"O Christmas Tree..."

Sunday we decided to put up our tree so that we can enjoy it for a good long time this year. So at 7 am, I hauled all of the boxes up from the basement and the whole tree was up and lit before we went to church! Yeah, we're good. (Okay fine, we were 15 minutes late to church.)

Will is afraid of the tree...just like grass. Maybe not afraid, but he does NOT want to touch it. I guess that is a good thing. Harvey is NOT afraid of the tree and he has invented a new game called, "Steal the ornaments and chew on them on the couch until Mom catches you!" By 2 pm, I wanted to sell him. (And remember, we were at church for a good chunk of that time! Dang dog.) I am pretty sure I will be spraying all of the ornaments with Apple Bitter soon.

For Christmas, I am just going to get Will a bunch of empty boxes.

"Wow! Lights!"

(This is pretty much as close to the tree as he would sit.)

When I was growing up, every year my Grandpa V. made us each 4-5 new ornaments. They are all made out of that plastic stuff and yarn so I put those on the bottom of the tree in case Will gets curious. Some of them are pretty simple, but others are more complex like this one.

This one is one of my favorites. Unfortunately, it is also Harvey's new favorite too.

This ornament is from our first Christmas as a married couple. We were in Mexico on a cruise with my family. I call it, "Baby Jesus in a Gourd."

Hot Date

On Friday, thanks to my friend Kara, Jeff and I had our FIRST date since Will was born. We went to the movies which we used to do all the time before our family grew. We really had a nice time with just us. Our families have tried to get us to go out several times when they were here visiting on various weekends but since we don't see them very often, we have always wanted to spend time with them rather than go out. Plus, we are homebodies and enjoy renting a good movie and cuddling on the couch just as much as going out.

Still, it was wonderful to get out together. And I have to say that we didn't talk about Will the whole time. :)

Not My Kid!!

Pre-parent, I had a lot of opinions about what a "Good Parent" should and should not do with their kids. Now, my motto is, "You're not allowed to have an opinion until you've been there."

I used to say...

"My kid will NEVER be THAT KID who only eats mac 'n cheese and chicken nuggets."

Now, I have a VERY picky little eater who refuses anything chunky or slimy, hates veggies in any form 75% of the time (even if he loved it the day before), and only eats fruit (but not any fruit, mostly just purees). I am trying my darndest but I can see why parents fry up a nice grilled cheese every night after years of trying other things. They say you need to try new foods at least 10 times for some kids. I think we are on try number 14 of kiwi.

"My kid will NEVER be the DIRTY KID with food all over his face or a crusty snotty nose."

Wow... Let me just say that yesterday I did a complete outfit change at 9 am and again at 1 pm. Then I stopped caring. Also, cleaning a child's nose is like wrestling with a greased alligator.

"No thanks. I am not going to eat those apples."

(blowing a food raspberry)

"You can give me more spaghetti but none of those noodles in it please."

"My kid will NEVER be THAT BRAT who is throwing a tantrum in public."

Even yesterday when my friend's 2 year old screamed, "NO!" in her face, I repeated this vow. But then 20 minutes ago, 9 month old Will threw himself on the floor and started screaming because I wouldn't let him pull himself up to play with the toilet seat. Here it comes folks!

"My kid will NEVER fall off of a _________ (insert high place here) or have bruises anywhere!"

**Please note that I am not encouraging negligence or carelessness. I always thought people were ridiculous when I heard about babies falling from beds, high chairs, swings, changing tables, etc. I still think it is irresponsible...but I have learned that even the most responsible parents are not 100% focused all the time. Will fell from our bed a couple of months ago and my friends (even the super overprotective ones) have told me horror stories about their children flying out of the stroller after a bump in the sidewalk or slipping out of high chairs at a restaurant. Bottom line, kids need permanent helmets until age 5, especially when learning to pull to a stand or walk.

I love being Mommy. But I am learning a lot about judging others based on how their kids look or act in public. Now there are standards, but sometimes, kids are just kids and it is healthy to learn to go with the flow a bit.

Thanksgiving

With T-Day coming close, I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be thankful and especially, what it looks like for a Christian (living in the spoiled United States) to be thankful.

As a kindergarten teacher in a public school, I used to talk to the kids about how blessed they were to have things like food, clean water, a school, a home, etc. because many in the world did not have those things.

Partly this is true, BUT it is not the whole truth. I do think that we need to be thankful for the material things that we have been blessed with...but what happens when we lose some of those things or when we don't HAVE things that we think we need? That's where I think we are lost without Christ and his saving grace. If we are OF the world and our happiness is based on the material possessions or even beloved people in our lives, we are vulnerable! But, if our HOPE lies in the eternal life that comes with knowing and following Christ, then we stand firm no matter what.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Am I good at maintaining this mindset? No. Am I working on it? Yes.

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

**I was following a couple of BLOGs of people who went on a recent Compassion Intl. trip to El Salvador and this post by Shaun Groves really hit me. Read and think.

Family Day

Today was Jeff's first weekend day off in a LONG time....so we are taking it easy and relaxing together.

We started the day just catching up on some reading.

Yes, Harvey too.

Then we did some light cleaning. (I cleaned with my own vacuum.)

And then we tailgated in the basement for the Michigan game. No we don't usually let our 9 month old eat in front of the TV, but game day is an exception once and a while. (Harvey saw my camera blinking and he went to check it out. Thank you for your protection Harv.)

Not Pictured: Family walk, family nap time or our big Thanksgiving dinner at church. (No cooking for me today!)

Hope you had a great Saturday too!

Runs with Deer

In my family, everyone gets a secret Indian name. No! I will not tell you what mine is. (And if my family tells you what it is, I will publish their secret Indian names with full explanations as to how they got them!)

