Two - count them - TWO days left until work resumes to normal working hours. And that's good news for you, because that means the blog is going to come back to life. Well, its good news for you if you actually still bother to ever check this old dusty rusty blog.
I don't have pictures. I haven't taken any in WEEKS. But there's a few on facebook, courtesy of my blackberry, so feel free to mosey on over there if you need your fix.
We headed up to Maryland about 2 weeks ago for an uneventful-in-a-good-way check up for Adam. 20 hours in the car, 2 minutes with the doctor, and a lot of trail mix and Starbucks later, everything looks good. John Dickson and Henry stayed with their Granna and Papa, slumber partying with Ella, and the next morning the three of them teamed up for what I can only imagine was a very chaotic morning. Fortunately we found Granna and Papa is one piece.
Monday morning it was John Dickson's turn to see a cardiologist, and he was an angel the entire time. He didn't seem to care much one way or the other what they wanted to do to him, he just laid there and let them do it. I think he was a little weirded out by the EKG, but he kind of liked the echo - Finding Nemo was on the tv :-) The pediatric cardiologist we see is really great and is really great with kids. He told John Dickson he could hear dinosaurs running around in his heart and when it was time to leave, he actually got down on the floor with him to show him how to play with his new prize - one of those little cars that you pull back on and release and it speeds off. His heaven. Best of all, everything looked perfect.
On Friday John Dickson headed in for his adenoidectomy. He was pretty pumped about it because a) he wanted his throat fixed (we didn't know how else to explain it to him... but he knew he'd cough less, have a runny nose less, and "choke up" less, and he was excited about that) b) he knew he was getting ice cream for lunch, c) he knew there were presents involved, d) Toy Story 3 and "Dragon Movie" (aka, How to Train Your Dragon - turns out not so appropriate for 2 year olds - if you hear him talking about killing a dragon, just ignore). I was really most concerned about the no eating after midnight (more specifically, no breakfast or milk), but he didn't say a word about it. If you give that little man a heads up, he can handle just about anything. Anyway, they took him away in a little motorized car, which he LOVED. Shortly thereafter the doctor came out to tell us that John Dickson's adenoids were in fact big, something they can't tell without him undergoing anesthesia, so that was good news. Hopefully we'll see a difference very soon! Soon after that we went in to find a just-woken-up John Dickson, who was very upset and crying for mommy. Wait, no. Crying for Daddy. No... sorry, I get confused. He was crying for the car. Good to be needed.
In case you were wondering, they put little man to sleep using a mask and then they started an IV and did the breathing tube. When he woke up he had to prove he could drink before they would take the IV out. John Dickson downed an entire cup of apple juice without stopping to take a breath, so they took it out. I couldn't watch, so I held him in my lap and looked the other way. John Dickson stared at it and never made a sound. Easy breezy. Five minutes later he had a popcicle in his mouth and he was ready to go open presents. We were told to dress him in pjs so he could sleep in the car and just be moved to his bed.
Good one.
John Dickson did not even nap on Friday and we had a hard time slowing him down. On Saturday he complained a little that his head hurt, but he was still running and jumping on the bed and everything else, and almost all of a sudden he laid his head on one of our pillows and zonked out. It was a first. Ever. In his entire life. Including infancy.
That night he started running a 102.5 fever that continued until Monday morning. He was sleeping all over the place and on Sunday he started throwing up. On Monday we went back to the ENT where the on call doctor decided he had a virus. He barely even looked at him - I was not happy. We like our regular ENT.
So John Dickson stayed home Monday and Tuesday, but seemed to be pretty full steam on Tuesday. Adam took him to IHOP, because little man is obsessed with "pannycakes" and hadn't really eaten since Saturday morning. After that they picked up Henry from school and John Dickson used the potty there (its relevant, just stick with me). Then they went to get gas, where John Dickson started freaking out saying he needed to go potty. Adam ran him in but the water lines were off, so Adam just nixed the gas and went straight home. On the way John Dickson told him that he didn't have to go potty - he wanted "color drink." AKA Gatorade. And when they got home, John Dickson did not in fact need to go potty. Little stinker.
On Monday I let John Dickson cut up some foam with his saw, and as Henry got near him, he would say "watch out Henry. I gon't wanna cut you!" He also called me into the bedroom, holding my phone, saying "I have your phone for you Mommy! I gon't want you to lose it!" Pitiful as he was, he still had us laughing.
So that's about it lately. Henry has been eating us out of house and home, and has started to cry when we leave him at daycare. I don't think he minds being there, he just minds us leaving him. He's got that pouty lip DOWN. Breaks my heart. He's been babbling up a storm and makes some pretty sweet sounds. And he loves Ellie.
Today is Adam's birthday, so we've been trying to celebrate that. John Dickson has moved on as that was the last thing we had to get past to get to John Dickson's birthday. So like I said, he's moved on. I, however, will be spending tonight eating some homemade pizza and drinking red wine with the Ad-man, while hopefully watching a new Modern Fam. Henry will be snoozing :-)
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Randomness
Edit: I totally forgot to mention that Henry is clapping and is thrilled whenever he does it! It's precious. We say "yaaaaay" - he claps. Yay adoption!! (That's a Modern Family reference... Henry's the real deal) I also forgot to mention that John Dickson's favorite new thing is to pretend he is a puppy. He will do anything for a pretend puppy treat. It's awesome. "Puppy, you need to put your toys away so you can have a treat." Toys, put away. Life is beautiful. He will also sit, lie down, shake and speak (bark). I know, I know, he's multitalented.
Oh Henry... the child wants so badly to be a big boy. He still has his cuddle moments, especially in the mornings, but he is on the go. He wants to be down on his hands and knees crawling all over the house, or better yet, he wants to be on his feet. I wont be surprised if he is taking steps by 10 or 11 months - the child is fearless, and desperate to be always on the go. His teacher says that with all of the other babies, she encourages them to stand up and stuff like that, but with Henry, she just wants him to sit down. The child loves to let go and *try to stand there by himself, and he comes home with a new bruise everyday. It makes me sad that the baby days are numbered in our house... just not quite sad enough to have another one :-)
Henry has started to eat some finger foods and he LOVES it. Another way he is trying to leave behind babyhood. He had some chunks of banana the other night and had the best time eating it. I told his teacher about it, and today Henry had banana at school. His teacher said she had bananas at home and she wanted to bring one for ol Hen. We always say that one day we will show up and Henry and Ms Sandy will be gone. It's a good problem to have, assuming it doesn't actually happen.
