Giving Thanks

I have WAY too much to be thankful for to even start here...particularly with the Turkey Coma fast approaching, but before I forget, I've got to share John's list. We were on the way home from Mom's after Turkey Tree tonight and I asked John was he was thankful for. He didn't understand (fair enough, we haven't talked about it before), so I started listing some things I'm thankful for. Then I asked him again. TV, stairs, and Grandma. What else? No response. Is that it? Yes. Why in the world he had stairs on his mind, I have no idea, but I thought it was funny.

I'll list just one thing I'm thankful for. Last night Buck was out with some high school friends, so I decided John and I would have our first movie night. We got ready for bed, got into Mama and Daddy's bed (always a fun treat), and watched "Cars" on the portable DVD player. I expected he'd fall asleep pretty quickly. I fell asleep a few times, but he stayed strong until 10 when he hit a button and stopped the movie and I put him in bed. It was lots of fun, though.

Sizing Up

First I have to tell a bad story. I don't like telling all the bad things that John does because he's so sweet, and I don't want him to only read bad things when he's older, but this one just has to go in the books. He and Eve have both had colds for quite some time. I'm hoping that's part of it. I also keep hoping he's getting his molars and that's part of the excuse, but no luck there, either. I think it's just that he has his mother's strong will (otherwise known as stubbornness), and his Daddy's temper (the perfect storm). Anyway, Sunday we had the battle of all battles. It all started with him not wanting to put on his shoes. It was time to go to church. Buck was already there practicing. I finally picked him up and sat him in my lap to put them on. He wouldn't sit still so I told him he could sit nicely in my lap, or he could sit in his time out chair (a booster seat strapped to a kitchen chair-it has a lap belt). So, he kept kicking and I took him toward the booster seat. He got even more mad (as did I) and wouldn't let me put him in the seat (typical). I said I wasn't going to fight him, he could sit nicely or have a spanking. After about 5 spankings, several puffs of steam from my ears, one failed attempt at spanking with the wooden spoon, and lots of yelling from both parties, I decided to just muscle him into the seat while he was screaming at me and hitting me. When I finally got him in (he's very strong), I went in the other room so he'd feel isolated and I could cool down. All of a sudden I heard a loud thud. In his rage, he somehow knocked over the kitchen chair, with the booster seat and HIM in it! He was fine, still just angry, still wouldn't put his shoes on. So I couldn't think of anything else. I put him outside in the carseat (another extremely physical battle) and finished getting Eve ready. It was cold outside, but he was still working up a sweat. He screamed all the way to church. I finally said we could go play with kids and toys, or we could sit in the car if he couldn't calm down. Whew! I went out shopping alone Sunday afternoon.

Now that that's out of the way, here's how everyone measures up. John just happened to step on the scale while we were at the pediatrician, so I weighed him...36 pounds! He's gained 2 pounds in 2 months! 2-year-olds aren't really supposed to do that. I mark it up to the holidays. Thanks a lot, Halloween! No, really he's just been growing a lot. I'm guessing he's probably a lot taller, too.

Eve is 16 pounds 15 ounces (80th percentile) and 27 inches (87th percentile). She did great with her shots, and is doing well developmentally as well. She's very close to sitting on her own. She's had a few times where she's been up several minutes, but she isn't reliably like that yet. She's scooting backward and rolling all over the place. I've even caught her up on her knees! Scary. I'm not ready for her to be so mobile. We're fortunate that she likes to play with monster trucks, trains, and matchbox cars. I hope that sticks.

Catching Up on Pics

Boston CollegeFight Tigers Fight Tigers FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!

Make way for ducklings

Another round...please...Cheers!

John LOVED the "Big Game". FIRST DOWN!

Scotty came over Friday morning while Kathy helped at Eric's school. I had the idea to make cookies. Insane or brilliant? You never know until you try. They enjoyed it, but I'll be digging flour out of the cracks in the floor for quite some time.

Learning new things!

