there's just no arguing with him

Several times he got me today. As I put him down for his nap, he was doing his best to come up with creative reasons to stay awake. We recited The Lord's Prayer a number of times, once he did the entire thing in his best Dinosaur Voice, and I suppose this qualifies as a 'joyful noise unto the Lord'. When we had exhausted this, I said it was sleeping time. He said, misunderstanding me, "no, it's not SLEEPY time, it's WAKEY UP time". How do you keep a straight face through this? And how about at lunch, when he finished his meal, looked over at me, and simultaneously quirked one eyebrow and fake burped, just to test my reaction. I have failed as Mommy. I did not discipline him because I was laughing too hard.

Tonight after church, we let Dennis choose a special activity to celebrate two perfect potty days in a row. He immediately said he wanted to go to Wendy's. We don't know why, but we are glad that SOMEONE in the family can now make an instant decision on where to go (David and I can never come up with a decision so quickly, trying to out-defer each other to death). When we were at Wendy's, we sat in a booth near a uniformed police officer (Dennis was super impressed). Dennis had brought a fire chief car and police car with him and was rolling them along the table. I reminded him that the cars were not clean because he'd just been rolling them on our car tires before we got in the car to go to Wendy's. He said "well, you need to go to a tire wash, Mommy". Didn't know what to say to that. And finally, I asked him right after that what he was going to be when he grows up, knowing for sure he'd say a fireman or a police officer. Instead, he said very matter-of-factly, "a man. I'm going to be a man when I grow up." The police officer overheard and had a good laugh about it with his dining companions.

the social Dennis

This morning was Story Hour at the library, a time Dennis and I have looked forward to since last week. Now that he has turned three, the world has completely opened up to him. He can go to Story Hour, he's in real classes at church on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights, and he's going to swim class. Four days a week he gets to go to a class setting with other children his age. He seems thrilled about it and talks about going to his different activities often. I would like to be the proverbial fly on the wall to watch how he acts in class, how he gets along with the other kids, whether he initiates conversation or plays alone, whether or not he talks to the teacher... The Sunday School teacher has told me that he is the sweetest child (which I take as a report of good behavior), and maybe I'll hear more as time passes. It could be that no news is good news, that they'd only tell me if there was a problem.

I let Dennis hang out in the library for 45 minutes after the end of Story Hour to play with the Thomas the Train table, and we had some lessons about sharing trains with the other little boy that was playing there. His mother got him to leave by promising to take him and his brother to the playground, and when Dennis and I left a while later, Dennis asked to go there as well. We did--it has been a BEAUTIFUL day, sunny, breezy, seventies, and Dennis enjoyed sliding down the fireman pole and talking about fighting fires. The pair of little boys from the library heard him and the older one walked up to him (they are five and almost four, their Mom says) and asked him "would you like to play firefighter with us?". A very joyful Dennis yelled "YES!" and what followed was about 20 minutes of a line of boys marching and running and saying "let's go to the fire station" and "let's get the hoses" and "the fire bell is ringing" and other important fire-related phrases. They slid down poles and climbed up ladders and drove the 'truck' around and around. Dennis was not the leader, and I think it was a great experience for him to follow. He spoke up and made suggestions ("let's go slide down the pole now") occasionally, and sometimes he was told that it was a good idea and they would all go and do it. It was so much fun to watch him playing with the bigger boys and holding his own, and it was also nice to not be a fireman myself for once!

Tonight Dennis recited the entire Lord's Prayer himself. It isn't perfect (he says "my kingdom come" and "give us the daily bread" and things like that), but it's SO sweet, and he does such a good job!

my garden grows

Dennis was ecstatic about visiting our plants today. When we stopped by to use the potty at Gran's house on our way home from Wal-Mart, she presented him with his very own garden gloves, and he's very proud of them. He told her "we are growing our very own food in our garden" and invited her to come and play in the dirt with him. She stayed home with Pop, though, who had eye surgery early this morning and is doing as well as expected.

As soon as we got home (after Dennis perused the candy aisle at Wal-Mart and instructed me on what to tell the Easter Bunny to bring to him), Dennis put on his garden gloves (with a little help) and got his fingers in the dirt, planted some seeds, and helped me water our plants. Then we played "fire station", which means he slid down the pole on his outdoor play structure again and again and again. This time when he stood up on the tower, he pointed to the opening beside the ladder and said "I really need a slide here, Mommy" and I agreed. We made the decision to spend his birthday money on swim lessons instead of play equipment, thinking it might save his life to know how to swim. The slide would have been less expensive. Maybe we can get one for him this summer sometime.

The funniest thing he did today? We were cruising through the store when he grabbed my face with both his hands, planted a loud smacking kiss on my cheek, and proclaimed "I love you sweet boy, Mommy!". I told him I was a girl, so he repeated the entire thing, this time using the correct gender.

Palm Sunday

This is the first time we've been at our church on Palm Sunday, and this year it is also Children's Sunday. We dropped Dennis off at his class, and I checked on him between Sunday School and the service to find him doing just fine and lining up with his class to get ready to go up to the special children's service (called 'Splash' for some reason I cannot fathom). During the service, we heard much commotion in the vestibule and remembered that we'd heard the children would be carrying palm fronds and marching around the sanctuary. I tried to get Dennis in on this during the practice, but they told me he'd have to wait to be promoted to the older class. This is before he promoted himself last week. We didn't know if we'd see him in the service or not, and David kept watch. When he saw the littlest children marching in last, we got excited, and sure enough, there was our little guy marching in line with his own palm frond. We were disgustingly proud of how cute he looked. He took a wrong turn at the choir loft and was headed out the door until the teacher pointed out the right direction, and soon he was coming down the aisle toward us. I waved and he got so excited that he climbed up on the pew in front of us to tell me "look, Mommy, I got a palm leaf and I'm waving it!". I asked him if he was having fun and he nodded hugely; I told him we'd see him after church. All the children except the youngest class (his) stayed for the service and sat together in the center. When we went afterward to pick him up, he had cleaned up his toys, had behaved very nicely, and had colored his own palm leaf. He told us he learned about Jesus and his donkey today, and he was ready to go play outside, he said.