Henry has 4 chompers now and he likes to grit his teeth. He's still not babbling, but he does growl a lot, for better or for worse. He is holding his own sippy cups and sucking them down like a champ. He continues to love his blankie, the spatula for the play grill, and of course, his big brother. He doesn't mind school, but he hates the nursery at church - probably because we kept him in the service with us up until 2 weeks ago.
So that brings us to John Dickson. John Dickson has been a crazy man lately, and he's said some pretty crazy things. So lets back up a little bit. When John Dickson was somewhere around 18 months or so, he decided he was desperate for a sip of Adam's Yuengling. I told Adam to just give the child a sip and then he'd leave him alone.
I give you a minute to judge.
So Adam gives him a sip and it turns out our little plan backfired, as John Dickson liked it. So fast forward to last summer (just over 2). We are at a hotel and Adam is drinking a Guinness. Same story. John Dickson wants it. I tell Adam to let him have a sip - its a dark beer and he definitely won't like it. Heck, I dont like it! I'm sure you know how it ends. The child likes him some Guinness.
Go ahead, judge some more.
All of this to say, we rarely have alcohol in our house, but the few times we have and the few sips John Dickson has gotten have really made quite the impression. John Dickson now says "I gonna be a grown up and eat beer."
Fine, judge some more, but this is the last time.
Then we took him to Trader Joes, and as we walk through the beer and wine section, John Dickson starts YELLING at the top of his lungs, over and over again... "YOU WANT SOME BEER, EVERYONE?? YOU WANT SOME BEER, EVERYONE??" And then he starts going on about super powers. Now I know in his little head, the two were completely unrelated, but I'm sure to other people they thought John Dickson thought beer gives you super powers. I feel confident in this, judging from the laughs.
Don't you wish you weren't out of judge time.
Anyhoo, Sunday afternoon John Dickson was in his room for quiet time. He's been 99.9999% perfectly potty trained for months now, and he's extremely good about going all on his own. He often goes 2 or 3 hours without using the potty. So on Sunday when he went potty right before quiet time and then got out of his room 15 minutes later to go potty again, I was pretty sure he was pulling my leg. Another 10 minutes later, he suddenly "needed to go potty" again. I was almost positive he didn't, but I do hate to take the chance. So I open the door, and John Dickson is grinning ear to ear.
"Sucka!!"
Oh yes. He said that. THREE TIMES. Adam heard it too. I feel like he almost had to have been saying something else, but that grin... I swear he suckered me into opening that door and then he called me out on it. Unbelievable.
We're working on staying dry at night. John Dickson makes it about 6 days out of the week, but he's going to have to have a near perfect record before we do away with the diapers. He even wakes up in the middle of the night to go potty, which is impressive, considering he is wearing a diaper. He's trying really hard! Tonight would have been a trial run had John Dickson not gotten up to use the potty and reminded me he wasn't wearing a diaper... whoops.
I made breakfast casserole yesterday morning for Adam and John Dickson to have for dinner last night, since I had to work late. This morning John Dickson had breakfast casserole for breakfast too. I said "did you know Mommy made that for you?" I was getting ready for work and when I came back in the living room, John Dickson said, all on his own "Thank you for making me this, Mommy." Consequently, I bought him a book from the book fair at school today.
We went to my friend Andrea's house on Sunday for my boys to play with her girls. She has a 4 month old, Bella, and almost 3 year olds - Olivia and Sofia. As you may have gathered, Olivia and Sofia are twins and while not identical, look very much alike. I think Bella, Olivia and Sofia were a little underwhelmed by John Dickson and Henry, as all 3 took a nap while we were there, but John Dickson and Henry had fun anyway. When we got home, Adam asked John Dickson what his new friends' names were, to which he responded "Livia and more Livia." Too funny!
The same day that we took John Dickson to Trader Joes, we were playing around in the living room and Adam was laying on his back, wearing an undershirt. John Dickson climbed on his stomach and kept sticking his head under Adam's shirt. He'd lift his head so the shirt is pulled across his face and he starts yelling "Amanda!!!!!!!!! Amanda!!!!!!!!" I almost died. I don't know where he gets this stuff from.
So, to recap: John Dickson calls us by our first names, likes beer and calls us "sucka!!!" Now don't go putting any money on it, but I believe we are up for parents of the year this year. Obviously I am kidding. John Dickson is very sweet, very well mannered most of the time, is very smart and is very funny. We're really proud of him, and that's why we can laugh about some of the inappropriate things he says.
On to more serious things, John Dickson knows his colors and numbers in spanish. He knows his whole name, and knows the first and last names of Adam, Henry and me. He knows his birthday ("April fist") and knows my birthday. He doesn't know Adam's because Adam hasn't taught him and I don't want him to get confused about mine. Priorities! He knows Papa's birthday is next, and then Daddy's, and then his (or possibly Emma's!) He knows his days of the week and he's learning his months. Actually, one of the first times we started quizzing him on his birthday, he responded "January 10th" very matter of factly. He recognizes his name, and while today is the first time the tables in his class have assigned seats with the children's names on the table, he was able to tell me exactly where he sits.
John Dickson loves to dress like his Daddy, and he has come to know plaid and flannel (or both, if you are lucky) as "work shirts." He came up with that all on his own. My husband loves plaid more than Al Borlen. John Dickson loves to wear his own plaid button down shirts to look like his Daddy, and he says he's going to go work at Clemson. (Did I mention he also knows where we work?) Oh, and he recognizes the word Clemson, even without a tiger paw.
