Language and Hair
Hayden’s hair is totally out of control. She looks like a Jonas brother. Possibly Justin Bieber on a really bad day. She was born with a full head of black hair. I mean, she had A LOT of hair. Finally it started to thin out a bit, but then it quickly grew back with a vengeance. I have a small problem with cutting her hair. It stems from my own childhood. When my Mom would work, my Italian grandparents would watch me. My Mom had great pride is my blonde wavy locks. One day, she went to pick me up after work and my grandfather had literally given me a bowl cut. At the ripe old age of 1. She must have told me the story of how hard she cried a million times. It was incredibly traumatic for her. She thought everyone would think I was a boy. (Keep in mind, I had my ears pierced at 3 weeks old- but apparently I still resembled a little boy)
So, every morning when I go over to grab Hayden out of her crib and I see her trying to remove the hair from her face, I wonder if this will be the day that I give in and get her a haircut. I consulted with my hairdresser who has been cutting my hair since I was 8 and she was just a teenager- her advice, trim, don’t cut. And most importantly, don’t do it myself, bring Hayden to her. I’m figuring she has two young girls (2 and 3 years old) so she probably knows what to do. Yet, at 16 months old, I still haven’t done it. I’m just so afraid she’s going to have think ugly bangs. I constantly have to tie her hair back with clips and elastics. Augh. I just don’t know what to do.
On another note, Hayden’s language skills are progressing which is cool. I’m starting to wonder though, am I the only one who understands her? I remember when I was babyless (ah, those were the days) and I would have a child come up to me and mumble something totally foreign. I would look puzzled and the mother would like at me like I was some sort of idiot and say “She said that she likes your shoes”. I figured that most mothers were so delusional at that point that they disillusioned themselves to believe that they could understand their kids strange ramblings. I would smile and say “Of course she did”- But I think I actually do understand her. I mean, she call’s blueberries “B’s” and call’s most animals “fishee’s” and everyone smaller than her is a “beebee” but I get it. And I’m totally not delusional. Well, I don’t think I am…
Thursday, November 3, 2011
The Attack
The Attack
So, I’ve spoken at length about Hayden’s fear of all farm yard animals. We’ve gotten to the point where she doesn’t even let me read her “Farm” book… (She freaks out at the point where I have to say “Cockadoodledoo”)- I blame her fears solely on Stew Leonard’s plastic cow in the milk section of the store that has forever scarred her beyond belief. The cow makes a loud “Moo” sound when anyone pushes the button. She screams when we approach it and the poor child literally shakes in fear.
I’m the kind of Mom that won’t just let my kid have unfounded fears and decided that because my husband was off from work today and it was a beautiful, sunny 79 degree’s, that I should pack up the family and go to the Stamford Museum. For those of you who haven’t visited Stamford Museum, it has a great farm with so many animals, a very “nature” centered playground and a museum/planetarium. I went with the intention to have my little diva confront her fears head on. Big mistake. Let me rephrase, huge mistake.
It started on innocently enough. It was feeding time for the Otters. Hayden enjoyed pointing out the Otters and repeated “Otters” a few times. She seemed happy to observe the animals from a distance. Cool, I thought. Then we entered the farm area where there were several farm animals and many loose birds. There were ducks, turkeys, roosters all running around free. Game on, I thought.
Hayden began nervous but was calm as my husband held her and brought her up to the animals. My phone rang and it was a work call. I took the call and stepped away while they watched the giant turkeys nearby. Hayden clutched Paul’s neck with one arm and in her little hand clutched her “snack trap” full of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish. (We don’t leave the house without them)-
It never crossed my mind that these innocent looking turkeys were actually Goldfish hungry maniacs. As I wandered off to discuss closing dates and mortgage contingencies (I’m a Realtor… fyi) I heard a yelp from my poor husband. I spun around to witness a full grown turkey attack my husband’s leg. The turkey was pecking at him while my husband made every effort to kick the bird off of him and protect my little girl. He clutched her, she clutched her Goldfish. It was, by far, the funniest thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I couldn’t hold back. Watching that grown turkey attack my husband while he admirably protected his daughter was the most humorous scene… ever. I lost it. I laughed so hard that I had to cut my work conversation short to compose myself.
Paul suffered a bitten leg and a bruised ego, Hayden, unfortunately, deepened her fear of all farm animals. We could not put her down to run around once the entire day. She didn’t even want to play at the playground with the other children. She was terrified. I guess that teaches me to make my kid confront her fears.
So, my advice this week, avoid killer turkeys and let your kids face their own fears. I guess there is a time to just sit back and let nature run its course.
So, I’ve spoken at length about Hayden’s fear of all farm yard animals. We’ve gotten to the point where she doesn’t even let me read her “Farm” book… (She freaks out at the point where I have to say “Cockadoodledoo”)- I blame her fears solely on Stew Leonard’s plastic cow in the milk section of the store that has forever scarred her beyond belief. The cow makes a loud “Moo” sound when anyone pushes the button. She screams when we approach it and the poor child literally shakes in fear.
