The Trip Down

Passed out after our arrival at the hotel.

A close up.

The dreaded cat nap with Curious George.

Breakfast at the airport.

It all began at 3 AM when the alarm went off so we could make our 7:45 AM flight out of JFK. I don't think we will be doing that again anytime soon. Not the best time to travel with Roo. In the past, when I have flown with her alone, she was much younger and napped at least 2x a day. With one nap now, she was totally thrown off schedule. I was shocked that she didn't sleep on the way to the airport (we were running late, as usual) and she fought even harder to stay awake on the plane to Miami. We did all the stuff the parenting magazines say, wear her out as much as possible and board at the last possible moment, but no luck. She stayed awake and moving much of the trip.

One good thing, I was able to score us first class upgrades, which gave Roo a little more space, but the bad news was that it also gave her access to more attention. The doting stewardesses dubbed her "the cutest thing ever" and kept wandering over to see what she was up to. The ever-performing, attention-getting 18 month old was delighted and too excited to sleep for more than 30 minutes. By the time we got to Miami she was exhausted and fell asleep in her stroller.

Catnaps are the worst. It is just enough to give her some energy and too much sleep to get her to take another nap. By the time we boarded the bus to the puddle jumper she was in full toddler mode. Screaming at everyone and everything with delight. She was especially enamored with the college girls in front of us on the plane. She kept trying to peek through the space between the seats in front of us and get their attention. Thank God they were too busy mapping out their bar hopping plans. We spent the entire time trying to make sure her quick moving feet didn't kick their seats (having experienced this pre-child, we know how annoying this can actually be). For the most part, we succeeded. Then we started descending. Roo was not a happy camper. She was tired, hungry (regardless of the fact that she had eaten non-stop all day) and wanted out to be free to run. She was quite vocal for the last 15 minutes of the flight, but I think for the most part the passengers understood, or at least appeared to by their comments ("I think her ears hurt" was what most of them would say).

The funniest part was when everyone was deplaning. Roo's best move these days is saying "bye-bye" and giving a wave. We opted to get off the flight last and Daddy prompted Roo to say goodbye to almost every departing passenger. Now how mad can you be at a cute little blond girl waving and saying "bye-bye" as you arrive in the Bahamas? I think she made up for her whining, or at least appeared to since everyone waved back and gave her a smile. Oh, the Roo. Always cute when she needs to be.

Family Vaca

As the commercial states, "It is better in the Bahamas." And boy was it ever. I have lots of stories to tell about about our week away, so more to post later, but I did want to mention how fortunate I feel to have been able to spend a whole week with the Roo. Tantrums and all. In this economy we are lucky enough to go away on vacation (thank you frequent flier miles), but to be able to swing an almost free trip for the three of us is unbelievable. Roo was her typical hammy self (trying to get attention from anyone who dare glance her way) and strong willed as ever (making sure Daddy and I knew when she was unhappy or in need of a nap). Vacations aren't like they used to be, laying in the sun reading a book while lazily sipping a margarita, but they are a different kind of good. The kind that you get to have when you are blessed with a toddler. More to come.

Our Roo. The Bubble Blower.

So things have been a bit chaotic for us. We have yet to experience the lull after the holidays that everyone keeps talking about. No lull in our household. I need a lull. I think all three of us need a lull.

Roo is growing and changing every day, sometimes so quickly I think I blink and she is doing something new. Which is why it is getting harder and harder to leave her for days at a time when I have to travel for work (which has been weekly lately). It breaks my heart. Hopefully I am home now for a bit and can soak in every new word, activity and experience with her.

Recently I returned from one of my trips only to be followed by a week of working very late hours. One night I made a mad dash for the door as soon as I was given the opportunity so I could make an effort to get home in time for Roo's bath and bedtime. Mission accomplished! I arrived just in time to help her in the tub. I reached for a washcloth and as I turned back around to face the tub I heard a strange noise. An odd gurgling noise. Then I realized it was coming from my kid. She had, unprovoked, stuck her face into the bath water and started blowing bubbles. I couldn't believe it. No one had taught her that (at least as far as I am aware of) and although I have every intention of signing her up for a Mommy & Me swim class (add it to the never ending to-do list), we had never tried to get her to do anything like this.

