year end

I would like to say that I'd spent today in serious contemplation and reflection on the things that meant the most to me in 2008. But that would be completely incorrect. Basically, we've spent today as any other day, chasing our toddler around, trying to keep him from harming himself while also trying to teach him about manners and words and letters and numbers...it's a big job!

Our big New Year's Eve plans? Well, I bought a box of Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls, and we have some wine. We had Hamburger Helper for supper and we made popcorn. We might stay up until midnight. Dennis didn't make it--he just went to sleep.

I've done some laundry. I contemplated taking the Christmas tree down, but I didn't want to go out to the storage building to get the boxes. We cleaned out our booth at the flea market since today was the last day to do so. I think we might have sold a couple of things this month but will find out tomorrow. There was a chance earlier that we might have had a Big Event. After supper, Dennis and I were reading his Little People farm book (Fisher Price little people, not midgets, in case you were wondering, though that would certainly make for an interesting farm book), and suddenly he cast it down and said "poo poo potty". So we ran to the bathroom and removed his pajamas and Cookie Monster slippers and diaper, and he sat down on the potty. He pooted very loudly and satisfyingly, and that was all we got. Then there were a few minutes of Naked Bathroom Acrobatics while I tried to chase him down to get him back into his diaper, pajamas, and slippers. He flushed the toilet seven or eight times during this wild few minutes.

He did learn a new skill today. He can open his bedroom door now, so there goes one surefire method of toddler confinement that we used to rely on. I'll be buying one of those doorknob covers (the kind that prevent ME from opening doors) to put on the inside of his doorknob. David took him into his room and was going to change his diaper and suddenly he opened the door and left! He did the same thing to me a few hours later. We've deadbolted the front door to the house, just in case, but he hasn't shown the ability to open any door except his own so far.

What else? We colored some chalk masterpieces on his chalkboard. He broke the first piece of chalk today, and he knows the word "chalk". I broke three fingernails trying to open the chalk container when I should have just handed it to Dennis. He opened it immediately and with no trouble.

We didn't see any fireworks. We hear them all around us (we live in The Country with Real Rednecks), but didn't see them. Our Labrador Retriever is huddled by the front door, occasionally hurling himself at the windows trying to get in (he just LOVES fireworks) and away from the noise, still afraid of all the major fireworks holidays (and there are many of those in the south). I'm not letting him in. He has a very nice dog run and garden shack all to himself, but he got free tonight like he did yesterday and sometime while we were gone for Christmas. This means neighbor trash showing up in our yard, large scale licking attacks whenever we try to go to the car, and barking barking barking at every car that passes on the road nearly a quarter mile down our driveway. He barks at the deer (who have probably left now that he's free instead of confined) and at cats and bird and squirrels... We've got to get his fence fixed tomorrow! He barked all night last night, and he isn't such a big chicken when he's safe in his fence. He woke Dennis up a time or two, but Dennis went right back to sleep. I just heard him stirring a bit in his room and then the baby snores resumed.

It's been a good day. It's been a good year. I wish we were ending it on a healthier note, but really, how much longer can we be sick with the same cold? It has to end sometime. Cheers to everyone, and Happy New Year!

stuck with the shut-ins

Darn you, Internet card, for not having any signal last night so that I could post this on time...

Again we didn't leave the house today. Mom brought over cough medicine and herbal immune system boosters, and she also visited for a few minutes. Dennis cried when she left, big sad tears at the loss of a playmate who might have been feeling good enough for some really good play. He loves his Gran and learned what an excellent play buddy she is while we were in Washington. He was so sad to see her go.

David and I tried our best. We set up train tracks and got out the battery powered Thomas trains, and Dennis seemed to perk up a bit when he saw them. He played train happily until suppertime. After we ate supper, I was feeling well enough to go and visit Mom for a little while and take her something that she wanted to borrow, and I was not gone quite as long as I expected to be. I was delighted to see that Dennis was still awake when I got home, having been watching train movies with his Daddy. He greeted me at the door with a big leg-hug.

He's starting to learn the different train names. So far he's learned Gordon, but he can also sort of say 'James'. He was playing tonight with his Thomas book and 'mp3 player' (just a little music player that came with the book and is filled with train related songs). We also played farm with him and he repeatedly wants to sing E-I-E-I-O, which is almost unbearably cute. I know that he hates that we're sick, but I also know that he loves all the attention he's getting from us. When David is feeling well enough to work, Dennis is sure going to miss him!

hibernating

Sometimes after a long illness, you are exhausted and want rest. That was today. We aren't sicker, we don't think, but we were too tired to leave the house. That applies to all three of us. Dennis took a three hour nap in the middle of the day and so did his Mommy. Actually, I never really got up to begin with! He took his nap and so did David, and I heard David get him up after he woke up from his nap. After a few minutes, he decided it was time for me to join them. He ran back to our bedroom, walked over to the bed, reached up and grabbed the covers and said "Mommy. Up!". I got up and he grabbed the hem of my nightgown and said "Daddy" and pointed to the other end of the house. He dragged me to the den and pushed me down onto the couch beside David. I guess he thought David needed some company while watching him play. I was happy to comply.

We haven't done much. He played with his trains and took me on a tour of the house while dragging my nightgown hem around. He showed me all his favorite ornaments on the Christmas tree and then said "chair" and pointed to the sofa. We sat there and I listened to him telling me things for a while. Then he was up and running, so I got out his new chalk and got his chalkboard ready for him to use. He drew a masterpiece for us before running on to the next thing. He clearly feels much better. I can only hope that one day soon his Daddy and I will be popping up out of bed congestion and cough free and that we'll have the energy to do some things. We've lost about sixteen pounds between us (with the bulk of that being what David has lost) during the illness. We figure it burns a lot of calories to cough constantly, and taking Sudafed probably helped burn some fat as well. But it's not a diet we advise for everyone because you certainly don't feel good while it's going on!

Right now, David and Dennis are reading the magnetic alphabet letters on his chalkboard. And now he's emptying the camera bag of camera accessories, and I expect he'll be trying to help me type this in just a second... S
o\ ;hl;lkj;ljk

See? He typed that. And he just announced to me "pee pee poo poo" so I have a job to do right now. I'll end here and we'll all go to bed early!

another holiday?

Dennis has decided not to have the post-holiday blues this year. He's already started to celebrate Mardi Gras! He knows where the beads are that we've collected in the parades we've been to in Mobile over the years, and he periodically sneaks into our closet and tries them on. He's gotten very good at wearing tons and tons of beads, putting them on and taking them off all by himself.

Today we went to the lake to visit with Uncle Denny and had a wonderful meal with Gran & Pop and Grandma & Bob as well. Dennis ate steadily for over a half hour and was ready for Uncle Denny's dessert specialty of Bananas Foster even after enjoying one of his Grandma's chocolate chip cookies and a tiny bite of her pineapple upside down cake. After several days of light appetite, it was good to see him digging into a meal. He loves peas, and he ate lots of those, but also enjoyed some chicken and quail, dressing, mashed potatoes (only one tiny taste--could he really be my son?), and a bit of barbecue.

Uncle Denny gave him a sock monkey and a very nice easel with chalkboard on one side and dry erase board on the other that also came with paint cups and brushes, magnetic alphabet and numbers, and a roller and clips to put a paper roll in and roll paper up for him to paint. He's already created some dry erase masterpieces and was most excited to discover the big eraser. He was drawing with one hand and erasing with the other. We bought him some non-toxic sidewalk chalk on the way home from the lake, a tub with lots of different colors, and soon he'll be creating chalk masterpieces here to rival the ones he made at Gran's place in Washington.

He played quietly around the house for a while last night, too quietly, and I discovered him playing on the floor with his Advent calendar wreath where I put all the ornaments that come out of the calendar. Nothing suffered any harm except that he unwrapped one of the tiny gift ornaments (hoping, I guess, to open one more present this season). The ornament itself was a gift and was empty inside, and I wonder if he was disappointed. Somehow I don't think he was.

He has certainly loved everything about the Christmas season. It's a good thing he has a birthday coming up in less than three months so that we have another good reason to party with presents!

the last Christmas party

Tonight we had our good friends over to celebrate the holiday. Dave and Ellen brought Chloe, and she and Dennis exchanged gifts. Hadden and Jennifer also came, and over the course of the evening, Mom and Dad and Uncle Denny trickled in. We ate pizza and had great conversation and watched the baby floor show. I just knew that when they went to bed, we'd get out the board games or turn on the Wii and have some big kid fun. But when the babies hugged everyone goodnight, they all left! Oh, well. We had a good time anyway, and Dave and Ellen stayed the night, so we played Wii and board games. We started out with a couple of rounds of The Game of Real Life, which is quite hilarious (and a real eye-opener)--gameofreallife.com if you're interested. Ellen won the first game and in the second round we all died in a nuclear war.

