So, Sweets and I had to decide what to do. We both agreed we were not ready to leave Gavin in someone else’s care for three days and two nights. But, the question on the table was whether Sweets would stay home while I traveled or whether I’d drag them with me. I decided I wasn’t yet ready to be away from my boys for so many days/nights, so they were coming with me! Overall, the trip was both great and incredibly challenging. There definitely were some lessons learned about traveling with a toddler.

We tried to arrange our flights to align with Gavin’s nap time, which was especially important given the flight was 4 hours on the way to Vegas and over 3 hours on the way home. Gavin slept for 30 minutes on the way out and didn’t sleep at all on the way home. Even though we purchased an extra seat for him (best move we could’ve made!), it was still a huge challenge to contain him to our row of seats. He doesn’t yet “get” the baby apps we downloaded to Sweets’ iPad. Books go only so far. Lesson learned, next time we assume he won’t sleep at all (and bring appropriate activities to accommodate).

Another challenge? Staying in a hotel and planning meals for a toddler. When it’s just two adults in a hotel, the conversation goes something like this: We’re hungry. Great, let’s pick a restaurant and get something to eat. It’s then easily an hour between choosing where to eat, getting there, getting seated, ordering your food and getting served. With a toddler, it’s not as easy. Because, when the toddler is hungry, it’s go time immediately. There is no hour to give. So, we had to be ahead of the game, which can be challenging when you’re staying in a hotel, let alone a freaking casino in Las Vegas!

That said, the rest of the trip was pretty amazing. From a work perspective, I had worked really hard to organize this trip for my company. I only had six weeks to get hotel rooms, restaurants and meeting space for our company. In any other city, that short time frame probably wouldn’t be a big deal. But, in Vegas, where they host conventions in the tens of thousands, no one really cares about a 20-person meeting. I spent a week being seriously ignored by a number of different casinos. But, I eventually figured out a way to be heard … and everything fell into place.

We had amazing suites in the Palazzo (Venetian) hotel that included marble bathrooms with double sinks, separate bath/showers, vanity tables and private toilet rooms; sunken living rooms with sectional sofas, coffee table, desk and a table where we could eat; three flat screen TVs – one in the living room, one in the bedroom area and one in the bathroom; and view to die for! Our room overlooked a $600 per round golf course and a beautiful mountain range. Feedback about the trip has been amazing so far and my bosses both told me they were very pleased with how everything turned out. Phew!

From a personal perspective, it was hard balancing my work obligations with my personal commitments. But, we managed to make it work. Sweets was very accommodating – taking the bulk of the parenting over the three-day trip. And, Gavin was a CHAMP given his nap schedule was non-existent and his routine had vanished. He turned on the CHARM with all my work colleagues – seriously made some of my co-workers and the significant others of my co-workers fall in LOVE with him. It was sort of ridiculous how good he was. Especially since he didn’t go to sleep until 9pm on Thursday night (11pm Chicago time) and 10pm on Friday night (midnight Chicago time). Let’s not mention that our morning flight back to Chicago on Saturday was delayed, which turned into an all-day affair at the Vegas airport. Gavin didn’t melt down once during our trip. He’s my personal hero!

Here are a few photos from our trip. One thing is for sure: even though Chicago is having a mild winter so far, it was darn nice getting away to a place where a coat has no name!

The view from our 39th floor room. Not bad, especially when the sun was rising over the mountains!

In celebration of the Chinese New Year, the Palazzo has a Red Dragon display.
Every night, there is a display with lights and fire coming out of the dragon’s mouth.

After my work meeting, my company took a trip to tour the Hoover Dam!

Of course, we got back late Saturday night and both Sweets and I got really sick. I can’t believe I’m sick AGAIN! So, I apologize for my otherwise lack of presence in blogland. But, between the trip and my lack of good health, I haven’t been checking in with the internets. I hope y’all had a great weekend, too!