Today was Papa's birthday, and Granny left after lunch to get home to go and visit the cemetery today. In his honor, we planted our container garden today, 10 tomato plants, banana peppers, strawberries, and a cayenne pepper plant. We also started seeds for carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, bell peppers, and cilantro. I had intended for Dennis to help with the planting, but David gathered all the supplies and was ready to start while Dennis was taking his nap. He missed the initial planting, but the pots are all outside his window, and I showed him when he woke up. He said "now I can watch our food grow!". I will let him water them and help me transplant the seeds when the time comes.

Tonight he played outside with his Daddy while Gran and I walked our now habitual five miles at the track. He drove his Jeep around and 'put out fires' (David said he was told he was on fire a number of times but was rescued by Fireman Dennis), and then he slid down his fireman pole. It was a good Dennis day, really a good day for all of us.

bargaining

Swim class did not go quite as I hoped this morning. I peeked my head in once to see Dennis and another boy engaging in a splash war (much giggling) and then saw the instructors catch them at it and tell them to stop. I didn't watch after that. When I came in at the end, the instructors told us to work with the children this week in the tub, getting them to put their faces in the water and blow bubbles. And then Miss Donna (our instructor from Water Babies who remembered Dennis and recognized him right away--is this a good or bad thing?) told me that everything she asked Dennis to do, he told her "I can't!" and wouldn't. Ah, well. There's always next week. At the end of the class, he blew bubbles for me twice in the pool as I stood at the edge, but Miss Donna was looking away. We had a talk about trusting our teacher and trying things before we decided we couldn't do them, and we'll have that talk again next Saturday morning.

Today on our way home from the lake house, Dennis told me he didn't want to go home. I knew this was because he wanted to avoid nap time, but I played along and asked him what he wanted to do. He said "I want to go to Wal-Mart and look at the toys. First we can look at your toys, Mommy, and then we can look at my toys." I told him what a nice offer that was and he said "yes, we will look at your toys first--I love to help you shop, Mommy." We did indeed need a few things from Wal-Mart, and I called Daddy (following in his car) to inform him of our planned stop. The offer didn't hold true. While I was looking at 'my toys' (in this case, seeds and plants), Dennis became impatient and impossible, and he remained that way when we fetched our groceries. He never did get to look at his toys. He was upset by that fact, but he knows he's supposed to be good in order to look at them and he agreed that he had not been very nice. He yelled at us, told his Daddy to stop pushing the cart, told him "put that ham back right now, Daddy, it's Mommy's turn to shop." He did tell me he wanted to get flowers for Gran as we passed them, so I let him pick out a bouquet and take it to her on our way home. He ran to her door and said "look, Gran, I picked these out for you!". She was delighted and he was as well.

big worries

This morning, Dennis woke up crying, and I went in to his room to lie in his bed before he could come and join me in our bed. After a few minutes, he announced "you're too big, Mommy" and so I came back to my own bed with him trailing behind. He noticed that his Daddy's side of the bed was empty and began asking where David was. I told him that he was at work, but Dennis had some concerns. He asked "is Daddy in the tornado?". I assured him that the tornado was gone now and he had many more questions about what a tornado actually is and if it was going to hurt our house. After I thought I'd put his fears to rest, he said "I don't want the tornado to get Daddy" and even though I promised that it was gone and Daddy was safe, he was still upset. We had to call Daddy at work for reassurance.

Tonight I worked at the gym for a couple of hours and then we went out for a little family dinner at Taco Bell. We'd been seeing the ads for shrimp tacos and wanted to try them. They are very very good, but a little pricey, and we were delighted to discover that Dennis will actually eat at Taco Bell now. He devoured a soft taco and a cheese roll up and put a dent in a bag of cinnamon twists. Then it was more Man Night as I went for a walk with Gran. I think they had a good time together. When they came to pick me up for dinner, Dennis showed me the new Thomas the Train stuff that Daddy had bought for him, and it's a special occasion indeed when Daddy takes him toy shopping and lets him get something!

When I got home tonight, he had just gone to bed (Dennis, not David, though he wasn't far behind), and I went in to see him. He was awake and asked "what were you doing?" and I told him I was walking with Gran and he said "oh, so that's what was going on last night!". I laughed and assumed he meant tonight and then we said the Lord's Prayer together and the goodnight prayer and he talked himself to sleep shortly after.

weather scare

Tonight we had a very nice dinner at Uncle Denny's place, the first in his newly (mostly) finished home. I cooked a spaghetti meal in his brand new awesome kitchen and Granny and Gran joined us all. Dennis likes playing at Uncle Denny's house and he especially enjoyed tromping in the mud outside in his rain boots tonight.

We were almost home when he announced he needed to use the potty, so we stopped at a gas station only to find that theirs was out of order. Not wanting to ruin his perfect potty day, we let him water the grass out behind the station. And then we let him go inside and pick a prize for staying dry and clean all day. He chose donuts.

When we got home tonight, the weather siren sounded and David stepped to the door to see if he could hear what the spoken directions would be. He couldn't hear anything but very rough wind and immediately ordered all of us into the hallway. After I ducked into our room to turn on the tv to confirm a tornado in our area, I joined him and Dennis on their pile of mattresses and pillows in the hall. We tried to explain to Dennis what a tornado was, but he was so busy jumping on the mattress and "building a skyscraper" with the pillows that I don't know what he comprehended. Luckily it soon passed by without incident. Well, almost without incident... Dennis fell backward while jumping on the mattress and smacked the back of his head on the wall hard enough to dent the sheetrock. It scared me very badly but he was fine for the rest of the evening. I'm glad the scary times have passed.

why the birds sing

This morning, when Dennis was acting a bit wild, I steered him outdoors and asked him if he could hear the birds singing. He said "yes, Mommy, what are they singing about?". I told him I supposed they were talking to each other and asked him what he thought they were singing about. He said "they are singing songs to God and Jesus". And he is exactly right.