So that's where we are. John Dickson's birthday is less than a month away and we've been busy planning his party! We're on the books for a party at a horse farm - petting zoo, pony rides and cake. We're pretty excited about that. Now we just have to see if I can make a cake that looks like Andy's bed. Time will tell. (Hint: Dont eat the cake)
And in unrelated news, John Dickson has an appointment with the cardiologist a week from Monday. It is just a routine check - EKG and echo. Both boys will be doing it every 2-3 years until adolescence when they will get checked every year. We're sure he's going to check out just fine, but we'll keep you posted. John Dickson also is getting his adenoids out a week from Friday. It's the same doctor who did his tubes, who we love, and while we hate that that little man has to have this minor surgery, we sure are looking forward to a nose that doesn't run, lungs that don't cough all the time and a stomach that doesn't throw up far too often. He's going to be a brand new baby. (Might I add, he does not like to be called "a baby" but he will tell you he's "Mommy's baby." Plays me like a fiddle.) He will also tell you that Mommy has two arms - 1 to hold him and 1 to hold Henry. I mean, I taught him that, but still... melt. my. heart.
Until next time.
Oh Henry... the child wants so badly to be a big boy. He still has his cuddle moments, especially in the mornings, but he is on the go. He wants to be down on his hands and knees crawling all over the house, or better yet, he wants to be on his feet. I wont be surprised if he is taking steps by 10 or 11 months - the child is fearless, and desperate to be always on the go. His teacher says that with all of the other babies, she encourages them to stand up and stuff like that, but with Henry, she just wants him to sit down. The child loves to let go and *try to stand there by himself, and he comes home with a new bruise everyday. It makes me sad that the baby days are numbered in our house... just not quite sad enough to have another one :-)
Henry has started to eat some finger foods and he LOVES it. Another way he is trying to leave behind babyhood. He had some chunks of banana the other night and had the best time eating it. I told his teacher about it, and today Henry had banana at school. His teacher said she had bananas at home and she wanted to bring one for ol Hen. We always say that one day we will show up and Henry and Ms Sandy will be gone. It's a good problem to have, assuming it doesn't actually happen.
Henry has 4 chompers now and he likes to grit his teeth. He's still not babbling, but he does growl a lot, for better or for worse. He is holding his own sippy cups and sucking them down like a champ. He continues to love his blankie, the spatula for the play grill, and of course, his big brother. He doesn't mind school, but he hates the nursery at church - probably because we kept him in the service with us up until 2 weeks ago.
So that brings us to John Dickson. John Dickson has been a crazy man lately, and he's said some pretty crazy things. So lets back up a little bit. When John Dickson was somewhere around 18 months or so, he decided he was desperate for a sip of Adam's Yuengling. I told Adam to just give the child a sip and then he'd leave him alone.
I give you a minute to judge.
So Adam gives him a sip and it turns out our little plan backfired, as John Dickson liked it. So fast forward to last summer (just over 2). We are at a hotel and Adam is drinking a Guinness. Same story. John Dickson wants it. I tell Adam to let him have a sip - its a dark beer and he definitely won't like it. Heck, I dont like it! I'm sure you know how it ends. The child likes him some Guinness.
Go ahead, judge some more.
All of this to say, we rarely have alcohol in our house, but the few times we have and the few sips John Dickson has gotten have really made quite the impression. John Dickson now says "I gonna be a grown up and eat beer."
Fine, judge some more, but this is the last time.
Then we took him to Trader Joes, and as we walk through the beer and wine section, John Dickson starts YELLING at the top of his lungs, over and over again... "YOU WANT SOME BEER, EVERYONE?? YOU WANT SOME BEER, EVERYONE??" And then he starts going on about super powers. Now I know in his little head, the two were completely unrelated, but I'm sure to other people they thought John Dickson thought beer gives you super powers. I feel confident in this, judging from the laughs.
Don't you wish you weren't out of judge time.
Anyhoo, Sunday afternoon John Dickson was in his room for quiet time. He's been 99.9999% perfectly potty trained for months now, and he's extremely good about going all on his own. He often goes 2 or 3 hours without using the potty. So on Sunday when he went potty right before quiet time and then got out of his room 15 minutes later to go potty again, I was pretty sure he was pulling my leg. Another 10 minutes later, he suddenly "needed to go potty" again. I was almost positive he didn't, but I do hate to take the chance. So I open the door, and John Dickson is grinning ear to ear.
"Sucka!!"
Oh yes. He said that. THREE TIMES. Adam heard it too. I feel like he almost had to have been saying something else, but that grin... I swear he suckered me into opening that door and then he called me out on it. Unbelievable.
We're working on staying dry at night. John Dickson makes it about 6 days out of the week, but he's going to have to have a near perfect record before we do away with the diapers. He even wakes up in the middle of the night to go potty, which is impressive, considering he is wearing a diaper. He's trying really hard! Tonight would have been a trial run had John Dickson not gotten up to use the potty and reminded me he wasn't wearing a diaper... whoops.
I made breakfast casserole yesterday morning for Adam and John Dickson to have for dinner last night, since I had to work late. This morning John Dickson had breakfast casserole for breakfast too. I said "did you know Mommy made that for you?" I was getting ready for work and when I came back in the living room, John Dickson said, all on his own "Thank you for making me this, Mommy." Consequently, I bought him a book from the book fair at school today.
We went to my friend Andrea's house on Sunday for my boys to play with her girls. She has a 4 month old, Bella, and almost 3 year olds - Olivia and Sofia. As you may have gathered, Olivia and Sofia are twins and while not identical, look very much alike. I think Bella, Olivia and Sofia were a little underwhelmed by John Dickson and Henry, as all 3 took a nap while we were there, but John Dickson and Henry had fun anyway. When we got home, Adam asked John Dickson what his new friends' names were, to which he responded "Livia and more Livia." Too funny!
The same day that we took John Dickson to Trader Joes, we were playing around in the living room and Adam was laying on his back, wearing an undershirt. John Dickson climbed on his stomach and kept sticking his head under Adam's shirt. He'd lift his head so the shirt is pulled across his face and he starts yelling "Amanda!!!!!!!!! Amanda!!!!!!!!" I almost died. I don't know where he gets this stuff from.
So, to recap: John Dickson calls us by our first names, likes beer and calls us "sucka!!!" Now don't go putting any money on it, but I believe we are up for parents of the year this year. Obviously I am kidding. John Dickson is very sweet, very well mannered most of the time, is very smart and is very funny. We're really proud of him, and that's why we can laugh about some of the inappropriate things he says.
