10 Days with Grandma

It's hard to believe that two weeks have gone by since my mom went back to Michigan, after spending 10 days with us in ABQ. Life is incredibly busy and somehow it seems to keep getting busier, which is why I'm just now finding the time to blog about our time with my mom. Micah went to Yosemite for a climbing trip for 8 days so my mom flew out to ABQ to help me with the babes.

We stayed so busy while she was here, both with fun things and with necessary appointments and such, that it is hard to remember the details of our time together two weeks later, but here are some of the highlights.

She arrived on a Saturday and I decided it would be fun to go into the airport with the babes and surprise her. Normally we drive through the passenger pick-up to make it quick and easy, but I thought the babes might enjoy the people watching at the airport and we didn't have much else to do that day since her arrival was the main event. Unfortunately, no one was very content waiting for Grandma to come through the gate, so I resorted to playing a toddler farm game on my phone to keep everyone quiet. Our efforts were worth it, though, as she was quite surprised and excited to see us waiting for her!

On Sunday we had a Norwex party while the babes napped in the afternoon. This was my first time hosting a party like this, and it was good that my mom was in town to help me get things ready and to help with the babes. Luckily, they napped pretty well so I was able to sit down and enjoy the party myself! 

One thing I had been concerned about for months was whether or not Alexis had a tongue tie. I knew it wasn't extreme as she could eat fine and she babbles all of the time (and now tries to say new words), but it just seemed to me like she moved her tongue differently than Faith and Jack. I made an appointment for her with a dentist that performs the tongue tie procedure, and I took her while my mom took care of the other two. Although I was worried that it would be a waste of time, I was happy to find out that my "mother's intuition" was right and she does have a Type 3 tongue tie. This is great news as 1) I wasn't making it up, and 2) we didn't have to have it clipped as this is not a severe tongue tie. We will watch it in the future, though, as if she does have problems with speech the dentist can clip it later.

Sadly, Faith's eczema was really bad while my mom was in town and I was up with her for 1-2 hours in the middle of every night until Wednesday, when I finally brought her to the doctor and got a steroid cream, which worked like magic. 

I have made it a priority to get out of the house alone every Wednesday night either for MOPS, book club, or to meet up with friends. The Wednesday while my mom was in town happened to be a MOPS week and she agreed to put the babes to bed by herself so I could go. I helped give everyone baths and got them in their PJ's before I left, and then my mom took them on a walk, fed them their snack and bottles, and put them to bed all by herself. She is Super Grandma!

My mom helped me start a new snack routine with the babes as I had only been giving them snack cups with goldfish and such to munch on while they played, but now that they are getting older they need larger snacks with more substance since they aren't drinking as much milk. We decided that snacks would be given around the table (instead of using trays on their boosters like we do at meals). Everyone seems to enjoy this new part of their day!

Bedtime snack with a bottle

Jack got a bit lazy wit his bottle drinking

Jack and Faith enjoying their Grandma time

I bought everyone new shoes while my mom was here! Since all three were just beginning to walk more consistently before my mom came, I decided it was time to move out of the crawler / early walker shoes and into something more sturdy for running around outside. All three love their new shoes! 

The first time we went to a large field to play and run was while my mom was here. We weren't sure how it would go, but we learned quickly that they can all move fast when they want to and they don't necessarily stick together. But everyone loved running around outside, so we decided it was definitely worth the effort (and the stress of trying to keep track of three toddlers).  

The first time running in the field at the park

Faith and Lexi

Jack (he still had his old shoes on in this pic as I had to order his shoes online)

Rounding up babes that had wandered too far

Grandma with Lexi, Jack, and Faith at the park

We have been going to the zoo every Thursday, but our first week was while my mom was here. We are meeting up with friends, and the group changes every week, so it's been a lot of fun. The babes definitely get excited when they see the animals and there is a nice grassy area where the babes can take a break from the stroller and run around.

This was the first time we ever let them out of their strollers to see an animal at the zoo. This is Jack and Faith with their friend Levi (far left). We've actually been asked if they are quads since Levi fits right in with his blonde hair!

We also tried drawing with crayons for the first time while my mom was here, and all three enjoyed this activity a lot! They occasionally put crayons in their mouth or rip the paper, but for the most part they stick to drawing and it's adorable as they are so proud of their masterpieces.

Lexi

Jack

Lexi and Faith

It was Balloon Fiesta week in ABQ while my mom was here so we attempted to go to the Glowdeo (evening balloon glow) Friday night, but got rained out. On Saturday we tried again and the weather was slightly better, so a few balloons were inflated and glowing, but the weather turned again so the Glowdeo was cut short. We hustled back to our car as it was starting to rain and the dust and dirt was blowing, but unfortunately we sat in the parking lot, unable to move due to tons of traffic leaving the park, for almost two hours! We did get to enjoy the fireworks from the parking lot, which was somewhat fun as it was the babes' first fireworks. After my mom and I did a little "oooing" when we saw the fireworks explode, the babes caught on and started making the noises themselves, which was hilarious. Overall the babes did great with sitting in the car and not moving even though it was way past their bedtime and I didn't bring any bottles of milk along (I had no idea we would run into that much traffic!). Sadly, the Balloon Fiesta ended up being a bust for us, and we learned our lesson that the morning glows are the best time to go since the weather is much more stable. 

Jack, Faith, and Lexi semi-enjoying the balloons (or lack thereof). Luckily, they are just as entertained by the people.

With Grandma at the Balloon Fiesta

At least there was a pretty sunset

The traffic on the way out of the parking lot. Welcome to the Wild West.

On Monday, my mom's last full day in ABQ, we headed to the Botanical Garden. I had been there a couple of times before (pre babes) but I never knew there were farm animals there, so when a friend told me about them I knew we had to check it out. At the very end of the botanic garden there is a farm with fields and orchards, and also two horses, a large cow, a few sheep, a goat, two turkeys, and lots of chickens. All three babes loved seeing the animals, and the most exciting part was when the cow starting mooing. All three were making noises back to the cow, but Jack especially caught onto the mooing noise and starting imitating it. It was so cute! I feel so fortunate that there is a zoo, aquarium, and botanical garden within 20 minutes of our house so that an annual membership is worth buying and we can go whenever we please!

Jack, Lexi, and Faith by the horses

Faith playing in the large grassy area at the Botanic Garden

Jack

Since Micah was in Yosemite for the majority of my mom's stay, and he got home late Sunday night, Monday evening was our only time with three adults and three babes. Earlier in the week my mom and I had attempted monitoring the babes while they played on the playground equipment near our house, but it is made for older kids and it's hard to make sure our young climbers are safe when the adults are outnumbered. So, we took advantage of the one-to-one adult to babe ratio and headed to the park. Each of us took charge of a babe and let them do as they pleased while we followed them around. They loved every minute of this time to roam the park and climb, and Grandma even took Lexi down the big, twisty, steep, tube slide! What a fun grandma our babes have!

Grandma and Lexi

It's always surprising to me how exhausting it still is to take care of the babes when I have full-time help, but I think part of the reason is that we try to cram so much more into our days when there is an extra adult around. My mom definitely left tired after her 10 days here, but that is because she doesn't rest much as she wants to make the most of the time she has with the babes, which we truly appreciate! We are looking forward to seeing both my parents in December when we go to Michigan for Christmas!