issues that have cropped up recently. :( Regarding his growth, he's right on track as he's been, weighing 23 lbs (50%), measuring 32.75 in tall (90%), and a 47.5 cm round head. He got one shot which he was NOT happy about and some medicine for his poor bottom. Otherwise, a healthy well adjusted (and somewhat serious) kid!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Just another reason to love living here

Our neighbors threw a birthday party for their little girl who just turned one. Along with yummy food and great conversation, they had an ice cream truck! Any party with an ice cream truck is a fantastic party in my opinion. ;-)

The thing that's really cool about living here, besides the fact that all of our neighbors are super friendly and easy to talk to, is that there are a ton of little ones running around, all about the same age (give or take a few years) as Logan and Callum.

Groovin'

My little man, groovin' out to Bob Marley. :)

Friday, July 15, 2011

My evil plan to get my son to agree to babysitting tonight

Mom, are you going to work?

No, I'm going to see Zafu and Zabuton.

WHAT?!?!  But I want to see them!

Ok, well you can see them later.

No Mom. I want you to pick me up, after school, and take me to their house.

Are you sure? You want me to take you to their house?

Yes.

After school?

Yes Mom. That's what I said.

Ok. Got it. 



(Photo taken with his brand new British Airways model plane, a gift from Daddy who just returned late last night). :)

Monday, July 11, 2011

PitchCar

A new game Jon bought for Logan, which we've been playing each night after Callum is asleep. Very simple, easy and fun! :)

What do you mean, we must frequent Yogurtland a lot?

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Mammoth Lakes Adventure!

Last weekend, for the long 4th of July holiday, we made plans to meet the Cables in Mammoth Lakes.  We had a fantastic time, picking up on kid/parenting stories and gossip without missing a beat.

It's been almost a year since we've seen the family (our Hawaii trip was the last time our two families got together!) and they've had a BABY since then!  Trent is about 4.5 mths old, about the same age that Callum was when we traveled to Hawaii together (which is hard to remember/imagine).  :)


The Cables left super early on Saturday morning to beat some traffic and to allow their kids to sleep most of the drive - very smart (although butt-crack-of-dawn painful) - as it was a successful drive for them.  They got into Mammoth about noon or so.  We barely left the house around 11am!  Our drive was gorgeous (through Yosemite, anyway), but long and full of traffic, ~7.5 hours.  Logan was content watching one movie after another on the iPad.  Callum took a morning nap right when we took off, but was pretty grumpy when he woke up, wanting to get out and stretch.  We made a few stops for lunch and potty breaks, but it was definitely longer than we had planned to be crammed in the car.  :)



It also didn't help that there was still snow throughout Yosemite - and once Logan saw that, he kept asking if we could stop so he could get out and play in the snow.  :)



Thankfully, the Cables had already grabbed groceries and started on dinner when we arrived.  We had delicious homemade spaghetti and garlic bread made by none other than Master Chef Eric!  :)


The house was absolutely perfect - there was one guest bedroom downstairs and three bedrooms upstairs.  Eric and Jill decided they wanted Amelia and Trent to stay in their room, which left the other two rooms upstairs for us to take over.  The "kids" room had a bunk bed with a pull out trundle underneath the bottom bunk, so we decided to give it a try and have Logan sleep on the bottom bed with Callum on the pull out trundle.  Callum LOVED the trundle and the fact that he could get in and out with ease, but unfortunately he kept rolling off (and waking up) throughout the night, which made for a very rough and sleepless first night for Jon and I.  We moved him to a crib for the rest of the naps/nights.  :)






One of the things we all wanted to do was get out and do some hiking, since Mammoth is such a gorgeous place (and we had our dogs!).  We all had brought backpack carriers for the kids, so after a scrumptious homemade french toast breakfast (again, made by none other than Master Chef Eric!), we packed up and headed out to the shuttle pick-up to see Devil's Postpile National Monument, a touristy but lovely spot for hikes and visits.  Sadly, everyone else in Mammoth Lakes and the surrounding areas had the same idea, and we couldn't find any reasonable parking nearby.  There was also a rule about keeping the dogs on muzzle for the shuttle ride, which we weren't keen on (we would have had to purchase muzzles since we don't have any, which was just one more non-selling point).






