Temper Tantrums

After we solved the sleep issue we decided to look into solving the tantrum issue.

For those of you who don't know Vincente (and many of you who do), Vincente is a very tantrum-prone child. At first, I wast thinking that it was a behavior issue. He was misbehaving. But after reading a bunch of online articles and library books about tantrums, I decided that Vincente was not being "manipulative" in his tantrum-throwing. All the books talked about ignoring the tantrum and they will stop. It just didn't happen that way with Vincente, and the whole time I felt really bad, because I knew there was a legitimate reason for him being frustrated, and that he was throwing the tantrum out of frustration - not because he knew that kicking and screaming would get him what he wanted.

Vincente gets frustrated (to tantrum-throwing levels) about two things, in general - the first is with toys that don't do what he wants them to do, or when they "break" and he doesn't know how to put them back together. The second is when he is trying to ask me for something and I have a hard time understanding him. Face it, even when it's your own kid, you can't always understand their toddler-speak. For instance, yesterday afternoon he asked for juice in the "green cup." Vincente happens to have four green cups in the cupboard - three green sippy cups, and one green kid size cup. So, when I picked up the wrong "green cup" from the cupboard, he almost had a meltdown. Quickly, I tried to point to each "green cup" to figure out which one he wanted before his distress turned into a full-blown tantrum.

I'm getting better at being quick to figure out what he's asking for. There is no way that I would want to punish him if he threw a tantrum because I didn't know which green up he asked for when he had been SO verbal - saying "Juice," when he wanted me to get some juice, and then when I got to the cupboard even voicing his preference of sippy cup. Holy cow! That's some amazing communication for a two-year-old. So what if he can't communicate EXACTLY which "green cup" he wants!

So I've been trying to find ways to help him deal with his frustration. The hardest part about figuring this out is that most of the advice out there for helping children deal with their emotions is for older children. I was looking for something to help my two-year-old.

First, I read Beyond Time Out which I have decided is one of the best books on how to maintain respect with your kids by having consistency in rules and consequences. But even though it worked with things like getting Vincente to have his diaper changed, getting him to pick up his toys, etc, it didn't work when he would have a "frustration" tantrum. All it would do was hurt his little feelers even more, and eventually he would get so worked up that I would have to go hold on to him to get him to calm down.

I have mentioned before Bro. Goddard's parenting books. Many LDS family and marriage professors quote John Gottman. Well, I thought I would see what all the fuss was about and pick up a copy of Gottman's Raising Emotionally Intelligent Children. This book is great, and is going on my list of must-read parenting books (trust me, over the last few months I have read more parenting books than any parent ever should!). Well, like I said, also a very good book, but also did not address the problem of dealing with frustration in toddlers. It does in a very general way, but mostly in regards to playing with other children - not solitary play, which is where Vincente has the most problems (in my mind).

So I finally went back to the web, thinking maybe I would try a different approach. I searched for articles about "toddler frustration" - bingo! I hit a few very good articles -

1.) Temper Tantrums - by Dr. Sears

2.) Your Toddler's Frustration with Toys and Other Children - on babycenter.com

3.) Coping With Toddler Frustration - on Parents.com

This is my basic conclusion, which comes from a congolmeration of ideas from these websites, Gottman's books, and my own understanding of my two-year-old and his needs:

- His "frustration" tantrums are nothing negative (right now), and should not be "disciplined."

- I need to respond gently to his frustration, helping him work out the problem, and helping him learn to use words. For example, getting down on his level and saying, "You sure are frustrated/angry/mad with your toy. Can I help you?" and proceed to show him how to do whatever it is that he is unable to do.

- Make sure that I am around and available to help when he is playing with toys that easily frustrate him - in his case, his magnetic train, and his "hook-together" train... unfortunately, two of his very favorite toys.

Sometimes it's hard for me to remember that Vincente is very much still a baby (well, toddler). I am reminded of that when I see other kids his same age who are much less developed (physically and in speech).

