The Drivers

God is great or are we just lucky?

Yesterday, Sunday afternoon, we went grocery shopping as a family.  I was aggravated that the grocery store was so crowded with everyone.  I swear, I was about to run someone over with my cart.  It didn’t help that BOTH kids were screaming!  Why…I have no idea why?  Just to drive their parents KRAZY.  I swear, I think every person who was in that store was wondering what was wrong with our kids.  Since this store is in downtown, the demographics are: mean age 25, single, apartment living, young professional… We decided to go to the downtown Freddy’s b/c it’s closer to our home.  I prefer going to the suburb Freddy’s, but it’s another 3 miles further than the downtown one.  I hated the fact that this downtown Freddy’s was much smaller and the isles were also narrower.  The suburb Freddy’s is never crowded, the isles are wider and the store is also bigger (better selection on stuff).  Anyway, we got home and started putting away the groceries.  Jason asks me where I put his wallet b/c I used his wallet to pay for the groceries (I left my wallet in the car at the store).  You know that feeling when you’ve just realized you lost your wallet?  OR that feeling when you realized you just locked your keys in the car?  Yea, that feeling.  WHOLLY SH!@#  I think I just left your wallet on the grocery cart in the parking lot.  I must have gotten preoccupied with the kids and putting the groceries in the car.  Jason races back to the store to find that someone turned in his wallet to customer service.   Wallet intact, nothing missing! YES, there are good people out there!  But still, I hate this downtown Freddy’s and vow not to go back ever again.  When did I become such a suburbian soccer mom?  I once remember a time when I absolutely LOVED the hustle and bustle of city life.  The crowded the better.  The busier the better.  I couldn’t get enough of the city.  I guess I’ve traded that all in now, now that I am a mom.  These days, I want to go to the most efficient, child-friendly grocery store….where Miles and Lila can scream at the top of their lungs and no other parent in the store will bat an eye…

To continue the saga…you may have read from one of my blogs that I lost Lila’s baby jade bracelet at Chuck E Cheese a few months ago.  It was a special bracelet b/c it was a gift from my brother’s family and they got it in Vietnam for Lila.  Are you seeing a theme here… Also yesterday, Sunday, Jason dug inside our diaper bag looking for a baby wipe.  What did he find in there???  LILA’S JADE BRACELET!!! Can you believe it?!  I told Jason that he needed to buy a lottery ticket just to see his luck.  We were very lucky on both occasions yesterday.  I also think God was on our side.  God is great.

So, last night we went to a little halloween party at the the hospital for parents who work at OHSU.  I dressed in my cowgirl outfit, Jason was in his 70’s clothes with a stache and fro, Miles had his devil suit and Lila was in her pumpkin outfit.  Maybe next year we can coordinate a little better…  The party was fun; lots of games and food.  We stayed for a couple of hours then it was getting close to bedtime so we left before anyone melted down.  We were very impressed at how well-behaved our kids were.  I guess we’re doing okay as parents…

Lila is sitting up by herself now.  She is enjoying the view.  I think Miles was about 6 1/2 months when he began sitting up.  I think we were more cautious with Miles though, not leaving him on the floor much, and we definitely wouldn’t let him cry for more than a few seconds.  Though, I always tell my families (at the hospital) that ”tummy time” is the best thing for your baby.  With Lila, when she starts fussing, we just give her a quick glance and say, “Oh, she’s okay!” and we go about our usual business.  With two kids these days, it’s hard to get anything done.  I was saying to Jason the other day, I am surprised we ever get anything done in this house.  If it’s not one child, it’s the other screaming for attention!

I was making chili tonight for dinner.  Lila was taking a nap so I decided to optimize my time by cleaning the kitchen and starting dinner.  Jason was upstairs fixing the heater.  Miles wanted me to hold him, “Mama, hoag me.”  I got frustrated with Miles and told him that he needed to play by himeself while I was making dinner and daddy was fixing the heater.  He looked a bit hurt, but he did exactly what I asked.  I was so proud of him.  At that very moment, I was filled with so much love for my son.  I was just amazed at how much he has become such a little man in the last two years.  I thought that this day would never come, that I could just say, “Miles, please play by yourself” and that he would actually go and do it.    

Well, it’s 8pm as I am writing this blog.  The kids are all tucked in their beds with their night light on, binkies in their mouth, and a clothy to cuddle.  Bedtime for the kids is anywhere between 7pm to 8pm.  After Jason and I put both kids down for the night we feel a sense of accomplishment.  Another day is done, and the kids are still breathing and alive…that is priceless!  A sigh of relief.

