January '10 America Trip - Holly Springs

If you missed Part One of the January ’10 America Trip blogs, click here to view it and catch up!

After leaving Taco Bell, my mom and I had a long trip ahead of us…5+ hours of driving with a jetlagged baby. We ended up arriving in Mississippi around 5ish where we met my grandparents on my mom side on the state line. They took mom home with them, while I drove on to my dad’s parents.

Words can’t describe how utterly exhausted I was at this point. Eli had HAD it with the car and car seat, and I had HAD it with not sleeping. Luckily, grandmamma had made a delicious dinner to keep me rolling! The hardest part was waking Eli up and keeping him awake till a normal bedtime. Considering it’s about 2am to his body, this was quite the challenge. Luckily, grandmamma helped me out by playing cars with him…

And granddaddy got a good game of ball going!

I took this picture of Wesley (my little brother) and Eli, and when I saw it, I was pretty surprised. Wesley looks so much like me, it’s kind of scary.

Here I am right around his age. If you subtracted the freckles, gave me lighter hair, and well, made me a boy, we’d be dead ringers!

And we both know how to wear super-cool t-shirts too! :o)

Eli didn’t do so hot with jetlag that night. He woke up at 3am, 5am, then for good at 6am. Since he’s been sleeping through the night for months, this was hard on the mama. And Jeremy wasn’t even with me to help! *sigh* Surely, I can use this to my advantage later on. (insert evil laugh here)

The next day, my Dad, Malena, Tiffany, and Wesley brought Eli a new toy. It’s a stuffed animal called Scout that’s pretty awesome. It comes with its own USB cable to hook up to the internet and download Eli’s name and favorites on him. So Scout will say he loves Eli and tell him his favorite animal is a monkey (just like Eli). Eli absolutely adored it…as you can see!

I tried to get some good pictures of him with my grandparents on the last day, but it was difficult.

Not because of Eli…

But because of the adults!

Oh well! Next blog I will talk about our time in Sardis, MS.

January '10 America Trip - The Trip Over

Well, things have slowed down around here a bit, so I figured it was time to catch up on some back-blogging. As most of you know, we went to America in January to do some visiting. This would be Eli’s 3rd trip across the Atlantic (or I guess it's the 6th if you count back and forth). I was very nervous about traveling with a walker, but we had 2 things working in our favor. Number one, we had an extra seat for Eli (thank you, Philharmonic!), so we could bring his car seat. Number two, we were put in a bulkhead aisle and had more room. I’m sure there are parts about the trip I’ve blocked from my memory, but I really don’t remember it being very bad. Eli was content either sitting in his chair and chewing on the seat belt…

Or playing on the floor and flirting with the woman next to us.

The only time where I was just “over it,” was when we were trying to get Eli to sleep. He fell asleep pretty easily in his car seat, but there was another baby on our aisle. It was a sweet kid…giant baby, but sweet. However, he only had two kinds of cries: off and fog horn. Eli was asleep, but giant baby was not to be so easily assuaged. He screamed at full volume, breaking the dead silence, and it scared Eli to death…well, not to death, but to vomit. He woke up, coughed, choked, and puked on himself. Blurg. So, we had to take the half-asleep, disgruntled Eli and change him before putting him back to sleep. Not fun, but also not too bad for such a long trip.

Jeremy was staying/playing in New York while I went on to visit my family in Mississippi. Since we were getting in so late, we decided it would be best for me to just spend the night with him one night before flying on. Jetlag was not our friend though, and Eli woke up at 3am wide eyed and bushy tailed. This wasn’t so awful because I think we had to leave at 5:30 to catch our flight. While Jeremy and I zombie-packed and got ready, Eli was happy as a little lark watching Baby Einstein on the computer…

..at 4:45 am. I think it’s fitting that this picture is blurry because that’s exactly how I felt.

The trip to Nashvegas wasn’t terrible either. I was kind of embarrassed in JFK as my son approached perfect strangers and even attempted to steal an Iphone. Oh well, he’s fitting right in at NYC, huh? :o)

My mom and Jeremy’s parents were waiting on us when we got to the airport on our last leg…or that’s how I felt anyway! I was pretty hungry, so I requested Taco Bell…yes, I was taking advantage of American (well, Mexican-American) food! Here is Eli tearing into a salsa cup…that’s my son!