I have to remember that emotionally, he's still just a two-year-old. And while that doesn't mean I can't teach him how to deal with his frustration, I can still expect these frustration tantrum to eventually go away as he does learn how to deal with frustration and grows up a little, emotionally.

I have the most adorable daughter in the world

And I have proof...

I am definitely a firm believer in a 3.1MP camera without flash is infinitely better than no camera at all.

Venting

So most of my last post was venting :-6 And our heads have cleared a little more. We're probably going to stay here, because chances of us getting back are slimmer than none. It won't be fun, and it will be very lonely (actually, it won't be too lonely, because we'll still have the Wildes and the Saavedras) but we'll make it. And the more I think about it, the more I remember that it will still be pretty likely that some privates will move in, and I don't think the army cares too much if we associate with them.

Other than being a little degrading, what with Russ having been enlisted for almost 3 years and not being promotable, it's not that bad. And the whole having just enough money to get by... we make it work. Things will work out for us.

Just this morning we found out that we won the raffle to have our tickets to the Army Ball paid for! We think that's a sign that we're supposed to stay, and things will just work out for us. Heavenly Father has a way of taking care of us, especially when we think everything is horrible. He helps us see the bright side and be grateful for the opportunities we have.

It just takes a little work sometimes on our part.

To Relang or Not to Relang, that is the question

Russ has wanted to relang for a while - he's really upset that he got sent to DLI right after BCT instead of going to AIT (which is what the do with people now). He also happens to be the last non-careerist SPC (specialist - E-4 rank) here in his company. He is the highest ranking enlisted in his company right now, but technically, he's lower ranking than some of the privates in his company, because he is not a careerist yet. 

Yesterday I met a new family that just got here from AIT. I asked them whether they were living in Lower Stillwell (like us) or in Hayes Park, like the NCOs. Well, they were like "We're not sure." And I asked them their rank. "Specialist" Oh, like Russ, hooray! They'll be in Lower Stillwell with us! "... but I'm due for a promotion in a month." Oh, that's right... everyone is promotable... except Russ... who will be an IET specialist until September 2010. What makes it the most frustrating is that we're not just about to go to AIT. We have another year to stay here... and as of the end of the summer, no friends. Well, I will be able to be friends with the wives, but we won't be able to hang out as families. Why? You ask... let me explain...

The army has this ridiculous rule that IET soldier can't socialize with anyone but other IET soldiers. And on top of that, E-4 and below can't socialize with NCO's (E-5 and above). So, while there are no rules about wives hanging out together (I have a few friends whose husbands are Sgts), when it comes to getting our families together, no can do. They get in trouble with their commanding officers or something.

Things have been okay so far - we've had lots of friends that hadn't gone to AIT yet, so we had lots of company. Unfortunately, they changed things up just as Russ was leaving BCT. Which is why his orders were changed three times. Anyway, so now, after all our friends leave for AIT, we will be left here in Monterey - and all the new 35M's from the UTNG (which are pretty much the only people who come down here) will be careerists, and shortly after arrival will most likely be promoting to E-5. Which means...? We are left all by our lonesomes. Not to mention how frustrating it is that soldiers who have been enlisted for HALF the time Russ has been are higher ranking than him. These are soldiers who have been in for just barely their time in Basic and their time in AIT. Russ has been in the guard for a year and a half already... and he is condemned to E-4-hood (NON-careerist) for ANOTHER year and a half. What about this picture is horribly wrong?

Anyway... it didn't seem so bad when we were suffering through it with other families... but all those families will be leaving before we're even half way to Russ' end-of-IET. Now that we're suffering it alone, it's a little more frustrating. 

So - we've been talking about relanging. Basically that means Russ will DLPT out of Portuguese, and he'll go straight to AIT in Arizona. The only problem is that he's already been through an entire semester of Chinese on the government's money. 

Scenario 1 - Russ DLPT's out of Portuguese, goes to AIT, and the UTNG pays for him to come back to DLI to learn Chinese or Korean or something. He comes back to DLI, promotes to SGT, and we make an extra $13,000 than we would have if we had just stayed here and suffered out our loneliness and non-promotability (on top of all that, the Guard starts paying for his Student loans, so we don't have to worry about that anymore). This would put us back in Utah in summer 2011 instead of 2010. We get half our bonus after AIT, put it in a CD, then get the other half and put it in a CD, and we get to save even more money for a house in UT when we get back.

