The Hand Foot & Mouth Epidemic: 23 Months

The 23 Month mark brought lots of changes in our house. Mama and Dada became Mommy and Daddy. A once French sounding Bebe turned into a more country bumpkin version of Baby. 

The 2012 Hand, Foot, & Mouth Epidemic of Winston struck at our house days before our 4th of July beach trip; fortunately we were eventually "cleared" to attend the trip just a few days behind everyone else. Unfortunately, our clearance proved to be a little premature and we happily shared our germs with all of our friends. (Still looking for the appropriate Hallmark card to cover that situation... "Sorry we gave you an infectious disease, have fun staying away from people for the next 7 days") 

After a fun but germ-filled trip to the beach, we returned home, where nap time turned into something resembling more of a rave than a suitable rest time and Mama started wondering if this two babies under the age of three idea was going to be as fun as I originally thought.  

Give me 8 weeks and I'll let you know...

We discovered while trying to teach Mia to count to ten, that she already knew how, and watched in amazement as she transitioned from thinking her name was "You" to understanding that her name is in fact Mia Eanes. 

And, even though sweet Mia Kate had never seen an episode of Sesame Street in her short 23 months of life, Elmo emerged as her new favorite friend. She made sure to let anyone doubting this know by chanting "Yea Elmo" all 4 plus hours home from the beach. 

I'm trying to get a head start on packing...how do these glasses look? I think they're the best option, but I'm having trouble deciding...

Are these better?

Whoever said being prepared was the way to go was entirely misinformed... these little bumps showed up all over my body and everybody started freaking out. If you ask me they add just the detail my outfit was missing, but not everyone seems to think so.

Apparently it is frowned upon to hang out at the beach with 5 of your best buds while sporting these bumps... I just don't get it.

Luckily, all was not lost with the beach trip delay- Ev and Mrs. Stacy came to visit to keep me company for a few days. It was so fun to hang out with them, even if they wouldn't let me touch Baby Ev. Every time I got near him they started fussing about those bumps again...

Even though I didn't get to hold him, Daddy did. Mommy said he was "practicing" although I'm not sure what for. I'm way bigger than Ev now.

Since we couldn't get to the beach right away, and I was quarantined from all normal society, Mommy got a little lax and started letting me play in places I never had before. Maybe having a fever isn't so bad after all.

Just another water play date with me and my bath toys. After I crawled in the tub, the bathroom door was mysteriously shut all the time. Good thing I'm a problem solver- I just learned to turn the knobs so I could get in.

Finally after all that waiting we got to leave for the beach. See it guys... just beyond those houses... paradise.

Everyday the Daddy's set up a big tent for us and dug a waterhole in the ground. It was nice to play in but...

I really prefer the ocean. Those waves can't scare me.

Since the last time I was at the beach Daddy didn't go I decided I better break him in quick. When I am ready to play in the ocean, I am ready- waiting really isn't my best quality.

The boys on the Fourth of July. Nathan's Daddy didn't feel very good so mine said he would stand in for the boy picture. I think they make a nice pair, if I do say so myself.

Ok Mommy's I think we would all prefer to be playing right now.

Apparently Carolina Beach celebrates the Fourth one day early, good thing I brought multiple festive outfits. When I wasn't on the beach I preferred to hang out here in the Bumbo and play with Mr. Chris' favorite toy. He really liked it when I played the same song over and over so I tried to accomplish that task as much as possible.

Sand really adds a nice crunch to the goldfish.

One morning all the Mommies took off without us kids... it was so strange... one second they were there and the next they were just gone. They didn't even seem sad to be leaving. I was a little worried myself, on how the Daddies would handle it but I learned quick, everything is more fun when Daddy is in charge! After about 5 mins of sitting around they blew this bounce house up and we started jumping!

We had a great time friends! Sorry about the bumps some of you took home as souvenirs.

I was so upset to be home I thought hanging out with Wade at Kripy Kreme's 75th birthday party would help. It might have helped if Mommy would have let me have a donut. Clearly the kid in the background didn't get one either.

There was a terrible miscommunication I said donut... not slide Daddy.

Ok, I guess this is sorta fun. Say Cheese...