On to more serious things, John Dickson knows his colors and numbers in spanish. He knows his whole name, and knows the first and last names of Adam, Henry and me. He knows his birthday ("April fist") and knows my birthday. He doesn't know Adam's because Adam hasn't taught him and I don't want him to get confused about mine. Priorities! He knows Papa's birthday is next, and then Daddy's, and then his (or possibly Emma's!) He knows his days of the week and he's learning his months. Actually, one of the first times we started quizzing him on his birthday, he responded "January 10th" very matter of factly. He recognizes his name, and while today is the first time the tables in his class have assigned seats with the children's names on the table, he was able to tell me exactly where he sits.
John Dickson loves to dress like his Daddy, and he has come to know plaid and flannel (or both, if you are lucky) as "work shirts." He came up with that all on his own. My husband loves plaid more than Al Borlen. John Dickson loves to wear his own plaid button down shirts to look like his Daddy, and he says he's going to go work at Clemson. (Did I mention he also knows where we work?) Oh, and he recognizes the word Clemson, even without a tiger paw.
So that's where we are. John Dickson's birthday is less than a month away and we've been busy planning his party! We're on the books for a party at a horse farm - petting zoo, pony rides and cake. We're pretty excited about that. Now we just have to see if I can make a cake that looks like Andy's bed. Time will tell. (Hint: Dont eat the cake)
And in unrelated news, John Dickson has an appointment with the cardiologist a week from Monday. It is just a routine check - EKG and echo. Both boys will be doing it every 2-3 years until adolescence when they will get checked every year. We're sure he's going to check out just fine, but we'll keep you posted. John Dickson also is getting his adenoids out a week from Friday. It's the same doctor who did his tubes, who we love, and while we hate that that little man has to have this minor surgery, we sure are looking forward to a nose that doesn't run, lungs that don't cough all the time and a stomach that doesn't throw up far too often. He's going to be a brand new baby. (Might I add, he does not like to be called "a baby" but he will tell you he's "Mommy's baby." Plays me like a fiddle.) He will also tell you that Mommy has two arms - 1 to hold him and 1 to hold Henry. I mean, I taught him that, but still... melt. my. heart.
Until next time.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Henry's baptism
Henry was baptized this past Sunday at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Columbia. He wore the hand made gown that has been in my family for over 100 years. We got his pictures made in it on Saturday and Adam thinks they look like bridal portraits. I mean, they sort of do. Anyhoo, despite a cranky weekend for Hen, he did really well during the service, keeping himself busy with grabbing my face and my hair. He did not mind the water being poured on his head, but he wasn't thrilled with the prayer.
We were really fortunate to have his godparents stand up front with us during the baptism. I have known Betsy since we were in diapers. We grew up together in church, in girl scouts, in school and in hi steppers. My freshman year of college my family moved in next door to hers and it has guaranteed we get to see Betsy and Brandon everytime we are all in town. I met Brandon in ::cough cough:: marching band ::cough cough:: - in my defense, I was a hi stepper. But he and Betsy have been together even longer than Adam and I, and we love them both. We are truly lucky to have such amazing people to be Henry's godparents.
I know, I know, this blog isn't supposed to be mushy. No worries, I'm done. But seriously, we love them.
After the service we had lunch at the church with an impressive number of family and friends, many of whom traveled a little ways to be there. We're also really blessed to have such a big and supportive family. What - I'm sick and not feeling my sarcastic self.
I searched for months for a bowtie for little Hennis to wear on Sunday after the service and I finally found one Saturday afternoon. We packed that along with 2 other back up ties, you know, in case there was a neckware emergency, but wound up using none of them. Henry was ready to nap as soon as we changed his clothes, and by the time he woke up, it just didn't happen. But doesn't he look dapper in his suit anyway?
And those baby blues...
Anyway, after we took pictures in the sanctuary, I temporarily lost my camera. I have a really bad habit of doing that during the important times. I did manage to get Hen with my parents -
And I got this sweet picture of John Dickson and Ella Boo.
We were really fortunate to have his godparents stand up front with us during the baptism. I have known Betsy since we were in diapers. We grew up together in church, in girl scouts, in school and in hi steppers. My freshman year of college my family moved in next door to hers and it has guaranteed we get to see Betsy and Brandon everytime we are all in town. I met Brandon in ::cough cough:: marching band ::cough cough:: - in my defense, I was a hi stepper. But he and Betsy have been together even longer than Adam and I, and we love them both. We are truly lucky to have such amazing people to be Henry's godparents.
I know, I know, this blog isn't supposed to be mushy. No worries, I'm done. But seriously, we love them.
After the service we had lunch at the church with an impressive number of family and friends, many of whom traveled a little ways to be there. We're also really blessed to have such a big and supportive family. What - I'm sick and not feeling my sarcastic self.
I searched for months for a bowtie for little Hennis to wear on Sunday after the service and I finally found one Saturday afternoon. We packed that along with 2 other back up ties, you know, in case there was a neckware emergency, but wound up using none of them. Henry was ready to nap as soon as we changed his clothes, and by the time he woke up, it just didn't happen. But doesn't he look dapper in his suit anyway?
And those baby blues...
Anyway, after we took pictures in the sanctuary, I temporarily lost my camera. I have a really bad habit of doing that during the important times. I did manage to get Hen with my parents -
And I got this sweet picture of John Dickson and Ella Boo.
Monday, February 21, 2011
The John Dickson Fridays
Apparently I cant spell the word genius, if that tells you anything about my level of intelligence.
I have been so awful at blogging lately and I am afraid I have missed many many funny things that have come out of John Dickson's mouth and now I can't recall 75% of those, but we'll see what I've got stored up in my big ol head.
I referenced this in my last post, but Henry was crying the other day and John Dickson went over and kissed on him. When that didn't work, John Dickson said "it's ok Henry, nothin's gonna eat you." We nearly died.
A few days later, John Dickson was eating a strawberry and got a leaf in his mouth. When he pulled it out I said "you bit a leaf buddy!" and he laughed in this way he does sometimes when he thinks something is both funny and impressive and he goes "That's bad news!!"
