Otis is a Bully. Our Trip to the Museum.

Otis woke up from his nap yesterday in a funk.  Days like that, I know to leave the house as soon as possible to get his mind off whatever is making him crabby.  Usually a walk or a trip to the store will be enough to turn his mood.  Yesterday we decided to go to the Public Museum. 

It did not go well. 

As soon as we got there, Otis did not want to be in the stroller.  Which is fine, run off some steam, go look and explore.  Except he didn't want to walk, either.  He'd go all jelly legs and throw his head back.  So I set him down on the floor, where he commenced the temper tantrum.  This happened at least four times.  It seems the only thing he wanted to do was push the stroller, which is too high for him to reach the handle.  Which does not matter to a one and a half year old, he wants what he wants and he wants it RIGHT NOW. 

At one point, there was a group of school kids nearby.  An 8 year old boy came up near where Otis was screaming.  Otis looked up at him, stood up, and gave a mighty push right in the poor kid's stomach.  My baby don't take no shit!  The kid looked a little dumbfounded, like "did I just get beat up by a baby??"  I think that was the point we decided to leave.  We have a membership, we can always go back some other day...

I am a little worried, for real, about how to deal with Otis.  He is very frustrated lately about not being able to communicate.  We tried signing with him like we did with Ingrid, but he just never did it.  So now we are faced with grunts and points and lots of mad tears.  I feel for him, I do, it must suck to want something and have no way of getting your point across.  But I can't take much more of this hitting, shoving, kicking, and tantrums, and I know it's only gonna get worse.  Terrible Twos are real, ya'll.  I've been there.  I remember thinking Ingrid was being a brat and then she turned two and it was game on.  I'm scared for my future.

Anyway, we did have a little fun while at the museum.  Ingrid got a butterfly to land on her in the butterfly garden.  She thought it was cool at first but quickly decided she wanted it off right now.

  She also enjoyed the Streets of Old Milwaukee section, which has always been my favorite, too.  I felt kind of bad, she was having a good time and then little bro acted up and we had to go.  Boo.

Here's hoping today will be better.

My Family--I'll Keep 'Em.

Look how cute those goobers are!  And they're all mine.

Today we had a lovely family day.  We played with Ingrid in the morning, then after Otis' nap we went to the children's museum.  We came home to eat lunch and nap.  I dressed Otis up in some vintage overalls that were hanging up.  As with other things I've had forever, they are almost too small and it's a good thing I got some pics of him looking so dapper in them.

The afternoon was spent outside, where it was actually cooler than inside our house.  There was a nice breeze, we did chalk and Ingrid played her jumpy version of hopscotch.

That would be ketchup all over her face.  She's my kid, she's messy.  All the time.

We had friends over for a cookout, and then it was bedtime.  It was just the best example of fine summer fun!

It Ain't Easy Bein' Green...

Little one was in a green diaper on a green blanket this morning.  What a little leprechaun!

And while he was being Irish, Ingrid was being British.  We watched the royal wedding this morning (DVRed it, was not about to wake up at 3am...) After the wedding she had to put on her princess dress and crown.  Oh lord.

Yesterday was fun, too!  We went to the Betty Brinn Children's Museum and Ingrid got to run loose.  We got a membership that will come in handy on rainy days and in the winter.  When we got home, Otis, who had been asleep in the Moby the entire outing, woke up and was nothing but smiles.  Yay!

Cuteness.  And now it's the weekend and it's supposed to be nice and sunny and we have lots of plans for walks, parks, and coffee with friends.  Awesome.

The Best Christmas Ever.

It seriously was a great Christmas this year!  Brendan's parents came over from Wisconsin and it was the perfect day of relaxing, eating food, and watching A Christmas Story.  They came from their hotel this morning and we opened presents, then they all went swimming at the hotel pool while Otis and I hung out cleaning and nursing and sleeping.  Once they were back we ate a huge meal and then hung out playing with Ingrid's new toys and asking each other Trivial Pursuit questions. 

