Momma's Got You

Noah is sick today. He was up alot last night, which is, unfortunately, not all that rare.  Because he was so ornery the first time he got up, demanding things and just wanting to play, the second time he cried, I had very little patience left.  He wanted to go downstairs, but it was 4:45 am and definitely not time to get up yet.  So I put him back in bed, crying, and crawled back in my bed and told Darren we were going to let him cry it out.  He cried for 75 min.  And not just a whimper.  Full out crying.  I finally gave in and went into his room to pick him up.  He stopped crying (after demanding a drink and getting it) and just melted into my arms, kind of shaking with the effort of so much crying.  He slept there for a bit, then woke up again when I tried to put him back to bed, then slept again downstairs watching the early morning news.

He has had a fever much of the day and has been pretty miserable on and off.  I hope he sleeps it off during his marathon nap (he has been asleep over three hours now!) and that he feels better by tomorrow morning so we can celebrate my mom's birthday at the zoo in the morning and Toucano's in the evening. (The boys don't get to come to the restaurant.  They no longer get to do that because they are, well, young boys.)

I have a secret, though.  And I think alot of moms agree with me, too.  I actually enjoy it when my boys get sick (hushed ooOOoo goes through the crowd).  Not that I like them being sick and miserable.  But they are so cuddly and want their mommy and will sit on my lap and just be with me,  with no need for entertainment.  Some days, all I hear is complaining and whining and "That food is yucky!" and "No!  I don't want to!" and it kind of makes me wonder if they really need ME - except to provide everything they ask for and entertain them all day.  Surely, someone else could do that.  And surely, someone else could do it better and with more patience.  But when they are sick, they need ME.  No one else can take the place of Mom when they are miserable.

So, I hope Noah gets better quickly.  Today.  But I hold dear the moments I got to cuddle with him and hold my baby while he fell back to a fitful sleep.  And when he moaned a bit in his sleep, that I could quietly whisper, "Shhhh, baby.  Momma's got you."

Disneyland 2013!

Sometimes you just want to go to Disneyland.  So we planned a trip real quick and went.  The one thing I really wanted was to stay close enough to the park to walk, so we could go back to the hotel in the afternoons for naps. Well, we stayed right. across. the. street.  It was awesome!  We also flew so we could save some time.  (And because I couldn't bear the thought of that long drive.)

I think the airport, both going and coming home, was one of the high points of the trip.  The boys loved watching the airplanes and yelled, "Take off!" every time one took off.

We got there in the early afternoon, so we headed over to Disneyland after checking into the hotel.  The first ride we rode was the Buzz Lightyear ride.  This was Davis's favorite from last time and both he and Noah loved it.  So it was also our second ride.  Then Autopia, Teacups (which is what Davis will say is his favorite ride now that we are home, because it had a "steering wheel" that let him spin it), Dumb, the parade, and Toon Town.  Davis absolutely loved the little rollercoaster in Toon Town, and because we were there just before the park closed, there was no line, so he rode it over and over and over again.

(Noah is not happy to be so close to Pluto! Davis wouldn't even get out of the stroller.)

(These are watching the parade, and the top left picture is one of my favorites from the whole trip!  Good job, Darren!)

(This is the best picture I could get of the roller coaster, but I had to put it in to remember how much Davis loved it!)

 Back to Disneyland on day two.  We thought since Davis loved the rollercoaster in Toon Town, he might like the Matterhorn.  But I had never ridden it and Darren had forgotten it was scary because of the dark and the things jumping out, so Davis did NOT love the ride.  But we rode some other rides, then headed back to the hotel to nap and swim.  The boys didn't want to nap, so I napped, then we swam (another highlight of the trip) and headed back to California Adventure.  Our first stop was Radiator Springs Racers, which was awesome!  Davis got to ride it twice, first with Matt, Amanda, and Darren and second with me.  Noah napped in the stroller.  In fact, after refusing to nap in a nice comfy bed at the hotel, Noah was asleep in the stroller before we crossed the street going back to the parks!  We had dinner with Goofy and lots of fun and stayed up late to watch World of Color (which the boys weren't too impressed with).

(These are all from Tom Sawyer's Island.)

(Noah and I sat on the bridge to save our spot for World of Color for about an hour.  Noah had a blast spending a little one on one time with me.  He would bring me pretend food from the stroller, then kiss my cheeks and go back for more.)

Day three . . . by then we were exhausted.  Late nights, no naps, and lots of walking and playing.  We stood in line for Toy Story Mania in California Adventure.  Matt and Amanda stayed with the boys while Darren and I rode the big ferris wheel ride, at which point I realized I may be a little afraid of heights.  In the afternoon Noah napped in the stroller and we tried to find somewhere cool to spend our time, what with the hot, hot, hot temps.  While Matt and Amanda and Darren rode some "grown-up" rides, me and the boys sought out the little kids rides with little or no lines.  Even though the park stayed open till midnight, we petered out about 5:30 and headed back to our hotel.  We ate dinner at McDonalds (the cheapest meal we ate and the only one the boys actually ate all their food) and went back for swimming and bed.