Mom enjoyed very much her iphone learning session as Hadden demonstrated all the super cool things he can do with his phone. I have wanted an iphone for quite a while, but now that AT&T has requested that we find other service (since we used too many towers that weren't theirs), it looks like I won't get one ever. This is not a terrible tragedy, as I have mobile internet on my aircard (which will probably soon be a Verizon aircard). Also, Dennis mutilated my current cell phone and I'd hate to see what he'd do with one I actually had to pay for (especially if it was expensive).

Chloe and family gave Dennis a very nice Tonka play mat with roads on it that he can drive his cars and trucks around on, but so far he's mostly used it for dancing. Dennis (and his parents) gave Chloe a Fisher Price pop-up camper playset complete with car, camper, sleeping bags, campfire, camp chairs, cooler, fishing rod, and two Little People girls, and both kids enjoyed playing with it. Dennis has a pop-up camper playset as well, but it's vintage Fisher Price because the new one is very pink and purple, and it stays in our pop-up camper. He and Chloe enjoyed playing in his new kitchen and Chloe taught him that it's most efficient to dump everything out on the floor so that it's easier to find the things you want to cook.

It was a nice evening with friends. And it was nice to have people over at the house again. For one, we have a nice house for entertaining, and for two, it gave me a good reason to dust! I just wish we weren't coughing so much that we frightened our guests. I'd like to think that we've already passed the bulk of our sickness, and it didn't happen here at our house but in Washington instead. And I did give all the surfaces a good cleaning. I just know we'll be getting well any minute now!

more Christmasing

Today we had Christmas at Dennis' Grandma's house with David's sisters and their husbands and children. He got to see more cousins and play with them. He really played with Laine's dollhouse today, rearranging the furniture and putting the fireplace on the porch. He enjoyed pushing Laine around on the ride-on car and I think she enjoyed it too! He played tea party with Emily's brand new tea cart and showed off his trains to everyone. His presents included a Thomas the Train book and music player, a basket of play fruit, a set of pots and pans for his kitchen, a set of farm books, and a tool truck. Seeing that there were more presents under the tree, he could barely restrain himself from opening them. And since Phillip didn't come, Silas wasn't there to open his gifts. Toward the end of the afternoon, his Grandma decided to let Dennis open one and it was a roll along train, which he liked but Emily loved (it's hers now) and then before we could stop him, Dennis ran over and tore the edge off the big gift. We let him open it, with Becky saying she could re-wrap it later, but then he saw it was a Fisher Price Little People play set, one that he didn't have with 2 trucks and a police station and some people. He carried it from one person to the next begging us to "open?". He was so persistent and loved it so much that she went ahead and gave it to him. He was very excited and seated himself under the dining room table and played contentedly with it for quite a while.

He doesn't feel too good. I am almost sure he's getting in those other 4 molars now and he's drooling constantly. His cough was a little better today like ours, but also like ours is worse when lying down. We let him get back up tonight (he never napped today and we tried to put him down early) to play with us and he ran excitedly back and forth to his kitchen, bringing us food that he'd 'prepared'. The corn he brought me was pre-drooled on, but of course I pretended it was delicious. When he finally went to bed, he was in a great mood and ready to sleep.

I don't know if he could possibly be any cuter than he is at this age. I love his little words that he says, carefully enunciating them (tonight: "corn"), and the smile that he gets when he knows you've understood him. And I love the hugs and kisses--they are the sweetest! Tonight he acted like he was going to kiss David but instead blew a raspberry on his cheek. We laughed until all 3 of us dissolved into coughing fits. Surely we'll be better tomorrow.

Merry Christmas 2008!

Santa didn't get the presents under the tree until well after 2 a.m. because he had such a long flight from the frozen north (and he got delayed in Denver, too). But he did such a good job with the gifts and Dennis was one happy little guy opening his presents this morning. Dennis did let us sleep until 9-ish but was woken himself by a dirty diaper and wanted to spread the news to the changing crew.

Last night, on the flight to Birmingham, the flight attendant providing beverage service asked our order. Dennis said "Coke" very clearly. Somehow on this trip he learned what Coke is and knows that the red can contains it. He didn't get Coke, though. He suddenly said "Juice apple. Cup.", and so that's what he got, apple juice in a cup with a straw. He was delighted. We were amazed that he knew what he wanted and told us that clearly. He tried to order the same thing at dinner tonight (we ate at the Chinese restaurant, but no one sang "Deck the Halls/Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra" to us) but they only had orange drink.

This morning, he stumbled sleepily into the living room with me stumbling sleepily only a few steps ahead and armed with the video camera. He first stared out the window at Tabasco, our black Labrador retriever who is usually in a large fenced area but had escaped and was smiling in the window at Dennis. Dennis doesn't see Tabasco that often (since Tabasco usually has a habit of bowling him over with affection and weighs near 90 pounds or so), and he looked confused by the dog, like maybe he wondered if Honey (the golden retriever) turned black and got a haircut while we were gone. But Dennis soon turned his attention to the brand new kitchen set under the tree, a present from all his grandparents. He ran to it first thing and opened all the doors and closed them, turned all the dials, touched every surface. Later when I asked him if he'd like his kitchen appliances to go in our kitchen, he tried to help me move them in there. I tried to put the washing machine that came with his set in our bathroom with our washing machine, and he appeared just after I'd gotten it in there and immediately pushed it out of the bathroom and toward the kitchen. So we put it back with the other pieces and he spent happy hours microwaving Mr. Potato Head parts, cooking and refrigerating wooden pizza pieces, and boiling trains. Clearly we need to get him some more play food! We just didn't want one of those sets with a million plastic pieces that he'll scatter about. We love the wooden sets where you can 'cut' apart the fruit and veggies and 'slice' the bread (the pieces are attached to each other with velcro dots, just like on the pizza Santa got for him).

After he gave the kitchen a preliminary run-through, he turned his attention to the wrapped gifts under the tree. He opened a Fisher Price lift-the-flap farm book, delightedly exclaimed "book. E-I-E-I-O!" and ran over to me and plopped in my lap so I could read it to him. He opened a giant Mr. Potato Head that came with two large and two small potato bodies and lots of eyes, ears, arms, legs, noses, and hats. He loved the hats, saying "hat" and trying them on us, himself, and the potato people. Next he picked out a box, opened it, and discovered "TRAINS!" that he loved. He got a light-and-sounds Take Along James and coal car (from the Thomas line, of course)--it makes train sounds when it rolls and does a steam sound and a whistle when the top button is pressed. He also got a transport car that carries a barrel of oranges (it's even scented). He put these down on the floor and ran back to his bedroom and then to our bedroom in search of his diaper bag where his other four engines were. Once the trains were all together, he played happily with one giant train for a few minutes before reorganizing them several times. We had to remind him about the other presents, a train book and two Thomas dvds plus the aforementioned wooden pizza which came with wooden toppings that velcro on plus a wooden pizza wheel and knife/server utensil.

Then we had breakfast and naps and then David and Dennis went out to retrieve our retriever. Honey stayed with some friends and was spoiled rotten while we were gone. Tabasco and Marzipan were cared for by the same friends (who came over a few times to check on them and feed them) and they looked fat and happy when we drove in LATE last night (EARLY this morning). Soon it was time to go to the airport to pick up Gran and Pop, who had two flights that left on time and arrived EARLY (so they had to wait on us just a bit), and then we had hot chocolate and conversation at their house before heading to CVS (thank you, CVS, for being open so we could visit twice and buy milk and cough medicine and baby wipes--you're the best!). Then supper at the Chinese buffet and home to bed. We're still coughing like chain smokers (all three of us), but we're feeling better and better and hope we'll be somewhat recovered before the Christmas parties tomorrow and Saturday.

It was a good day. Dennis was ecstatic to be home. Last night when he woke up after we brought him in and were getting him ready for bed, he looked sleepily around his room and then smiled hugely. He said "sheep?" and then located his farm. This morning when he woke up, I went in there and he looked at me and asked "plane?" and I told him that we didn't have to fly anywhere today. I think maybe he was a little disappointed, so I told him we'd have to go to the airport to pick up Gran and Pop, and that made him smile.

