Snow STINKS!!!!

I always say that I like winter through New Year's and then I'm done with it. I've been a little more lenient this year until this week, but I'd officially like to say I am DONE with winter. It just took me two hours to drive home from work (normally a 20 minute drive in rush hour traffic). ARGH!! The good news is that I didn't slide and I didn't see accidents and everyone was being very cautious, but two hours to get home is too much! I barely got 1/2 hour in with the boy before it's time to get him ready for bed. At least tomorrow is my late day. If I had to go in at 9:00, I think I'd cry.

I Dub Thee Sir Wesley!

Wesley is in love with the Weebles castle that his Aunt Judy gave him for Christmas. The other night he didn't want to listen to any books at bedtime, he only wanted his castle. When we put him in his crib he cried and cried and reached out for it. Wesley played with his castle for nearly 4 hours yesterday with only a couple short breaks! I had no idea that toddlers could have an attention span that long. Although the music it plays started to annoy me somewhat, it did allow Duane and I to watch the Super Bowl. Wesley sat three feet away from us, played with his castle and almost never looked up. In fact, the poor guy played with the castle until he was so tired, he could only lift one finger to press the button. I think I'll have to get him some more Weebles play things!

Random Thoughts

1) I knew that having a little boy was going to expose me to a certain amount of grossness. It goes along with being a boy. Wesley already thinks burps are hilarious, but I didn't think I'd be telling my 17 month old to stop picking his nose!

2) Remember that post about Prairie Dawn's nose? Well, it started an avalanche of comments on my friend Kate's blog. Duane asked that I air his children's show complaint. On "Blues Clues", why is Blue (who is blue) a girl? Shouldn't she be pink? Also, Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper have a little boy named Cinnamon, which Duane firmly believes is a girls name - funny, I always thought it was a spice. Of course, we just a had a discussion on whether Linny on "Wonder Pets" is a girl or a boy. I say girl, he says boy. Anyone care to weigh in?

It's COLD!

I don't mean to sound like a whiner, but it's COLD!!!! I like living where we do because I enjoy experiencing four seasons. I was actually a little bummed out when it was near 60 degrees a couple of weeks ago. I guess I'm paying for it now.

We have gone into hibernation mode. Our furnace doesn't like to heat our 100 year old house very well when it's in the single digits outside. We woke up to the high 60's inside, which is about 3-4 degrees colder than normal and kind of noticeable. Duane lit a fire in the fireplace, Wesley pulled all the blankets out and we all (even the cats) congregated in the front room. I made a cold weather breakfast of banana chocolate chip pancakes (Weight Watchers) and the guys have thick sweaters on. The plan is for them to stay inside all day. I have to go to work, but the boys need to stay nice and cozy. Sometimes hibernation is good.

Cousins

I feel bad that I haven't posted any pictures of Wesley's cousins, Sho and Ki. We spent a little time with them at COSI yesterday. Here are a couple shots from the ever popular water table.
Sho is the older boy in the yellow raincoat, while Ki is in the blue.


Sho had a great time leading me around the Kidspace and showing me all his favorite things. For the most part, Ki hung out with Wesley. Poor Ki has been trying to give Wesley a kiss on the cheek ever since they arrive in Ohio. He finally succeeded yesterday. It just tickles me how much they like their little cousin. They even call me "Wesley Mama" most of the time!

The Up Side of Murphy's Law of Toddlerhood

The up side about getting up at the crack of dawn is that we've had great morning. I got my shower when Dora was on TV and we managed to make it to the main library for story time. Wesley did a fantastic job, considering he's only been to a handful of story times in his life. Yes, I know that is pathetic considering I'm a children's librarian, but most story times are when I'm working. Wesley loved the songs and even seemed to listen to the books. I just can't believe we made it there AND he was soooooo good!!!

Another up side? I got the menus planned for next week and a big dent in the grocery list. Too bad I'm yawning and have a full day of work ahead. If I could take a nap in the afternoon with Wesley, I wouldn't mind starting our days off nice and early.

