Notes from the crib

After 19 hours in the car today (and 66 hours total over the past six and a half days), we are home safe and sound. The boys are snug in bed and I'm up waiting for my work from home job shift to begin, after which I will go to bed. If you are our family, have mercy on us and don't call us to see if we are okay. We are fine and (hopefully) still asleep. We'll call you when we wake up. George is just wonderful and rushed to play with his toys in the living room for 30 minutes before happily crawling into bed.

Hope your holiday was filled with sweetness!

I'm number this number one, as I'm sure there are years of mistakes to come. This is a pretty big mistake, and we should have known better.

I ordered George's big Christmas gift (a Melissa and Doug wooden kitchen) back in late October and it was delivered the first week of November and has been sitting in the house since then. Just sitting in a corner, out of the way. Quietly keeping a secret that was only to be revealed when we went to put it together about 9:00 tonight. The secret? It was box one of two. I have no idea where box two is - it either never was shipped from Amazon, or was never delivered by FedEx. (At the moment I blame FedEx, this is the second bad mix-up I've had with them this holiday season).

I was able to find a "contact me" button on Amazon's site and lo and behold someone actually called me within minutes, apologized for the problem, and offered to send us out a new one with expedited shipping. Not sure yet when it will arrive, but I'm glad that they didn't give me a hassle with the purchase being over their 30 days limit. Of course, I haven't received the new one yet, but I'm hopeful they will make it right.

I'm glad that George is blissfully unaware of the holiday this year. Otherwise, I think I might be quite upset instead of just annoyed and embarrassed. Mostly I'm just annoyed at myself for not opening the box before now. I knew better. I even mentioned a couple times that we should open the box and make sure all the parts were here, but we never did. I guess it's good to make the mistake this year. You can bet all future presents will be assembled well before Christmas Eve.

Today we spent a lovely Christmas Eve afternoon with George's Uncle JP and soon-to-be Aunt S. They had just picked a Christmas kitten up from the shelter and George had loads of fun chasing the kittie around.

When he got bored of chasing the kitten, he tried to climb the presents.

JP and S. have a knack for picking out really good presents and this year was no different. George loved the Little People boat he received, playing with it for a good hour while we were all visiting. He even had to play with it for a few minutes this evening after church.

On Saturday we drove to the Christmas tree farm to chop down our tree for the year. George was so very excited. It was close to 80 degrees when we left the house, but close to dusk and the wind was bringing in a cold front. Still, only light coats were needed. I love that.

George was very happy to hold the measuring stick for us and loved to run from tree to tree checking them out. We came home with this 5 foot sparse Charlie Brown like tree. it was DH's favorite, I believe he said the open spaces provided lots of room for ornaments. Of course, I have no time to decorate it right now so it's sitting empty in the living room. That doesn't stop George from running over and touching it 100 times a day yelling "Tree! Tree!" It's his first word when he wakes up in the morning. He also got a rare timeout from DH yesterday for playing in the water basin. Who needs ornaments, when everything else about the tree is so fascinating?

... without the "King".

We went on a Christmas themed train ride on Friday night and George was very excited. I'd been telling him all morning that we'd be riding a train later in the day. I was able to wear him out and he took a nice long afternoon nap (the first in almost two weeks). When he woke up the first thing he said was "Ride train?" He spent the entire two hours of the train ride bouncing up and down and running between two rows of seats. it was very exciting! Santa even appeared and gave George a train whistle as a present, and Mrs. Claus handed out cookies and cocoa.

Yes, he is clutching a toilet paper tube. It was a craft.

Today I was preparing for a class and DH was handling some work issues. George must have decided he better get to working, too, as we found him on the couch with a notebook by his side, a pen in his hand, and a laptop on his knees.

George was acting so tired today, and I put him in his room to nap. However, he's been on a nap strike and while I was hoping he'd nap, I wasn't expecting it.

Last Thursday I had to remove all the furniture from his room. I had been in the other room and heard a horrible crash accompanied by the screeching sound made by the baby monitor when it is separated from its power cord. Since I knew the monitor had been on top of the dresser, I was terrified that the dresser had toppled. Especially when I heard no other sounds coming from the room - no giggles, no cries, no screams, nothing. I burst into his room to discover George calmly sitting on the floor playing with the CD from his clock/radio/CD player which had also been on top of the dresser. The best I can figure, he had climbed up on his changing table, reached over to the dresser top, knocked over the garbage can that sits there (to keep out inquisitive hands), and the garbage can knocked the clock and the monitor onto the floor. I was so relieved that the dresser hadn't toppled and George was okay, but so angry that he had been climbing around instead of napping and that he'd scared me half to death. So I wordlessly picked him up and plunked him in the middle of his bed and then moved every piece of furniture out. Because this also happened during my shift at my work from home job, I didn't have much time to mess around. So all the furniture: dresser, changing table, little rocking chair, baby doll cradle, went into the middle of the hallway. Poor DH had to move it to get into the house. We permanently relocated George's dresser to our room until he gets out of the climbing stage. The rocker has been moved to the living room. And the changing table and toy cradle come out into the hallway during naptime. It helps that our changing table is made from a restaurant rolling shelving unit, so I'm able to easily push it back and forth.

