mommy's yucky sick day

Fever, cough, congestion--no strength--not ideal conditions for my job as Mommy. Luckily David was off today to help me with him. Dennis seems to be feeling fine. We had planned to take him to the pediatrician today because he's been telling us his ears hurt, but when we asked him this morning, he said they did not hurt (he changed his mind about 7:30 this evening, of course, after the doc had closed). I hate that I was so miserable today, fever was over 102 and I could NOT get warm and therefore did NOT get out of bed much. Dennis came to visit me a few times (so far he's not had fever, thank God), once insisting I read him a book. The covers were pulled up to my chin and he asked "Mommy, where are your arms?". He said "Don't you want to read this book? You need your arms to read the book, Mommy, go find your arms." This was so cute that of course I read him the book (shivering) and when I pulled my arms out from under the covers he announced "great job, Mommy, there they are! I knew you could find them." I hope I feel better tomorrow. More than that, I hope he stays well.

decorating the tree

It wasn't the magical family evening I had psyched myself up for, not by any means, but we had a nice time. We bought 400 colored lights at Wal-Mart and David wrapped the tree. Dennis helped David unwrap all the ornaments and I put them all on the tree. We listened to Christmas music and we had to tell Dennis again and again to put down the ornaments or to stop taking them off the tree. He demonstrated how he could pull up a chair and grab the more delicate ornaments from high on the tree, something we ardently discouraged.

Once the ornaments were hung, I noticed that the tree was leaning considerably! David checked the bottom and discerned that the trunk had not moved--the top was leaning instead! While I cooked supper for us, David did an emergency run to Wal-Mart to pick up fishing line and a hook so that we could 'tie' the upper part of the tree to the wall. So it's up, and it's beautiful and so wonderfully fragrant. I have stabbed myself in the eyeball while making sure there was water in the stand. We are undecided whether we'll go back to artificial or if we'll do a real tree again. There are pros and cons to both!

After we put the tree up, we ate supper while watching A Charlie Brown Christmas, which Dennis and I both love. He is excited about the tree, calling it "beautiful" and "my favorite tree". I hope the ornaments survive the season!

picking out our tree

What a fun seasonal experience we had today! We had promised Dennis that we could put up the tree today, and our poor artificial tree that dates back to the year of our wedding wasn't going to make it through another year (especially not with Dennis yanking on it). We perused trees at Wal-Mart and found a gorgeous artificial one that we would love to have and may consider buying if it is drastically reduced after Christmas. Their real trees were $25 and $35 but were wrapped up in netting and you couldn't see the tree. I had been calling a local tree farm to try and get an idea of their prices but couldn't ever get anyone on the phone. We decided to head there anyway and were delighted at what we found! Dennis had a wonderful time running through the trees with other children and playing with the farm dog. We found a gorgeous Virginia pine marked $20 and Dennis got to watch as they cut it for us, loaded it onto a trailer, pulled it to the barn, shook it, wrapped it, and loaded it onto the car. We enjoyed shopping and bought an ornament, and we also enjoyed some free hot cocoa and candy canes, and they gave Dennis a coloring and activity book. The weather was gorgeous and it was just nice to be outside. I can't remember if I've ever in my life been to a tree farm before, and I loved it as much as Dennis did (though I didn't cry when we left like he did).

The tree is home now and poor David struggled with it to get it in the stand (which is why we are still considering an artificial tree purchase). Our house smells heavenly! Dennis helped us bring in the boxes of tree trimmings from the storage building, and he would have happily unpacked each box if we'd let him. He thought everything was a toy! Unfortunately, we had no working strands of lights, so no decorating happened tonight. He was happily distracted by looking at and playing with the special ornaments his Gigi bought for him and by putting up his own tree in his room and decorating it. Perhaps we'll get to decorate tomorrow!

quite a compliment

There we sat in bed, cuddling with a Dennis who isn't feeling all that well. We left the diaper bag in the car and figured his medicine was in it, and we were debating which of us was going to go outside and fetch it in the cold night. Dennis told David to go: "Daddy you go get it, you be strong!". As David was suiting up to go out, Dennis told me "You are Supermommy!". Supermommy appreciates Superdaddy for going outside to get the bag!