On Friday, Gavin began his transition into a toddler room, spending a few hours with the bigger kids. We then had a nice snow storm that decided to peak during the afternoon rush (thankfully I left work at lunch and it only took me an extra 25-30 minutes to get home). We then dressed up Gavin in his snowpants and boots for the first time to take him outside to play in the snow. He HATED the snowpants and boots, so he cried whenever we put him down. But, he LOVED the snow and was happy to explore our yard and all the places where snow was accumulating, so long as he was in our arms! Between the new room at daycare and the snow, needless to say, Gavin slept like a champ that night!

We were supposed to do a family-only thing on Saturday. It involved snow and being outside and ice sculptures and music and other fun things. But, my hair appointment (I got my hair chopped, y’all – photos coming soon) bled into Gavin’s nap. And then, it was suddenly late afternoon and we weren’t going anywhere. We even skipped a birthday party that evening, preferring to stay home, order in ribs and hang with our neighbors (who were equally as lazy and showed up in pajamas!).

But, we made up for it on Sunday! We went to Gavin’s first music class – he’s now in the 12-24 month class. We have the same teacher (whom we love), but the class is in a bigger room with bigger kids! The structure is much the same as the infant music class, only the songs focus more on words kids say, rather than sounds babies make. Gavin was a bit overwhelmed at first, but warmed up towards the end and had a blast banging on the drums. We then headed out to the suburbs to meet up with Gavin’s city cousins at a children’s museum. It.was.awesome!!!!

Apologies for the number of photos – it was hard to choose which ones would best reflect our day!

The Car Room, with race tracks galore.

The Art Room, where Gavin preferred music!

The Nursery, where Gavin fed babies and stood up to bigger kids when they wouldn’t share the baby bottles.

There was lots of talking on the phone. Even when no one was listening.

Gavin learned how to stamp library books.

Gavin competed with his cousin on dueling computers.

Gavin and his other cousin on dueling video phones.

Pretty much everything was either too big or had to be explained. But, Gavin was a good sport and seemed to have fun.

And then, Gavin discovered the water room.

Where he proceed to get.soaking.wet!

But, was fascinated with the buttons and handles and other hardware that made water appear and disappear.

And it didn’t matter that he was too small…

… because all he wanted to do was play with water.

And so, at the end of the day, he was an exhausted little boy. As we were exhausted parents. But, it was so worth the energy to see our little guy have so much fun. I’ll leave you with a few of my favorites from our day!

And, now I want to know how on earth it’s already Wednesday? No, seriously. I’ve got packing to do (a work trip – more on that next week) and photos to take (y’all want to see the new locks, right)? And that’s above and beyond the pile of work I have and taking care of an especially tired toddler (it’s Gavin’s first full week in the toddler room – we are all going through the transition together!). And, oh wait, Gavin turns 15 months today! Good—NESS!! I hope everyone is having a great week and you can count yourselves lucky if you see another post from me this week!

I haven’t been in the habit of posting on Fridays in a long time. But, we had a little fun around here this week, so I thought I’d make an exception this week and share the fun with you. To give a little background, not too long ago, Sweets decided he was going to be serious about cycling to work. He started when the weather got warm-ish in 2011 and continued up to the winter months. To be a true commuter in the winter, though, he needed a few additional clothing items, such as goggles (cold wind in your eyes makes it difficult to see!) and a balaclava (think of it as a hat that also covers your nose and mouth and neck). He got the goggles a couple weeks ago and the balaclava arrived this week. Gavin wasn’t particularly pleased with the new get-up, as you’ll see in these photos.

Even the dog was unsure of Sweets’ new look. Thankfully, as Sweets peeled back the layers, the mood lightened up a bit. Speaking of our poor dog, SoMi is a pretty understated dog. I mean, she barks insanely whenever our buzzer rings. But, other than that, she rarely barks, she doesn’t “speak” and never complains. Let’s put it this way … when she impaled herself with a stick last year, she didn’t yelp once. The only reason I knew anything might be wrong was she kept batting her face with her paw. But, not a sound did she make. That’s why we had trouble keeping our laughter in the other night when Sweets was “playing” the harmonica and SoMi just had to chime in.

