The Only Thing Grandparents Really Need to Know About Traveling Halfway Across Country with 2-year-old Twins

Sorry about that super-long title, but I wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting when you opened this blog post.  I am a fan of truth in advertising!

We wanted to surprise our daughter for graduation by bringing our son's family with us for the festivities but because of scheduling, they would have to drive straight through the 20-or-so hour drive.  Since we knew from experience that toddlers appreciate lots of travel breaks, we offered to take the boys with us.  We were planning to spread the trip over 3 days and wouldn't be in a hurry, so we thought it would be the perfect solution.

As travel time approached I recalled more vivid details of our travels with our own children... and I got nervous.  I asked my husband many, many times "Will it be okay?"  He always answered "Yes, we will be fine."  My follow-up statement was "But I want to do it well."

The day before we were to take off I was worrying about contemplating our schedule.  I hadn't yet gone into panic mode (can you say travel anxiety?) but decided that it was a good time to have a conversation with God.  As usual, I did most of the talking.

I blabbered on for a few minutes, and when I finally took a breath to listen, the only thing that I heard was "ENJOY!!!!"  Funny how God uses so few words to respond to my barrage. 

So my theme for the trip was ENJOY! 

We picked up the boys a bit before scheduled but all of us were ready so that was fine with everyone.  Their parents had told them that they were going to Arkansas with Grandma and Grandpa.  They were so excited about "Aw-saw!"  So excited, in fact, that they said "Aw-saw!" about 50 times in the 15 minutes it took them to fall asleep in the car.


Liam saying "Aw-saw".  Levi realizing that there was a television screen in front of him.  That DVD player came in handy on the trip.  "Bickey" (aka Mickey Mouse) was requested... over and over!
 

When they awoke from their brief nap, they both asked "Aw-saw?"  No, not yet, guys.  We still have another, oh, 19 hours or so to go.

 

We brought their polka-dot puppies for comfort.  These are not their "babies" that they sleep with in bed, but they do in a pinch.

 

 

 

 

 

 



After driving around the dreaded Washington, D.C. beltway, we drove a couple more hours and stayed overnight in a hotel.  This was still not Arkansas, but the boys were thrilled that the trees right outside our window were "HO-HO" trees, meaning they were wrapped in colorful Christmas tree lights.

 

Grandpa, Levi, and Liam all slept quite well.  Grandma... not so much.  But I made up for it by napping several times the next day!

 

The boys were quite glad to have their favorite DVDs to watch (Finding Nemo is NOT one.  They preferred reading.  I'm good with that!)

 

 

 

 

Now just so you don't get the idea that everything was happy and la-dee-dah, I want to assure you that it was not.  There were a few meltdowns moments of distress along the way.  When they occurred we would stop as soon as we safely could and get out for a run-around and something to eat.  A few minutes out of the car seat and they were ready for the next leg of the trip.

 



 

We heard "Aw-saw!" much less frequently as time passed.  I can't say that I blame them.  It isn't the most fun drive.  Nor is it the most exciting destination.  If they could have articulated it I think they would have said "WE WERE MISLEAD!"

 

Just to help you recover from those sad little faces above...

 

 

 

After a long day of driving, we finally arrived in Arkansas (the boys were totally unimpressed when I told them) and stayed the night at a hotel in the town of our destination.  We had a large room with a good amount space for us all to spread out and play, but the lack of HO-HO trees was kind of a bummer.

 

The next day, Mommy and Daddy finally arrived and their little family was back together.  We were all quite ready for it.

 

And, our mission was accomplished. We ENJOYED!!! 

Oh, yeah, and our daughter was completely surprised .

A Grand Slumber Party

It has been about 6 months since our son and daughter-in-law moved to their own home, taking our twin grandsons, Levi and Liam, with them.   

Well it was high time that the boys came for an over nighter!  Our son asked if we would babysit for an evening while he and his wife went out for a date, and since Grandpa wasn't working the next day, we offered to keep them all night.

