Another video

These were too cute not to post.

Cute Stuff

I can't not preface this post without saying... I don't know how to format my blog. I will probably remind you of this fact on every picture post.

It's that time... John Dickson is entering that stage... the one where when he gets in the car after school, he immediately needs his shoes off. But then he immediately needs them on. But then he doesn't want them on. The one where he goes in our closet and pulls out every single stinkin shoe and sits in awe in the middle of his treasures for about 10 minutes. The one where he not only needs shoes on, he needs THOSE shoes on (whichever they may be). The one every child goes through around 18 months... wait, what? Just him? Oh.

As an aside, we finally have a solution to John Dickson's post bath shoe needs... check him out in his new Cars slippers. They kind of go with his pajamas that say "Daddy's hot rod." Yes, those pajamas are weird. We agree.

You may recall an earlier post about how ever since John Dickson became mobile, things have started showing up in the strangest places. Well, yesterday Adam searched and searched for his work cell phone. He finally gave up and went to work without it. John Dickson and I were sitting in his room playing basketball, when I noticed something suspicious... take a look...

This afternoon, John Dickson disappeared into the kitchen. When we went in after him, we found him sitting in his high chair with the world's biggest scowl on his face. I mean, he was giving us a serious mad expression. Apparently we were late on snack time... I wish I had gotten it on camera, because it was one of the funnier things he has ever done.

Also not captured on camera was John Dickson's new grocery store trick. Now, I think I've eaten my words a few times on things I said I would never do or allow as a mother. Had this ever occurred to me as a possibility, I'm sure I would have spoken the very words:

"I will never let my child mop the floor with his back in the grocery store"

However, this did not occur to me. So I'm not really eating any words here, am I? If you saw John Dickson at Lauren's wedding or rehearsal dinner, then you know his new dance move. It goes something like this: run, run, run, sliiiiiide onto the floor, roll over on his back, grin. repeat. Apparently, this is not just for weddings anymore! This is a grocery store favorite. We had a family trip to the grocery store yesterday (I am no longer daring enough nor have enough arms to take John Dickson alone) and Adam made sure to thoroughly sanitize the cart, you know, for swine flu prevention or just general santitation, and then John Dickson laid all over the floor. Only now he has incorporated the backstroke into it, and he scoots around on his back in semi-circles. There was no one around really to see, except for one older lady who just said "I feel that way too." And we just let it happen... It was just too funny not to.

I leave you with a picture of John Dickson's new favorite way to sit in his chair... on the arm.

Last Car Video

Sorry for the video overload here... I promise this is the last one. It has all of John Dickson's tricks... where his nose, ears and mouth are, and a good big blown kiss.

Car video #2

JD in the car... video #1

You may want to watch this short clip with a dose of dramamine... also, Adam likes to joke with John Dickson about the economy, so that is where the random economy question comes in.

Blow your nose!

This is John Dickson's version of blowing his nose... or, just blowing... enjoy.

Poor, Poor Pillow

The Ladies Man

John Dickson with his girls... Brittany in the middle; Briley on the right

Bridal Luncheon

This is the last of my pictures of Lauren's wedding weekend. The roses were from Jared... all together now... "awwww"

And 2 more

The zebra cake is my favorite... I told her I want one with lime green around the bottom. You know, just to eat with my gelato.

Cakes by Leslie

This is what happens when I steal pictures from facebook... they are so tiny! But click on them to see the full picture. Like I said, Leslie is amazing.

Is it still Monday?

I warn you... this is very long winded. Proceed with caution.



I am coming off of a GREAT weekend. Adam and John Dickson, not so much... My old college roommate, Leslie, came down to visit for the weekend. We went to see Julie and Julia on Friday night. I navigated through road closures in downtown Greenville like a champ (quite the feat for me... I once called Adam on my way home from Clemson, lost in the dark sans GPS), and we got there JUST as the previews ended. Of course I planned all of that on purpose... but let me tell you... not impressed with the movie. Actually very disappointed. It's not that it was a terrible movie, I just had heard so many great things and it seemed like my kind of movie. I mean, who doesn't love to look at food for 2 hours and 3 minutes? Meryl Streep just about drove me insane. I think if Julia Child and I had met, we would not have been the best of friends. And I'm big on "plot development", and I felt like the movie was seriously lacking. BUT, I had a blast hanging out with Leslie. And the very best part is, Leslie and her husband Nick are moving to Charlotte in 2 weeks!! They will be 2 hours away instead of 6 1/2!!! Im so excited!! We've already planned out a concert and some Clemson games in the next few weeks, and then in April, John Dickson will have an awesome cake by Leslie!! (As soon as I get pictures of her cakes, they are so going on the blog... you don't even understand how talented she is...) Oh, and of course we are having a weekend of cake lessons by Leslie for me. I cant bake to save my life. Except cheesecake. I make a killer cheesecake. AND speaking of talented friends, my very old friend Karin Curtis is an incredible photographer. You should check her out at KSCphotography.blogspot.com. She will be doing John Dickson's 2 year pictures in April!