Anyway, this past weekend, Harvey received his secret Indian name in an unplanned ceremony in the woods.

On Sunday, Jeff, Will, Harvey and I headed to our new favorite hiking spot at the nature reserve near our house. As we started our hike, we saw a group (pack, herd??) of 4 deer on the edge of the woods. We gawked and took pictures (with our phones) until they ran off into the woods. Then we entered the woods on the trail and started a peaceful hike...

When we got about halfway around the loop, we decided to let go of Harvey's leash and let him roam a bit. (We had done this before and he was SO good at coming back for treats...) Everything was going as planned UNTIL we met up with our deer friends again. Harvey stopped. His ears perked up. And he RAN.

Jeff had the baby on his back so he had to just stand there and yell. I took off running through the woods, screaming "Harvey COME!" and trying to keep my eye on that little white ball of fluff. After what felt like 4 miles (but was probably more like 1/10 a mile), I lost him and stopped running in a clearing. I had NO idea which way to keep looking and panic started (okay MORE panic) to set in. I was sure we weren't going to find him that night and was terrified because of the busy roads around the perimeter of the park.

So as I stopped in this clearing, I realized there was a single doe standing about 40 feet from me. I hoped that the others would come back towards her. As I frantically scanned the woods and listened for Harvey, I called Jeff (PRAISE GOD for cell phone towers in the woods!) who asked, "Did you catch up to him?" Yeah right honey. Like my burning lungs didn't already make me aware of how slow and out of shape I am.

BUT...as we were talking on the phone, Jeff started yelling for Harvey who had found the path and was running back to him. He stepped on the leash and caught him as I worked my way back to them through the woods.

And right there on the leaf covered trail, Harvey received his official Indian name: Runs with Deer.

I would like to think that Harvey came back to us because he heard us calling and all of my obedience training kicked in...but if I am being honest, I am pretty sure he just lost the deer and decided to come back. Either way, that dog will NOT be off-leash again any time soon. Sorry Harv.

And I am pretty sure that Will's first word is going to be Harvey. He is not going to just say it in a normal tone either. It will come out, "HAAARRRRRVEEEEEEYYY!!!" because he does hear that pretty often.

_______________________________________________________

Other news from our household...

• Harvey is 6 month old. Still has one "baby fang" left. Despite my previous story, he is doing very well behavior wise. No accidents in the house in at least a month, graduated from his kennel to the kitchen. He has a sock fettish - can sniff them out from anywhere, clean, dirty, doesn't matter. His "big surgery" is scheduled for early December...sorry boy!
  
  
• Not one trick-or-treater came to our house. :( Jeff likes this though because now he has lots of candy to eat.
  
  
• Will is crawling everywhere now and climbing stairs too. He has been having a hard time sleeping because he learned that he can stand up in his crib.
  
  
• Also, Will is cutting his first two teeth!! He hasn't been too crabby during the day but nights have been hard. Not sure if this is because of the teeth or the standing up or both.

Remember when he was just this big?

Now he is HUGE! (Here he is next to Will's highchair. Will loves to pass food to Harvey already. Best buddies!)

Fortunately, he is still a cuddle bunny.

9 Months and Moving...

On Tuesday, Will was 9 months old. At his Dr. appointment on Wednesday we learned he is 17lbs 11oz (which feels like 25 lbs these days! Guess I shouldn't complain though because this is only 10th percentile), 26in long (also 10th percentile) with a head circumference that is 50th percentile.

At this age, Will is not happy unless he is standing up or walking around with help. He spends 90% of his awake time walking around my coffee table. We have a walking toy and he is very good at pushing it but needs help when he runs into the wall. The basement stairs are another fun place for Will...he can make it all the way up now with no help. (I do stand ready to catch him though! Not sure I like this new milestone as much.)

Eating is still an interesting event. He is picky with veggies but I try to offer them at every meal anyway. If I had to name some of Will's favorite foods, I would say pumpkin, apple or pear sauce, Puffs, cheerios, and any other fruit (okay maybe not kiwi and he only eats bananas every other time that I offer them).

My favorite part about this age is seeing his personality develop. At this point, the angry screams of protest (when I sit him down rather than help him stand at something or when I try to put him in his carseat) are still amusing. Will knows how to clap and does it frequently so we are working on the song, "If You're Happy and You Know It". He is usually pretty shy around strangers and stares for the first 5-10 minutes we meet anyone new, then he will smile and interact. Lately if I say, "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum!" and move towards him, he breaks out in giggles so I repeat that phrase a lot during the day.

I will try to post some 9 month pictures soon!

Visit #2

This weekend Meme and Pappy came to play! (And Nala too.) We did some shopping, watched some football, and just relaxed. Thanks for a great time!!

Pappy entertaining.

Will showed Meme how to drum.

The entire weekend, Will broke into applause every 5 minutes. That boy loves to clap.

_________________________________________

Tonight we decided to carve Will's pumpkin together. I discovered that this is just not one of those activities that babies are really interested in. I was carving the pumpkin more for me than for him. He touched the pulp, made a face, got some in his mouth, threw up and then wanted nothing to do with it. Let's just say we didn't even put the candle in to see what it looked like when we were done. And we definitely didn't do anything fancy like we used to.

"This is disgusting. Can I be done now?"

Robinhood, Baby in Tights

Today was our Halloween party with our playdate and HPC friends. SO fun to see all of the babies dressed up.

Robinhood and his pumpkin. He loves to play with the broken stem.

At the party.

Eating some treats.

Just playin'...

The "big kids" eating at the table.

The whole gang! We tried to get a shot with just babies but they all erupted in tears.

Gotta go make Harvey's costume now. He just agreed to be Maid Marian.

Fall House

I want to live here in the fall.