That’s all from here. Hope y’all have a fabulous and very happy weekend. See ya on the flip side!

My parents paid us a visit from Boston over the NYE weekend. Conveniently, we had a wedding to attend, so my parents got to babysit Gavin. We had a low key NYE (though, for the first time in years, we actually stayed up until midnight). And, even though my dad and I were fighting colds (his worse than mine), we didn’t let that stop us from visiting with friends and family.

Really, I should just let some of my favorite photos do the talking.

For Gavin’s birthday party, we provided crayons for the older kids.
Lately, Gavin’s daycare has sent home some of his crayon art.
So, we gave Gavin the chance to draw at home.
He loves it so much that he throws a fit when it’s time to clean up.

We recently purchased an umbrella stroller for some upcoming travel.
As is par for the course at this age, Gavin loved climbing through the box
(and could care less about the stroller itself).
The box remains in our living room, even though the stroller has been put away.

My parents spoiled Gavin rotten.
He suckered my mom into pushing him up and down the hallway in his wagon!

 Sweets’ parents visited, too.
Gavin got grandparental attention x4.
He was wiped out – and that was before dinner!

My parents gave Gavin a table and chairs for the holidays.
One of his favorite activities is to climb in and out of the chairs.
Even if it means he sometimes falls on his head!

My dad’s imaginary friend is the tickle bug.
Poor Gavin is learning what it means to be friendly with both!

 With all grandparents in tow, we headed out to eat.
My maid of honor and her boyfriend also joined us.
There was an awesome bluegrass band that accompanied a great menu!
Gavin loved listening to the music and put up with my camera.

 After we cleared our house of guests, Sweets sat down with Gavin to read.
Apparently, Gavin started on Sweets’ lap,
but scooted until they were seated side by side.
I’m pretty sure Gavin is signing his version of “more,” which has now come
to also mean “I want.”

 Gavin loves drinking water from a (plastic) glass.
(Should it just be called a plastic, then?)
Even when we assist him, there are plenty of H2O failures!

 When I took this photo, I thought “future soccer star!”
Doesn’t it look like Gavin is focused on and running towards a ball?
In reality, he’s just clumsily walking towards me on the couch.

We wind down our days by giving Gavin a bath, one of his favorite things to do!
He gets incredibly squirmy and goofy as Sweets runs the bathwater.
Gavin even smiles for the camera, naked body and all!

So, there you have a lot of our long weekend, through a toddler’s eyes. Did I mention you might get sick of seeing photos of Gavin? Yeah, that starts right about now!

Happy 2012!

But, our family traditions reach beyond the winter holidays. For example, I’ve been making annual treks to my family’s beach house for over a decade. When Sweets and I met, he began to join me. And, we hope to make these trips something Gavin associates with his childhood.

Earlier this year on said beach trip, we had some family portraits taken by a favorite photographer my family has used in the past. Granted, these photo sessions are only a brief snapshot in time. But, it’s one of the rare times when all three of us are in a photograph together. I was so moved by this photo session that I decided a family portrait must be added to our list of annual traditions.

The first person who came to mind was our wedding photographer. Talk about dreamy. He knows about lighting and timing and makes for a really fun photo session. And we should know – not only did we use him for our wedding, but we also were lucky enough to meet with him for a maternity shoot and another session after Gavin came home from the hospital. But … our pockets are not deep and I am sure we cannot justify his costs on an annual basis. (Note, I’ve already started saving for a major anniversary!)

So, I started a search and, through the recommendation of a trusted friend, came across a local photographer. We made an appointment with her on what turned out to be a beautiful October day. Because we wanted to use some of these photos for our holiday card and others for family gifts, I wasn’t able to share the photos in this space before today. Oh, how that pained me, because friends, we wound up with a collection of really wonderful photos. This is definitely a tradition we will continue into future years! For now, a feast for your eyes!