Tonight we took him to church, the first Wednesday night we've attended other than Ash Wednesday services. David and I are taking a class called What it Means to be a United Methodist", something we feel we would like to know more about since we were raised Baptist. Dennis joined the three-year-old class and had a lesson as well. It is so great going to church now knowing that he is in class and learning too!

library time

So he's finally old enough to go to Story Hour at the library! We walked in at the appointed time and they asked me if he was three and I happily replied that he was. Imagine my delight when they told me that they took all the children into a room without the parents! I had some free time at the library, and I chose a few books and surfed the internet a bit. I had forty-five minutes of me time! Dennis said he had a good time and the librarian told me he did very well. When I asked him what story they read, he told me "we read about Harold" and I said "Harold the Helicopter?" and he said "no, not that Harold--it was Harold and the crayon. Harold drew his house and he drew a bed to sleep in and he drew a moon too!". Mom assures me that there is indeed such a story and it's called Harold and the Purple Crayon. I'm so glad he enjoyed it, and they all told us they hoped that we'd come again next week. We are so there.

This afternoon, Gran and Allison and I went for a hike at Oak Mountain and Dennis spent some time with his Grandma. She sent this picture of him fishing--he apparently caught a few fish while he was there. Doesn't he look cute in Laine's life preserver?

it makes me happy

Dennis spied my glass of Coke Zero a few minutes ago and said "what's that, Mommy?" and I told him. He said "what does it do?" and rather than explaining the intricacies of caffeine and they joy of a good carbonated beverage, I replied "it makes me happy!". Then I scooped him up and said "do you know what else makes me happy? DENNIS does!" and I covered his face with kisses. He laughed and then sat in my lap and said "I'm sad, Mommy." I expressed the proper concern and he said "yes, I'm sad--I need some Coke Zero to make me happy" and then he grabbed the glass and took a drink and said "it worked! I'm happy now!". As I was laughing at his quick wit, he said "you know what else makes me happy?" and I asked what and he said "Pop! Pop makes me happy!". I hope I remember to tell Dad!

game night fun

This morning at church, we dropped Dennis off at the two-year-old nursery as usual. We've been excited about his upcoming promotion to the three year old class, where he'll actually get a lesson every week as well as getting to attend the children's worship service. Promotion happens in May, usually, but when we returned to the nursery to retrieve Dennis, we discovered that he'd already promoted himself. The three year old class and the two year old nursery share a bathroom, and the instructors told us that Dennis wandered over to the other class several times and then said "I want to stay in here!", so they let him. They told us he did great, and he didn't want to leave when we picked him up. Had we known he'd moved up a class, we'd have gone on to Sunday School ourselves and let him go to his worship service. Next week, I suppose! They told us he was welcome to continue attending the new class, and I'm so glad! He is definitely ready for church classes, especially since he is learning prayers and begging me to read his bible to him daily--he now insists on sleeping with his bible in his bed at night.

Tonight we visited the Gallmans to have a delicious supper (great job, Ellen!) and let the kids play together. Dennis enjoyed being greeted by their neighbors' goats when we arrived and he and Chloe actually played very nicely together. David and Ellen played very nicely together as well, enjoying her new Super Mario for Wii. Dave and I (who are not very good at video games) played with the kids and then went for a hilly (and dark and chilly) walk around their neighborhood. I think we all had such a good time, and everyone got to do something they really enjoyed! On the way home from their place, we noticed a truck down in the ditch on the side of the road (very deep ditch), so we turned around and went back and David got out to see if anyone was in the car and see if they needed help. He encountered a very intoxicated driver who insisted that he didn't need any help and one scared pit bull. He called the police, and the dispatcher asked us to stay on scene so that they could find the truck. We did, parking just off that very dark and scary road, and we watched as the volunteer firemen arrived, the first one in a car that was soon followed by the big fire rescue truck and fire chief car. Dennis announced the arrival of each vehicle and asked lots of questions and made lots of 'rescue' observations, my favorite of which was "that truck is stuck, Mommy, and it's going to need a tow truck--where is the tow truck? someone should call them". Then two police cars arrived, and we were asked to wait for the county sheriff's department to arrive in case they had questions. We did, and since we didn't see the accident happen, we were free to leave. David got Dennis out of the car and carried him over to see the fire truck and meet the firemen and policemen, and he got to watch as they started the rescue. I am still worried about the dog, who was actually very friendly and sweet once he got out of the vehicle and realized everyone was there to help. I hope someone took him to safety. We left after Dennis observed things for a bit because it was VERY late. Dennis could not have been more thrilled about everything, and he talked about it halfway home before he begged us to pull over and let him get in his 'baby seat' rather than his 'big boy' booster seat so that he could sleep.

welcome spring!

What a glorious day it is today! I am sitting outside as I type this, listening to the birds sing and watching the cat bask in the sun. Dennis is napping in his new big boy bed (our daybed, twin-sized) after a string of comments about not wanting to go to bed because he wanted a bigger bed. Now that Uncle Denny has moved into his place, our daybed needed to be removed from Gran's and Pop's den, so it came to its new permanent home today. He looks so tiny in that bed, but he loves it and says it is so comfortable. He got a belated birthday gift of a Wal-Mart gift card in the mail today, and while he thinks he is going to find a toy and buy it, I have the idea that he gets to pick out his own bedding set for his new bed. He has been talking about getting new sheets, so maybe he'll go for that. Right now his beautiful comforter from Gran is on the bed, but I am thinking of maybe saving that until he's a bit older, especially if we find a kid one that he just loves. Or maybe we'll keep it and get sheets that match. I will just have to see what he picks out.

We have played outside a good bit already, logging 4 miles of walking at the park this morning (Dennis complaining from his stroller for half of it because he wanted to keep playing tag and Gran and I were ready to do some serious walking. When we got home, we didn't even go in the house. I told him he should drive his Jeep around some, and he hopped in and drove it in big circles in the yard. He told me it was his fire and rescue jeep. I am reflecting on how he's gotten some sort of vehicle for each birthday so far from us (wagon for 1st birthday, Power Wheels Jeep for 2nd birthday, Smart Cycle for 3rd, though it is a stationary bike) and thinking we'll have to nix that type of gifting long before his 16th birthday rolls around!

