Can I give anybody who is thinking about bringing their 1.25 year old to Disneyland some advice?
Wait six years.
Don't do it.
Don't do it alone.
In fact, just don't do it.
Haha, what a trip. We didn't realize until the flight back that he was busy teething his molars, so that was quite the "Aha" moment. Poor kid. We pushed an overstimulated, screaming kid around the happiest place on earth for a little less than two hours before we counted our losses and peaced the heck out of there. There was no It's a Small World. There were no magical encounters with Mickey Mouse.
In fact, there are no pictures of any kind because that was lit-terally the last thing on our minds to do.
I'd like a do-over someday :)
Jon was a sweet ol' chap and sent me back to the park for about six hours by myself for the Halloween festivities, while he took care of Max back at the hotel. Apparently, part of his corporate training "seminar" included riding the Tower of Terror and other rides and fancy meals....so it was nice to get a night off after such a long week of watching/flying with Max alone. I can already look back on the experience and laugh. He slept & napped well while there, so I definitely had that to be thankful for.
I've been trying to make the most of fall with my kiddo, and now that Halloween is behind us, Thanksgiving is approaching. I'm excited! We took Max out to a pumpkin patch a few weekends ago, and that was another experience that I just don't think he was totally old enough for. He is SUCH a busy little boy. It takes all of Jon's & my undivided attention to make sure he's not endangering his life or some other shenanigan. It makes outings like this pretty difficult.
He got really into painting a little pumpkin I got for him, and then after I carved it for him and stuck a little green light inside, he played with it incessantly til the day it molded inside-out :P He couldnt get enough of taking off the lid, taking out the light, putting the lid back on, etc etc. He is so so fascinated with taking things apart and putting them back together. Cute little developmental milestone.
The shot below is of my mom's foster mom, Pat, and her husband Jeff. They were so so sweet to pick Max & I up from the hotel we were staying at, and take us window shopping at Knott's Berry Farm for an afternoon. I had SO MUCH FUN catching up with them, and am so thankful they were finally able to meet my boy. I'll be in touch next time we come down to see all of you, I promise!
I took Max to my church's Harvest Party last weekend, and dressed him up in this cute diddy my mom SEWED for him. Yes, she is super talented. Jon was busy that evening, so I took Max in an effort to do something cute and memorable...and again, realized that he was just too young for it. Gah. I know next year will be a totally different ball game, but there are just so many things I'm excited to do with my munchkin, but all he really wants to do is stick his fingers in light sockets :)
Here was costume #2 for actually Halloween day :) What a sweet boy, he was. I had my expectations set at a much better place, and he actually LOVED trick or treating up at the community center up the street! He loved seeing the other kids running around, and got the hang of holding up his basket for candy.
I love my Max. We are just entering a new stage of tantrums and "NOOO!" Oh my goodness, I thought we had more time until we got here! It's been really tiring lately to having him getting into everything he isn't supposed to, and then start yelling, "No no noooo!" when I try to stop him. I'm sure many of you who have walked this road are chuckling by this point, maybe thinking things such as Welcome to parenthood, sweetheart... or maybe, Settle in. You'll be here for a while.
I'll stop guessing what you're thinking.
Jon & I are kind of baffled about the whole discipline thing. No matter how often you've thought about it in your lifetime, and kind of think you know where you've settled and how you'll handle it when the time comes...we finally arrive and feel like a couple of foreigners in a country with no knowledge of the language, and no guidebooks.
Except there are guidebooks, I guess. Only it's really difficult sometimes to understand how they apply to your child, and if you agree totally with everything they say.
Anyway, that's filling my days, and I'm trying to grow a tough skin about it. My sweet and snuggly kid is definitely still there, but he's developing this additional personality now of getting very frustrated at trivial things, and talking back to me a bit. Mercy.
So, what is he up to now, at 15 months (today!)? Well, he's speaking in full sentences, if you can believe that.
We just don't understand what those sentences mean at the moment ;) We are in love with his baby-speak.
Let me see if I can remember all the intelligible things he's saying at the moment....here's a short list:
Nana [banana]....only it's kinda pronounced naynay.
Ahppo [apple].
Mow [milk].
Ah done [all done].
Ahgull [uncle].
Hallo. Bye. Momma. Da. Nigh nigh. Car. Go go go!
Tee Tou [thank you]...said whenever give takes or gives an item.
Uh oh...said whenever he deliberately throws an item on the ground.
And then our favorite, which makes us shake our head and giggle. It happens whenever he wants Jon or I, and more specifically...when he wants something OF us. It's a demanding word, meaning....Mom or Dad, I want you NOW. He gets this ornery look on his face and shouts "CAR!" Weird, I know. Only he shouts it in an angry Boston accent, so it comes out like "Cahhh!"
He does this every morning when Jon is getting ready in the bathroom with the door closed. Max will shout it through the door, and I laugh and say, "Car, Max would like a word with you." Just one of those funny Max-isms.
I took him to swimming lessons three or four times. It was super cute to see him try to blow bubbles in the pool and learn to kick his feet, and whatnot, but that wasn't going the greatest since it meant blowing through his morning nap. I thought we could pull it off since he's within the range of dropping that nap, but this kid is adamantly holding onto it. I know it sounds crazy to try to push him out of it, right? Just let the kid sleep! But actually, most of his buddies (read: my buddies with babies his age) have dropped that already, so he remains on an opposite nap schedule as them. It translates into not getting to see my mom friends unless there's a special case. Also, it would help him make it through mops mornings if he was in the habit of staying awake all morning. So, I tried to maybe prompt him to drop that nap...and it's pretty clear at the mo that he's not having it.
Fine, little man. You can keep your nap for now.
But believe me, this excuse will not fly in high school.
He is starting to actually read books more and eat them less. My little daredevil likes to go down giant slides by himself now, giving me panic attacks, but I'm trying to let him flex his wings a little bit. He LOVES to help me cook in the kitchen when I have the patience to let him. And have the back strength to hold him. I'll open a cupboard and point to which spice I need, and he'll pull it out and help me shake it into the pot...he likes to stir with a wooden spoon, and wash & dry his hands.
I think we're finally emerging from Round 2 of separation anxiety...it was kind of a bad spell, but he's now made it through MOPS and a whole church service in the nursery without being called out. Such a welcome relief for a tired momma. Just some things he's up to...
Max has done quite a bit of traveling in his short life, and I gotta say...I'm not comfortable flying everywhere with his birth certificate in order to prove he's mine. I know myself, and that I will most likely lose that document if I do...so when I needed to go update my driver's license, I took my mini-me along and scored him an i.d. card of his very own. It's a show-stopper at the ticket desk in the airport..especially if there's all females working.
Also, Max was called a She yesterday at a baby gym. We're off for his first official haircut this afternoon (I hope). Jon tried to lop off his mullet the other night, and now he looks like some neglected child with an abominable haircut. Hopefully a photo later of that experience :)
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