Special Delivery From Kenya (and random pictures)

We sure are missing Grammy around here! Today we got a package in the mail from her. Inside was a shirt, 3 wooden animals, and a cool elephant puzzle. J was over the moon with all of it! He wore the shirt out to dinner and managed not to get any taco residue on it!










For the past week or so, J has been obsessed with Finley. He follows him around, yells at him, plays with his doggie tags if he can get close enough, throws him his tennis balls, pats his paws, pets him gently (and sometimes not so gently), laughs hysterically when he licks his hands while he's in his high chair, and gives him kisses and hugs. Finley is trying his best to enjoy his new best friend- but there have been several times when I find him perched on the pillows at the very back of the couch cause he knows that's the one place J can't reach him!









Snazzy shoes from our buddy Mister Man.



Checking out the postcards from Grammy. I had to put them over his changing table instead, cause he was "talking" to the animals at night when he was supposed to be falling asleep.



My grown up little boy- he absolutely loves books.






Remember when I put all of those special gifts and books on the top shelf cause he couldn't reach it? So not working anymore! And somebody clean up that room!



Falling



Standing

You should see the other guy

Learning to walk = Bar fight injuries






Number 1: Bumped head on coffee table in basement that of course doesn't have childproofing bumper pads on it. Lots of blood and tears later- a cut at the edge of his eyebrow. He wore a bandaid overnight and it looked better the next day. Now it's a yellow bruise.

Number 2: Fell nose first into the coffee table in the living room- this one has the padding, but he hit the table in the one spot where the padding dips a little. No blood, but lots of tears. He has a nice blue bruise on his nose now.

Yesterday we made a trip to Babies R Us to buy extra padding for the coffee table, and a helmet with a facemask.

Mr. and Mrs. Cranky Pants

We took Jack to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch today. It's a nice place, by no means a child-free restaurant. They bring the little kids sliced bananas and bread before their meals, and always have plenty of high chairs on hand. We got seated in the section where they have a long booth and then small tables and chairs facing the booth. The tables are pretty close together, so you kind of end up sitting awfully close to your neighbors. When we got there it wasn't very crowded and there was a family with a 2 year old sitting one table away from us. Darling little boy, very well behaved, smiled as soon as he saw Jack. Not long after we ordered Jack's meal, a young couple was seated at the table between us and the family with the little boy. According to B who was facing the woman, when Jack smiled at her (as he ALWAYS does with people) she actually ROLLED HER EYES at him! After about 2 more seconds, the guy turned towards the hostess and in a NOT VERY QUIET VOICE AT ALL asked:

"Is there any other place where we can sit? You know, because of all these kids?"

The hostess gave me a little- I'm so sorry he just said that- smile and led the couple to a table far, far, far away from any kids.

After they had been taken to their childfree table, the mom of the darling little boy leaned towards me and said "Did they ask to move just because of the kids?" I told her "yes, can you believe that?" We just shook our heads.

If you want an "adults only" meal experience- choose a place where that's the idea, not a relaxed and family oriented restaurant. And if you do end up at a restaurant where you're seated next to some kids- smile, say hello, and enjoy your meal. Being rude only makes you look like a jerk.

Well this is new...

Good Morning @7:15 am



Apparently he'd rather not wear pajama pants...

From Baby to Toddler

So of course he had about 4 or 5 passes between us with really good steps and by the time I got the camera set up, he was getting tired and hungry... so we only got 1 good one. He's working on it! Closer every day!

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Road Trip

I'm overwhelmed with how much there would be to write about... so a brief outline...

*Thursday- Drove to Madison to drop off Finley and pick up J's pack-n-play, out to dinner with my dad, hung out at dad's store for a bit

*Friday- After B got home we drove to B's parents' house to spend the night

*Saturday- All 5 of us in the car- and we weren't even that squished! Drove to Eau Claire, visited B's grandma- she's 96 and recognized B's dad and almost recognized B-she gave J a kiss goodbye, so special! Out to lunch at Mogie's (a favorite of my buds who went to UWEC? I think I remember?) Picture in front of the house where we met! Visited Great Aunt Jean, J fell and hit his mouth on the corner of her coffee table, lots of blood and ice cream later, he was fine! Drove to Minneapolis to see good buddy L and her house (LOVE the kitchen remodel!) Also wanted to steal her dining room table... J falls again and hits his chin on her coffee table- no blood but some tears (Oh the dangers of learning to walk!)Out to dinner with L- my dinner gets dropped on the floor by the waitress = free dessert for L since we're at a hotel with no way to heat the hot fudge sauce! Spent the night at the Hilton in downtown Minneapolis (I LOVE hotels!!!) J slept through the night... loved playing in the hotel room!