The Bradford Pears and Japanese Magnolias and daffodils are all in full bloom and it's just gorgeous driving around. Today it's in the mid-70's, mostly sunny with some clouds and a breeze. It's just great to be outside, especially knowing that a cold front will arrive while we sleep tonight, bringing rain and a 20 degree drop in temperature. We've had a very nice taste of spring today, though, and we are very thankful!

truly bad behavior

I worked at Curves today all day long, and Dennis spent the majority of his day with his Gran. She said he was pretty well behaved with some not-so-great antics when it got past his naptime. She took him to lunch at Wendy's and they called me from there. He told me what he was eating and where and wanted me to turn down the music so I could talk to him better!

Tonight he was maybe as terrible as he's ever been. Chloe and family were down visiting and helping out with the last minute scramble to finish preparing Uncle Denny's house for his arrival home from the hospital tonight. She and Dennis alternately played and fought for the whole of their time together and it drove their mommies absolutely bonkers. Dennis got a new tiny all-inclusive fire station/truck/fireman toy today from Gran and Chloe wanted it because he was so enthralled with it. Imagine lots of whining and snatching and pushing and shoving and crying, if you will, and you'll have a fairly correct image of our evening. The worst was when he shoved her down and she hit the bathtub with her chin (because this particular fight broke out in the bathroom of all places). He got a major timeout for that and he wailed and cried big tears (which was when I noticed that we were about an hour past bedtime), and then he apologized. Tonight on the way home, in the midst of him asking me to ask him to identify places (a fun game we play in the car--"there's Wal-Mart, Mommy, and there's San Marcos where we eat chips" etc.), I asked him why he was so mean to Chloe and he said "because she snatched my fire station and I wanted to play with it". We had a lesson about how it would have been nice to share the new toy because she wouldn't get to play with it after today and he would. He absorbed that for awhile and then we got into some of his questions. He asked "what are sounds, Mommy?" after we talked about the radio tower and sound waves (also prompted by one of his questions) and I explained that sounds are what we hear with our ears. He asked "what makes sounds?" and I told him the car radio did and people did and fire truck sirens did and he said "oh. Are sounds like noises?" and I realized that I could have avoided that very long explanation if I'd just thought of the word 'noise'. Oh, well.

Surely he'll be nicer tomorrow...

conversations of interest

This morning he played with his new fire truck playhut that was a gift from Gigi--we found the shipping box waiting on the porch when we got home late last night. After hours of climbing in and out of it this morning, wrapping his fire house around it, 'driving' it around (all wearing his fire gear, of course), he put it in the kitchen. I was cleaning the living room and overheard him saying "Oh, fire truck, you're sick? Here, take your medicine--it'll make you feel better" and "there you go, fire truck, there's your medicine". Wondering what medicine he was into, I went running toward the direction of the kitchen in time to see him offering the 'mouth' (grill) of his fire truck a boxed puzzle, which I suppose would be about the right size 'pill' for a fire truck. I expressed my concern over the fire truck's well-being, and Dennis assured me it would feel better very soon.

When we were at the bank this afternoon, Dennis pulled his Spiderman sunglasses down over his nose and looked at me over them. He announced "look, Mommy, I'm a grandpa!". He charmed everyone in the bank, of course.

Tonight on our way home from working at Uncle Denny's place, Dennis asked me the hard questions again. We talked about the names of our cars (Tracker and Blazer) and which house was bigger, ours or the lake house (he knew the answer and he knew that Gran's house was bigger than both of them). And then he asked about God and Jesus again and wanted to know about the Bible. I don't know why that was on his mind, but I assured him that he did indeed have a bible and he asked "does it tell about God and Jesus?". I told him it did and he wanted to get home as soon as possible so he could read it. He took it to Gran's house tonight (where he's spending the night) and I read him the 23rd Psalm as I tucked him in. He liked it very much. So we're adding Bible Reading as a new daily thing with him, and I'm excited to see how he likes it.

Happy 15th Anniversary

Today David and I are celebrating 15 years of marriage. We had a great time at Cheaha State Park and hiking in the Talladega National Forest. David even got to find a geocache, which Dennis LOVED ("it's a pirate treasure box, arrrrrhh!"). It wasn't the romantic day out that we hoped for, but it was very very special anyway. Dennis really enjoyed the hiking he got to do, three different trails with three completely different kinds of scenery. He is getting to be a great little hiker, even did some tree-hugging. At least I thought it was tree hugging, but he said he was sliding down the fireman poles. Everyone enjoys nature a little differently, I suppose.

All day long Dennis asked to go to Cracker Barrel, so tonight when we were almost home, we stopped and met Gran and Pop for supper at Cracker Barrel. They treated us to dinner to celebrate our anniversary, and we had a nice meal all together. Dennis absolutely loves Cracker Barrel, and if you ask him why, he says "there are toys in there". As a matter of fact, when we were driving along the interstate, he shouted "LOOK MOMMY, there's a CRACKER BARREL!" and when I turned my head to look, he said "I was just kidding!".

So we've been married for a long, long time now, and I'm glad to report that we are happier than we've ever been. And we made some very nice memories today. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

the not-so-romantic getaway

It's been planned for weeks--tonight David and I are celebrating his birthday and our anniversary at the beautiful Cheaha State Park Lodge. They are having a special St. Patrick's week deal, and I booked our room a long while back intending to spirit him away after work today and spend some quality couple time. Remember the evil stomach virus from last week? It has invaded our lives again, this time attacking both grandmothers. No babysitter availability means this is now a family getaway instead of a romantic retreat for the two of us. I asked David if he wanted to postpone the trip (he guessed our surprise destination yesterday, darn it) when we found out the bad news this morning, but he said we'd just bring Dennis along. I called and arranged for a roll-away bed for our room.

This is such a beautiful place, and the room is so much nicer than I had anticipated (especially for $29.50--the special deal--wow!), having been very recently remodeled and with brand new high speed internet available (hence this blog's timely appearance). And Dennis has been just charming all day. He talked all the way here in the car, some to me, some to himself, not too loudly (David caught a nap while I drove us here). He never asked for a potty break, so I was delighted to discover he was still dry after we'd gotten here, checked in, unloaded the car, and played in the room for awhile. That's four hours since we left home, stopped by to see Pop, visited the hospital, shopped for a bit in Alabaster, gassed up the car, and drove 120 miles. I'm so proud!

