Toby has a new job!! It has it's pro's and con's like any other job. One of the cons is that he has to be gone for one week EVERY month. The first trip he took was to Arizona and Russell and I went with. Sounded good at the time. It was hard but I really felt like it was what was the best thing for my family and THAT got me through the difficult 10 DAYS!! So here are some of the happy moments.
"Back pack, back pack, back pack" This kid loves his back pack.
Under the bridge. Common pass time.
Russell OWNED that hotel (hotel was one of the cons). Everyone that worked there knew his name. They were always so excited to see him. One of the cleaning ladies he really took to and would run up to her and ask for her to pick him up. She loved it too. She was really sad to see him go.
I hate that Russell's face is blurry in this one but it is still so cute. This is Russell giving Daddy a hug. Then the next picture is Russell's new face. He just started to make this face and we had no idea where it came from until...he farted and I made that face at him. Now he makes that face whenever he farts. Toby and I were rolling on the ground laughing when he first started to make this face.
Sleeping is a nightmare in general so add the fact that we were all in the same room with Toby trying to work and having to go in and out. That is what made this the worst part of the trip. We would have to put him to bed REALLY late. We had to make a wall out of the chairs so he couldn't see us from his pack n play. He would wake up several times in the middle of the night and I would nurse him (I nursed him so much on this trip. Before this trip I was only nursing before bed time and sometimes in the morning) or we would sing songs, go for a walk (remember this was at about 3 or 4 in the morning). One night I laid by my his bed on the floor singing songs (gross by the way). Then he would wake up at 5 or 6 for the rest of the morning. I hate to admit this but I totally caved with TV. Disney Jr. saved my life some of the days. Once I got up we went to the GREAT breakfast the hotel provided. That was a pro. Toby's schedule was all over the place so some days we played with Daddy or went around town but most of the time I just tried to entertain Russell at the hotel. The town we were in was small and the hotel had nothing around it. And to be honest it made me nervous just to walk around.
So we played at the pool,
We played with the limited toys we brought and ate food (he was so tired I thought he was going to fall asleep right there.) After lunch it worked best if Russell went down for a nap. That is when he slept for a LONG time. And when he woke up I would get him and we would cuddle on the bed and he would fall asleep AGAIN. Needless to say I did a lot of sleeping then too thank goodness.
This is how we got around the airport with all our junk. He loved it. He would hold on and people though he was so cute. He liked it so much he almost fell asleep on it every time we put him up there.
So one of the reasons that Russell and I went with Toby was because his Grandparents don't live far from where we were going to be. On Sunday we got a chance to make the short drive up to Safford to visit them. I hadn't met them until this trip. It was really great.
Toby, Russell, Grandma Taylor and Grandpa Taylor.
While we were there Grandma Taylor spoiled Russell. He didn't mind one bit!
After the 10 day trip I have to say it was hard but there was a lot of tender mercy's. Like I got to cuddle/nap with Russell in my arms almost everyday! That never happens anymore. Russell was great on the airplanes and the people on them were very kind and sweet to us. It really could have been a lot worse.
The day after we got back was Halloween. DON DON DON! (I am so tired)
