Utah visits Nashville

A few pictures from our week together

Nothing can keep this kid out. He discovered how to open the doors and was very proud of his discovery.
Yes...it's never too early to expose your children to the finer things in life. Grandpa will be sure that "Nissan" is one of his first words.
Elmo's World...Parker would ask for it as soon as he got up in the morning. We tried hiding the case from him, but he remembered it. We soon figured out that we couldn't beat it, so we just joined in.
Don't let this happy face fool you. He was fine for the time he was in the stroller, but as soon as he was out of it, he wanted to push it. The mistake was actually letting him push it. For one thing, he couldn't see where the heck he was going, and he refused to push it where you wanted it to go, and he did NOT want any help. One finger of yours on the stroller and all was lost! The stroller became a four letter word. We resorted to hiding it from his sight and spelling it when we needed to get it out of the trunk.

Traveling with a Toddler

After a grueling day in an airplane with a 17 month old, Robyn looked relieved to finally be in Nashville. I worried about her all day because I knew her trip had gotten off to a rough start. She had called me, in tears, from the Salt Lake Airport letting me know (which was a great relief because I thought something terrible had happened) that she had forgotten the carseat and that there was no way on earth she was going to go back through security to have Joe bring it to her. My girls have a way of scaring me to death when they call in hysterics. So, much to my relief, I was in need of a carseat...easy fix. Everyone arrived safe and sound. Every piece of luggage was accounted for (in our family, that's huge). And...as Robyn mentioned in her blog, I did get up the courage to drive by myself to pick her up. I know it's not a big deal for most of you....but it seems to be a huge deal for me. I can't seem to get over the anxiety of being in a new place and not knowing my way around. Bob keeps reminding me that I have a navigation system and a cell phone. What the heck more can he do for me?!

A List of things I learned

• Elmo's World is a great little movie...I think I have it memorized.
• The song sung to the tune of jingle bells has fairly easy lyrics...."friends"...that's it.
• Naptime is very important.
• Sometimes all you need is a power nap to get you through the day.
• "Uppa" means "I want you to pick me up".
• "damma" means "down"
• It makes your grandpa very happy when you shout out "Bapa" from the back of the chapel in church and point to him on the stand repeatedly throughout the meeting.
• "ooooeeee" means "movie" in the car....doesn't everyone play movies in their cars??
• Teletubbies isn't nearly as disgusting when you watch it with a 17 month old.
• It's more fun to stay outside in the garden at the Carnton mansion and throw rocks than to be inside with all those adults who want to hear a boring tour guide.
• That guy at the Japanese Steak House is really scary with those knives he throws around and the big fire he makes on his grill.
• Dinner is to be eaten alternating one bite in the mouth and one on the floor.
• Waffles are great food to feed a toddler while pushing them in a stroller.
• Strollers should be hidden and not talked about.
• The first thing Parker learns to spell will probably be S.T.R.O.L.L.E.R.
• It's fun to call out "JOE" from the bottom of the stairs when you know he's upstairs.
• Joe is much easier to say than "daddy".
• It's great to snuggle with Parker right after he wakes up in the morning.
• Why rent a movie for $1 when you can buy it at Wal Mart for $20, and then you find four more movies on sale for $5 and end up spending $40. Makes sense to me!

It seems like we were just getting the hang of things and our time together was over. We drove them to the airport and said goodbye. We watched them as they breezed through security...no drama this time. Then we gave our last wave, wiped away our tears, and walked silently back to our car with the now empty carseat in the back. This, my friends, is what life is made of. We are so blessed!