Update on Arizona

Despite my best intentions, I couldnt shake the flu/fever that I picked up on Saturday and so we left the conference earlier on Tuesday than planned. We arrived home that evening and I've pretty much spent the last 2 days lying down.

The doctors think it could be pneumonia, and so I'm on various anti-bacterial drugs and cough medicine.

As expected, Kelly has been magnificent in taking care of me while handling Jack and attending to Kate.

I hope to be well enough to at least enjoy the holiday weekend. Being sick for 5 days at a time is getting ridiculous...

Kate's First Vacation

On Saturday morning, Mick, Kate, and I set off for Scottsdale, AZ for a little vacation that coincides with one of Mick's business trips. Jack and Shergar went up north to stay with Grammy and Papa as we really wanted some time away to just focus on Kate. Jack was beyond thrilled to get some solo time with the grandparents, and to see his cousins over the weekend. I don't think he really cares that he's not with us!

Kate did really well on her first flight and didn't really have a melt-down until we got in the taxi to come to the hotel. She did seem a bit squirmier than Jack was the first time he flew but I realized that was probably because Jack was five-weeks-old when he took his first flight and Kate was twelve-weeks-old; that makes a big difference in terms of how alert they are!

We are staying at the Hotel Valley Ho (where Mick's conference is being held) in Scottsdale and it's a lovely location/property. It's very hip and the design aesthetics are really unique (think 1950s rat pack). The only bummer is that the pool area has not been particularly family friendly. We avoided the pool area on Saturday as there was a pool party there that seemed to attract every local 20-something with an attractive body as well as a bunch of meathead-type guys. There was a DJ and wristbands for entry and $250 cabana rentals and general craziness. Would have been fun 10 years ago. Now, it's just more of a nuisance and definitely not the place for a baby. (Plus, the pool water is cold (I guess they don't heat pools in AZ?!?) so Kate will be holding off on taking her first swim; I dipped her toes in yesterday and she wasn't a fan.)

Mick and I enjoyed a yummy lunch at a Mexican restaurant on Saturday afternoon after we arrived and then came back to the hotel to rest. Unfortunately, later that afternoon, Mick started feeling sick: fever, body aches, etc. He declined a swim Sat night (which confirmed for me how crummy he was feeling; Mick LOVES water and will generally swim anywhere in anything, regardless of how cold it is) and we had an early bedtime after a truly fantastic meal at the hotel restaurant. (Note: Rarely does hotel restaurant food deliver in taste, presentation, portion, creativity, etc. But after having two meals at Cafe Zuzu (Sat dinner and Sun brunch), I can say this is one of the best restaurants I've ever had the pleasure to experience. I kind of want to have the rest of my meals there rather than trying other places... I don't think I've EVER said that before when traveling as I usually want to experience different cuisines, chefs, etc. But this place is so good, I'm not sure that we could find anything better!)

Sunday night, we ended up canceling our dinner reservations as Mick still felt so crummy and just ordered take out. He's just headed off now (6:30 am) to his meetings and I felt so sad watching him walk out of the room. He just looks like he feels miserable and aches and he's alternating between sweating and shivering. I've loaded him up on Dayquil and Advil and given him cough drops and Gatorade, but what I really want to do is stand in for him at the conference. Jury is still out on whether we'll try to return early from our trip, though his presentation is tomorrow so it will depend on how he feels in the morning.

Anyway, here are some of the pictures I've taken thus far during our travels (click on picture to enlarge it):

Enjoying the big comfy bedOn the Old Town Scottsdale trolley ride

Chillin' pool side

Enjoying the sunGetting some quality cuddle time with Daddy

Growing Up

Both wearing their Beatles shirts during our visit
to Papa's & Grammy's

Just a few quick notes about Jack and Kate and how quickly they are growing up. (I've been meaning to post this for a while but keep putting it off... no more!)

A few weeks ago, my mom was here to visit while Mick was out of town. One day, I had to leave both kids with my mom while I attended a funeral. I thought I'd be home by Jack's nap time which would be good since my mom can't make it up the stairs to Jack's bedroom due to her bad knee (awaiting replacement). Apparently, Jack asked around 11:45 to go to sleep but my mom managed to keep him up a while so she could at least get lunch into him. Around 12:30, with me still not home, Jack again announced he wanted his nap. So my mom asked him if he could go upstairs on his own, climb in bed himself, and then say "goodnight" to her which she'd be able to hear on the monitor. Well, would you believe that little guy did just that. He put himself to bed! My mom said that when he got in bed, he said into the monitor "Grammy, I need a story!" so she told him to read one to himself. He replied that he couldn't read. So she told him to look at the pictures instead. Apparently, he did that and then fell fast asleep. I think my jaw hit the floor when I arrived home and my mom told me all of this!

The next day, I took Kate to the doctor for her two-month well visit (stats below). The plan was to go out to breakfast with my mom and Jack after Kate's appointment but I didn't leave any clothes out for Jack and he was in his pjs when I left. Again, while I was gone, my mom asked Jack if he could go upstairs and get a pair of pants out of his dresser. Sure enough, he did what she asked without any problem.

Then, as we sat at the restaurant having breakfast, my mom asked Jack if she could cut his pancake for him. "Yes, you can" he responded. About three seconds passed and then he said "I mean, yes, you may."

I wept a tear of joy for my son's grammatical correction! I've never even discussed the "can" vs "may" issue with him. What a genius! Now, if I can instill in him when to use "well" vs when to use "good" (which is, hands down, my biggest pet peeve) I'll be one happy momma!

Now, Kate's stats from her two-month well visit:

• Weight - 12 pounds (5.4 kg) -- 75th percentile
• Height - 25 inches (63.5 cm) -- Off the charts!

I had a conversation with her about what it means to be a tall girl. In a nutshell, I said "it will suck when you're in 7th and 8th grade and are heads and shoulders above the boys at your school dance, but it'll be GREAT when you go to your first concert and realize you don't have to jump up and down to see the band."

More posts (Easter, March for Babies, Potty Training) coming soon, so stay tuned!