back from a not-so-relaxing trip home

I just got back today from an 8-day trip home for a visit. Lydia and I went to my parents' house. A friend of ours who we've known pretty much her whole life had gotten married in their hometown on the 2nd, and I went to the wedding, and since it was a long drive to get there, decided to make a visit out of it, too.

I say the trip was not so relaxing b/c my mom still watches all 3 of my nephews. This week, one of them wasn't there b/c my sister took some vacation time, but the other two are so hard on her. There are a 2 yr old and a 4.5 yr old, and they are brothers. The 2 year old can open doors and climb things, and both were highly resistant to naps all week, even though they both still desperately need a daily nap. They constantly stress my mom out and push limits (limits? what limits? Doesn't something have to be consistently enforced to really be an effective limit?), and then my mom releases the stress on whoever is closest, whether it's one of them or whether it's me.

But before all that, there was the wedding. She was the acting "wedding coordinator" for the weekend, helping to tell everyone where to stand and when to walk in with and who to be escorted by, etc. The wedding overall went OK in that they did end up married in the end, lol, but the cake and the sound system (it was an outdoor wedding and indoor reception) were two major problems that the bride's parents are still trying to get some satisfaction from. But it was beautiful and I know the bride and groom are going to be so happy together. :)

Some brief Lydia highlights from the trip, now. Mom has a little wading pool that she has been letting the boys play in, so we added Lydia to the mix. The water level was just at the height so that when she was on her hands and knees, her head was still above water. She LOVED playing in the water. Then at one point, she was sitting, and somehow she slipped and slid completely under the water. I was nervous about that happening, but when it actually did happen, I was so calm, and I just reached over and lifted her back out. She coughed a bit. I stood up and held her, and she started crying. I thought she was crying b/c the experience had scared her, and I was trying to comfort her, but it turns out that she was crying b/c she wanted back IN the water. I lowered her back down and she stopped crying the very moment that her feet touched the surface. :p

She was also highly entertaining to everyone, including her little cousins. She has a laugh that she does occasionally that sounds like a cackle, and she treated us to that laugh last night. :p She learned better how to climb on things, courtesy of her cousins. My parents have a carpeted staircase, and Lydia has been able to climb UP stairs for a long time, so we worked on going DOWN stairs (backwards, on her tummy) and she got pretty good at that, too. She also learned how to sit just in a regular seat while she ate, instead of a high chair.

Her size 3 diapers were fitting her, but she kept leaking through them, so I had my mom get her some size 4s and they worked out better. At one point, I was changing her, and she had grabbed the clean diaper, and opened it up. Apparently it looked like a flip-phone to her b/c she put it to her head and said "Hello?" lol

And also this week, a bittersweet realization. There were a few times that b/c of the hour or something else, I had to put Lydia down for a nap or for the night w/o nursing her (those are the last two sessions that we still do consistently). I expected her to NOT go to sleep, but she surprised me and went to sleep within about 5 minutes the first time, and w/in about 20 seconds all the other times. :( I guess she doesn't "need" me anymore, and if I had to wean her for one reason or another, she would be OK with it. I still want to try to nurse her at least until she's 2, though. Only 4 months to go until that milestone.

Speaking of nursing, there was one instance this week where I was VERY glad that I was still nursing her. We were visiting my sister's house, and she has a brick area by her fireplace that's about 12 inches tall. Lydia was walking by it, and she tripped over some toys and fell into it, and landed right on the corner of that brick w/ her cheek. :( She was so upset. I nursed her briefly, until she was comforted, and until the initial sharp pain had dulled some. It's times like that when I realize that there's so much more to nursing than just "the milk." I hope that our nursing relationship continues on through more bumps that she will inevitably get.