An Awesome Aunt Day

Tate got treated to a day by my sister Kamie. It started with a trip to pick her up on the Front Runner, a commuter train in Utah. We even watched the train arrive. Tate now thinks everyone should arrive by train, it seems like common sense to him. It is also his dream to "listen to the rolling thunder" just like in the Day of the Diesels song on his Thomas CD. He has an addiction. After picking her up we headed to the store for a couple things. Tate and Kamie went exploring together and ended up with an afternoon full of projects to do. 

 They picked their projects; a car night light, a wooden train, and a soda fueled car.

 Tate loved the color black.

 For the second paint job Kamie even found him a special shirt, complete with a huge knot in the back. It took some convincing to get him to put his real shirt back one.

 Tate got a little mischievous and added a splash of black to Kamie's beautiful red piece.

 The soda car was the last project and the one that took the most convincing and the most time. It ended up not accelerating, or moving as hoped, but Tate pushed it along. Does the cold kill the mentos soda reaction? Regardless Tate had an amazing day with my awesome sister.

This is what Ian thought of all the fun. The poor kiddo was sick and could only sleep sitting up. What a little trooper.

Getting to Utah

Utah holds the magic of family during the holidays. Each year we make the trip, dread the travel, love the stay and I still find myself thinking next year I am just staying home.

 Packing for the trip always holds much excitement at our house. Tate and Ian love playing peek-a-boo and hide-and-seek as soon as the luggage comes out. Ian also decided the bags make great dumping grounds for toys. What accumulated in that bag in less than an hour would have taken me ages to decide upon. Maybe next time I'll just let him pack; entertainment would definitely be covered. When I really did pack the bags and the kids were no longer allowed to play in them there was some weeping and wailing throughout the house.

 Tate decided to take matters into his own hands and pack for himself. Note the loaded backpack on his back too. Trimming this entourage down to four toys took four hours and 2 parents. It was quite the feat. 

 Upon arrival at the airport we found that our flight was delayed. It was due to mechanical problems so we decided to take our chances and head to Chicago in hopes that our connection would also be late. Of course fate was not so kind and we ended up spending the night in a hotel. Luckily we were stuck with friends. There was another family and a friend from our ward on the flight as well and we all had a party hanging out and waiting for our next flight; the earliest one we could get confirmed on was at 8:30 p.m. the following day. Ian slept through the 2 hour wait to get our hotel and flight changed and Tate slept in the stroller during the 30 minute line to check in. We left our house in Davenport at 4 and were finally settled in our hotel at midnight. The kids slept 6 whole hours. It was by far the best our kids have ever done in a hotel as far as sleeping and much less stressful than I expected.

 With a day to kill and no wheels to utilize we set about keeping busy in our small enclosure. Ian read a book all about Chicago.

 Tate colored for a half hour!!! It was monumental. It helped that we had a wall of windows that looked out over the train that shuttled people from parking to the airport. It whooshed by every 15 minutes on the dot and was probably the highlight of my little man's life. We could also see all the planes taking off and landing. It was pretty cool.

 So cool it put Ian to sleep. Note the train in the right side of the picture.

 There was a lot of buddy bonding going on. Tate was so sweet to hold Ian's hand for about 15 minutes as we wandered around. I much prefer this to the side stoop I have to do to guide him along.

 Ian and our little friend hanging out and watching Micky Mouse Clubhouse in a hotel crib. We had 2 of these in our room, one for Ian and one for Tate and then a King size bed. It was the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in. Someday I hope to have one this wonderful.

The middle of our hotel. It was really cool. I would love to visit again minus the kids.

After checking out of our hotel around 4 we headed to the airport. Upon arriving so early I decided we should check out an earlier flight. They ended up having room for us. As we were waiting to board I looked away from Tate to wipe Ian's nose and when I turned to find him he had exited the airport to the baggage area. Our gate was right next to a revolving door exit that was to awesome for my three year old to pass up. With 10 minutes to boarding I had to grab our passes and my ID and run like the wind with him to go through security yet again. I was pulsing angry vibes as Tate kept saying, "Mommy I don't want to be in trouble." We ended up getting onto the plane with attitudes and energy plummeting south by the minute. Ian fell asleep with take off to spike a fever an hour into the 4 hour flight. Oh the adventure of travel with children....

Catching Sunbeams

On Tuesday we returned from our Utah trip. Since then we have refreshed rules, expectations, and behaviors in our house. Thank goodness for the weekend because this mommy needed some team parenting expertise. There is definitely a reason it takes a man and woman to make a baby. Without that I can't begin to imagine raising one. Even on the roughest days though there are definitely golden moments.
Ian has entered and embraced the inquisitive impatient stage. I forgot how time consuming one little one can be. He knows what he wants, when he wants it, and is getting more creative when it comes to getting it. Despite his new fits and screeches he still melts my heart daily. On Wednesday we decorated our house to bring in some Christmas spirit. Our window is now covered with gel clings, in the most organized design we have ever had. My new method requires me to lift Tate to put them on the window out of reach and therefore I determined the vicinity in which each one could go. Ian even joined in the decorating, but was just as content staring at them and carrying around the unopened packages. As the sun was setting and the dancing sunbeams cast Christmas shadows on our wall, Josh and I sat and watched Ian as he tried to catch them. I think a lot of times in life I forget to take a moment to capture and enjoy something so simple and beautiful. There is definitely much to be learned from little ones.

 After a 2 hour fail to get my children to sleep we headed to a chiropractor appointment. The van was just the right trick to get this one to sleep. I keep telling Josh I should get a pizza delivery job during nap time to pay for the gas it would require to get my children to nap daily.

I will never understand how or why Tate is more apt to lay in our cart at the grocery store than in his own bed. Sometimes I wonder if he is allergic to sleep. Is that possible?

 While in Utah Tate was given a lantern/flashlight. He is in love. Our dance parties have turned into raves, with Christmas music. Does it get any better than that?

After decorating our tree Tate looked at me and said, "It don't look good. It's messy." Turning on the lights was the only thing that appeased his desire to take it all off. He was very thankful for the tree though and loves to show everyone that comes over.

We attempted a trip to the gym to find that the kid watch was full. Tate was thrilled and suggested to go to the museum instead. I gave in. Ian loves to explore while Tate still is enthralled with the train table. I wonder if that will ever change.

 My little one-socked monkey sucking on a piece of jerky. He reminded me of a dog as he chewed on it for quite sometime. As much as I love sleep, my kiddos are definitely worth the lack of it even though sometimes I am too tired to appreciate how blessed I am.