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

I'm writing from the lake where we've just celebrated a wonderful feast! Attending were Grandma & Bob, Ju-Ju and Steve and Monte, Granny, Uncle Denny, Gran & Pop, Gigi, and Mommy, Daddy, and Dennis. We ate turkey and dressing and all the fixings and it was wonderful, of course. It was a special day and Dennis has been anticipating it for quite a while. We saw the Gallmans briefly last night as we picked up their dogs to care for and Dennis cried buckets when he figured out that Chloe was going somewhere that he wasn't going for Thanksgiving. He whimpered "I want to go to Thanksgiving" almost all the way home. Today when it was finally time to leave for dinner, he was ecstatic, announcing all the way to the lake "I'm going to eat Thanksgiving dinner!". When I asked him what he was thankful for, he yelled "CAKE!". He did a great job with eating his meal and enjoyed partying with the family and putting together the new puzzles that his Granny brought for him. I hope everyone had as nice a day as we had. I've been walking and running today to hopefully keep the damage minimal (7 miles total) and will probably be hitting the exercise bike tonight! I am thankful for my wonderful family and friends and very thankful that my body is capable of handling all the demands I've been putting on it lately. I am in the best shape of my life!

hide and roar

Today I went walking at the park and took Dennis along. He complained for the first mile, so I let him walk a couple of laps with me after that. We had the most fun! He challenged me to chase him for the first lap and we took turns chasing each other around. On our second lap, he veered off the track in order to hide behind trees and jump out and scare me as I walked by. He tromped through the fallen leaves, running from tree to tree and occasionally leaning out and saying "ROAARRRRR". He roared softly as he ran between the trees. Eventually he picked up a stick and began beating various trees with it, and then he settled down to dig in the leaves and dirt with a stick. When other walkers would pass by, he would tell them "look, I'm digging in the leaves". This turned into a pirate adventure a few minutes later as he announced "Arrrgh--I'm looking for pirate treasure" and walked to a spot and dug, then repeated. I finally convinced him to get back in the stroller and he slept through the remainder of my 5 miles. This was one of my most enjoyable walks ever!

not needed

It was getting down to the wire for me to leave the house in order to get to where I needed to be on time today. I turned on Dennis' light so he'd wake up from his nap, and when I got to my room I heard him yell "Hey, what's going on in here?" and then "Hey, Mommy, what you doing?". I told him we were going to Gran's house and he said "okay, I need to get dressed" and then "where are my pants?" and then "Mommy, have you seen my pants?". We found a pair of jeans and then faced additional mild drama over shoes and which toys to pack. I was putting the Legos back into the box and I had found much of the set but not the coolest part: the base with the wheels that makes the car or plane or truck or whatever. Dennis all of a sudden said, in a singsong voice, "hey, Mommy, look what I founndddd..." and it was the piece I was looking for. Amazing! He searches for and finds things now! What a great feature!

Dropped him off at Mom's and as soon as we got inside and he showed Gran his Legos, he said "bye, Mommy, see you later!". I hadn't told him I was leaving him there, so this was a relief that I got to make an easy getaway. He usually doesn't complain about us leaving him, though, and I'm grateful for that! I am working at the gym today and it's been 3 hours. I've had ONE person come in and work out. Holiday week, I guess, and now I'd better do my own workout! Have officially, as of this morning, dropped 80 pounds!!!

returning on the train

We are convinced! Amtrak is the way to travel! Boarding is easy, seats are roomy and comfortable, and you can get up and walk anytime you want! Not to mention that there is actually ROOM to get up and walk. Beats air travel in that respect (plus is more comfortable), and beats driving long distances in that you can sleep on a train whenever you wish. Nice. Dennis and David and I sat a few rows up from the rest of the party today, so Dennis enjoyed walking back and forth between our seats to deliver things from one party to the next. He announced when we went into the tunnel, and he enjoyed playing with his Thomas trains on the tray table in front of the seat. He loved everything about the train trip.

