21 months (& 10 days!!!) & CA Vacation, Part 2

I apologize for the lack of posts. I've been so tired this week, getting readjusted to the routine. Fortunately, Adam has readjusted quite well and is back to sleeping well (Thank G-d)! He's not too happy about being back "at work" (Montessori) and woke up on Monday (his first day back) saying -- I kid you not -- "No Annie" when I picked him up. He *loves* Annie (his teacher), too. Fortunately, Annie reported that he's been very happy this week... dancing, playing, etc. However, when I picked him up on both Mon. & today he BOLTED, I kid you not, to the door when he saw me. NOTE: he did not run to ME, he ran to THE DOOR and said "come on, come on, come on". He was also overtired and quite hungry when I picked him up both days which has led to lovely meltdown-free evenings (ha ha).

Anyway, I realize that I never got to write his 21-month-old post! I do plan to stop updating his monthly progress when he hits, oh, 21-years-old. Just Kidding... once he hits the big 2 (gasp!), I'm sure I'll stop. Anyhoo, Adam turned 21 months when we were in CA on 12/28. Interestingly enough, he has really started saying loads of phrases since then which has been so fun. Here are a few of my new favorite phrases:

-- "Where Grandma (or Uncle Steven or Dada) is?"

-- "Bye Mama. Bye Mama. Sleep" (when he's ready to go to sleep, he lets me know!!!)

-- "I love you soooo much" (tonight was the first time he said it when I kissed him good night. About time the kid said it back... I've only been waiting 21+ months to hear those three words!) ;)

-- "Where did it go?"... "Where can it be?"... "There it is!"

-- "Home!" or "Grandma's House!" (he now recognizes both neighborhoods)

-- "Oops. Sorry" (he says this at the funniest times... like when he trips on a toy. It's hilarious.)

He has also begun to do some associations. For example, when I asked him what we do at Hanukkah, he answered "light candles". Also, when we cooked an egg together (aka - me trying to cook an egg while holding him b/c he loves to watch me cook), he told me to "get butter". It's amazing. Truly amazing.

All right, enough bragging on my kid. I have to say, it helps remembering these sweet moments on days like this when Adam threw, oh, 20 temper tantrums in one evening!

In other news... our California vacation seems like it was months ago when, in reality, we got back less than a week ago! Here are some photos from our trip:
Taken from the backyard of the house we were staying at in Rancho Mirage. Very relaxing to wake up to this view

Playing in the huge backyard with Uncle Steven. It was so nice that he could run around since all we have at home is a deck for him to run on!

Adam's house. Thank you, Grandma, for renting it for the week! Adam loved having his "own space".

We took the Palm Springs Aerial Tram with Uncle Steven & Aunt Elizabeth. It was amazing. Adam loved the "big elevator"... it was quite the experience

Playing with sticks on a Palm Springs hike. Such a boy!!!

So, Adam REFUSED to sleep in the (admittedly small & kinda gross) crib that we rented. Grandma had the great idea of putting the mattress on the floor. That worked really well. Adam still only slept 2-3 hours at a time, and we ended up holding him half the night, but it was better than him screaming all night. Every night he cried "Go home" which was so sad. He was really happy during the day but was definitely homesick at night. Thank goodness he settled back in a normal sleeping pattern after one crying fit when we returned home.

That's it for now. If you've read this whole post, I'm impressed! More CA photos later this week! Hope you're having a good one! :)