Twas the Night Before Christmas....

....and all through the house, not a creature was stirring - except for Daddy, Mommy, Wesley, Sadie, Gus and Sanders! It's a crazy night! Duane has a cold, Wesley has a worse cold and the cats are tearing around like nobody's buisness. There will be precious little sleep tonight.

We've already had a very full Christmas. We spent this afternoon and this evening wtih Grandma and Grandpa H., Great Aunt Carol, "Big Al", Uncle Kirk and Aunt Susan. Aunt Susan took some WONDERFUL pictures that I will share later (she's going to burn me a CD) but until then you are stuck with the few and semi-pathetic pictues I managed to take. It's hard to be in charge of the camera, chase a sick child who doesn't understand that you want him in the same room with everyone else, unwrap your gifts, your child's gifts and still pay attention to everyone else. The picture to the right is Wesley playing in the dining room while we all unwrapped gifts.

Back to the story. This afternoon and evening was lovely! Grandma prepared a ton of munchies to enjoy and we exchanged gifts. Wesley just didn't get it. But he did love the stuffed dog and puppy he recieved. He kissed them and carried them around the house. He also had a WONDERFUL time playing with his new train - or as he says "Choo Choo". He spent a lot of time standing in the middle of the track pushing the train around. Everytime it jumped the track, he'd hand the piece to his Great Aunt Carol. She was such a good sport. She'd put it back on the track and he'd get it going until the next derailment.

Round and round and round he goes!

Through the tunnel!

Wesley quickly deteriorated from cute little toddler playing with his toys, to sick little boy who only wanted his Daddy. He was so cranky that we decided to take a short drive in hopes he'd fall asleep before church. It worked and he slept blissfully for the first 20 minutes of the service. He was so cute when he woke up. Although we were at our church, we went to the traditional service in the sanctuary. We normally go to the contemporary service which is held in a different room. Wesley wasn't sure what to think of the sanctuary and kept looking around with wide eyes. Then the bell choir started playing. Wesley whipped his little head around and didn't take his eyes off the players the entire time. He was entranced. Too bad it didn't last. Wesley is a toddler and sitting through Christmas Eve service was not going to happen. Duane and I spent the rest of the time taking turns walking around with Wesley. Duane and Wesley found a ball and we went into the fellowship hall for a little game of kick the ball to pass the time.

We came straight home after church and put Wesley to bed with a reading of The Night Before Christmas and some Christmas lullabies. Unfortunately it didn't last and Wesley will be spending the rest of the night coughing and tossing around in our bed. The cats are tearing around like they broke into the catnip while we were gone. Peace on earth would be incredible, but I'd settle for peace in this house.

Too Cute for His Own Good

I have often said that kids (especially little boys) and puppies are cute for a reason - so you don't kill them before they have a chance to grow up! :-) The problem is, kids and puppies know exactly how cute they are. And if they don't know there are plenty of folks willing to tell them!

Wesley, Grandma H. and I went to do a little last minute Christmas shopping today. We went to four stores and in every store at least one person told me how cute Wesley was. Usually the comment was made as I was following him around the store because he didn't want to be in the cart, or while he was dragging me around by the finger. Part of me loves hearing that and part of me wants to scream "SHHHH!!! Don't say that in front of him!!!!" He knows he can get away with way too much if he flashes those big blue eyes and a squinty smile. Do we have to encourage it?

He Can Be Taught!

Improvements have been made since yesterday's milk fit. Today when Wesley finished his milk, he still threw the cup and started screaming. However, the screaming lasted for much less time before he picked up his cup. Of course, Wesley thought he could bypass the mommy step and headed directly to the refrigerator. It's a start.

Wesley is also starting to learn he really does need to be gentle with the cats. Wesley was in our bed for part of the night. When he woke up he saw Sanders at the foot of the bed. Wesley toddled over to the cat and said "Hi!" Then Wesley started petting Sanders and saying "Nice," which is what we say when Wesley pets the cats - "Pet nice." Sanders was very impressed.

I'm Outta Here

Apparently Wesley is unhappy with the way he was portrayed in my earlier post. He grabbed his suitcase, his teddy and I'm pretty sure I heard the words "I'm going back to Grandpa's!"

Oh Yeah, He's a Toddler!