We shopped at Whole Foods and then tried to decide where to eat lunch on our way home. Gran wanted Arby's and Dennis said "No, we eat at Chick-Fil-A." Just when we were geared up for chicken, Dennis said "No, I want Arby's". As we were getting off the interstate, Uncle Denny mentioned Cracker Barrel, and Dennis was all over that. He said "Yes, Cracker Barrel, we eat at Cracker Barrel, what a great idea, Uncle Denny!". He settled on Arby's where we all partook of the dollar menu and then he fell asleep HARD in the booster seat (leaned all the way over to the right, poor little guy) on the way back. He was glad to get home and see all his fire trucks.

I have been working on the Advent calendar and I've almost got all the activities planned (written on slips of paper, one for each day along with an ornament that sort of relates to the activity). I have 5 more days to come up with, and Dennis wanted to play with our Advent house very badly. He insisted on playing with 'Mommy's house' (it looks like a house with 25 doors) and when I wouldn't let him, he said "You need to share, Mommy, you need to share that house." I have been told. It's all his starting Dec. 1, but he isn't going to like only opening one door per day!

going Amtrak

Trains are the way to travel with two-year-olds! We had a great ride aboard the Amtrak Crescent today, a short trip between Birmingham and Anniston. Tonight we're staying in Anniston at a hotel with great amenities! We all (us and Gran & Pop) swam for an hour in the indoor pool tonight while Uncle Denny watched and we put one exhausted little boy to bed on the sofa sleeper in our room.

The reason the train is so wonderful? He can get up and walk around and climb around and enjoy large space to play. He can visit the Cafe Car or the Dining Car. He can walk from car to car and play 'conductor' as he intones "TICKETS, PLEASE" to the people he passes. The seats are large and recline to the max (a leg support even comes up, much like an actual recliner). Dennis pointed out the tunnel and the bridges we passed through and under and very much enjoyed himself. He did not get to nap today and just when he told me "I want to get off the train and ride in Gran's and Pop's car", we arrived in Anniston. He was much distracted by all the tanks and army gear at the depot and was happy until we got off the train. He enjoyed our taxi ride to the hotel but then demanded food (which we all needed!). We enjoyed a rather superb barbecue and rib dinner at a Sonny's right next door before our swim. Tomorrow we return via train to Birmingham and then on home. I hope he enjoys it as much as he did today--it's about an hour and a half between the stations, and that was his limit today. I'm hoping that was due to the need of a nap that he didn't get because David and I liked it so much that we want to take longer train trips in upcoming years!

that's my cheese

I have been working out extra hard this week (in preparation for Thanksgiving, I suppose) and after an intense workout at Curves, I was cruising the kitchen for protein. I found the string cheese and thought that would do nicely. I brought it into the den to join David and Dennis there and Dennis spied what was in my hand and said "Why are you eating this cheese? What are you doing eating MY cheese? Hmm?". I was stunned. He is, in fact, the reason we buy string cheese. It worked, actually--I gave him what was left of my piece! Smart little guy.

building skyscrapers

Santa's helpers decided to do some shopping tonight and for that reason Dennis spent a few hours with Grandma and Bob and Bob's grandson Brandon. From the report I got when picking him up, a good time was had by all. When I arrived, he and Brandon were busy building a tall Lego tower. I heard him run to the door and shout "Mommy's here!!!!!" (David and I both love when he happily announces our arrival home or where he is and runs to greet us excitedly--so sweet). He said "hold my hand, Mommy, follow me" and led inside to see Brandon sprawled out and looking tired. Dennis said "we building a skyscraper--see, Mommy? Isn't it beautiful?". I made the appropriate praise sounds and then we loaded up to head home. Dennis did indeed have a wonderful time and told me about it all the way home. Santa sends a great big thanks to Grandma, Bob, and Brandon!

little parent

I was not feeling my best today and Dennis asked me "Mommy what's wrong? Are you sick?". I told him I was a little sick, so he told me to lie down and he pulled the covers up over me and placed the back of his little hand on my neck and then my forehead and then my cheek (checking me for fever I realized). He said "Mommy you warm enough now?". I told him I was and then he said "Okay, you get better now". If only he could fix chicken noodle soup...

listen to me!

