Parenting 400 (Week 3)

This past weekend I flew to Utah for my good friend Meghan Main's wedding. It was an incredible experience! I was so happy for her because she is such a good friend and I love her so much! I got to see my family as well this weekend--my sister Kristin, brother in law Joey, and brother Joseph. It was a great time and I love them all too! I also saw a few friends from BYU-Idaho. This made it very hard for me to return back to Virginia since I was having such a good time where I was. I also didn't sleep a lot this weekend, and didn't get home to Virginia until about 1:30am, starting work at 7:30 the next day. This week I was pretty tired, even though going was definitely worth it.

The Wedding Party

Meghan and I

My brother and I went to see this museum in Provo

This week I also had the biggest struggle I've ever had with Daniel. He is good at planning, knows how to get what he wants, and very smart! I feel like I can deal with these issues, but it still feels like a class in parenting. Instead of Parenting 101, however, I think I signed up for Parenting 400. This week has been a challenge, but I keep remembering that it's in the hardest classes where you end up learning the most...

Danny's been complaining about every smell lately. He wouldn't eat a lot today because he asked for Tuna, then complained that it smelled funny. (Which, it does...) But then he wanted a hamburger and said that it smelled funny too. He also spit out the watermelon and corn. It's been hard trying to find foods that he will actually eat lately, which is abnormal for him, because usually he eats more than I do! (I found this very surprising--but for example, he will have a whole peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple for breakfast and then about six pieces of watermelon for snack, and then a full lunch, large afternoon snack, and dinner too!)

 

(Above: Breakfast I made for Danny that he loved: buckwheat pancakes with strawberries and bananas and peanut butter instead of syrup. The buckwheat and peanut butter factors are due to family preferences.)

We went to the Smithsonian Museum to see the butterfly display today! This is a large glass dome with butterflies flying all around in it. I think it was a blast for Danny to see. They kept landing on my shirt because it was green. Taking Danny to the butterfly museum, I learned everything about what not to do as a parent. I felt like a bad nanny, but at least I am learning. We lost Danny's helmet at the museum. It just seemed to disappear while we were eating lunch and it was sitting on his scooter. We went to all of the lost and found offices, but no one had seen it. Danny was so cute because he made it a point after I explained our situation to the officers to tell them that it was his helmet and it had chickens on it. :) I also made the mistake of buying him a treat and not having napkins in my purse. I don't know how it happened, but the popsicle ended up all over every part of his face and shirt. It was bright red and black. He kind of looked like a watermelon. So we ended up walking around with his face dripping wet with popsicle trying to find a napkin. I also learned that in order to buy anything on the streets in DC you need cash, not just a credit card. Which meant that we ended up running around trying to find an ATM in order to buy anything. It was quite a day. Luckily, I think I was the only one who was stressed about everything and Danny just went along with it. He is a pretty easy going little guy and I think he still had fun. When we came home, I think I was the one that needed a nap the most.

Danny is holding a butterfly at the museum.

The sea creatures museum was a big hit.

Note the helmet that has chickens on it. This is the one that
we lost.

However, this was the second day in a row where he would not take a nap! The day before we had gone swimming all morning one day, and he should have been tired. I even tried reading him 5 books! He just would not sleep. I just left him alone, but he stayed awake making noises and never slept. After our day at the museum it was the same thing. I tried for about just as long to get him to take a nap as his nap time actually was! It was soo hard! It is normally a nice break, but not when it is this much work! I told my mom today that I was sorry if I ever refused to take a nap with her, because now I realize how stressful trying to get kids to sleep can be! (Especially when you yourself are tired!)

One embarrassing moment was when we were going to the Smithsonian Museum and sitting at the metro station. Danny saw a man standing next to us and said, "Hey Heather, guess what? That man has a giant stomach!" I quickly stopped him and tried to explain to him not to say that. I really hope that the poor man standing next to us did not hear what he said though. 

Danny also likes to climb trees

This weekend I also toured the Capitol building with some friends, went museum hopping, saw a concert at the Kennedy Center, and had dinner at an amazing Spanish restaurant. The restaurant is called Jaleo, and it is owned by a winner of "The Iron Chef" TV show, Jose Andres. At this restaurant, I got to try tapas, which are small plates of many different types of  food. Some of the food was incredible! I loved going with the guy I went with because he knew all about each of the foods and described them to me, so that even though it was Spanish I knew what was in each dish and what made them special. I even tried octopus! Although I don't think I'll be ordering it anytime again soon because it was kind of gross. Friday night, Carissa and I made dinner at my apartment, since I had it all to myself. We made breakfast burritos and had a great time talking! I am really glad that she is here with me. We are making a list of things we want to do together this summer so that we don't miss out on anything while we are here near D.C.