Kazakhstan Buddies!

Keith, Julie, and Valerie came down from New Jersey again this year, so we were able to spend the day with them in St. Augustine. We had been looking forward to seeing them again for months, so we were excited when they were finally here. Valerie and Tanek played well together, especially for a couple of 2 year olds! Valerie is getting so big and has gotten so much hair since we saw her last. It's amazing how much she looks like her Mommy! The time has gone by so quickly since we were all in Kazakhstan! Keith and Julie look the same, though, and it never seems like it's been a long time since we saw them last - it's nice when it's so easy and comfortable to catch up, talk, and just be yourself! Anyway, we visited for a while and then went to lunch. At the restaurant, they bring a little basket of bread for feeding the fish outside the window. Tanek and Valerie had a lot of fun throwing bread out to the fish! After lunch, we went to the Alligator Farm. I think the adults enjoyed the animals more than the kids, but they sure had a lot of fun at the playground! Later, we were able to meet some of Julie's family, which was nice. Here are a few pictures of our day:

Alligator Farm

Tanek's New Bedding

Tanek's new "Cars" bedding finally arrived on Monday. He was excited to have "Mine" and "Towie" on his sheets and he loves his storybook pillow! His bedtime problem is better, but not totally solved yet. He starts out on his bed, but ends up going to sleep on the floor (usually wedged up against the door). Once he is asleep, I pry the door open, pick him up, and put him in the bed. Then he'll stay in bed for the night - most of the time. Here he is with his storybook pillow- it gives him something to look at/play with in bed that he can also fall asleep on!

Of course, by the time he puts all of the blankets and pillows in bed that he can't sleep without, there isn't much room left for him.

Tanek absolutely loved helping put up his "Cars" wall stickers - he helped decide where they should go. Now he stands on his bed and counts them and calls them by name.

There are just a couple more things we want to get and then Tanek will have a complete "Cars" room! He loves it and seeing him so excited makes it all worth it!

Floor vs. Bed

This is one of those times I really wish I knew what is going through Tanek's little brain! After sleeping in his "toddler" bed for the first two nights (and relatively few problems), he will now only sleep on the floor - usually under the bed- and only after crying for "Mommy" for at least 30 minutes. I am at a loss, I have no idea what to do with him. I hate hearing him cry, and I am sad that he feels the need to sleep on the floor for whatever reason. So, if anyone has any ideas or knows what we should do for him, feel free to comment!

I did order him some "big boy" toddler bedding this weekend. I even broke down and bought "Cars" bedding. Maybe if he can sleep surrounded by "Mine" and "Towie", he will want to sleep in the bed. I don't know, we'll see. I think he mostly just wants Mommy to go "night, night" with him!

Crib Woes!

Well, Tanek finally catapulted himself out of his crib yesterday and I don't think he was prepared for the landing! He cried, I held him. I think he mostly scared himself, but he did get a little carpet burn on his forehead. There was no nap happening after that. So.... I took the crib rail off and put the toddler rails on. He was loving his "new" bed and being able to get up and down on his own - until about midnight when he ended up on the floor again! At least this time he was only about a foot off the floor and landed on a pillow...but he still pitched a fit for awhile. It was a bit trying to keep him in the bed at first, also - I thought he was becoming best friends with the wooden spoon. But, maybe it worked because he hasn't gotten out of bed yet tonight (he is whining, though). Can't expect things to go that smoothly, right? Anyway, that was our saga yesterday!

The Many Faces of Tanek

More Beach Pics

Siesta Key

Sorry there have been no posts for awhile. Mom, Tanek, and I spent this past week at Siesta Key and we didn't bother trying to figure out how to access the internet (since there was no wireless internet access where we stayed). We had a lot of fun and Tanek absolutely loved the beach! He loved having the waves splash up on him, but kept getting mad because we wouldn't let him run into the waves by himself! Sorry, but I can't see myself letting him loose in the ocean by himself for several more years. But, I think this is the perfect beach to take children to because the sand is powder soft and never gets hot - reminds me of the sand in Mexico! And, the water is beautiful - clear, aquamarine colored, and warm! It was extremely windy most of the week, though, so the water wasn't as calm as it normally is, and the undertow was pretty bad. Not too big of a deal for us since we weren't going in very far.

Tanek only had one major meltdown while we were gone (and by major, I mean major!). The day before this meltdown, he wouldn't take a nap, so then he fell asleep at about 6 pm while we were walking on the beach - and there was no waking him up, he was out! Needless to say, he woke up at 3:45 am and wouldn't go back to sleep, which must have contributed to the meltdown before breakfast! He just lost it when I tried to change his diaper and get him dressed for breakfast - I mean totally out of control! Nothing we did would calm him down, holding him didn't work, time outs and spankings didn't phase him.... finally, I had to take him with me into the shower and put him under some cool water! I promise it was only cool, not cold - I was in there too, afterall. So, I went ahead and washed him up (since he missed his bath the night before), and then he was happy as could be again and ready for breakfast!

He had fun most of the time and kept us laughing. I don't know where he comes up with some of this stuff. Friday, he was a little crabby and ended up in "time out" at least once. Later, when he started acting up again, I asked him if he wanted another time out, and he just walked into the bedroom, shut the door and put himself in "time out"!

Anyway, here are some pictures of our trip. I'll have to post some more later - I've been trying to catch up on everything since we got home (email, reading blogs, laundry, grocery shopping, etc.).