Life in The Real OC 97045: 26 and 27 MONTHS

My friend Marissa created a journal called "Forever Notes". It's a calendar based journal that I began using daily after the 1st of the year. I love everything about it! I find just a couple minutes in my day to record some of the daily happenings or the funny things that come out of Hanley's mouth! My Mom has not been too happy about me journaling because she always enjoys reading updates on our blog and journaling has almost replaced my blogging! I promised her to continue blogging as well. So, here is our latest updates:

At 26 and 27 Months...

-Cody and I spent New Years in Big Fork, Montana while Hanley spent the week in Eugene with Meme and Grandpa. I warned my parents when we left that Hanley would "tell" on them if they spoiled him too much....and he did! 2 days after our return, this happened:

Cody: "Hey Hanley, you want to go to Dairy Queen?"
Hanley (throwing his dump trucks aside and jumping straight up): "YEAH!!!!!!!"
(Cody looking at me like WTF? Because we have never ever taken him to Dairy Queen or even talked about it before. He should have NO IDEA what DQ is!)
Cody (testing Hanley): "Okay, what do you want at Dairy Queen?"
Hanley: "I want a TREAT Daddy! I want an ice cream treat!"
Me (laughing): "Okay...WHO took him to Dairy Queen?"

I automatically placed the blame on my Mom. I figured Kim and Loren would have fessed up to it right away (like they did when they took him to get his first ever Happy Meal). So, I confronted my Mom. "So Mom, What did you order Hanley at Dairy Queen?". She looked confused and when she denied it I could tell right away she was telling the truth. Then I looked over to my Dad who sat there trying to act like a fly on the wall and had G.U.I.L.T.Y written all over his face! I couldn't help but laugh. Sorry Mom!

-Cody and I completely enjoyed our road trip and week away, despite the -15 degree temperatures (yes, you read that correctly- NEGATIVE DEGREES)! The first night we stopped in Coeru d'Alene, Idaho then made our way into Big Fork the next day. It had snowed just days before we arrived. We hiked through a foot of snow to our cozy little cabin in the woods. We saw several deer just 10 feet from our cabin pretty much every time we looked out our window. It was cold but it was dry, sunny and beautiful the entire time we were there. We explored Whitefish and Glaicer National Park. Everything about the week was relaxing! I was so glad we chose to do a road trip because it meant there was absolutely no time schedule at all. There was no hustling to catch a flight, return a rental car, experience travel delays/gate changes/etc. I might even say it was one of our most relaxing vacation yet.

-We were sick for the bulk of January. This has been a horrible cold and flu season. Hanley was home sick for 2 weeks and even ended up at the Dr.'s on an emergency basis, getting pumped with IV fluids. He went through 2 rounds of antibiotics to finally kick his respiratory infection, sinus infection and left ear infection. It was brutal to watch this sickness bring him down so hard. He had no energy and no appetite. I secretly (or not so secretly) loved all the cuddles though! My journal those 2 weeks is filled with iPhone selfies of our sweet boy passed out in my lap. Cody and I were sick too. It was a pretty sad scene at our house with all 3 of us just struggling to just get through each day.

-Cody celebrated his 30th Birthday!

-Cody was also busy studying, working long hours, and traveling for work the past 6 weeks which meant he wasn't home much. It's hard to see how his busy work schedule directly effects his relationship with Hanley. When Cody returned home from his trip to California, the next morning when Cody went to help Hanley with something, Hanley pushed him away and said "No! You go back to work." Those were some tough words to hear for Cody and I both. So, I started having conversations with Hanley about how Daddy works really hard because he loves us and takes care of us. Then, Hanley started saying "Hanley work really hard" when he would use his play tools to 'fix' something around the house or help cook dinner. It was cute to see him want to 'work' as hard as Daddy. The following week, Cody was in Las Vegas for work. When he returned at the end of the week, Hanley was soooo excited to see him! He was in an unbelievable, crazy good mood after Cody's return. That night as we got him ready for bed he said to me, "Daddy read story tonight. I sit on Daddy's lap. Mommy listen to book and be quiet!". I loved seeing him so happy to have Daddy home instead of trying to punish Cody for being away. Hopefully he is starting to understand that Daddy may have late days at the office or spend a couple days traveling out of state but that he always comes home to us!

-Amie, Jess and Kim threw an amazing baby shower for Henrik and I! I still can't believe all the time and energy they put into even the smallest details for the shower. I had a great time, felt very blessed to have so many amazing ladies in my life and I am now starting to feel slightly more prepared for Henrik's arrival.