July, July, July

Well, well, well, do we have a story to tell. About three weeks ago the kids and I got on a plane and headed to Montana to spend a week with my folks. Now back up, and reread that last sentence, and focus on the part about the plane. It’s important.

We flew from here to Salt Lake and then from Salt Lake to Helena. That last leg is always on a tiny plane – usually about 12 rows only. There was a sick lady on the plane, and they ended up doing a big seat shuffle to keep her close to the bathroom and far away from anyone with kids. It was a nice effort, really. They were trying to keep us from getting sick. But you know, when someone vomits on that small of a plane, you can’t really escape the germs. Apparently they tried to get her to get off the plane and wait til she was feeling better to fly, but she refused. Long story short? Forty-eight hours later guess who got sick? Jack. Vomiting, a little diarrhea, then exhaustion and more vomiting. Forty-eight hours after he got sick? Eli. Just a little vomiting, thank goodness. Twenty-four hours after that? Me. Then the next day, it was both of my parents. So we got to Montana on a Tuesday afternoon, Jack got sick Thursday afternoon, Eli got sick on Saturday, I got sick on Sunday, and both of my parents got sick on Monday. We left Wednesday morning. ARGGGGHHH! Needless to say, that first Wednesday and then the last Tuesday were definitely our finest. We spent a lot of what—we all decided—was maybe not to be labeled as “quality” time together, me, the kids, and my folks. We were able to spend a little bit of time with my brother and his family and my sister and her family, during times when none of us were actually throwing up and so we thought we weren’t too contagious. I managed to squeeze in some trips to thrift stores (Montana thrift stores are so much larger and cheaper than CA ones), a little birthday party for Jack at Jeanine’s house, the historical museum, and some park time. There was meant to be a day at the lake, a big party, a bbq, and a fishing trip, among other things. Alas, what can you do? We did have a good time though, and I think I decided it was worth it, even though we spent most of the time in my parents’ living room (and bathroom) and even though the flights with both of those kids alone were {much} less than enjoyable. I’m still glad we went. It’s so nice to be at your parents’ house, where things feel so comfortable and so easy.

Oh, and when we got home, guess who got sick a few days later? Mike. What a rollercoaster! I finally got on the horn yesterday to Delta, and they comp'ed us 2000 SkyMiles for our inconvenience. It's something at least!


Other things of note:
Mike got new glasses -- he looks VERY nice and even a few years older (we could now pass for a couple of 22 or so . . )

Eli is not crawling but has fully mastered sitting up as well as a full body flail/lunge towards me if I'm in the room and not holding him

Jack is really into dinosaurs, including Triceratops, Baryonx (sp?), Stegosaurus (i.e. Spike, from the Land Before Time), and Tri-Dionsaurus Rex (T-Rex). We checked out a bunch of dinosaur books from the library, and he now knows about eating habits, fossils, skulls, etc.

Getting Jack to eat has, for a long time, been a battle. He's now finally eating more without having to be asked to eat and is also eating a lot more fruit (sorry veggies, we'll get to you at some point). However, now ALL he wants to eat is fruit; if he could eat apple slices and raisins all day, he'd be happy as can be. I have to really coerce him to eat crackers or a sandwich. What a funny kid.

Eli's nighttime sleeping continues to be nothing less than erratic. I still nurse him about six times a day, which is, I believe at least two or three more times a day than what Jack was doing at this about this age. But honestly -- sometimes it's just easier to nurse him than to let him cry in the night or to try to feed him solids. I guess everything is different with number two. I think the impetus for weaning this kid will be wanting to not have to be with him 24/7. What? What's that?? Maybe a break for Mommy and Daddy? Perhaps a day or two away??? Let's get real here. Well, a girl can dream, right?

Jack is really coming into his own and showing his crazy personality. He loves telling stories that involve (all of) the following: dinosaurs, volcanoes, Cinderella, the Ghost Man, the Ghost Train, and random animals. He's a sweet kid a lot of the time and a real stinker (read: tantrums) some of the time too. He's kind of giving me a run for my money, but we're working on learning how to handle this three year old of ours.

Eli is a sweetheart. He gives the best loves, the best smiles, and the biggest crocodile tears you ever did see. I think he must be the reincarnation of his father because he is just the sweetest little person you could imagine.

I wish I had something exciting to say about myself, but, I don't :). I did get a new computer - a Samsung netbook - a few weeks ago, since my Macbook was finally giving up the ghost. It has been absolutely terrible making the switch from a Mac back to a PC, but our bank account thanks us. Someday, I shall return to you, Mac! In the meantime, I'm enjoying the small size and portability of the netbook.

So, without further ado, here are pictures from the trip and from Jack’s birthday, which we celebrated by having his friend Ethan over for an afternoon of crafts, Cars, and cake. Jack was in HEAVEN!