Vacation Recap, Part One

Wow, what a week it's been. Sorry that I went more than a week between posts, but it turns out I didn't have a lot of free time on my vacation. I don't think I took one nap in the past week, which is truly a shame, isn't it? Despite a couple dud days, we did manage to pack plenty into our week off. It certainly wasn't long enough. I hadn't had a group of days off like that since Christmas, when our office closes for the week (though we have to make up that time, either by working more beforehand or taking vacation days), so it was our first extended period of time with Jacob in eight months. That's a lot of pressure! We started out our vacation week with a trip to Auburn, NY on Wednesday night. Craig had a Knighthawk throwing out the first pitch (lacrosse style, with his stick) at the Auburn Doubledays game. They're a single A team so it's on a bit of a smaller scale than we're used to, but we had a lot of fun. It probably helped that they treated us like royalty. The assistant GM is a former Amerks employee, and he hooked us up--two hats, a bat and ball set for Jacob, and free food all night. We had prime seats in the first row, right near home plate. Here's Jacob meeting the mascot. I think Abner was catching a pretend hit from Jacob. Here's Jacob in our prime seats, one hand on his bat, the other in the popcorn, and his eye on the action.

Here's the two of us in a rare successful self-portrait...

We had a great time but it made for a late night. Jacob freaked out about getting changed when we got back to the car, and it was a tough hour-plus drive home.

Thursday ended up being a dud. I finally decided to call the doctor to get my own nasty cough checked out, and the appointment was pretty much in the middle of the day which took away all motivation to schedule something fun. Jacob just wanted to play baseball outside (I think he and Craig did it three separate times that day) and was otherwise cranky. We had a lazy morning (and for some reason, it just wasn't the good kind), had lunch, did naptime, and I was off to the doctor. I ended up on a nose spray that I have to use until November and antibiotics, just in case. The doctor wasn't really sure what was going on, but since Jacob was already on them, she figured it was a good risk. I'm rarely on antibiotics anyway, so I agreed. I still have a bit of a cough, but now it's mostly mucus-induced, rather than those dry, tickle-induced coughing fits that made people think I had the plague. It's probably just allergies. Lovely. I think we ate in both meals that day and everything was just low-key...but not relaxing. Ugh.

Friday I was determined to do things better, and we got going first thing in the morning so we could make it to miniature golf before there was anyone on the course that Jacob could annoy. I had it in my mind that I wanted to introduce him to mini golf during our vacation, mostly because his hockey style isn't that far off and I hope to take him mini golfing for many years to come. We went to a place that's practically around the corner from us. We opted to go on the portion of the course with bridges and waterfalls and a cave (I think the former Putt Putt on Sheridan Drive in Amherst--now an Adventure Landing like ours, I believe--has similar theming, but the terrain at ours is generally less flat). Jacob got his own little putter and we gave him a crash course in putting. He picked it up pretty quickly, but he also had a tendency to pick up his ball. He'd do an initial putt, but then inevitably would run to his ball, pick it up, and put it three inches from the hole and putt it in from there. He'd also chase after our balls and pick them up. Hmmm. So, yeah, this is why I wanted to go when there would be no one else there. All in all, he seemed to have a lot of fun. He got a little out of hand near the end when we got to a hole with easily accessible water, but it wasn't too bad. He even got a hole in one with Craig's help. Neither of us got one, so he beat us there. Here he is with his putter...

And here's his putt-and-chase technique in action...

And here are the boys on one of the bridges...

We ended up going out for our favorite weekday-off lunch at the Pizza Hut buffet--the beginning of bad eating for the rest of the week--and then I spent the afternoon and evening doing yard work and packing for our trip. I also baked a homemade cookie cake (like the ones at the mall) to take to a family reunion on Saturday. It was a busy but productive day, and I don't mind those--though a nap would have been awesome.