Murphy's Law of Toddlerhood

I may have complained about this before, but a good gripe always deserves another airing. Why is it that on days that I have to be at work in the morning, Wesley could sleep till 9 and I have to wake him up and pry him out of bed, but on the days that I don't go in until the afternoon, Wesley wakes up at the crack of dawn? This is especially annoying when Mommy and Daddy have stayed up past their usual (pathetically early) bedtime to watch a movie.

I'm a morning person, but getting up too early is bad! It causes me to spend time musing about weird things, like "Why doesn't Prairie Dawn have a nose? Bert, Ernie, and Grover all have noses, but Prairie Dawn - who is supposed to be a person - is without a nose. How strange is that?" And of course the bigger question, "Why do I even care?"

Which Cat is Which?

Sanders









Gus

Sadie

Three cats, three different and distinct names. So how come Wesley calls Gus and Sadie by their names, but won't call Sanders anything but "Kitty Kitty?"

Toddler Police

I've been busted by a 17 month old. This morning I was getting ready to leave the house. I said goodbye to Wesley and put on my hat and gloves. Wesley looked me over, then tapped his head and said "Hat! Hat! Hat!" Wesley always has to have hat on if we leave, so I guess he figured I needed a hat too. As soon as I showed him I had a hat, I was permitted to leave. Guess it's a good thing I got off with a warning!

New Baby Trick

I was going to title this post "stupid baby trick" but that sounded kind of rude. So "new baby trick" it is. Wesley's new trick this weekend is a new word. Duane had to run into work last night, so Wesley and I passed the time watching a little hockey. After a little coaching, I could say "Wesley, what are we watching on tv?" and he'd reply "Hockey!" We repeated this trick over the phone for Uncle Kirk, Aunt Susan's voice mail and our friend Ray. We also called Grandma H. and Grandma W. so they could listen to the newest little hockey fan.

He was still going strong with it this morning. He'd even run around the living room chanting "hockey hockey hockey hockey" But would he perform at church when I tried to get him to tell Johnny what we watched last night? NO!!! But he'd tell us in the car. Now we just need to get him to say "football."

Shop Till You Drop

Poor Wesley. His mommy and daddy took him to so many stores today! We're so lucky that Wesley is a good sport and a good traveler.

Our errands started this morning when we left the house for Wesley's hair appointment. As you can see from the picture, Wesley was in desperate need of a haircut. I didn't even try to make it look decent before we left the house. I just slapped a hat on his head and decided we'd call it a severe case of hat hair. Wesley is getting a lot better about having his hair cut. He still cries a little, but it's no longer a scream fest. Once the stylist pops a Dora DVD in, we're pretty much good. That's not to say, he likes getting his hair cut, just that he tolerates it a little better.

After the hair cut we went to JoAnn Etc. The door to the closet where the cats pans are was shut yesterday and one of the furry little darlings peed on Wesley's chair. It soaked into the foam, so we couldn't exactly wash it. We thought we'd try to save a little money and buy the foam, instead of a whole new chair. Yeah, there would be the headache of cutting it to size, but we figured it would be worth it. WRONG!!! It was less expensive to buy a whole new chair at Pottery Barn Kids.

So back into the car we went and headed to the mall. In addition to going to PBK, I wanted to check the card stores for a spare Stinky Bear. Because we were going to be doing a lot of shopping, I broke one of my cardinal rules and decided it would be alright if Wesley played in the kids area for awhile. That place was a zoo!!!! I think Wesley was overwhelmed by all the kids in the little space. We only stayed a few minutes and he didn't do much more than look at all the things to climb on.

Oh! Then there were the dogs. The mall we went to actually allows people to bring their dogs inside. I have mixed feelings about that, but we saw the most beautiful dog while we were there. She was a golden lab and husky mix and was so friendly! Wesley was busy petting her, when another woman showed up with her dog. Wesley looked at the dogs and said "Two!" The women were very impressed, until I told them that two is the only number he seems to know. Duane says I should have just let them think he was a genius.