How much slack can I cut the kid for teething and coming down with a little bit of a cold? It is not even 7:30 in the morning and he is in rare form. He's throwing a super fit and do you know why? He's out of milk in his sippy cup. Now if he had brought me the cup, I would have taken it into the kitchen and filled it with milk for him. Instead, he threw the cup across the room and began screaming as soon as he finished the last sip. It's much too early to deal with that, and I refuse to get him something (even something as simple as milk) if he is acting like that. I'm going to type and ignore the banshee until he calms down.........

.....so after a few minutes of screams and tears I got him to pick up his cup and bring it to me. "Oh? You'd like some milk, please?" So I filled his cup, he happily drank all of two sips, dropped it on the floor and began to play with his toys. Is this what I can expect throughout the toddler years? If so, I'm going to need a LOT of chocolate and coffee to make it through.

Overnight Success

Wesley had his very first overnight at Grandpa and Grandma P.'s last night. I was a little worried because Wesley had never been there overnight and he had been running a bit of a fever all day. Apparently I worried for nothing. Wesley did just fine. He went to bed at a reasonable time and slept all night. I was the one who called several times and had a little trouble sleeping since I was worried about him.

Of course, now that Wesley is comfortable sleeping over at both Grandma and Grandpa H.'s house AND Grandma and Grandpa P.'s house I see possible getaways in my future. Just think with double the folks able to keep the boy overnight maybe Duane and I could sneak off for a romantic weekend sometime. Sigh. I know, dream on.

Paradise

This is Wesley and Grandpa P.'s version of paradise. Wesley sitting on Grandpa's lap in his warmest footie jammies, being fed vanilla ice cream while watching Noggin clips on the computer. Add in the occasional snuggle in to Grandpa's side and, as Grandpa said, "It doesn't get any better than this!"

Willful!

There is a very fine line between "independent" and "willful." Wesley has crossed that line several times today. If you have met Wesley, you know he is normally a pretty easy going kid. He ususally has a smile on his face and a rather infectious giggle. He's always had an independent streak and definately wants to do things his own way, but it hasn't been too much of a problem. However, the word "no" is coming out of Mommy and Daddy's mouths more often and Wesley doesn't like it one little bit.

Today was the family Christmas party. Wesley did really well for most of it. There were lots of kids there and the weather is still unseasonably warm, so the kids were all running in and out of the building. I didn't want Wesley to go outside unless Duane or I were with him, but if he was reaching for the door handle and I said "no," he would look at me crossly and whine/cry for a minute before trying it again. Taking him away from the door didn't work too well either, because he'd make a beeline for it as soon as we put him on the ground. We did go outside a few times, but tried very hard not to make it a response to his whining. I will admit that I took him outside when he toddled across the room, grabbed my finger and pulled me to the door, but that was so cute - who wouldn't have taken him!?!

Now we are playing battle of the wills over a Sesame Beginnings DVD. We have gotten in the possibly bad habit of letting him watch one every night (they are just as powerful as Dora.) But now he thinks that as soon as Noggin goes off the air at 6:00 he needs a DVD immediately! He points at the TV and whines. Points to the DVDs and whines. Goes over to the DVD player and presses the power button a few times just so we get the point. Mommy is being a toughie tonight though and I don't want him watching one until 7:30. Then when it's over we'll start our bedtime routine. Wesley is currently laying down on a pillow in front of the DVD player, just so we'll get his subtle point. A few minutes ago he brought us the phone. We're pretty sure he was asking us to call a grandparent so he could tell them how unfair his parents were being. Must be tough being a toddler!

Haircut Happiness

OK, "happiness" might be a bit of an exaggeration. We went for a haircut today and to be honest, I was dreading the whole thing. Wesley hates to get his haircut. He cries from the moment he sits in the chair until we leave. Not today though! Today there were still a few tears shed, but no screaming, no howling, and the tears were few and far between. I'm not sure what really made the difference, but I think I know. First of all, I asked the stylist not to put a cape on Wesley. For some reason, that always makes it worse. Also, she didn't try to buddy up to him. Wesley doesn't really like strangers so that helped too. Add the fact that Dora was on the tv, and he was chewing on his bear's tag and things were pretty good. He even took a trip down the slide when the cut was done and happily chose a balloon. Maybe we're over that painful phase.