When John Dickson is misbehaving, we frequently tell him "you're gonna lose ____." So if he is throwing his toys, we tell him he's gonna lose the toy. If he's whining about his food, we tell him he's gonna lose it. You get the picture. So John Dickson was upset with me the other day and he said "You're gonna lose your grown up candy!"
Yesterday I was painting my toenails and John Dickson wanted me to paint his toenails too. You may recall this exact same scenario last May when he then proceeded to grab the open bottle of nail polish, run away and then hurl it across the room. This story has a better ending, thankfully. So I told John Dickson no, that was for girls. He then said his toenails hurt, and he needed nail polish. I told him I was painting them to look pretty, because I'm a girl, and I wasn't painting them because they hurt. Seeing he was in serious Jeopardy of walking away empty handed, he said to me "Need candy to make my toenails feel better."
Well played, my man. He got some candy.
Last time I was in Columbia, mom and I took John Dickson to the mall. We went to the Limited so I could try on some dresses, and while I was in the dressing room John Dickson apparently stole a purse off of a manequin, said "thats cute!" and then proceeded to wear it around the store and tell strangers about his purse. He has also been begging for a Barbie ("no buddy, Barbie is for girls") and then for Ken ("I want Ken - Ken is a BOY"). Thank you Toy Story. And on multiple occassions he has referred to his pajamas as "my dress." And don't get me started on the you dont wear panties you wear underwear argument. So imagine my surprise the other day when I tried to get John Dickson to put on a short sleeved t shirt and he adamently protested - "No! I don't want to wear that! That's for girls!!!!!" Little man is a bit confused by the change in seasons.
Little man is also confused about the birds and the bees. I'll have you know he has both a baby sister and a puppy in his tummy. Don't even get me started on the "I want a yittle sister" speech. No sir. No way. No how. Absolutely not. How about a Buzz whose wings pop out of his back?
John Dickson has gotten into the habit of eating breakfast 3 times every morning. He has a breakfast at his "yittle table" before he leaves for school. He then has a bag of cereal in the car, and then he eats breakfast at daycare. Today I finally asked his teacher if he eats a lot in the morning, and she said "Oh yes. Last week we had french toast and he ate 6 pieces." 6 pieces. Good gravy. She was also impressed by the amount of syrup he was able to lap up with those pieces of toast. The kid is impressive, I will give him that.
And last night I melted into a big puddle. We were kissing John Dickson good night and I hugged him and said "I love you." He said "I love you so much" Yep, the "so much" was completely unpromted and he's never said it before. He then asked me to lay in his bed with him. The child is a genius. A GENIUS.
We were eating dinner one night and Adam and I were having a discussion when John Dickson just interrupted to say "I already asked you the question." We started laughing and verified the statement. He said "Yes. All the words are out of my tummy." Where does he come up with this stuff??
That's all I have for now, but I feel the need to point out the fact that while John Dickson seems to love all things girly, the child is obsessed with all superheros, animals, tools, trucks, monsters and fake guns made from his hand, his tie, his blocks, his golf clubs, the list goes on.
And pretty soon we are going to have to have The Hen Thursdays, as Henry played his first joke on us. We heard Buzz talking in spanish and playing music, and we went into the living room to find Hen on the floor working the remote control. It was pretty darn cute.
Stay tuned for pictures from Henry's baptism yesterday! In the meantime, I give you John Dickson "in the baby house." Ignore the ghetto drying racks in the background. And the fact that the ghetto drying racks are in the living room. We were mopping :-)
I have been so awful at blogging lately and I am afraid I have missed many many funny things that have come out of John Dickson's mouth and now I can't recall 75% of those, but we'll see what I've got stored up in my big ol head.
I referenced this in my last post, but Henry was crying the other day and John Dickson went over and kissed on him. When that didn't work, John Dickson said "it's ok Henry, nothin's gonna eat you." We nearly died.
A few days later, John Dickson was eating a strawberry and got a leaf in his mouth. When he pulled it out I said "you bit a leaf buddy!" and he laughed in this way he does sometimes when he thinks something is both funny and impressive and he goes "That's bad news!!"
When John Dickson is misbehaving, we frequently tell him "you're gonna lose ____." So if he is throwing his toys, we tell him he's gonna lose the toy. If he's whining about his food, we tell him he's gonna lose it. You get the picture. So John Dickson was upset with me the other day and he said "You're gonna lose your grown up candy!"
Yesterday I was painting my toenails and John Dickson wanted me to paint his toenails too. You may recall this exact same scenario last May when he then proceeded to grab the open bottle of nail polish, run away and then hurl it across the room. This story has a better ending, thankfully. So I told John Dickson no, that was for girls. He then said his toenails hurt, and he needed nail polish. I told him I was painting them to look pretty, because I'm a girl, and I wasn't painting them because they hurt. Seeing he was in serious Jeopardy of walking away empty handed, he said to me "Need candy to make my toenails feel better."
Well played, my man. He got some candy.
Last time I was in Columbia, mom and I took John Dickson to the mall. We went to the Limited so I could try on some dresses, and while I was in the dressing room John Dickson apparently stole a purse off of a manequin, said "thats cute!" and then proceeded to wear it around the store and tell strangers about his purse. He has also been begging for a Barbie ("no buddy, Barbie is for girls") and then for Ken ("I want Ken - Ken is a BOY"). Thank you Toy Story. And on multiple occassions he has referred to his pajamas as "my dress." And don't get me started on the you dont wear panties you wear underwear argument. So imagine my surprise the other day when I tried to get John Dickson to put on a short sleeved t shirt and he adamently protested - "No! I don't want to wear that! That's for girls!!!!!" Little man is a bit confused by the change in seasons.
Little man is also confused about the birds and the bees. I'll have you know he has both a baby sister and a puppy in his tummy. Don't even get me started on the "I want a yittle sister" speech. No sir. No way. No how. Absolutely not. How about a Buzz whose wings pop out of his back?
