Costa Rica: Day One

We're in Costa Rica! Yes, again. We're super spoiled. Tommy has already been here twice and he's not even a year and a half old yet! So here's what happened the first day...

We had gone to Kansas City the night before our flight so we wouldn't have to leave our house at 3am. Tommy decided he didn't want to sleep from 12:30-2:30 in the morning, so none of us got very much sleep. Yikes.

We left for the airport around 5 (ugh), and everything went smoothly all the way to Houston, TX. We got some lunch and caught our next flight just in time for Tommy's nap. Perfect. He slept for 2 hours, which was wonderful, because it was just about half the flight. If he had been awake the whole time, we all (like, the whole plane) would have been miserable.

Tommy was actually pretty cheerful for the rest of the flight. He seemed to understand that we couldn't really go anywhere or do anything, so he contented himself by climbing in and out of our laps over and over and over again. At least he wasn't fussy or crying.

As we neared our arrival time, Nate noticed that we were circling the same spot of land over and over again. We were in a holding pattern for some reason. Finally they announced that there was a storm in San Jose, and we were being diverted to Liberia.

Although it's only another 20 minutes away by plane, Liberia is about a 3-hour drive to San Jose. We groaned and wondered how in the world we were going to get to San Jose from there, and how we would get in touch with Nate's family. We figured we'd be stuck on a bus for 3+ hours, and that would have been a major bummer. Especially since we needed to get some real food for Tommy.

Luckily they told us we would just stay aboard the plane until the weather passed and then we'd fly back to San Jose. We weren't very excited about being stuck on the plane, but at least we would end up in the right city!

We sat in Liberia for about an hour before we took off again and headed back to San Jose. By the time we landed, we had been on that plane for almost 6 hours and were arriving 2 hours late. Yikes! Tommy was a trooper the whole time and hardly fussed at all. He's such a good traveler!

...But there's always a limit.

Other planes had been diverted to wait out the storm as well, and they had all come back around the same time as us, so the line for customs was super long.  Like Disneyland on steroids. So we were even more bummed (read: annoyed, angry, frustrated, tired) that we would be stuck in that stupid line for at least an hour, with a quickly-getting-cranky toddler who we couldn't put down because he wanted to wander.

Tommy lasted almost an hour. And then he lost it. A lady behind me joked that maybe if he cried loud enough, they would let us go to the front, and almost before she finished saying it an airline employee was making his way over to get us. I was SO relieved. Tommy was so exhausted and hungry (he had little baby snacks, but those have zero substance) and I was exhausted and hungry. Then, trying to be helpful, the man who checked our passports and customs forms said, "there's a shorter line over there just for families." (waaaay the heck down at the end of the room) Um. Well. I guess that's nice to know if we ever come back again, or when traveling elsewhere we can look for such a line, but it just made me more frustrated. Because an employee had directed us into the other line without saying a thing about one for families. Seriously? Did you not see my small child? Gah!

Anyway, the guy was really nice and we got our bags, went through one last security point, and finally got to Nate's mom and the car. It was storming again, so there was lots of traffic, but Tommy was back to his usually-happy self and we finally made it home.

It has been so nice to just relax and enjoy the beautiful weather. I'll try to keep this updated so anyone who's interested can hear about our trip, but for a few days we'll be in a house on the beach (darn) and I don't think there will be Internet. Adios!

Eleven Months!

No, that's not how long it's been since I was consistent at blogging, though it does feel that way.

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Tommy is almost a year old! And we're long overdue for an update.

So I'm about to gush about how awesome he is.

Ready? Go!

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First of all, I think this has been the most fun couple of months yet.

Being a mom is hard work, but it is SO rewarding.

Watching my little baby grow up and learn so many new things every day is just

mind-blowing

and amazing

and wonderful.

-

I am so blessed and

I have never been so in love.

(Sorry Nate)

He's about 30" tall and somewhere around 22 pounds.

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He's walking. All by himself.

Just yesterday he figured out how to stand up from the ground

without holding onto anything for support.

I'll miss the little "downward dog" pose he did trying to get the hang of it.

He used to get really mad if you didn't let him hold your hand to walk him all over the apartment,

but he's a little more independent now.

He still comes and takes my hand plenty often.

I think he likes the company,

and so do I.

He's super smart.

I mean, I can't believe how fast this kid learns.

Allow me to brag about his vocabulary.

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His favorite words are Dada and Dat (that)

but he also says:

Hi

Mama

Sack (snack)

Baba (bye bye)

Crsh (crunchies)

Ight (light)

and

Baku (vacuum)

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He tries to repeat words all the time too.

Some favorites are:

Dakey (blankie)

Ugck (yuck)

Tasth (trash)

Dasth (dance)

Gafspth (glasses)

Mesthp (mess)

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[S's are hard- think Daffy Duck saying "desthpicable"]

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And of course he makes all sorts of other fun noises that I don't understand.

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We also play the "where is" game, and he can point to:

Mama

Dada

Light

Bike

Snack

Blankie

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He still LOVES his bath.

Every night Nate says, "Tommy, is it bath-time?"

And his whole face lights up and he hustles off, leading the way to the bathroom.