CATCH!!

I know that I have lamented before on how difficult it is to get a picture of Wesley's face these days. He is always a blurr of motion!

Yesterday I was getting ready for work and Wesley was tearing around through the bedrooms, saying "Catch! Catch!" He wanted me to chase him around and catch him. Everytime I'd scoop him up he'd giggle wildly. As soon as I put him down, he'd be off again, yelling "Catch!" Guess I don't need that gym membership for Christmas after all!

Can I Go Back on Vacation?

Yesterday was some kind of day at work - exhausting!!! I like my job, but yesterday I would have traded places with someone in a heartbeat. All I did all day long was stress eat. My poor candy jar will never be the same.

7:00AM - Leave the house to drop Wesley at Grandma H.'s

7:45AM- Early morning staff meeting. Not too terrible because it's the one where raises are announced and at least they feed us.

9:10AM - Back to Grandma H.'s for a little snuggle time with the boy. Too bad he didn't want to be snuggled.

10:15AM - Drive back downtown to particiate in a focus group of youth librarians. This was a wonderful experience and I am so glad I had the opportunity to do it!

1:40PM - Drive back to work to "start" my day. I had approximately 1 hour of time to spend with my new employee before I had another meeting to attend.

2:40PM- Drive to NWL for a meeting with the architects working on our redesign.

3:45 - Drive back to my library for another hour of training with my new employee. The other people in my department were taking such good care of her though, that I let them continue and I caught up on emails.

5:00PM - Drive somewhere (surprised?) to pick up dinner

6:00-9:00PM - Try to get some actual work done, but manage to fail miserably and spend the evening catching up with co-workers who I've barely seen all week.

9:00PM - My night to be loser in charge. I spend the next 15 mintues locking up the building and making sure everyone is out.

9:15PM - Back in the car to drive home. Thank goodness I have a good book to listen to!

9:30PM - Home at last! Have a snack and veg out on the couch with Duane. Somehow I resist the urge to take Wesley out of his crib and put him in bed with me so I can just cuddle him. I do slip into his room and rub his back a few times.

11:00PM - Bedtime (finally) but I had weird dreams about being in charge of the building and no one would leave. Also had bizarre dream of doing a play at a school about Strawberry Shortcake.

Now it's 8:30 and I should probably be getting Wesley's breakfast ready so he can eat, I can get us dressed and his diaper bag packed. We'll drive out to Aunt Melissa's and then I'll head to work where I have no meetings, no training and am looking forward to having some time to focus on the the day to day tasks of my job. Sure, I'll still be eating a meal at the Cafe Hyundai and dinner will most likely consist of a microwave meal, but it seems so low stress compared to yesterday. Just today and tomorrow and I can spend the weekend frantically getting ready for Christmas. Can I just have a few more hours in each day please?

Truckin'

The new after dinner activity in our house is hitting the road - with books and Blue!

Weakened by the Weekend

Do you think we will ever learn to pace ourselves? I doubt it. This past weekend we crammed so much into two days it's not even funny.

On Saturday Duane and I went to his company holiday party in the afternoon, then we went to pick up some wine and hit a couple other stores before heading home. The idea was to take a nap before my holiday party that night. It didn't work out that way - Wesley wasn't about to let us sleep. On the up side, Wesley was fairly charming at my library's holiday party. He ran around the aisles, danced and was mesmerized by the colored lights the DJ shone on the floor. On the downside, I learned how much one's feet hurt after chasing a toddler around while wearing high heels and a party dress.

I was the assisting minister at church on Sunday. Wesley decided he needed to be a part of the service too and bolted out of the room while I was reading the lessons. Duane retrieved him, but Pastor Art worked it into the sermon. It was sweet and no one was upset. That's one reason why I love our church. Everyone there cares so much about Wesley. After church we grabbed a bite of lunch and did a little Christmas shopping. OK - a lot of Christmas shopping. Wesley was surprisingly good, but I was beat. Plus we still had to hit the grocery store.

We could tell Wesley was absolutely not going to let us go to another store, so Duane dropped us at home and he did the shopping. Wesley and I caught a little nap, which was a very good thing beacuse Duane and I had tickets to a hockey game last night. We had a terriffic time, but I ate something that really disagreed with me and was up almost all night. I went through today in a bit of a fog only to discover that Wesley took a FOUR HOUR NAP for Grandma and Grandpa P. and I have a feeling tonight might be a long night too.

