no means no, doesn't it?

"Dennis, would you like some juice?"
"No."
"Okay."
"JUICE! JUICE!"
"But you said no. Do you want some juice?"
"No." (holding up sippy cup) "Juice!"
I was so pleased that he seemed to learn the meaning of the word no last week. I was wrong. "No" is the answer to every question we ask him.

bath obsession

Since his bath with Chloe a couple of weeks back, Dennis has become almost obsessed with bathing. Every day, several times a day, he pulls one of us to the bathroom by a pant leg and points to the tub and says "bath?". He and Chloe had a wonderful time splashing each other and playing with his bath toys, and Ellen taught him a neat trick about filling a cup and launching it from underwater that he's replicated dozens of times. He begged us until we got his boats out of the tub and put them in the regular toy rotation, and he plays with his boats daily. But that hasn't stopped him from begging us to bathe very frequently.

It may be a new cleanliness streak. While he was eating macaroni and cheese tonight, he kept holding his hand out so that I could wipe his fingers between bites. He didn't want cheese residue on them. I tried to teach him to lick his fingers (what was I thinking??) clean, and he tried it, but it didn't clean them to his satisfaction. I also tried to explain that if he used his spoon or fork, his fingers wouldn't get so disgusting. He has been much better about using a utensil, but he still only uses it for about half his meal. He prefers to shovel it in with his hands for a few minutes and then try the fork. This just gets the fork or spoon handle as disgusting as his fingers.

I wonder if this clean streak will extend to picking up his toys.

go go gran

Mom (Gran) drove us safely back home yesterday and Dennis was wonderful for all those hours on the road. Whenever we'd stop, though, he'd chant "go go gran" or yell "GO!". He was beyond delighted to be reunited with his toys last night when we got in, well after midnight. He ran around, grabbing them from shelves and showing them off to Granny. As charged up as he was, it was easy to get him to sleep. He snuggled right into his crib and was out in a matter of minutes. He got up a bit early this morning, still on eastern time, but took a nice long nap this afternoon.

This morning he went to the refrigerator, pointed to it, and said "milk". I asked him if he wanted milk and he said "no" and walked away. He has learned how to use 'no' very effectively just since last week, and I presume it's Chloe that taught him this new skill. It's not so bad, though, because he's able to tell us when he doesn't want something. So far he's not used the word loudly or with open defiance. But I'm sure that's coming.

Yesterday in the car he kept asking for cake. I don't know what made him think of cake yesterday in particular, though he did keep pointing at the fridge in the cabin and saying cake while we were there (because last week there was wedding cake in the fridge all week to sustain us through our snowed-in period). But we weren't at the cabin when he started his cake mantra yesterday. After a couple of hours of this, Granny bought him a piece of cake at a gas station, and when I handed a piece to him, he yelled "CAKE!!" and then, for at least fifteen minutes, we kept hearing "mmmm cake thank you". He was overjoyed with his treat.

It's good to be home. There are no big trips on the horizon and no money to plan any, so I imagine we'll be happily playing at our house for a while. Or from the lake house, which Dennis loves (we all do).

no more shopping

We wore Dennis out shopping today, but he was thrilled with the purchases we made. I found (and Granny bought) a pair of Thomas the Train tennis shoes. They are the exact pair he tried on a couple of weeks back and loved but kept throwing out of the shopping cart (so I didn't buy them at the time), and today they were marked down to $5.00. I'm as thrilled about them as he is, and I really loved watching him kicking his feet and staring at them while in his carseat, saying "train shoes!". When we got back to the cabin for his nap, he proved that they are also good dancing shoes.

We were on a big search for a raincoat for Dennis, and they must be just coming into season because they are all very costly. After several places, I had just about given up, and Granny joined me inside the Baby Gap store and found one that I had overlooked, marked down significantly and perfect for our needs--she bought it for him as well, and he was very proud of it. He paraded around in it in the van while we tried it on him to make sure the size was right after we bought it (it was).

He took a long nap this afternoon back at the cabin and we attempted to shop again tonight. We found that all the stores in Gatlinburg had closed before 7 p.m. We did find an open fudge shop, and since that was on our list, we promptly patronized the business. It's a real experience eating fudge and drinking wine while the Food Police looks on with a raised eyebrow, but I'll have to give her (Granny) credit for being a very good sport and enduring our teasing with a smile. When she cleared her throat loudly as I was cutting another little bit of fudge off the slice, I tore off a piece of the paper it was wrapped in and threw it at her. I felt much better. And then I ate the fudge, lavishly and savoringly. Very satisfying. She hid my wine glass when I left the room, replacing it on the table with an empty one that had one drop of wine in the bottom. But I found it (conveniently hidden behind the fudge box) and indulged a little. We all had fun.

Dennis was as cute as ever today, happily playing on the floor in the Disney store with all the toys he pulled off the shelf (which I happily let him do). He walked many places and gave us a big scare when he left the Osh Kosh outlet while wearing the rain coat that we tried on him. Granny and I thought he was with Mom and he instead was walking out the front door of the store. The cashier told me he was outside and I ran to see another lady stopping him and helping him back inside. It was a true I'm A Terrible Parent moment, and what I really wanted to do after he was safely back in the van (belted in to his seat) was to have a big cry. But I didn't. We went on the the Old Navy outlet, this time with Dennis snapped in to a stroller, and I got over it for the time being. I keep thinking that it wouldn't have happened if David were here, that he keeps a better eye on Dennis than I do, that I shouldn't have trusted that he was with Mom, that I should have stayed right with him... And now I'm doubting my abilities and worrying that I just can't trust myself to take him anywhere. I don't know why I wasn't with him at the time. I never know why my attention strays off him, but it sometimes does (probably because parenthood has sapped my attention span along with my intelligence). I've turned around in the kitchen in time to see him pulling a butcher knife out of the drawer. He has fallen down stairs while walking right beside me and I just couldn't reach him in time. It's my job to keep him safe, and OH WOW it's a hard job sometimes. It scares me to pieces. I'm not a failure, because he's sleeping soundly in the next room, safe and unhurt. But I've had little brushes with failure, and they are terrifying. This parenting thing isn't easy. How in the world do people have more than one child?

fun at Cades Cove

Today Dennis explored log cabins, farms from a century and a half ago, saw many deer, played peek-a-boo in the Primitive Baptist Church, and learned to say "squirrel". We had a great trip to Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Dennis hiked a trail to a cabin, only tripping once while looking up to see if he could see more squirrels. We both happened to be looking at a tree when we saw one jump from one tree to the next and then run down a limb and jump to yet another tree. Dennis saw this and said "wheeeee".

