The Kids' Log: July 1-8, 2012

Greetings from sunny (but mild) California! We arrived late Friday night. Our last week in Dallas was a frenzied blur of activity. Packing and moving halfway across the country with an infant and a wild toddler running is no joke! It was as if they conspired to make things a million times harder.

They took turns keeping us up every night. We'd get one to sleep and the other would wake up on cue and disrupt our sleep or packing. Girlfriend stayed up past 1 am on our last night in Dallas! Then Desmond decided to start teething in the middle of all the madness. Yes, I said teething...he is showing all the signs (rubbing his gums, hardcore drooling, trouble sleeping, slight temperature). Thank goodness for Sophie the Giraffe.

Marlie was not to be outdone. She did her part by taking stuff out of boxes and just plain acting like an escaped zoo animal.We tried our best to explain to her what moving away meant without making it sound like a big deal. Everyday she asked if it was time to get on the plane to go to "Cali-forna," pronouncing it just like the former Governor. But I think she still took the changes hard. She even told me that she wanted to keep this house and she woke up in the middle of our first night here crying that she wanted to go home. Hence she has been acting out more so than normal. She kept peeing on herself and we tried to be understanding as much as possible while reinforcing the message that she is a big girl now and shouldn't be going to the bathroom on herself. Finally we went and bought disposable pull-ups because stopping every few hours to wash soiled panties was getting to be a bit much. Hopefully, she will calm down and get back on the potty train once we're settled. She did use the toilet in the hotel which is a good sign. This is a HUGE change and I'll try my best to exercise patience with her.

The view from our downtown San Francisco hotel room

I just want to give a big momma-thanks to Virgin America for making our plane ride stress-free (this is not a sponsored ad). The very nice check-in and gate agents, the super sweet flight attendants, and the efficient pilots who got us here 30 minutes early made for a ultra smooth trip. After this experience I am done flying that other carrier who I won't mention by name (but their initials are AA). 

We spent Saturday decompressing and having brunch with a friend in SF before moving into our temporary housing in the Laurel District in Oakland. We are all pooped, but so happy to be starting our new lives in the Bay Area!

Toddler Log: 2 Years 46 Weeks Old:
Marlie was a butt munch on the plane! I don't want to fly anywhere with her for a long time. I hope she gets over this phase soon because I am exhausted from all the whining, demanding, and defiant behavior. Her saving grace is her charm. Everything out of her mouth these days is why? what's that? and again! Latest Marlie Logic:

• she can't take too many books on the plane or it will go down 
• daddy can't be a princess because he has a tail

Baby Log: 13 Weeks Old:
Desmond did great on his first plane ride! He slept most of the 3.5 hours which was a welcome relief.
His baby vocabulary is developing. His favorite "word" is "oin" (like Marlie's was "gee"). He is acting more like a baby twice his age, he's mastered rolling over from his stomach and he is doing everything in his power to make it from his back to his stomach, crawl, sit up, and stand. I guess watching his sister makes him want to be mobile. He has a smile for everyone he meets and they comment on how engaging he is. He really does love interacting with people and tries to mimic their talk and movements. He cracks up when I tickle his legs. I need to get him on video.