Scenario 2 - Russ DLPT's out of Portuguese, goes to AIT, and the UTNG doesn't let him come back to DLI. In this case, we go back to Utah around January 2010, and Russ finds a civilian job hopefully paying more than active duty E-5 pay anyway. The Guard starts paying his student loans, and we get half of Russ' bonus to put in a CD until we decide to buy a house. We still make more money than we would staying here. Russ also promotes to E-5, so he gets paid more on his once a month drills and during his two week summer training. 

Scenario 3 - The UTNG makes Russ stay here and finish Chinese. We stick it out, learn to deal with being the only family of our pay grade and rank and IET status. We grow closer to each other because we don't have anyone else to hang out with. Russ goes to AIT as scheduled, we get our whole bonus in the end of 2010, the Guard starts paying for Russ' student loans. Russ gets a civilian job in 2011, and promotes to SGT so he gets the extra bucks during the weekend drills and two week summer training.

In Scenario 1 and 2, Russ gets to promote earlier, we make more money because either he gets active duty pay as a SGT, or he gets civilian pay as a linguist somewhere else.

Well, anyway... we aren't making any decisions yet... just trying to get information about which of the above scenarios are possible.

Meanwhile, we're going to enjoy our last few months with our awesome friends from the UTNG! :D

Glossary of Terms and Acronyms:

IET - initial entry training

SGT- sergeant 

DLI - Defense Language Institute

AIT - Advanced Individual Training, a lot like basic training Part II. Job-specific training.

BCT - basic combat training (better known as basic training)

careerist - an enlisted member who has completed both BCT and AIT and is an "official" soldier

UTNG - Utah National Guard

just when things were going great

It's funny how just when you think you've got things under control, you realize you forgot about something, or life brings more little challenges to your doorstep.

Life is going really well for us - we're having family prayer and FHE consistently (which is a big deal for us... because we haven't been good at those  two things... well, ever really). We're living within our means, and saving a little for a rainy day (unfortunately we're not able to save as much as we would like, due to paying off debts and such, but we're doing the best we can!). We're eating WAY healthy these days - and I can feel it making a difference, at least for me! Russ is doing well in his classes, I'm finding things to take up my time, and I'm starting to be able to practice violin again! It's great.

So amidst all of these good things, more stuff starts creeping up on us, like registering our vehicles, paying off student loans (that will eventually get forgiven once I start teaching!) and rent being raised... I think there is supposed to be a raise going around in January, and Russ gets his 2+ year raise in December! So I guess we'll only be tightly squeezed for a few months. And hopefully we'll be closer to being out of debt by then.

Just when you get into a routine and everything... something comes along to ruin it! Bah humbug.

the best we could do

Okay, so we bought a dinky little $20 digital camera at Wal Mart today. It's about 3.1 mega pixels... which wouldn't be too bad, except it doesn't have a flash. It takes decent photos - better than nothing, and at least we have something now. So here are a few pictures we took today. Pictures of things that I've been DYING to post:

Of course more pictures of Joseline

Pictures of Vince with his head wound. The glue is peeling off now, so it looks kind of weird.

Joseline smiling (this is what she was doing when I found out our camera was broken - she was grinning at me, and I reached for the camera... only to realize that it had taken its last breath... sad day)

I hope you agree that poor quality photos are much better than no photos at all! And this gives us time to save up for a DSLR and find a great deal on one!! :D We'll see how long that takes us! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy our 3.1 MP pictures :)

keeping in touch

Still no camera. We're trying to be a lot more sure about the things we spend our money on, since we're not making a lot of money right now, and we're still rediculously in debt and trying to ease that burden.

Right now we're asking ourselves the question "Would we rather have (insert item to purchase), or would we rather get out of debt faster?" We're trying to pay down our debts and put a little away for a rainy day, so instead of buying things right away, we're biding our time, hoping something a little cheaper will come our way.