Too bad this boy doesn’t get any attention…I feel sorry for him! :o)

Next blog, I’ll talk about our trip in Mississippi!

Out and About in Vienna

I just realized my last blog was number 200! I know for a lot of bloggers, this is a small number since they post everyday. But for me, I’m a little shocked. Who knew I had 200 days worth of writing in me? Certainly not me…and probably every English teacher I ever had.

Wednesday, we were out and about in Vienna sort of sight-seeing. Not for us, but for this little man…

Let me introduce to you Flat Stanley. He is flat, colorful, and apparently has a green earring in his left ear. He traveled to me from West Elementary in McMinnville, TN in order to see Vienna and get his picture taken in various places. Soon he’ll travel back to Tennessee with a journal of everything he did while visiting the Wilson home. Unfortunately, most of his trip here was spent lost in the stroller…but we may not write about that. :o) I’ll post more on Flat Stanley later.

Mollie and her boys, Thad and Ian, joined us on the Flat Stanley adventure, so I could have a little help holding him up. They are great fun, and Eli loves having them around. He’s especially fond of Thad.

Thad just dotes on Eli and kisses him all the time. Eli, of course, eats it up and just laughs at all of Thad’s antics. We let them romp a bit in the Volksgarten in front of the Hofburg Palace. I love this picture…they are like little stair steps!

Eli tried to eat sticks while the older boys unearthed a Thomas the Train set in the sandbox. I snapped pictures the whole time because how many one-year-olds get to traipse in front of an imperial palace?

The boys absolutely wore Eli out. Not only could I barely wake him up to eat supper, but he slept till almost 10 the next morning! Maybe I need to have more play dates with the Gardner boys!

Thursday was the big day we have been waiting for…daddy came home! Eli just about burst out of his diaper when he saw Jeremy walk up to the car. Jer had yesterday off after arriving, so we had some quality time with him.

Today we picked up our resident permits, or visas, to make us legal again. My passport photo of Eli was a success! We also spent some time playing with our new toy…a remote control for the camera. This will be great for setting up family photos in various scenic places we visit. Or for my husband to photograph himself crawling across the floor…

Yes, I know I married a sexy devil…you don’t have to tell me. :o)

A Boy And His Ball

Today I spent most of the day trying to get our house somewhat in order. However, it was nice and sunny and around 50 degrees, so Eli was antsy to get outdoors. He kept taking all his furry friends to the back door to look out longingly at the beautiful day…

I figured that I should get out of my pajamas and let him romp a bit outside. When we first went out, he seemed almost shy of the outdoors. He was clinging to my leg and just staring up at the screeching birds.

This is very unlike him, so I went inside to grab a ball for us to play with. And by “us” I mean “Eli.”

The ball was almost like his security blanket. Once he had it, he was ready to explore! It only left his hands if I tried to coax him to throw it to me.

But he usually reclaimed it pretty quickly, and it never went far from his side. The ball gave him just the confidence he needed.

In other words, happiness can always be found between a boy and his ball.

Let the Countdown Begin!

Only a couple more days till Jeremy is home! If you count by baths, I will only bathe 3 more times till he’s home…even less for Eli! :o) We’ve obviously really missed him, and I’ll be so happy to have my babysitter husband back.

The past few days have been uneventful, but good! On Thursday I decided that I just could not wait any longer for Jeremy to get back home to take Eli to get his haircut. (I don’t speak German too good for the beauticians) His hair had gotten to the point where it was standing on end every time he woke up (no matter if it was clean or not), and he was constantly sweating. I made an executive decision that I would just try to cut it myself. I figured if it was too awful, then we could take him for a “fixer-upper” when Jer got home. I had the glorious idea of cutting it in the tub in order to keep him and the hair contained. This would have been a lot smarter without the water.

Poor boy looks like he’s wearing a sweater…and those fish may be dying from hairballs.

After that my friend, Bety, and her son rode the train out to my home, so we could go shopping at Tesco. Bety is Czech, so she was great help explaining the crazy Slovakian brands to me. She was also a good mediator when I inadvertently punched a woman. I was pointing over to an area where I would be waiting for Bety to finish shopping when the woman walked right into my fist. My fingernail caught her lip, and it even started bleeding. While the woman spewed Slovakian at me, my end of the conversation went something like this:

“I’m sorry! Bitte! Bety, what is she saying?! I’m SO, so sorry…bitte? Bety, seriously, WHAT IS SHE SAYING?!