Saturday we spent the morning packing up to head off to Buffalo for the first leg of our trip. The plan was for Craig to go to his cousin's bachelor party while Jacob and I headed off to a family reunion in East Aurora. We would meet back up at Craig's parents' house to sleep, then head out early to make it to Pittsburgh in time for an afternoon baseball game. We didn't get on the road on Saturday until early afternoon, and the weather was SO dreary. It didn't make for the most festive of starts to the vacation, I'll say that much. We got to Buffalo and dropped Craig off, and then Jacob and I headed down Route 20 to the picnic. We were later than I wanted to be, but it was ok because my parents didn't get there until a little after us, as they were coming from a picnic they went to near Geneseo...on the other side of Route 20! The day was pretty much spent with Jacob running around and playing any sport of his choosing, from baseball to lacrosse to badminton. Here he is in a baseball moment... Sometimes I was playing with him, sometimes my parents, sometimes his cousins. It's always nice to spread it around. At least it gave me some time to catch up with family. My mom ended up giving him a couple time-outs when he wouldn't stop hitting the net with his badminton racket, and he didn't want to eat much except for dessert, so he was a little difficult that day despite the massive amount of free play. We stayed until dark, at which point it started raining, and then headed back to Craig's parents'. Jacob slept most of the way home, but woke up as I was getting him ready for bed. It took a lot of cuddling and a lot of patience, but eventually he did fall asleep...in his pack and play, no less. Whew. Craig got back around midnight, and after a good night's sleep we were off to Pittsburgh. More on that soon!

We're home...

We got home from our busy long weekend late last night (seriously--it was after midnight) and I'm still playing catch up a bit. I'd like to do something fun today but so far it hasn't happened. Jacob still needs to nap (he slept until almost 9 today, so an early nap was not in the cards) and I have a lot of stuff I'd like to do while he's doing that. Let's hope he will nap and I can get things done and put a plan together for some fun later. It's been a busy week and I'm hoping to get pictures downloaded and some reasonably decent summary written at some point in the next day or two, so stay tuned!

Hello, Amoxicillin...

Jacob and I have both been sick for weeks. He started first with a cough and a runny nose. I started shortly thereafter with the same. Of course, I've had allergy issues all along as well, so I have no idea if the cold ever went away or not. The cough is just miserable. As I type right now my head is pounding from all the coughing. Jacob's had his cough for weeks now, which is nothing out of the ordinary except that he usually only has it during cold season. Twice since the cough started he's had thick greenish mucus. The first time we were told he just had a virus. When it started again over the weekend, I could merely just shake my head. Poor kid.

Well, tonight right before dinner Jacob was sitting in his high chair waiting to eat, and suddenly started crying and grabbing his ear. He was trying to dig into it and was whining miserably. Uh-oh. After dinner I called the doctor and Craig took him in. Sure enough, double ear infection. Nasty one in the left ear that he was grabbing at, and an average one in his right ear. Had it not been for tonight's incident, I never would have known--though with the return of green mucus, I was on the verge of calling the doctor again anyway. I know he slept crappy the other night, but he was generally in good spirits when he was awake--wanting to be with us, but not complaining or whining about discomfort. Other than that he's slept well, so how would I have known? God only knows how long it's been there. I sometimes wonder if he's just so used to being uncomfortable from all the issues he's had that some stuff just doesn't phase him anymore. Ouch. So, now we'll be dragging an icy cooler along with us to Pittsburgh this weekend to keep the Amoxicillin chilled. Two doses a day for 10 days. It's 7mL this time, which I know has to be considerably more than he got last time. Luckily, he loves the taste. I think I've said this before on here, but seriously, where were all these good flavors when I was a kid? So, hopefully he's on his way to getting healthy. Now if I just could, we'd be all set. What are the odds I need amoxicillin, too?

Surprisingly Photogenic Week(end)

I got some good pictures in the last week. I don't know if Jacob was more accomodating, or if I was just lucky (probably the latter). Last Tuesday we went to another baseball game here in town, mostly because the Gwinnett Braves were in town and Craig is an Atlanta Braves fan. In addition, a guy who's been in the majors for a while was playing for Gwinnett. Ironically, Craig bought a shirt cheap last year in Pittsburgh with the guy's name on it from when he played for Pittsburgh before getting traded to Atlanta. He'll be wearing that this weekend when we go back to Pittsburgh. But anyway, it was a nice night and it was a doubleheader and we always get free tickets so it seemed like a good idea. We didn't stay too long because it makes for a late night and Jacob can only sit so long, but while we were sitting there enjoying the game, I managed to take this fantastic picture of Jacob...and no, he didn't pose for this--I actually caught this shot mid-movement as he was sort of rocking on his seat.

This one just cracks me up. He was looking at Craig's Braves baseball...classic!

Shortly thereafter we headed out once Jacob stopped sitting nicely. I can't even tell you how many times he inadvertently elbowed or kicked the people in front of us. Lovely.

