This Christmas

Grandma and Grandpa visited.  Grandma wore her 12 Day of Christmas sweatshirt
 and helped the kids make cookies.

We watched the Grinch...for the 20somethingt time.

The big gift for the kids was lots of (used from eBay) Duplo Legos -- Bob the Builder for Oliver,
trains for Emmeline, and more than 400 bricks for them to share.  

Aunt Laura sent some Play-Doh toys for the kids.
Oliver liked his truck -- with or without the Play-Doh.

Oliver loved his Lofty -- and the plastic fireman's helmet
that came with his kids' meal at Firehouse Subs.

Emme sat with her Play-Doh for nearly two hours -- though it did require
a new outfit when she was done.

Howdy, dudey

I failed, in the midst of the Christmas posts, to make mention of the gifts from Grandma Kay.  I was reminded when I downloaded pictures from our camera tonight and found the pictures below.  She brought us an array of fun things, but the best gift for the kids was undoubtedly these cowboy hats.  Oliver was clearly a fan; Emme's still thinking about it.

A boy and his drill

So this is Christmas

Oliver led the unwrapping efforts.

A rodent for the rodent

Winnie the Pooh Legos from sister

Playing with Pooh bear

Her very first teapot

Oliver's electric drill set

The Winnie the Pooh movie
 that we saw in the theater.

Oliver's airport-in-a-box

Emme's roden hat

Christmas Eve jammies

Anticipation...is keepin' me waitin'

Wes and I have completed our holiday shopping.  Yes, I know, it's November 29.  I only very recently lamented how early the Christmas season had arrived in our local shops, and now I'm already done with Christmas shopping.  There's several reasons for that.  One, it's an outstanding distraction from my final papers.  Googling "cool toys for 3-year-old boys" on Amazon is way more interesting than "teacher education for English as a second language" on Google Scholar.  Second, I usually shop online and wanted to leave plenty of time for shipping.  And third, we do light presents, so there wasn't a lot of shopping to do.  The kids are each getting four items plus new pajamas for Christmas eve.  I have something in mind for Wes and have it in the works, but the plans are done.  Woosh -- holiday shopping done.

But now that the shopping is done and items will be here in the next 7-10 days, I have to decide what to do with the presents.  We aren't going to have a full-size Christmas tree this year because Emme is so mobile and not yet discerning about what to touch and leave alone.  I also don't think Oliver would leave alone wrapped items that sat unattended for weeks at a time.  Wes and I had a conversation last night about whether to put them out, perhaps on our mantel above the Christmas stockings, or leave them put away until Christmas morning.  This might make the most sense in the long run since we don't do Santa in our house and so it might be fun to just have things appear on Christmas morning.  My biggest concern for this year is that having wrapped gifts out for too long would be a huge tease.  But maybe next year.

Just because the kids are too young to really look forward Christmas Day, doesn't mean there's no one waiting in anticipation.  I, for one, can't wait for them to see what Wes and I picked out.

Oliver's 3rd Christmas

Ollie had a lovely Christmas yesterday.  He slept late, until after 8am (though I was up at 6:30am since I couldn't sleep).  He got dressed and came downstairs to find his workbench all set up.  He immediately wanted to play with it and get out his other tools from the toy cabinet.  We literally had to coax him to open up the few wrapped presents sitting there.  (Note:  A two-year-old has enough focus to really love about two or three gifts at the holidays.  While he's played with everything he got -- only a few more than this number -- the things he hasn't stopped playing with or talking about are, in order, the workbench, the turtle slippers, and his baseball pajamas.)  In addition to the workbench, he got two books (ones I read as a kid that feature Sesame Street characters), two $1 puzzles from Target, and a $1 wooden airplane also from Target, which has already lost its wings.  On Thursday night he opened up a gift from Grandma Kay, some footed pajamas with a baseball on them, and either that night or Wednesday night, when we were having a meltdown over taking off his shoes, I got out the turtle slippers as a bribe (yes, even I give in sometimes).  He has some more highly-touted (and I've no doubt, deservedly so) gifts coming from my parents and my sister and brother-in-law, which he'll get to open Tuesday when my folks are here for a visit, which might be just enough time for him to break his focus on the workbench and open up something else.