Take our fence, for instance. We need a fence around our backyard because our management company won't let us have the trampoline without a fence around it. Well, we were talking to some friends about the fences around here, and the fences don't technically belong to anyone (unless the person who put up the fence lives there), because each tenant assumes the cost for putting up a fence. Well, people who need/want a fence usually just go find an unoccupied house and take the fence and move it to their yard. So instead of going out and spending $1000 on a fence, we've found a big enough fence around another yard, and we're going to take advantage of it. Talk about bargain shopping!! :D

So that's the story of our life these days. We are really trying to curb spending. It's really hard to remind yourself to think "Do I really need this thing? Do I really even want it?"   But those questions I think are going to really change us.

Still No Camera

I still have no camera... sad day. Hence, fewer posts, because I usually like to post pictures of what's going on in our lives. Maybe I'll just start posting random pictures. 

This is the camera we want:

 

 The Nikon D40. A good little starter DSLR (and we wanted to upgrade to a DSLR) and on the cheaper end of cameras... now for the reason we probably won't get the camera we really want...

Car maintainence. I don't think our Highlander was maintained very well by its first owner. Poor Car. Anyway, I need to replace the front brakes, and get some other routine maintainence done (most of which is completely overdue...), which will probably in total cost upwards of $500. I value a well-maintained car, however - and keeping our car well-maintained (which means also being able to squeeze more value out of it when we trade in or sell it) is more important right now than getting the camera we want. So we'll probably end up settling for a less expensive camera :(  I'm looking around on Craigslist - maybe I can find a decent camera for under $50 to hold us over until we can afford the DSLR.

Until then, expect no pictures (and probably no posts, because I just hate posting without pictures...) 

the ER visit that starts them all

Today Vince, Joseline and I went with Trisha and her kids to the Parks Mothers' Day luncheon. It was great food, and great company - here's the proof about the company: (oh, btw, I broke my camera on Sunday, so until we get a new camera there is going to be a little lull in our pictures... which sucks hard core)

The company was so good, there were lots of little friends for Vincente to play with. What happens when you get a bunch of preschoolers in a room together? They run around and jump around and chase each other and are basically little wild crazy children.

So I was standing with the moms in the general area where our children were playing (although some of them, like Vincente, were running around the big ballroom). I hear Trisha calling me from across the room, and I run over, and there is my precious little baby boy and a nice lady (I think her name was Sarah) holding napkins on his forehead - he's screaming, and blood is dripping down his face. I almost lost it. Thanks to great AMAZING friends (Trisha, Krystal - you guys are amazing, I would have been a basket case without you!!), I was able to stay relatively calm. The people running the luncheon were way awesome, as well, because they were already on the phone with the paramedics by the time I got over there. One look at the cut (which was still bleeding profusely) and I knew he needed stitches. This nice Sarah lady seemed like she was a nurse or something because she was asking me if I had any of Vince's loveys with us (unfortunately, we've started leaving his blanket at home, unless he specifically asks to bring it with him, or if we know we're going to be out during nap time), so since I didn't have them, Trisha offered to run to my house and pick them up! Amazing friends, I tell you! Then Sarah was asking me if there were any song Vince liked to sing, but my voice was so shakey, I couldn't really sing in a soothing way, you know? It's not really relaxing to be sang to by a person who's having a hard time keeping it together. Unfortunately, all the songs Vince likes to sing are ones like Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam, I am a Child of God, and Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree - I had one of those "we're not in Kansas anymore" moments when I realized that I couldn't just tell her to start singing Primary songs. Anyway, eventually we moved into a different room - and empty room where away from all the commotion and people in the ballroom. Krystal brought in her adorable little three year old, Braden, to sing for Vincente. It was the first thing that calmed Vince down completely - Braden singing all Vince's favorite Primary songs. Braden is SUCH a cute kid, and I loved his little voice singing to Vincente.