We did a quick search for other hiking spots and settled on nearby Convict Lake instead.  We drove out, loaded the kids up and took off on our adventure!  The day was VERY HOT, and each of us had a kid on us (I had Callum and Jon took Logan), plus snacks, water and diapers, etc. which all didn't help.  The kids, on the other hand, LOVED it.  They were all sitting high, with overhead sunshades and great views, living the good life!  :)  We were certainly a sight with all of our big packs, kids and dogs.







Even though it was a workout, it was so beautiful and nice to get outside!  We hiked for about 2.5 hours overall I think, but stopped mid-way to give the parents a rest and let the kids run around and play in the water.  We found a nice unclaimed shady spot with a small creek that was perfect for our break.








After our hike, we spent the rest of the evening lounging around the house and hanging out playing games and watching movies.  Sadly, the adults were all too tired to stay up much later than the kids to hang out, so we all ended up turning in fairly early.  :)


Monday was the 4th of July, so Jon and Logan joined the Cables for the local town parade in the morning while I stayed at the house while Callum napped (I thought he would have loved it too but he conked out about an hour before it was time to leave for the parade and then slept all the way through it!).  It seemed like all the kids really enjoyed the firetrucks, bubbles, balloons and overall festivities.  We spent the afternoon hanging out at the house and taking it easy.  We did a couple "sessions" of bubbles on the back patio which all the kids loved (Callum picked up the word "bubble" very quickly and easily!).









Our vacation home sat on the 18th hole of a local golf course, so Jon and Eric signed up for a very quick round of "5 [holes] at 5".  Eric had forgotten to pack a collared shirt, so he was forced to buy the club's bright red one.  Don't they look geeky! :)



Jill has some family friends that once lived in Mammoth and gave us a recommendation to park at a swimming club's parking lot, where we could still see the local firework show, but be far enough away to avoid all the crowds.  We picked up take-out burgers and fries and settled into a nice little spot about 2 hours before the show began.  The kids loved running around exploring in the dirt, weeds and rocks, while the dogs enjoyed sniffing and peeing on everything.  ;-)  As it got later, more and more folks showed up, which created additional excitement for Logan (not sure the other kids were aware of what was going on), in anticipation of the firework show.






Just before the show began, a rain shower blew through, so we all huddled in the back of the truck, waiting for the rain to clear up.  Luckily it did, just before the fireworks began!  Amelia and Trent were a little too tired to stay the entire time, so the Cables left shortly after the fireworks began, to put their kids to bed.  Our boys stayed up the entire time, amazed by the show along the lake in the distance.  The show was a little farther than I would have liked (I think it also would have been that much more fantastic to the kids if we were closer), but it was still fun and Logan continues to talk about it today.  :)


Tuesday was our check out day.  We packed up the house and headed to a favorite local breakfast joint we always go to, when we visit in the winter time.  The food was as yummy as we had remembered!  We said our goodbyes after breakfast and hit the road for our long journey back home.

Driving through Yosemite this time through was just as beautiful, but thankfully, much faster.  At one point, Logan claimed he needed to pee really badly, so we stopped along the side of the road to let him go.  What we didn't know, was that we had the bad luck of stopping at a place infested with mosquitoes which proceeded to bite us AND get trapped inside the car.  NOT COOL.  The minute we realized there were mosquitoes everywhere, and that Logan couldn't pee quickly on demand :) we scooped him up and got back on the road, stopping a little later at an actual rest stop with working plumbing.  ;-)

Since the kids were pretty quiet and slept for most of the drive, we plowed through, only stopping the once in Yosemite.  They both napped toward the tail end of the drive and woke about an hour from home.  The last half hour was pretty long, as we listened to them whine and complain about wanting to stop, but us refusing to do so.  :)  We got home in about 6 hours - so much better!

We picked up a small dinner and I immediately started with laundry and chores.  Jon helped manage the kids and put them to bed while I unpacked, and then re-packed (for Jon's London trip)!  Because he took off right after we got home, it already feels like ages ago that we had our weekend away with the Cables Family.  But, so many good times and memories as always.  We're looking forward to the next trip with them again soon.  :)

For a peek at all pictures from the trip, visit the full album.