Adventures of a Jayhawk Mommy: Toddlers Are Exhausting

Playing hoops! She scored every time! ;)

Last night and this morning were rough times with our lovely toddler, Ginny. She woke up around 10:20 p.m. in sobs. I guess she must have had a bad dream. It took a while to calm her down. I did my best, but nothing I did worked. Why? Because the only person she wanted was Daddy. In some ways, that crushed my heart a bit, but it also made me smile knowing how much she loves and depends on her daddy. Eventually, she fell back to sleep as my husband watched over her until she was clearly unconscious.

This morning started with a bang from her as well. She woke up coughing and in tears around 7 a.m. Daddy got her up while I was taking care of the baby. By the time we were getting her dressed, Ginny was clearly unhappy. We tried several things to get her calm. Eventually she settled down. Thank goodness. I'm pretty sure the issue stems from teething her two-year molars. We ended up giving her some Tylenol™ plus some cough medicine (a honey elixir, not true medicine). Soon after that, her mood seemed to improve.

Going down the slide for like the 100th time.

While all these issues were going on we found ourselves debating if we should do what we had planned for the day. Would Ginny be up for it or would she have problems all day? Ginny helped make the decision for us when she went to the door and kept saying, "car seat?" Her way of letting us know that she wanted to go for a drive. Deciding it was worth the risk, we loaded the girls up in the car and drove the hour up to Brookings, SD to go to the Children's Museum of South Dakota.

We arrived soon after it opened, around 10 a.m. Right away, we noticed a school bus and took a deep sigh, hoping that the school field trip that was taking place would not interrupt Ginny's fun.

Grace & I watching Ginny play.

Ginny loved the place from the moment her feet hit the floor in the museum. There was so much for her to see and do. She got to play with gears, blocks, musical instruments, and stuffed pumpkins. She was able to throw balls, which she LOVES to do, into hoops as well as down a slide and into water. The only issue with the water was trying to pull her away from it after she got pretty wet. Ginny was able to explore a play farm, go grocery shopping in a play store, and crawl into a tepee. Sitting still was not an option today. She was on the go and didn't stop until it was time to leave.

Checking out the nursing pig.

Going to the children's museum has to be one of the high points of this trip so far. I really enjoyed watching the joy on Ginny's face as she explored everything. The only down side we had was dealing with that field trip group of 7th graders. A lot of them tended to be rude and unaware that there were little ones in their path. I found that a bit frustrating, but Ginny didn't really seem to notice.

We left the museum after nearly two hours of energetic fun. My DH and I looked at each other and decided that experience was exhausting! Keeping up with a two-year-old is tiring on a good day, but in a place like a children's museum it takes a bit more energy than normal to keep up with one.

From the museum, we stopped at a KFC for lunch. They had a buffet which was perfect for Ginny. Knowing what she will eat on a given day is like playing a game of roulette, really hard to predict. After lunch we headed back to Chris's aunt's house. Now, Ginny is taking a much needed nap. Just before I left her room I told her I loved her. I heard her little voice, with the paci in her mouth, say "I love you." My heart soared!