Well, the abulance came, sirens and all, but Vince in his heightened emotional state would have absolutely nothing to do with them and freaked out when they even looked at him. All the to-do was a little much for the poor kid, and it was just about nap time. We ended up riding to the hospital in the ambulance, which was kind of fun - and I'll get to tell Vince about it when he's older, since he probably won't remember. Krystal watched Joseline at the luncheon while she waited for Trisha to get back, since Trisha was going to bring Vince's "Snuggle" back to the luncheon place. Krystal even offered to bring Joseline up to the hospital for me, but once Trisha got there, she took Joseline instead, since Krystal had her own three year old and 10 month old to take care of. Now that I look back I feel bad that I even asked her to take Joseline - you don't think straight in those situations, though. 

Before we rode off in the ambulance, I tried to call Russ, but his phone wasn't working, so I tried to call our friend Omar who studies Chinese in the same area as Russ, and whose number was the only one I had in my phone, but he didn't answer either, so I called his wife, whose number I also had, and asked her if she could get a hold of Omar for me and have Omar pass the message on to Russ to call me. Well, I found out later that Michelle got a hold of Omar, who goes to class down the hill from Russ, and then Omar called Wes (Trisha's husband) who goes to class in a room nextdoor to Russ. Wes talked to Russ, and then Russ called me. It was a crazy chain - but man, so awesome to have all these good friends. I don't know what we would have done without them.

Well, Trisha got up to the hospital with Vincente's Snuggle and a panda bear. Then Vince and Connor watched Jungle Book for a while. Russ got to the hospital just after Trisha, but he only had his motorcycle, so Trisha drove back to our house with Joseline so Russ could bring the car back to the hospital.

Around 3pm, we were finally seen by the Dr, and he said that since the wound was such a clean cut, Vincente wouldn't need stitches after all. He could just use the glue stuff that works like stitches. 

About half an hour later, Vince was all fixed up, and actually smiling and giving us weak little laughs every now and then when Russ could coax something out of him. We were discharged, and came home. 

It was a crazy, crazy day... and I am SO grateful for all the friends we have here.

When ever something "bad" happens to us, I always like to ask "Why?" I think I mentined this after our car accident in September - I don't mean to say I ask "Why me, Why me?" all pathetic like. It's more like "What does Heavenly Father want me to learn from this experience?" Because there is always something to learn. I think Heavenly Father wanted me to realize how much our friends love us, and how great a bond the gospel gives us. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ - which is made manifest by the way we bear one anothers burdens. I want to be that kind of friend to people. I think Heavenly Father wants me to be more like the friends I have - the kind of person who just takes care of things without even hesitating, and the kind of person who goes out of their way to make sure other people are taken care of.

I am so grateful for our health and our friends and the love we all have for each other. I am counting my blessings today.

My New Normal v 2.1

My new normal includes how our eating habits are changing - we're doing a not-very-strenuous cleanse for the next two weeks. Mostly it is simply no salt, no sugar, no dairy and no carbs/grains (besides veggies and fruits). We eat a lot of white meat (chicken and turkey), beans, and veggies, with some fruits. Lots and LOTS of water. In two weeks when we do go back to eating carbs, they will all be whole grain (well, most of them... I like white pitas better than whole wheat ones, and it may take us a while to get back into the whole grain pasta thing. For a while we were eating whole grain pasta... we'll see). And when we do start eating carbs, it will be like 1-2 servings a day. Once I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight, I'll do more servings of whole grains.

Anyway, so as far as schedule goes, it hasn't changed a lot. I think we're getting pretty well into a routine:

6:30am - wake up, fix Russ and me breakfast, fix Russ' lunch, go back to sleep if babies are still sleeping

when Vince wakes up - feed him breakfast

If we're running errands that day, we usually leave after I've nursed Joseline and Vince has had breakfast. If we're staying home, then as soon as Joseline goes to sleep for her morning nap, I straighten up the house, and then Vince and I play - if it's a good day, I try to get us outside, otherwise we just play inside with his toys.

12:30 or 1ish - lunch for me and Vince

2pm - Naptime for both babies

5:30 - start dinner

6:30 - eat dinner

After dinner - family time!