Tonight we had dinner at the restaurant here, special St. Pat's Day menu stuff that was actually quite good. Our corned-beef-and-cabbage portions seemed small, but Dennis got a nice sized burger and fry meal. We all got pricey drinks instead of water, and we ordered two desserts to celebrate David's birthday in style. We sort of cringed when they brought the bill but were delighted to discover that the whole meal came to $15.09. Holy cow! They gave him dessert for free since it's his birthday. We had thought we were kind of underwhelmed with the meal until we saw the check, at which point we decided that it was a GREAT meal for that kind of money! It sure is a beautiful restaurant, with a wall of windows overlooking the incredible mountain vista, rock walls inside with giant antler chandeliers on the ceilings, and we saw nightfall happen and the distant city lights appear. We dressed a little nicer than usual and wore our shamrock beads for the occasion, and we saw some of Dennis' best restaurant behavior yet, though he did announce that he was ready to go back to the "'tel room" when we were finishing the meal. He loves the room and his little roll-away bed, for whatever reason, and he is peacefully sleeping in it now. He didn't give us much trouble at all about going to sleep. I know he'll be fun on the hikes tomorrow as well--he's never been here before and we'll show him the highest point in the state (and surely take his picture there).

It's not the trip I had planned, but it's a nice little mini-vacation nonetheless. I'm still hoping for one-on-one time with David soon, and an overnight for just the two of us. Maybe it will happen!

I baked Shamrock Cookies today with a special cookie cutter that Gaynell and Jim sent to us, and while I was doing so, Dennis unwrapped David's birthday presents. He brought them in to me in the kitchen and said "here's Daddy's presents!" just as I looked out the window and saw him driving up. I hurriedly stuffed them into gift bags and tried to right the damage, but there was gift wrap all over the floor to give it away! Dennis picked out a swimsuit and shirt for his Daddy ("to go swim with me" he said in the store) and I got him the new Clive Cussler and a crossword puzzle book. He liked everything. And there's a picture here of Scuba Dennis, taken just before the cookie-baking-and-gift-unwrapping extravaganza.

his new quiz

Sometimes our car trips are excruciating--he gets bored and decides that yelling is quality entertainment. He invented a new game today, a great one. Halfway to the lake house, he said "Guess who I am, Mommy" and I asked who he was. He said "I'm a fish!" and I asked what he did and he said "I swim in the water." Then he said "who are you Mommy?". I told him I was a tree and I grew up tall and strong and shaded people and he said "and then you fall down." Then, another guess, this time he was a flashlight that liked to shine up. My turn again, and I was a bird that flew around looking for twigs for my nest. He asked me to guess again and he said "I am rain--we are both rain--we like to make it really wet." We took turns with this fun new game until we got to our destination. Our last two: I was a rock that would eventually break apart into dirt, and when he went next, he said "I am a bulldozer" and I said "what do you do?" and he said "I scoop the dirt!". Nice ending to the game and it made for one of our most pleasant car trips to date.

Tonight we misunderstood something he was telling us and it made for some real mirth. He got his mask-snorkel-flipper set for the cruise (and he put it all on in the car--too bad it was too dark for a photo) and I told him he looked like a scuba diver. After we visited Uncle Denny and were walking back to the car, he said what sounded like "what does a screwdriver do?" and I said I didn't know, what did it do, and he replied "he has underwater adventures". So I said "What? What does a screwdriver do? You know this" and he replied "it screws the screw into the hole". He went on about screwdrivers on underwater adventures as we walked out of the hospital and suddenly I realized he was saying 'scuba diver' and not screwdriver. He said "YES, Mommy, Scuba diver--I am Scuba Diver Dennis!". I have no idea where he got the underwater adventure thing from, but that's a very accurate description. Not too many more years to go until he can go scuba diving with his Daddy and me! We hope to teach him to snorkel a little this summer on our cruise. He already knows how to breathe (and talk) through the thing, which he did in the car for a long while.

It was a nice day, a morning visit with Granny before she left, a visit from Gran and Pop at our house (they came to see Granny off), a sign-up and short visit with Bob at the gym where we signed up for his swim classes to start in 2 weeks (real swim class this time--he's not a Water Baby anymore!), lunch at the lake with Gran and Pop, supper and shopping with the Gallmans and a short visit from Allison, then our hospital visit and home where he went to bed very peacefully (after reaching up his little arms to pull me down for a big hug and a long Eskimo kiss). It was a busy day, sure, but a very very nice one. Tomorrow we'll be celebrating David's birthday!

and now he's three

What a wonderful birthday we celebrated today! I finally remembered to show him the geode that he and Uncle Denny were talking about a few visits back, and he held it and examined the sparkly interior and said "Where did these sparkles come from? Were they in your ear? Were they in Uncle Denny's ear?" (because he is the one who gave it to me years ago). He looked at it for a long time, touching delicately and checking out every part of it before I returned it to its high shelf and resumed my house cleaning. As always when I have a party here at the house, I found myself scrambling to complete last minute details. Gran assembled two giant cardboard structures (a fire station and a 'burning' building) rather brilliantly, I think, and I was grateful because all my creativity was tapped out after the cake project. Dennis and Laine and Emily and Chloe had a wonderful time running around and playing together, rescuing each other from the burning building, putting out fires, and all sitting together to eat.

Gosh at the presents! A vintage Fisher Price Play Family Castle (the one I wanted as a child), foam sword, firefighter equipment and walkie talkies, take-apart dump truck with working drill, fire dog (not live!), great books, puzzle, money, handmade fire hydrant and 15 foot hose, play-doh ice cream parlor set (he made us treats after the party), giant Thomas the Train murals to color, great clothes, a Radio Flyer scooter (that he can already ride, go figure), magnetic letters for the fridge, a fire truck book, a dragon and knight, a fire boat (Trio, that he can assemble and disassemble), a very nice belt that he much needed, other things that he's already stashed away in his room that I can't even recall, all of it wonderful and all of it very much loved by the birthday boy.