He has basically played with workbench every minute he's been inside since yesterday morning.  He loves his workbench.  He's colored on the paper roll, clamped things, used his hammers and screwdrivers and wrenches interchangeably, figuring out what works on which bolts.  He likes to open the drawers and the door to the shelves and moves the pegs on the pegboard around.  Basically, he just loves the thing.  An unexpected gift yesterday was some fresh snow on the ground.  It started snowing Christmas even and has been on and off until this morning.  It's now getting a little warmer and even a bit sunny, so I doubt it will last much longer.  Oliver wanted to play in it as soon as he got up yesterday but waited until after his nap (yes, a nap!)  to go out with Wes, who was rummaging around the garage.  Our neighbor, Renee, came over with a bone for Lucy and a foam football for Oliver.  Wes and Ollie managed to play with it only briefly before Lucy, who becomes frisky as a puppy in the snow, absconded with it and tore about half of it off, which naturally moved Ollie to tears.  He's asked to go out and play with it several times since then.  All the snow play, now for two years, sent us to Wal-mart today for rubber boots, snow pants (3T so we can get some extended use out of them), and extra mittens.  He's been soaking every pair of pants and shoes he has.

So basically, Ollie has really enjoyed the first Christmas he's old enough to get.  He knows what a present is now and how to open it.  He's excited about new things.  We're learning to say "Thank you" when he opens one.  I don't know that he appreciated the Christmas meal yesterday evening. Stuffing is his favorite (all that bread), and I didn't make any, but he did enjoy the monkey bread and hot chocolate he had for breakfast.  Hopefully, soon, he'll get the one present he might be a little ambivalent about when it arrives -- a baby sister!

Making a list, checking it twice

It's becoming that time of year when, as the parent of a 2-year-old, I start getting lots of catalogs in my mail filled with fun toys.  Oliver likes looking through them, but I think I like them even more.  I find that it's just as much fun browsing the pages for my kid as it was looking for myself when I was younger.  He got one present from us last year at Christmas.  This year, I'll probably get him 1-2 small presents.  He's finally old enough to understand opening gifts.  I found something super-cute on Etsy that I ordered today, and Wes and I decided it would be a great "big brother" gift for the baby to give him at the hospital (Oliver is going to take her Baa and the blanket as her"little sister" gift).

So I'm starting to make my list for Oliver's Christmas gifts, but the wish list is much, much longer.  As in, if I had an unlimited budget, unlimited space in which to store playthings, and no worries at all about spoiling my child (none of which is the case), I would include:

• A complete array of outdoor tools for lawnwork, though Wes and I agree that having items that 1) require 11 AA batteries, and 2) simulate the "on" sound really cut down on the fun that can be had with them.
• Some legit gardening tools, with wheelbarrow of course
• An activity table, either for Legos or trains.  He doesn't know who Thomas the Tank Engine is, but he does like trains.
• A carpenter's bench
• A full-on kitchen, with all the appliances and food.  Oliver would LOVE something like this, although, as Wes pointed out, probably everything would "too hot."
• This, of course
• His very own vacuum or an entire cleaning set
• And this, which his grandfather would also enjoy 
• And his very own seat for relaxing with a buddy

A confession, of sorts

I admit it.  I gave in.  I got all excited about having a girl (though, let's be honest, I would have given in if it were a boy, too, and supplemented what was there) and got girly clothes.  It's fair to say that there's some pink and purple in this house that wasn't here before.  And it's mostly of the 0-3 month variety.  So if you feel compelled, now or in the future, to get this baby girl something, might I suggest something in the 3-6 month (spring/summer) or 6-9 month (summer/fall) range.  Or a nursing cover for her mother.  You know.  Just sayin'.

Books from Grandpa

Oliver got his first Christmas present this year from his Grandpa John, Wes's father. He sent four different children's books, all featuring an Oliver as the protagonist. Isn't that the cutest idea ever? So far we've read Oliver Who Would Not Sleep, which is my favorite (since Ollie still won't nap much, despite being a solid night sleeper), Oliver Finds His Way, and Oliver's Must-Do List. I browsed Oliver's High Five, which is a cute if somewhat absurd story about an octopus with only five arms who faces workplace discrimination for his handicap. I haven't read to the end, so I don't know how it all turns out.