I wish we'd been able to go to a Christmas church service or live nativity or something, but there's always next year. Tonight we drove around and looked at Christmas lights on our way home from supper, and Dennis looked around and pointed and kept saying "Cree!" (his shorthand for Christmas Tree). We played with his nativity set today and all the characters are reunited. I kept my thoughts on the reason for the season today and thanked God for his incredible Christmas gift to the world, as well as thanking him for all the blessings in my life. I'm also very thankful to be home safely and am looking forward to recovering my health! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday today because everyone in this house certainly did!

I'll be home for Christmas

So they tell me, anyway. Things went very smoothly leaving Bellingham and traveling down a very snowy and icy I-5 South to Seattle. And things went smoothly at the Seattle airport--we breezed through security and made it to our gate with two hours to spare. Dennis LOVED watching the plane before ours leaving the gate (he said "bye bye plane") and got very excited about the train of luggage carts that was circling the area. He waved at all the passing planes and trucks. He watched our plane come in and watched the breezeway connect to it. He loved the whole airport experience there.

Now we're in Denver. He was excellent on the first flight, no crying, not too much climbing on top of us. He didn't fall asleep until the last half hour, though. It was dark when we arrived here, but we can see a little snow on the ground. Didn't see the Continental plane that's crashed here, but that's probably a good thing. We were supposed to be out of here an hour and a half ago, but the flight attendant didn't show up. We just got a report that we'll be boarding in about 20 minutes. We've had time for a couple of diaper changes and a nice sandwich supper (very good deli sandwiches) for our Christmas Eve meal. Since it will be Christmas when we finally get to Birmingham, I thought I'd go ahead and post here. The picture shows Dennis enjoying playing with his Thomas fleet here at the airport. He was a little upset when we got to the gate, and though we let him run around, it didn't really solve the problem. I took his boots and socks off and he was one happy camper. He's been wiggling his bare toes for an hour and now it's time to re-shoe him for the flight.

They tell us we'll be home for Christmas. Here's hoping!

our farewell day

...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
We tried to squeeze as much enjoyment as possible out of today, but first there were necessary errands before all parties could meet and play. We enjoyed a few fun hours at the Carroccinos' place, watching the children play together. Dennis and Mirella had their own tea party which was adorable until it turned into major table shoving (just to hear the sound of wooden table legs scraping the floor, I'm sure, much to the delight of the downstairs neighbors). David played favorite uncle today as he read book after book to Mirella and Caedmon. Mirella spied him stretched out on their bedroom floor taking a nap and pounced, and he happily read them stories.

We attempted the always difficult photo of all three children together, and once again did not manage to catch all three smiling at the same time. Too soon it was naptime and then time for them to head to Michael's employer's Christmas dinner party. We went back to the mall (having attempted a Santa photo earlier only to find Santa going on break) tonight and arrived in time to wait a half hour for Santa, but we got a cute photo of Dennis with him. Santa was wearing a shirt with Thomas the Train and most of his fellow engines on it, and Dennis was delighted to sit in his lap and talk 'train'.

We left the mall and braved the snowy roads in order to check out a neighborhood dressed to the nines in Christmas lights, almost worthy of redneck notoriety but somehow much more tasteful. The deep snow clearly differentiated it as a non-Southern neighborhood. The combination of snow and lights was quite beautiful and Dennis was enchanted by it as he gazed out the windows. When we made the turn out of the neighborhood, he fell asleep in his carseat. It was a big day for him.

Earlier today, Kristin asked me if Dennis was teething. I hadn't really considered it, but now I think he may be. He's had enough dirty diapers in the past 2 days to indicate that something is clearly up, and tonight he's grouchy and irritable and drooling like a fountain. I think that he's decided to teethe just in time to be miserable on the flights home tomorrow. Teething, a little congestion, a little cough... I sincerely hope he'll feel okay. I can certainly medicate him to the best of my ability with what we have on hand for him.

Traditionally, Christmas Eve has been my favorite day of the year. I'm hoping tomorrow doesn't mar that record. We're prayerfully hopeful that our first flight will leave on time to get us to the second flight, and we're hoping the second flight gets us to Birmingham tomorrow night. We're supposed to land around 10:30 our time. God willing, we'll be in our beds tomorrow night, waiting til the morning so that Dennis can see what Santa brought for him. I'm hoping for a wonderful Christmas. We'll have our Bible with us on the planes tomorrow and will read the Christmas story again to Dennis. And pretty soon he'll be home to play with his nativity set, which we will keep out for him at least until Epiphany/Three Kings Day. I bet he'll be excited to see his favorite characters again.

We've never traveled this far at Christmas before. We'll be joining lots of travelers, some that have been stranded for a good while. I will be praying for smooth travel for those people as well as ourselves tomorrow, for safe journeys for all, and to be home for Christmas. What a blessing that will be. I'm usually so sad to leave a vacation, and I will miss my brother and his family very much, but I admit to longing for home and the opportunity to heal from our illnesses that have just dragged on and worsened. I love that I got to experience a real winter snowstorm and see the beauty of the snow on these giant evergreen trees--I just wish I had been well enough to enjoy more time out in the snow. Tonight Mom and I made snow angels in the front yard, and we loved it. The snow just wasn't right for a snowman--it wouldn't pack down. We didn't snowshoe this trip, but we tromped through deep snow here in the community. We didn't sled, but Dennis did. We have some wonderful memories to take home, and maybe we'll get to come back for another winter trip here, one where everyone is healthy enough to enjoy a good snowball fight. But we spent time together, and that time is priceless. We were so fortunate to be able to come here, and we are very thankful.

long live the plague

I'm still dreadfully ill with fever and major chest congestion. The snow is thick on the ground outside, but not so awful that Mom and David couldn't get out a couple of times. The first time was to get parts for the broken garbage disposal, which David repaired (he just thought he was on vacation) and the second time was to get Mom's new Washington car tags for the Trooper that lives here now. She wanted to buy insurance for it today (and cancel the Alabama policy on it) but the systems were down at the insurance place. No more snow is in the forecast until Wednesday, which has changed from what we saw yesterday. Yesterday I feared we'd be here for a month! We watched the news and saw all the people stuck at the airport, all the flights that were cancelled. But with no additional snow happening until we leave, maybe we'll get out on Wednesday. That depends on if the shuttle to Seattle is running, if our plane leaves in time for us to make the connection in Denver... I don't even know what Denver's weather is like! I hope I'm not spending Christmas there unexpectedly. I'll have to put it in God's hands and trust Him to do according to His will.

I spent the day between bouts of being awake and coughing and then napping until the coughing woke me up. Misery. And Dennis woke us up this morning with a bad bout of coughing. Fortunately his doctor had prescribed a medication that has something to help his cough in it. David is sick, too, and though we badly wanted to see Michael and family, only Mom made the trip to their house for supper tonight (because Michael came to pick her up). Dennis has exhibited many symptoms of cabin fever and I can only hope that we're able to get out tomorrow. I'd like to take him on another sled ride and build a snowman, and I'm hoping to get to the mall so he can see Santa and play on the indoor playground in the mall. We'll see how we all feel in the morning. The roads are not great but there won't be any thawing and refreezing tonight, so we should be able to go somewhere if we want to. I hope we'll be feeling up to it! I'd like to think that Dennis is having a good time even if we have been sick for his whole vacation. He's been feeling pretty good, and his Gran has done a lot of playing with him. They built a Lego airport and flew the planes in and out, with Ernie acting as Air Traffic Control until Dennis decided that his Mommy needed Ernie in bed with her to help her get better--he very sweetly brought his Ernie in to me and said "Ernie, Mama, Ernie". Later he told me about Gran playing with him, "Gran, plane, fly, Gran, planes", which I correctly interpreted as "Gran played airplanes with you?" to his delight (big smile). Gran also played trains with him, and when she left tonight with Michael, he cried when she left. She's been his best playing buddy!

We've certainly done a lot of relaxing, so it's like a vacation, but we've had to rest to try to get well, and that's less fun than usual vacation relaxation. And David had to shovel snow today, which he hates. I have pinned many hopes on tomorrow. And I'm glad we've already had periods of great fun interspersed with all the sickness.

baking cookies with Gran

Just as we feared, we were snowed in today. I think we've had over a foot of snow now. It's cold and beautiful and I would have loved to have been out playing in it but I've managed to become infected with the plague that's going around in this house. I stayed in bed all day long with fever and chills. Mom didn't realize I was sick until late afternoon, but when she did, she brought me a tray with chicken noodle soup and crackers with water and hot tea to drink. This was sufficiently restorative to let me get out of bed for a few hours, long enough to see Dennis decorate the Christmas cookies he'd helped cut out with sprinkles. He was very proud. And he definitely enjoyed eating the finished product.