This weekend we headed into Buffalo for Craig's first family reunion in 13 years. The last one was held about a year before his grandmother passed away. The one the following year never happened because it was scheduled for two days after his grandmother died. And it just never happened again. Until this year. It was a brutally hot day, but fortunately the sun hid out quite a bit and we didn't get the full brunt of the heat and humidity all the time. But here's why I found it surprising that I got so many good pictures of Jacob--I only pulled the camera out a couple times, and even then, we were so hot and sweaty that I can't believe the pictures actually turned out good. I really had to pick and choose what I posted here. Facebook will eventually have them all, I'm sure.

Here's my adorable but HOT little boy in the middle of running around and playing lacrosse and baseball with his older cousins...

I just love his look of intensity as he plays here with sidewalk chalk...and those pink cheeks were because he was hot, not sunburned.
As a funny little side note, one of the activities at the event (in addition to a funny nametag game and an egg toss) was one of those "guess how many in the jar" games, this one with a jar full of Starbursts. They looked so good, so I sat there for a moment and did a little math. I estimated how many were in the top layer of the jar, multiplied it down, and settled with a guess of 625. The guesses ranged from the 200 realm up through about 800, so it was a crapshoot. A little while later, whoever was tallying things up came over and asked if I was Amy and said I had won! There were 627 Starbursts in the jar...so I was only two off! Here's a picture of the jar sitting on our dining room table, minus about four or five of the 627 :) I just had to share! And for reference, the jar is about a foot high!

At one point the picnic shifted over to the baseball field for the traditional family softball game. I think in the past there were a good number of adults that participated, but a good chunk of this year's participants were on the young side. And fortunately they were very accomodating to the really little ones, like Jacob and his two cousins, who really wanted to participate as well. Here's Jacob pregame, already in his catcher's stance. And yes, he does know to turn his hat around like a catcher, though it's a little crooked here. "I a catcher, mommy!"

Here's Jacob intently watching the game from the bleachers, waiting for his moment. Notice the Bakugan figures sitting nearby. For those of you unaware, they're toys that start out looking like little balls and magically open into creatures when put near their corresponding trading card. Other kids were playing with them, and I try to keep Jacob away from them because he inevitably just throws them like the balls that they are.

Jacob's up to bat, with a little help from Daddy...

He got a hit and took the longest run around the bases, possibly ever. But he took his grand old time at home plate, too :)

We had a good time but were pretty spent by the time we left. Jacob fell asleep in the car around 7:30, barely woke up for pajamas, and slept through until about 8am. Heavenly! We ended up heading back to Rochester pretty early on Sunday, at least compared to normal, because Craig's whole family was busy, mostly with campaigning for his brother's state assembly run. We figured we'd come back and try to be productive since we've had so many busy weekends. Ultimately we didn't do a lot. Craig did work on the pool (it's back to a cloudy turquoise from greenish again--hopefully it's almost there, just in time for vacation) and I spent some time shopping for the first time in a while. It was a pretty horrible shopping trip, though, which I may or may not discuss here at some point. Suffice it to say that I did some underwear shopping and I think I felt better about my body a couple months postpartum than I do right now. Ugh. That, and I have completely had it with Kohl's and their inability to stock size 7s in any shoes that I ever want to buy there. Anyway, Jacob and I did hang out a bit and I managed to take this incredibly cute picture of him when he was coming downstairs to play.

He's seriously too cute. I have discovered that he really wants to help me with a lot of things--strapping him into his carseat or high chair, loading the dishwasher (ugh), and a few other random things. It's cute, and I'm trying to help him help me, because he's just so sweet and proud when he does it. He's really saying a lot of funny things now, too, like "Mommy/Daddy, don't say that" if we say something he doesn't want to hear (like lacrosse or hockey season being over). We did have a rough night last night. He was up for 2-3 hours, fairly calm but calling for us a lot. When we stopped coming (my attempt to let him cry it out and tire himself out), he really went nuts. In the end Craig went in and held him for a while. Such a tough call in the middle of the night. I'm not sure if it was his early bedtime or lack of nap or a fear of something (he keeps talking about a movie--we did watch a short part of Tarzan 2 (darn Disney flicks) and something about that may have scared him), but it was not fun. Hoping we don't have a repeat tonight, because we're beat. On the bright side, Craig has one more day of work and I have two before we finally hit vacation. It is sorely needed for both of us. It has been a long span without it, that's for sure. We are going to Pittsburgh for a couple days with a quick stopover in Buffalo, and spending the rest at home. I'm still working on a list of things to do, but I know the days will go quickly enough without planned activities! Should be fun, though! More to come...

Gotta love peer pressure...