Dennis is in a bossy phase right now. He told me to lie down on the couch and said "go to sleep, Mommy, close your eyes." I complied (hey, a little nap is always welcome) and he said "now go like this Mommy: zzzzzzzzz". So I pretended to snore (this cracks him up). He announced "Mommy's snugging" (his word for snoring) and dissolved in a fit of giggles. I peeked and he said "NO! Close your eyes right now Mommy" and I closed them again. He then jumped on me and yelled "SURPRISE!" and then told me to go to sleep again and close my eyes again. You think I'd learn, but no, I complied. He waited a minute and then leaned in and shouted "WAKE UP MOMMY, WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!!!". I opened my eyes and he said "let's eat breakfast". Note: this did not take place in the morning.

This morning, when I first heard him calling me (6:45), I stumbled blearily to his door and he pointed that chubby little finger in the direction of the kitchen and said "go get baby wipes and chocolate milk and my sippy cup". As I wandered toward the kitchen he called out "good morning, Mommy, I want a strawberry Pop-Tart for breakfast, bring it here". It was just easier to take him to his high chair and let him enjoy his feast there. He did get some grapes and cheese along with the sugary stuff--I'm not all bad!

I working out

Dennis stopped by for a visit while I was working at the gym tonight, after hours as I was shutting everything down for the evening. He told me he had to work out, and he tried several of the machines. Some he works correctly, some he slides down, pretending they are fireman poles. I'm glad we are raising him to understand the importance of exercise!

traveling Baby Jesus

Last year on the blog, there were many nativity adventures, and it looks like that will be a feature this year as well. We got out the Fisher Price Little People nativity set, and he has been playing with it constantly. When I told him we were going to the lake today, he said "I want to take Baby Jesus to the lake", so I told him to pack up his set and gave him a bag. He tossed in all the characters and props and then very reverently placed Jesus in the bag. David was impressed when he did this again for the trip home, tossing in everything negligently and then carefully placing Jesus in the stable in the bag. He wanted to watch a Baby Jesus movie, so I'm on the lookout for one of those that's geared toward his age level. I'm pleased that he seems to understand the importance of Jesus, insisting we pray with him and pointing out Jesus pictures everywhere we go.

burger order

We had a nice day today. We visited the Amtrak station in Birmingham, located in a truly scary part of downtown, in order to exchange our tickets from an ill-fated train excursion that we had planned to take in Washington last December. Ice and snow prevented that particular trip, and since we had credit with Amtrak, we're planning a short ride for an overnight trip next weekend. Dennis enjoyed visiting the train station very much and kept asking the ticket agent where Thomas was. This morning when I told him we were going to the train station, he announced "okay, we can go ride the pumpkin train again". Amtrak doesn't have anything to do with the Pumpkin Patch Express, which runs at the Calera Railroad Museum every weekend in October, but I was proud of him for making the connection there.

We also spent a short amount of time with the Gallmans this afternoon, and Dennis had the privilege of waking Chloe from her nap. She was not thrilled, but they had fun playing together. I told Dennis it was time to leave, and Chloe looked daggers at me and said "we are hugging right now" and indeed they were. Dennis cried big tears when we left, but he was excited to get home with our new-to-us 32" TV that Dave's dad gave to us! No, it isn't plasma or flat or anything, but it is LARGE, and movies and Wii games on the thing are awesome. We all watched Shrek together tonight and David kept having to pause the movie to appreciate the detail in, say, Shrek's collar or Donkey's fur. Dennis said "this movie is too big!". We are a former 19-inch only family, so 32 does indeed seem quite big to us.