John Dickson has gotten into the habit of eating breakfast 3 times every morning. He has a breakfast at his "yittle table" before he leaves for school. He then has a bag of cereal in the car, and then he eats breakfast at daycare. Today I finally asked his teacher if he eats a lot in the morning, and she said "Oh yes. Last week we had french toast and he ate 6 pieces." 6 pieces. Good gravy. She was also impressed by the amount of syrup he was able to lap up with those pieces of toast. The kid is impressive, I will give him that.
And last night I melted into a big puddle. We were kissing John Dickson good night and I hugged him and said "I love you." He said "I love you so much" Yep, the "so much" was completely unpromted and he's never said it before. He then asked me to lay in his bed with him. The child is a genius. A GENIUS.
We were eating dinner one night and Adam and I were having a discussion when John Dickson just interrupted to say "I already asked you the question." We started laughing and verified the statement. He said "Yes. All the words are out of my tummy." Where does he come up with this stuff??
That's all I have for now, but I feel the need to point out the fact that while John Dickson seems to love all things girly, the child is obsessed with all superheros, animals, tools, trucks, monsters and fake guns made from his hand, his tie, his blocks, his golf clubs, the list goes on.
And pretty soon we are going to have to have The Hen Thursdays, as Henry played his first joke on us. We heard Buzz talking in spanish and playing music, and we went into the living room to find Hen on the floor working the remote control. It was pretty darn cute.
Stay tuned for pictures from Henry's baptism yesterday! In the meantime, I give you John Dickson "in the baby house." Ignore the ghetto drying racks in the background. And the fact that the ghetto drying racks are in the living room. We were mopping :-)
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Part II
Dear Henry,
I want you to know you are my brother and my best friend.
And I promise to always look out for you
And when you cry
I will tell you its ok...
"Nothing's gonna eat you Henry"
Love,
John Dickson
True story.
I want you to know you are my brother and my best friend.
And I promise to always look out for you
And when you cry
I will tell you its ok...
"Nothing's gonna eat you Henry"
Love,
John Dickson
True story.
Valentines Day Part I
A holiday post with parts? Well thats new :-)
The older John Dickson gets, the more fun holidays are to celebrate with him. He did the party thing at school on Friday, but Monday was our turn to celebrate with him. Adam went to Walmart Sunday night with instructions to get a balloon and he came back with this:
I couldn't have chosen it better myself. And the heart shaped donut - perfect. Who wouldn't love that?
Oh.
Oh I see.
Well, he tried to humor us anyway.
He did not finish. COME ON MAN - ITS DUNKIN DONUTS!!!!!! Mommy would kill for one of those if she wasn't trying to get into her old clothes. Oh well, he loved the balloon. I mean, he absolutely over the top loved it.
And Happy Valentines Day to our sweet Hen!
The older John Dickson gets, the more fun holidays are to celebrate with him. He did the party thing at school on Friday, but Monday was our turn to celebrate with him. Adam went to Walmart Sunday night with instructions to get a balloon and he came back with this:
I couldn't have chosen it better myself. And the heart shaped donut - perfect. Who wouldn't love that?
Oh.
Oh I see.
Well, he tried to humor us anyway.
He did not finish. COME ON MAN - ITS DUNKIN DONUTS!!!!!! Mommy would kill for one of those if she wasn't trying to get into her old clothes. Oh well, he loved the balloon. I mean, he absolutely over the top loved it.
And Happy Valentines Day to our sweet Hen!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Latest
Man. It took me so long to get caught up on Christmas blogging that I sort of quit blogging about current events. So, lets catch up.
Henry has 2 teeth now and is working on a 3rd and possibly a 4th. He's pulling up (yes, I believe he beat John Dickson... considering how lazy Hen was his first 3-4 months, I am floored by this...), he's drinking from sippy cups (2 a day - and he kills em!!), and he's eating puffs. His teacher suggested we go ahead and try them - she said everytime they get puffs out for the other babies, Henry starts squealing and flapping his arms like he is going to take off. Apparently he has been seriously wanting to try him some puffs. So last night we tried, and he tore it up. When I went to pick him up today he had just finished his snack of puffs and I found one stuck to his face, one clenched in his fist, 2 in his lap and 1 stuck to his shirt. Precious.
And John Dickson. Oh, John Dickson. See, a few months ago I thought we were in the terrible twos. And then things got better, and I was impressed that we managed to survive the difficult phase. And then I later found out that that wasn't the terrible twos at all. The terrible twos, turns out, are much worse :-)
When I picked John Dickson up today, he refused to leave daycare. As I went to go get his jacket and his blanket, he stood outside the tech center with his face pressed up against the glass, trying to watch a movie. He said "leave me." I told him I wasn't going to leave him. So I went to go get Henry's car seat, which was by the front door. And then I heard blood curdling screams for Mommy. Poor dude actually thought I did leave him. We were not off to a good start. Then he refused to put his jacket on and kept trying to thrash his way out of it as I kept trying to put it on (did I mention its supposed to snow tonight?). He then goes rag doll on me and the assistant director finally carries Henry out to the car for me so that I can carry the rag doll, who then decided he wanted to walk. He cried because he didn't want to hold my hand. He cried because he didn't want to get in his car seat. He cried because the radio was on when I turned on the car and he wanted to listen to his CD. He cried because he wanted me to turn the car off. When we got home, he cried because the radio turned off. And then the kicker - he cried because he wanted "a treat." Then he cried because he had to go potty (no, I wasn't prohibiting him from using the bathroom). Then he cried because the light was off. He pulled it together long enough to eat 2 helpings of breakfast casserole, blueberries, and 3 helpings of grapes. And then he went to bed.
The past few weeks have been off the charts for whining. I seriously do not know where it comes from - we don't give in and we do our absolute best to ignore him. But when you get to the 45 minute to an hour mark, that becomes increasingly difficult.
But of course my little boy isn't all whine and rag doll. As usual, he has been an amazing big brother. Quite frankly he can be more intuitive when it comes to Henry than we are. Exhibit A - we were in the car and Henry started crying - John Dickson told us the sun was in Henry's eyes and instructed us to pull his canopy down. Henry immediately stopped crying. Exhibit B - we were in the car again and Henry was crying again. John Dickson says, exasperated, "Henry! The sun is NOT in your eyes!" And then he says to us - "Henry needs his blanket. Give him his blanket." Well we couldn't reach Henry's blanket, so John Dickson offered up his, and immediately, Henry stops crying. Exhibit C - Henry was crying yet again in the car, and John Dickson says "I gonna make Henry laugh." He then leans over and makes funny noises and faces, and I kid you not, Henry, mid cry, immediately switches to hysterical laughter. The kid is good. And in case you are wondering what happened to sweet easy going Hen, he's still here, but the car ride home from daycare is when he is tired and getting hungry.