I’m the kind of Mom that won’t just let my kid have unfounded fears and decided that because my husband was off from work today and it was a beautiful, sunny 79 degree’s, that I should pack up the family and go to the Stamford Museum. For those of you who haven’t visited Stamford Museum, it has a great farm with so many animals, a very “nature” centered playground and a museum/planetarium. I went with the intention to have my little diva confront her fears head on. Big mistake. Let me rephrase, huge mistake.
It started on innocently enough. It was feeding time for the Otters. Hayden enjoyed pointing out the Otters and repeated “Otters” a few times. She seemed happy to observe the animals from a distance. Cool, I thought. Then we entered the farm area where there were several farm animals and many loose birds. There were ducks, turkeys, roosters all running around free. Game on, I thought.
Hayden began nervous but was calm as my husband held her and brought her up to the animals. My phone rang and it was a work call. I took the call and stepped away while they watched the giant turkeys nearby. Hayden clutched Paul’s neck with one arm and in her little hand clutched her “snack trap” full of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish. (We don’t leave the house without them)-
It never crossed my mind that these innocent looking turkeys were actually Goldfish hungry maniacs. As I wandered off to discuss closing dates and mortgage contingencies (I’m a Realtor… fyi) I heard a yelp from my poor husband. I spun around to witness a full grown turkey attack my husband’s leg. The turkey was pecking at him while my husband made every effort to kick the bird off of him and protect my little girl. He clutched her, she clutched her Goldfish. It was, by far, the funniest thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I couldn’t hold back. Watching that grown turkey attack my husband while he admirably protected his daughter was the most humorous scene… ever. I lost it. I laughed so hard that I had to cut my work conversation short to compose myself.
Paul suffered a bitten leg and a bruised ego, Hayden, unfortunately, deepened her fear of all farm animals. We could not put her down to run around once the entire day. She didn’t even want to play at the playground with the other children. She was terrified. I guess that teaches me to make my kid confront her fears.
So, my advice this week, avoid killer turkeys and let your kids face their own fears. I guess there is a time to just sit back and let nature run its course.
Poor Kid
Poor Kid
Last week, I talked a bit about the horrible mood Hayden had been in. The day after that post didn’t go much easier. I had a few parents send me e-mails offering reasons why she wouldn’t snap out of her funk- there was a flu going around- she’s not used to the heat- she hates you… (NOT funny, by the way)- I quickly realized a couple nights later, as I swayed her in my rocking chair and she screamed, that there were a few pearly whites popping out. This may not come to a surprise to many of you but for me, it’s a pretty big deal. Hayden is a late teether. She didn’t get her first tooth until 9 and half months and then didn’t get a second until she was almost a year. She had 5 total until this past week when she popped FIVE molars! MOLARS!! She’s still missing a bunch of teeth in the front of her mouth but she’s getting molars?! I was shocked. More importantly, I felt like the worst mom in the world for being so incredibly annoyed with her while she was going through this pain.
In addition to be the meanest Mommy ever, I instilled a new fear into her. Stew Leonards. I was under the impression that Stew Leonards was the coolest place on earth. I mean, you get to go grocery shopping and it’s kind of like being on a ride at Disney World. Singing farm animals everywhere- samples of food- and to top it all off; you get to get ice cream and go see the animals when you’re done. Lately, Hayden has becoming scared of a lot of things. I can’t figure out where these fears stem from. I made the huge mistake of pushing the button at Stew’s so the cow would moo- she literally jumped out of the cart seat and I had to carry her through the rest of the store while she was shaking in fear. Who’s afraid of a plastic moo’ing cow? My kid is.
So, once we made our way through the store, I put the grocery’s away, took my receipt over to the ice cream area (fyi- if you spend more than $100 on grocery’s you get a free ice cream cone) and got us ice cream. I figured seeing the goats would be somewhat interesting. No, again, I was wrong. Apparently she hates farm animals. Shockingly, she did enjoy the ice cream. I guess she is a lot like her mother.
She’s still gnawing on everything and I live for the Hylands teething tablets. It seems to be getting a little better. She is still speaking a ton of Spinese (her language… it’s a cross between Spanish and Chinese) but she’s using a ton of real words now too. I think that’s so cool. Paul and I took her Calf Pasture Beach yesterday to go for a walk and she kept saying “ball”. I repeatedly told her that there was no ball. Finally she points off into the distance and sure enough there are a bunch of people playing volleyball with a – you guessed it—ball.
Is it bad that whenever she’s misbehaving I threaten her with going to Stew Leonards to see the cow? I mean, I have to leverage her fear for something, right?