I don't know Nathan... that horse looks pretty wild, are you sure  you can handle him

?

Being home meant more than just playing with friends... it was back to the grind laying out Baby's changing pad, changing her diaper, and giving her a bottle every morning.

I also thought it was high time Baby learned to share, so I decided to introduce Puppy Dog into my daily routine. Puppy dog loves taking rides around the house. Sometimes when I get tired I hop in as well and chant "ride, ride" really loudly until Mommy gets the hint and pushes me around.

After I built up my endurance pushing my stroller Mommy and Daddy thought it was time we tried something more strenuous. So we packed up the family and went to Pilot Mountain for a fun filled morning of hiking and picnicking. I'm not exactly sure what an anniversary is but every year on July 15th Mommy and Daddy pull out the same picnic basket and load it up with lots of treats. .8 miles... I've so got this.

Perhaps I spoke slightly too soon. .8 miles is longer than you think when your legs are so short. Otis thought so too.

Yes, I do believe I will ride up here for the rest of the trip.

That night Aunt Jill and Cousins Lauren and Matt showed up so Mommy and Daddy could go out... again I was slightly confused as to why I wasn't invited but the loss is obviously theirs. Daddy took Mommy to play mini golf and gave her specific candy prizes (the 6th anniversary is candy- whatever that means) coordinating with how many strokes it took her to get the ball in the hole. If she got a hole-in-one then Daddy said Mommy could have cold stone. Mommy is smart... she got 2 hole-in-ones and since Daddy wasn't specific in the fine print she redeemed them both.

I leave you with a song... "sometimes you get Hand, Foot, & Mouth, and sometimes you get germs. Sometimes donuts come your way and sometimes you just have to play. Whichever is true in your life just know that Elmo is there. He loves you oh so much and wants you to leave your diaper on and not rub it in your hair. Yea Elmo"

Water Days: 22 Months

It was only fitting that since Mia ended her 21st month at Coldstone Creamery, she kicked off her 22nd at Brynn's yogurt. The end of May and most of June was spent hanging out in the driveway playing with water toys, spending our last days with Caden, and then subsequently trying to keep ourselves busy when he moved. 

Still very much into Bebe's, Mia seemed excited about the Bebe in Mama's belly so excited she decided there was one in hers too... proudly patting her belly and announcing to everyone... Bebe. When Bebe's eye fell off we decided it might be best to introduce a more toddler friendly replacement. We presented Mia with a plush baby doll named Meredith, complete with a diaper bag and decided to use her to "prepare" Mia for life with a new baby. Apparently she needed no preparing... completely enamored with Bebe, but even more so with "bag", Mia spent her days laying out the changing pad, laying Bebe Meredith on top of it, changing her diaper, feeding her the bottle, and then starting all over again. We did hit a rough patch when Mia discovered she could take Bebe Meredith's pants off during naptime, but couldn't manage to get them back on. After a few pants rescue missions by Mama and Dada, Mia got more comfortable with Bebe sleeping pantless and all was once again right in the naptime world.

After discussing it with my buddies over yogurt, we decided the only way to sufficiently celebrate Memorial Day was with water and crepe paper. So I attempted to coordinate a  push car parade.

Nathan won the award for best dressed.

This isn't my lawn mower... but it was so festive I couldn't help myself and just took off pushing it.

The parade was a bit of a bust... apparently the adults didn't find us very cooperative. Next year we might take direction a little bit better. Don't worry Ethan, even though there was no parade your push car still won best in show. Just look at all that patriotism.

Caden, you have to get out of the pool to participate in the parade.

It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Thankfully Nannie K said she can fix this.

Wait... what do you mean we're not going to the beach today?

Playing in the sprinkler ball is the highlight of my day.

Ahh Cooking Light. This magazine has been my favorite now for many months but we never seemed to document it. I frequently go through the magazine basket and pull this particular one out regardless of how many others are on top of it.

It's probably the chili bowl on the front... yummy.

When my best buddy Caden moved away not even Cooking Light could make me feel better. So Mama and I decided to head to the beach soothe our souls.

Thankfully we have great neighbors and friends who were willing to let us hang out with them. Hey boys, keep it down over there... I am lounging here.