Before we went to the movie, we had fun in the front yard playing the dizzy game. I was spinning John Dickson around by his arms, and then I set him down and let go... he fell right onto his side. It was like he didnt even bend at all, he just toppled over like a piece of wood. And of course, he loved it. So we spun again and again, and everytime I set him down, his legs were like jello. (Only I didnt let go right away like I did the first time... apparently that kid gets seriously dizzy!) He would be like a ragdoll when I set him down, and then once I let go, he would stumble around the yard like a little drunk man, squealing with laughter the whole time. Once he realized we were laughing when he fell (he was laughing too... its ok), he started going all over the yard fake falling. Leslie got a few videos of which I'll post as soon as I can get my hands on them. Then we incorporated the chase component into the dizzy game, and John Dickson loved it.



On Saturday, Adam had to work in Columbia from 7am - 7pm, which he LOVED. Sarcasm, of course. And remember those molars I was telling you about? Either they were really bothering John Dickson on Saturday (they aren't all the way in yet, just the tips), or he's working on more. Personally, I think its both... and he was miserable all day. But, we took him to downtown Greenville, and he enjoyed playing in the fountains and dangling his feet in them. He also got a big purple balloon... you should see this kid with his balloons, its hilarious. It's like he beats himself up with them. And we went to the Lazy Goat and got some gelato. I never tried gelato before a few weeks ago, and now I am trying to understand how on earth I, the ice cream QUEEN, ever got by without gelato. And how on earth is this wonderful food not in my local grocery store? It's madness. John Dickson and I just love it. Note to self: plan trip to Italy.

Oh, and on Sunday we met up with Jessica in Gaffney for some always delicious Cracker Barrel and some outlet shopping! Jessica was really mad when I stole her new gold shoes. Oh wait, that hasn't happened yet. ::evil laugh::

Now, back up to labor day. We went to our neighbors for a cookout, and they have a 10 year old girl who loves John Dickson (picture of them together to be posted soon). She wanted to play with him on the trampoline, so I got on with them and John Dickson laid in the middle on his back while we bounced around him. He was bouncing all over the place and started kicking his legs and kind of bucking on his back, hysterical with giggles. Brittany, the little girl, said "John Dickson! You are a maniac!!" She said it in a laughing way, and I had to laugh outloud at that. I couldn't have put it better myself. My other neighbor, Briley... her grandma always tells me how unhappy John Dickson is, but the truth is that he is a happy maniac. He just doesn't like her. So there. Quit telling me my kid is sad.



Which brings me to my next story. That happy maniac? He never fails to surprise us. He now sleeps with 5 objects - 3 blankies, his dinosaur, and his pillow (it was 6 until Ellie ate Ralph). As I've said before, we love to go in every night after John Dickson has fallen asleep, sometimes 3, 4, even 5 times to peek at him. Last night I went in to get my fix, and there he was... lying in a crib of fluff. Now, if you haven't been to my house, you should know that the nursery is in the middle, and you can hear John Dickson from any point in the house. We frequently listen to him talking to himself, slapping the walls or lying on his back kicking the walls (again, happy maniac), and he does this up to an hour or so. (Most of the time he goes right to sleep though...). So we were SHOCKED to find fluff... in his crib and all around it, because he had not made even the smallest peep. He had murdered "pillow". He took off the pillow case, ripped a hole in pillow about 2 inches long, and then meticulously pulled out the stuffing and threw it around all over the place. If only we had it on DVD... if only... Adam and I were in hysterics. We could barely keep quiet as we stared at the scene in awe, and made just enough noise that John Dickson stirred... and grabbed a handful of pillow guts.



John Dickson wasn't the only one making mischief last night! You know the deal with John Dickson giving treats to the dogs... there is a plastic container of jerky that he carries to the door and feeds them from. This container sits on the big plastic bin of dog food, and both are fully accessible to the dogs, who never bothered them...until last night. We found Ellie pushing the container all over the house, trying to get out one last crumb. She had eaten every last treat. We haven't broken the news to John Dickson yet, but Im sure he will be sad tonight when it is treat time :-( Ellie did, however, preemptively redeem herself when she came to my rescue the night before. Adam was sound asleep when I let the dogs in, and Ellie brought in a huge flying monster bug. I very calmly (ha, right) told Ellie to "get it" and she caught it in her mouth. But like I said, this was a monster bug, and she didn't want to eat it, so she spit it back out. But I wasn't going to let that creature get off that easy, so I kept shrieking at Ellie to "get it" and that big clumsy girl stomped the bug to death with her paw. Ahhh my hero.