It was a perfect day in the park. We saw some small snow patches and icicles on rock faces, enough so that Granny is happy that she can tell folks that she saw snow. If there was time, I suppose we should have taken her up to Newfound Gap to see all the snow covering Clingman's Dome Road.

Dennis wanted very much to chase a doe at the farm and mill area. She was just hanging out in the yard, posing for pictures and staying within 20 feet of us. I was unnerved by the thought of Dennis chasing and spooking her, but she seemed unconcerned by our presence. I kept a firm grip on his jacket collar and he did well, exploring inside the old cabin and looking out its windows. But then when we went outside, he noticed the deer playing peek-a-boo with him by popping her head up to look at us over a short fence in front of the cabin. Suddenly he broke away and chased her and she remained unconcerned until I began running after Dennis. The deer ran (jogged, really, for I've seen deer sprint MUCH faster than this) for just four or five paces and then stopped to watch us while she grazed near some trees. She also decided to stop at the stream for a drink just then. Dennis wanted to follow but we had him under control again by then.

Supper was at Calhoun's, a favorite restaurant of Gran and Pop (all of us, really), and we were surprised and delighted that Granny wanted to treat us. Our waiter/server was wonderful to Dennis, bringing him bread immediately and bringing out a cardboard '56 chevy for him to assemble and play with. By the middle of the meal, Dennis was engaging him in conversation every time he stopped by the table, and by the end of the meal, Dennis had thanked him over and over and said bye bye to him LOTS of times. I was so impressed. Dennis is pretty social but we've not seen him take to anyone in a restaurant like that. I loved that he brought out Dennis' food when it was not blazing hot but was the perfect temperature for a toddler to eat. He said his youngest was seven now but he clearly remembered the days of toting diaper bags and strollers and finding toddler amusements in restaurants. It's rare to find servers that make sure that the youngest diner has as wonderful a dining experience as everyone else, and we just considered our mealtime to be the perfect ending to a perfect day. When we returned to the cabin, Dennis happily went to bed.

Today we made some real serious potty attempts. We bought a little potty by Fisher Price that is a frog. It's green and has eyes and feet and the splash guard looks like a frog head. Dennis was so excited about this potty that he played with it in the car for half an hour on the drive up yesterday. Here's hoping that he likes it so much that he keeps wanted to try to use it.

uh-oh

Three days with no internet connection. THREE DAYS where my AT&T aircard would show full signal followed immediately by no signal followed by full signal, all in rapid succession and not allowing me to stay connected even to check my email.

I'll have lots of stories to tell about the last three days, but it's too late tonight to begin. Yes, we got off the mountain on Thursday and made it home from Gatlinburg safely. So you'll be surprised when I tell you that I'm posting from Gatlinburg again. We arrived back here safely tonight. This time I'm here with Mom (Gran) and Granny and Dennis. We had a great drive up. We had a great whole weekend, actually, because the two nights before were spent with good friends having good times. More on that later...

Some teasers:

1. Dennis got naked with a friend (he and Chloe took a bath together, supervised of course).

2. Dennis learned some new dance moves.

3. There is much excitement over a brand new potty.

4. Dennis saw his cousins.

5. Night night has been much in demand lately.

So much has happened that it'll take me a few days to catch up, but I'll be here until Wednesday with GREAT internet signal while hopefully the problem at home is being fixed (which might involve new Verizon service even though it's supposed to be an AT&T tower near my home--VERY frustrating). I just can't understand how the signal was so good before and is so bad now unless beavers ate the cell tower. There's probably some technical reason. I prefer to blame natural causes.

The picture is from our trip to the Coleman outlet on our way home on Thursday. Dennis tried out all the air mattresses in all the tents on display.

pizza salvation

Another day snowed in with five people READY to get off this mountain. It would have been much worse if an intrepid pizza delivery guy from Domino's hadn't made it up here in his Jeep to deliver a couple of large pizzas, cheese sticks, and four liters of caffeinated beverages. This restored our moods considerably. The temperature tomorrow is predicted to rise to at least fifty degrees, and this should adequately melt the ice that is preventing us from leaving.

We watched movies, we played farm, whiling away another day with a child who is ready to go somewhere and do something. I think he was finally affected by the cold temperatures in the cabin, electing to spend a good portion of the day in his room (where a portable heater is keeping it nice and toasty) watching his movies. He would select a movie and take it out of its case, open his movie player, and place the DVD in it. One of us would make sure the movie was locked into place and turn on the player and then Dennis would push the button that plays the movie. He even knows how to skip ahead and back so that he can watch the parts he likes best.

Today he learned that a duck says "quack quack" and a snake says "ssssssss". He said "night night Pop" when he went to bed. He has started counting anything he has two of, holding both things up and saying "two three" (we're working on one-two). We'll be taking a much smarter and more verbal child home tomorrow, one with a considerably larger vocabulary than he had a week ago. For me, that's been the most fun part of the trip, watching him grow and learn. He'll miss the stairs here for sure. All day long we'd hear "stairs up" or "stairs down" and he would beg us to accompany him as he climbed up or scooted down. At home we'll be back on flat land. But all his toys will be there, so I know he'll be glad to get there, too. And he'll be back in his bed. We noticed that he lacks two inches of being the same length as the pack and play. It's time to figure out another travel sleep situation!

indoor fun

We played inside a good bit today. We built tents and tunnels with blankets and Dennis had a fabulous time crawling through. He laughed and laughed. He also enjoyed wrestling and then standing up and dancing on my back. It's still snowy and very cold, and we are still stuck up on the mountain. We watched the inauguration and very much enjoyed it. I wanted Dennis to see it but discovered him asleep when I went to get him to watch it. We left the coverage going for a while and then heard him say "Barack" a few times later in the day. He never did say Obama.

