The Christmas Season, Part 2...California

The second of our two trips between Thanksgiving and Christmas was to California. My Grandmother lives in Huntington Harbor and has a dinner party every year for the boat parade. (This is a picture of one of the boats in the parade.) We have not been since having Sam because we knew the time change and late nights would be too much to ask of him. This year, we felt it would be a more manageable since he's a little more flexible with his sleep schedule. The only problem was that Sam seemed to come into the 'terrible twos' just a few weeks before going to California...let's just say he's testing boundaries and trying to show his independent side. This made me nervous because he had to be on his BEST behavior for the events throughout the weekend...elderly people who aren't used to small children, a beautifully decorated home, and many breakable objects...not to mention a sea of water to entice him. I mentioned in a previous post that he did very well...it just took the full attention of both John and me the entire time. He absolutely loved the boats and still says, "Go Grandmudus house, see boats." on a regular basis.
After two days in Orange County, we drove north to the San Fernando Valley to visit friends. I'd never met any of their children and they hadn't met Sam. They have 5 boys, so Sam was in hog heaven with all the cars, trucks, and trains in their house. Ok, so you're probably wondering if that was a typo, and no, it wasn't. They have 5 boys: a 6 year old, 3 1/2 year old twins, and 6 month old twins. And if that isn't enough to make your head spin, let me tell you a story...As we were driving to their house, John called his friend Mike to let him know exactly where we were. They were out running errands and we were trying to find a meeting time/place. After getting off the phone, I said to John, "Hmmm, I wonder what they do with the boys while they run errands and go to the grocery store?" We guessed either a nanny stayed with them, or perhaps family that lives near them. But, we pulled up and ALL 5 boys were in the car and they had just come back from the grocery store. Yep, grocery shopping with all 5 of them! No nanny, no family, no help...just mom and dad out running errands with 5 boys! They are my heroes! And at that time I made a vow to never complain about having to take Sam to the store with me again.
It was a great trip. We enjoyed seeing our friends and family. And it would have been even more enjoyable if it were the only trip we had taken between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was tough traveling so much and 3 hour plane rides are no fun with a 2 year old...especially one who won't sleep on the plane and won't watch more than 5 minutes of a DVD, and when the flight is in the middle of normal nap time.

Oh, and I never shared the details of traveling with a just-moved-to-a-big-boy-bed toddler who can crawl out of a Pack N Play. Let me just say that we had to keep him safe in a non-childproofed room. Putting him in a bed or making a pallet on the floor wasn't going to work. And oh yeah, he won't sleep in the bed with us...never has been able to. Can you say tent? Well, sort of. This is what I found...the phil&teds traveller. I sold our Pack N Play because, honestly, it was terribly painful to travel with anyway. Then I put the money I got for it towards the new travel bed. There's a removable mesh top on it and the mesh top had to stay on, much to Sam's dismay. He hated it and was scared when I closed him in the first night of our New York trip. (We did set it up at home for a week or so before our trip so he could play in it, but I don't know how much that helped.) It's really not as scary as it sounds...it has 4 mesh sides and a mesh top...so please don't turn me into CPS. Sam just did. not. like being closed in and unable to get out. The first night was the worst and it got better after that. But I'm sure he hopes he never has to see that thing again.