I couldn't stop laughing and she just kept putting her face back in the water and blowing bubbles, just to entertain me. I got Kerry's attention and he rushed upstairs just in time for her to do it 1-2 more times, then...game over. We kept saying "c'mon baby, blow bubbles" and she just looked at us like, "I have no idea what you are talking about". Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. We now try to get her to do it every night, sometimes she gives it a shot, mostly she laughs at us as we dunk our heads in the water and get soaking wet in an effort to convince her try just one more time. We haven't had a whole lot of luck. I guess we will have to wait for her next amazing trick, try to get it on DVD, just to realize that she does not perform on demand. Haven't we learned yet?

Complete Chaos

OK, so it has been a while since I have updated this. A month. I swore I wouldn't go this long without updates, but I have. Bad Mommy. Anyway, January has been complete hell and we have been busier than ever. Shocker. And here we are, officially in February and it is shaping up to be more of the same. I have convinced myself that it will never slow down and I just need to get over it. Accept and move on. But I don't want to.

This year we rung in the new year with our traditional hibachi dinner. Except this time Roo got to join us. We went with our friends Tracy and Tommy and had a blast. Miss Roo loved all the activity at the hibachi table, but her favorite part is chewing on the boxes of fruit flavored gum. Ahh, the little things. At one point she got so antsy that I had to take her out to the reception area for a little distraction time. The host gave her a rubber flower shaped ring that had a flashing light in it. You would've thought she found the best thing ever. She kept screeching and laughing at it, and of course trying to eat it, which led it it's eventual confiscation and disposal into the garbage can. Choking hazard.

On the 5th, it was back to our usual routine. Work, school, work. I felt like I never got a break and got horribly sick. What a mess. I actually lost my voice for three days. Roo is at the point where she is a little mimic. She is always trying to repeat words. Poor kid, all I could do all weekend was whisper, so she would whisper right back to me. Then she would of course screech at the top her lungs and start laughing at me. As if I was trying to tease her and all this whispering was just a game. I wish.

Then we decided to take a family road trip to visit Kerry's Godparents. They live in VA, right outside DC. We had one very important learning on this trip- it is time to invest in a portable DVD player. There is NOTHING worse than an antsy 15 month old in an Audi. Small, bored person in a small space, with lots of energy. It was at times, sheer torture, for all three of us. Gone are the days of the long naps and the days of needed constant entertainment have arrived. But we made it, had a great visit and it was a chance for Roo to spend some quality time with Aunt Peggy and Uncle Bernie, two people we truly love and admire.

So, as I bring the stories of our adventurous January to a close, all I can say is that we are looking forward to a very busy February. And on a sad note, we had known for a few weeks that I was pregnant with our second child, but after getting stuck in the crazy Midwest ice storm last week, I went to the doc and found out that at 8 weeks the pregnancy was not viable. I was sad and a little shocked at first, but Roo always makes everything better. I came home, gave her a big hug and a kiss, which was exactly what I needed. Her laugh lights me up from the inside out and I am so lucky to have her. I know I keep writing that over and over, but I mean it. My life is different and so much better because she is in it. If we are meant to have more children, great, if not I still feel like I am the luckiest Mom in the world.

Reagan's First Ice Skating Lesson

One of Reagan's gifts from Auntie Court was a pair of ice skates. My family has been almost always involved in ice skating in some way. My Mother ice skated in Ice Follies as a kid and my Sister and I grew up skating. Court still does, I had to stop once I got hips and could no longer get off the ground. I was never that graceful anyway.

So, Reagan got a bunch of ice skating themed gifts- a couple of ice skating outfits, her own set of skates, a skating bag and a Pottery Barn Kids doll named "Merry" who came equipped with her own skating gear. Lots of fun!

Since Court was only visiting for a short while, we decided to take Roo to a local rink so we could all see her first attempt on the ice. What fun we had! First of all we dressed Roo in her Gap skinny jeans, ice skating themed sweater and her furry winter boots (which she never wants to take off). Then we headed to the outdoor rink in Westport at the Longshore Country Club. This rink goes up every Winter and is near the beach, so much fun for an afternoon of skating and people watching.

Once we got situated, Court and I put on our skates, then Court got Reagan ready. I have to say that she was pretty good at walking in her skates, especially considering she has only been walking for 5 months. We got her out on the ice and Court took over (she gives lessons to kids and I have no idea where to start). Roo tried and did pretty well. She had a decent center of balance, but couldn't seem to understand why her feet kept moving out from underneath her. Needless to say, we didn't get very far. So Roo wouldn't get bored, Court and I would pick her up and skate around the rink saying "let's go zoom!" She was laughing and having a great time going fast and passing by everyone.