This morning I noticed on Jacob's daycare sheet from yesterday that they had circled "potty" in the spot where they note diaper changes. I took that to mean they actually sat him on the potty each time they changed him, which they've done sporadically before. It didn't note successes or failures, and in the midst of the morning routine, it went out of my head as quickly as it came in. When I got him to daycare this morning, I was informed that he actually went! One time was a trickle, but the other time was a legitimate pee! I don't know if it was the timing or peer pressure or what, but I'm glad to hear it. The tough thing is whether he gets a prize for that, since I wasn't actually there to witness it. Hmmm.

Oh, and in case you're wondering about his field trip, apparently it went fine. He was a good boy and loved the bus ride. I couldn't get much out of him except that the water was "cold", which he says all the time, even about our pool which got very warm before the green set in. It's still greenish, by the way, but I think we may have it back within our control. It's been more turquoise than green for the past week, but something's still a little off and it was looking greener again yesterday. Craig shocked it twice and is starting a renewed effort to keep it more chlorinated, since our levels have been showing up low lately. We won't really have time to swim in it this weekend anyway (ugh) but hopefully we'll get a few more good weeks out of it.

But anyway, the water was cold, the bus was neat, he had fun, and I found out after the fact that he was a good boy. Whew. It's still a little odd having a kid who isn't quite verbal enough to describe in vivid detail how the field trip was. Craig is planning on going on next week's trip to the park, so that should be interesting.

Off now for another busy weekend...it never seems to end this time of year, though summer's end is rapidly approaching. Only a three-day week for me next week as we're finally getting to vacation. Pittsburgh is our only firm plan right now, but I know we will fill the time quickly. I can't wait for the break!

Selfish Wishes for #2

After listing out some of Jacob's best characteristics yesterday (and my displeasure with some of his recent behavior), I've periodically thought about some of the things he doesn't do that I hope our next baby will do. This is in no way stating that I am unhappy with Jacob or that I want him to change (well, better obedience would be nice, but...), but just things that I've heard of other kids doing that Jacob doesn't and I'd like to have a kid that does. But since he's already pretty well settled into who he is, I guess I can log these as hopes for our next child. And it's probaby better to do that now while baby #2 is a mere thought, rather than a real, developing fetus--no need to put pressure on someone that actually exists ;-)

1) Eat well - I'm not saying they have to eat everything and ask for more, but it would be nice to get some general enthusiasm about regular food. Jacob has a few favorite foods (generally not real foods--usually ice cream, pretzels, etc.), but it's rare he gets excited about any good food or eagerly inhales what I make for dinner. I'd like to hear something besides, "No" when I say that it's time for dinner. I'd also like to see more food get eaten and throw away less. Watching food go to waste can get so frustrating after a while--like, why do I even bother putting in the effort if it's not going to get eaten? At least Jacob likes fruit and milk and enjoys my pizza and a couple other select meals.

2) Sleep eagerly - I can't really complain about Jacob because he's a pretty good night sleeper. He's ok with naps and generally doesn't fuss a lot when he's put in his crib. But you know what I'd love? Every once in a while I hear about one of those kids who knows that they're sleepy and does something about it--like bringing their blankie to you and indicating they're sleepy. How cute is that? Even a kid that falls asleep while playing would be interesting. Jacob did that a couple times, but never around me--once with my parents, once at daycare that I know of. I always thought that was cute and would have loved the unexpected break. Maybe I was just too on the ball at figuring out when he was sleepy and it never got to that point around me!

3) Get excited - I suppose Jacob gets excited about some things, but he rarely gets visibly excited by the things I feel like he should. When we get to sporting events, which should be super-exciting, he's usually very serious. He'll look around and watch the game intently. It seems like he just checks things out instead of getting excited. I'd love to see some genuine enthusiasm at a time when I'm expecting it!

4) Play with standard toys - Most of what Jacob plays with are his balls, hockey sticks, and lacrosse sticks. The one thing he frequently plays with beyond that is probably not exactly age appropriate, but he loves it. He has a collection of "hockey guys" and "baseball guys". The hockey guys are a combo of Craig's old table hockey guys, a bunch of Lil' Brat hockey player keychains, and other miscellaneous hockey-themed items. The baseball guys are mostly Craig's cool Charlie Brown baseball set that we got a few years back. Technically they're toys, but they're sort of collectibles, too. It's a risk to let him play with them and they're getting a tad beaten up, but not bad considering their use. The boys set up "games" with all of the guys, and it's the one thing Jacob seems to sit and play with for a while at a time. And yet, there's a whole corner of toys that rarely gets investigated. Maybe they need to be better organized so he knows what's there. Maybe I need to weed out any little baby toys. Maybe we need a new system altogether. Or maybe he's just into sports so that's all he cares to do. But it would be nice to have a child that found standard toys interesting so I knew how to play them with him/her. I'm not so good at hockey guys/baseball guys...or sports, for that matter.