(Noah loved seeing the characters, but did not want to get too close.  This is the only time we stood in line and this was as close as he would get to Mickey.  He was content to wave from the stroller and say hello whenever we passed a character.)

(We saw more and more of this tired, grumpy face on both boys as the trip went on.)

(This is the one of the few pics I have of Matt and Amanda, but we sure loved having them with us!)

All in all, it was a fun, exhausting, memorable trip.  And I can't wait to do it again!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Noah!

My baby turned two  on April 19th!  I can't believe he is getting so big.  He loves to watch Wild Kratts with Davis and then pretend to be whatever animal they learned about.  He loves to stand by any table that is chest height and play with dinosaurs and horses and animals and cars  He loves Buzz Lightyear and Woody.  He loves to play "Mama (or Dada) Get You."  Noah loves yogurt and pizza and ice cream and sweet potatoes and chicken nuggets and french fries and all fruit.  He loves to drive around on the back porch in the blue car or golf in the yard.  He still naps in the afternoon and still gets up often in the night when he doesn't feel well.  Or if he is thirsty.  Or just to be held.  He is a people person and walks into a room like he owns the place.  He runs with his arms pumping up and down and his little hips moving from side to side.  He talks in full sentences with a such a sweet voice.  Unless he disagrees with what you are trying to tell him.  Then his voice is pretty stubborn.  He has a very funny "mad" face that he will share when asked, or when he is bugged.  I sure love him!  Happy Birthday Noah!

Noah and My Phone

(This post was written a few months ago.  I am just publishing it a little late.)

We keep a chair in the kitchen.  When Davis was young and wanted to "help" cook or see what I was doing, we found the perfect chair for him to stand on.  It had a nice back with a top that made for a great handle to hold on to.  And the plastic cushion was very non-slick.  That chair has stayed in the kitchen for several years now and Noah, after alot of work and practice, has learned how to climb up on it by himself.

A few nights ago, while I was cooking dinner, Noah climbed up on the chair to stand by me and watch.  He noticed my phone sitting on the counter and pulled it closer to him and started playing with it.  While I was working on something else and not paying attention, Noah slid his finger on the screen to unlock the phone, found the the PBS Kids app, clicked on Curious George, and started a Curious George episode. All by himself.  I am always amazed at how much my kids know - it's always much more than I think they know!

Lions Don't Pee in Our House

You know those times when you are so angry you are speechless?  You know, past yelling at your child.  Had one of those today.  I walked into my room and Davis was just finishing peeing on the carpet.  He had just dropped his pants and peed.  He had to walk past the bathroom to get there.  It wasn't an accident.  I asked him why he did it (once the silent screaming ended) and he said, "Well, I didn't know you were coming in here."  AHHHH.  So I asked him if he had done it before.  He said yes, in our closet.  How many times?  "Ummm.  Maybe ten?"

Darren took over the discipline while I cleaned up.  After a little while, after everyone was calm again, I asked him again why he decided to pee on our carpet.  He said he was a lion and was marking his territory.  We had just watched a Wild Kratts episode that talked about that.  I had to really try hard to calmly, yet very firmly, tell him lions don't pee in our house.  Neither do tigers.  Or any other animals.  Or  any boys pretending to be those animals.

My Sweet Boys

We have been loving the warm weather (on and off) and the boys run out the door every chance they get.  One warm afternoon, they ran outside, so I followed and they were just so happy, I grabbed the camera.  While trying to get a good, happy picture (almost impossible, but not quite :), I thought about how my little babies are growing up.

As they are getting older, it has been interesting to see their relationship grow and change.  At first, when Noah was just a baby, Davis didn't particularly care for Noah.  In fact, sometimes he was downright mean.  But now that Noah is getting older, they seem to enjoy playing with each other.  They will both run around the house roaring (as cheetahs, tigers, lions, t-rexs, or whatever roaring animal happens to have caught their fancy that day), attacking me at random.  They like to "make" me meals with the pretend food and each take turns bringing me something new.  They play best outside, where they can run around and play with sticks and dirt and bikes and balls.  They still fight alot, like most brothers, but they sure love each other!

Easter in Las Vegas 2013

We love Las Vegas.  We love Las Vegas even more when we are surrounded by family.  We started out trip out with a stop at Valley of Fire.  It was just our little family and we had a great time.  It took a very looooong time to walk the half mile trail we picked because we had to pick up rocks and throw rocks and run our hands through the sand and throw the sand and lay down in the sand and climb up on the rocks and in the rocks and hide behind the rocks.

We went down a day early, so on Friday we took our little family to the Natural History Museum, then to the park, then swimming at the hotel.  Davis loved it and we finally had to drag him out of the pool after 2 1/2 hours to get dressed for dinner at Phil and Mary's home.

Then a few fun days with the extended Ralphs family.  We fed the ducks near Mary and Phil's home Saturday morning, then headed out to a place near Red Rocks for hiking and picnic.  We went to church on Sunday, then joined the others for Easter dinner and headed home.

We had a great time and feel so blessed to be part of such a wonderful family.  We are very lucky to be able to make memories with them!