I'm so excited for John. He's been waking up soaking wet almost every morning for a while (lots and lots of laundry!). We've tried cutting off liquids in the evening and still his diaper is soaked. The other morning he woke up at 5:30, wet from his shoulders to his feet, shivering. Poor thing! Our new tactic, which we started two nights ago, is to try to get him to go peepee before bed. I wasn't even going to be picky, diaper or potty, either is fine with me. I just wanted him to be able to sleep without getting soaking wet. I was trying to get him to go in his diaper right before bed, and he wouldn't do it. Daddy to the rescue! He put him on the potty, and voila! So, that was one night. He did it again last night, AND he's done it twice this morning! I'm not ready to shop for underwear, but at least he's being intentional, and not afraid of the potty. Yippie! Unfortunately he still woke up wet this morning, but not head to toe, so even that is an improvement.
Eve is also getting to be a big girl. She's got a lot more control in trying to sit up. She's nowhere close to doing it on her own, but she can hold herself up now rather than just falling forward, and she doesn't bobble side to side as much. She'll get there pretty soon I bet. I've also caught her on her knees a couple of times. She manages to work her way backwards quite often, and has ended up halfway under the couch. I think our big struggle with her is going to be food. We tried rice cereal a few weeks ago, and she wasn't interested. I tried it again later, no luck. I tried applesauce...no luck. She isn't just pushing it out with her toungue as if she can't figure out how to eat, she's making yucky faces and drooling it all out. She's definitely not a fan. We're going to try sweet potatoes today. I'm guessing she's just holding out for french fries and milkshakes. She does like sitting in the high chair, though.

Big Fun Weekend

We did all sorts of fun things this weekend. We started off by going to the Y Friday night. They had pizza, played the movie cars, and had the pool open...free to members. John had a BLAST! I was worried that a few months of not being in the pool would've caused him to backslide a bit, but not so! He was even more bold. He was jumping in all by himself, which he was hesitant to do even at the end of the summer. He was even swimming a good 20 feet or so from us, and we weren't concerned. Of course, he's still wearing a life jacket the whole time, but it's still amazing for me to see that.
Eve went swimming for the first time and also had a good time. She was mostly flirting with the lifeguard, but she was happy the whole time in the pool, and I had her in there for 45 minutes or so. We even went under a few times. She looked a little shocked, but didn't even cry. Evidently we have two water babies.
Saturday was homecoming, so we went to Clemson. We looked for the Tiger, but couldn't find him. Still no picture of Eve with the Tiger. Bummer. John wasn't as interested in the floats as I thought he would be. He looked at a few, and walked through a few, but didn't think it was anything really special. He liked hanging out at the tailgate, though. We walked down to the stadium to watch the team run down the hill. He is pretty intimidated by all the people and the bass from the speakers, but I think it's all very interesting to him, too. He definitely wanted to be held the whole time. We scored some super cheap tickets at the last minute, so we all went into the game. We ended up near some friends with kids and some empty bleacher space. John enjoyed the "big game" so much, he and I stayed the whole game! Kind of a first for him. He went to a bunch of games as a teeny one, but slept through most of it. Last year he went to about 5 minutes of the homecoming game and had had enough (so had I! NEVER taking a little one into the upper deck again). He watched a little bit of the game and played with the kids. He was still intimidated when it got really loud, and pretty tired too, so he sat in my lap a lot. Eve spent the second half at the Esso with Buck. After the game we went back to the tailgate where John got his first busted lip. He and I were running and he took a spill. It wasn't such a bad fall, but I guess he didn't get to protect his face much. Bloody lip and a scrape on the nose too. His lip is still HUGE. Poor thing. At least he had fun otherwise. When we got into the car at 8, it only took a few minutes before he and Eve were both out (he hadn't napped all day!). This morning when it was time to get ready for church, I couldn't get him to wake up. That hasn't happened since we had all the trouble with his biliruben count...just days old!
All in all a fun fun weekend...minus the fat lip.

Hiking/Pizza/etc.