Last week, I talked a bit about the horrible mood Hayden had been in. The day after that post didn’t go much easier. I had a few parents send me e-mails offering reasons why she wouldn’t snap out of her funk- there was a flu going around- she’s not used to the heat- she hates you… (NOT funny, by the way)- I quickly realized a couple nights later, as I swayed her in my rocking chair and she screamed, that there were a few pearly whites popping out. This may not come to a surprise to many of you but for me, it’s a pretty big deal. Hayden is a late teether. She didn’t get her first tooth until 9 and half months and then didn’t get a second until she was almost a year. She had 5 total until this past week when she popped FIVE molars! MOLARS!! She’s still missing a bunch of teeth in the front of her mouth but she’s getting molars?! I was shocked. More importantly, I felt like the worst mom in the world for being so incredibly annoyed with her while she was going through this pain.
In addition to be the meanest Mommy ever, I instilled a new fear into her. Stew Leonards. I was under the impression that Stew Leonards was the coolest place on earth. I mean, you get to go grocery shopping and it’s kind of like being on a ride at Disney World. Singing farm animals everywhere- samples of food- and to top it all off; you get to get ice cream and go see the animals when you’re done. Lately, Hayden has becoming scared of a lot of things. I can’t figure out where these fears stem from. I made the huge mistake of pushing the button at Stew’s so the cow would moo- she literally jumped out of the cart seat and I had to carry her through the rest of the store while she was shaking in fear. Who’s afraid of a plastic moo’ing cow? My kid is.
So, once we made our way through the store, I put the grocery’s away, took my receipt over to the ice cream area (fyi- if you spend more than $100 on grocery’s you get a free ice cream cone) and got us ice cream. I figured seeing the goats would be somewhat interesting. No, again, I was wrong. Apparently she hates farm animals. Shockingly, she did enjoy the ice cream. I guess she is a lot like her mother.
She’s still gnawing on everything and I live for the Hylands teething tablets. It seems to be getting a little better. She is still speaking a ton of Spinese (her language… it’s a cross between Spanish and Chinese) but she’s using a ton of real words now too. I think that’s so cool. Paul and I took her Calf Pasture Beach yesterday to go for a walk and she kept saying “ball”. I repeatedly told her that there was no ball. Finally she points off into the distance and sure enough there are a bunch of people playing volleyball with a – you guessed it—ball.
Is it bad that whenever she’s misbehaving I threaten her with going to Stew Leonards to see the cow? I mean, I have to leverage her fear for something, right?
Operation Rescheduled Birthday Party
Operation Rescheduled Birthday Party
We did it! We did it! We finally had Hayden’s rescheduled birthday party! You know, it’s funny how things happen. I remember the day of the party being so incredibly devastated that it had to be cancelled. I cried that day like I haven’t cried in a long time. In retrospect, this party went so smoothly that I don’t think I would have been able to pull it off so flawlessly in March.
I’ve been dreading re-baking all the cupcakes (theme of the party was cupcakes and I baked over 500 the first time) and hated the idea of having to re-hire all the vendors, re-create a guest list, etc. But a funny thing happened last week; everyone started calling and offering to help. I mean, I have a great family and great friends that are always willing to help, but I mean a lot of people reached out to me. It felt good that so many people wanted to be a part of this day. I had a team of five friends come over and we popped out 600 cupcakes in eight hours. They were perfectly frosted and decorated. Their husbands helped with centerpieces and created the IPod play list. (Then they quickly disappeared to the patio to throw back a few beers, but hey, they deserved it). I had five SUV’s loading all the things that had to make its way to the museum the day of the party. Incredible was the support Paul and I had for our little girl. Of course, Hayden had no idea what was going on and most likely she’ll never remember the party, but I have to say, I’ve never seen our little girl so happy in her entire life. I really mean that- she was smiling and running around the entire time surrounded by tons of friends. It was a wonderful day. Really, everything I hoped it would be for our little diva. And now, I’m happy to report that I will never do it again… not until her Sweet 16 anyway… and none of that “My Super Sweet 16” stuff- She can have it at a bar or something easy like that.