They arrived shortly before dinner to give Mommy and Daddy time to set up the travel cribs before leaving for their baby-free night.  We also dragged out a few foam mattresses for the wrestling matches sure to come later in the evening.

Almost immediately we had to rearrange our newly placed end table to prevent our little daredevils from climbing up the steps on the outside of the railing.  No biggie.  I just moved it to where it would be much more safe to sit on. 

I'd rather spend my time enjoying their visit than scolding them. 

After dinner (baked chicken, buttered carrots, and spinach balls which I keep mistakenly calling sausage balls) was more playtime.

Levi and Liam are a hoot-and-a-half with all their antics and baby-pronounced words.  Saying "moh" while signing "more" which can either mean more or again, depending on the context.  And with those big eyes full of eager expectation... who can resist?

Playing.  Squealing.  Head bonks. Climbing. Laughing.  Pure joy.

Bath time.  It was so much easier before they were able to cooperate. 

Jammies on.  Hair Combed.  Teeth brushed.  More play.

Bed time.  Uh... or so we thought.  They were having NONE OF THAT.  Levi was up over the side of his crib in less time than it took me to type 'up over the side of his crib'.  It is a good thing we had those mattresses out on the floor.  We pushed them together and all laid down until the boys fell asleep.  Which isn't quite as uneventful as it sounds.  It took them almost 2.5 hours to close their eyes for the night. 

Some time around 1:00 a.m. Levi woke up crying so Grandpa and I abandoned our spots on the couches and slept for the rest of the night on the floor with the boys between us.

In the morning, somewhere around 5:30 I awoke to a little voice saying "Ahts.  Ahts."  Which in Levi-speak means "Watch.  Watch."  He was sitting up with Grandpa's watch held aloft to show the prized plaything.  Seconds later, Liam's eyes popped open.  Biiiiiig stretch and huge smile.  Two fuzzy-headed babies, fresh from sleep, and happy.

Diaper changes.  Milk.  Play.  Breakfast.  Clothes changed.  More play, but ready to go.

We'll be having a slumber party again!

A favorite spot... sitting in the window.

They love to play with our Wawa cups.  Liam's expression is similar to mine when my coffee is all gone.

If it fits, it's a hat.  Levi insisted Grandpa get in on the headgear action.

Flashlights are a must at a slumber party, right?

I wasn't going to include this picture because it was so dark but then I noticed that Liam photobombed it.  

Playing on the "new" coffee table that we recently found for $1.00 at a local thrift store.  Notice that the puppies are safely away behind the gate my husband built.

Morning milk is a must for these fuzzy headed, sleepy-eyed babies!

Foam shapes for sensory fun.  Keeping it somewhat contained in a travel crib.

This is pretty much what the entire living room looked like off and on the whole time.  

Pumpkin Babies 2013

Last year during my 31Day series I posted some picture of my grandsons on "Pumpkin Babies 2012".  This year my series does not lend itself to posting those kinds of pictures so this is another bonus post.  Enjoy!

 

 

The day was very warm, not a bit "fallish", but we wanted to take the boys somewhere that they could run around outside and get a little dirty.  As usual, Levi took the lead and Liam hung back, taking it all in.  At first.  Then a not-so-usual thing happened.  Liam became the explorer and Levi became more of an observer.

 

 

 

The boys did a pretty good job with letting me take a few staged pictures.  Levi wondered where the pumpkin went.  Liam thought it great fun make the pumpkin roll around with his bum.

 

 

Grandpa was vigilant about watching the boys so that they wouldn't wander off into the high weeds and corn.  Levi was perfectly content to be carried or to hold Grandpa's hand.  Liam, not so much.  He wanted to go, go, go! 

 

After we got back to the pumpkin stand, the boys were pretty tentative about touching things for about, oh, 15 seconds.  I love Levi's face in the picture of him after he snatched a gourd from a basket.  It is his "I'm pretty sure I am not supposed to do this, but I'm gonna because it is fun!"