Then he stands at the edge of the tub while I strip him down

(he knows to step out of his pants one leg at a time)

and bounces impatiently with a huge grin while we wait for the water to fill up.

It's adorable.

Current Obsessions/Quirks:

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Tommy loves the lights in our house.

All of them.

And he knows how to turn the switch up and down to turn them on and off.

[He turns his bedroom light on every morning.]

He points at all the lights and wants me to hold him up to them so he can touch them.

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He also loves the quilt I made for our bed.

The first day I put it on, he got super excited and rolled around on it, laying his head on it

and flopping into our pillows.

Now he just loves to play on our bed, which he can climb onto by himself.

(It's low to the ground, about a foot high)

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He gets very upset when you take anything away from him,

but lately, the worst has been when you throw away his diapers.

Yep.

He cries and cries.

"That was my favorite diaper! Wahhh..."

It's seriously just as bad as not letting him have my cell phone.

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He loves the vacuum cleaner. 

He crawls around it in circles or crawls in front of it really fast,

like he's playing Chicken with it.

Sometimes he pats the head (?) of it while it's on.

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He likes to see how close he can get to cords that are plugged in before we say no.

Sometimes he actually listens and wont touch them, but other times he just goes for it.

Too bad you can't really explain "dangerous" to a baby.

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He is obsessed with the drawer under our oven.

Nate finally taped it closed because Tommy wanted to climb in and out of it again

over and over and over.

He usually ended up getting frustrated and crying and driving us crazy.

(But I might let him play in it sometimes when I need a distraction in the kitchen...)

There is one cupboard he's allowed to climb into, and he still likes that.

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He loves music!

He has ever since he was teeny, but now he can dance!

Even if you just say "music" or "dance," he'll start to bob up and down or rock side to side.

And when you actually play music, he gets really excited and boogies.

Pretty much the cutest thing you've ever seen.

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He has finally gotten better at taking naps

(though he likes to poop as soon as you put him down for his first one, of course)

and at night he has been sleeping till 6am.

Thank. Goodness!

The 5:00 thing was getting really old.

He's also been sleeping through the night on most nights, though sometimes we have to go plug in the pacifier. Then he's out cold again. Occasionally he gets a bottle at night, but only if he cries a lot.

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He's eating all sorts of tasty food.

I'm pretty sure he thinks he's ready to eat "real" food only and no more of that pureed stuff,

because he's a total mooch!

He wants everything we eat, all the time.

Luckily he's got four teeth (yay!) so we let him try most everything.

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His favorite food is cake.

Or perhaps the cream inside of Oreos.

But he doesn't get those very often. :]

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He also loves fruit and every type of bread he's tried:

Pancakes, waffles, toast, plain bread, crackers, pizza crust...

Don't judge- he likes to try things, and it's fun to watch his reactions.

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He also loves water and is starting to realize that juice is pretty tasty too.

He tolerates veggies, but we think carrots are his favorite.

He hates peas.

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He likes to stick his tongue out and say "ahh" when his mouth is full.

(I swear we didn't teach him that.)

He is actually a pretty serious baby and it's pretty rare for him to really laugh.

But when he does, it's awesome.

I will do whatever it is that makes him laugh as long as he'll keep laughing,

no matter how silly or ridiculous it is,

because it's the best sound in the world.

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I love my baby.

I can't believe it's almost been a whole year.

As much fun as it has been and will be to watch him grow up,

sometimes I wish he would stay this age forever.

I Have Returned! ...with a DMV Rant.

Dear Lady at the DMV with Whom I Spoke on the Phone:

When I called and asked your hours, I was debating whether I had time to come in and renew my license before putting my baby down for a nap. Because you're only 3 minutes from my house and you open at 7:00 (it was almost 8), I figured I'd give it a shot. After gathering the necessary documents and getting myself and said baby ready in record-breaking time, I hopped in the car with high hopes that this would be done in less than an hour, because in the past, mornings at the DMV have been less-busy than afternoons.

Now, I also usually try to be extra nice to people at the DMV because I know how crappy it can be to deal with grouchy customers all day, and the DMV is pretty notorious for being, well, Hated. However, when I arrived at an empty building with a sign taped to the door telling me you had relocated to a different place 15 minutes away, I was pretty freaking annoyed. And I didn't even have to set foot in your office!

Seriously?? This information is not updated on the internet either. You couldn't have just mentioned to me that you had moved when we spoke? "Oh, BY THE WAY, did you know we've moved to a new office?" How HARD would that be? Especially if it was a recent enough move that your information hasn't been updated online and there's still a sign taped to your freaking door?? Because a 30-minute roundtrip drive is a whole 'nother ballgame when you have a baby who will need a nap soon.

Frustrated at my failed efforts, I buckled my son (who I had dragged out into the cold for a pointless 6-minute cruise) back into his carseat and drove home. Perhaps I will try again on Monday. I'll be the one waiting at the door with my baby no later than 7:15. And I'll still be nice... but I will definitely mention how much easier it would have been if you had told me you had moved. Ever heard of common courtesy, or even common sense?

Thanks for wasting my time.
Sincerely,
Beth

[Yes, I know this is probably an overreaction. Maybe she normally tells people they moved but just happened to forget this one time. But also, maybe she's just stupid. It's my blog and I can rant if I want to.]