I'm a little nervous about flying through Denver after seeing the reports of the plane crash there, and I suppose the wreckage will still be there when we go through on Wednesday. At least everyone survived. God really had a hand in that, giving 117 people the best Christmas present they could have imagined--the chance to see Christmas this year.

Snow is beautiful, yes. I love it a little less now, I think, because it has kept us house-bound. Budget-wise, this wasn't a bad thing, but I hate that we've not spent as much time as I would have liked with Michael and his family. Maybe I'll be better tomorrow and we'll be able to see them. Dennis still seems to be feeling great, and that's a real blessing.

playing at the cousins' house

Michael cooked up a mass of delicious pancakes this morning to feed us all and Dennis enjoyed these as well as playing with his cousins and their extremely neat toys. After breakfast they played for quite a while (though Dennis took an hour nap in Mirella's crib at one point) before we adjourned to Gran's place to make lunch and then take naps.

The Carroccinos came over here for supper, some of David's homemade chicken noodle soup that we've been eating for its deliciousness as well as for its medicinal purposes. The kids enjoyed more hours of play together, climbing in and out of the Dishwasher Box Fort and playing in the blanket 'tents' we kept making. Dennis is having more trouble with pushing and got a number of time-out sessions in the portable crib whenever he tried it. I admit to being a bit embarrassed that he's such a bully! He's usually the one who gets pushed, so I suppose he's trying out his newfound assertiveness, but he's going to have to learn to behave nicely around other children. Let's hope the time-outs continue to work.

More snow is expected and so we fear that we'll be confined to the house for several more days. At least we got out to have breakfast with them this morning and had time to pick up some supplies (as in: replenish the dwindling Coca-cola supply and buy more cold medicine). So we're prepared for more of the same, snow and more snow. The pipes haven't frozen (save for the one supplying the cold water to the washing machine) and the heat is still working, so I suppose we're as snug and happy as we can be.

the little engine that couldn't

Our first Amtrak experience was a bust. We arrived at the train station after getting up way too early only to find ourselves waiting and waiting and waiting. They finally announced problems with ice that were delaying the train. So we went inside to wait in the warmth. An hour later (an hour after our departure time), they announced that mechanical problems were cancelling the train to Seattle. Many travelers had to ride buses instead and now we have Amtrak tickets that we can use anytime for a year. We could try to go Monday, but the weather in Seattle will be rainy and cold with sleet, and we'll be walking around.

Since the train station is in Fairhaven, we spent the morning hanging out at Village Books, eating brunch at the Colophon Cafe and visiting a high end toy store (the kind with Plan Toys and other wonderful and beautiful and environmentally friendly toys that we would love to be able to afford to buy for Dennis but can't). Gran and Pop went to see a doctor and got antibiotics and cough medicine and we came back to their place to nap. Tonight Michael and Kristin cooked an awesome supper for us at their home and we enjoyed watching the kids play together. Dennis fell in love with their toys, most especially Caedmon's Thomas trains, Mirella's doll stroller, and the big wooden dollhouse and furniture. He played nice with Willow the cat, thank goodness. All three children sat nicely together on the couch to watch a Thomas the Train movie, and then all too soon it was time for bed. It was a fun day in Bellingham instead of a fun day in Seattle, but I don't think any of us are that disappointed. I do hate that the boys didn't get their train ride, but they will get to do it sometime in the future! And they are probably a little young to realize that they missed it at any rate. Dennis did keep mentioning "train" after we left the station, but then he played with some at the toy store and he saw a cargo train go by on the tracks near the bay, so I think he was happy.

It looks like everyone is turning in early tonight, and I probably will as well. Cold weather takes a whole lot out of us warm-blooded Alabamians!

my first sled

It snowed for a good portion of today. We did make some pilgrimages to civilization, though. David and Mom went out for more food. Mom and I ventured out to go to the gym, but it was closed due to the snow. We went to Rite Aid to shop instead and Mom added some medicine to her cold battling arsenal. I bought a little baby sled to tow Dennis around the complex. We bundled up and headed out on the sled as soon as we got back. He was so cute pointing out all the Christmas trees to us along the way and sticking out his mittened hands to play in the snow drifts. We had to stop to periodically dust the snow off of him. He enjoyed the sled ride, giggling whenever he slid down a hill. He got cold by the end of the ride and wanted to walk some, so we unloaded him from the sled. Poor little guy. He was bundled up so much that he could barely move in his giant coat!

Tonight his cousins came over to play and he enjoyed running around with them. Uncle Michael taught him how to play Steamroller, which involves him rolling over and over and steamrolling anyone in his path. All three children enjoyed this along with learning how to somersault. They took turns going in and out of the Dishwasher Box Fort as well, shaking it from side to side and rolling around in it. So much cuteness.

Dennis has been a little pushy. He pushes the others when they have something he wants or when he has something they want and they get too close. He's doing it so often that we're going to have to consider using Time Out to get him to behave. He doesn't push hard, but it is still bad behavior, and we need to figure out a way to stop him from doing it. It's difficult to get him to understand why he shouldn't push the others. Fortunately, he did play nicely with them most of the time they were here at the house. I hope they are sweet to each other tomorrow--we'll be together all day.

snowed in!

It snowed all day long, and no one left the house except for a half hour where David and I took a snowy stroll around the complex. The lake that was all ice yesterday was coated with snow today and it wasn't even apparent that a lake is actually there. The trees are weighed down, the cars are covered, and very few folks are out walking. We kept Dennis inside all day, trying to make sure he's all better from his ear trouble. We'll most likely get him bundled up for some snow play tomorrow. It'll be a good day to build a snowman. Lots of material on hand!

Today he did a few amazing things. I was counting with him and counted 1-2-3-4-5 (while he just looked blankly at me) and then all of a sudden he shouted out "SIX!". I didn't know he knew this. And today we noticed that he seems to have figured out plurals. He says "car" for one car and "cars" for more than one, and the same thing with ears and toes and trucks. He's been 'reading' his new books over and over and having a wonderful time playing with the dishwasher box 'fort' we have set up. His Uncle Michael saved the giant box from the dishwasher installation for the kids to play in, and this morning David cut a door in it. Mom cut a peephole window that opens and closes and Dennis has enjoyed going in and out of the door and opening and closing both it and the peephole all day. I hate that he didn't get to visit with his cousins today, but it was really snowing too hard for either party to venture to the other dwelling. Maybe we can all see each other tomorrow.

We watched the weather report and it seems that it will snow almost every day for the remainder of our vacation. Upon hearing this, David glared at me darkly (like I caused it). He isn't snow's biggest fan, having seen much more of it in his lifetime than I have. He has enjoyed pelting me with a snowball or two, but fortunately I was carrying the camera and thus avoided a full-fledged snow assault. It's beautiful here, but I think we're all getting the beginnings of cabin fever. Dad watched NCIS all day long on the one television here and even David got fed up with it when he watched an episode that had already been on and that he had already watched TODAY. That's when we went for our walk.

Maybe tomorrow we'll be able to get out. Let's hope so!

Christmas with the cousins

Much snow is expected, so Gran and I found ourselves in heavy traffic in the grocery store trying to stock up (along with the rest of the folks in Bellingham). It was STRESSFUL! But after that, we had all the stress relief we needed because Kristin had given us gift certificates for facials that we redeemed at the Beauty School this afternoon. Such bliss! I'd never had a facial before, and one entire hour of pampering and massage and creams and toners really hit the spot!

The driving here is a bit of an adventure, what with the ice on the roads, but so far we've met with no major catastrophe. Michael and Kristin and the kids and Gaynell and Jim came over this evening for our family Christmas party. We had pizza and opened gifts, and the kids were beyond excited with their presents. We gave Mirella a pair of purple cat slippers and she insisted on wearing them immediately. And Caedmon loved his Colorform Thomas sticker set, applying and removing the trains from various points on the background. Dennis received some wonderful gifts: the first thing he opened was a snowman with a snow globe stomach that lights up in different colors. He LOVED it! He screeched with delight when he opened it and kept running around to showing it to everyone. He received a couple of very nice books, one called Monkey with a Tool Belt that is just hilarious, and one Richard Scarry book filled with pictures of cars and trucks and things with wheels, and he got an Ernie that's just the right size to travel around with us. He got an Elmo video (a holiday one) that he loves and a wooden fire truck that David spent nearly an hour assembling that he also loves. And he got something that we love, a lap tray for the car and the plane that he can use to play or eat or color. He racked up! And somehow we've got to fly it home...