*Sunday- drove to Hudson, WI for brunch with B's family... uncles, aunts and 2 cousins... J devoured pancakes, drove back to B's parents' house... and finally home!

We had a WONDERFUL weekend, so glad we got to see Great Grandma Mac, and Aunt Jean, and my buddy L, and the family in Hudson... it was a great time!

As for how J did on the trip... can you say PERFECT ANGEL?? 4 hours in the car- no fussing, ate well, slept well, had a great time. And the best part? No bottles, no formula, no food prep at all- he ate with us, drank milk at the restaurants, and was like a real person! So easy!

And now the pics...and a video!



Random pic--Valentine's Day flowers from B... purple tulips! My favorite! And a yummy candle.


Playing peek-a-boo before we leave for Madison


Hard at work at the table Grammy set up for J with his own mail to go through!


Who's out there?


Working hard at the store


Ready for the marathon- wearing a fuel belt!


All set to go!


4 Generations


Funny face at Mogie's


In front of the house where we met in 1998!


Who would have thought...


Before the injury at Aunt Jean's


Nice to meet you Thora the cat!


Bath time at the Hilton!


Looking out the window with Daddy-O


He sure loved the view!


Busy playing in the hotel room


REALLY bad hair day


2 new cousins to meet!

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Say What?

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Passed Out

He must have been standing up in his crib, felt like going to sleep and just fell backwards. How else would he ever end up like that? Notice the feet between the crib rails....

and he still sleeps in a sleep sack cause i obsess over him staying warm enough at night

True Love

Jack and the Veggie Enchilada

Holy Cow...

Several new posts all in one day... I was a touch behind.

On the sleeping front...it seems like all is well. J has really been chewing on things lately- his hand, his toothbrush, his sippy cups, toys, anything. So 2 nights with a dose of Motrin before bedtime has helped. Sleeping through the night again, and waiting for some new teeth to appear!

Look What I Learned!

It's so much fun to throw things down the laundry chute!

Just Us

For the first time in a long time, we enjoyed a weekend with no visitors. As much as we love having family over, it sure was great to spend some time alone- just the 4 of us.

On Friday night we went out to dinner at this place. J had his very own kids meal- dino shaped chicken nuggets and steamed veggies. We've found that we have to order him his own meal- BECAUSE HE ENDS UP EATING MOST OF OUR FOOD IF WE DON'T!!! Sometimes it surprises me how grown up he is already- eating kids meals already??? Anyway, he loved the food (no surprise there!) and we had a great time. After dinner we headed to this place where the 3 of us split a hot fudge sundae. Delicious! After J went to bed, we watched the funniest movie I've seen in forever. Check out Little Miss Sunshine as soon as you can! We really enjoyed it.

On Saturday morning we headed to the Mitchell Park Domes. I think I might have to start making weekly trips there- it was SO WARM AND WONDERFUL INSIDE!!! The plants and flowers were amazing, and the warmth... it was heaven! We totally lucked out because in the dome where they do different themes, it was all trains! Our buddy Mister Man would have gone nuts! There were really cool trains- huge ones with real steam coming out of the engines! They even had little scenes set up around the tracks- using everybody's favorite toys. Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Ponies, Sesame Street characters, Disney characters, etc. J was so interested in everything- he had that look of awe on his face the whole time. They have free admission on Monday mornings.. so I think we'll head back there soon. Just being that warm again, and feeling the sun on our faces, and being surrounded by gorgeous flowers and plants... made us all feel so much better!

The pictures are a little out of order...














On Saturday night we headed off to Super Nana's house for dinner. While we were there J got his Valentine's Day card and gift from his Grandpa and Grandma Moe Moe. His card is a jungle theme and when you open it, it makes jungle noises! J wasn't too sure about it at first, but he's been playing with it ever since we got home. For his gift he got a huge set of little kid leggos- He loves them. He tries to help you build towers, but he still prefers knocking them down. For dinner J gobbled up pork roast, mashed potatoes, carrots, jello, and a little bit of ice cream for dessert. It was all delicious!

On Sunday morning I headed off to church on my own- what a peaceful break for me! When I got back we went to the grocery store. Our grocery store has this crazy tradition of letting "talented" people perform on Sunday afternoons. So while we were shopping we were treated to lovely renditions of "Sweet Caroline", "Over the Rainbow" and others. Let's just say adding less than talented singers to the already hectic atmosphere or a crowded grocery store is so not a good idea! J seemed to like them though, everytime we got closer to the music, he'd start swaying back and forth in the cart.

Sunday night found us at this place for dinner. Once again, J got his own kids meal, a taco. We ate the chips and drank the pop for him!



What a fantastic weekend. It was so wonderful to be just us again.