Yes, I realize I’m becoming a menace to society hitting people with my car and fist. Luckily the half an eyebrow tends to calm people down because they feel so sorry for me.

Friday and Saturday I just wanted to stay at home. I had an invite to go ice skating, but I think Eli (and I) was worn out from being out every day last week. I used the opportunity to get some much needed relaxing cleaning done! Sunday was a wonderful time of worship, and we had a blast introducing a new song. I have loved leading the past 3 Sundays, but I’m ready to hand it over to Jeremy for a week!

Today was Little Big Ones again, and Eli discovered the ball pit. This would have to be the greatest thing ever invented for my son because it entails a pit of…well…nothing but balls. He stayed in there the entire activity time guarding the balls from all the other children. I absolutely adore this picture. I can just hear him thinking, “mama, you want the ball?”

He did allow Hegan inside for a brief moment, but I think it was only because he likes him so much!

If we had one of these at home, I would never see my child! I do love the awesome static electricity he’s sporting though.

Afterwards, Heather and I went over to one of the other mother’s apartment. She has this giant playpen in her living room, so her son can play safely while she works at home. He happened to be asleep when we first arrived, but I think Hegan and Eli made themselves right at home without him. This was like Christmas for them…it even helped Eli stave off a nap for a whole 2 hours!

Tomorrow will be another day at home getting work and cleaning done. Which means Eli will get lots of happy tupperware time! :o)

Rashes, Eyebrows, and Fish...Whoopie!

It’s been a weird few days. I’m not sleeping well due to Jeremy being gone, so I’m feeling not the best. I think it’s rubbing off on Eli too. I can hear him being really restless in his sleep, and he’s been waking up 2 hours earlier than usual. A traveling daddy messes up everything. :o( I think all the traveling is starting to wear on him too…and being away from the cutest little boy in the world doesn’t help. Luckily, we only have a week more to go! I know it’s cheesy, but this song came across on my Ipod, and it made me think of him…although, he didn’t go to Rome on this trip!

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Monday, we went to Little Big Ones, and Eli had an eventful morning. First off, he absolutely fell in love with a nanny that was there. He was constantly getting right in her face and smiling. He even started trying to dance for her…and fell…and busted his lip open. Not good. But it didn’t stop him from trying to fight off all the other boys!

And luckily there were plenty of plastic balls to numb the pain…

Unfortunately, he fell 3 more times that day and opened it back up every time. It was pretty pitiful by bedtime. Not to mention, he ended up developing a rash from his MMR (it’s normal to do so about a week after). Here you can see his bumpy cheeks and bloody black spot at the bottom of his upper lip. What a rough day!

The next morning he woke up at 6:30 (eek!), and was NOT in a good mood. I think the swollen lip and rash was really getting to him. I wasn’t really sure what to do because we had plans to go into the city later on and meet a friend at the aquarium. I figured if he was still screaming when the time came, maybe a car ride would calm him down…that and lots of Tylenol! He started to calm down by the time we arrived at the Haus des Meeres. The aquarium was originally a Flak Tower holding up to 30,000 troops back in World War II. There are 6 of these all over Vienna and are apparently indestructible. So the city is looking for ways to reuse them, and this one became the lucky owner of thousands of fish and reptiles.

The aquarium wasn’t bad! It wasn’t nearly as good as the Tennessee aquarium, but it was decent. I guess the worst part was it was approximately 150 degrees in there. This made Eli’s rash really flare up, but he was still hamming it up.

That one was a little blurry because my lens got all foggy from the humid climate. This area was home to free roaming birds and monkeys. Eli was particularly enthralled with this little fellow. He just watched him jump from branch to branch.

Eli moved on to watching the alligator though, so I was safe from him trying to touch the monkey anymore.

We went all the way up to the top, and I was so relieved to get some cool air. Please ignore the crazy hair and lack of makeup. Everything melted off of me in that place! But it was a beautiful view up there. I would have enjoyed it more if Eli hadn’t kept trying to pick up cigarette butts!

Karen is my hero in this picture…holding two kids and short sleeves in 30 degree weather. Talk about super mom!