What a busy day with everyone here celebrating and then a visit and second 'party' in Uncle Denny's hospital room. I am beyond exhausted. I think Dennis might actually be too tired to sleep well tonight. He didn't nap. He tried but was too excited and he heard the early arrivals in there talking. He actually blew out all his candles himself this year. He had been trying to get into the cake all day because he wanted to play with it. He told Gran "that's my cake, not yours--you can't eat any of it". Since he was busy playing when we cut it, we ALL enjoyed some of it! I feel so glad that so many people love him and think he's special (and drove a long way to be here!), and it was wonderful to spend a few hours celebrating the birth of his Daddy's and my favorite person!

the birthday eve

The preparations went on all day. Cleaning, of course, and baking, and he doesn't like it too much when my attention is off him. He didn't like the noise of the vacuum or the noise of the steam cleaner or even the stand mixer. He hid during the times when we were using those. He didn't want to nap today, didn't want to go to sleep tonight... I think he might be a little scared of growing older. He says he isn't, but he was a little needy today for him. Getting him out of the house to go to the post office and to Wal-Mart this morning was nearly impossible!

He did enjoy us working in the kitchen and donned his dinosaur apron and announced "I am Chef Dennis" and then packed a basket of plastic food for himself and me and told me we were going on a picnic. We did just that, a pretend plastic fruit-and-veggie picnic right on the living room floor. He insisted on removing his apron before we 'ate'.

When I was baking his cake tonight (a monstrous undertaking!), he kept getting out of bed to watch me decorate it. I was happy for the company and enjoyed his commentary on what was going to go where and what colors I should use, but soon his Daddy carted him off to bed (our bed, as I found out hours later) and I was left alone with my icing. I am proud of how it turned out, a fire station and a burning building, a road, a lake, several emergency vehicles in action. I would have actually spent less if I'd gotten a bakery cake, but it wouldn't have been as special for him.

I can't believe that we'll be parents of a three year old tomorrow. He's a real kid now, not much baby left to him at all. Every day he does something brilliant and funny, and I love most all of it.

what's my copay?

After the second unsuccessful attempt to get Dennis to take a nap (this time he insisted he needed to potty AGAIN), I put my head in my hands. I was desperate to get him to sleep--I have much house cleaning to do before the Big Event on Sunday and I am a few days behind due to the Week of Barf we've experienced. And I had a raging headache from lack of eating, lack of caffeine, and surplus Dennis speak. He asked "what's the matter, Mommy?" and when I told him I had a headache, he asked "want me to kiss it better?". I smiled and told him that yes, that would help. He kissed my forehead and then said "there, you can start feeling better now and I can go back to my office". I told him "thank you, Dr. Dennis" and he gave me a big smile and ran off.

Oh, was he full of talk today, all of it funny, most of it loud... During the first nap attempt, I overheard this conversation he was having with himself: "is that my birthday cake? I love birthday cake. Thank you!" and "okay, I will close my eyes"; "SURPRISE!" ; "is that my birthday cake? It's my favorite!"; "yes, that's Chloe's piece, no, Chloe, don't eat mine, you have your own". I suppose he was rehearsing what might be going down on Sunday. I feel kind of bad for giving him the 'exercise bike' early because that night he said "is my birthday over?" in a kind of sad voice. I have been trying to gear him up for a big celebration. THEN we'll deal with post-birthday letdown (which we will replace with pre-cruise anticipation, I hope).

Tonight in Uncle Denny's hospital room, he put on a headphone/microphone thing (Happy Meal Toy) and became Coach Dennis, urging Gran and Pop and me to run to him and then run and catch the ball. He's a heck of a trainer! He also heavily resisted Pop's efforts to get him to speak quietly in the car, saying "but I want to be loud now". He must have asked us a hundred questions on the way home tonight, and though it forces me to up my mental activity constantly, I must say that I just love his inquisitiveness. What I love most is how he instantly comprehends what we tell him and then turns what he's learned into a useful concept. Great mind. I can't wait to see what all it can do (and am a little bit intimidated by same).

third victim

I felt pretty rotten still today, and late last night, the illness claimed David as well. Luckily he was already scheduled to be off work today. By this afternoon, I was so dehydrated that my head was pounding and I couldn't stay upright. David got a bag of fluid from a medic friend and was going to give me IV saline to rehydrate me, but he couldn't even tap a vein. But just then, I was able to start drinking water and keep it down and was able to keep down supper. I feel so much better now. And I think David does, too, and even Dennis. I was worried about Dennis because he threw up again this morning a couple of times after 2 days of not doing so. Goodness I hope we're past all this now. We've all got some food and fluid in us tonight and the two of them are sleeping peacefully and I will be soon as well. If we are well tomorrow, we're still going ahead with the party on Sunday after I bleach and fumigate this place. It's awful hard to care for a child when you are as sick as we've been. Dennis has been so sweet and patient with us, and he's just been so good. He checked on me often today, coming in to tell me what he was doing and to give me hugs. He's a wonderful little boy, making us smile even through a dreadful illness.

a second victim

I didn't feel so hot today and lost my breakfast. And then I was in the throes of what made Dennis so miserable on Monday. Yuck. This is the most awful stomach crud! Not up to writing much, but I'll leave you with this pleasant thought: imagine trying to give yourself a suppository while your child bangs on the bathroom door and demands to know what you're doing, then sticks his hands underneath the door and wiggles his fingers. I wish I felt like laughing.

feeling fine

This morning Dennis slept nice and late and when he came in to get me to help him go potty, he jumped up and down a bunch of times and said "I don't have to throw up! I feel better!". I was as happy as he was about it. We still took it easy today, not going anywhere except for me going to do the hospital visit tonight. Dennis talked to me on the phone, telling me he was having fun playing with his Daddy. He didn't eat much today, but that's understandable. I am just glad he's done with the throwing up. And it was nice to have him be cuddly and moving at a little slower pace than usual, especially since I'm so tired. Just a few days left until the big birthday!

this time he's the patient

I was enjoying a nice sleep in this morning when David yelled that he needed me. There's not much David needs me for regarding Dennis, but my first thoughts ran to vomit (which David doesn't do so hot with ) and unfortunately I was right. We hoped it was an isolated incident, but after four major episodes all morning, we called the pediatrician. He went at one for his checkup and I had to ride in the backseat with him and hold a bucket, and yes he had to use it. These are the moments you don't picture when you imagine what it will be like to be a parent. I hated watching him suffer through it, especially when in the bathroom at home, he lifted his head from the toilet and wailed "I don't want to throw up!". I assured him that most people don't ever want to throw up. He has whatever stomach bug is going around, not surprising since he's visited a hospital almost every day. And he has an ear infection, which I hope is the explanation for all the ear holding whenever there's been any kind of noise as of late.