It was so special watching the children play happily together and watching them open those gifts with such delight. Michael and I spent time pushing Dennis and Mirella around on the carpet in the plastic booster seat, with them gigging the entire time. We all had such a good time together, and the evening ended way too soon with the Carroccinos and Kings leaving to take their little guys home to bed. We put in Dennis' new Elmo movie to help him unwind before bed, and he made it about 3/4 of the way through before his eyes completely glazed over and we put him to bed. For the adult unwinding, we made Blue Alaskans, drinks we invented made with Blue Hawaii mix poured over fresh snow, and toasted our wonderful vacation thus far. And we still have another week here! I'm so excited about it!

welcome to Bellingham!

What a FUN day we had today! It's so beautiful here with the snow everywhere and so much more is predicted in the forecast while we're here. It is very cold, of course. We bundled up just so we could go out and finish our Christmas shopping, which I am happy that we have now accomplished, and everything is wrapped and under the tree.

Speaking of the tree--we decorated it today. Dennis helped Gran hang the red and silver ball ornaments (and rehang them again and again). When the Carroccinos arrived late this afternoon, we made a construction paper chain garland with the kids. Caedmon enjoyed helping me pick out the next color to use and he even glued a couple of the links. He was a big help! Mirella helped me choose colors for a few minutes as well. Dennis was busy playing with the trucks and trains. We did trace construction paper handprints of each child and cut them out and labeled them and hung them on the tree. Last of all, Kristin and I tackled a former school fear: making successful paper snowflakes (neither of us were ever very good at it, and certainly never as fast and confident as everyone else that when we unfolded a paper we'd have ONE snowflake instead of a few pieces of one). As it turns out, David makes beautiful and perfect paper snowflakes and his handiwork has graced the tree the most. He also made a pretty paper star for the top.

Watching the three children playing together was so much fun. Dennis gave everyone several dance demonstrations. He and Caedmon played with the trucks and trains as well, and I had to remind him about sharing a time or two. I saw Dennis push both his cousins a few times. I suppose he's checking to see if he can be the Alpha Cousin, and I hope it stops after today. Dennis and Mirella enjoyed riding 'double horsey' on Uncle Michael and also enjoyed him spinning them each around until they were too dizzy to walk (and we laughed as we watched them stagger around, laughing themselves). Caedmon bonded to Froggy and started referring to his Lamby as "Dennis' Lamby" (maybe hoping to switch lovies?), and David put Froggy to bed then just to keep him from getting more attached. Caedmon asked for Froggy for another half hour. What is it about that stuffed amphibian that makes him so beloved by children? We just can't figure it out.

We're so happy to be here with everyone. Dennis likes the snow and practiced tramping around in it in his new snow boots that he's very proud of (but not as proud as he is of his brand new Cookie Monster slippers). He would walk in the snow for about four minutes and then head for the door to come back inside (like I said--it's COLD here). It was a great day!

21 months old

I wish we could say we spent a wonderful day celebrating another month in the life of Dennis, but as we traveled for nearly 19 hours, wonderful isn't the adjective that comes to mind to describe today.

The Bad Stuff:
1. our route: Birmingham to Charlotte to San Francisco to Seattle. That's FOUR airports, THREE planes, TWO episodes of dashing through unfamiliar airports to make connections.
2. San Francisco. Land at one end of the airport. Connect at other end of the airport. Must leave and re-enter security checkpoint to get to other terminal. Must accomplish in less than 30 minutes after landing. And "no, we don't pre-board people traveling with small children." AND, we didn't get to eat anything or change Dennis' diaper OR go to the restroom after our 5 hour and 47 minute flight because we were running through the airport, through a deserted and unused ENTIRE TERMINAL to get to the far end of nowhere to catch a United flight.
3. U.S. Airways. Want a beverage on your 5 hour and 47 minute flight? Sure. That'll be $2.00 per water and per Coca-cola. Want a snack? That'll be $5.00 for some nuts, a small piece of cheese, a tiny amount of tuna salad to mix, 3 crackers, and one midget chocolate chip cookie--oh, and some strawberry applesauce that Dennis loved!
4. The oldest, crappiest, most run-down looking plane I have ever had the pleasure of flying on, one that we boarded while the attendant chased us down the gangplank telling us that we should check one of those bags we were carrying because she didn't let us pre-board and she feared there'd be no room in the overhead compartments, which there was plently of. (no thanks--it's our third flight, we're carrying the right amount of bags, and WE ARE NOT PAYING TO CHECK THIS BAG WHEN WE ARE THIS CLOSE)
5. Seattle! WE'VE FINALLY ARRIVED. Now we're stuck in the elevator and they've called the fire department to get us out because the elevator people can't be reached.
6. Yuck. at 30,000 feet we notice that the cold pack we had put in the cooler section of the diaper bag has ruptured and has leaked weird oozy stuff onto the contents of the diaper bag. The antibiotic is no longer ice cold (but Dad says it is still fine, thank goodness).

The Good Stuff:
1. The world's most well-behaved toddler, who did not cry or whine or thrash around (much) through three entire flights, even though he was woken from his sleep at 2:45 am and driven to the airport entirely against his will, and even though he didn't sleep but an hour on the planes (an hour TOTAL). People all over the U.S.A. complimented us on our sweet child today.
2. Charlotte, which was a very nice airport. We were able to purchase breakfast biscuits right beside our boarding gate.
3. San Francisco. As we were descending through the fog and rain, the clouds parted for a few seconds and David and I were able to catch our first ever glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge.
4. Snow on the Rockies! How GORGEOUS!
5. On time flights. All of them.
6. No delays at any security checkpoints--we breezed right through!
7. Free beverages on United--our last flight--couldn't have come at a better time, when we were tired, hot, grouchy, hungry... And they had JUICE!
8. The M&M's we bought 'just in case' restored all of our moods at a crucial time.
9. The elevator door magically opened after a few minutes. The fire department wasn't required.
10. Snow in Seattle, snow in Bellingham. Beautiful. Icy and treacherous a bit, but beautiful.
11. Toy trucks in Gran's place in Washington that Dennis discovered after he FINALLY had his meltdown after the shuttle ride (2.5 hours) from Seattle to Bellingham, when he had to wake up to put on the dreaded Big Coat and get out into the very cold night. He calmed down once he got into his carseat in Michael's van, and he smiled again when he found those trucks.
12. Thomas the Train. And escalators. This is how we kept him amused waiting for the shuttle ride. Playing with train engines on a cafe table after we took turns riding the escalators up and down with him--he actually sat and calmly played and was very happy about it.
13. Dinner thanks to Kristin! We got to eat it upon our arrival. We are unloaded and warm and full and there were much needed cold Coca-colas in the fridge. And Kristin and Michael even thoughtfully provided chocolate. We might find ourselves restored by tomorrow!

It could have been SO MUCH WORSE! Thank you, God, for our safe arrival and for our wonderful child who behaved so sweetly for so long on so little sleep. We are so blessed.

magical evening

This will have to be a quick one. We're leaving in just a few hours and I really want to try and get a little sleep!

Tonight combined many of Dennis' favorite things in one fun evening. First, we went to the Zoolight Safari at the Birmingham Zoo. Dennis was enchanted by all the lights on display and pointed excitedly at all the Christmas trees. We met the Gallmans there and he got to see Chloe (and got a good-bye kiss from her). There were several sheep at the petting zoo. And THEN we went on a train ride around the zoo, all the while Dennis was excitedly chanting "train"! He had such a good time and he was saucer-eyed at all the light displays--so cute.

After the zoo, we went to see his Aunt Lulu (David's older sister) at her post-wedding dinner party. He had a great time socializing with everyone and following around a pretty little girl (who was a few years older than him) and flirting his best. One evening of Christmas trees, sheep, train ride, Chloe, AND a party? That pretty much sums up the Perfect Dennis Night Out.

train movie

That's all he wanted to do all day. He'd point to my computer or to the DVD player and chant his mantra. He wasn't feeling all that great. He took 3 naps today, unusual for him, and I might have been concerned if I hadn't thought to check the label of his prescription cold medicine: antihistamine + cough suppressant + decongestant. The first 2 ingredients cause drowsiness, the third hyperactivity (especially in me), but the first 2 overwhelmed the other and he got some nice rest. He also wanted to eat all day, which made me wonder if there is a 'secret ingredient' that I didn't know about...