At first the wheelbarrow ride wasn't their favorite but once Liam figured out that they could go fast, he loved it.  Just look at the happiness on his face...



 

 

We fully expected the boys to get dirty and they did not disappoint.  Levi did a face-plant in the parking lot so his face should have been much dirtier than Liam's but as the pictures show, that was not the case...

 

We had great fun with the boys that afternoon.  I'm not sure that Mommy had all that much fun cleaning them up afterwards, though.  I just love being a Grandma!



Some Stories Require Few Words...

... but this isn't one of them!

A friend and I joke about how we love to make a short story long.  And chances are, if you've read many of my posts, you'll know just how true that is.

Yep, I use more words than necessary to flesh out a humorous story or dramatic re-telling. 

Not so with my twin grandsons, Levi and Liam.  They don't have many words at their disposal at 19 months old, or at least few that we can understand.  They are fantastic jabberers and twin-language talkers, but it ain't much English they're speakin'!  Yet.

Being twins (preemie twins at that!) and boys, their proper language is naturally going to be a bit delayed.  Also, we're pretty sure that Liam's hospitalization last Spring had at least a temporary affect on his speech development.  But progress is being made and I am thrilled with every little word they speak.  Even the babble is music to my ears!

For a long time Levi was the one to do most of the yacking with Liam responding to him with a slight nod of the head and something loosely translated "I know, right?"

But things seem to be shifting at the moment with Liam's increased interest in verbal communication.  Once fairly silent in his car seat, he now sings along with the radio, vocalizes both frustration and excitement, and lets Levi know his thoughts in a way that we cannot understand.  

Levi expresses himself quite well, too, but he'd rather be on the go than take much time talking about the situation.  His favorite word at this time seems to be "Go!", arm outstretched, index finger pointed as if he were about to charge onto a battlefield.

One day last week we had the boys at our house for the afternoon.  First we spent some time outside running around the yard, testing our balance by toddling up and down the "hill" out back, playing in a puddle, and just all-around seeing what there was to see.  They are mostly motion personified.  Nearly constant in their forward-moving activities.  It is truly an accomplishment for me to get pictures of their faces! 

As Liam was running past a concrete bench out by the shed, he stopped dead in his tracks, pointed and said "Puppy!".  It took me a second to realize that we do, indeed, have a concrete "puppy".  Two of them, really. 

 And I do believe we have 2 up-and-coming story-tellers on our hands. 

Later on when we went inside Levi bumped his lip as he was climbing up onto a wooden bench, and he began to cry.  As Grandpa picked Levi up to console him, Liam stopped his play for about 3-fourths of a second to take in the scene and walked away shaking his head with a "jabber, jabber, jabber... waaaaa (poked out lip and all!)... jabber, jabber, jabber",  as if to recount what had just happened to Levi.

And then a couple days later when the boys came to visit while Mommy and Daddy went out for dinner, Levi showed us his talent for telling a true tale...

As they always do, the boys threw all the pillows on the floor.  But this time, after Mommy and Daddy arrived to pick them up, and we were chatting, and Levi decided to dive head-first into a grouping of three of the pillows.  He apparently does this at home all the time, but since we have a concrete floor and smaller pillows, the result was MUCH different.

"Crack" went Levi's little noggin on the floor! Wailing followed.  Mommy held, rocked, and sang to him until he was calmed.  With tears still in his eyes and a large red circle on his forehead, Levi climbed down from Mommy's lap and re-enacted the whole episode with running commentary, jabber style. In slow motion.  Several times. (Fake) crying included!  It was awfully entertaining!

I realize that these kinds of stories, the Grandma kind, aren't unusual or atypical but I just love telling them.  I'm not really going for amazing, profound, or educational with this.  Just pure, joyful thankfulness that I am able to be an active participant in the lives of my grandchildren.  Not everyone gets that opportunity so I feel compelled to acknowledge  what a blessing it is. Not a right.  Not a duty.  But a gift. And I become a more grateful recipient with the retelling.