We bought the chair, ate some lunch, checked another store for a Stinky Bear (no luck) and headed out. The next stop was Grandma and Grandpa H.'s for a short visit. We played with Aunt Cathy, Sho and Ki for a while, then got back into the car again and headed to Target and the grocery store. And this is how you can tell you have been shopping for way too long!

Big Sexy

It's supposed to be really cold the next couple of nights, so I dug in my dresser drawers and broke out the one, the only Big Sexy! Big Sexy is easily the least attractive article of clothing I own. It's a big grey flannel nightgown that covers me from neck to ankle. Add to this the fuzzy kitty head on the front (complete with tail on the back) and the pockets and I'm sure you can see how Big Sexy got it's name. I have owned Big Sexy for at least 12 years and I only break it out in very cold weather.

This is the first time Wesley has ever seen Big Sexy, and well, I don't think the poor kid knew what to think. It didn't take him long to notice the kitty on it though. Wesley started following me around the house saying "kitty kitty" and trying to pet my stomach. When he does manage to pet the kitty on Big Sexy he says "nice." Great. His psychoanalyst will have lots of fun with that some day!

That's What Grandparents are For!

Do you know how incredibly lucky Wesley is to have 5 grandparents within a 30 minute drive? Do you how spoiled he is by those 5 grandparents? :-) Not only did Grandpa P. make a grand impression on Monday, but a couple of the grandma's have been playing catch up.

Grandma H. has spent two and a half days with Wesley this week. As you can see, Wesley is just heartbroken about all this time he has been forced to spend with Grandma. They took a trip to COSI today and never even made it to the kids area! Apparently, Wesley had such a good time toddling up and down the super long hallway that there was no need to travel to the second floor.

Of course, Grandma also had some of that magic that Grandpa P. dusted on Wesley when he was here Monday. When I walked into the house tonight, Wesley came flying into kitchen, hugged me and called out "Mommy!" Then then ran to Duane, hugged him and called out, "Daddy!" He was back and forth for a few minutes, just laughing and smiling!!

Grandma W. has also in on the spoil-Wesley fest. Wesley was the only one of us to get any decent mail yesterday. He got a "just because" card from Grandma with a little bit of green in it and a note to have some ice cream on her. Now that's a lucky little boy with some very special grandparents!

Beasty Boy

I think Wesley is suffering from cabin fever. We stayed home all day Sunday, Grandpa P. came here to watch the boy on Monday, Grandma H. came here to watch the boy Tuesday and Wednesday. Wesley's been outside once to play in the snow, but other than that he's been tucked away and I think he is bored!

I found myself stuck in the house with a beasty boy yesterday. Wesley wasn't interested in doing anything unless it was something he shouldn't be doing. The word "No" must have come out of my mouth every two minutes. As an added bonus, every time I said "no," Wesley would lay down on the floor and give a screech. Thank goodness his fits last for all of 5 seconds. Then he'd get back up and get into something he wasn't supposed to and we'd repeat the whole process.

By the time Grandma H. got here, I was ready to bolt! I left for work with an assurance from Grandma that she'd take him to the library or the grocery store or someplace. But you know what they say about the best laid plans. Wesley fell asleep shortly after I left and slept until about 30 minutes before Duane came home. So...no field trip. Duane did take Wesley to the store to buy milk and look at the apples (Wesley's favorite grocery store past time) so there was a slight change of scenery.

And now it's 6:45 in morning. Wesley has been up for about 20 minutes. He's refusing to drink his milk and trying to con juice out of his daddy. Duane must be a big softy, because it worked! Part of me is debating going to story time at the main library this morning, but by the time we go and come back, we'd have to leave for Aunt Melissa's in less than half an hour. Knowing that Wesley will probably need a nap earlier than usual, I'm just not sure it's a good idea. Oh well, Wesley hasn't been to Aunt Melissa's in two weeks and he'll have her, Mark and Cyrus to play with. That will make him plenty happy - I hope!

Grandpa Magic

I don't know what Grandpa P. did to Wesley today, but I hope he repeats it often! Grandma P. was under the weather today, so Grandpa came to our house to watch the boy. I wish Grandma felt better, but it was kind of nice to leave for work an hour later than I usually do on Mondays.