Tea for Two

Grandma H. and I celebrated the holidays with one of our favorite traditions today - the Holiday Tea at the Longaberger Homestead. It's a perfectly girly time, with china tea cups, beautiful decorations and delicious food. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't gone. They do teas year round, but have special ones for Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.

Grandpa and Grandma P. watched Wesley while I sipped tea today. It was perfect timing too. Wesley has been a little angel all week and I was having dreams for being a stay at home mom (only a dream - could never afford it) but today ended all that! Before we left the house at 10:00 Wesley had figured out how to open the bedroom door and made a beeline for the steps. He took a bunch of DVDs off the media shelf. He tipped over the fireplace tools. He knocked my curling iron off the vanity while it was on (thank goodness he wasn't burned!) He was obcessed with playing with the toilet brush - YUCK!!! And to top it all off, as soon as I got his shoes and coat on him, he filled his diaper. Today was a perfect day for me to have a little break!!

It's Beginning to Taste a Lot Like Christmas

Today was the annual Christmas cookie making day with Grandma H. In the past, we have started baking very early and ended after dark. Wesley's arrival changed things a little bit. Last year Daddy took the day off work and sat with Wesley while we baked (and taste tested the cookies.) Of course, last year Wesley didn't do a lot yet. This year he is a full fledged toddler and Daddy couldn't take time off work, so Grandma and I had to take a new approach to cookie day.

We started quite a bit later because we got a dusting of snow and traffic was ICKY!! It took me nearly an hour to drive what normally takes about 15 minutes. We decided to just make the time consuming cookies today and do some others as time permits. We managed to make chocolate surprises, rum balls, gingerbread cookies, cut-out cookies (not iced yet) and buckeyes.

Wesley was a doll! And quite the helper, as the pictures will show.

MMMMMM.......Cookies!!!

A tablespoon of this......

Don't forget the nuts!

May I have another cookie?

Hey Mom! What about corn cookies?!?

I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy

OK..I'm actually in love with two wonderful guys - my hubby and my son. It really hit me today how much I love being a mommy. Wesley and I had some quality couch time this afternoon. We read some books and he curled up against me which just about melted my heart. Then he discovered the zipper on my vest and was completely fascinated for a good 15 minutes. He bit it, he pulled it, he tried to say "zip" After that we moved on to the very best part of my day. Wesley and I had a little kiss fest. He'd give me a kiss and I'd say "kiss fest!" Then he just holds his lips up to mine and I give him about a million kisses. Wesley must have been in a super lovey mood, because we had a lot of kiss fests today.

I love this age! He can communicate his needs, but still does the sweet baby jabbering. He walks and runs and climbs, but I can still catch him. So much is new right now that everyday holds some sort of surprise. I just love that boy to pieces!!

Wildlight Wonderland

Can you believe that we planned in advance to go to the zoo and it actually happened!?!? I'm in shock! When we got home I realized I didn't take a single picture of the lights, but no matter. We were there to see Wesley anyhow. It was a perfect night to go. Cold, but not freezing and there was almost no one there!





Wesley had a fantastic time at the zoo. I don't know if it was the lights, being outside in the dark and cold, or the fact that Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma & Grandpa P. were all paying attention to him, but Wesley was so happy. He toddled along looking like a little penguin and jabbering away nonstop. He even said "Hi" clear as day to some people who walked past us. We did eventually give in and put him in the stroller with some blankets. He wasn't too happy about that at first, but after a little bit he sat back and enjoyed the ride.

In addition to seeing the lights, Wesley also got to have his first tast of hot chocolate. Well, lukewarm chocolate because we didn't want him to burn his little mouth. Duane gave Wesley a tiny sip. Wesley drank it, licked his lips appreciatively and started to walk away. He took about one step before spinning back around and begging for another sip. Repeat this about 4 more times, and you'll get a good picture of Wesley's hot chocolate experience. When all was said and done, he probably only got a couple of tablespoons worth, but he loved it.