Just at sunset we went for another walk in the snow. Dennis learned to throw his first snowball today (at Gran). I was so proud. He also enjoyed tromping through the deeper snow and kept launching himself into it. I picked him up and dusted him off only to see him lie down in the snow again, giggling. He ate some snow after I talked him into it but wasn't all that impressed with the taste. The cutest moment came when Gran told him to do a snow dance, and he stomped and twirled around and around (and then staggered around a bit). I have to admit, his Gran and I stomped and twirled around as well. All three of us enjoyed a silly snow dance! I didn't take my camera outside tonight, and though I wish I could have video of his big smiles and exuberant yelling of the word "SNOW!", I am glad I played with him instead of standing to the side and photographing him. We made some pretty special snowy memories this winter. He's a snow lover like his Mommy, who spent a long time today just watching the flakes fall and soaking up the silence and stillness that accompanies snowfall (broken by the occasional sound of a car losing traction on the mountain roads below us). I didn't get to sightsee like we'd hoped, but we've spent no money in three days and only a tiny amount before that for food. It's been a very cheap vacation. We're subsisting on leftover lasagna, leftover wedding cake, cereal and milk, granola bars, and powdered doughnuts. We've already eaten all the moon pies and chips and salsa, and to be totally truthful, the last of the wedding cake disappeared today as well. I hope we can get out tomorrow so that we can get some FOOD, although Dennis has certainly enjoyed the menu! He had bananas and apples and goldfish crackers to eat along with all the junk, so he at least is getting some nutrition. I'll be glad to get out of the cabin but sorry to leave Gatlinburg. I don't know when we'll be back, and I love the Smokies so much.

snowed in again

I am sensing a theme to our winter vacations this season. This is the second trip in a month where we've been snowed in with Mom and Dad. We aren't sick this time, and there are only a few inches of snow on the ground. We're on top of a mountain, though, and the roads are very icy. It looks as if we will not be leaving tomorrow as originally planned. We shall see. As I look out the window now, the road is completely covered in snow, quite a change from a few hours ago when we took our walk.

We mostly stayed in today. David and Mom attempted a trip down the mountain for additional food this morning, but the roads were too bad to get far, so they returned to the cabin instead. I love snow but wasn't feeling my best today and took a lot of naps (I am paranoid that we will relive the Sick Vacation of last month and am really trying to be careful). I did get out for a walk after my afternoon nap and enjoyed it so much that I bundled Dennis up and took him for a walk as well. He ran outside, stuck his arms straight out from his sides and gleefully shouted "SNOW!" again and again. He also said "rain snow", I presume because it was snowing and it was 'raining' snow. He ran around and around, looking at the snow, and he enjoyed stomping around in his snow boots. He saw some neighbors out shoveling and ran to the top of the hill to say hello. He walked up to two uninhabited cabins, saying "house" and "door", and I finally got him turned around and headed back in the correct direction to return to our place. He fell down a couple of times, and I decided to hold his hand for the rest of the walk back--it's pretty slippery out there. After he slipped down and I helped him up again, he turned to me and said "thank you!" very sweetly. He stopped to check out all the snow piled onto the cars and then ran to the door and knocked. His Daddy let him in and he immediately wanted to go upstairs to see Pop (and have supper).

His Gran bought him one of those wooden train whistles while we were out shopping yesterday. When I first blew it for him last night, he cried. Then he laughed, and after that he brought the whistle to all of us to blow it for him. He held it up to his mouth while saying "choo choo". Today he actually learned to blow the thing and is so delighted with himself whenever he makes a train whistle. He says "yay" and claps for himself each time. He appears to have absolutely no self confidence problems, and I am so glad that he's such a self-assured little guy.

Both my men abandoned me to their caves tonight. David left to play computer games in our room when I asked him if he'd go upstairs to watch TV (since he and Dad were both watching the same show on the same channel) so that Mom and I could watch a movie downstairs. He got pretty mad and stomped off to his cave. This was right after Dennis came to us with a DVD announcing "truck movie night night" (meaning that he wanted to watch his Fisher Price movie about wheels from his crib), and he wanted to be alone in his room and fell asleep after watching the movie. I suppose I had my own cave time this afternoon while I napped, but it did help my cough and headache--I feel pretty good now (and it's time to go back to sleep).

I added a sledding video to Dennis' YouTube channel (see link in list on right), and if you haven't checked in a while, I think there are a couple of Halloween videos as well. The sledding video is from the Christmas trip to Bellingham, WA.

oh happy day

Dennis stayed in all day with his Daddy and his Pop. Gran and I went shopping all afternoon at the outlet stores and she bought Dennis a couple of cute summer outfits. Once we got home, Dennis woke up from a nap and ate supper with us. He kept saying "happy". I think he's almost made the connection to what it means as well--he pointed to a smile in a picture and said "happy". He just kept chanting it at the dinner table. I suppose he was pleased with his fish stick and macaroni and cheese meal. Maybe it made him happy.

After supper, he said "stairs" and "farm", meaning that he wanted to go downstairs and play with his farm. He's been very careful on the stairs. He waits for us to go down with him and he either holds a hand and walks down or scoots down on his rear end (saying "bam" each time his bottom hits the next step down). We had the most fun watching him play farm tonight. He walked his Little People Eddie over to the barn and said "hey, cows" then "hey, sheep" then "hey, pig" and "hey, goose". Eddie greeted all the characters separately. He'd then walk the animal that he had greeted out of the barn to play with Eddie and Farmer Jed. They drove the tractor and truck around the farm and some of the animals ate some corn... It was a typical day at the farm. It's serious, very involved play that he does now, and we love watching him move the characters about and make them interact with each other. It's accompanied by a stream of chatter, and much of that includes relevant words to the playing that's going on. He has really done some growing up this weekend. He can say just about any word we ask him to say now. And it happened so FAST!

The picture is from yesterday's outing--a bundled up Dennis in his stroller, ready for a cold night on the town.

cake fish

These were the two words most spoken by Dennis today. He loved eating leftover wedding cake, and he also loved seeing the aquarium. We were thrilled to discover that our annual passes to the aquarium don't expire until next weekend, so we were able to have some free and excellent baby entertainment. Dennis pointed out so many fish and enjoyed running around and around. He learned to say "shark" today (and how to point them out to us in the aquarium). He also learned "stroller" and "trolley" and said "cuda" for barracuda. He said "drum" for the first time, and he surprised us all in the car when he counted to five. I held up my fingers, gradually opening up my hand one finger at a time, and I said "one". He said "two three" for the next two fingers, and I repeated after him. Then he said "four" and then "five", and I was very amazed!

Another cute thing he did on the drive down the mountain to town--he saw cabins tucked way down in hollows where we could just see the tops of them from the road, and he would say "house uh-oh" (like maybe he thought the house had fallen in a hole). He also said "tree uh-oh" for fallen trees that he spotted on the drive. Very cute. He said the word "snow" today as well and chanted it over and over again, and his wish came true tonight as we saw snow beginning to fall as we stopped to buy groceries. It isn't snowing now, but there's a good bit more on Mt. LeConte (which we can see from the cabin) and some is predicted here tomorrow. Not that he hasn't seen his share of snow recently--David isn't looking forward to the possibility of more of it! The rest of us are kind of hoping to see some, poor little southern children deprived of snow fun and trying to make up for it now!

wedding day

We have a Grand-Bob now! After a beautiful ceremony here at the cabin, held in front of the fireplace (decorated by Mom and me at about 2 a.m.), Becky has a new last name and we have a brand new family member. I am so happy for them because they seem so happy with each other. And we adore Bob and we couldn't be more thrilled that he's part of the family now as well as being part of the 'gang' (meaning that we enjoy hanging out with him because he's fun and fits in with all of us so well).

