Maysen Adelaide Cole

Well, it's Sunday and it seems like as good a time as any to turn over a new leaf. Attempt to blog (again). Maysen Adelaide joined our family on September 10, 2009. She was 6 lb 14 oz, 19 1/4 inches long and absolutely perfect and adorable. She was born peacefully at home in the water. My second water baby and first home birth. I can't say enough about how wonderful her birth was. It was quiet and empowering. Beckett loves his baby sister. However, he is doing an awful lot to try to get attention from us. I can't tell you how many timeouts he's gotten in the last 5 1/2 weeks. Of course, even negative attention is attention, so I'm sure that is what he's going for. The rest of the family (dogs & cat) are feeling neglected I'm sure. I think the last time Lucky went for a walk or had a ball thrown for him was September 10, 2009. I'm sure that eventually we'll all get more into a routine. As Katie says, this (at least for now) is the new normal. Katie is working at Trader Joe's here in Olympia. She feels pretty special to have been hired there. They had over 2000 applications and hired 40 people. Those are pretty long odds. It's a great job and she loves working there. I love the crew member discount. :-)

Spaghetti night in San Diego

Sand Diego

We made it safely into San Diego yesterday. Jet Blue was amazing! The flight was very light. The pilot did his announcements from the cabin, not the flight deck. We had a choice of snacks. And the Direct TV at every seat was a life saver. We didn't get out a single toy for Beckett. He had apple juice, animal crackers and Nickelodeon. He was so well behaved. The landing was a bit rough on Beckett, but once we got off, he was OK. He got overheated and got a little sick. I have to say I'm not a huge fan of landings either, so I don't really blame him. The car rental shuttle was a bit stuffed full. Apparently Hertz is still doing well. I much prefer car rental counters in the airport. I understand about space though. Hertz did upgrade our car and give us satellite radio for free though. Happy Birthday Katie.

When we got into the car, Beckett continued to say "we're going to San Diego" We tried to explain we were in San Diego, but he wouldn't have any of it. He just kept insisting. Finally we asked him what it meant. He said "sand" and "Diego" as in Diego from Nick and a beach. Ah Ha! So, we stopped at our hotel, had lunch and then went in search of a beach. As we were driving, Beckett fell asleep in the backseat. So, we did some exploring while he napped. We ended up going the wrong way and had to turn around once we hit the military reservation. oops. It was then that we stopped at the local Sprint store and had GPS navigation service added to Katie's phone. Ah, much better. Gina the GPS would now guide us.

While exploring earlier in the day, we found Fiesta Island. Beautiful little place with a beach, just like Beckett wanted. Across the way, there was a huge playground. So, once he woke up, we headed back there. He had a great time running wild, climbing and playing on the swings. There was a beach right there, but the swings were a lot more exciting. The weather was beautiful and sunny, but it did get a bit breezy in the afternoon at the water.

We had a bit of a hiccup trying to find pizza for dinner, but we found In & Out Burger instead and that was fine by us. Beckett ate almost an entire cheeseburger with everything.

Back to the room for a movie. We were able to plug our portable DVD player into the TV. We watched "Bedtime Stories." Then by 8:30, the lights were off and the whole family was almost asleep.

The hotel is clean and comfortable. Pretty basic, but I didn't expect too terribly much from a HoJo for $80 a night. It'll do fine. Free breakfast in the morning and a shuttle if we needed it. The walls are a little thin. We heard the neighbor's TV last night. Good shower though.

We're off to SeaWorld today. I'm very excited for Beckett to see the animals. There's also a Sesame Street movie, a Sesame Street play area, 3 Sesame Street rides and fireworks tonight. Should be lots of fun. Hopefully, we'll be able to reach our friends and see them tomorrow.

All in all a wonderful stat to a relaxing family vacation. We'll post pictures as soon as I can find the mini USB. Assuming we packed it.

Bedtime Battles

Beckett has slept through the night since he was 4-months old. It was amazing and wonderful for a sleep deprived set of parents like us. Over the last 2 years and 4 months, we've had our ups and downs (sitting in his room until he fell asleep, waking up to find him asleep in our bed, and even night terrors) but nothing could prepare us for what started a couple of weeks ago. We have been at our wits end at bedtime. We have a pretty good bedtime routine - bath, PJ's, brush teeth, read books (or watch 1 show) and then bedtime. However, when we put him down for bed now, there is inevitably a tantrum that occurs. At first, several weeks ago, he only asked for extra things - a glass of water, rub my back, etc. Then, it was getting up every 5 minutes. Now, it's screaming. We've tried a number of tactics - take away privileges (i.e. the door being open, the music in his room, etc.), not engaging him when he has a fit, putting a baby gate in his door, closing his door, allowing him to fall asleep on his floor on the hall. And every night, it's the same thing - screaming and tantrums. It really can wear on a person after awhile. I'm also quite sure that it's affecting Katie and me. We went to visit Candyce's class today. She's a local parenting and child development expert. We just wanted to listen to other parents of 3-year olds and make sure we weren't alone. Thank Goodness, we're not! Normal or not - night after night it gets really draining and I hope that it passes soon. However, from talking to other parents, it sounds like that's just part of having a three-year old. Yea for us!

A New Year

Haven't posted anything for a while and I have a few minutes so I thought I'd say a few things... We had a great Christmas and actually rung in the new year for the first time in several years. Its was really a great holiday. Grandma Darlene came out from Iowa after a few cancelled flights and got to hang out with Beckett for Christmas Day. He had a great time with all his grandmas (and Papa)! We had close to 2 feet of snow over a couple week period around Christmas. It was pretty at first but the fun wore off pretty quickly after being stuck at home for more than a day or two. It was during my break and I was hoping to get a bunch of things done around the house while Beckett was still in daycare, but that didn't happen. Oh well, it was fun to be home and play around with the family for a few days. We've also had a sinus infection/cold bug going around the house, probably since school started in September! We've all been on antibiotics and Beckett is now on his second round with an ear infection added in... The runny noses and coughs and crankiness have well worn out their welcome, not to mention we're dealing with a really close to 3-year old who's tantrums can beat anyone's anyday!

So I know it doesn't sound like it, but things have actually been really, really good. Lots more to say, but it will wait for another day. Take care, I'll talk more soon!