Memorial Day Weekend at Jekyll Island Resort

We had a wonderful weekend at Jekyll Island. Our friends Stacey and Matt were married at the Jekyll Island Club and it was really gorgeous. We hadn't seen Santosh's friends from Business School in a long time so we really had a great weekend. Though highly unusual for us - there were really no glitches along the way for this trip. Kieran even slept most on the way there and there was no traffic. We haven't seen a lot of the rural areas of Georgia either and our route was primarily on local roads. I'm shocked by the number of people who park in the middle of their front lawns. I've never seen that before. By the way, Pinetucky, Georgia is exactly what you'd expect it to be just hearing the name.

This was the first time we left Kieran with a babysitter and went out. It was a bit tough on him since he seems to be a little clingy these days. I think he was probably ok a few minutes after we were gone. Luckily our room was at the hotel where the reception was held so we were able to take him to the cocktail hour. Of course Kieran used this opportunity to beg for food so it probably looked like we've never fed him. I'm sure the caterers didn't account for a 17 month old eating 3 pieces of quiche by himself.

Since Kieran is an old pro at the beach, he was excited to play in the sand and get in the water. Never one to reinvent the wheel, he opted to "remodel" another child's sandcastle rather than constructing his own. Luckily that child had left already. It was his own Extreme Sandcastle Makeover but this version only focused on demolition.

We bought Kieran a little inflatable boat for the pool that was a lot more difficult to inflate than we had anticipated. He definitely enjoyed it though because it made him feel very independent

If only he did windows too

Woo Hoo - the neat freak tendencies are showing up more and more often these days. I found a way to modify the Swiffer so it is the perfect size for Kieran. Of course he stops playing with it as soon as I attach the cloth. So last time I posted, I think I was still frustrated that Kieran seemed to think that his toothbrush should be stored brush side down into the diaper genie. Well, he's continued to work on his sense of humor.

A few weeks ago, Kieran was trying to be helpful and he put a bag of small potatoes in my enormous purse when i put it down to pay for the groceries. He loves to rearrange whatever I put in the shopping cart. I was busy that day and the purse was already full so I didn't see them until I had finished running errands. So imagine me holding Kieran (by the end of any shopping trip - he's jumping out of the cart), I'm pushing the full shopping cart (oh and since I don't have time to work out - I park at the last spot and grocery store and push the cart uphill) and I'm carrying the purse of potatoes. He couldn't have put the cilantro in there? Not this kid.

Kieran at play

Here are some photos of Kieran at a local playground. They have lots of toys there so the kids love to go try out new stuff. Of course when we go out to buy the toy he was in love with at the playground - he wants nothing to do with it. Of course as a germaphobe, it's tough to watch him touching all these toys that have never been cleaned.

Kieran really loves the swing - the higher the better.





It's amazing that I was able to photograph Kieran in the car. As soon as I placed him inside, he tried to escape by crawling out on the other side (and since the door is not on that side - he tried to get squeeze through the window!)

Our little worker bee

So Santosh is away and didn't get a chance to hand over the photos from our trip! Someday I will post photos of our trip. Long after anyone is interested in them (including me.)
He was actually busy baby proofing this weekend. We had to put locks on the kitchen and bathroom cabinets. In the kitchen, Kieran was constantly grabbing empty baby bottles and trying to drink them. It was so sad to see him trying to find milk in all those empty bottles. But of course we didn't want him getting into toxic chemicals in other cabinets.

It wasn't entirely driven by my own need to avoid feeling guilty that Kieran can't have milk all day. The bathroom locks were primarily necessary to prevent Kieran from stealing things from our drawers and putting them inside shoes. We have a lot of shoes and figuring out which lucky pair of loafers was hiding my much needed under eye concealer that day was getting tiring.

Here is Kieran trying to UNbabyproof.

While Kieran continues to refine his trouble making skills, he does seem interested in tidying up every once in a while. From what I've read, parents are supposed to encourage their kids to explore their interests and when they find something they like, practice makes perfect.

Hmm. . . bad outfit choice I think - it kind of looks like a mini janitor's uniform in this photo.

He's a Frat Boy already

"He is such a boy." We hear this all the time. Whether Kieran is burping at a restaurant while flirting with the waitress or giggling while he's passing gas as the babysitter holds him, this kid already has a lock on frat boy behavior.

Perhaps I'm just delusional about little girls, but they seem so much more refined even at such a young age. The other day, we caught Kieran sharing his toothbrush with Durban. Both of them just love to brush so it's tough to keep them from stealing the other's toothbrush. That was the end of that toothbrush. Then the next toothbrush went missing. Hmm. . . I looked in his usual hiding spot - inside Santosh's left Timberland shoe. I found a lipstick of mine but no toothbrush. I moved on to Kieran's second favorite hiding spot - the trash. Nothing. Later in the day, I noticed the diaper genie lid was open. When I went to close it, I saw the toothbrush planted firmly inside. It's as if he had the forethought to leave a little of the handle showing so he'd get full credit.

Back in February, we found Kieran walking around as he tried to drink from an empty lemonade carton. I swear males are born this way. I'm beginning to see the nature vs nurture debate a little differently. I know I didn't teach him these things! (As for Santosh, however, I still suspect he's egging Kieran on when I'm not looking.)

I work so hard to raise a compulsive neat freak;)

I get very excited when I see even the slightest hint that Kieran might be showing signs of neat freak behavior. He has to know I'm not impressed by this behavior in the photos.

What's going on at home these days

Well I still don't have access to all my photos from our trip. Once Santosh hands them over, I can post those. I also have to update the videos on here.

Kieran's been sick the past 2 weeks. He's had severe allergic reactions and we've been to the ER and the allergist with no luck. I'm obsessed with switching all cleaning products and keeping a food diary so hopefully we'll figure it out soon.

Poor little guy really loved his milk but it had to go for a while until we figure out what is causing him to get hundreds of hives and for his face to swell. Unfortunately, I taught him some sign language and he will not stop requesting the milk. He pumps his hand at me all day and even at strangers. I guess he thinks maybe they'll figure it out and help him.

Eventually, I think he's going to get carpal tunnel syndrome from doing this sign over and over. He's also really into the sign for bath. It should look like you were washing the sides of your stomach. Kieran's version is more like a modified chicken dance (and as with all of his dances, his feet never move - it's all about the upper body.) It's too cute to correct - especially since he giggles every time he does it or even when he sees the bathtub and wants to get in.

No new dance moves in his repertoire yet but his initial choreography was so impressive that we still enjoy watching him. I have to post some video. He's got some moves that resemble driving a car, the twist, the Wiggles Emu dance and of course everyone's favorite - the 2 second nap he takes in the middle of the song (he just lays down very fast and then jumps up again.)

He takes no requests and while he loves us to imitate him, he is smart enough to know that Santosh and I are not the ones he should be getting dance tips from. So he continues to choreograph his own routines. In South Africa, he enjoyed watching the video of him dancing and even did exactly the same routine 'live' while we watched the video.

His other areas of interest these days include imitating Durban when he digs through the dirt, picking up spiders and bugs, grabbing Durban's puffy tail and his favorite - exploring everyone's nostrils. Today we went into a shop and the owner's dog was under the counter. Kieran bent down and immediately stuck his finger as far into the dog's nose as he could. We've stopped asking, "Kieran, where is your nose?" in public because he'd just stick his finger as far up his own nose as he could and wait for everyone's reaction.