I don't know what name Dennis will call him. Dennis never knew his Grandpa (Mitchell), and he has two (biological) grandfathers still living that we don't have a relationship with, one of whom has never met him. The word Dennis seemed to settle on by the end of the day was "Bop", a combination of Bob and Pop. I don't know if he'll continue using this name for him or not, but it's awful cute!

Dennis was amazingly good during the first part of the wedding ceremony but got a bit antsy after the welcome and the "I do" vows. He watched the beginning with solemnity (a trait not often seen in toddlers) and I had hope that things would go well. They mostly did. He began wiggling until he saw the flame on the Unity Candle (which intrigued him), and when it was time to exchange rings, Dennis began to giggle. Then he began frantically calling for Froggy and his Great Aunt Karen rushed over to fetch Froggy from the kitchen. He was fine for the rest of the ceremony and then totally hammed up the photos afterward. During a tricky group shot of everyone, the photographer reported that he had stuck a finger up his nose. I was holding the hand that had been in his mouth, but he snuck the other one up there just on the count of three (he knows how to count to three and knew when that picture was going to be taken!). He ran through a couple of posed shots of the happy couple and then I took him downstairs to play with his farm for a while (we brought the whole thing with us). He came back up to seriously enjoy some cake and non-alcoholic champagne, and when he asked for "night night" soon after that, the entire group of us used that time to go change back into our comfy clothes. Dennis napped until he sensed the lasagna coming out of the oven and woke just then to join us for supper. He still had an early night of it, despite my trying to keep him up, and when I caught him trying to climb into his pack and play, I relented and put him to bed. I hope he lets us sleep in just a little bit!

Down at the base of the mountain, it's seven degrees. I have no idea how cold it is up here on top, since none of us want to go crank up the van to see the temperature readout. It's VERY cold. It'll snow on Sunday according to the weather reports. Maybe the bear that attacked the hot tub cover this week has decided now to hibernate. Or maybe the scent of the lasagna plates and dirty diapers we've loaded into the dumpster will torment him (her? them?) so much that we'll be paid another visit. I rather hope not. Dennis can see bears in a zoo, at a safe distance, with bars between him and them (on a warmer day).

tech troubles and travel

I have had major difficulties yesterday and today trying to get connected to the internet. I don't know what's going on, but my signal strength is not enough to even send an email. I had thought I'd be in high speed paradise tonight, since we're here at the cabin in Gatlinburg and it is supposed to have wi-fi. But it's not working, and so I'm again depending on a weak cell signal to post. I had this same problem at home all day yesterday.

At any rate, we made it here safely and Dennis was a total darling on the way north. He played a few games of peek-a-boo with me in the baby-view mirror and watched a couple of short videos that came with his beloved Fisher Price play sets. He took two short naps. And he was pretty content for the most part, but I did have to find Froggy and his pacifier for him a few times, pass him some "co-coas" and juice, and we had to sing the alphabet song and Old MacDonald a time each. Not bad for being on the road for over eight hours. He was delighted to see that the Christmas lights are still up here in Gatlinburg for Winter Fest.

He can open the door of the cabin and leave. There's no deadbolt and no way to lock it from the inside (it's a keypad lock). We've barricaded the door with chairs. This is a big worry at any time, but especially here since it looks like a bear ate part of the hot tub cover sometime TODAY. I'm scared to go out in the dark and I certainly don't want Dennis wandering around out there with the bears. And though I usually enjoy a hot tub, I can't stop thinking about Dad telling us the bears would think "Hey, soup!" when they saw us in it. Looks like a packed a swimsuit for nothing. Oh, well.

It's less than fifteen degrees here and snow is expected on Sunday. The low tomorrow is predicted to be SEVEN degrees. I'm afraid my face will freeze and fall off. We don't plan to be outdoors much tomorrow--everyone is coming to this cabin for the wedding. Mom and I stayed up way too late decorating the cake and the cabin, but it's done. And now I'll be able to sleep, I hope.

22 months old!

We are just two months away from a birthday party! I'm already planning it in my mind. I'm sure trains will be involved. He's kind of passionate about trains. The only way I could top a Train Party would be to host a party on a farm.

Today Dennis had a Tea Party with Winnie the Pooh. They were sitting together at the table and Pooh had his own bowl. Dennis gave him some granola and held up Pooh's sippy cup so that he could drink. He also put his pacifier in Pooh's mouth after he finished his meal. And for some inexplicable reason, he put Pooh's bowl on Pooh's head and then left the table. Later he brought Pooh a meal from his kitchen, stirring whatever imaginary food that was in the frying pan with the spatula all the way to the table and then offering the bear a taste.

We attempted a height measurement, but Dennis kept hunching over. Best we can tell, he isn't any taller this month than last month, and he hasn't put on much weight (not even one pound). So while he's growing up fast, the physical growth has slowed, and this was exactly on schedule for him. He'll probably have another increase in height before his birthday and I'll notice when I start to see his ankles sticking out from the bottom of his pants. I was surprised that he wasn't taller this month, because two pairs of pants that fit a few weeks back are suddenly short on him. We'll measure again next month and maybe he'll cooperate better.

This is supposed to be the time of the terrible twos, but so far we've been spared truly horrible behavior. We've heard and read that the time between 18 and 24 months are the actual terrible twos (but we didn't tell Dennis that). Yes, he is starting to test his limits, to test us. He just started that this week. He waits a minute before doing what we ask and he gives us a little defiant look, waiting to see what we'll do. So far I've been able to get him to cooperate by adopting a serious facial expression and using a sterner tone of voice. He responds, and I praise and thank him for doing whatever it was I asked. He loves positive reinforcement of any kind and just lives to make us smile and laugh, and I'm hoping that positive reinforcement will be the key to raising him to behave well. He already says please and thank you, and we've not really emphasized him saying it, but we use those words with him and with each other. For so long now we've thanked him for bringing us stuff and handing it to us that he often says thank you when someone gives him something. And today I was fixing a cup of juice for him and he said "apple juice" and I told him he was right, and he said it again, and I agreed, and finally he held up his hands and said "please". I realized I was taking too long to get it ready for him. He wasn't telling me what it was--he was asking for it! And I'd not ever heard him use 'please' of his own accord before and was terribly impressed. I praised the heck out of him (and I gave him his juice).