I thought nap time couldn't get much worse or more frustrating than last week. But George topped himself today. Instead of napping, this time he removed his pants. Then he somehow took off his diaper, without undoing the snaps of his one piece body suit top, that I put on him specifically so he wouldn't be able to take off his diaper. Then he peed on the floor. And finally he put his pants back on and sat in the pee spot on the carpet. I'm pretty sure it happened this way (instead of him just peeing through the pants), due to the location of the wet spot on his pants. And then George thought it was funny to run away with the roll of paper towels as I tried to clean up the wet spot. He'd tear off a few and yell "Trash!" and run off to find a garbage can to dispose of them. At least he's helpful, in his own way.

George is two. Very two.

Today I stepped out of the living room to attend to a work matter. I heard a thunk. I return to find George sitting on his train table reading a book. A book that minutes earlier had been on the mantle. So he must have climbed onto the train table (which currently blocks the fireplace to keep him from playing in it), stood on his tippy toes, and knocked the book down.

Yesterday George and I went to the outlet mall to shop. I needed to exchange a shirt that he'd been given. Unfortunately, George has a big head and the shirt kept getting stuck when we'd try it on him. I tried the next size up, and it got stuck on his head, too. So we exchanged it for a different shirt that has snaps on the neck. George loves this new shirt (it has a train on it) and upon returning home he carried it around with him and kept trying to put it on over the clothes he was wearing.

After getting the shirt taken care of, we did a little shopping for me. I found great deals, a bunch of mix and match skirts and shirts for under $10 apiece. I only have black dress shoes since my feet grew during pregnancy and I had to give most of my footwear away, and I didn't buy any new shoes last year. The new clothes don't go with black shoes, so I pressed my luck and went to a shoe store while we were out. We entered the shoe store and George recognized the items, yelling out "Shoes! Shoes!" He's never been in a shoe store when we weren't buying for him so, of course, he thought this was another store focused on him. He managed to take off his own shoes, reach out the nearest shoe box, and pulled out some lovely patent leather stilettos. And he proceeded to put them on and grin. He didn't like it when I told him that we would not be buying those, and that we were there to shop for shoes for mommy, not him. He screamed for the rest of our shopping time. I did find a pair of shoes that matched the outfits, so I guess it was worth it.

George and I went to do our civic duty today. As you can see from the picture, George takes voting seriously.

The total time it took was only 22 minutes and that included the seven minutes it took me to get him into the Ergo backpack in the parking lot, a stop for pictures by the voting sign, and a trip for donuts on the way home. It appears over half the voters in our state took part in early voting, so our polling line was fairly short. Of course, we also got to go during off time.

I am not very coordinated in getting George into the Ergo by myself and must have looked like I was struggling in the parking lot, with George balanced on my back and me hunched over so he wouldn't fall off, trying desperately to get him to put him legs in the straps correctly so I could get them up on my shoulders. One grandmotherly lady in an SUV was driving through the parking lot and stopped and hopped out of her car, rushing over to help. She did her best and we got George's legs through the straps and then she went off to move her car. Then another lady stopped by to help me get him even more securely situated. I was grateful for their help. I wanted George contained before I took him into the polling place because I was afraid of what havoc he'd create otherwise. I definitely think I need more practice before I try to get him in the backpack by myself in public again.

Once inside there was no wait, although I did stop to give directions to two people who were at the incorrect precinct. Then we went through the sign in process, which required I speak to four different people! Then we went to our electronic terminal and voted for our candidates. George was interested in what I was doing and watched over my shoulder, while clutching his Mickey Mouse, which had ridden in the Ergo with him. As I was getting ready to selected the final "Cast Ballot" option, George even appropriately yelled out "Push button!" We both received stickers after voting that said "Yo voté" - George put his on my back.

I stayed home from work sick today and wanted to just lie on the couch and moan. George took advantage of the situation by opening the door to my cake closet and grabbing anything he could reach. So I decided we might as well take an outing to keep him entertained and purchase door knob covers. George has been attached to his toys lately and likes to take one with him when we go for car rides. Usually he'll choose his stuffed Mickey Mouse or Alaskan sled dog to take with him. So before we left, I told George to go grab a toy to take to the store with us. He looked at me, his eyes lit up, he repeated "Store" and then ran off to the living room. He returned pushing his shopping cart. He waited patiently for me to open the door to the laundry room and then tried to push the shopping cart into the garage. I had to explain to him that we didn't have room in the car to take the shopping cart with us, and wouldn't he rather take Mickey instead? George did not like this idea at all and kept a firm grip on the shopping cart. I finally had to pick him up and pry his little fingers from the handle while he cried. Once I got him in the car, he started playing with car toys and appeared to forgive me for stifling his inventiveness.

This morning George and I met some friends at a city sponsored Halloween festival. There were hundreds of children there and it was so hot we had to take George's costume off. It's too bad that the cute costumes I pick out are designed for colder climates. We are usually still wearing shorts at that time of the year.

George was very excited to see a real fire truck at the event. We got there too late to walk through it, we were just behind the cutoff line, but George didn't seem to mind.