Afterwards we all packed up and headed over to Fresco Grill for a lip-smacking burrito. I have really missed this place! I would have taken a picture if I hadn’t been spending the entire time stuffing my face. :o)

The rest of the night was spent making the most awesome dessert ever. I had never been exposed to whoopie pies before. It originates from Amish country, and they are so sweet they make you go “whoopie!” Seriously, as a sweet lover, I have definitely met my match. I can only eat one of these at a time!

I made them for my mom’s Bible study this morning. They didn’t last long! It was Mollie’s birthday earlier this week, so I wanted to give her something special. Nothing says I love you like a sugar induced coma, right? If you would like to try your luck with them, click here to see the recipe I used.

Eli was feeling much better today, so I used the opportunity to get some shots of him playing with his soccer ball. Forgive him, he doesn’t know he’s not supposed to pick it up. I think he’s getting American football confused with European football. That’s my boy!

But he certainly loves it!

Remember how I mentioned that I wasn’t getting very much sleep without Jer-bear? Well that was evident this morning when I inadvertently seared off half my eyebrow. I’m not joking. I was trying to spruce up the eyebrows with my trimmer (I’m not a fan of waxing), and I apparently fell asleep or started day dreaming. Next thing I knew I only had half of my right eyebrow. I look like a moron. The only comfort I have is since it’s on my right side, my bangs can somewhat cover it. I don’t know if I’m brave enough to post a picture just yet…the wound is still pretty raw. *sigh* On that note, maybe I should just head to bed then, huh? Good night!

Reunited

Ah, yes. This would be my happy face, in case you’re wondering. This week I received my long awaited package…another Canon XSI. It is not the original camera, so our pictures are still missing, but I feel like the Canon-sized hole in my heart is finally filled! :o) A big thank you to my wonderful in-laws for sending me ANOTHER one of these…not to mention the lifetime supply of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish for Eli. That was one happy kid!

Speaking of happy, I finally caught a picture of Eli NOT in motion, smiling, and looking at the camera. There’s just one problem…it’s blurry. I was so upset!

But look at all those teeth! He was busy working on his car. I think he looks like his Pa Daddy here with his sleeves rolled up and looking underneath the body. Hmmm…definitely looks like the alternatransitor-thingy to me.

This week I have been trying to keep busy, so I don’t feel the Jeremy-sized hole in my heart so badly. I have some wonderful friends that helped me get out of the house a lot, which I also think made Eli’s day. On Wednesday, I basically invited myself over to Heather’s apartment to which she obliged. Eli and Hegan played all day long…but I unfortunately couldn’t get one of them sitting still…

Until we put a movie in!

This picture cracks me up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen two little persons so intent on the FBI warning before.

On Thursday morning before heading out to another play date, I received the camera package. The door bell rang when I was…ahem…busy. But I quickly ran downstairs, forgetting to close the door to the bathroom. This is mistake 'numero uno' with a toddler. Luckily, I had a nice camera to capture the mischief!

And mischief is definitely his middle name lately. His new game is throwing toys down the stairs. His “punishment” is not getting them back for the rest of the day. And it works too…he basically whined for them for a good while, and then he never threw them down again! This was especially effective because he threw his favorite ones down first (notice the giraffe draped along the banister). It's like an animal bloodbath down there...even Mr. Frog's tongue is hanging out.

Eli has been eating better, much to my relief. I learned at Heather’s that I can especially get him to eat anything if I throw it on the floor. Don’t ask me why…I quit trying to figure out boys. Of course, I don’t want to make that a habit. He is enjoying eating things in their “full-form” more. In other words, I don’t break them off in bite-sized chunks anymore. Here is he is cramming a whole muffin in his mouth. I guess he’s my child after all.

I’ve also discovered recently that it’s great fun to destroy block towers. If Eli is getting particularly restless, all I have to do is build a tower, and that boy comes running around the corner to knock it down. Here is my pretty tower with Eli seen charging in the background.

My intent was to get a picture of him running through it. But he came so quickly that I feared for my life…and new camera. So I just got a picture of the aftermath instead. My poor tower. :o(

I’ve been trying to get some “cute” pictures of Eli, but the boy is just too active now. My attempts end up with just the back of his head or blurry….or extreme close-ups before my camera is taken from me. You can actually see the deviousness in this one.

Oh well…the mission continues!