Are we there yet?

We have been road tripping the heck out of this summer!

Cooper is at that glorious age where he thinks road trips are awesome. For the simple task of sitting in a car seat he is awarded the highly coveted and rare occasion daytime movie and a fast-food fix: "Orange W Store" (a.k.a Whataburger). Although, after the amount of time we've spent in the car this summer, when we pull up to the window he is quick to spout off: "I need a hamburger with extra pickles and only one dip-it, KETCHUP!" Yikes.

Sister, at 12 months old, is an entirely different story. The things we do to keep that girl happy in the car are so outrageous that I finally got Kyle to admit it is easier to drive the entire way than to scramble around entertaining her.

Here's my list of all of the crazy things that go on in our car...

Roadtrippin' Baby Craziness:

*** In order of escalation.

1. The Inaudible Adult Conversation - All babies sleep in the car, right? Cooper did. It used to be so easy. If you started driving during his normal nap time we were always blessed with 2-3 hours of peaceful baby sleep. With Sister, car sleep is elusive and unpredictable. She may fall asleep right away, sleep for 30 minutes and be done or not sleep the entire trip and fall asleep right as we meet our destination. So, when sleep DOES happen and we get the rare moment for an uninterrupted adult conversation, you better believe we are talking at a volume so low only our dog can hear us. In fact, to actually understand the other person, you have to turn your head towards them and read lips while the non-driver leans over the middle console. Kyle always remarks on how crazy we would seem if we were somehow caught on hidden camera. #truth
2. Snack after snack after snack - I worry about this one. "Oh, you're upset? Here's a cookie! Raisins! Yogurt! The rest of my hamburger!" Oh well. A chewing mouth is a happy one when in the car. We'll undo the "eat to feel better" thing another day, because right now it makes us all better. And calms the urge to jump out of the window. Really, it's for our safety.
3. Toys and non-toy toys - At some point the snacks run out or Sister gets full, usually the former. I start frantically digging through my diaper bag in search of all toys. Music playing toys! Squeaky toys! Squishy toys! Big brother's toys that suddenly become fair game! You name it, I've pulled it out. And, since every toy we own seems to entertain for a maximum of 30 seconds, we also pull out the non-toy toys. "Here's an empty water bottle! A box of wipes! Oh lawduhmercy, please do not strangle yourself with my iPhone charger!"
4. Family Sing-a-long - When we are out of toys I usually start singing, Kyle's favorite. There are the classics, which usually have Kyle saying "IF YOU SING PATTY-CAKE AGAIN I'M GOING TO CRY" and "PLEASE SING PATTY-CAKE AGAIN OR I'M GOING TO CRY",  all in the same breath. There are also the made up songs like "Sister, Sister" and "Please Stop Crying", all to the tune of "Are you Sleeping" (oh, the irony). If you find me in the loony bin one day humming this tune quietly to myself you'll know why!
5. That's it. I'm coming back there. - Despite the fact that our car has bucket seats in back this is a common practice. In a final act of desperation you can find me crawling around in the back seat hand holding, tear wiping and ear shushing. When Sister was younger, I may or may not have mastered the trick of nursing her while she was strapped into her car seat. Sorry, I'm not sorry. 

And yet we still manage to get back on the road! The journey is worth the trip, or something like that. Please tell me this happens in your car, too. And, better yet, please tell me your magic tricks to avoid this happening in your car!

“Let her sleep 

For when she wakes, 

She will move mountains.”

Rocky Mountain High

Rocky mountain highhhhhhhhhh (high), Colorado.

(Sorry, can't help but sing John Denver when talking Colorado. You're welcome, this will be stuck in your head for the next week!)

Last week we packed up for a trip out to good ol' Colorado to spend some time with friends who were also attempting to beat the summer heat. All Houstonites, this trip had us wondering why in the world we live in Houston. We all had total vacation depression upon returning but I suppose that's the sign of a great trip!

I mean, really?! So beautiful.

Side note…  We totally left Sister at home. I'm hoping this is not something she is in therapy later for later on in life about but let me tell you that she had a better time at home with her grandmother and we had a much easier (can't bring myself to actually type "better") time without her. The joys of traveling solo with a 3 year old is that there is no "gear" to pack. No pack-n-play, no stroller, no diapers, no sippy cups…heaven. We did activities when we wanted, since it was ok to fudge a nap by a few minutes (or 30) and Kyle and I both snoozed on the plane ride home while the boy happily watched a movie. Imagine that!

He even carried his own bag through the airport!

We love you Sis. You'll get there one day!

It was a whirlwind trip and we had a wonderful time! We rode horses, swam (heated pool!!!), had some great dinners, drank AMAZING wine, went on a hike and wrapped up the long weekend with a lights out round of bowling.