Ingrid got two drums this year!  One an old school Fisher Price, and one a real true bongo set from Grandma and Grandpa.  It was so cute, we had gotten Brendan's dad some homemade guitar picks so he was playing the guitar.  Ingrid got her drums and sat down right next to him, and Bob and Kathy sang songs while they played.  We are so going to be the Partridge Family.

And Otis was a little sweetie all day long.  I had to try to wake him up, which is SO HARD!!  He just will not wake up no matter what you try.  But once he did wake up, the little genius finally figured out how to latch on properly so I don't even need the nipple shield anymore!  I am just amazed how this whole nursing thing is all coming together.  I was so worried I wouldn't be able to do it, especially since he's a preemie, but he's just gotten the hang of it so quickly.  And when he's not nursing, he's sucking his thumb...something I'm not sure I like.  Ingrid never ever sucked her thumb, but Otis does it all the time, it's kind of cute.  But you can't take a thumb away like you can a pacifier.  That's a long way away, though, no need to worry myself now, right?

Overall it was just a great day.  Tomorrow Brendan is taking Ingrid to swim again, then they are all going to the Henry Ford Museum, which means Mama and Otis get a big chunk of the day to ourselves!!  I envision a nap and working on Otis' cross stitch birth announcement.  Good times.  Hope you all had a Merry Christmas, too!!!

Halloween in Milwaukee!

We took a quick trip to Milwaukee this weekend.  Brendan has an interview with a company there, and we thought it was going to be today, so we decided to go as a family for the weekend before.  Then we found out it's actually next week but we had our hearts set on going so we went anyway.  Ingrid was awesome in the car, fell asleep right after we got to Grandma and Grandpa's, and just traveled so well.

We went to the Public Museum, which I've been wanting to take Ingrid to forever.  She liked the butterfly exhibit, where you walk through and they all fly around you. 

In the afternoon we traveled down to one of our old neighborhoods and went to the park.  They have a beach of all rocks, which we figured Ingrid would love.  Yep, she did!  The views of the city are great from here, and she and Brendan spent an hour or so skipping stones.  Ahhh, simple pleasures!

On Sunday we met with some friends for brunch.  The place is on the river, in an old lodge, with gingham tablecloths and a big huge wood burning fireplace.  It was so cozy on a fall day!  And so much fun to see my friends!!  Ingrid was so funny with her new pal, 6 mo. old Poppy.  She was all up in her face and stealing her pacifier and making her cry...We are going to have SO MUCH FUN with a new baby around here!

We also went trick or treating with Ingrid up and down Grandma and Grandpa's street.  God bless Milwaukee, the guy handing out candy was drinking a Hi Life!  Ingrid was such a nosy little grabber, she wouldn't let people put candy in her bucket, she had to grab stuff for herself.  It was her first time going, she had fun but didn't quite get it.

All in all it was a good trip, and really made us feel anxious to get back there and settle down once again.  Enough moving around, I want to stay put for more than two years!  Everyone cross your fingers for Brendan's job interview next week, we'd like to get back to Milwaukee, please.

Hands On Museum

Today Ingrid and I met our friends at the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum.  Brendan and I always wanted to take Ingrid there but never managed to make it on a weekend, so I was excited when Jami wanted to go.  We packed a lunch and set off into the windy cold day.  It was a good day to be inside exploring!

They have a huge Bob the Builder section, but everything made noise and scared Ingrid.  She cried and wanted to be held the first ten minutes or so, until we took the kids to the preschool area.  There she had a blast!  There are things to climb on:

A water table where they get to splash as much as they want:

A firetruck with dress up fireman clothes:

After lunch we checked out some other areas, but a school was there, making it crazy, and Ingrid was ready for her nap.  She had fun, though, as long as she was in the preschool area.  Problem is, it's so expensive, I don't know that I want to pay that much for her to only want to see one tiny area...