So, today Hayden woke up in funk. I worked my butt off at the office throughout the week so I could lay back and spend the day with Hayden running errands and just general quality time. I knew from her first squeal of protest this morning that it would be a difficult day. (Side note: It is now a full hour later… “in a funk” Hayden kept pushing buttons on the laptop and screaming and crying so I had to take a break)- Nevertheless, I packed her up and went about our day. First stop, Port Chester for lunch with a good friend of mine… worst thing that can happen to “in a funk” Hayden? Traffic. We sat in traffic for 40 minute while she screamed bloody murder. There’s only so loud my radio can go to cover her screams. I couldn’t drown them out. At lunch, she did a fantastic job of throwing every piece of food I tried to feed her onto the floor. She then made a point to whine until I had no choice to take her out of her high chair. Then she proceeded to push the high chair throughout the very busy restaurant. In her defense, she did stop at random tables and wave hi. I was relieved when she fell asleep on the way home. I figured she would take a good nap and the funk would be over. Not so much. When she awoke, I was in the Stew Leonards parking lot. What could be more fun than doing a quick stop a Stew’s with ice cream and farm animals? The kid acted like I was trying to kill her. She screamed and nearly jumped out of her skin when the electronic cow moo’ed. She didn’t want to eat her ice cream and clutched me for dear life when I tried to show her the little chick’s and goats. I gave up and figured I would bring her to the one place on earth that always put her in a good mood, Stepping Stones Museum. I had to drop off some flowers and a thank you note anyway- this would be a great opportunity to snap her out of her funk. She cried the entire way there. And not the protest crying, the “I know you hate me Mommy and I’m going to scream until you lose your mind” kind of cry. And I hate to admit it, but I snapped. While I tried to unload her from the car, carry a big bouquet of flowers and grab my bag, I just lost it. I actually yelled “Hayden, you’re really pissing me off”. As she continued to wail, I looked over and sure enough there was “perfect Mommy” loading her “perfect kids” into her “perfect car”. She gave me a scowl. At that point, I felt defeated. I dragged her in kicking and screaming the whole way. Every staff member in the place stopped and turned around to see the little terror. Plan “Get Hayden out of the funk by letting her go crazy at Stepping Stones”- FAILED. Finally, I had enough. I threw her over my shoulder, strapped her into the car and headed home. That teaches me to work extra long hours at work to spend quality time with my kid. From now on, I will continue to schedule meetings more frequently. She isn’t in a better mood right now, but at least here I can ignore her more than in public. And on that note, she just fell over her play house and once again, is screaming. I’m done with today.
We did it! We did it! We finally had Hayden’s rescheduled birthday party! You know, it’s funny how things happen. I remember the day of the party being so incredibly devastated that it had to be cancelled. I cried that day like I haven’t cried in a long time. In retrospect, this party went so smoothly that I don’t think I would have been able to pull it off so flawlessly in March.
I’ve been dreading re-baking all the cupcakes (theme of the party was cupcakes and I baked over 500 the first time) and hated the idea of having to re-hire all the vendors, re-create a guest list, etc. But a funny thing happened last week; everyone started calling and offering to help. I mean, I have a great family and great friends that are always willing to help, but I mean a lot of people reached out to me. It felt good that so many people wanted to be a part of this day. I had a team of five friends come over and we popped out 600 cupcakes in eight hours. They were perfectly frosted and decorated. Their husbands helped with centerpieces and created the IPod play list. (Then they quickly disappeared to the patio to throw back a few beers, but hey, they deserved it). I had five SUV’s loading all the things that had to make its way to the museum the day of the party. Incredible was the support Paul and I had for our little girl. Of course, Hayden had no idea what was going on and most likely she’ll never remember the party, but I have to say, I’ve never seen our little girl so happy in her entire life. I really mean that- she was smiling and running around the entire time surrounded by tons of friends. It was a wonderful day. Really, everything I hoped it would be for our little diva. And now, I’m happy to report that I will never do it again… not until her Sweet 16 anyway… and none of that “My Super Sweet 16” stuff- She can have it at a bar or something easy like that.
So, today Hayden woke up in funk. I worked my butt off at the office throughout the week so I could lay back and spend the day with Hayden running errands and just general quality time. I knew from her first squeal of protest this morning that it would be a difficult day. (Side note: It is now a full hour later… “in a funk” Hayden kept pushing buttons on the laptop and screaming and crying so I had to take a break)- Nevertheless, I packed her up and went about our day. First stop, Port Chester for lunch with a good friend of mine… worst thing that can happen to “in a funk” Hayden? Traffic. We sat in traffic for 40 minute while she screamed bloody murder. There’s only so loud my radio can go to cover her screams. I couldn’t drown them out. At lunch, she did a fantastic job of throwing every piece of food I tried to feed her onto the floor. She then made a point to whine until I had no choice to take her out of her high chair. Then she proceeded to push the high chair throughout the very busy restaurant. In her defense, she did stop at random tables and wave hi. I was relieved when she fell asleep on the way home. I figured she would take a good nap and the funk would be over. Not so much. When she awoke, I was in the Stew Leonards parking lot. What could be more fun than doing a quick stop a Stew’s with ice cream and farm animals? The kid acted like I was trying to kill her. She screamed and nearly jumped out of her skin when the electronic cow moo’ed. She didn’t want to eat her ice cream and clutched me for dear life when I tried to show her the little chick’s and goats. I gave up and figured I would bring her to the one place on earth that always put her in a good mood, Stepping Stones Museum. I had to drop off some flowers and a thank you note anyway- this would be a great opportunity to snap her out of her funk. She cried the entire way there. And not the protest crying, the “I know you hate me Mommy and I’m going to scream until you lose your mind” kind of cry. And I hate to admit it, but I snapped. While I tried to unload her from the car, carry a big bouquet of flowers and grab my bag, I just lost it. I actually yelled “Hayden, you’re really pissing me off”. As she continued to wail, I looked over and sure enough there was “perfect Mommy” loading her “perfect kids” into her “perfect car”. She gave me a scowl. At that point, I felt defeated. I dragged her in kicking and screaming the whole way. Every staff member in the place stopped and turned around to see the little terror. Plan “Get Hayden out of the funk by letting her go crazy at Stepping Stones”- FAILED. Finally, I had enough. I threw her over my shoulder, strapped her into the car and headed home. That teaches me to work extra long hours at work to spend quality time with my kid. From now on, I will continue to schedule meetings more frequently. She isn’t in a better mood right now, but at least here I can ignore her more than in public. And on that note, she just fell over her play house and once again, is screaming. I’m done with today.