I washed clothes and followed Dennis around today, picking up what he threw on the floor. His naps prevented me from doing some necessary errands (excuse me while I put the cat outside--I didn't know she was in here and I see her in the kitchen sink licking the dirty dishes--EWWWW). Where was I going with that? Oh, yes, I didn't get to the post office to stop the mail but Ellen informed me that here in the 21st century, we can do that online. Excellent. And now it's done. But I still have to buy stamps for the Christmas cards and apply them all.

After Dennis had eaten everything readily available in the house, it became necessary to leave the house to find food. I bundled him up in a very large jacket (I bought a size 2T, expecting a bit more growth than we got) and we went to Wal-Mart. I was thinking we'd eat at McD's there and then buy the pet food that the pet sitters will need. McDonald's closed just as we walked up. So, pet food and toilet paper purchased, we hit the Wendy's drive-thru. Dennis ate an entire kid's meal on the way home with me poking chicken pieces and slices of mandarin orange back there for his eager little fingers to grab. When we arrived home, he drank his milk and danced around for awhile. He giggled over those oranges like they were candy. He LOVES those things. I'm glad he likes to eat vitamin C foods, especially now. He's all medicated and in bed now, and when David checked on him a bit ago, he was sleeping peacefully. He sleeps with his head on a pillow now. He doesn't stay on it all night, but he spends a good bit of the night that way. Another sign of growing up, I suppose.

Keeping up with our nativity figures is much easier now that Dennis has appropriated a basket to keep them in. He did dump the basket gleefully a few times, but the first couple of times he put everything back in it. The last time that job fell to me, and Joseph is missing again. I hope he didn't go too far. The cat was in here... It's a cold night... Scary.

I can't believe the conversations we have now. He knows so many things! True, he keeps his dissertations to a word or two in a row (with a helpful gesture sometimes), but he makes observations that make me so proud! He reminded me to turn the light off when we were leaving his bedroom (pointed to the switch and said "off" while holding the door open). He asked me to sing Old MacDonald to him (by saying "E-I-E-I-O") and he would request which animal I sing about by naming one every time I started a new verse. He was so happy that he hugged and kissed me after I sang it. He has started saying "thank you" when I change his diaper or give him something. And he tells me when he's gone to the bathroom much of the time. He's a pretty aware little guy.

I think the most fun thing for him today was discovering my webcam. I turned it on so he could see himself on the screen, and he watched himself while I had him point to his hair, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, and fingers. He watched himself laugh, and then he made some faces and laughed. He did a few excellent "fish lips" faces and laughed each time. We looked at Caedmon and Mirella pictures on the computer and watched a couple of short videos that I took on our trip this summer. I think he's ready to go see them. I know I'm ready to be there, even if the grand high temperature while we're there will be 40 degrees (but it will only reach this one day). One more day!

more ear trouble

We visited the pediatrician today. It's confirmed. Her quote: "Yeah, his ears are BAD." (insert guilt trip here) So we're on antibiotic round 2, a very strong dose, and we have decongestant/antihistamine/cough suppressant drops as well. She thinks he'll be fine to fly on Sunday but advised a dose of ibuprofen pre-flight as an anti-inflammatory and to make sure he has his pacifier on hand (or in mouth).

Mom went with us to the doc's office since David was working hard all day. Poor little guy--we dragged him into a couple of stores to look around for a gift she needed to get for someone. He was miserable for part of it, and for the other part, he was grabbing EVERY piece of Thomas the Train merchandise down from various shelves and putting it into our shopping cart. He wailed when I put it back, so we ended up letting him fill the cart and putting stuff back when he wasn't looking. We abandoned the cart in the middle of the store as we left, and he was fine with that since I let him walk outside on his own (and by this I mean that I didn't carry him). He walked to the exit door, saying "hi" and "hey" to the people he passed. Since he was wearing his knitted winter toboggan cap (striped with ear flaps), he was so cute that most everyone responded to him.

We watched Miracle on 34th Street tonight at Gran's, and it was just too much for Dennis. He walked around and around the room, logging on to the internet (we don't know how), sitting in his Pop's chair and writing with the pen on the clipboard, and various other forms of mayhem that made watching the movie a very disjointed experience. I can most likely explain this two ways. One, he was very tired and hadn't napped, and Two, he ate an entire Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake when we got to her house. He wasn't cranky, just very active. I don't know how he knew what the snack cake was. Just seeing the box made him break out in smiles and giggles. He has never had any Little Debbie products before (to my knowledge) but there he was, dancing with excitement until his Gran gave him the cake and then dancing even more once he tasted it. I had intended to give him a couple of bites of mine, but he got his own instead. Once he had eaten about a third of it, he started grabbing the other wrapped cakes out of the box and handing them to us to open. I think he planned to eat them all! Oh, well. I suppose a nice sugar binge helped make up for the pediatrician visit (which was wonderfully short--only 20 minutes from sign-in to check-out!).

Tonight I addressed our Christmas cards. How on earth did we get to know so many people? And how on earth am I going to afford all those stamps (the stamps cost more than the cards!)? I suppose it's a blessing to have a lot of loved ones, and I shouldn't complain. So I'll stop. And I'll eventually mail them, most likely before Christmas...

READ, Mommy!

Today was a much busier day here. While not 100% recovered as of yet, Dennis and I did feel well enough to engage in some major playing. We played trains for a time and then we drove the Chevron cars around and around the perimeter of his bedroom rug. There were major pile-ups every couple of minutes or so, and sometimes the cars would run off the 'road' and crash into random furniture. Good times.

Dennis was pretty excited that we actually made it out of the house today. I decided that it was time to get back to the gym after my miserable days of bed rest. I had just won Member of the Month and was supposed to get my picture taken on Monday and instead was too sick to go. I went today and figured I'd take it easy on my workout and not use the electronic personal trainer, but I went ahead and worked hard and used the keytag anyway. I'm glad I did. I feel pretty good tonight. Working out usually clears my head and energizes me, and tonight I was able to cook and do a little cleaning. The holiday workout challenge ended for me today. The challenge was to not gain any weight over the Thanksgiving holiday and we had to work out at least 3 times per week and get weighed every week for a month. If you didn't gain weight, you get a prize. If you lost weight, you get a better prize. If you lost the most weight, you get the biggest prize. I lost 10 pounds. I can't wait to see what my prize is! I digressed a little there--I took Dennis with me to the gym and we waited outside in the car for David to meet us. He took Dennis shopping at the flea market next door while I was working out. He was just delighted to be out somewhere. When we first pulled into the parking lot, he pointed to the lit Christmas tree in the window and said "Cree!" (Dennis for 'Christmas tree'). I'm going to have to take him around to look at lights. I should have done it tonight, but it's damp out (even if it is pretty warm) and some people don't turn them on in the rain.

The picture shows him just after he snatched the novel I was reading from the back of the couch (it seems nothing is unreachable anymore). He appears to be 'reading' it, though in a mighty uncomfortable position. We read many books together today, which delighted him, and he was so happy that Mommy felt well enough to play with him again. We watched part of The Santa Clause movie but the movie didn't hold his interest today since he felt up to playing. I have hope that we'll get better, except now David has the early symptoms. If only his case won't be as bad... I won't pack for our vacation until I know that he can finish the job he's working on and stay well at the same time. It's a pretty tall order, but God can handle anything. If it's His will that we go, we'll go on our trip. I admit, I really really hope it's His plan for us to go!

All week long, throughout my illness, I've been the recipient of many baby hugs and several (wet, disgustingly sweet) baby kisses. He seemed to feel sorry that I felt so bad and was very loving and cuddly. I'm sure that's helped my recovery. He's one extraordinarily sweet child, and I'm so happy that he's that way.

Tonight he adopted a basket (the one I got as my Member of the Month prize) and loaded his nativity set into it. I am delighted that he cleaned! Usually I keep the set out on his table, but now it's in the basket on his shelf. He'll have fun dumping it out tomorrow. Oh, and we've named a second wise man. While we were looking at a Sesame Street page, I was asking him to name characters. When I asked him where Zoe was, he ran over to the table and grabbed the Oriental wise man character. So now we have Yo and Zoe. Can't wait to see what the third one will be called.