I'm not really sure what all they did to pass the time, but Wesley must have had a great time. Not five minutes after Grandpa left, Wesley was dragging Duane around by the finger and saying "Pa! Pa!" He was quite clearly looking for Grandpa. Wesley did the same thing to me after dinner. Speaking of dinner, Wesley ate the best meal he has eaten in nearly a week. Either Grandpa didn't feed him all day (sorry Dad, that's a joke) or he helped the boy work up a good appetite!

Possibly the best side effect of Wesley's day with Grandpa has been how lovey he has been this evening. Wesley has run up to me and Duane at least a dozen times and given us gigantic toddler hugs. If I tell Wesley I love him, he squeezes me in return. It's been wonderful!

I think it's time for me to sign off. Wesley is currently chasing his Daddy around the dining room table and one of them needs rescued. I'm just not sure which one.

No Such Thing as Free Puffs

Nope! This little boy has to earn his keep!

Sir-Whines-A-Lot

GOOD GRIEF!!!! That's all I can say about the whining level of the boy today. It started before he even woke up. He ended up in our bed about 1:00 this morning, because he was crying out in his sleep. Too bad it started up again in our room at 5:30. He whined about his morning cup of milk, about his breakfast and about getting dressed. He whined about getting his coat on. At least he stopped to enjoy the snow and he wasn't too bad in church.

To be honest, he was pretty darn good in church, but I think part of that was due to Sho and Ki. They spent a good chunk of the service feeding Wesley cheerios and puffs. It was almost like he was their pet. Very cute!!! He was good after church too. We stopped for lunch (it's a cheat day on the diet) and Wesley ate better than he has all week.

It's too bad that charming little boy didn't make it home with us. As soon as we got home he magically transformed into Sir-Whine-A-Lot. It almost sounds like we have a puppy in the house. Offer him a snack and he whines. Color with him and he whines. Try to type on your blog and he whines. I'm pretty sure he's going to have a little bruise on his forehead, because when he whines, he puts his head on the ground. Oh the tragedy! His parents are so mean! I guess we just don't understand the pressure a 16 month old is under. :-)

Let it Snow

Wesley got to experience snow this morning as we headed out to church. I'm not sure he really knew what to think of it, but he did smile a lot.

"Cousins" and Choo-Choos

What a day! We got to introduce Wesley to his new "cousins" and his "Aunt" Cathy. Cathy is a very good friend of Grandpa and Grandma H.'s from Taiwan. Her two sons, Sho (4) and Ki (2) were born in the United States, but have been living in Taiwan since Ki was only a few months old. They are back now, and the three of them will be living with Grandpa and Grandma H. until they can find an apartment, a job and get settled in.

We dropped by to say "Hi" to our extended family today. I'm not sure what Wesley thought of the whole thing. Neither Sho nor Ki speak English (but then again, Wesley barely speaks any English either). Sho really wanted to play with me and Wesley, but Ki held back a bit. He was really curious about Wesley though and would get super close to him and stare. Cathy said that Ki has never really been around anyone younger than him, so that might have been part of it. I wonder if it's partly that and partly because Wesley is so blond and blue-eyed. He's so different from Ki. They'll have lots of time to get used to each other now.

Wesley got a second treat today in the form of a new Thomas the Tank Engine toy box. Now Wesley has no idea who Thomas the Tank Engine is, but the boy knows a "choo-choo" when he sees one. As soon as he saw this toy box, he was in love. I told him that the train on the front was named Thomas and a couple of minutes later, Wesley was saying something that sounded an awful lot like "Thomas" Guess I know the next DVD I'll be getting from the library!

Scratch and Sniff

We took a family trip to Half Price Books today. The plan was to get Wesley some DVDs, but the selection was pretty small. He ended up with three new books today, which is probably better! One of the books is a scratch and sniff book about fruit. Mommy gets to scratch the pages and Wesley sniffs them. He doesn't quite get it though, and sniffs both the page with the smelly sticker and the page without it. Oh well, at least he'll know what books smell

like.

And no, the little girl on the back of the book is not picking her nose; she's pointing at it.