8:30pm - Vincente's bedtime

9:30pm - Joseline's bedtime

11pm - our bedtime

So there it is. I think this is the final version of My New Normal for now. But in a few months, Joseline will start going to bed earlier, and I'm sure shortly after that Vincente may start giving up his nap, but we'll see. Hopefully he's going to be one of those kids who naps until they're 5... HA. Only if i strap him to his bed.

My Food Blog

Here is my food blog. It's not private, so just click and go:

http://feedingtherowleys.blogspot.com

My New Normal v 2.0

I realized that I haven't been updating you on my new normal lately - and I think it's because thing are moving more smoothly for us these days. And on top of that, I'm crazy busy with two kids all the all the Dr's appointments and play dates and grocery shopping! Whoo! It's enough to make you feel crazy.

Anyway, here is the normal lately:

7:00 - Russ leaves for work, Vince is up, I hopefully sleep a little longer while Vince watches a show that Papai lovingly started for him

eventually - I get out of bed, get breakfast for me and Vince

Around 9ish - try to take a shower and get ready

10ish - run errands while Joseline sleeps peacefully in her infant carrier

12:30-1ish - lunch with Vince

2pm - nap time for BOTH babies, maybe a quick snooze for me, and then chores or something

6pm - Russ gets home from work - DINNER and FAMILY time! That has been the highlight of our day for the past little while - having family time after dinner. On Wednesday we jumped on the trampoline, then gave the babies baths. Yesterday we all worked out - Russ did push ups and sit ups, I did arms and crunches. Vincente danced to the workout music, and he and Joseline attempted to mimick our jumping jacks. It was hilarious. I should have taken a video. Joseline was the best - sitting in her little bouncey seat and when we would do jumping jacks, she would start waving her arms and kicking her little legs like she was doing them, too! It was adorable.

8:30pm - Vincente gets ready for bed

9:00pm - Vincente should be sleeping, or laying in his bed trying to sleep, but lately he's been coming out of his room, since he just realized he knows how to open his door and it works ANY time of the day, not just when he wakes up in the morning... unfortunately he likes trying out his newfound skill at bedtime, so he won't stay in his room. We're working on it, using the silent return to sleep. Poor little guy just wants to open his door.

after Vince is in bed, Russ studies, I watch an episode of Bones or House or Without a Trace (if Russ has no HW and doesn't want to study, we watch Bones together)

11pm - our bedtime, as long as Joseline is already alseep or is ready to go to sleep with us. 

So there it is, the NEW new normal. Joseline's sleep schedule still isn't completely normal, so that throws things off. Give it a few more months and things will settle down.

I think I'm going to start a food blog. Next week Russ and I are going to do a cleanse (mine will be somewhat modified, since I'm still breastfeeding) so having a meal blog will be a good way to keep track of what we're eating.

The new normal is looking very very good :)

A Name and a Blessing

Joseline, all dolled up for her special day!

The Russell Rowley Family

Russ, Becca, Joseline, and Vincente

Mamãe and Joseline

Papai and Joseline

Grandpa Victor and Joseline

Grandma Pam and Joseline

Aunt Sisty and her Babies!

My dad recorded the blessing, and as soon as I get that from him, and get Russ to translate, I will post some highlights from her blessing. Russ blessed Joseline in Portuguese (since he speaks to Joseline and Vincente in Portuguese). This time, several of the guys who stood in the circle spoke Portuguese, so they understood the blessing entirely! Russ is always good about telling people what he said after the blessing, so they don't feel so out of the loop. It was kind of nice to have a smaller to-do about Joseline. Since we don't live so close to all of the Rowley AND Smith relatives, the blessing-party only consisted of the grandparents and Aunt Barbara and Uncle Abe from San Jose, and Barbara's daughter Mikila and her husband, Connor. A few friends of Russ from the DLI stood in the circle as well, but the after church part was much smaller - and it feel cozier somehow. I think it's because when I was growing up most of the "family" gatherings consisted of my immediate family, and my mom's sister's family and her kids. Having less family around gives things a more intimate feeling, I think. Although I love LOVE my JTSmith family and I have been really missing going to the reunions. I hope we'll be able to make it to the next one! 