octobaby

Shopping with Dennis today at Wal-Mart was like shopping with a toddler with 8 arms. He grabbed and lunged at everything even remotely close to the shopping cart, which he was standing in because he refused to sit up front. We narrowly avoided a wine bottle disaster on the beverage aisle. The bottles are pretty and I turned to see him reaching up to touch and grab several at once when I shouted "Dennis STOP!", and that delayed him for the 5 seconds Gran needed to process what was happening and move the cart quickly to deter his reach. Trying on the shoes was also fun. He needed dress shoes for the wedding to go with his new black pants, and we quickly found a pair that fit the bill nicely. He required a size 6 in them, and I'm glad I took him with me to try them. The 6 in those is so much like a 5 in other shoes! Once he had the shoes on (this was a major accomplishment on my part because he was wiggling constantly so that he could turn around and flirt with himself in the mirror), he took off for parts unknown (the craft department). I lured him back with a pair of Thomas the Train tennis shoes, which he loved and which I intended to buy for him until he tossed them out of the cart 3 times. I warned him that I would put them back if he did it again, and he did, so I did. No Thomas shoes here. He would have liked them better if he could have seen the trains (Thomas, James, AND Percy) while they were on his feet, but they were on the outside of the shoe and even though he manipulated the heck out of his leg trying to see the trains, he couldn't. He even sat on the floor and picked up his foot and turned it to try and see the trains on the shoe to no avail. He does need tennis shoes, and he liked the idea of train shoes, so I may see what else is out there. In a size 6! I can hardly believe it!

He suffered through some grocery shopping before we left, and as a reward we let him ride the baby merry-go-round out by the Coca-cola machines. His face stayed mostly expressionless as he rode around and around, and I couldn't tell if he liked it or not. He sort of smiled around his pacifier at the end. And when it stopped, I picked him up off the ride and set him down. He climbed back on it. I asked him if he wanted to ride again and he spent a minute carefully comparing the 3 steeds (2 horses, 1 elephant) to choose his ride. He opted for the second horse, having already ridden the first one. He petted the elephant, though, so it wouldn't feel left out. On the second ride, he waved at us each time he passed and said "whee". And when it stopped, I told him to say "bye bye" to the horses, and he did, all the way out the door with no crying or fussing.

Other items of note: He pulled my hair HARD today, and while he did it, he yelled "OWWWW!" at the top of his lungs (to keep me from having to, I guess). The octopus action continued at home while he reached for everything on the kitchen table and even surfed the web a little on his own while my head was turned. And, I am dismayed to report that he can now open the front door of the house. We have been vigilant about locking it, but I was loading the car and making several trips when I realized I needed to get a bib. As I was returning from the bathroom, there he was standing by the door with it open. He almost walked out but decided to wait for me instead. When he saw me, he pointed to the door and said "door open" and then walked outside, slowly and waiting for me to catch up. Thank goodness he stopped! I don't know that he would have gotten far, but I have nightmares about having to search 13 wooded acres for him. So now we're diligently using the deadbolt. He can also open the back door at Gran's house and the bathroom door at the lake house (he surprised me good in there today). I have no worries about his motor skills. They are as astounding as his rapidly increasing verbal abilities!

the best little buddy

I enjoyed Dennis' company so much today. We were hanging around the house, thinking about lunch, when Gran called to invite us to an impromptu fish fry. Bob, as it turns out, caught another great big catfish and wasn't allowed to bring any more home before the wedding, so we were happy to take it off his hands. It fed 5 of us. And it was delicious. Score another one for the Master Fisherman.

While at the lake, Dennis remembered our fun games from a few days ago and got out his blocks and boats and set them up as ski jumps and docks. He enticed Gran into playing with him again after Pop left (Pop had been playing Noah's Ark with him before he left). Dennis also cooked some juice in the kitchen. I asked him what he was making and he said juice, and when I looked I saw a mug with a spoon in it on his stove. He was serious. He got to watch a couple of Thomas episodes while we cleaned up and then we were headed back to town.

I really enjoyed our car rides. Dennis and I talked the whole way to the lake. He pointed out houses and trees and I taught him how to say 'gas station' and how to identify one. We talked about how the trees would have their leaves back in a few months, just after his birthday, and how God made all the trees and the birds and the cows and horses and dogs and cats and even ourselves. I don't know how much he retained, but he seemed to very much enjoy the conversation. He happily pointed out the docks to me when we got to the lake and he was extremely happy to go in and see his Gran and Pop (and even more happy than that to eat).

On the way home, we saw a beautiful sunset and we talked about the colors and how pretty it was. He got to come into the gym and watch us work out for a few minutes (we took turns so that one of us could watch him). And I had a nice thought on the way home--I think the small blessings are wonderful. There are millions of small blessings, everywhere I look. The sunset tonight, Dennis' smile, his laugh, the artful look of bare branches against an impossibly blue sky, a clear winter's night with a bright full moon, a nice email or call from a good friend, a good book, a feeling of accomplishment and self-confidence after a good workout--all those things and thousands more bring small tidbits of joy to my days. And when I think about it, those moments of joy far outweigh the heavy and overbearing burden of financial worry that I have been known to let ruin many a day. I have to constantly remind myself to turn the worry over to God, and though I do that, I often find myself repeating the same prayer again and again and again ad nauseum. Does that get on God's nerves? I bet it does. It would get on my nerves. I should just ask once and then trust Him to answer as He sees fit rather than nagging the heck out of Him. I'll be He stays pretty busy. I do, however, also find myself constantly thanking Him for the aforementioned small blessings as well as the big ones that are my family and friends and wonderful son. And that I'll try to keep doing, as we all should. We are very very blessed in this beautiful world with its good and special people, and I couldn't be more thrilled with all the incredible people in my life (especially my best little buddy).

out visiting

We went out visiting friends this afternoon and we had such a great time! It was a perfect evening for Dennis, as we ate spaghetti (his favorite meal) and played with Chloe (his favorite toddler). They were so cute running around and playing, and we were delighted with all the baby laughter, big belly laughs and screeches, that we kept hearing. They played alone in Chloe's room for almost 45 minutes, which we parents found both relieving and a little unnerving. One of us would periodically check and they were always just fine. No fighting, no crying, just happy playing was all we heard and saw. Occasionally one of the kids would run into the living room to see us and then run back. The long period of independent play ended when Dennis ran into the living room with no shirt on immediately followed by Chloe with no pants on. This is something we would find alarming in 10 years or so, but as it was, we all just cracked up laughing. They still had their diapers on (thank goodness), and Dennis looked a bit alarmed by it all since he has never taken off his own shirt. We presume Chloe took his shirt off. We all had a big laugh over it and re-clothed them. After that they seemed to want to stay in the living room and play with us.