After standing next to the truck we met up with our friends and tried some games. George had serious meltdowns whenever we'd get up to the front of a line. He'd throw himself down on the ground and cry and scream. I have no idea what got into him.

After we left the event, we had a quick meal at McDonald's where George was happy as could be. Then we went to the grocery store and George was given a helium balloon as we entered which kept him entertained for the entire shopping trip. He was exhausted by the time we got home, so I put him in his room, attached the balloon string to the bathroom door and put away groceries. Then I went into the office to get some work done. Even though he was tired, I could hear George running around in his room and clicking the door knob in his room. None of this was unusual behavior, so I ignored it hoping he'd settle down and go to sleep. A couple minutes later, I hear a click at his door and the next thing I know, he's walked past the office door. He waves as he goes past and nonchalantly says "Hi". Like it's not a big deal that he's just found freedom. He can OPEN doors! He immediately spies his balloon tied to the bathroom doorknob and gets it loose. Then he lets go and the balloon floats to the ceiling. So he stands underneath it and yells, "Oh no! Balloon! Balloon stuck! Down! Down, Balloon! Down, Down!" We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the wonders of helium as he'd let go of the balloon and I'd have to retrieve it.

George and I went to the pumpkin patch again today to try to get a better picture, since he wouldn't look at me the last time. Well, this time I did capture some eye contact, but this really wasn't the holiday photo for which I'd been hoping. I guess I should be more specific next time in my wishes.

And really, should I have expected any different considering that he did the same thing in almost the exact spot last year?

Yesterday George received a Halloween package in the mail. He's getting good at opening packages and ripped right into it. Inside was a treat bag with some Halloween goodies including boxes of animal crackers and teddy grahams. I opened the animal crackers for him (he calls them "animal cookies" which is too cute). He ate those and then decided he wanted the teddy grahams. I told him that we should save those for another day, since we still had dinner to eat. He didn't like that idea and liked it even less when I hid the box of teddy grahams on the couch beside me. When I got up, he quickly ran over and grabbed the box and figured out how to rip it open. The bears were still trapped inside a sealed plastic bag and he shook them back and forth saying "Open! Open!" I again suggested we save them for another day because dinner was going to be ready soon. He didn't like this idea any better than the first time I suggestd it, and he tugged at the bag until he figured out how to rip off a corner and open it. He was so proud as he put a fistful of bears in his mouth and grinned at me.

Later at dinner we had chicken and rice. He didn't eat much of his chicken, but he was eating some of the rice. He gave up on using his fork and started picking up the rice with his fingers. All of a sudden he started screeching "eek, eeek, eeek" and smiling. DH and I looked at each other quizzically and tried to figure out what was going on. George continued to make screeching and screaming noises that got louder as he moved his fingers to his mouth. Then he screamed one last time and chomped away at a mouthful of rice, changing over to giggles as he chewed. The best we can figure is George was making noises that he thought rice should make before it gets eaten. Very weird child.

Tonight's dinner was much less eventful. Although I did give George a big boy (no lid) cup for the first time. He did pretty well and only spilled a little bit towards the end of our meal.

George's friend Abby turned three this week and I had the honor of making her birthday cake again this year. Abby, like George, is a huge fan of the Word World TV show on PBS and Abby wanted a Word World themed party. The show is so new that there aren't many commercial products out there, save for a few toys at Target. I was lucky enough to find a clip of the show on YouTube that served as inspiration for the cake. Here's the clip:

And here's the cake:

I also made cupcakes for the kids in attendance at the party. I cheated on those a little and didn't make them with the letters of the animals and instead just made cute animal faces - sheep, duck and pig.

George was a big helper while I was baking. I gave him some muffin cups, a muffin tin, a spoon, a bowl, and a cupcake display rack to keep him occupied. Here he's balancing muffin cups on the display.

I had to work this afternoon. I took on another job a few weeks ago, this one is a work from home position that I do a couple early mornings and one afternoon/evening a week. For those keeping track at home, that's four jobs I now work not counting mother and wife (which really are blessings, not jobs).

So, anyway, I've been trying to keep us very busy on Thursdays so that George will nap during my work shift. It didn't work today. Despite being so tired he could barely keep his eyes open, George decided he wanted nothing to do with napping. I tried to just have him do "quiet time" in his room but after about thirty minutes I heard him crying. I went to check on him and he stopped. So I stood outside the door for a couple minutes and sure enough he started crying again. When I opened the door, I found George lying down on TOP of his changing table with a wipe in his hands. I don't know how he managed to climb on top of it, but he did. He didn't even distrub any of the bins that sit on the shelves underneath the table. I'm guessing George couldn't figure out how to get down and got scared and started crying, which I'm glad for since it alerted me to go check on him. Trying to save face, George saw me come into the room, stopped crying and said "Diaper!". Like I was supposed to believe that he knew he needed a diaper change and had climbed up there to change it himself. I don't think so.

After that, I didn't even try anther nap. George got some quality time with his favorite tv program and a new toy set while I worked nearby. In fact he likes his toys so much that he's up at the moment after three hours of sleep, playing with the toys for a few minutes before we make him go back to bed.