Then we decided to take a hot chocolate break while the Zamboni cleaned the ice. Roo did great standing in her skates and being patient. Of course Daddy had a basket of curly fries, so that kept her occupied. Food take priority with this kid. We also gave her a first taste of hot chocolate, no interest. Instead she wanted the clementine the woman next to us was eating. Luckily she had an extra and offered to share.

Once the Zamboni was done, we went back out on the ice (Daddy was taking pictures and video on the sidelines without skates), but not for long. It was Roo's nap time and the ice skating adventure was wearing her out. She started to figure out how to "march" in her skates and could even stand by herself, but it was time to call it a day.

I don't think that I would ever have considered getting her ice skates this young, but I am glad Court did. It helps to carry on the Dunne-Hodock-McCoy skating tradition in our family, at least for now.

Our Christmas

Christmas this year was busy as usual, but at least we didn't have to travel. So much has been going on we spent much of Christmas Eve fighting the crowds. Then we went to mass (with a very active child I might add) and finally collapsed at home. Before putting Roo to bed in her Christmas themed jammies, we went down stairs and set out cookies, milk and a note for Santa along with some carrots for the reindeer, then finally called it a day.

Christmas morning Reagan woke up at her usual time around 7 and we all went downstairs to see if Santa had arrived, which of course he did, much to her delight. We investigated some of Roo's loot then went into the kitchen to make pancakes for breakfast. After breakfast we opened our gifts and after the excitement we were all ready for a nap.

That evening Auntie Courtney arrived with her usual ridiculous amount of gifts (she really is a great shopper, I think I might need some lessons) and she let Reagan open her gifts. I think Roo was completely overwhelmed and not quite sure what to do next, but regardless had a great time.

Then finally she was off to bed and we could all enjoy dinner. As usual Kerry and I celebrated in true New England tradition with lobster. We were so full we didn't even have dessert. Lots of activity, but a fun couple of days was had by all and we were all grateful that Court came to visit.

The Christmas Spirit

Kerry, Reagan and I tried one final holiday shopping push on Sunday morning. Well, let's be honest it is probably not final. Still more to do....

We decided to go to this local discount store and as we pulled into the parking lot noticed that it was going out of business. The parking lot was packed and we were dreading what we would find inside. Actually it was not too bad, long lines, but you are going to find that anywhere this time of year. We hit up the departments where we knew there were items we wanted and then wandered the rest of the store. Since Reagan is a girl on the go these days, she really likes to walk through the store rather sit in the cart. She must have picked up every gross item possible on the floor. I cringed but just kept cleaning her hands off, with all the action, this was a battle not worth fighting.

As we got to the center of the store, they had rows and rows of these dolls. They were called "Kinder Garden Babies". They had tons of them. Reagan spotted one just at her level and ran towards it. The boxes have a little handle on the top like a suitcase, she picked it up and hugged it to her chest saying "mine, mine". To be honest the doll was a little tacky and we had bought her more than enough Xmas gifts so I just waited until she was distracted, stashed it on another shelf and we moved on.

As we were leaving the store, we paused on the sidewalk to come up with a truck loading attack plan. As we stood there a woman walked by and stopped to say hi to Roo. She said to us "Did you see these dolls in there, they are only $2.99!" as she pulled the same exact Kinder Garden Baby out of her bag that Roo had wanted so badly. "You should get her one." I thanked her for letting us know and said "Not today. Maybe we will come back another time. She seemed to really like them." Figuring that the woman would understand and be on her way. Instead she reached out to Reagan with the doll and said "Do you like this?" Reagan smiled and started poking at the box. Then the woman said, "Well you know what, you can have this one." I have to say that both Kerry and I were extremely touched and we couldn't say no. What a sweet gesture. This woman did not know us, did not know our situation and had obviously made the purchase with someone else in mind. Out of the goodness of her heart and what I can only assume is some good old fashioned Christmas Spirit she selflessly gave a little blonde girl she didn't know the one thing she had really wanted all day. I was floored.

As she walked away and Kerry walked to get the truck (leaving Roo and I to ooh and ahh over her new doll) the woman looked and Kerry and said "Merry Christmas." He said "Well, now you know you will really have a very Merry Christmas because of what you just did, right?" She just smiled.

So, I guess there are still some good people out there that really believe in giving. I think I have to remember that more often and remind myself that is what this time of year is supposed to represent. Treating people (the ones you know and the ones you don't) with patience, kindness and respect. And giving back whenever you can. As frustrated as I get this with the holiday season, I am so thankful that someone reminded me to to just stop and realize that there is kindness everywhere, sometimes you just need to recognize it.