After each episode of throwing up, he begged me for a snack and juice, and when I gave him a cracker or gatorade, he threw them up. He couldn't keep the prescription medicine down either and so the doctor called in a dreaded suppository prescription. When we told him we had to put medicine in his bottom, he covered his rear end with his hand and took off down the hall. I don't blame him! We told him it would stop the throwing up and the second we managed to give him the dose, he stood up and said "now I won't throw up, can I please have a snack and some juice?". He didn't throw up again and did keep down some crackers, ramen noodles, and gatorade, but he spent the majority of the evening laid out on the couch watching kid shows on TV. When I told him it was bedtime, he moaned and I asked him if his stomach hurt. He replied "yes, so I need to watch TV to make me feel better." He went right to sleep though, and I hope he has a good night. Poor little guy.

ebay for birthdays

Happily, we won the ebay auction for a Fisher Price Smart Cycle last night. It was an item for local pickup, located in north Birmingham, so we went during David's break (he worked a split shift today) to go and fetch it. Dennis has been asking me for an exercise bicycle for his birthday, and I knew that I wanted him to have one once we convert our garage into an exercise room, but other projects keep popping up and we have delayed that project for a few months. Fisher Price Smart Cycles are not cheap by any means, so to be able to find one for $22.50 that's in great shape delighted all of us, most especially Dennis who spied it in the back of the seller's truck as we met at a gas station off their interstate exit. He got out of the van and walked around to the back and jumped up and down repeatedly as we loaded it. Then he climbed in the back of the van and climbed on the bike and began pedaling. So much for saving it as a surprise!

We stopped to visit Uncle Denny on our way south and Dennis was beyond wild (and desperately in need of a nap) and was so excited about his new stationary bike that he could barely keep it together for the visit, at least until the phlebotomist came in to take some blood from Uncle Denny. Dennis watched this process in total fascination and scored his own tourniquet and strip of tape so that he can practice taking some of Mommy's blood later. Yippee. I do love that the hospital staff has all taken the time to talk to Dennis and teach him about what's going on in there. He told Thomas (the lab tech) that the patient was his Uncle Denny Meeker, insisting on using his full name.

It was difficult to get Dennis in bed for his nap since there was a new toy here, but he did indeed go to sleep. We had to go and pick David up from work, and I went in to wake Dennis, expecting some whining for doing so. I scooped him up gently and he blinked his eyes open at me. He said "is it time to go get batteries for my bike?" I told him we needed to go pick up his Daddy and he said "yes, Daddy knows batteries" and then ran around to gather his clothes and shoes. We were about to head out the door when he discovered that the batteries in the bike had a little juice left in them. He said "look, Mommy, the light comes on!". We plugged it into the television and he played a couple of collect-the-letter races where he has to steer the bike into letters on a track on the TV screen. He would yell "gotcha" and then say "look, Mommy, I got a 'c'". So it actually is teaching him something; two things, I guess--how important it is to exercise as well as his letters, numbers, shapes, and colors. He played on it again when we all got home, and he discovered the game where a frog catches flies with letters on them that spell out words. He likes to make the frog get the wrong letter so that the frog makes a funny face and sticks out his tongue. This makes Dennis laugh hysterically and he hasn't figured out that it makes the game end quicker when you pick the wrong letters.

Yes, he loves his birthday present. Luckily I have another little something to save for Sunday... I rationalized this all by knowing that he'll be able to pay more attention to all his new presents since he has gotten his bike a little early. Makes me feel better anyway.

little shopper

Today I experienced what must be the joy of raising two kids. Chloe spent the day with us at the lake while Dave worked on the wheelchair ramp that we're constructing at Uncle Denny's place. They played pretty sweetly together most of the time, but they did take turns deliberately aggravating each other. I saw Dennis go flying backward off the bed but did not see what preceded the event, and I heard Chloe say "Dennis are you okay?" and I ran in there as he was getting up off the floor/wall. Chloe looked at me and said "I didn't do anything to him". I just told them NO MORE JUMPING and made them leave the room. She is the more aggressive one, telling me to bring her this or wipe her hand, demanding the chair she wanted and the specific color of play-doh that was all hers. Dennis got in his digs as well, eating his Cheetos slowly and deliberately in front of her after she'd finished hers, snatching the block she was reaching for and using it on his own structure, hiding the little people character she was playing with when she turned her head, just funny little things they did to get on each other's nerves on purpose. For the most part, they were happy little campers. They used the potty often, keeping their pull-ups dry all day. They played well with the play-doh, and I learned how good I am at sculpting on the fly, making an elephant, a giraffe, a panda bear, a dog, a swingset, a slide, a tunnel, and a trampoline, fulfilling all their requests. They enjoyed banana popsicles together as a good-potty reward one time (I lost the M&M's). We played for over an hour in the giant rock pile outside Uncle Denny's place. We enjoyed a golf cart ride. We made a car wash out of blocks. It was a pretty easy day, actually.

Tonight after visiting Uncle Denny, we went to Whole Foods to do a little shopping. We let Dennis push his own little shopping cart around (so I've had my workout for the day) and immediately began loading it with his favorite things. He chose 2 different kinds of apples, a box of strawberries, a single sweet potato, a pineapple, a giant box of spinach, a make-your-own-marinara kit, a pound of frozen shrimp, a gallon of milk, and a box of tofu. We didn't keep all of it, but some things we did. He had a great time shopping, though I regret that I didn't get to look at anything! David picked out some nice things for us, though, being master of his own cart. We kept him out WAY past his bedtime tonight. Wouldn't it be great if he slept in tomorrow?

2 special requests

Tonight at the hospital we were headed back to Uncle Denny's room after a sojourn to the car to retrieve the picture Dennis drew for him earlier when we walked by a nurse. He showed her the picture and she told him "you are so cute" and he said "yes, and you are so smart!". We had a good laugh over this.

