Finals Week

Hi Everyone,

This post is by me (Neal) yet again. Leanna has been busy working for the past week on her final exams for her summer classes. By this I mean that she has holed herself off in my parent's basement and has been working 14-16 hours per day on her insanely long finals.

Due to the intensity of her final exam schedule, we decided to go to Philly to spend the week with my parents. That way I have some help taking care of Aviva while Leanna is in her dungeon (also known as the den). To get an idea, here is a sample of Leanna's daily schedule when she was mid-exam:

8:30 am: wake up
8:30 - 8:32 am: bathroom
8:32 am - 11:00 am: work
11:00 am - 11:05 am: talk to Neal, get one (if not many) sodas, decide what she wants for lunch.
11:05 am - 12:20 pm: work
12:20 pm - 12:40 pm: See Aviva, give her a bottle, put her down for her nap
12:40 pm - 2:00 pm: work
2:00 pm - 2:15 pm: eat lunch/work
2:15 pm - 2:17 pm: bathroom
2:17 pm - 7:30 pm: work
7:30 pm - 8:00 pm: Give Aviva her bath/bottle, and put her to bed
8:00 pm - ???? am: work/dinner
???? am: bed.



On the positive side, Leanna has finished all of her exams, and is currently working on the final requirement for her classes-a term paper for her addictions class. But once that is completed and submitted she can finally enjoy her summer, or at least the next three weeks before fall classes begin.

Oh yes, I almost forgot...Leanna's tooth is fixed, and she can eat normally, though I think she has developed a fear of Target's caramel cashew nut mix.

While Leanna was chugging away on her exams, Aviva, my parents and I went to the playground and to the beach (which Aviva absolutely loves). One night (after her big, stressful final was over) Leanna, my father and I went to a local playground. Aviva had a great time chasing the rabbits. After an hour at the park, Aviva was exhausted and decided that only my father could carry her back to the car (see picture).

Finally Back In Rhode Island

Greetings everyone! This posting is being written by Neal instead of Leanna. So don't blame Leanna for any spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, or offensive speech.

After 26 days on the road, we are finally back home. Our house did not fall down while we were traveling, so I guess that's a win. The only apparent injuries were our two plants that we purchased at the farmer's market the week before we left, and forgot to water. However, with some quick thinking by Leanna and lots of water, our patients seem to be recovering nicely.

The trip ended with an abrupt halt (to use Leanna's term we "crashed and burned"). We didn't relish the thought of driving 17 hours over two days with Aviva (she has become a little resistant to long car trips), so Leanna, Aviva and I drove to Midway Airport in Chicago so Leanna and Aviva could fly to Philadelphia to be greeted by my parents.

On the night before we left, Leanna had a "dental malfunction." She was enjoying some caramel trail mix and ended up chipping her back molar.

The next morning, we left Iowa with ample time, however we were slowed down by an exploded diaper and a discarded fleece sleeper (no need to expand here-I promise). Upon their arrival in Chicago, the proof of age that the good people at Southwest told me would suffice was rejected by the ticketing agent, and Leanna was forced to buy a full-fare ticket for Aviva. To make matters worse, when they arrived in Philadelphia, our stroller was nowhere to be found. Our best guess is that someone decided to "upgrade" their stroller to ours (which I guess is somewhat flattering, but a pain in the ass nonetheless).

So poor Leanna arrived in Philadelphia with half a tooth, a loaner stroller, and an exhausted baby whose plane ticket cost double of what Leanna paid for hers. Meanwhile, I was driving across the midwest with a car full of luggage and a dog sleeping on the passenger-side floor.

After a few relaxing days in Philadelphia and two trips to the dentist for Leanna, we were off on the final leg of our journey, with a dog, a cat, a cranky baby and a wife with a temporary tooth. We were concerned that Aviva would be screaming the entire 6 hour drive to Providence, but using some of her toddler ingenuity, she managed to find a way to make the car dark enough for her to sleep (see picture).

I can't tell you how glad we are to be home!

Wyoming! We're Missing Wyoming!

In a few days, all will be better. We'll be snuggled up in our own beds, with our own pillows, with our own backyard, with our own house. It's not like it hasn't been fun seeing everyone, but 25 days away from home is a BIT too long to be gone. When we get back home on the 9th, I'll post pictures and commentary, but for now, here are some pictures of Aviva getting mad because I wouldn't let her eat any more sidewalk chalk!

The Eagle Has Landed

Holy hell - what a crazy time it's been lately! Our summer is officially in full swing and it's not going to let up for a little while. I guess that's what makes it fun though, huh? :)

Our summer vacation series kicked off on June 6th when my mom and niece came to visit. The three of us (sans baby) went to New York for four days and had as much fun as we possibly could. Well, except for the fact that we had a TERRIBLE tour of lower Manhattan. We went shopping in Greenwich Village and East Village, we ate delicious pizza in SoHo, we stuffed our faces with the most enormous sandwiches one has ever seen, and took pictures, pictures, pictures!

