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...