We suppered at McDonald's on the way home, and I ordered my burger with no pickles or onions, and Dennis looked at the cashier and said "that's right, no onions and no popsicles!". He's a fun little guy.

seeing Santa

Though we had planned this initially for tomorrow, he would not let me put off the visit to Santa for another day. We took him tonight to Bass Pro Shop, where Santa arrived early this year. Dennis ran in front of some other kids in line and walked right up to Santa to say hello. Since they were having camera difficulties at the time, he didn't disrupt anything. He was very excited to go and see and talk to Santa, but when he tried to open the wrapped gifts all around 'Santa's Workshop' and was told he couldn't---BIG tears, much sadness. He needed a few minutes to get over it before he went back and actually got his photo taken, but now he has, and we can check this off the Christmas to-do list. Now if 'Santa' can just get the shopping all done next weekend like 'he' plans...

I coached Dennis a little, telling him Santa would ask him if he'd been good, and he replied (to me) "nope, I not been good". When I told him Santa might ask what he wanted for Christmas, he told me (like I was clueless) "I want a PRESENT, Mommy".

The picture shows him on a four-wheeler, which I told him that he'd better ask Santa for because Mommy sure couldn't get it!

the little things we looked forward to

Sitting on the couch, all three of us, sharing a big bowl of popcorn and watching the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special: PRICELESS!

We helped Gran pack for her trip to the beach, and when she told Dennis where she was going, he said "I want to go to Florida too, Gran". I told him she was going to the beach and he said "I want to go to the beach and build sandcastles!". He came up with the sand castle idea all on his own. Though Gran was pleased and touched and impressed that he came up with it and wanted to come along, he didn't get to go. We are both disappointed!

A day in the Life, from Daddy's Point of View

Today started out like normal for Dennis. Up as soon as it is light enough in his room to wake him up. And then he started playing with ALL of his toys and talking nonstop. This last for about an hour and them the inevitable call for chocolate milk started. Since I was awake at this point, Christi got to sleep in for a while. After retrieving his highness' milk, I changed his diaper and the proceeded to play in his room for another hour or so. Then came breakfast of muffins, during which Dennis proceeded to announce that he was "The Muffin Man." It was a little different that what I called him but it was cute none the less. Then while Christi proceeded to walk and do
who knows what with Jerri, Dennis and I spent some quality man time watching movies. Of course "Up" and "Tinker Bell" are not man movies, but it made him happy so that was what we watched. Lunch after Christ got home was eaten by Dennis on the run during which he kept "stealing" carrots from the table. While grabbing them, he would look at us like he was doing something wrong and hen run away with the carrot. Then the poor guy was taken to the Doctor's office by Christi. He got the swine flu nasal mist, so hopefully the little guy will not get it. Then he got to got to Wal-Mart, which he always enjoys. After that came a trip down to the lake and some stories read by Gran. This was followed by a late nap. Can't complain about the day, from Dennis' point of view and mine, it sounds like a pretty good day.