Here we go again...
Here we go again…
This Sunday is Hayden’s rescheduled first birthday party. Ironically, she will be turning 15 months old on Sunday. I have a lot of pent up anxiety about this party. After the disappointment of the first time around, I’m cautious to get too excited. For those of you that don’t recall what happened, Hayden’s original party was the weekend of the huge storm that hit our area. Long story short- Stepping Stones Children’s Museum loses power, I am forced to cancel party, I call all attendees (all 140 of them) to let them know and bring the 500 cupcakes I made to the homeless shelter. Sigh.
The next available date that Stepping Stones could reschedule our party was for this Sunday. I pushed this party to the bottom of my “things to do” because it seemed so far off, but now it’s this Sunday. A lot of people can’t make it this time and I honestly have no idea how many people are coming. Whatever. It’s supposed to thunderstorm on Sunday- What are the chances we’ll have to cancel the party twice? Sorry- I’m being a Negative Nelly. What is awesome is that I’ve encountered the kindest people while rescheduling this party. I had a dress made for Hayden on etsy.com and the woman who created it altered it into a summer dress for her new party… free of charge. Taylor Rental rescheduled my table and chair delivery at 50% off. Pongo the Clown rescheduled the date without any issue or penalty. Cake Suite in Westport gave me 10% off the new cake. Costco didn’t do anything, but then again, I didn’t expect anything … Oh, and my father is re-making all the food. But then again, Hayden is his princess. As for me, I thought about screwing the cupcakes, the centerpieces, and the balloons… but I knew that if I cut corners the second time, I would never forgive myself. But on the positive side, many of my amazing girlfriends are scheduled to be at my house at 3 pm. today to start baking. I’m getting the wine, of course.
Seems the only thing we didn’t have to buy again was the beer and wine… but turns out it has all disappeared over the last three months. I have no idea where it has all gone-
Oh yeah, one more thing- Hayden’s walking. Finally. I know they say that every child is different and you shouldn’t judge or compare, but if you’re anything like me, you do. I was borderline obsessed with why she wasn’t walking yet. I began to wonder if it had to do with her head being too big, her legs too chunky, her hair in her face, being carried too often, wrong shoes, maybe I should have used a walker… but at the end of the day, she just wasn’t ready. This past weekend we were at our Parent Groups annual BBQ and she just picked up and walked. She walks well too. We call her our “professional walker” now. She’s so sure of herself. Kind of like a drunken sailor but much cuter.
Wish me luck this weekend… I’ll probably need it.
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This Sunday is Hayden’s rescheduled first birthday party. Ironically, she will be turning 15 months old on Sunday. I have a lot of pent up anxiety about this party. After the disappointment of the first time around, I’m cautious to get too excited. For those of you that don’t recall what happened, Hayden’s original party was the weekend of the huge storm that hit our area. Long story short- Stepping Stones Children’s Museum loses power, I am forced to cancel party, I call all attendees (all 140 of them) to let them know and bring the 500 cupcakes I made to the homeless shelter. Sigh.
The next available date that Stepping Stones could reschedule our party was for this Sunday. I pushed this party to the bottom of my “things to do” because it seemed so far off, but now it’s this Sunday. A lot of people can’t make it this time and I honestly have no idea how many people are coming. Whatever. It’s supposed to thunderstorm on Sunday- What are the chances we’ll have to cancel the party twice? Sorry- I’m being a Negative Nelly. What is awesome is that I’ve encountered the kindest people while rescheduling this party. I had a dress made for Hayden on etsy.com and the woman who created it altered it into a summer dress for her new party… free of charge. Taylor Rental rescheduled my table and chair delivery at 50% off. Pongo the Clown rescheduled the date without any issue or penalty. Cake Suite in Westport gave me 10% off the new cake. Costco didn’t do anything, but then again, I didn’t expect anything … Oh, and my father is re-making all the food. But then again, Hayden is his princess. As for me, I thought about screwing the cupcakes, the centerpieces, and the balloons… but I knew that if I cut corners the second time, I would never forgive myself. But on the positive side, many of my amazing girlfriends are scheduled to be at my house at 3 pm. today to start baking. I’m getting the wine, of course.