I enjoyed him recapping our day in the car on the way home, telling me where we'd been and what we'd done. He asked me all day long for a blueberry muffin. I don't know where he got that particular craving, but he did take a bite of the blueberry scone we bought for Pop (Dennis picked it out since he'd been asking for a blueberry muffin all day). And we will have blueberry muffins for breakfast in the morning, and that should make him happy. His other request was to visit a car wash. He pointed one out to me earlier today and he's been talking about going to a 'car wash machine' for several days now. I forked out the $6 and took him through one tonight and watched as he covered his ears and his eyes got huge. I asked him if he liked it and he said "yes, but it scared me". We drove around it after it finished and he asked me questions about it, and he said "it was scary but it was fun" and assures me he wants to do it again sometime.

junior plumber strikes again

Will I never learn? What would a sane parent do if their almost three year old said "I have to use the potty now, you stay right there" and then came back to make sure I was staying there? Yeah, I knew I shouldn't have stayed put. After a good six minutes of quiet (yes, I can see you cringing--stop it), I was headed toward the bathroom when I heard a whimper and the start of pitiful crying. I reached the doorway (thank goodness he didn't shut and lock the door) to find water EVERYWHERE. My toilet is over 8 feet from the door. There was water in the hallway. I looked in to find Dennis wielding the toilet brush, still fully clothed, SOAKED from head to toe, and crying. The bottle of toilet bowl cleaner was lying on the floor. There were bubbles in the toilet. He apparently slipped in all the water and bumped his elbow and forearm. He assures me he didn't taste the cleaner (which is most fortunately an all-natural one that would not harm him). He says he was just cleaning the toilet. He got so involved in it that the pull-up that was dry when he left for the bathroom was full of the liquid he was supposed to be putting in the toilet. These are the less-than-glorious parenting moments, the ones that test your capacity for frustration. I thanked him for trying to be helpful but explained that he didn't have to clean the toilet because he could get hurt. He nodded and said "yes, sir". I think I'm the only one that learned a lesson.

bedtime strategy

The cute picture shows Dennis bringing flowers to the patient. He carried them all the way through the hospital, stopping passers-by to tell them "look, I'm taking flowers to Uncle Denny!". He got a lot of smiles. He marched right into Uncle Denny's room and announced "look, Uncle Denny, I brought flowers--these are for you!", and then he proceeded to do the random kinds of mischief he does whenever we visit Uncle Denny's hospital room.

I tried a new strategy at bedtime tonight. He wore his 'new' robot pajamas from Caedmon, which absolutely delighted him, and we had to 'talk robot' from the time I put them on. He spoke to me in 'robot' saying "now. we. have. to. be. robots" in a monotone. So we walked around with jerky movements and talking funny for a while and soon it was bedtime. I told him all good robots needed to recharge their batteries, and as I put him in the bed, I said (in my best robot-mommy voice) "here. is. your. charging. station." He liked this very much, and after promising to stay in bed if I'd read a story to him, we read 'Where the Wild Things Are' (his favorite). We practiced roaring our terrible roars and rolling our terrible eyes and gnashing our terrible teeth and showing our terrible claws, and then Dennis told me "BE STILL" and I called him the king of the Wild Things. Then we prayed together and he went to sleep. Gosh I'm going to miss the bedtime rituals when he grows up.

1st dental checkup

We went to the pediatric dentist this morning. This is something I've been meaning to do but haven't, so when I called around yesterday, I ended up choosing Chloe's dentist and they had an appointment for today. We arrived at the address that was on the paperwork that I filled out from an online download (his new patient info) to discover an empty dental office with locked door. I called the number and no one answered. In a panic, I called Ellen, but she didn't answer. Superdave saved the day--he directed me right to the new office. Dennis happily went in and sat down at the table with two other boys near his age. Having never been to a pediatric dentist's office, I wasn't sure of the protocol. Do I go back there with him? Do I wait out here? The waiting room had a few kid-less moms around, so I didn't know what to do. When they called his name, I asked if I needed to go back with him. The hygienist told me it was up to me, so I asked Dennis if he wanted me to go with him. He thought for a minute and then said "no, you stay out here" and pointed an authoritative finger at the chairs. I obeyed. About 15 minutes later, I heard a call for "Dennis' mommy", and I went over, thinking he'd asked for me, and he came running out holding a bag and shouting "they cleaned all my teeth!". They told me he was wonderful, doing everything they asked him to do and being very sweet to them. Said he was the best patient of the day. I'm so proud. I'm also proud that his teeth are in great shape, no cavities or signs of a cavity in the future. The dentist did warn me that his upper teeth might be a tad crowded but that we'd worry about that much later--he isn't concerned as of yet. Let's hope he gets Daddy's jaws and teeth and not Mommy's (which have been extensively corrected with appliances, braces, and major surgery)!

The employees at the clinic had a great time with his famous name. I love when someone actually gets that, especially if it's a younger person!

hard lessons

I told him that we needed to go and pay a bill for Pop today, for his car insurance. On the way to their house, he said "Mommy, what's a bill?" and I told him "you get a bill when you need to pay money to someone" and he said "what does it look like?". I held up the envelope and he said "it looks like mail". He asked me if he could pay it, and he walked in the door and announced "we found a bill" and then he walked to the counter and told the agent "we have this bill to give you" and handed it to her. She thanked us (with a big 'how cute is he' smile) and he told them bye and we left. In the car, he said "what's insurance for?" and I told him we got insurance in case we got into an accident, and if we did, the insurance would fix the car. He said "okay, I broke the car, better fix it with insurance, Mommy". Perceptive little guy, isn't he?

When the mail came today, we got a box and the mail carrier drove up and honked. I ran out to her car and suddenly a little voice beside me said "mail, please" and I looked to see Dennis holding out his hand. He's never met the mail carrier before, and I am amazed that he knew what to do. She handed a box to us and he said "is that my birthday present?" and she asked if it was his birthday. I told her it was in a couple of weeks and he said "YES". She asked him how old he'd be and he said "two and three-quarters". He is certainly conversational today!