And now for the pictures you've ALL been waiting for <big grin>...

Levi thought the blocks were fun for about 2 minutes but Liam played with them for almost 20 minutes.  I took full advantage of him sitting still!

  

Family Fun Day 2013

We took Levi and Liam to Family Fun Day.  Our church fellowship hosts this each summer in lieu of VBS.  This year's theme was "Superheroes".  Levi wore his Spiderman t-shirt.  Liam was wearing a Batman t-shirt, complete with cape. 

The boys had fun.  And candy.

I was only able to take a few pictures because they didn't stay still for any length of time.  If their feet were touching the floor, they were running!  I'm hoping the official picture taker got some better ones. 

We tied balloons around their waists so that we could keep track of them better.  It was a hoot to see those balloons flying behind them as they ran!

We were all tired by the time we left for home.  The boys fell asleep in the car.  Mommy and Daddy were out and about so we let them finish their naps in their cribs.  Grandpa and I fell asleep on the couch while waiting for Mommy and Daddy to get home.  Then I fell asleep again when I got to my home! 

Keeping Up with the Twins

Levi and Liam came to visit a couple different days in June.  Here they are on the day that Grandpa and Daddy had a yard sale...



Liam on the left.  Levi on the right.

Their little white overalls exposed just how dirty my floor was!  They had fun remembering their "old home" even though the furnishings had slightly changed.

Here they are on the day Daddy and Mommy left them with me and Bia (Auntie Amelia) while they went to the dentist...

Levi in orange.  Liam in gray.

Levi loved the new rattle eggs.  He ran around shaking them above his head.  Liam occupied himself by exploring the place using his new climbing skills.

Our fireplace has a built-in wood box that they liked playing in.  They weren't able to climb into it while they lived here.  They've really grown!  And now they know just how to climb down without cracking their heads... feet first.

We went outside to play.  They both HAD to taste the clovers.  They both spit them out.

They are busy little boys, for sure.  I am so looking forward to their next visit!

Yogurt Pops for the Grandbabies

Some years ago I heard a healthfood chef say that we should "eat the rainbow" every day.  No, not Skittles.  I wish!  The rainbow of fruits and vegetables.  This, I suppose, is to get the whole spectrum of vitamins from our food.  So I make and keep in the freezer single servings of mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, green beans, spinach, red cabbage, yellow pepper, etc.) for the twins.  I cook each vegetable separately according to how I think it tastes best (roast with a bit of olive oil or steam) and process them separately so that there is a variety of textures (chop, shred, puree).  Levi and Liam love the veggie mix.  I love making the veggie mix for them.

But sometimes a Grandma wants to make a special treat for her grandbabies.  A healthy treat, of course!  So I decided that frozen yogurt pops would be the perfect thing, especially with warmer weather approaching.  I found this nifty little pop maker earlier this spring:

the pop mold

I like the size (treats are supposed to be small, right?) and the circular handle (easy for baby hands to hold and nobody gets poked in the eye with a stick).

I mixed together some Greek yogurt, some fruit juice, and some ground flaxseed  and let it sit for a bit to thicken.  I didn't measure but I'd guess I used a half cup of the yogurt, a third cup of juice, and a quarter cup of ground flaxseed.  Once the mixture was thickened, I spooned it into the molds, put on the handles, and popped them into the freezer.  There was some left that wouldn't fit, so Mommy fed it to them with breakfast, unfrozen.  They inhaled it so I was hopeful!

single pop

The pops were a bit of a pain to get out of the molds but I'm pretty sure it was worth it.  You be the judge...

First Taste

  

Liam when he started.  Liam when he finished.  Not much difference!

Levi when he started.  Don't touch my pop!

Oh, this pop is good.  Sooooo good!

Where did my pop go?  I want more pop now!!!

As much as they liked the pops, they were content to eat a good dinner not long afterward.  That's how much they love their veggies!