At dinner the other night John Dickson said "you're my best friend." And then he pointed to Adam and me and said "You, and you." Melt. My. Heart.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention... when I went to pick up John Dickson the other day, his teacher told me she wanted to show me his igloo. They used upside down styrofoam bowls with little openings cut out of them and glued sugar cubes to them. John Dickson was not impressed. I'll let you decide which one is his.
We get excellent reports on John Dickson and he seems to be handling the 3 year old class very well. He comes home every day singing a new song or talking about what he learned that day, and sometimes we even catch him talking about exercises and we see him practice and hear him say "turn around... feet together." I don't know why, but this tickles me to death. There's no other way to put it.
Oh, and Mom, this is for you. This was all him and I knew you'd get a kick out of it. Ignore the runny nose.
That's the toy box my dad made for me and my sister when we were kids, and we have many pictures of us doing this exact same thing. In fact, it almost looks like the same picture, except John Dickson has hair. I did not...
Henry has 2 teeth now and is working on a 3rd and possibly a 4th. He's pulling up (yes, I believe he beat John Dickson... considering how lazy Hen was his first 3-4 months, I am floored by this...), he's drinking from sippy cups (2 a day - and he kills em!!), and he's eating puffs. His teacher suggested we go ahead and try them - she said everytime they get puffs out for the other babies, Henry starts squealing and flapping his arms like he is going to take off. Apparently he has been seriously wanting to try him some puffs. So last night we tried, and he tore it up. When I went to pick him up today he had just finished his snack of puffs and I found one stuck to his face, one clenched in his fist, 2 in his lap and 1 stuck to his shirt. Precious.
And John Dickson. Oh, John Dickson. See, a few months ago I thought we were in the terrible twos. And then things got better, and I was impressed that we managed to survive the difficult phase. And then I later found out that that wasn't the terrible twos at all. The terrible twos, turns out, are much worse :-)
When I picked John Dickson up today, he refused to leave daycare. As I went to go get his jacket and his blanket, he stood outside the tech center with his face pressed up against the glass, trying to watch a movie. He said "leave me." I told him I wasn't going to leave him. So I went to go get Henry's car seat, which was by the front door. And then I heard blood curdling screams for Mommy. Poor dude actually thought I did leave him. We were not off to a good start. Then he refused to put his jacket on and kept trying to thrash his way out of it as I kept trying to put it on (did I mention its supposed to snow tonight?). He then goes rag doll on me and the assistant director finally carries Henry out to the car for me so that I can carry the rag doll, who then decided he wanted to walk. He cried because he didn't want to hold my hand. He cried because he didn't want to get in his car seat. He cried because the radio was on when I turned on the car and he wanted to listen to his CD. He cried because he wanted me to turn the car off. When we got home, he cried because the radio turned off. And then the kicker - he cried because he wanted "a treat." Then he cried because he had to go potty (no, I wasn't prohibiting him from using the bathroom). Then he cried because the light was off. He pulled it together long enough to eat 2 helpings of breakfast casserole, blueberries, and 3 helpings of grapes. And then he went to bed.
The past few weeks have been off the charts for whining. I seriously do not know where it comes from - we don't give in and we do our absolute best to ignore him. But when you get to the 45 minute to an hour mark, that becomes increasingly difficult.
But of course my little boy isn't all whine and rag doll. As usual, he has been an amazing big brother. Quite frankly he can be more intuitive when it comes to Henry than we are. Exhibit A - we were in the car and Henry started crying - John Dickson told us the sun was in Henry's eyes and instructed us to pull his canopy down. Henry immediately stopped crying. Exhibit B - we were in the car again and Henry was crying again. John Dickson says, exasperated, "Henry! The sun is NOT in your eyes!" And then he says to us - "Henry needs his blanket. Give him his blanket." Well we couldn't reach Henry's blanket, so John Dickson offered up his, and immediately, Henry stops crying. Exhibit C - Henry was crying yet again in the car, and John Dickson says "I gonna make Henry laugh." He then leans over and makes funny noises and faces, and I kid you not, Henry, mid cry, immediately switches to hysterical laughter. The kid is good. And in case you are wondering what happened to sweet easy going Hen, he's still here, but the car ride home from daycare is when he is tired and getting hungry.
At dinner the other night John Dickson said "you're my best friend." And then he pointed to Adam and me and said "You, and you." Melt. My. Heart.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention... when I went to pick up John Dickson the other day, his teacher told me she wanted to show me his igloo. They used upside down styrofoam bowls with little openings cut out of them and glued sugar cubes to them. John Dickson was not impressed. I'll let you decide which one is his.
We get excellent reports on John Dickson and he seems to be handling the 3 year old class very well. He comes home every day singing a new song or talking about what he learned that day, and sometimes we even catch him talking about exercises and we see him practice and hear him say "turn around... feet together." I don't know why, but this tickles me to death. There's no other way to put it.
Oh, and Mom, this is for you. This was all him and I knew you'd get a kick out of it. Ignore the runny nose.
That's the toy box my dad made for me and my sister when we were kids, and we have many pictures of us doing this exact same thing. In fact, it almost looks like the same picture, except John Dickson has hair. I did not...
Friday, January 28, 2011
Christmas in Winston Salem
Before we get to wrapping up Christmas - I'll fill you in on Henry's 6 month stats.
Weight: 17 lbs 11.5 oz (44th percentile - can you believe it?!?!?!?)
Height: 27.75 inches (82nd percentile, I think, and quickly catching up with his brother)
Head: Not sure exactly (::cough cough 99th percentile cough cough::)
Seriously, what is up with our kids and their big ol noggins?? Henry wears 6 month clothes and has 12 month clothes he cannot wear because his head doesn't fit through. And seriously, some of them have extra snaps around the neck. John Dickson is quickly outgrowing his 4T-5T hat. THE CHILD IS TWO!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, but... John Dickson is in the 3 year old class at school now. How crazy is that?