Mama said she was glad I'm not scared of the water but she would perhaps prefer a more cautious approach to the ocean... whatever that means.

Waves come back.

I am sad about Caden still, but hugging you does seem so nice Wade. I might be in love, don't tell Dada.

If I don't love you then I definitely love your cousin's shoes...thanks for letting me wear them Nate.

 This picture is slightly out of timeline context but there is Bebe Meredith, naked Bebe Ellie, and Bag in the background. My whole life I have slept with 2 lovees named Dolly and Piddles, I never took much notice. But suddenly when Bebe Meredith showed up I started asking for Dowwy to play with too. Mama and Dada were shocked but I'm not sure why... I have been looking at those lovees for years  now.

With one more beach trip on the horizon it was important for me to fuel up once I got home from Pawley's Island. Turning 22 months sure makes a girl hungry.

It Takes a Village

Depending on who you ask the version of the story slightly varies, but as far as I can piece together it happened something like this...

My mother, who I cannot accurately describe without an entirely separate post, was milling about Babies-R-Us about 3 days after Mia was born. Now, as anyone who has had a new baby knows... this Babies-R-Us milling was far from the first Glenna had done. The woman might of as well slept in one of their super cozy display cribs or pack-n-plays the first week for all the time she spent in that store. 


Buying, returning, re-buying, and well buying some more.


Eventually her trip ends where they all do in Babies-R-Us, at the cash register, and (as I am told by reliable sources) she is something of a mess. 

Items are flung on the counter, receipts are strewn about any available surface, change (I am sure) is overflowing from her 2 ton wallet, and many jokes about not having her glasses and needing to find her coupons are being made, as she begins searching for said lost items in what might as well be considered the floor of the Pacific Ocean... her purse.


The people in line begin wondering if their children will have indeed outgrown their current diaper size while waiting, when Glenna drops the bomb...

She cannot find her Babies-R-Us rewards card. And she will not be checking out without it.




The "I am due in less than a month and cannot stand here all day" girl behind Glenna decides it is her time to shine and becomes a savior to everyone in line when she offers Glenna her rewards card. 


And that is really how a great adventure began.


It turned out that my Mom had not only noticed "I am due in less than a month and cannot stand here all day" girl already, but had at multiple moments contemplated cornering her in the store and demanding her life story. 

Something such as this may seem strange to the average person, but to Glenna it's just another day in her "I talk to everyone I see and 10 times out of 10 find out I am related to them or dated their cousin" life. 


The girl, who later properly introduces herself as Stacy, was visibly pregnant, young, and wearing a Kappa Kappa Gamma t-shirt from LSU. While such a shirt would rarely turn heads in the South, here in N.C. we don't see many of those. And so the conversation begins...


Glenna: "My daughter went to LSU. She graduated in 2003. She was a DG. She just had a baby 4 days ago. When are you due?"


Stacy: "I'm due in about a month. I also went to LSU but graduated the year after. We just moved here 2 months ago."


Glenna: "My daughter just moved here 3 weeks ago and she doesn't have any friends."


Stacy: "That's nice."


Glenna: "Here's her number. You should be her friend."

Unfortunately I wasn't there to witness such a conversation as I was at home trying to figure out how to be a Mom to a baby who was confused about night and day. And, fortunately I wasn't there to stop Glenna from doing what I deemed totally irresponsible and awkward when she gave a stranger my name and phone number.

It's 2010 here Glen... an email address would have been sufficient.

But no, she gave her my number.

Everyone who has ever seen a Lifetime Movie knows that is a terrible idea.

Fast forward 2 days and a strange number calls my phone. I quickly hit ignore and hope the caller won't leave a message. She does. I call back and pray she doesn't answer. She doesn't. 


Somehow, amidst all the phone tag and awkward pauses the "I'm due in a month and cannot stand here all day" girl and her Mom, who happens to be in town visiting, end up at my house with stuffed bell peppers in hand 9 days after Mia was born. 

And to top it off... she was normal. 

Born and raised in Baton Rouge, LSU bred whether she wanted to be or not, and like me not super excited about the idea of living the high life in our new town. 