We also ducked into the nocturnal animal exhibit. It was great to watch Wesley actually notice the animals. He liked the fishing cats a lot, probably because they looked like something familiar to him. Of course, the next creature we saw was also some kind of small four legged animal. I don't remember what it was, but Wesley looked at it and said "Kitty!" I guess that was the closest thing in his vocabulary, because it certainly was not any kind of cat.

All and all, it was a fantastic night. I love the zoo lights! They make me feel all Christmasy and warm inside. I'm so glad we have this great memory now.

First Day of Vacay

I'm on vacation this week - everybody say YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've tried to cram way too much into the week though, so we'll see how it all turns out.

I took Kirk to the airport in the wee hours of the morning today. He has a training session in Kentucky. His flight left at 6:00 am, so I picked him up at 4:15. In a weird way, I really enjoyed driving then. There was no one on the roads and I listened to Christmas music the whole way home. Of course, I was back in bed by 5:00 and Wesley let me sleep until 7:30.

Today was Wesley's 15th month check up. He did a pretty good job considering he got 3 shots in his poor little legs. Grandma H. and I drug him to Sam's Club after his appointment. Wesley was pretty content to ride in the cart and munch on chicken fried rice samples. I wish I had had my camera with me though, because he fell asleep in the cart. At least 4 people stopped us to say how cute he looked. I've got to make sure I keep that thing in my purse!

I have been meaning to post about Saturday, so I'll guess I'll take the opportunity to do that here. Duane's Aunt "Buzzy" always has a tree triming party. This year it was more of a "chase Wesley around" party for me and Duane, which is a whole different kind of fun. I think the highlight of the party for us, was when Stella (2 or 3 years old) kept following Wesley around and calling him Baby Jesus. Of course, Wesley stopping dead in his tracks, pointing a finger at Duane's cousin Jeff and just letting him have it in baby jabber was pretty funny too.

I'll let you know how we survive the rest of my vacation. We are scheduled for the zoo lights tomorrow.

Ho-Ho-NO!!

I decided to try and get Wesley's picture taken with Santa Claus today. I told myself that if he seemed upset by it at all, I wouldn't push it. I was able to mostly keep my word. When we got to the mall, there was almost no one waiting to get their pictures taken, so I was kind of hopeful. Wesley didn't seem scared at all and even tried to rush the "presents" on the set. The picture above is the first shot of the three we tried. As you can see, Wesley wasn't very happy, but he didn't have a screaming fit either. Santa tried to read him a book in shot number 2. I'm really surprised that didn't work. If you know Wesley, you know he loves his books, but not today. We tried sitting him on a rocking horse in front of Santa for shot number 3. He wasn't interested in sitting and I wasn't interested in pushing.

It wasn't exactly a bad experience. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed, but we have plenty of time before Christmas and that Santa guy sure gets around. If Wesley's in a good mood, we may try once more this season. Maybe not. Who knows?

We did a little shopping after visiting Santa. Wesley was really good. We were in a store that had lots of things that looked like they'd be interesting to touch, but the only thing Wesley put his little hands on was a soccer ball. Good boy! He even helped carry the bags.

Of course, the best part of the shopping experience was climbing the stairs. I don't know if Grandma enjoyed it quite as much as Wesley, but she was smiling too. Actually almost everyone who passed us smiled, so it must have been almost as cute as I think it was.

Embarrassing!

Wouldn't you know that Wesley would choose the day of my uncle's 75th birthday party to skip a nap!? My uncle hasn't met Wesley and let me say, the boy made some kind of first impression -too bad it wasn't a good one! Wesley screamed form the moment we got out of the car until Duane finally left with him and met us back at Grandpa P.'s house! Back at Grandma and Grandpa's Wesley was nine kinds of charming, but you know what they say about first impressions.

Now for all the parents out there reading this, I want to tell you that Giammarco's is easily the most kid friendly restaurant I have ever been too! All the staff was kind to us despite our screaming child. They took us through the kitchen so Wesley could watch the stuff being made. They offered to let him make a pizza. They gave him crackers and pepperoni to eat and pizza dough to play with. They brought his food out first. They brought crayons. They addressed him by name. If they were this sweet to a "sour" child, I can only imagine how wonderful they are to children who are not throwing a fit. They made us feel so welcome and never once heaved a sigh, or made us feel guilty. And the food's pretty darn good! We'll definitely be going back!