Tatum Funnies- 3 Years

As I'm trying to brush and do Tatum's hair the other morning, she shouts, "Don't touch my hair! Don't you know it's golden?!?"  

Washing hair in the tub is also a super huge battle.  Tonight, I got smarter.  I decided that she should be the one begging me to wash her hair for her, instead of the other way around.  I told her a story:

Once upon a time, there was a princess with golden hair, but when she played at the park, went to the beach and lived her life, it turned brown because she never washed it.  So, one day, the princess begged her mom to wash her hair for her.  The mom said, "okay, fine, if that's what you really want..." and did it for her.  After the wash, her hair turned a "teeny tiny teeny bit more golden, but not much!"  So the next day, the little princess begged her mom to wash her hair again.  Every time her hair was washed it got more and more golden until her hair was back to beautiful gold!  

And guess what?!  She got her hair washed without tears for the first time in my memory, and after blowing it dry, asked if we could wash it again right away!  Mom win, for sure!

I decided to take Tatum on a special date to Target to find a Sunday dress.  I really talked it up, how this was such a special time with just us.  But as we walked out to the car she protested, "But MOM, Where is Chloe?!  Why isn't baby Chloe coming with us?!" I reminded her of our special date, but it didn't take.  The entire ride to target and the whole time there she'd say, "I sure wish baby Chloe were  with us."  and "Wow, this is fun, but it would be better if Chloe came."  "Mom, I miss my baby!  I'm the big sister you know..."  In the end, we didn't find a dress for T, and she spent the whole time complaining that Chloe couldn't come, so I'd say it was a bust.

About an hour after we put Tatum to bed the other night, she called from her room so desperately and in a fully awake voice, "MOM!  I NEED YOU, COME FOR ME!  MOM!!"  I was nursing Chloe, sp Scott went in and ended up escorting her to the bathroom... The following morning when I went in to get Tatum up she said, "Remember when I was calling for you last year (super confused about the passage of time)?  You didn't come for me.  That was too bad.  But Daddy came and took me potty, that was sure nice of him."  

Me:  "Tatum, will you please come help me feed the bunny rabbit?"
Tatum:  "You got it girlfriend!"

People warn you about the terrible twos, and she hasn't totally outgrown that phase yet, but boy is 3 a fun age!  She thinks and speaks for herself! 

Thoughts on Leaving NYC

I wrote this post about a week before leaving the city.  A small update since then... We flew JFK-LAX and the flight went perfectly.  Neither of our girls made a single peep the entire 6.5 hour flight. And we woke them up at 4am.  I am still baffled on how that happened, I'm sure it was the first and only time!

Auntie Beana's wedding was amazing!  We had such a great time and we're excited to welcome Antonio to our family.  We spent a few days after the wedding decompressing, and then packing for 5 days in Mexico.  San Felipe was as great as ever, you can watch the 5 minute video of our trip by clicking this link.  After Mexico, we bought a car (hooray!!) and finalized our plans for the move north.  Just this week we drove up and are staying in a 2.5 week sublet in Cupertino (45 min south of San Fran).  Scott has had several interviews and hopes for more now that we're in the area.  Life is a whirlwind and some days I feel more overwhelmed than others.  I know we will get settled and in a routine soon enough, and I should just enjoy this time.

Back to the original purpose of this blog post:

Things I will miss about the city:

• Being able to walk to the grocery store.  It's nice to have a quick 2.5 block walk up to the store to pick up a few things.  And only 1 block to the 99 cent store! Yeah, I'm going to miss that!  
• Not having a car.  It's nice to never worry about parking, oil changes, insurance, traffic... all the cost and hassle that comes with driving.
• $6 eyebrow threading.  I just love LOVE Anju and getting my brows done.  It takes about 5 minutes instead of 35 minutes of plucking, and grows in noticeably slower.  I always feel so great about myself and my life once I get my brows done.
• The long crossing signals.  You have like 40 seconds to cross the street here.  And there is a countdown for you.  Whenever we are away from the city I am so shocked by how fast the signal changes!!
• The fact that I walk everywhere I go.  I got a FitBit which shows me just how much I do walk and it is a lot! I'll miss the exercise I get without even thinking about it!
• Living on Riverside Drive.  We have so loved being beside some trees and water- it has made living in NYC nice for us. We would feel too urban and stuffed up if we didn't look out onto a river walk and take frequent strolls there.
• The community feel in my neighborhood.  I wave to Grismilda at the hair salon multiple times each day, I know the girl who checks me out at Rite Aid and the grocery store.  I'm friends with the family at the Chinese Food shop at the top of the street... Anju from Nepal who does my eyebrows.  Victor who does the bag check at the grocery store.  Franklin, the super in our building.  I have relationships with the people who I see all the time. 
  

Things I am looking forward to in suburbia:

• Being able to drive to the grocery store!  This way I can just put my groceries in the car and drive them home instead of hefting them around-- what a dream.  
• Having a car!  Just being able to get around!  Packing a picnic and driving it to the park instead of hauling all our gear everywhere!  Driving to a trailhead to take a hike!  Going anywhere specific and being able to go right there, it sounds amazing!
• A disposal.  Hopefully my garbage won't stink so bad so I won't have to take the garbage out as frequently.
• Laundry in my apartment.  I'm REALLY hoping this is my new reality, though with the prices and market in the Bay Area, who knows...
• Less fighting and swearing and smoking and begging in the streets. It is quite remarkable what some people are made of.
• Being in proximity to a Joann Fabrics and being much closer to Target.  Target trips have about killed me off in the city, and I so look forward to shopping there and getting home in peace.
• Not smelling urine pretty much everywhere.  The city stinks most places, but when I was pregnant I was painfully aware of how much it really stinks here.  
• Having outdoor space to live and enjoy life.

Chloe Monthly: 2 Months

At two months Chloe is:

-Smiling, only at people she likes ;)

-Holding onto her own paci

-Still sleeping most of the day away.  We tried keeping her up in the late afternoon in hopes of getting a longer stretch at night... bad move.  Sleep begets sleep.  "It's not logical, but it is biological." - My favorite book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby.

-Much taller/longer than Tatum was.  The same dress Tatum wore at 3 months fits like a shirt on Chloe at 2 months!  She has been in 3 month clothes for a good two weeks now.  

-Still in size 1 Pampers Swaddlers.  She's had zero blow outs.  I'd say we'll give her the "good baby" accolade.

-A world traveler!  We thought getting Tatum to Costa Rica at 9 months was great, but Chloe totally got the early start going to Baja Mexico at 7 weeks old! She was the best traveller among us-- she just sat in her car seat quietly, no complaining, whining or chattering.  After the 7 hour drive she mostly hung out in the shade, and we didn't even have to give her a turn on the quads! (P.S.  I know at least Kristen is wondering, No, she didn't need a passport.  Children under 16 can use a certified birth certificate to re-enter the US when travelling only by land.)

-Thinking about rolling over.  Hasn't done it yet, but there have been two instances this week when I thought she may. 

 

-Cries at night between 7-8pm.  I'm pretty sure she is overtired (How can that be after sleeping alll day?!) but once she is swaddled tight and hears the sound machine, she usually calms down within about 20 minutes.  Wakes at around 1:30 and 5am to eat. 

Chloe and Tatum are different babies.  Let's just say that Tatum is our spirited child.  She was as an infant and definitely is as a three year old.  We love our Tate girl, but Chloe baby is sure a calm dream boat :)

The transition to two is going great.  I'm already in kid mode, so throwing an extra diaper into my purse on the way out the door isn't too hard to remember.  My life hasn't totally flipped upside down with the new addition, just with the cross country move/house hunt/job hunt/car hunt ;)  Sort of kidding.