Seems the only thing we didn’t have to buy again was the beer and wine… but turns out it has all disappeared over the last three months. I have no idea where it has all gone-
Oh yeah, one more thing- Hayden’s walking. Finally. I know they say that every child is different and you shouldn’t judge or compare, but if you’re anything like me, you do. I was borderline obsessed with why she wasn’t walking yet. I began to wonder if it had to do with her head being too big, her legs too chunky, her hair in her face, being carried too often, wrong shoes, maybe I should have used a walker… but at the end of the day, she just wasn’t ready. This past weekend we were at our Parent Groups annual BBQ and she just picked up and walked. She walks well too. We call her our “professional walker” now. She’s so sure of herself. Kind of like a drunken sailor but much cuter.
Wish me luck this weekend… I’ll probably need it.
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Guess who hates flying?
Guess Who Hates Flying?
As I sit here and wonder what I’m going to write about Hayden’s first cross country trip, I can’t help but to smile. Sure, at the time I would have gladly killed my neighbor to get myself and child off the plane, but I survived. And lucky for my neighbors, they did too.
We were off to sunny, warm San Diego to watch my baby sister graduate from the University of San Diego. I couldn’t wait to see my sister, to lay on the beach, to take Hayden to Disneyland- but there was one major problem we had to conquer… the five and a half hour flight with the most temperamental 14 month old I know.
I was so worried about the flight, that I almost forgot about the three hour time change we were about to encounter. Hayden’s sleep schedule is pretty rigid and I should have known that she would be a very angry diva when it came to her sleep. First mistake, I woke her up at 4 a.m. My Mom said to me- (insert deep Italian accent here) “Anna, let the baby sleep and bring her sleeping. We’ll change her once we get to the airport.” But since I know everything, I assumed that if I woke her up at 4 a.m. she would be exhausted by the time we boarded the flight at 8 a.m, pass out for five and a half hours and BAM, we’d be in California ready to party. I guess I should have taken it as a sign that this wasn’t the best of ideas as I tried to wake her up and she just kept repeating “Oh, No… Oh, No…” over and over again. We got her dressed and headed over to my parent’s house to pick them up. She cried the entire way to JFK. Fantastic. This was going well. Once we got to the airport things got better since she had so much to look at. We were a circus going through the airport. My parents, my husband, myself and Hayden brought four luggage that weighed an amazing 50 pounds each, four carry on’s, a diaper bag, two electronic bags, a car seat, a pack and play and a stroller. Sigh. We boarded the plane and sat and sat and sat. It was taking forever for this plane to take off. Since we are idiots, we opted to exercise the “lap infant” instead of ponying up the extra $300 for her seat. She sat on my Mother’s lap (she permanently attached herself to my Mom for the entire trip… gave me a break)- All of a sudden I smelled a certain kind of funk that can only come from my little princess. Sure enough, full stinky diaper. We were not allowed to leave our seats. I sat frozen while I smelled her diaper convinced everyone on the plane could smell it too. My “regular” little girl who poops once a day pooped three times on that flight. Ever change a poop diaper on a plane when there’s a line at the toilet? I have. Not fun.
While we were boarding, I saw a little boy about Hayden’s age. He had a shirt on with a picture of a plane and it read “Lucky you, you get to sit next to me”- Mental note, get one of those shirts for Hayden next time. Anyway, after the first poop episode, my plan came true. Hayden fell asleep. For thirty full minutes. Then she woke up. More pissed than before. There’s really only so much fussing you can take before you just have to let her free to do her thing. This actually improved her mood very much. I let her crawl and cruise up the aisle. She ate every snack I packed. She disappeared under the seat and kept returning with people’s random things. We collected a NY Times Newspaper, an US weekly magazine, some potato chip wrappers, and my personal favorite, a chap stick.
Then she decided that she loved everything. My child, for whom I fight with to get kisses, decided she wanted to kiss everything and everyone. She kissed the little television (several times) while her cartoons were on, she kissed the airplane food tray (eww), she kissed every single one of her crayons (and colored on the airplane food travel… sorry Jetblue), she kissed the emergency pamphlet, and of course, she kissed the airplane seat… repeatedly.
I would like to take this time to file a formal complaint with the recall people who recalled every damn medication for infants. My master plan had always been to “Benadryl” my diva- in a healthy “put your baby to sleep for an extended time” kind of way. Anyway, they did and I couldn’t find a bottle of it anywhere. I had to settle for the generic Walgreens fake Tylenol. They advertise “non-drowsy” on their stupid label like it’s a good thing. Idiots.
