The Hazards of Being a Toddler (and much more!)

It came as no surprise to most of us when Denton broke his elbow.  In fact, I'd say many of us were surprised it took him almost four years to accomplish this.  He might be a middle child, but he certainly doesn't hesitate to be the first at a lot of things.  Unfortunately, most of these things land us in the ER and one way or another include Daniel.  He was the first for stitches after losing a fight with Daniel and the first to break a bone after losing a bicycle race against Daniel.  In between these two, he was also rushed to the ER after Daniel pulled an 80lb T.V down on top of him, crushing his legs.  It seemed at times as if Daniel was thinking how great life was as an only child.  He's a trooper though!  He was ready to get back on the bike the next day.

After Denton's recent incident, we decided the family could use a little vacation so we decided on Richmond, Va.  This trip had it's fun and hilarious moments, but it was also a trip from hell!  For starters, Addi screamed during the entire five hour car ride.  When she's mad, she screams and I mean SCREAMS!  It was enjoyable.  The front entrance to our hotel should have been a red flag for us, but tired and now dealing with headaches given to us from Miss Addi, we overlooked the hazard.  Instead of sliding glass doors, they were revolving doors!  Should I say more?  Of course, Denton was unable to master the art of walking through these things.  He falls and his foot was drug under the door.  It took Nathan on one end pushing the door and I on the other to free his foot.  The door was relentless!  Foot or not, it was not going to stop rotating.  How we managed not bringing him home in a leg cast is a blessing. 

Tired and ready for bed we decide all the sightseeing could wait til morning; Addi had other plans.  She refused to sleep in the crib and does not like to be cuddled, rocked, or even held when she's tired.  So it took me walking her up and down the halls until midnight for her fall asleep; but not without a fight.  Scared to put her down, I slept with her in my arms until she woke at 4am angry that she couldn't roll onto her stomach.  The hall tricked failed this time so it was to the car we went.  I drove up and down the street until she fell asleep at 5am.  No way was I gonna move her!  I pulled into a deserted part of the parking lot, reclined my seat and napped with her until 7 all while the guys got a good nights rest.  Not according to Nathan though who complained of being up all night.  If that's the case, I'd like to know where he was between 10pm-7am.  Sure could have used the help!  

Our first stop was the zoo.  We were able to pet and feed the giraffes.  Addi hated it, Daniel was a little hesitant and Denton couldn't get close enough to them.  They also had a cage set up with birds that you could get in and feed.  Nathan took Addi in first and within seconds her head was covered with birds, which she also hated.  Nathan took Daniel on this ride around the zoo so I decided to take Denton and Addi to feed the goats and camels.  Addi is leaning over the stroller watching Denton and the goats and is oblivious to the camel that has come up behind her.  The camel leans over and attempts to steal a cup of water that was sitting in the stroller.  As it's trying to bring it back over the fence, ice water spills all over Addi.  Assuming I'm the culprit, she turns around to let me know she's unhappy when she comes nose to nose with the camel.  Then the screaming started.  I felt so sorry for her, but it was hard not to laugh right along with the 20 bystanders that witnessed it!

While in Richmond, we also took the kids to  Children's Museum and to the Planetarium.  I didn't think I'd ever get the kids out of the museum or Nathan out of the planetarium. 

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We officially have a walker on our hands.  She's been standing on her own and taking a few baby steps for about a month now, but now it's on!  She's all over the place.  Hard to believe she'll be one in just a few short weeks.