A view into our funny farm.  This morning, we woke up to a bright and sunny day.  The weather was crisp, and we knew that there was going to be no rain in the forecast.  So we decided that today we would go to Lakeview Farms Pumpkin Patch!  One nice thing about Portland is that you only have to drive about 15 miles and you can go from the busy city to the beautiful country.

The very cool thing about Lakeview Farms, besides the pumpkin patch, are the kid-friendly train rides.  As usual, Miles was obsessed with the train, but when we got closer to boarding the train, he was in tears, refusing to get on board.  In fact, we would say he was hysterical!  The Engineer of the train, a very nice gentleman who worked there at the farm, seemed very understanding and patient.  We told him that we were going to wait until the next train came.  We wanted to give Miles a chance to see everyone board the train and see how fun it was.  As the train went off in the distance, Miles became more interested and started “warming” up to the idea. 

When the train came back around again, Miles seemed ready to get on board.  In order to get out to the pumpkin patch, you have to board to the train because the train takes you out to the field.  We are pleased to say, “Miles did it!”  He got on board, whimpered a little, but seemed to feel safe next to his parents.

A wheelbarrow ride in the pumpkin patch!

A child-friendly maze made of hay bale.

The Drivers stop for a family picture.

Last stop, visiting the animals on the farm!

This is a great photo of Miles discovering his shadow for the first time tonight.  At first he thought it was hilarious that the carpet was making the same movement as him.  Later, he got scared and ran away from the “shadow-monster” but to discover that he could not get away from it!  We were laughing hysterically, but of course, we comforted him when he started crying. 

Look what grandma and grandpa sent!!!

What is this fun toy?  On the box it says, “Interstar features vibrantly coloured linking stars that are easy to hold and connect.  Breaking away from traditional building blocks, Interstar inspires and encourages young artistic and creative imaginations.  Playing with Interstar helps to develop coordination and logical thinking skills.”

The funny thing is, Jason is actually having more fun playing with this.  Miles just tells daddy what to make, like, “Daddy, circle!”

Okay, we joke in our family that when Miles reaches a milestone, we call it a “Miles-stone”…get it?  HA!  But this time, Lila reached a milestone…so we decided to call it a Lila-stone…okay, not very funny.  We think it is though.  Anyway, the most recent milestone Lila has achieved, that every parent with a baby dreams about, is…drum roll please…SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!  Wooohoooo!  Last night, Lila slept through the night without waking up.  For the past three weeks we have been using the “Ferber” method with Lila.  The reason I wanted to start sleep training Lila was because she was waking up almost every 2 hours to eat at night.  At four months old, there is no reason for her to be eating this much at night.  I would be too tired and just to put her back to sleep, I would nurse her.  But it got to the point where I was just too tired in the morning after having to wake up every 2 hours, so I finally said, “Lila, that’s it!  No more boob at night for you!”  Basically, two weeks ago, I started nursing Lila less and less every night and we started putting her in her own crib.  So how it goes is, the first night, you nurse for 7 minutes at two hour intervals.  If your baby wakes up before two hours, you don’t nurse her.  You just go in a comfort her by patting or rubbing her tummy.  If your baby wakes up after two hours, then you can nurse her again, but again, for only 7 minutes long.  The second night, you nurse her for 6 minutes, at 2.5 hour intervals.  The third night, you nurse her for 5 minutes at 3 hour intervals, and so on, until, ultimately, you are no longer nursing her at night.  If your baby wakes up during the night, you just go in a comfort her.  The Ferber method also suggests that you don’t pick up your baby.  You just pat her or rub her.  Lila would scream for about 20 minutes.  But one night last week, Lila cried for 1 hour off/on.  Ugh, were Jason and I were needing our coffee in the morning?!  The hard thing was that I still had to go to work and Jason had to be up, awake and alert for the kids at home.  Anyway, the nice thing is, when Lila wakes up in the morning, she has a BIG smile on her face.  So it’s not like when we let her “cry it out” it does any psychological damage on her.  She doesn’t remember screaming her head off.  The funny thing is, when we woke up this morning, I immediately went into Lila’s room to check and see if she was breathing.  I mean, it’s great that she slept through the night, but I just wanted to make sure she didn’t suffocate or anything…okay, I am a paranoid mom.  Today was the first morning we woke up and felt like we had a good night’s sleep!  Let’s hope this trend keeps up.