Our situations were fairly similar and yet very different in one way. Stacy was here for 2 years, and we are here... well... until Mr. Eanes says so. 

I remember it so clearly. Her sitting on my couch looking at my new baby, probably wondering if she was having a boy or girl, saying... "But hey, two years is a really long time. That seems like forever."


Two years later I can safely say... two years does not feel like forever.


When you have a baby there are certain things you just need family for. There are days, especially in the beginning, when you need someone, even just for an hour, to hold your baby while it cries so you can sleep. There are times when you wonder if maybe someone should come and put the baby down and instead hold you, while you cry yourself to sleep. There are times when the days become so long and lonely that being able to call up someone and ask them to keep you company could honestly save your life.

And later on as the baby grows, the list of things you could use family to help out with begins to change with your changing baby. You could use a shower, a nap, an hour to cook dinner, a trip to the dentist would be great, and that haircut you decided to wait to get until after the baby was born... well it's surely not happening now. 


But what happens when you don't have family close by? That is the question that Stacy and I were both faced with. And so just having tipped the brink of the huge ice berg known as motherhood Stacy and I begin to rely on the only people either of us knew... each other.


Honestly, don't know how I could have done it without her. After almost 22 months as a Mom, I can confidently say...motherhood was not meant to be done alone. 

It really does take a village. 


Almost two years and dozens of "Hey I'm at Target do you need anything?", "Do you want to have lunch out today like real people?", "If we don't hang out with someone else soon I may go mad- we're coming over", and "Really just bring her over here and I will watch her for you" laters...

our tee tiny babies grew to toddlers who shared so much life together I often joked Mia spent more time with Stacy and Caden than her Dad. 


It's funny how two years can go by so quickly and yet when you think back on them so much life seems to have occurred. 

Questions about breastfeeding became questions about baby food, which turned into our most recent questions about how to keep those super mischievous rascals from throwing their mac and cheese all over the floor. Concerns over sleeping through the night and nap time transitions foreshadowed the more recent discussions about toddlers sleeping with newborns in the house and in big kid beds.


Those newbie Mom's on the brink of that great big adventure, became slightly more seasoned and decided it was time to try the whole thing again.


When Stacy welcomed her 2nd son in March, I could not have been more excited for their growing family and at the same time slightly heart broken for mine. I knew the time would soon come when they would pack up their things head off on their next great adventure and our kids who know each other so well would eventually fade from each others memories. 


And while our kids might not have the capacity to remember, I have no doubt stories will be told and many eyes will be rolled as we sit and tell our children of their first childhood friends. Friends who if only in our lives for a season, played an integral role in their early days.

We are so glad Stacy took a chance and called the number the crazy lady in Babies-R-Us gave her. Our meeting is proof that God really does care about the littlest details. Thanks for being such a good friend these past two years, we are so excited to have a reason to once again visit the land of football and crawfish!

Mia and Caden's first date: Well Mom, I know you said we would be great friends but I had hoped my friends would at least stay awake on our playdates. Not sure how this is all going to unfold.

He's awake this time, but he certainly looks like he is up to no good.

Really... you really went there... matching jackets?

Perhaps if I pull some of his locks out I can glue them to my head and it will go unnoticed.

Boys... totally impressed by the little things.

I see you think flashing my bloomers about it funny but I'm gonna need those back before I go.

Again with the matching outfits Mom? Gag me please.

 Yep, Mia I am quite certain it's a leaf. I saw one in my book once.

Girls... totally impressed with the little things.

Let us out of this house of unending matching.

 Ok, explain why we are smiling right now when there are cookies to be eaten?

 I feel this is totally inappropriate Mom.

 So this is what feet taste like. Yum.

Um do you mind? Your sorta interrupting the Valentines Day mood I was trying to set here.

 So Caden I know your baby brother was just born a few hours ago, but your on your own for this buddy. I'm outta here. When the parentals roll in I'm not taking the
heat for this mess.

Look, you got this. You are way more prepared than that other kid. Remember... never say die.

Busy Mom, busy...

Mia you have misunderstood... the bread is for the ducks!

When I am gone our lives will be bound together in the sands of time... don't forget me.

A last date kiss. You will always be my first friend Caden. I love you.