Last Days

Sarah, 18 months, Isabelle, 4, and Mackenzie, 7, arrived on Thursday in time for Thanksgiving. Ethan was slow to warm up to the girls, but when they wanted to see the giant hole that he and Dad dug, he decided they were cool. Isa and Mack were jumping in and out of the hole and Ethan was their little copy cat. He follwed them around the camp and had fun playing with their toys. However they are girls, so sand toys became baking instruments. Isa was baking pies with sand molds and soon Ethan was baking pies with sand molds. He would warn me it was hot and to let it cool before eating. I think he has a thing for Isa.

All the kids were having fun until they played “store”. Isa was taking food orders and Ethan ordered an ice cream cone. He was eager for his ice cream, but waited patiently. However when Isa didn’t deliver his ice cream he started crying. Poor boy didn’t understand that it was all pretend. He kept crying and heading back to her motorhome asking for his ice cream. It was funny for all of us, but quite upsetting for him.

After we drove home and put Ethan to bed he woke up in the middle of the night inconsolable. I honestly think he was freaked out about where he was. He just spent a week sleeping in the van and was all of a sudden magically asleep in his bed. He also might have just been upset to be home. He loves dirt and finding creepy crawlies.

Day 5

Another day another tarantula up close and personal. This one was chillin outside our tent! Not to worry the tent is more of a garage for us than a house. We aren’t sleeping in the tent, but still I don’t want that creepy crawly thing venturing in my bag of clothes!

Sitting in the motorhome I hear Dave and Ethan emerging from the van in the morning. The first thing I heard is Ethan telling Dave “I don’t like the rain”. It started raining in the middle of the night through most of the early morning. It cleared up, but the desert is still muddy. Ethan was still able to get in a few games of hide and seek, some tball, and digging in a hole.

Everyone left Grandma and I and the kids behind while they went on a motorcycle ride. It was the pits because Ethan was crazy from not taking a nap, Adam was fussy from not taking a long enough nap, and the dogs were stir crazy from being inside because of the muddy ground.

Adam has the cutest little bald head. I love petting his peach fuzz and snuggling with his rosey cheeks. He has been drooling a lot lately so I guess this is the beginning of constant bib wearing. He’s still got some cradle cap on his scalp. Though he’s going to bed easily at night, he is still a fussy guy during the day. He gives out smiles but is quick to turn it around with a frown and scowl. He had his first motorhome bath today in the sink. He cried through most of it because I don’t think it was warm enough for him. All in all I don't think he's enjoying the desert as much as his big brother.

Day 4

We dug a giant hole, gathered wood for the fire, played tball, and had hot dogs for lunch and played with a tarantula!! Luckily Mom was not around to see the giant hairy beast, but apparently Ethan thought it was cool.

Oskar has really changed a lot! He is now able to be off leash in the desert and he sticks around. He wanders a little, but always heads back before I have to go yell at him. He is barking at the other campers less too. Mostly the barking is bad when they come near our RV or they get back from a ride so it’s all territorial. Oskar is having a ball with his freedom though. Sniffing all sorts of good things I’m sure, but even better is we get to play fetch and take walks without a leash! Playing hide and seek with Oskar around is like cheating. He takes you straight to the hider.

Day 3

Adam is still crankier than normal. I’m sure it’s because he isn’t napping well. He still seems to be sleeping well at night. His naps are improving somewhat with at least one good nap a day. He is also doing better being handed off to other people. However he is eating a lot more than normal mostly for comfort. He demands to be nursed to sleep for his early morning naps. His afternoon nap around 1 seems to be the longest. I just hope he doesn’t expect this when we get back home. He’ll be in for a big surprise when we get home. I’m sure it’s going to be rough the few days Dave is gone on his business trip.

Dave took Ethan for a death-defying motorcycle ride. Since he wasn’t able to borrow a quad from his friend Dave was really sad Ethan wouldn’t be able to go for a ride. I told him he could wear Ethan in the Ergo and take him for a little ride around the camp. Somehow there was a miscommunication and Ethan and Dave went on a short ride to the mines. There were two Jeeps and Grandpa following on his motorcycle in case something happened. Dave and Ethan went nice and slow and Ethan had a lot of fun. Ethan reported to me that he had fun and that Grandpa tipped over. Not to worry Grandpa wasn't riding when he tipped over and is fine.

Desert day 2

Adam spent most of the day crying because he wasn't able to get to sleep for his naps. He has never had much trouble getting to sleep, staying asleep was his issue. Finally I got him to sleep by sleeping next him. During the three hours we were asleep the rest of the camp decided to move to a different spot. The entire camp was packed up and moved and Dave’s parents were waiting for us to wake up to move the motorhome.

Ethan had not taken a nap, so when we moved the motorhome he laid down in the back and was rocked to sleep. So clearly we just need to move the motorhome everyday. haha! We have a two room tent we brought with us as our garage. One room stored all the RC planes and the other room stored our clothes and other junk. Dave and Ethan slept in the back of the van and Adam and Oskar and I roughed it in the motorhome. I slept on the couch, Oskar in his travel crate, and Adam in his pack n play. We really did rough it though without internet. We had limited electricity from the generator and 100 gallons of water which gave us army showers every other day for all the adults. Ethan would have had more, but he refused and only screamed through two showers the whole time.