Dennis brought his favorite of her toys (which is to say nearly all of her Fisher Price Little People toys) to the living room to continue his playing. He loved putting the people into the bus and driving them to the house, then getting them out of the bus and putting them in the house. At one point, he held up a yellow-haired little person and proclaimed her "Mary". We asked him who the other one was, the man with gray hair that he held in his other hand, and he said "Terry". We had so much fun watching them play together that we didn't play games or anything. We just sat and talked and then, after they went to bed, watched a show on TV. It was a pretty perfect evening. The kids are so fun these days, and they really had fun together. They played more alongside each other than with each other, but there were moments of big fun. While we were finishing dinner, the two of them were sitting at her little table and playing peek-a-boo with the living room curtain, taking turns hiding behind it and then peeking out at the other. This resulted in big giggles and screams of delight. I could have listened for hours.

font of train knowledge

Dennis learned to name more of his trains today. If you ask him a name, he can point to whichever one you name. But now he can say many of the names. He can say Percy, Thomas, James, Bill, Truck (for the Troublesome Truck), and Culdee. He hasn't tried to say Emily or Dennis yet--maybe tomorrow.

Tonight Allison was playing pool and Dennis was lining up farm animals on the side of the pool table. She called him a silly goose, and he went and got his goose and brought it to her and said "goose". Very funny. He used our legs as 'slides' for the farm animals, sliding them down from our knees to our feet as we sat on the couch and saying "wheeeee" as they slid. We wrestled some and he let me know that he's learned how to unzip--he unzipped my blouse all the way down in one quick motion and then laughed proudly at himself and at my shocked expression. He sat on the dog a few times (and she just let him do it) and climbed the chairs and couches. And this morning he opened the bathroom door and surprised me in the shower. All of a sudden, the door slid open and he said "Hi!". He really startled me, but we both had a good laugh about it.

He was just full of personality today, with lots of laughs and smiles and running full speed through the house. He napped hard and he's sleeping hard tonight (albeit perpendicular to the length of the crib and with one foot in the air propped against the crib rail). Though it rained all day, we had a wonderful time playing indoors.

farms and arks and a sea-doo

After Dennis 'helped' (hindered) my housecleaning this morning, we headed down to the lake to visit with Gran and enjoy the peacefulness that comes with winter lake watching. Not many boats, lots of ducks, big view since the trees don't have leaves... And it was a perfect day temperature-wise.

He pretended to nap for a while after a big crying spell that started when he pulled a jar off a table and onto his head (the table is as tall as he is, so it just kind of slid onto him rather than dropping any distance) and then ended with diaper rash pain as I changed him. We heard a crash after he'd been down a half hour or so and we came running in from the porch. The washing machine had wiggled so much as it spun the clothes that the stack of games on top of the machine came crashing to the floor. I decided to check on Dennis to make sure it didn't wake him up, and when I opened the door to the bedroom, he was standing there smiling at me. We got him up and played with him after that.

Gran is a great playmate for Dennis. She helped him build some block structures and he was interested for about thirty seconds before he ran off to find his 'boat' (a toy sea-doo/waverunner/jet ski that came with the lake house). Gran decided to build him a boat house out of the blocks, which delighted him, and soon he was driving the sea-doo up wooden ramps and over jumps and into the boat house, 'docking' it on the wooden dock we constructed. We got Noah out of the ark so that he could ride the sea-doo and Dennis got our various animals and placed them on the dock and off the dock and then back on again. The hippos and kangaroos and zebras, lions and elephants and giraffes and leopards all had a great time swimming and sunning on the dock, and many of them got turns on the sea-doo. Dennis learned to roar like a lion, which is hilariously cute and which he enjoys doing.

We went for a walk then, over the gravel road and onto a paved road that led us up a giant hill. Dennis watched in amazement from his stroller as we puffed so hard trying to catch our breath once we reached the top (without stopping on the way--yay us!). He pointed out trucks and docks and boats on the walk and had a nice time watching the scenery. He left the lake with his Daddy while I went to the gym, and after supper at home we all played with his farm for a long time. I love watching him make the animals and people interact with each other, and I actually have lots of fun when we play. David had fun playing tonight as well. We put away the farm so that we could play with the trains for a bit and then it was time for bed. The days just pass too fast!

lunch date

Dennis accompanied us to Birmingham again today and we had lunch with some good friends. He was a bit wild before and after lunch, climbing up onto the table at Zaxby's and launching himself at Gran and Ellen seated on the other side. He was fine while he was eating, focused on his plate and the task at hand, but before and after he was BUSY visiting and hugging and table dancing.

More shopping followed the meal. Dennis napped through some of this but awoke in time to visit the much-depleted toy section at Ross. They had NOTHING. So we took him to Target (not the bad one we went to yesterday), where we were pleased to discover half an aisle devoted to Thomas the Train stuff. He tried to load the cart with everything he could reach, including one or two things that he already owns. I tried to focus his attention on the nice Take Along engines that were clearance priced, and that is how Emily the Train came to join his fleet. (She came with a coal car and was priced under $5). He has 6 engines in the Take Along series now: Percy, Thomas, Dennis (his first one, of course), Culdee, James, and now Emily. To be completely honest, he has 7 because he has 2 of Thomas (but they look very different in the face). Gordon is his favorite, and we haven't bought him a Gordon yet. We want the Lights and Sounds Gordon (but it wasn't under $5) because he LOVES the ones that have sounds. Maybe he'll get a Gordon soon. It's hard to tell if he was more excited about the new train or the new toothpaste, a toddler toothpaste with Thomas on the tube. He pointed to the engines on the toothpaste box and named them all for me, starting with Gordon. I don't know how he knows Gordon is Gordon, because he's the same color as Thomas and doesn't look much different--he's a little bigger and has an 'older' look to his face. He's older and more responsible on the shows we've seen (and is the fastest engine of the fleet). Dennis was sad to hand the toothpaste box over to the clerk at checkout but she gave it right back to him and happiness was restored.

We had our first toy meltdown today. We were steering him out of the Thomas section, and he cried big tears (even though we were taking an engine with us). I think he was panicked because he hadn't loaded everything into the cart yet and we were leaving some things behind that he thought he wanted. We moved into another aisle and he chose the chemistry set shown in the picture and was very sad when we took that away from his as well. It was a tough shopping trip for him. He was happy again when we got to the car and he got to play with the trains that we brought with us.

