32 months

The month started with a visit from Aunt Boo and Uncle Mikey and while someone loves her Uncle Mikey, she was timid and shy at the airport at first when we went to pick them up. After a few minutes of taking it all in, she started being her silly self towards him and the two of them were like glue for the next five days, which really was a nice little break for mommy and the mommyitis that has been going on. If we needed J to do something with out arguing we just got Uncle Mikey to do it and all was golden, he became the expert bath giver, tooth brusher, hair comber, you name it and Uncle Mikey did it!

We had a great (and somewhat relaxing) visit while they were here. Not too much planned other than the cravings people had to eat. Of course we went for BBQ at our new found place and also took a trip to the Dallas Children's Aquarium where J had fun seeing the fish (well as much as she saw them running from one exhibit to the next) and feeding the sting rays which freaked her out when they touched her hand! We also had lunch one day at our new favorite burger joint (or the burger place as J calls it) and what is a weekend without pizza (this time take out since mommy and daddy went on a date). We spent time at home playing with all the things J loves, play-doh, puzzles, match game, coloring, painting, princesses, tea party, kitchen, etc. You name it and they all played it! When we were home the house looked like a tornado from all of the toys!

Uncle Mikey hung out with us until he had to head home that Monday night, Aunt Boo got to stay and hang out until Thursday when she left with her special package in tow. And who was her special package? None other than Miss J being delivered to Miami to hang out by herself with everyone for two weeks. Being there for two weeks allowed her to spend a week with each side of the family and not bounce between houses. After some issues with checking in and getting through security (she was scared of going through the metal detector), Aunt Boo bought her some donuts and they boarded the plane. The report was that she was an angel on the plane and pretty much played on the iPad and watched her movies the entire way. Uncle Mikey was waiting for her when she got off the plane and she got to have dinner with Nana and Pop Pop at the Big Cheese (mommy and daddy were jealous) before heading to spend the first part of her trip with Grandma and Grandpa.

She spent the week with them playing at the house with her toys (see video below for her trip she took to Target in Grandma's kitchen) and swimming. They ate a few meals out, celebrated Uncle Gus' birthday, saw Grandma and Grandpa's friends, did a little shopping and after terrorizing the store she even got the American Girl Bitty Stroller (which of course made its way back to Dallas)! She also had her first carousel ride at the mall, she didn't want to ride a horse but rode on the bench seat instead.

The second week was spent with Nana and Pop Pop (and the rest of the family). J got to enjoy a few quite days of alone time with them before my sister and her crew came down, making it four kids three and under all under one roof, mass chaos to say the least! We could barely talk to J on Facetime while she was with them, it was crazy and you could hear nothing through the commotion, that and she had no interst in talking to us. More than once while she was gone she told me she wasn't coming home and that she was staying in Miami! You could tell that J enjoyed the time she got to spend playing with her cousins (she continued to talk about them when she got home) and I am glad they had some time together, it had been a year since she had seen them. They celebrated Nana's birthday toddler style with make your own cupcakes (mess!).

On one had it seems the two weeks flew by, on the other it seemed like an eternity, never the less it was time for J to come home, whether she liked it or not! Grandma and Grandpa flew her back to Dallas, and stayed with us for almost two weeks to help me get through my extremely busy time at work. While I did miss her tremendously, it was nice to not have the daily two year old tantrum and have special time with Miss C. The look on her face when she saw me at the airport (and she was an angel again on the plane) was priceless, she kept rubbing my face ever so gently and kept saying that she was going to stay with me now. The what should have been tear jerker came when we went to go and pick-up Miss C from daycare, the girls seeing each other for the first time in two weeks was priceless and if it wouldn't have been for all of the commotion going on, I'm sure my water works would have started flowing. The look they gave each other was definitely that of a sister bond, even at such young ages!

 

The best thing about sending her to Miami for two weeks without us was Grandma and Nana's diligence to send her home without diapers! She didn't come home fully potty trained but came home very well trained and a "Big Girl" as she calls herself and wanting to wear underwear. We went to eat lunch on the way home from the airport and she in this small little voice told me she needed to do potty while we were having lunch. She marched like a big girl into the bathroom and proceeded to use the potty. It was so nice not to have to change a pull-up! In the two short (which seemed long) weeks she was gone she grew up so fast and came home with this milestone accomplished! Now we need to work on #2. 

She adjusted pretty well going back to school, although her mommyitis stuck around for a few weeks and is back to being a typical two year old at home. My MIL and mom both said she was an angel and listened very well with them, she waited to start pulling her shenanigans again when she got home and knew it would get my goat! While my in-laws were there they saw how J was to me and just shook their heads at how she was behaving (throwing food, not listening, having to go to time out) and the attention that she wanted from us, she wasn't like that in Miami, we just might have to send her more often! 

Here are the pictures from the month.