There was supposed to be a sweet little 2 year old girl ridging this horse…believe me, I would NOT have chosen jean shorts had I known!

Family pic!

Happy trails to you!

Mini horses!

Daddy/son selfie!

Bananas foster…yum!

The lovebirds!

Our "cautious" first-borns!

Hiking! We were only winded because of the altitude, clearly.

Mountain chicas.

Don't let this pic fool you. We were RESTING, not posing!

I mean, it doesn't get any prettier. Don't mind my tippy toes!

Pre-bowling. Pre- game faces.

You want a piece of this?! HA!

Something to do with Big Lebowski? I'm not sure...

Until next time!!!

Kids Are Gross

The other day I was thinking about all of the gross things that happen when you're a parent that are suddenly tolerable. So, just for you, I compiled a list of "Kid Gross-isms" that are currently plaguing my life. I am so hoping all of you parents out there are in the same boat as me and not turned off by the following. But, then again, you've stuck with me through weenus-es and potty training so a few booger jokes shouldn't scare you away!

Here goes… the list!

(NOTE: If none of these things sick you out you are probably the parent of a small child.)

Kid Gross-isms (brought to you by Cooper and Carrington) 

1. "MOM! I HAVE A BOOGER!" - As if boogers aren't gross enough, Cooper tells me each time he finds a treasure and expects me to do something with it. My usual response is to "please use a tissue" and "go put it in the trash" to which I usually get nothing but a blank stare. The best is when he catches me in public when I have nothing better to do with it than put it in my pocket and grab the hand sanitizer at the next turn. Sorry to all who witnessed at the Children's Museum last week!
2. How much food can go down a tiny shirt? - This mostly happens to Sister but I'm always shocked at the volume of food that somehow gets tucked away in there. The other day Kyle undressed her and I swear a half cup of mixed veggies came out of her onesie, on her shag carpet no less! This is the reason that when I find a whole goldfish floating in the bathtub instead of thinking "Hmmm, that's odd!" I'm looking for its mates!
3. Mission food recovery! - Don't lie, if you found a half eaten Nilla Wafer stuck to a baby chin you'd eat it, right? Because, hey, it was probably your cookie to begin with. I can't count how many times I've done this. Probably more staggering is the amount of times I've done this without even realizing it was happening. It's been a long time since I let a little baby drool get me down!
4. The sniff test - It should just be a written rule that any stray sock or pair of underoos found on the floor are dirty. But, no. Every article I find on the floor must, for some reason, undergo the Mom sniff test. 99% of the time I find myself inhaling little boy stink or the smell of old milk. Why do I continue to do this? Why?
5. It's just a little baby pee! - I don't know how many times I've heard Kyle say this. I used to be so shocked and turned off by this but I have totally succumbed. I'm not saying that we don't change sheets and put kids into clean dry clothes if accidents happen. We do! BUT, if I'm out in public and Sister has a little leak and a tiny bit just happens to get on my shirt I am NOT racing home to change. I mean, it's just a little baby pee!

Don't leave me hanging…What gross things do your kids do that no longer make you even bat an eyelash?

The shining faces that make it all possible!

1st Birthday Celebration!

Every time a kid's birthday rolls around Kyle warns me not to go "overboard". "They'll never remember this." Blah, blah. 

We may not have the same idea of what "toned down" means, given the fact that Miss C had 2 parties, but our birthday style around here is definitely low key!

It's been a tradition on our street as of late that when someone's birthday rolls around we order pizza and let the kids play. So pretty much it's like every other night on our block plus pizza and cake! So on her actual birthday, we rolled Sister's high chair down the driveway and all of the neighbors got to watch her first bite of cake. She was totally unimpressed. Not to say she didn't take the whole thing down, she did, but she just couldn't fathom why everyone was watching her!

A little help from Dad to get things going...

Big brother was quick to assist too!

I think she liked it. Go girl.

"It's my birthday too!"

Baby toes. Just because.

"What's all the fuss?!"

Baby loves babies!

Our across the street neighbors got her a pink Daisy BB gun.

Cooper was disappointed it was not his!

Yep.

Party number two happened this last weekend. We had family in town plus a few friends that are pretty much family. It takes a village!

Sister and Grandpa getting into some sausage rolls!

Giving Kona some love.

Aunt Holly!

Birthday bum.

Sister took her first steps the day after her birthday. Imagine my surprise when she stood up, clapped for herself and then took 5 steps in front of the whole party!

Loves attention!

So proud!

Once again at cake time it was big brother to the rescue!

Less than impressed this time around!

It was a great birthday (week) around our house!