depression attack

Some days we are not the parents we hope to be. I fully admit to failing at the job today and I feel terrible about it. I don't know if it's PMS or my depression rearing its ugly head again, but I absolutely could not handle mommyhood toady. He woke me with a call for a diaper change and I cried. He could hear me crying and yelled "Daddy--Mommy's sad, go help!". David didn't hear, though, and I got up to take care of it. I had desperately hoped to sleep in a little today--I am completely exhausted and that didn't help things a bit. David and I ended up arguing before he left for work, and then I went in to deal with a poopy diaper on the floor and mess everywhere. I was not as magnanimous about it today, though, and I wept in front of Dennis and asked him in a not-so-kind way WHY he had taken the diaper off and gotten poop everywhere. I made him cry, actually, and we cried together, and then I felt so terrible. I couldn't find the diaper bag or the baby wipes and I frantically searched the house and called David in anger (and he didn't answer) to ask where he'd put them. I did calm down and did play with Dennis for awhile, and when I felt again at the end of my rope from his constant questions, we left the house for awhile to find stuff to do. I love his little voice. I love our conversations. I love being a stay-at-home-mom. Really I do. But this particular day, I couldn't handle the repetitive questions, the constant "I want chocolate milk" again and again and again. I must have looked fried because David took over when he got home and let me go into the bedroom and chill for a while. Dennis and I did have a very nice trip to Wal-mart and the Dollar Tree, where we got him a backup firefighter hat and a new firefighter axe-crowbar-and-whistle kit to aid him in his rescues. And we enjoyed looking at the Christmas stuff together and talking about Santa and snowmen and sharing a chicken nugget happy meal, so it wasn't all bad, but I did have a lot of trouble today. I would like to think that I'm somewhat normal for feeling overwhelmed every now and then, but I hate that I let him down. I just hate it. Tomorrow I work at the gym all day and he'll be with his Daddy, and this may be the break that we both need. I'll be Mommy Renewed by Wednesday, I hope, and all will be well again.

keeping him busy

I have days where I wonder what to do with Dennis, and today was one. I admit to being sleep deprived because David and I went out with friends last night and were out late. Dennis spent the evening with his Gran and Pop and we picked him up just before midnight. He woke up at 6:30 this morning, long before I was ready to get up, and he woke up ready to play. I took him out to the playground this morning and then to Kaycee's (flea market) to shop around. He found a fire truck with an extendable ladder and lights and sounds and when I saw the $3 price tag, I was excited about it as he was, so we paid for it and brought it home. I turned a large cardboard box into a garage/fire station for all 5 of his firetrucks, and he happily sat and played with it for hours, driving the trucks in and out of the 'garage' and extending the ladder so that 'Fireman Sam' could climb up to the station on top of the garage. He was not happy when naptime came around.

I did a little shopping by myself this afternoon while David played with him and then we all had family workout time at the gym. Dennis enjoys climbing on the workout machines and encouraging Mommy to 'push push push' and 'go go go' (something Pop taught him to say tonight). Now that I work at the gym, I have a key and permission for after-hours family workouts, and it's so much fun. I hope that we are teaching Dennis how to exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle. As of today, I am down 78.5 pounds and 78 inches!

bring baby wipes

This is the call that woke me this morning: "Mommy, bring baby wipes! Hurry!". I figured that whatever had been done was done and I lay in bed debating whether to get up and face it immediately or wait a bit, and of course got on up to see what had happened. It was bad. He told me "I took my dirty diaper off" and I saw it on the floor, poo-filled. It had filled to over-capacity and had run down his legs and dried, and he'd stepped in it and tracked it across his floor. He had also sat his poo-covered rear end down in a few places, and I basically had to scrub the heck out of the place and do a load of laundry and immediately plunk him down in the bath tub. I didn't mind so much. He couldn't help it, for sure, and I could tell he felt bad about it. He tried to help me scrub his floor with baby wipes and he showed me everywhere that the poo was. Poor little guy.

day at the park

We spent one of the most fun days ever at Oak Mountain State Park today. We met up with Chloe and Ellen and Chloe's Grandma and Gran and Pop and we went for a nice hike on the White Trail to Maggie's Glen and then back out the red trail. Pogo even came along and both kids so enjoyed his doggy company on the trail, especially since they got to throw sticks for him to retrieve. I'm so proud of Dennis for walking over 2 miles under his own power! True, hiking with a toddler involves much redirection and motivation, but the rewards are incredible. He pointed out some very neat tree formations ("look, Mommy, it's a triangle!" about some trees that were growing together and a branch across that did indeed make a triangle) and pretty leaves and perfect tiny pinecones. Gran showed him pretty ferns and bright red mushrooms, and he and Chloe enjoyed shaking the smaller trees to make the leaves fall all around them. Dennis played 'dinosaur' and growled and bit a couple of trees just to sample, I suppose! We also taught him to point out the trail blazes so we knew what trail we were on, something he learned quickly and enjoyed doing. His delight with what he calls 'walking the woods' increases my own enjoyment of the outdoor experience. It was a perfect day, sunny and gorgeous with fall color and mild temperature, a day not like November at all, and it was a great day to be outside.