Speaking of characters, David and I have been noticing resemblances of ourselves and each other to the characters in the movies we've been watching. He's Shrek, I'm Donkey. He's The Grinch, I'm Clark Griswold. We just sort of began noticing these things. We were watching Shrek the Halls with Dave and Ellen, and I just kept finding myself hearing David whenever Shrek talked. I looked over at him, didn't say anything, and he said "I know. I'm Shrek. I just realized it. But you're Donkey." I had to agree. He did the same thing yesterday when I was watching Christmas Vacation, watching Clark Griswold decorate the house and go way overboard on everything--he just kept looking at me, so I admitted the resemblance. Sad. Makes me scared to watch any more holiday movies! We haven't seen A Christmas Story yet (he claims to hate it but laughs every time he sees it) or Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life (the one I hate--it's so depressing), but we've seen Elf (guess who resembles Elf) and The Grinch and White Christmas and the others I've already mentioned. I think Dennis has liked The Charlie Brown Christmas special and White Christmas the best. He likes the classics!

when will we be well?

Dennis had fever again today. We spent the majority of our day cuddled together on the couch and watching Christmas movies. When we were watching Holiday Inn, he was enchanted by the dancing and singing. At the end of the movie, after the last big musical number, he clapped his little hands and smiled. So sweet!

I know we're getting a little touch of cabin fever having not been out in a couple of days. When David gets home in the evenings, Dennis runs to him for attention (I suppose I've been too sick to be much fun to him). Tonight David came in and cooked supper for us and Dennis danced around worrying him to pieces while he prepared it.

Even though he's got fever again, Dennis does seem to be feeling better. He's resting better during his naps and he's not nearly as congested. I've taken heart that this is how I will feel soon. I can't sleep for long periods myself with all this congestion. I always forget just how miserable bad colds are. This one has so sapped my strength that I briefly worried if we might have the flu, but I have been able to move around and actually do some things, so that is apparently not the case. Dennis has had a flu vaccine, thank goodness.

Our travel deadline draws ever nearer and we have not yet begun to pack. I'm just hoping we'll all be well enough to make the trip. David has to stay well enough to finish the job he's working on so that we'll have money to make the trip. It's in God's hands, of course. We'll see how it turns out.

We love Thomas the Train

I didn't write yesterday because it was a horrible day with a very sick and cranky baby and I was at the end of my rope last night. I'm happy to report that he felt much better today, but that good news is tempered by the fact that I was the very sick one today. David stayed home to care for both of us. It did my heart such good to hear the happy baby shouts and chatter coming from the other parts of the house while I lay miserably in bed.

It happened very suddenly, but we have found ourselves totally immersed in Thomas the Train fandom. He wants to watch Thomas movies constantly (I once downloaded one from iTunes with four short episodes that we have now watched DOZENS of times), and we let his St. Nicholas Day gift be the Thomas movie that was originally to be part of his Christmas. Not to worry--we will certainly be buying another before then. He continually walks up to my computer and says "train movie". It started when he was so sick. He cried and cried in his high chair, miserable and not wanting to eat, and I distracted him by letting him watch Thomas while he ate (on my computer). And I also let him play with his Take Along Thomas engines--he has four of them: Thomas, Percy, Culdee, and (his first one ever) Dennis. All day long today he played with those four engines, arranging them in differing order and attaching them together with their magnetic couplings. He played so quietly and contentedly with them (but did occasionally shout out "train!" and "CHOO!" in delight) for such long periods of time. Tonight when we settled in to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special, he insisted on sitting on the couch between us with all four of his trains and Froggy in his lap.

Trains may have surpassed even Elmo in popularity in this household. We're pleased. Thomas episodes are so quiet and calming compared to Elmo's rambunctiousness. But I do think he learns more from Elmo. I am teaching him letters, but he knows a surprising amount of numbers, which I can credit to Sesame Street. At any rate, Thomas the Train helped him through the worst days of his cold, which I can only hope are behind us now. I do plan to get him to the doctor by the end of the week to check his ears and make sure they cleared up. I finally figured out they were hurting him yesterday and gave him numbing drops that helped him rest considerably better. I may be using them on myself later.

He has another way too cute new habit. He likes wearing grown-up clothes. He brought me his Daddy's shirt tonight and said "Jay" (which is Dennis for 'jacket') and then held it up to me. I held it out and he slipped his arms into the sleeves which I then rolled up for him. He was so proud walking around in that shirt, and he kept it on for a good long time while he played with his trains--he's wearing it in the picture. I'm just so glad that my happy little guy is back. Maybe his Mommy will be back healthy and happy by tomorrow. Here's hoping, anyway.

Chloe car bye go

I told him that we were going to go see his friend Chloe tonight. By late afternoon, he couldn't stop saying her name. "Chloe?" he'd ask repeatedly, as in 'when are we going to see her?'. I explained to him that we had to get in the car to go see her, and he took to standing by the door and saying "Chloe car bye go." We got ready as quickly as we could to comply with his request. He fell asleep on the way to their house, and when we woke him up in the driveway, his first word upon waking was a mumbled "Chloe?".

He was thrilled to see her and she was equally thrilled to see him. They played very nicely together with only a minimum of pushing and one toy snatch (and that was just Dennis). We had gathered to watch some Christmas programs, one of them being the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular. The kids loved the Rockettes, and when they came on, Dennis stood in front of the screen, dancing his little heart out. Not to be outdone, Chloe took center stage and began dancing and twirling around and around. There was much giggling and even more smiling, and there were periods of dancing interspersed with periods of strewing the toys all about the house. It was a real toddler festival of fun. They each ate over one entire piece of pizza (with gusto), almost as if they knew they'd need the fuel for all the hard playing that was to come. We adults enjoyed their show as much as the one on the television.

It's always wonderful getting together with friends, especially during the holidays. Dennis loves his Chloe time and asks for her often. And I know he'll enjoy all the time he'll have to play with his cousins when we fly to Washington next weekend. With the new baggage regulations, I'm constantly revising my in-my-head packing list, trying to get it down to the bare minimum. Our trip pictures will probably feature a good many repeat clothing choices!

Dennis is feeling better and better, and I have been doing my best to stay well myself. Colds are so miserable, and it seems like I just got over one and now another is threatening. Surely one day we will find a cure or a preventive vaccine. I have washed my hands so often that my skin is beyond chapped! Although I suppose if I'm going to come down with it, I'd prefer now rather than right before flying. Oh, if we can just stay well til Christmas!

gleefully bad

Dennis didn't get the memo that Santa is watching him to see if he's naughty or nice. He's been rejoicing in naughtiness all day long. Of course this means he is feeling lots better, and for that I'm glad, but wow what a day we've had.

All day long, I've being saying "Dennis don't touch that" or "Dennis, leave the ornaments on the tree". And as I just typed that, he brought me an ornament--the bottom part of a Christmas ball without the top or hanger, which I presume is still attached to the tree somewhere. We've had two ornament casualties now. The first was a styrofoam snowman--we found a head on the floor, and after further search, found the two other styrofoam balls that made up his body on the tree skirt, one with the button pulled off.

It isn't just the tree that has caused the trouble. He's also refused to leave the stereo buttons alone despite repeated warnings. Tonight he watched the Nativity Story with me, and I was thinking what a sweet little angel he was as I watched him watching Mary and Joseph with wonder in his eyes. Then, with one line left in the movie, he climbed down from the couch, ran over to the dvd player, and ejected the dvd.

I put him down for naps three times, and each time he refused to take one. I needed one myself today (trying to keep from catching his cold) and every time I would be just about asleep, I'd hear awful screeching from his crib. He'd thrown out his necessary crib implements (Froggy and the pacifier) and wanted down to get them. He was very demanding about it. After an hour and forty-five minutes, I gave up and let him run about the house again, destroying everything he could get those quick little hands on. We are cooking supper now, and I highly suspect that it will be an early night (He's walking through the kitchen right now, leaning his head back and gargling his milk, so I'll have some mopping to do in just a minute). The picture shows him having just climbed down from the couch with his milk, ready for more demolishing. I just turned around and saw him drinking mouthfuls of milk and then spitting it out with gusto onto the hardwood floor. And he just grabbed the entire roll of paper towels and split for parts unknown. I suspect he isn't headed off to clean the mess he just made. Seems like a good time to end the post.

I hope Santa doesn't bring him coal.

bad cold bug

We are officially in the throes of a major baby cold. The sounds of sneezes and wet coughs filled the air all day despite my trying to create a holiday mood by playing Christmas music. He was grouchy today, too, which is always fun. I decorated the tree today, putting the non-breakable ornaments nearer the bottom of the tree. Seeing the decorations cheered him up somewhat, especially since there were two Cookie Monster ornaments down in his region of the tree.