Tonight, we played farm for an hour while David was wonderful enough to cook supper for us. We set up two farms and 'visited' each other. His people kept falling off cliffs and wrecking the tractor and he'd pretend to be shocked and yell "NO!" (which is how he says "Oh, no!"). He impressed me with a two word sentence that he used several times: "close door" while he was closing the barn doors. He also drank from a regular cup for the first time tonight, wetting his shirt in gargantuan proportions but laughing about it. We bought him a little plate-cup-bowl melamine set with cars and trucks on it, and he is so very proud of it. He held on to that plate set almost halfway home tonight (before flinging it to the van floor like he'd done with the frog and the trains and the sippy cup...). He unpacked it from the box and brought it to me in the kitchen to add to our dishes when we got home. I can't believe how grown up he seems tonight. He named all his trains for me tonight and all the farm animals as well. That's an active little mind in there and I just love to watch it so engaged. He's fun to play with now, too. He made his cow and pig (and the farmer) 'eat' some corn from the cornstalk that came with the farm set, and the great part of that was watching him put the animal's mouth precisely on the corn cob and then listening as he made the smacking and munching sounds with his own mouth. He's a great little play buddy, and I'm almost disappointed that he had to go to bed. What am I going to do with the rest of the evening?

reward train

Dennis accompanied us northward on our errands today. Mostly he was happy about it. He was happy to see his beloved Aunt Lulu who left 2 lipstick prints on his cheek. He gave her many hugs and stared in wonder at all the cajun memorabilia on the wall in the restaurant! He was also happy to get out of the car at Target and ride in the main part of the cart instead of the baby seat in front. I know--that's dangerous and not recommended, but it is much easier to watch him 'surfing' in the high walled main part of the shopping cart than to watch him stand up in the front baby seat and 'surf' there. He hates riding in the baby seat and usually worms out of the safety belt and stands up and leans on us.

The Target we went to was a SuperTarget, only it wasn't. The toy selection was terrible, especially the Thomas the Train section. Thomas usually gets half an aisle for all his merchandise, but at this particular store only got one little endcap, and there was only ONE Take Along Thomas choice--a Hardworking Thomas coupled with a giggling Troublesome Truck. Naturally we bought it because he loved it and I've been wanting one of those giggling naughty freight cars (the giggle makes me laugh). Or excuse me--I've been wanting HIM to have one of those cars... So he was pleased, very pleased, and played trains for a good while before he started nodding off in the backseat. We kept him awake long enough to park at McDonald's, though it was past 2 pm and he was READY to nap, and he happily ate almost an entire chicken mcnugget happy meal with apple slices all by himself. He likes the words chicken nugget (and mcnugget) and kept pointing to the chicken so I'd say it again. I really think he can say anything he wants to say now.

The picture shows him turning on the windshield wipers while the car was parked in the parking lot (with no key in the ignition). He also adjusted the radio and turn signals. And he practiced his driving.

a favorite cereal is chosen

Today Dennis wanted to eat us out of house and home. He woke up cranky from his nap and didn't perk up until I told him that I'd bought him a banana at the store today. I cut it up for him and put it on a plate and he immediately dried his tears and began cramming as much banana as would fit (plus some) into his mouth, giggling as he shoved in carefully cut up bites. Why did I bother? He was still hungry and asked for more banana so I had to dig the peel out of the trash and show him that it was empty. And I had to give him some goldfish crackers. This still didn't fully appease him, so I got out the Cocoa Puffs and told him what they were as I put them on his plate. When he finished them, he brought the plate into the kitchen and said "Mama Co-cos", so I gave him a few more. He kept repeating "co-cos" and laughing. After supper, he went back to the plate of cereal on his table and ate a few more, then said "uh-oh all gone". Then he brought the plate to me and said "co-cos" again. Clearly we've decided on a favorite cereal and snack.

The other super cute thing he did today: he went to the window and saw the trees blowing in the wind (we're having some severe weather tonight as it changes from a high of 72 degrees today to a high in the 40's tomorrow) and said "uh-oh trees". Then he called me over to the window and said "Mama frogs" and I listened and heard all the frogs singing outside. They are always loud on rainy days. Then he sat on the window sill and said "chair". I really couldn't argue with him.

There was a period of immense quiet, and we wondered what he was doing. When we went looking, we found him sitting happily on the floor in his room playing with his farm. I went in to play with him for awhile, and he moved the animals from the barn to the stable and back. He loaded a cow in the horse trailer and then removed it and put a horse in. He hooked the trailer up to the truck, put the farmer in the truck, and said "bye bye" and drove them away from the farm. Then he put another little person in the tractor and drove him around. We had a nice time playing and he wasn't in the least disturbed when I left to go to the kitchen and make some tea. He was so happy playing alone, and the play was pretty sophisticated. We again thanked God for our happy, easy child.

Today he said "hug" and then went and hugged the dog several times. I don't know if she understood what was happening, but she let him do his hugging. We'd been asking him if he could be a little nicer to Honey, to pet her more gently and to stop trying to bounce up and down on her whenever she is lying down. He must have felt apologetic and decided to give her hugs instead. Yes, it was as cute as it sounds. I am overwhelmed by all the cute that's going on around here.

a verbal explosion

I wasn't with Dennis all day because I had a killer migraine and my relief team of Gran and Pop took over for a couple of hours. They said he had a wonderful time at their house and played with every toy in the place. He also learned to propel his ride-on firetruck forward instead of just backward and can now 'drive' it at a significant rate of speed. I'm so proud.

I, too, got to watch his motor skills in action as he coupled and uncoupled his Melissa & Doug wooden block stacker train cars and stacked and unstacked the blocks that go on it. To report a 'just like Mommy' moment--he was having a bit of trouble figuring out how to couple the cars together and he tossed them down and screeched and then asked his Daddy for help. It was a little embarrassing to see myself in those actions!