After our hike, we planned to drive up the mountain to picnic at a shelter up on top, but the road was closed. Instead, we set up and ate next to a playground, and we had a time trying to convince Dennis to eat instead of sliding and swinging, though we all did plenty of both. It was way past naptime when we wound up our picnic, and by this time, Ellen and family had departed in order to get ready for an appointment, and Gran and Pop left also. I thought Dennis would fall asleep in the car, but he recognized where we were and said "let's go see the owls, Mommy". We walked on the Treetop Nature Trail to see the birds recuperating in captivity. We saw owls and vultures and hawks, and we both liked the albino vulture very much--so unusual! I was sure this would tire Dennis out to the max, but I was wrong.

We got back in the car and he said "we go see the animals at the farm, Mommy", something we've never done but always wanted to do, and since it was still open and he was still awake when I got to the demonstration farm, we turned in. This particular farm is like a petting farm of sorts--you go in the gate and you are in with goats and sheep and peacocks and one donkey wandering around. The animals came up to see us and sniff us and make us feel welcome. Dennis got to pet sheep and goats and the donkey, and we also saw chickens in the barn (behind a fence) and also cows and horses and a few more donkeys that were in fenced pens. It's a beautiful grassy area with several outbuildings and a great barn to walk through, and Dennis and I had a great time watching all the animals. As I imagined he would, he fell asleep pretty much immediately upon returning to the car, and later he talked about his day with his Daddy and me. It was a great one. Can't wait to do it again next week!

wearing him out

I didn't think it was possible, but we seem to have exhausted Dennis. He stayed up late last night and then got up at almost the usual time. So when Gran and I were walking at the park this morning, he fell asleep pretty quickly in his stroller. He was out not quite an hour and woke up in time to grocery shop, and then he headed to the lake house. When I got down a bit later to meet up with him and Gran and David, we took another walk (up the BIG HILL) and Dennis walked along with us. He walked a mile up and down steep hills, and he came into the house and laid out on the couch propped up on a pillow. It's not quite 7 and his eyelids are almost closed. Poor little guy. He's had a busy day!

playing outside

Gran had the wonderful idea to go for a hike at Oak Mountain today, and since it was spur-of-the-moment, I didn't have time to grab my trekking poles or the baby backpack. So Dennis hiked (and by this I mean actually walked on his own feet) the trail to Peavine Falls, and he did GREAT! He stayed with us and pointed out interesting leaves and sticks to us and kept up a fairly good pace the entire time. We had an incredible time. The weather was perfect, sunny and gorgeous with peak fall colors decorating the trees. We kept having to stop on the drive up the mountain to exclaim over the beauty of the leaves on this tree or that. Dennis made the walk so much more enjoyable with his commentary and his excitement over being able to "walk in the woods" all by himself. He climbed rocks and picked up sticks and especially vibrant leaves, he showed us the pinecones and encouraged us to "go faster, guys!". What a great day to be outside!

arts-and-crafts

I scored a gingerbread house kit at the After Halloween Sale at Wal-mart for $2. It was a chocolate cookie haunted castle kit complete with everything, no baking required, and I'd been looking at the thing for the whole season but not wanting to part with $10 for it. Dennis had, in fact, been asking for it, so I was delighted to surprise him with it today. We assembled it at Gran and Pop's house and we all had a great time doing it. He couldn't stop talking about 'building the house' and 'it's my scary house' and 'I put the bats and beads on it' and 'I build the walls, Pop, look!". I couldn't wait for him to get old enough to do this kind of thing, and I am so enjoying this kind of stuff and the coloring and puzzles and everything (he's BRILLIANT at puzzles). It was fun and messy cuteness, and I'm considering checking to see if there are more next time I'm at Wal-Mart. Fun enough to do again, for sure.