I put a little tree in his room as well, and I decorated it with Sesame Street character plastic ornaments. This is good, because halfway through the day I heard the tree come crashing down off his chest of drawers. Then I heard a little screech and an "uh-oh", and then I heard him say "Ernie" and "Elmo" and "Big Bird". The Sesame Street ornaments went on a little tour of the house then, and we didn't manage to recover them all until just before supper when David was cleaning Dennis' room. They are all back where they belong now, and we'll see how long it lasts this time.

There are two strands of colored lights on the tree this year. I got out the C7 bulb strands and replaced all the bad bulbs and was in the process of stringing them as well when I would occasionally touch a bulb that was HOT. I replaced those bulbs as well, and then they were fine. I was well into the repair and stringing of the second strand when one of the bulbs that was not yet on the tree touched another bulb and started smoking and melting. That was it for me. I unplugged both strands, let them cool, and put them right in the trash. I love those big, colorful bulbs, but I love my house as well. I'm beginning to think that Christmas lights are items that must be replaced every year. One of the strands on the tree this year is as old as the tree, and though it seems fine, I'll be pitching it out after this year. I pitched a lot of lights, one strand that was even new from last year but half of it didn't light up (arrrgh!). Dennis loved the lights. He saw strands of bright, colorful bulbs, and he was right there touching and 'helping'. And when I strung the bead garland on the tree (which is actually just a long garland composed of red Mardi Gras bead necklaces that we caught in a parade once), he was beside himself. He kept chanting "bead bead" and unwrapping them from the tree as fast as I could string them up.

We had a difficult time getting him to eat today. He wanted to eat, but when we put him in his high chair, he looked miserable, all red-nosed and watery-eyed, and he whined. We could tell how bad he felt. David made homemade biscuits and scrambled some eggs, and Dennis liked that pretty well. He didn't really calm down enough to eat, though, until I did one of those taboo parent things that are only reserved for sick days--I let him watch a movie at the table. I have some Thomas the Train episodes (4 of them--very short) that I downloaded with my last iTunes gift card, and I played those for him. He was delighted and kept saying "ter-rain". He was even more delighted when I got out his Take-Along Thomas engines and put them on his high chair tray. He brunched with Thomas and friends today and was very happy about it. David was rained out of his job this morning, so after brunch we played with the trains in Dennis' room for awhile, setting up the tracks and getting out the battery-powered engines as well. It wasn't long before the rain cleared and David headed out to work. Dennis tried for a nap but slept poorly, and this is when I got the rest of the tree decor out of the storage building. The tree decorating happened in the late afternoon.

Mom and Dad came over for dinner tonight--we had a roast cooking in the Crock Pot all day and it turned out wonderfully. Dennis cheered right up to have company at the dinner table that wasn't just David and me. He had to show them his train setup on the train table in the den, and then he had to show them his nativity sets. Yes, he has several out now! One is the Fisher Price set (the one where all the adventures take place), one is his Willow Tree set (he gets a piece yearly from his Godmother, and he doesn't play with this one!), and one is the fabric set that his Grandmother made for him last year. He loves the fabric set and several times I caught him up on the table in the den playing with it. I moved it to the floor for a few hours and then put it back on the table when we were getting ready for company. And again, he climbed up onto the table to play with it! I'm going to find a safer location for it later.

I hope his cold passes quickly, and I hope we're able to stay well until after Christmas. We're to travel to Washington in just over a week now. Sure would be nice if we are all well enough to enjoy the trip.

and the stockings were hung...

I began decorating for Christmas today. I had hoped to get farther than I did! The wreaths are up on the windows, the stockings are hung, the nativity sets are assembled. The artificial tree is even put together. The poor tree is 14 years old and was the bottom of the line artificial Christmas tree when we bought it then. This year as I was fluffing the boughs, several pine twigs (branches?) fell off into my hands. Dennis pulled one off as well. He was very excited about the assembly of the tree. He danced around me, chanting "Cree!" over and over. I suppose this is a shortened version of the phrase Christmas Tree.

I wanted to get the tree decorated, but I didn't get all the necessary boxes out of the storage building. I got what I thought I needed, but the lights weren't in those boxes! I was trying not to drag out everything because we aren't going to be around for almost half of the Christmas season, and I didn't think it would be wise to go all out for just 2 weeks of enjoyment. But I will probably end up doing it anyway. Already in my head, I'm practicing the mantra "Leave the ornaments on the tree, Dennis".

Dennis was a bit puny this morning and whined more than usual, but he recovered nicely after his nap and was his energetic and into-everything self tonight, which was especially helpful as I assembled the tree. Dennis does have a bit of a cough but no fever or other symptoms. He slept with us last night since I was worried about him, but he is pretty much fine. He slept well and let us sleep well. I wonder how much help he'll be while I finish the decorating tomorrow.

We're back to nativity adventures: tonight I put batteries in the stable building, and we've now heard the Fisher Price instrumental version of Away in a Manger dozens and dozens of times. He likes that the star lights up, and he dances whenever the song plays, which happens whenever he pushes the button on the top (and he knows this well already). Caspar the Wise Man was found today under the ottoman. The other Wise Men were happy to see him after a 5 day absence.

bye go beach

Dennis enjoyed some time running after the birds today on the beach, and he enjoyed a nice lunch out with Gigi and David and me. He tried to help us pack up everything (by unpacking it, of course), and he was asleep before we ever left Panama City Beach.

We had a terrifying event this morning. He climbed up into a chair at the table in the suite, and I was telling him to sit on his rear end and walking over to him as he stepped backward and fell off the chair. He hit his head on the tile floor (but his head didn't hit first--his back did). I panicked and ran to him, and he was crying and getting up. I picked him up to check him out and he threw up all over me several times. I wanted to immediately go to the emergency room, but David (the paramedic) assured me that this was fairly common and that he actually seemed fine. And he did. No personality change, no weirdness, just normal Dennis behavior after the fall. I'm still going to watch him closely, but everything seems okay.

He was really sweet on the car ride home, sleeping for half of it then singing Christmas carols with us for an hour. When he was really fussy, I handed him my ipod loaded up with Sesame Street podcasts, and he watched these for the remainder of the ride home. We would hear him say "Ernie" or "Elmo" and laugh loudly. He seemed glad to get home but began searching our house for Chloe immediately upon arrival. He cried hard when we put his pajamas on, and when I arrived back home after going to pick up the dog, he was asleep in bed with David. So he'll be sleeping with us tonight, but that's really what I wanted anyway!

We had a good trip, and as we were leaving the resort, Dennis turned to look at the beach and said "bye go beach" and waved to it.

little beach walker

Dennis enjoyed a long stroll on the beach today. The wind was still pretty bad, and we're hoping it'll be nice out in the morning so he can go and play in the sand. He enjoyed a breakfast out with his Daddy and the rest of the group while Mommy had her cave time under the covers. Then we beach walked and then played in the room for quite awhile.

We took Dennis over to the shopping center this afternoon, just David and me. We strolled him along in the cool windy air, window shopping and doing a touch of Christmas shopping. He doesn't know it, but Santa bought him two items for Christmas while we were here. It's good that Santa has finally gotten started on that. He saw Santa today, sitting outside on a bench, waiting for children to come and get their pictures made. Since the price was astronomical, we didn't have his picture made, but he did enjoy waving at Santa and playing a bit of peek-a-boo with him.

The highlight of his day was the train ride he took through the outdoor shopping center. Once he saw the train (which is the reason we went there in the first place), he couldn't stop saying "train" (or "terr-rain", which is how he says it) and pointing to it. He fussed when we had to pass the train to cross the street at the crosswalk to get back over to it. He and I rode together and all he could say was "train" and "choo". He was very excited, pointing to the train cars behind us, pointing to the engine in front of us, and waving to the people we passed. He was sad to leave the train, but it was nap time and we wanted to come back to the room.

He opened the first door on his Advent calendar today and found an angel ornament. We read from the bible, Luke 1, where the angel appears to Mary to tell her that she'll be having a baby who will be the son of God. He also enjoyed having Gigi read to him and look at his picture books with him. He turned in early, most likely because he skimped on his afternoon nap. He said goodbye to Gran and Pop, as they headed for home tonight. Tomorrow will be our last day here, and it's been a nice break. We'll get home with a week and a half to spare to pack for our next vacation!