The way home wasn’t much easier. She completed her forty minute nap when we took off and began to fuss. She found a way to poop three times on the way home as well (how about that for consistency?) and lucky for us there were several children on the flight home. Once I had enough, I took the window seat, pulled my earphones on, and promptly passed out. I hoped no one would know I was with this crazy family trying to keep this screaming one year old quiet. Next thing I knew, I woke up to a random kid painting my jeans. Apparently, Hayden started a play group on the plane right next to our seats. Fun. Within a few minutes, an aggravated stewardess came and broke up the gang of five children under two that had convened in my row. The men in the row in front of us continuously gave us the “stank eye”. There’s a bit of me that understood their frustration, but there’s the Mommy in me that still wanted to kick their butts.
Nevertheless, I survived. I’m stronger now. I can conquer the world.
More to come regarding the rest of the trip… Missed you guys.
As I sit here and wonder what I’m going to write about Hayden’s first cross country trip, I can’t help but to smile. Sure, at the time I would have gladly killed my neighbor to get myself and child off the plane, but I survived. And lucky for my neighbors, they did too.
We were off to sunny, warm San Diego to watch my baby sister graduate from the University of San Diego. I couldn’t wait to see my sister, to lay on the beach, to take Hayden to Disneyland- but there was one major problem we had to conquer… the five and a half hour flight with the most temperamental 14 month old I know.
I was so worried about the flight, that I almost forgot about the three hour time change we were about to encounter. Hayden’s sleep schedule is pretty rigid and I should have known that she would be a very angry diva when it came to her sleep. First mistake, I woke her up at 4 a.m. My Mom said to me- (insert deep Italian accent here) “Anna, let the baby sleep and bring her sleeping. We’ll change her once we get to the airport.” But since I know everything, I assumed that if I woke her up at 4 a.m. she would be exhausted by the time we boarded the flight at 8 a.m, pass out for five and a half hours and BAM, we’d be in California ready to party. I guess I should have taken it as a sign that this wasn’t the best of ideas as I tried to wake her up and she just kept repeating “Oh, No… Oh, No…” over and over again. We got her dressed and headed over to my parent’s house to pick them up. She cried the entire way to JFK. Fantastic. This was going well. Once we got to the airport things got better since she had so much to look at. We were a circus going through the airport. My parents, my husband, myself and Hayden brought four luggage that weighed an amazing 50 pounds each, four carry on’s, a diaper bag, two electronic bags, a car seat, a pack and play and a stroller. Sigh. We boarded the plane and sat and sat and sat. It was taking forever for this plane to take off. Since we are idiots, we opted to exercise the “lap infant” instead of ponying up the extra $300 for her seat. She sat on my Mother’s lap (she permanently attached herself to my Mom for the entire trip… gave me a break)- All of a sudden I smelled a certain kind of funk that can only come from my little princess. Sure enough, full stinky diaper. We were not allowed to leave our seats. I sat frozen while I smelled her diaper convinced everyone on the plane could smell it too. My “regular” little girl who poops once a day pooped three times on that flight. Ever change a poop diaper on a plane when there’s a line at the toilet? I have. Not fun.
While we were boarding, I saw a little boy about Hayden’s age. He had a shirt on with a picture of a plane and it read “Lucky you, you get to sit next to me”- Mental note, get one of those shirts for Hayden next time. Anyway, after the first poop episode, my plan came true. Hayden fell asleep. For thirty full minutes. Then she woke up. More pissed than before. There’s really only so much fussing you can take before you just have to let her free to do her thing. This actually improved her mood very much. I let her crawl and cruise up the aisle. She ate every snack I packed. She disappeared under the seat and kept returning with people’s random things. We collected a NY Times Newspaper, an US weekly magazine, some potato chip wrappers, and my personal favorite, a chap stick.
Then she decided that she loved everything. My child, for whom I fight with to get kisses, decided she wanted to kiss everything and everyone. She kissed the little television (several times) while her cartoons were on, she kissed the airplane food tray (eww), she kissed every single one of her crayons (and colored on the airplane food travel… sorry Jetblue), she kissed the emergency pamphlet, and of course, she kissed the airplane seat… repeatedly.
I would like to take this time to file a formal complaint with the recall people who recalled every damn medication for infants. My master plan had always been to “Benadryl” my diva- in a healthy “put your baby to sleep for an extended time” kind of way. Anyway, they did and I couldn’t find a bottle of it anywhere. I had to settle for the generic Walgreens fake Tylenol. They advertise “non-drowsy” on their stupid label like it’s a good thing. Idiots.
The way home wasn’t much easier. She completed her forty minute nap when we took off and began to fuss. She found a way to poop three times on the way home as well (how about that for consistency?) and lucky for us there were several children on the flight home. Once I had enough, I took the window seat, pulled my earphones on, and promptly passed out. I hoped no one would know I was with this crazy family trying to keep this screaming one year old quiet. Next thing I knew, I woke up to a random kid painting my jeans. Apparently, Hayden started a play group on the plane right next to our seats. Fun. Within a few minutes, an aggravated stewardess came and broke up the gang of five children under two that had convened in my row. The men in the row in front of us continuously gave us the “stank eye”. There’s a bit of me that understood their frustration, but there’s the Mommy in me that still wanted to kick their butts.
