Let me start with the vacation since it's still somewhat fresh in my mind. We stayed in a gorgeous house right on the water on the Outer Banks (OBX for the locals). As a parent (and one who selfishly REALLY wanted a relaxing vacation), this trip was a LOT of work. I was grateful to see the whole family and spend time with them in a lovely atmosphere. But the drive out there took literally 24 hours from beginning to end and another 18 to return. I think it was actually harder on the adults than it was the kids.
While we were there, however, we got lots of exercise. Rachel insisted on being all over the house, seemingly all at the same time. It was 3 stories and I know I had to carry her up and down all the flights of steps multiple times a day, sometimes multiple times an hour. My calves were in great shape by the time we left!
But she was able to spend time with some distant cousins, as well as Alana:
Rachel did a GREAT job swimming in the pool by herself. While she wasn't ever alone at the pool, we had this awesome life jacket that allowed her to get in and out of the pool on her own so we didn't have to be by her side the entire time. It kept her upright, but didn't force her face into the water. I recommend these things!!
Rachel had a VERY difficult time adjusting to being home again. For the entire trip she was always sleeping in someone's bed. My Aunt Gail and Uncle Paul generously offered to let her sleep with them (because they did that with all of us kids and it's a treat for them to get to spend that special time with the kids) and we were grateful for the help. So a few nights she stayed in their room, and a few she slept with us. When she got home, she did NOT want to sleep in her own bed alone. It took over 2 weeks to get her to stay in her bed. And I think I've calculated perhaps 2 or 3 nights where she's slept through the night and hasn't come wandering into our room in the middle of the night.
She also did NOT like being back at day care. Since we were in Newburgh for Memorial day and on vacation for a week, she was able to be around us and family for the better part of 2 weeks. Traveling is hard on an adult. But for a two year old to try to get back into the swing of things, it's really tough! Her first few days back at day care the teachers said she was very emotional and cried a lot. Each day got a little better, but there are still mornings that she has a tough time, and it's been 3 weeks.
We are having trouble at night. She used to willingly go to sleep, now we can't even bribe her with the pacifier. She's up and down up and down and sometimes doesn't go to sleep until after 9:30. If it's raining or storming, it's a lost cause. We aren't going to win, so she ends up sleeping in our bed or I sleep with her in the guest bedroom. With all the rain and storms we've had, you can imagine that sleep hasn't been a luxury we've enjoyed at our house. I know this will get better as she gets older, but for now it's really wearing us down.
One night I noticed that she wasn't in her bed when I checked her monitor, but I didn't hear her outside of her room. I waited a while and when I went to check on her, she was completely passed out on her floor. One night when Jason came to bed he tripped over her coming into our room because she'd just fallen asleep on the floor in our doorway and he didn't see her in the dark!
She is still in that phase where every bird or rabbit she sees she chases after it and desperately wants to touch it. No matter how many times we explain that they are wild or they don't want to be touched, she runs her little heart out and is bewildered when she doesn't catch it.
Her communication skills are improving, but still have a long way to go. One day she and I were driving somewhere and probably someone cut me off or did something while driving I didn't appreciate and I sighed really big. She said, "It's okay mommy!"
She is finally learning the concept of "sorry", although sometimes she'll apologize for absolutely no reason. But at least it's in her vocabulary!
We recently had an adventure with her allergies. They developed into a fever and diarrhea which was caused by an ear infection. She kept telling me over and over again, "Muh belly hurts". I can now tell her she can't have something because it will make her belly hurt and most of the time she'll put back whatever she's asking for. But it was 2 days of horrible diapers and when she finally threw up I collected her up and instantly went to the med check. I thought it was from all the sugar she had eaten one day. After the doctor visit, I'm pretty sure it was a combination of sugar, fever and ear infection. Once we treated the ear infection, the rest of it cleared up.
One of the near pitiful things she says constantly...."You want pay wis me?" (Do you want to play with me?) She can do this sad little voice that makes you melt and of course we want to play with her. Of course, as soon as we stop what we're doing and immediately sit down, she gets up and goes off to do something else. So "play" means, will you touch the toys I'm touching and then I'm going to go do something else?
We have, in some of her recent fits heard, "I don't want it!" followed quickly thereafter by something being thrown in anger. She is also very keen to tell us, "I don't want to!"
She will, however, say, "I like-a dis-a one!" Whether that's clothes, the movie she's watching, the food she's eating, etc."
For some reason she's adding unnecessary syllables at the end of words. For example:
water = Wadurt
Ariel = Ariurt
Every time we have dinner....whether it's steak, pork chops or chicken....all meat = chicken. Eventually she'll understand. For now, it's just adorable.
We're having less trouble getting her to eat veggies and meats now....although we are having trouble getting her to sit and eat at the table. It depends on how hungry she is as to whether or not she'll join us.
I can't remember what some of her other phrases are right now, but she'll get on a kick and use some of the same ones over and over again.
I apologize there aren't more pictures, I'm in the process of compiling all the photos from the vacation and they are scattered all over creation and I'm having a difficult time getting them all into one place. Not to mention, in total there were 800 photos taken (that's all I have so far, I know there are more) and going through them to find photos to post is quite daunting with all we have going on.
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