A second birthday

Well her second birthday came and went. I think the crayons, Mr Potato Head, a Tinkerbell personal fan, and a Minnie dress were a big hit. She's worn that dress two days in a row! And yesterday was hot -- didn't matter she wanted it "off", which meant "on".


She's talking a lot more and more clearly. "Doe" for "Dora" is now "Doe-ah". She says "Dank you Papa" and "shooz". Shoes are both socks and shoes. "Ay-toe" is Mr Potato Head and "book" (with an extra emphasis on the "k") is book. "Gah-sez" are glasses.

She's wearing the mardi gras necklaces and bracelets from Kari a lot. Basically she really liked her party and had a good time.

We all slept in the next day until 8.30am when we heard "Mah-MA!!!" from the other room.

In fact, this morning she didn't call out until about 7.15am but had clearly been awake for a little while. She told me what she had been practicing by immediately showing me and saying "Elmo, noz" and pointing to his nose. Then "Icky noz", "iglit noz" and "baby noz" for Mickey, piglet and her baby.

She has a few dolls called "Baby" and since we returned from Mexico they're all pronounced "Bay-beh" instead of "Bay-bee". Very cute. 

Less impressed, more ooh!

Since the early, sound, deep nap happened again today, I realized it wasn't maturation but baby allergy medicine. She's got a cough and sneezing. I bought generic baby allergy relief to help with the symptoms and it's knocking her out!

I now understand why my sister-in-law gives our niece some Dramamine before a long car ride. Knocks the kid out for quieter travel.

Since the allergies aren't THAT bad, I'll back off the full dose. I feel badly making her wonky. Although it is a little bit of a relief to see her able to sleep so soundly in the car.

Ah well...

I am super IMpressed

Two firsts in travel and sleep today.

First, she took over an hour nap in the car two HOURS before her normally scheduled nap.  normally she waits until she's overtired to pass out on any car ride and secondly she never sleeps more than an hour in the car. And what's more, she was very well behaved in the car during the four hour ride. (I guess either she's adapted to all the travel we did in Mexico and/or she's matured a little in the meantime.)

Second, she was very tired by 7pm. So we left my aunt's house and drove to my cousin's (where we were going to spend the night). Right to a bath and then bottle and bed. She asked for the bath and bed. She didn't try to stay up longer or watch tv and went right to sleep with minimal head banging. And shortly after 8pm. 

Like I imagine a bigger kid might do. This may be a one off -- and I'll take it. Super impressed. A very good and flexible kid today. Made the car journey and day go much nicer all around. 

It takes one day to adjust

So after many short trips and the big one back home, we have figured out it takes Carolina one day to adjust. The first day back she was irritable and fussy. Out of sorts. The next day she rested and was more herself. She's still a little off but then she's not settled back into any kind of routine since we've done something different every day.

Looking at apartments and meeting up with some friends at the High Line.

Since I can't know when a new change is coming because she's getting older vs a temporary change because she's not well or something's up. I feel frustrated (and depending on how long it goes on for) a bit of a cockup until I figure it out. My in-laws have a different approach: If there's nothing obviously wrong and she's not sick, just ignore it. It'll pass. This is totally not me and it's probably how they raised so many children.

Don't try to figure it out; just roll.

I can't. I gotta know. Like the head banging and body rocking. I need to figure out why and help her stop. It was pretty exhausting the whole month. Made me wonder if I can handle a second one. And then most of the time I was bummed out I wasn't pregnant already.

I think C will make a great big sister.

In the meantime, as soon as I get the baby potty I ordered from my parents place, we are going to start a laisse faire approach to potty training.

Packing to go home. Are we ready?

Well, yes, for the most part we are all looking forward to our own beds and some sleep. We will probably all miss not having friends and family close by. People we like to see most days of the week. It's what Papa misses most about living in Mexico:

Calling a friend: You around? Great. See you in 10 mins.

Can't do that in New York. Everyone is always so busy you have to schedule something a week or few in advance. And all our closest friends live at least 30-45 mins away. When at home that sounds fine and normal. Here, it sound ludicrous. Of course Celaya isn't NYC. And that's why I want to go home.

Miss C has been having a lot of travel to deal with. Mostly it's fine but then we get the occasional "too many changes at once mommy!" trip. Our first night in Leon she REFUSED to go to bed. She was up, an hour after me, until midnight. And then woke up at 6.30/7am.

Different house, different crib, no curtains on the windows, no door. Too much activity for my curious babe to be able to resist. Next afternoon she passed put in the car. So we drove around for an hour until she woke up. Figured she needed SOME sleep. Ha. Mommy and Papa needed more...

I think she is going to miss her Abuelos. In particular her Abuela. They had a very good day together a few weeks ago when we both went out during the day. She asks for Abuela in the morning and Abuela is always around. Ah well...

Went to the DF... there were no naps and a stomach bug

Three days in Mexico City and I got a stomach bug while Miss C just had one 1-hour nap on day two. It was a good visit overall. We stayed at a really nice hotel, Hotel Nikko Mexico. A Japanese/JAL chain. Went to Chapultapec park and then Zocolo the next day. It was short not just because of it being only 3 days but my stomach bug cut the last morning short. We didn't go see the ruins just outside the city. Next time...