As I write this I'm listening to Buck putting John down for bed and I now completely understand why the mattress support wires are all mangled and bent-up.
We've had some fun this week. John ate pizza for the first time. Crazy kid, he's never wanted to eat it. I haven't pushed it since it's not like he's missing out on a nutritional treasure chest. Tuesday night, though, I kept asking if he was hungry and he kept saying no. Buck got home around 7 with pizza. I was going to have a piece before feeding Eve one last time. I usually don't let John eat that late, but he wanted a bite of mine, so I let him. He then grabbed a piece like an experienced pizza eater, and nearly ate the entire piece! He scarfed it down! I couldn't believe it. Now he seems just a little closer to normal.
Also on Tuesday we went hiking with Grandma and Duff. We didn't go far away. There are a few trails about 15 minutes away in Conestee. We hiked the wheelchair trail, which I think was good for John because it gave him a little more direction. He LOVED running with Duff. It's so funny how much they enjoy each other. They really have grown up together and are great buddies. John really enjoys looking for acorns and putting them in his pockets. It's only a matter of time before I have to call the Maytag repair man for my washing machine. I keep asking John who made the pretty leaves and who made this and that. I think he's finally starting to get that it was God and not Noah.
We started our short prayers by thanking God for this beautiful day, family, things like that. We now also thank him for the basket of trick-or-treat candy, lolly pops, and TV.
John has actually really been giving me a run for my money lately. He's been pitching some all-day tantrums (which is why we also pray that Mama will be patient), but he's also been really cute and agreeable sometimes. It's really sweet when I ask him to do something and he boldly says "sure". Sometimes I get an OK, too, but sure is the cutest one.
Tonight we made pancakes for supper and had Grandma over. John really likes to watch in the kitchen. He always pulls his stool over, and often asks to be held so he can get a better look. With pancakes (his favorite) I let him pour the ingredients and stir it. He really loves that, but eating it is the icing on the cake. I hope to have him cooking our dinner before long.
Eve is still working on sitting up, and putting EVERYTHING in her mouth. I brought out a few of John's old toys and she loves them. I put her in the outside swing for the first time today and she really enjoyed that too. I think her favorite thing is watching John. She really enjoyed hiking, too. She babbled and smiled the whole time she was in the pack. People say she's so easy going, just goes with the flow and takes it all in. Well, she just really doesn't have a choice. Poor thing.

RIGHT NOW!

Right now. That's John's new catch-phrase. He wants everything right now, and he says it. I think it started with him learning the difference between now and later. It was a nice thing for a while because I could tell him when I was fixing a snack that it was for later, and he actually was OK with that. Well, not anymore. Now he just says he wants it right now. I suppose he got it from me...yelling "come here RIGHT NOW". He's had a rough couple of days. Maybe it's the transition from being at Grandma's and then coming home. It's been really cute, though. He says he misses Grandma. I ask if he wants to call, so we call. He'll say one or two things, then hand the phone back and say "finished". It's sweet that he says he misses her; although, I'm not sure he knows what that means.
John is becoming so spiritual. We got a great Bible story book that's perfect for his age. He had been wanting to come down stairs and watch TV every morning, so after we got the book I told him we had to read a Bible story and fold our hands first. Now he's constantly asking to read Bible stories. Sounds great...right? Until you hear the whole thing "Read Bible story, fold hands, fold Baby Eve's hands, watch TV?". It's all just to watch TV. He is quite amazing with his memory verses. The latest is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself". He knows it! Oh, and today we were reading about Daniel in the Lion's den. The story (paraphrased by me) said Daniel loved God and folded his hands. John said he loved God and folded his hands too. Very cute.
Not much of an update on Eve. She's doing really well, still sleeping all night, still working on sitting up (still quite a way to go), still rolling over like crazy, still super chubby, still wins over everyone's heart in a second. I'm pretty sure they fight over her in the nursery. She smiles so much, and has such a great smile. She still doesn't think we're all that funny, though.
Oh, I almost forgot (how could I)...two things. This weekend we were working on a small construction project with the back deck. John had such a fun time helping, and I had a great time, too. He helped measure, hammer, and drew choo choo tracks on the boards. He draws choo choo tracks on everything. That's really the only thing he draws. Anyway, we put him down for a nap in the afternoon. He played around for a few minutes, but then was quiet. When I got him up, I found a MESS! I guess before he went to sleep he pooped and decided to change his diaper. The dirty diaper was over by the window, with spots on the carpet all around, and the rest dried to his back side and foot. So, it looked like he left the diaper by the window, then decided to fall asleep with his pillow on the floor near the door. I scolded him a bit, but I think all the scraping was the worst punishment. We ended up having to soak him in the tub, drain it and clean it, then give him another bath. I guess he learned his lesson...HOPE he learned his lesson.