He learned the following new words today: pear, woof, house, farmer, rug, knock (and learned the action to go with it), and cream (for ice cream, which I shared with him a while ago). That's lots of words for one day and I couldn't believe he just kept on saying new ones. It makes me excited to see what he'll learn tomorrow!

shock and dismay

After some happy playing sessions with his trains and tracks and airplanes, and the Plan Toys City Station that has become his combination train station, bus station, and airport, well, we broke his little heart to pieces. We took down the Christmas tree. I began pulling ornaments off the tree and he began hovering and wringing his hands and whining. It was terrible--the end of the world--and he screeched almost the entire way through it. Yes, I should have waited until he went to bed. I had planned to, but after I brought all the boxes in from the storage building, Dennis was occupied. So I began de-Christmasing the house, and soon enough he came in from the other room to express his displeasure. He cried the worst when we put away his Fisher Price nativity set, pulling David's pants and crying while he put all the figures in the box. We did keep the black sheep out so that he can play with it with his farm, but that wasn't much consolation. He whined when the Advent calendar went in the box and he tried to open all the doors again. It was a tough day for him, it really was, and I'm happy that he's in better spirits now. We're in the kitchen, waiting for the macaroni noodles to boil so that we can quickly assemble our supper and then eat it. I know he was sad to see the Christmas tree go, but we'll be going to Gatlinburg in a couple of weeks and it stays Christmas there until February. He'll see more trees and more lights and he'll be thrilled all over again.

tidbits

Just a few notes from today:

1. He slept through the night last night (or I never heard him cry), so maybe the tooth pain is better.

2. He played a few original compositions on the piano tonight and asked to sit on the stool so that he could play better. He did this by pulling the stool out from under the piano and saying "Chair up" and pointing to me and then the piano stool.

3. He helped us grocery shop tonight, holding a frozen pizza for a while while in the shopping cart and then holding onto the bag of cereal in the car. We chose a shopping cart that had a couple of steering wheels on a front-facing part that was designed to resemble a space shuttle type aircraft (at Winn Dixie), so I was surprised that he gave up driving for even a minute to hold that pizza.

4. He has learned what the names are for articles of clothing and says "pants" and can point out shirt and pants on himself and his new Ernie that he got for Christmas.

5. Just now, in his sleep, I heard him say "shoes" and then "pants", so I went in to check on him. He was lying down and blinking owlishly and went immediately back to sleep, so I can only presume he was dreaming about getting dressed. It was almost as cute as when he laughs boisterously in his sleep.

It was a pretty normal day, by our standards. But it was a good one, nonetheless.

tooth-related insomnia

I have the greatest, most difficult, most rewarding job in the world. It's called motherhood. Luckily, I have an excellent coworker, one who excels at everything, one who is maybe an even better parent than I am. I couldn't possibly describe to David how wonderful a father he is and how well he takes care of Dennis and me. We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful man as the one responsible for us.

David's been doing the morning duty this week. I have developed a raging case of insomnia not helped by the fact that Dennis' emerging new back molars cause him to whimper nightly from 2 A.M. to 4 A.M., and at 4 A.M. to break out into serious crying. For three nights I brought him to our bed, and he pummeled us with his head, kicked us, pulled our hair, tackled us, etc. for hours until we returned him (much happier) to his room. Last night, I gave him ibuprofen after spending 10 minutes explaining to him that it was going to help him (so that he'd quit thrashing his head from side to side with his mouth tightly closed). I stayed with him and watched him curl up into a sad little baby ball in the bed while clutching frantically at Froggy. He slept well from then on. I didn't. And since it's happened for 4 nights running, I can only presume that tonight will be more of the same. For this reason, I've been sleeping ridiculously, absurdly late, and David (who is STILL trying to recover from The World's Worst Ear Infection and Coughing Plague) has been home caring for Dennis. We've taken turns this week. One watches Dennis, one naps, and we switch off, and when Dennis naps, we both collapse.

I didn't nap today. I did sleep late, but then I got up and (gasp!) loaded the dishwasher and sorted some clothes. I played with Dennis, who was pleased that he was able to communicate so easily with me today. I went to the gym for the first time in 3 weeks, and it was great until the last machine, when I suddenly REALLY needed to lie down. The trainer supplied me with a pillow and a granola bar and things were right as rain in 10 minutes, but it was pretty awful being dizzy and all. My eating habits have been completely terrible lately, and my old friend hypoglycemia wanted to let me know he hadn't completely left me alone, and so I will be more careful now. Also, I am still trying to recover from the plague myself. It was nice to know that I made the effort to go, because the longer you stay away from the gym, the harder it is to get back into the habit of going. I had great reasons for being away that long, but now I'm back, and I want to see if I can continue the good progress I'm making.

Dennis correctly pointed out an "O" on my shirt today with no prompting. I picked him up and he pointed to it and said "O". We were doubly impressed because it was a cursive "O". David was in the kitchen cooking while I read books to Dennis in his high chair post naptime, and I walked into the other room to do something (I don't remember what). When I returned, David asked me if I could tell what Dennis was saying. I listened for a minute, thought I heard "fork?" and then asked him if he wanted a fork. This was the correct answer. I handed one to him and he just lit up and said "Fork!". David thanked me because he wasn't real sure that Dennis wasn't saying a much nastier word that sounds similar and he didn't quite know how to react. He also pointed out and named Gordon the train in his book today, and the way he says Gordon is indescribably cute. And this afternoon, David told him it was time to take his nap, and he came over to me and tapped me on the leg and said "Mama, night night!". Then he hugged my leg and I leaned over and hugged and kissed him. I hope he doesn't know just how well and tightly he has me wrapped around his chubby little baby finger. Gosh I love that kid, teething and insomnia and all!

Welcome 2009!

I wonder what this year will bring. Big changes? Will David get the job he's hoping for in computers? Will I keep dropping the weight and getting into better shape? Will Dennis learn his alphabet and his numbers? Will we travel at all? Will we get to use our camper as much as we hope to? Will Dennis learn all the requirements for successful and dependable potty usage? I prefer to think the answer will be yes to all of this.

We celebrated the new year with Dennis' Gran and Pop and Grandma and Bob, and we also were very lucky to be around to see Dennis' Uncle Phillip and cousin Silas. Dennis and Silas played and played and played, climbing up the chairs and couches, sharing the trains and sippy cups, and 'cooking' us meals in the kitchen. When they first arrived, Silas was a litte shy (understandable as he hadn't seen us since last December!), and Dennis tried to lure him to play by offering his stuffed frog and then by offering Froggy and his pacifier. Eventually, Silas came over and played with the trains and toy cell phone and we were bouncing and spinning him around just like we were Dennis (and I am now EXHAUSTED). They had a wonderful time. We had a wonderful time. Now we are home, and it's quiet except for Tabasco the Labrador howling at the passing ambulance siren. Or maybe he's singing... It's difficult to tell the difference. Dennis is in bed, completely worn out from all the playing he did with his cousin and his Gran and his Mommy and Daddy. We're starting to make plans to go to Gatlinburg in a couple of weeks for the upcoming wedding that will cement Bob as a permanent important person in Dennis' life. We're looking forward to it. We are gradually getting well, though much more slowly than we would like to be. I am meeting the new year with optimism for God-centered, happy, healthy, and hopefully financially stable life for our family and friends. I am prayerfully anticipating a wonderful year.