Back from holiday, taller

Honestly, he grew while we were away - the heat and excitement and routine change made regular sleeping and eating challenging, but he is TALLER. And since getting home he's been eating a LOT, I think to make up for the many meals in Mexico that he managed to eat enough to keep body and soul together- but much less than what he usually ate.

Portable DVDs are the best thing to travel with- really, rather than having a peeved squirming yowly toddler, a quiet fascinated one watching an educational show is much better in enclosed spaces. I have NO REGRETS. And, regarding the use of gravol or benadryl to"settle" your kid during flights- commonly done, controversial among parents, and on the way there N had a brutal cold so was getting some meds for that (not sure if it helped him sleep or not, but he was a hot sweaty miserable little runny nosed guy pasted to me for the whole trip).

On the way back I still had the stuff, and he was getting overtired and rammy and bitey (still, like that when tired) but I decided to wait and he passed out and had a nice natural sleep on his own. My R arm and neck remain out of whack- how does a 29-ish pound child suddenly get so much HEAVIER when sleeping? Local gravity increase??

We have regretfully cancelled another trip- too much travelling lately, so N and I won't go to Ontario w/ Daddy- it would be nice to see the grandparents in law but I can't really take the time from work. Also, Nolan is soon out of the age range for being a lap child, but as he's a big as some 3y olds already I must say this was getting challenging enough that I don't think I'd do it again anyway. It's like holding a large sack of potatoes on your lap for hours- only you have to entertain the potatoes, then soothe the potatoes, then not wake the potatoes up, but shift them intermittently so they don't wake up stiff and cramped, keep them asleep by singing judiciously, and ignore the cries of your bladder for the last half of the flight.

New words
toopashTE- toothpaste
soookle? - I'd like to take that hotel desk pen and draw circles on everything in arms reach
shut - shirt
deridis- there it is
draaawinnn! - drawing

New Games and phrases
Ring the door bell, say "ding dong"- open door, grin, say "sheeeyou!" (See you) and close the door. Repeat. repeat. repeat.

"Dock? Woof-woof? Dock??"- then go visit the neighbour dogs

Clap for self with any new accomplishment-e.g. put the lid back on the vaseline jar after diaper (di-poo) change- clap and say "Yayy!"

Pretend to put moisturizer on face, then request toopashte and "tooth- Brushhh"?, try to brush teeth. Observe Mommy brushing teeth (a lot more vigorous brushing going on than in Nolan's mouth) decide her toothbrush must be better than yours, and switch. Be puzzled when the new brush isn't all scrubby like it was when she had it. Refuse to let her brush your teeth for you about 50% of the time, with any brush.

As a last comment, here's some proposals for daycare names I found on another blog. I particularly like The Snot Spot, and Germnasium...not that I dislike daycares, the ones around here are fabulous and enriching, but I couldn't face getting Nolan ready and out the door every day - a real challenge for a lot of dual career families, and our nanny is super.

Day Care Names

• Running with Pencils
• The Snot Spot
• The Daisy Hill Puppy Farm
• KinderPrison
• Happy-Go-Funtime Germnasium
• Mommy's Little Helpers (No, Not Xanax)