And last, but not least... it's that time again... time to change out John Dickson's wardrobe. I get excited about bringing out new cute things (new to him anyway, we've been unbelievably lucky with clothes passed down). But I am also tearful to put away his old clothes... at that age, you know they will never wear them again. I'm not the only one who gets emotional about this... ask Adam about "little stomper." I dare you. Some clothes didn't even make it the entire summer, and the rest are on their way out. I just want to shrink him down and put him back in his onesie with a carrot that says "nibble" or his striped seersucker pants with his lamb onesie... or his dinosaur pajamas he wore in the hospital... or his moose hat from Christmas Eve... or his giraffe costume... or his polo blue jeans... or his seersucker lion outfit with matching hat... or his newborn sized drawstring pants. The list goes on and on. And in a few weeks, it will be even longer. But the fact remains, pajamas are every bit as sweet no matter what season you are in. They are my favorite of all :-) In the summer when diapers poke out, or in the fall with the tapered legs, or winter footed pjs... they are all just so sweet. Throw in a pair of shoes with a blankie, and you've got one sweet John Dickson :-)

Check back soon for those pictures I promised from the bridal luncheon, and other pictures associated with this post. Including the pillow massacre... Until next time...

New Chompers

John Dickson has 2 new molars to add to his collection! He has 4 teeth across the top and bottom in the middle, and then on the right side he skipped those pointy teeth and moved on to molars. Who needs pointy teeth anyway? I'd say John Dickson did pretty darn good Saturday night considering his lack of sleep, overwhelming crowd, recovering from a sinus infection and an ear infection (which, by the way, was the verdict from the pediatrician last Thursday), and working on 2 new molars. Poor little guy! We really pushed him to the max last weekend!

Did anyone call for ring security?

Check out the official ring bearer! And please ignore my hair and face... I was not finished.

Wedding Weekend Pt V AKA Final Blog Battle of the Night

John Dickson wasn't the only one dancing Friday night... here is a small sampling. Check back soon for pictures from the bridal luncheon and John Dickson in his official ring bearer shirt.

Wedding Weekend Pt IV

After I quit annoying people with pictures while they ate, there was dancing. I think people were timid about being the first ones out on the dance floor, so John Dickson stepped up and boogied for a while. Only he did not stop until 10:00 pm when he got kicked off the dance floor. That little dude was doing his squatting moves, running around in circles with one arm in the air, clapping to the music, and doing what can be called nothing other than John Dickson's signature move. He slowly, deliberately, slides down onto his side and then onto his back and just lies on the floor. Then he gets up, walks 3 steps, and does it again. And he thinks this is GREAT!! He also weaved in and out of the electric slide, the macarena, and other line dances. He got kicked down by a few people, which I think annoyed him slightly, as he had to quit dancing long enough to get back up. John Dickson stayed after the ceremony the next night for pictures, and arrived at the reception with me. Apparently he had quite the crowd wanting to know where he was at the reception! And my mom had to fight him to keep him off of the dance floor during Lauren and Jared's first dance... and then the dance with Lauren and Daddy, and then again with Jared and his mom. It was torture for him... sheer torture. When he finally got out there to shake his groove thing, the band couldn't get over him. He was quite a hit. These pictures are from the rehearsal dinner.

Wedding Weekend Pt III

We are going to play a little game called "Match the picture with the caption", which, apparently, is not a game this blog knows how to play.

Jared, Dad, Adam and JD

Mom and Anne Mama (Dad's mom). Oh, and that hand is Pop's.

My dad, with my dad in 30 years

Lauren with Ken, who I have known for about 25 years and whose mom is my godmother.

My Anne Mama with John Dickson, who ate half her dinner

Wedding Weekend Pt II

Forgive my formatting on these next few posts... Im tired of fighting it. Blog, you win.

More pictures from the rehearsal dinner:

Oh yeah, and did I mention John Dickson also had a chocolate dessert?

My mama and my daddy

Me with my now new brother and then me with the hubs.

And then this picture is interesting... because although I am the one behind the camera, I was completely oblivious until about 5 minutes ago, what was going on in the picture. Jared, you are in big trouble mister.

Wedding Weekend - Pt I

Well, Mr. and Mrs. Jared Libet are official and are officially in Hawaii. I asked my dad if I could be his favorite while they were gone, and he told me I was his favorite daughter in the states. Marinate on that for a minute. The wedding was beautiful and my sister was gorgeous. So gorgeous, in fact, that I took 129 pictures between the rehearsal dinner and bridal luncheon. Unfortunately, while I took my camera to the reception, I did not stop and take any pictures. But we will start with the rehearsal dinner...

One of my favorite things about weddings is how it brings everybody together. It's like a joint family reunion that friends come to too.

Mom with her sister, my Aunt Cindy, and her brother, my Uncle Mike.

It was great seeing all of my family and meeting all of Jared's.

They look like a fun family, no?

They also had yummy barbeque and my favorite... petite fours. I don't know what it is about those things, but I am pretty sure I had no fewer than 8 this weekend. And coconut cake, and wedding cake. John Dickson made his way around the rehearsal dinner pretending he had not had any dessert and racked up with 2 petite fours and 2 lemon bars. If you are done wrapping your head around my dad not knowing Hawaii is a state, wrap your head around that. John Dickson was VERY hopped up on sugar, but more on that later.