My mom took Aviva home with her on the airplane and Neal & I headed west by ourselves. We went a different route this time around (we drove) because we had to make a stop-over in Indiana for Neal's sister.

While we were in Iowa, we went on a quick whirlwind tour to go to my nephew's baseball game, went to visit old co-workers, and visited my other sister as well. B-U-S-Y! We then made a quick, day and a half pit stop in Omaha to visit my other brother and his family and then flew out to Seattle. We got in to Seattle today and are here until Wednesday. Then, we're off to Oregon for a family wedding!

Speaking of Seattle, I think I personally experienced Hell today. Aviva was fine on the first leg of the trip (the plane ride was only a little more than an hour) but then on the flight from Denver to Seattle (which is around 3 hours), she slept for the first 45 mins, then literally SCREAMED AND CRIED non-stop for the next 2 hours, and then she quieted down as we began our descent into Seattle. I'm sure everyone around us wanted us dead by the end of the flight. Let's just say thank goodness Southwest has an endless supply of Sky Mall catalogs because approximately four and a half of them are now in shreds in their garbage can thanks to Aviva.

Aviva is getting 6 teeth right now. One molar popped through about a week ago, and we can see a second molar ready to break through, as well as two more top front teeth and two more bottom front teeth. Poor girl! No wonder she's absolutely miserable.

Aviva also has begun to walk! She's been walking for about the last three weeks and it didn't take her long to catch on. She did the whole walk/crawl thing for two days and then decided that walking was much more fun. She hasn't crawled since. I think that's also why she hated the plane ride - because she couldn't get out of her carseat and run around.

We'll see what the next few days bring. Maybe by not being around people for a few days will help her. All I know is that this was the worst plane ride ever!

Nothing Gets Past Her Now

Well, I thought we would have a little more time before this began happening, but oh well - what can you do? Two months ago, the worst imaginable thing for Aviva was to swing. Now, that's all she wants to do. So Aviva & I met Neal at the baby park on Wednesday afternoon for a little swinging and a little sliding. Aviva & I were out and about and so we all just met at the park. Well, our trip to the baby park accidentally took us past a different park and about two blocks away, Aviva saw the swings at that park and starting pointing and screeching! I turned around to see what was wrong and she started smiling. She saw the swings and wanted to go play!

That night, I was changing her diaper (which has become more and more difficult as the days progress) and she saw her Little People lion next to her. A while ago, we taught her that a lion says "roar" by lifting our hand into a "claw" (original, I know) and extending our arm. Well, she picked up the lion and then just raised her hand into a claw. I don't think she has seen that lion toy in six months. What a smart baby! :)

Alright, I just had to brag. I don't do it often, but how could I resist? She's getting too smart for her own good.

Temper Tantrums Galore

Aviva has officially become a toddler - she has opinions and she loves to express them. Her favorite thing to do is swing (and swing, and swing, and swing) and every time we have to leave the park, she screams. And then all of the parents look over, expecting to see someone shoving skewers into her eyeballs, and then we have to smile and laugh and say "she just really hates to leave the park." Oh well!

She'll throw little temper tantrums if she's been sitting in the car for too long and she'll have little temper tantrums while sitting in her high chair if we don't get something for her fast enough or if we're trying to give her something she doesn't want to eat. It's kind of funny and Neal always says, "She gets it from you." Whatever!

We had a fun week-long trip to Philadelphia and the Jersey shore and my mom and niece will be here in two weeks! Time has definitely gone fast - we're going to go to New York for four days when they get here because Mercedes has never been and really, really wants to go. I remember being 17 and really wanting to go to New York as well. It didn't happen then, but finally happened when I was 22(ish). I'm sure it will be fun and the baby is staying home with Neal and his mom, so it will be nice to have a little trip without having to worry about her.

Then, it's on to our summer excursion! My mom is taking Aviva back with her when they leave and then Neal & I are going to drive out. We're going to be in Iowa for a few days and then all of us will fly out to Seattle to visit some friends for a few days. After that, we're going to drive to Oregon for a family wedding and will be there for another week. Then, it's back to Iowa and the 18 hour drive to Philadelphia. Oh boy! It will be a long trip! At least Neal does most of the driving on our trips - whew!

Life's A Beach

While hanging out in Philadelphia, we decided it would be fun to take a quick little trip to the shore house. So, here we are and even though it wasn't exactly the best day for the beach today, it was still fun. We're here until Wednesday and then it's back to Philadelphia to see Neal's sister & her family and to see Neal's parents and grandparents for a few more days before we head back home.

School starts a week from tomorrow; I'm taking Intro to Statistics and hopefully an Advanced Psych Seminar on Addictions. Those should be interesting classes, but most of all I'm excited for my Forensic Psychology class in the fall.

Today is a beautiful day, however & after Aviva wakes up from her nap, we're going to go to the playground a few blocks away and then to the beach!