Play Date

Today I watched Stevie and Allie for a friend while she had a Dr's appointment. Yay for having friend's kids to watch! They were awesome, and played really well with Vincente. I was actually really impressed with all of them for how well they played together. 

There was very little fighting, and the only tumbling happened on the trampoline, with everyone really enjoying knocking each other down (and being knocked down!!) I thought at least one of the kids would be a wuss about wrestling on the tramp (and I actually assumed it would be Vincente), but they all just got back up after being knocked down. Allie didn't even mind having the boys all sit on her at once. She thought it was hilarious. 

Mostly Allie liked playing with Joseline ("Baby!") but that required a lot of supervision, since Allie is just under two and was very determined to pick Joseline up off the floor. And yes, Joseline is in this picture... she's just kind of covered by Allie. You can see her head poking through Allie's arms.

The area behind our house is very grassy and shady. Perfect for little boys to go exploring. After they had their fill of the trampoline, they took off down the hill into the shady backyard mostly to throw dirt and run through the tall grass. 

    

    

They each had their spills and tumbles, and at one point Vince decided it would be more entertaining to throw his camo crocs into the tall grass than to wear them... and then he couldn't find them... since they are camo... Anyway, I took off down the slope to retrieve them for him, and in the meantime, Allie decided that she wanted to explore, too, but her balance isn't quite as developed as the boys. I'd been trying to keep her at the top of the hill so I wouldn't have to explain a concussion to her mom, but before I could get back to the top of the hill, she had already taken off down the hill. I got to her just as she face planted down the hill. She was fine, and it actually looked like she wanted to do it again! 8-o But I think we ended up going back inside at the point.

We had mac and cheese for lunch with Laurel when she got there to pick up the kids. After a fun time chatting and eating, the kids picked up the toys, our friends left, and Vince and Joseline crashed for a nap. They both had more fun than they've had in a while. Joseline was thoroughly entertained by all the commotion, and Vincente seemed to enjoy having someone to jump with on the trampoline.

I was very impressed with myself for taking care of four kids under 4 for two hours by myself - and one of those being a nursing baby! She actually only nursed once the whole time the kids were there, and slept for a lot of it, and chilled on the living room floor for the rest of the time. If she hadn't been so mellow today I don't think it could have been done.

But having other kids to play with Vince definitely seems to be a good thing for me. Even if there are more little hands to keep track of, the fun is totally worth it!

From Her Point of View

What we see...

What Joseline sees...

Ghiradelli's

There is a little Ghiradelli's ice cream parlor on Cannery Row. I've been there twice now - and it's always yummy. Russ knows the owner (an Italian guy - you know how Russ always likes to find people to practice his languages on). 

Last time I went I got ice cream, but I was so cold this time that I got hot chocolate. 

   

   

You can see how much Vincente enjoyed his single chocolate scoop. After he finished off his ice cream he had a lot of steam to burn off, so while the rest of us sat an enjoyed the view of the ocean and the smell of chocolate, Christy and Grandpa took off to run after Vincente.

   

A Blessed Weekend

There are so many picture from this weekend, I picked some of the best shots (these are combined pictures from my collection, my dad's collection, and my FIL's collection - so I'm not taking credit for all of them. If I have time, I'll go through and give credit where credit is due, otherwise, just know that not all of these are my shots). I'm going to give the actual blessing day pictures and the ice cream parlor pictures their own posts, so check back later for those posts. I'll do them today if I have time. I'm also not planning on writing much as far as captions go - these pictures are from various locations - Del Monte Beach, Cannery Row, our house, and possibly a few other places.

    

   

Vivolo's Chowder House - recommended by a friend of my sister - and now, recommended by myself! I had a delicious Salmon something or other with a lemon butter sauce, and of course a cup of clam chowder. I think the thing I will miss the most about Monterey is the seafood.

   

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