Playing Catch Up

This may take a few posts. John had fun Trick-or-Treating. It was such a slow process. He walked so slowly from house to house. I'd let him go by himself to ring the doorbell. So cute seeing him on his tippie toes. He was very good about only ringing it once (although I never was quite sure if it actually rang and they were just taking a long time to come, or if he didn't quite get it). After he rang the doorbell he'd start walking away. I kept telling him he had to wait until they came to the door, so he'd sit on the step...not even looking at the door. He did a great job saying trick-or-treat and also saying thank you. We only hit a few houses up and down the street, but he really enjoyed it. So much so, that he continues to ask if we can go again, and again, and again. We handed out quite a few hot dogs, and he enjoyed that too.
Around bed time, John went home with Grandma and we went to get a few hours sleep before leaving at 3am for Boston. Poor Eve thought it was morning when we got her up at 3, weird nap schedules the whole trip, then throw on a time change! She's completely confused now. So we flew to Boston and Eve went to her first Clemson away game. She's now 2-0 for games she's attended. We'll keep her. It was freezing, but we put on just about every outfit she owns, so she was toasty...all except her cheeks. I think she enjoyed watching everything. She just wasn't very fond of the screeching eagle they play after a touchdown. Who can blame her for that? She did great on the trip. She slept on the plane, smiled at everybody, and just went with the flow. We walked most of the freedom trail, saw Old Ironsides, Bunker Hill, Paul Revere's House, Harvard (dropped an application while we were there...she's a shoe-in) and all the other standard sites. Oh, and she sat at the bar at Cheers. The whole time we were there, we were missing John, but thinking about how much he would've hated everything...the flight, the T, all the walking. He had a much better time with Grandma. They went trick-or-treating AGAIN, made pancakes (which is one of his most favorite things to do. He loves to help), collected acorns and sweet gum balls, and who knows what else. All I know is that he didn't want to come home to see us, and he's been asking to go back ever since. Mom said that at church Saturday night they were learning about the Good Samaritan. His teacher said he had a boo boo and was acting like he needed help. Evidently John put half of his sticker on the teacher like a band-aid. What a sweet boy. We talked to him on the phone a couple of times. He was always excited to tell us what he was doing. He even got to vote. Mom said she asked who he wanted to vote for...McCain or Obama...and he said Cain. When I asked him the same question over the phone, he said something like Cainobamamama. He's really started to enjoy talking on the phone. Mostly to Buck.
Eve finally has a crib to sleep in and slept in it for the first time last night. I checked on her before we went to sleep to see if she was enjoying all the extra space. She hadn't moved. When I got her this morning, though, she was completely flipped around. She's rolling all over the place now. We're still having trouble getting her to laugh. It seems like the only time she does it is when she has the hiccups. I'm not sure if she thinks the hiccups are funny, or if laughing gives her the hiccups. She's laughing a little bit more, but still not a lot. She's tough because tickling doesn't do the trick. You actually have to do something funny. Her favorite thing now is her feet. She loves playing with them and chewing on them.
I'll have to post pictures soon, but I'm being summoned, so it'll have to wait for another post.