Anyway, the pediatrician was really impressed with Henry's motor skills (the nurse asked if he was rolling both ways... um, yes, and also, he can cross a room in 4 seconds flat). She said he seems a tad behind on the verbal communication.
Hmm... I feel like I've heard that before somewhere...
And look at him now - ahem - he never stops talking.
But back to Christmas... We got to Winston Salem on a Thursday night, and I believe it was John Dickson who convinced everyone we should open presents that night. Things were kind of a whirlwind and I thought our camera was not there, but then we found it later, so we have a lot of video - not so many pictures.
I tried to capture a good picture of these munchkins, but its quite hard to do.
And Henry, he was so over it.
This one is my favorite. I feel like I have a lot of pictures of John Dickson and Ella exchanging these exact looks.
Anyway, everyone played with everyone else's toys. I tried on Jason's new clothes, Glen wore my new shoes, Adam organized his pockets with Cathy's purse organizer - things got crazy! But seriously, John Dickson got a gigundo firetruck that he later used to transport one of Ella's toys back to our house in his secret compartment. True story.
The next morning, Adam and I fixed breakfast. It was gross. We spent the remainder of the day making up for it with delicious food prepared by people other than ourselves. And then the next day we did the exact same thing. We went to a BBQ place for lunch where Ella impressed everybody, shooting mandarin oranges like oysters and eating approximately 5 plates of food for lunch. And then growling at the table next to us. It was hilarious.
Weight: 17 lbs 11.5 oz (44th percentile - can you believe it?!?!?!?)
Height: 27.75 inches (82nd percentile, I think, and quickly catching up with his brother)
Head: Not sure exactly (::cough cough 99th percentile cough cough::)
Seriously, what is up with our kids and their big ol noggins?? Henry wears 6 month clothes and has 12 month clothes he cannot wear because his head doesn't fit through. And seriously, some of them have extra snaps around the neck. John Dickson is quickly outgrowing his 4T-5T hat. THE CHILD IS TWO!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, but... John Dickson is in the 3 year old class at school now. How crazy is that?
Anyway, the pediatrician was really impressed with Henry's motor skills (the nurse asked if he was rolling both ways... um, yes, and also, he can cross a room in 4 seconds flat). She said he seems a tad behind on the verbal communication.
Hmm... I feel like I've heard that before somewhere...
And look at him now - ahem - he never stops talking.
But back to Christmas... We got to Winston Salem on a Thursday night, and I believe it was John Dickson who convinced everyone we should open presents that night. Things were kind of a whirlwind and I thought our camera was not there, but then we found it later, so we have a lot of video - not so many pictures.
I tried to capture a good picture of these munchkins, but its quite hard to do.
And Henry, he was so over it.
This one is my favorite. I feel like I have a lot of pictures of John Dickson and Ella exchanging these exact looks.
Anyway, everyone played with everyone else's toys. I tried on Jason's new clothes, Glen wore my new shoes, Adam organized his pockets with Cathy's purse organizer - things got crazy! But seriously, John Dickson got a gigundo firetruck that he later used to transport one of Ella's toys back to our house in his secret compartment. True story.
The next morning, Adam and I fixed breakfast. It was gross. We spent the remainder of the day making up for it with delicious food prepared by people other than ourselves. And then the next day we did the exact same thing. We went to a BBQ place for lunch where Ella impressed everybody, shooting mandarin oranges like oysters and eating approximately 5 plates of food for lunch. And then growling at the table next to us. It was hilarious.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Make it Stop!!
I know, Christmas has been over for a month, and I've just posted about 15 posts... all about Christmas. I suggest you minimize the blog for the next week or so and rejoin us when we are finally in 2011. In the meantime, I've still got 2 more Christmases to cover! First up: Christmas at Bobbie's.
We headed to Bobbie's house the day after Christmas to celebrate with Adam's extended family. There was more delicious food and more present opening and we had a great time seeing everybody. I think this was a first for us at Christmas - we always spend Christmas with family, but not usually with so many people at the same time. We had a lot of fun, but poor Henry was ignored the entire time...
Cant you tell?
Anyway, John Dickson was nearing his post-Christmas crash, but he managed to hold it together. Not hard when you get some awesome Elmo toys :-)
Ella just hung out:
Ba dum chee. Here all week people.
Maybe Ella just doesn't get my sense of humor. She looks a bit underwhelmed.
So I hate to ask people to pose for pictures, so I usually don't. But then later I find a camera full of pictures of people under 3 feet tall (No, not my extended family, my kids and my niece) and I realize I missed out on all the people I didnt want to make pose for my lens. I'm really gonna work on that...
We headed to Bobbie's house the day after Christmas to celebrate with Adam's extended family. There was more delicious food and more present opening and we had a great time seeing everybody. I think this was a first for us at Christmas - we always spend Christmas with family, but not usually with so many people at the same time. We had a lot of fun, but poor Henry was ignored the entire time...
Cant you tell?
Anyway, John Dickson was nearing his post-Christmas crash, but he managed to hold it together. Not hard when you get some awesome Elmo toys :-)
Ella just hung out:
Ba dum chee. Here all week people.
Maybe Ella just doesn't get my sense of humor. She looks a bit underwhelmed.
So I hate to ask people to pose for pictures, so I usually don't. But then later I find a camera full of pictures of people under 3 feet tall (No, not my extended family, my kids and my niece) and I realize I missed out on all the people I didnt want to make pose for my lens. I'm really gonna work on that...
Columbia Pt Last
A few more of my favorites:
John Dickson helping Daddy with his stocking
And who is that??? He sure seems to be on this blog a lot...
(Its my cute ol' Daddy)
Jared and Zo Zo
Merry 1st Christmas Hen!!!!
John Dickson helping Daddy with his stocking
And who is that??? He sure seems to be on this blog a lot...
(Its my cute ol' Daddy)
Jared and Zo Zo
Merry 1st Christmas Hen!!!!
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