5) Hair I understand - When Jacob was born, he had the sweetest little head with soft brown hair. There wasn't much of it, but it was nice because it didn't stick up or anything. He did lose a lot off the top shortly after birth, which led to a bit of a male-pattern baldness look for a while. Once he started getting haircuts, I sort of stopped understanding his hair. If it got cut too short on top, it stuck up. If it gets too long on top, it looks strange, like a permanent case of bedhead. I can't tell if he's meant to have a part or not. I don't know how to tell them to cut it so it doesn't stick up nor does it look like a straight cut across his forehead. Hopefully our next child will have hair I understand--though I might have no idea what to do with a girl, at least I can fake it with barrettes or something. As long as no child ends up with a mullet, we're in ok shape, I guess.

Nothing earth-shattering, and again, Jacob is more than I could ever ask for...but it never hurts to dream :)

Field Trip!

Today Jacob goes on his first field trip. Now that he's moved up to the "Twos" at daycare (the older toddler room), the biggest benefit is that he gets to go on field trips. The center has a bus equipped with car seats, so it's easy to transport all those kids. Side note: I've actually wondered from time to time (but never thought to ask) how private schools do field trips these days, now that kids are supposed to use boosters for so long. Back when I was a kid at good ol' St. Matthew, a handful of parents would offer to drive and we'd get divvied up into their cars. As long as there were seatbelts, we were good. Now, though, kids have to sit in booster seats until they're, what, 9ish? I wonder if they all bring their own in and install them (yikes), or if they're now forced to get a school bus, or if they just break the law for a bit. I know a couple Lutheran school teachers (one of whom reads the blog--Hi Heather!), so perhaps I'll get an answer one of these days. Anyway, they go to a variety of places--parks, restaurants, and other fun activities. Some cost a couple bucks, some are free. It's a neat thing, though, even if Jacob may not be old enough to truly appreciate the experience. It's something different, so it can't hurt.

Last week I got two permission slips. They were pretty vague on the locations, but as far as I can tell, today's was to the spray park we went to a few weeks back. The permission slip said, "Water park", and that's really the only thing I can imagine. I know they've gone there before, so that's my guess. I'm not sure if I missed any formal information on the field trips because Jacob just got into the room or if normally there's a bit more detail in the monthly newsletter, which didn't seem to make it out this month. Not that I'm particularly concerned, since I trust them with Jacob on a daily basis and today is no different, but anyway...he's going on another one next week to a park. Again, not sure what park it is other than than what road it is located on. I think I found it when I did an internet search, but I can't tell what this park has other than a pond (though if that's the case, cue the worry). So, yes, I think it's cool that he gets to do these things, and this just brings on a whole new level of mommy guilt that I can't be there. Well, I could, but it's tough to take time off on this short notice. And anyway, I'd rather save that time for a cooler one--like when they go to Brueggers or McDonald's or Strong Museum (they have a membership! But oh, the stress of being there with more than my own single child!)! I do wonder how having a parent there would interfere in Jacob's experience. Would he stick to us like glue? Would he not be as social or would he be hesitant to do something just because we're there watching him? I have no idea.

Of course, this whole thing brings out a new level of worry, as well. I can't quite begin to imagine how two teachers can possibly control a group of two year olds in parks or other open areas. A smaller place like a restaurant kitchen, though full of its own dangers, is a bit more confined so it's harder to lose track of someone. But a park where the entire concept is for them to play? I have no idea how that works. It's not like you can tie them all together or have them hold rings on a rope like Jon & Kate (plus 8) used to use. So how can they keep their eyes on that many kids? It's scary. You're not there and you never know what you kid might do. Jacob is fearless and loves to run. Bad combo. And as I've documented here, he's also accident prone. I keep sitting here waiting to get a call that he's fallen and bumped his head or scraped himself up. I should probably just call and see how things went, though I'm sure they'd call if anything went wrong. I'm assuming they went this morning because it'd be best to get it in before naps and lunch and before kids start going home. Between wrangling kids and working around their schedules, this while field trip thing has me wondering. How do they do it?! I guess this is just the next step in child-rearing...discovering the mysteries of the field trip. I'm sure everything will go fine, but what would a new element of parenthood be without a little angst? :)