Bad Dog!!!!

Well we started off the camping trip with a bang. As soon as we got to Dave’s parent’s house I got out of the car to give Ethan a snack. The two boys and the dog were happily awaiting the trip to the desert. I closed the door to the van to go hop back in and Oskar started barking at Dave’s parents and hit the lock button as he was frantically jumping around. Oskar, Ethan, and Adam were locked in the car!! After we had a minute of panic, Dave’s Mom put a car cover over the front of the car to keep it cool, but thankfully it was parked mostly in the shade. Ethan was happily eating his snack oblivious of what was going on. He was just so excited to be going to the desert.

Then when we asked him to try and get out of his carseat, coaxing him to push the button, he lost it and started crying and demanding to be let out. Then Adam started crying too. Oskar just sat in the front seat happily wagging his tail. 45 minutes later after Dave and his Dad rushed back to our house to get the spare keys the boys were rescued from the van. Adam was sweaty from all the crying and Ethan had tears streaming down his face.

We finally set off for the desert and Ethan took his nap on the road. When he woke up we were still driving, but Ethan announced we were in the desert now. We stopped for lunch and he was in such a good mood he actually ate most of his grilled cheese and fries!

Whatcha sayin?

Ethan likes to draw on his aquadoodle and scribbles things and tells me what they are. Usually they are airplanes or trains. One day I asked him what he was drawing and he said “a casket” or at least that is what I thought he said. I repeated it back to him and he usually corrects me if I am wrong. He said I was correct, it was a casket. I wonder what he is learning at preschool!

Ethan loves the toy phone at the swim school. He usually pulls it by the cord and walks with it, but recently he started talking on it. I hear him carrying on a random conversation and I ask him who he is talking to. He tells me it’s Grandpa E. He says they are talking about satellites.

Friday before the desert was jam packed with stuff to do. Packing, landscaper meeting, scrapbook night and a sleep seminar. Well, the landscaping meeting went long so I didn’t get to eat dinner and would be late for the sleep seminar and HUNGRY. Since it was only scheduled to be an hour long I decided to skip it. I really needed help with Ethan giving up his nap. He’s still crazy and grumpy the rest of the day and goes to bed at 6pm. Turns out the seminar went an hour longer and I could have made it. I was really bummed because it sounded like a really good lecture and q&a session. At least my friend Mimy was kind enough to ask some questions for me. Clearly I complain enough that she had the whole story and was able to convey the situation. Ethan should not be giving up naps yet and I should be doing anything to get him to take them. Easier said than done I’m afraid. Scrapbook night was fun and I got a lot done. I hope to get some more done at the desert, but I’m limited without internet.

The outlets

I am on a quest for cute AND cheap baby jeans so Adam and Ethan can match in a holiday photo. I have checked a number of stores to no avail. Dave also needed a new belt and some work clothes so we headed out to the outlet mall. Most of the trip was uneventful until we found Santa’s house, or should I say Ethan found Santa’s house. After we left a store Ethan found a little house outside and zoomed in by himself. He abruptly stopped when he got inside, turned and stared, and then ran out crying. He saw Santa and it freaked him out. I couldn’t get him to stop crying for a while. Since I found a pair of baby jeans and now have my outfit complete it does not surprise me that he'll refuse to see Santa.

On the way home we stopped for Chick-Fil-A. While we were eating our meal a man nearby offered Ethan the toy from his kid’s meal. It was a space shuttle and Ethan thought it was so cool! He was too shy to say thank you loud enough so the man could hear. We opened it up and put it together and there are a bunch of cards with various facts that fit inside. I read through the cards with Ethan. When I got to the card about satellites he said Grandpa E makes satellites. I’m amazed by how much he remembers and retains!

Legoland trip #2

We headed out to Legoland on a drizzly gray day to meet up with Connor and Kyle. We were all wondering how much time we were going to have before the rained ruined the day, but it turned out to be a cool but uncrowded Sunday. Ethan tried a few new rides with Connor and got in line for some roller coaster type rides and a log ride. However he backed out at the last minute after patiently waiting in line. Connor was the daredevil though and even went on a roller coaster. I was shocked that Ethan did go on one ride that basically yoyos you up and down over and over.

Kyle, Adam, Mimy and I just hung out and chatted, changed diapers, and ate. We warmed up with some hot chocolate, and ended the day with some smash pennies at 4pm! That was the longest day out yet!

Too bad too much time has passed for me to remember what I did the rest of the week.

Preschool day 2

The second day didn't go much better than the first. When we were leaving the house he demanded I not bring his blanket. Last time I told him I had to wash it after preschool because it was dirty, so I think he was worried about getting it dirty again. He hates having it washed and is disturbed when he sees it spinning in the washer.

He started crying as soon as we got into the classroom this time and wouldn't stop. They told me cried for 20 minutes and then started to participate in activities. They said he loves playing outside (surprise, surprise). When I came to pick him up he was sitting at a table with all his classmates eating some saltine crackers. It was so cute. I wish I had taken a picture.

I'm trying to get G enrolled a second day, but for now he's just going one day a week.