Nevertheless, I survived. I’m stronger now. I can conquer the world.
More to come regarding the rest of the trip… Missed you guys.
A cousin is born...
A Cousin is Born!
Today has been an amazing week. On Monday, my brother and his wife welcomed their first baby boy, Hunter. Today, Hayden turned 14 months old. It’s unbelievable to think that little, tiny baby was once the same size as Hayden. Watching my sister in law throughout her pregnancy, I was always afraid that once I laid eyes on her little boy, I would get the itch to have a second baby. Two things happened on Monday when he was born, I fell head over heels in love with my little nephew, and I certainly am still NOT ready for another baby.
I have been prepping Hayden that a baby was coming, but of course she just babbles in her language that resembles Chinese. She has perfected the word “baby” though. It’s so cute. Is it weird that she speaks in a native tongue? I think it’s a cross between Spanish and Chinese. I’m pretty sure she learned this language that we will call Spinese from watching an overdose of Ni-Hao Kai-Lan and Dora the Explorer on Nick Junior.
I wasn’t sure how Hayden would react to Hunter. She really didn’t react at all. The first time she laid eyes on him, she looked confused. Then she lost all interest in him. Then she tried to poke him in the face with her finger. She’s been extra moody this week, but it’s probably because I keep her trapped in that little hospital room while I stare at the baby’s itty bitty face. (imagine me saying that in pure baby voice)- She did manage to throw three tantrums today and take her crayons and draw all over the hospital floor. I’m sure the nurses LOVE her.
I’ve finally joined the league of insane Moms carrying the “semi-pro” cameras. I used to make fun of the mothers at the play ground hoisting a twenty pound camera on their shoulder. Now, I’m one of them. I had to give in and get one. (Actually, it was my Mother’s Day gift) I just couldn’t get a decent shot of Hayden. Every time I tried to snap a picture of her smiling, it would turn out with her eyes crossed and her tongue sticking out. I’ve already taken over 300 pictures this week. Granted, 200 of them are of Hunter.
Next week is a big week for the Zap family. We’re off to San Diego to watch my baby sister graduate college. It’s Hayden’s first trip on a plane and needless to say I’m super nervous. I used to travel a lot before she was born and I used to dread the screaming baby on the plane. I have a feeling this will be payback for all the swearing I did under my breath. I think Hayden’s warming up her lungs for that six hour flight. God help us all.
So, I’ll be back in two weeks with lots of stories about traveling with my diva. Say a little prayer for me!
Today has been an amazing week. On Monday, my brother and his wife welcomed their first baby boy, Hunter. Today, Hayden turned 14 months old. It’s unbelievable to think that little, tiny baby was once the same size as Hayden. Watching my sister in law throughout her pregnancy, I was always afraid that once I laid eyes on her little boy, I would get the itch to have a second baby. Two things happened on Monday when he was born, I fell head over heels in love with my little nephew, and I certainly am still NOT ready for another baby.
I have been prepping Hayden that a baby was coming, but of course she just babbles in her language that resembles Chinese. She has perfected the word “baby” though. It’s so cute. Is it weird that she speaks in a native tongue? I think it’s a cross between Spanish and Chinese. I’m pretty sure she learned this language that we will call Spinese from watching an overdose of Ni-Hao Kai-Lan and Dora the Explorer on Nick Junior.
I wasn’t sure how Hayden would react to Hunter. She really didn’t react at all. The first time she laid eyes on him, she looked confused. Then she lost all interest in him. Then she tried to poke him in the face with her finger. She’s been extra moody this week, but it’s probably because I keep her trapped in that little hospital room while I stare at the baby’s itty bitty face. (imagine me saying that in pure baby voice)- She did manage to throw three tantrums today and take her crayons and draw all over the hospital floor. I’m sure the nurses LOVE her.
I’ve finally joined the league of insane Moms carrying the “semi-pro” cameras. I used to make fun of the mothers at the play ground hoisting a twenty pound camera on their shoulder. Now, I’m one of them. I had to give in and get one. (Actually, it was my Mother’s Day gift) I just couldn’t get a decent shot of Hayden. Every time I tried to snap a picture of her smiling, it would turn out with her eyes crossed and her tongue sticking out. I’ve already taken over 300 pictures this week. Granted, 200 of them are of Hunter.
Next week is a big week for the Zap family. We’re off to San Diego to watch my baby sister graduate college. It’s Hayden’s first trip on a plane and needless to say I’m super nervous. I used to travel a lot before she was born and I used to dread the screaming baby on the plane. I have a feeling this will be payback for all the swearing I did under my breath. I think Hayden’s warming up her lungs for that six hour flight. God help us all.
So, I’ll be back in two weeks with lots of stories about traveling with my diva. Say a little prayer for me!
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