Thanks, Grandpa John!

A man of many hats

More winter hat gifts arrived last week, and we have been trying them out on our walks along the ever-chillier Chicago lakefront. This one was handcrafted by one of my college roommates, herself a mom of two. The other (which we haven't had a chance to try out yet) is an adorable bunny hat with matching booties from one of Wes's college roommates and his wife, also a Davidson alum, parents to a little girl. While neither family faces temps like we do in their respective southern states, they clearly have a sense of what we face with such practical gifts. Thanks, guys!

Can you bear it?

Wes's mom brought Oliver two very special gifts: a silver spoon and fork set that belonged to Wes's grandfather and an enormous stuffed polar bear that is currently draped over the back of our couch. The thing is enormous. I wanted to get a picture of Ollie's head up over the bear's, but his head control, while improving, isn't quite that predictable yet. He did seem to enjoy riding on the polar bear's back -- until he started to roll off. Kay told us we could just throw the bear on the floor wherever as a kind of amorphous rug. Clearly she doesn't know our dog very well, who would, in a minute, make herself at home next to if not on it.

Blankets abound

Thanks Aunt Margaret and Uncle Ben for the new blanket!

Mein Hut

A gift from one of Wes's colleagues. We are set for winter weather around here.

Little boy blue

Thanks for the hand-me-down, cousins!

Who says boys don't get flowers?

Our deepest thanks to my sister and brother-in-law, who went to great lengths to send us the beautiful arrangement on the left (they tried to send them to the hospital on Saturday, but we'd already been discharged!) and to one of Wes's attending physicians, who sent the adorable truck arrangement on the right. Wes said it was the attending he was working with on Friday while I was in labor.

Our apartment looks -- and smells-- wonderful!

I've got it.

Now I have to remember how to use it. I love this Ellaroo Wrap, a gift from my sister at the shower, but I don't 100% remember the steps from the class I took some months ago. And what with a baby belly in the way, it's not as easy to get it to fit correctly. The stuffed duck seemed comfortable in it, but I might need a refresher course before sticking an infant inside.

"Shower the people you love with love..."

This weekend my mom, sister, and sister-in-law travelled up to Chicago to throw me a baby shower -- monkey-themed no less, featuring monkey invitations, monkey place mats, and a custom made monkey cake. After a whirlwind of preparations on Friday and Saturday morning (and via phone among the three party planners for months before, on occasion in consultation with my husband), the shower was a huge success. We had a nice turnout, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. My sister-in-law, game hostess, orchestrated an MCAT (the Mommy Comprehensive Aptitude Test, I think), which involved matching children's shows and movies with their characters, and Monkey See, Monkey "Due," in which guests had to guess whether I hoped our offspring would bear certain of my traits or Wes's (he had also completed this activity, and we enjoyed a 61% compatibility rate. We usually disagreed in the areas where we hope our kids won't take after either of us, like dancing. We also each, gracefully, hoped that our son would have the intelligence of the other. My sister and sister-in-law argue that Wes only said this so he would get to keep sleeping in the bed.). For winners of these and the "baby" game (in which you can't say the word "baby" or you lose your clothespin), there were gift certicates to some of my favorite places around Chicago -- Barnes and Noble, Ethel's Chocolate Lounge, and Bin 36.

Everyone enjoyed the menu prepared by the Cook (hah!) -- chicken salad stuffed in croissants, cucumber sandwiches, tomato-mozarella skewers drizzled in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and fruit salad, plus extra-moist cupcakes. We shared the 3D/4D ultrasound DVD (which features a nose on the baby that I'm not sure comes from either of us) in the middle, then devoted the end to opening presents. I feel ridiculous sitting and opening presents in front of people (as we did at our wedding), but I also know how much I enjoy watching people open presents I've given them. We received cute outfits, wonderful books, lots of ABC cards, and many warm blankets (several handmade by my industrious mother).

I didn't really have a wedding shower (though I did enjoy a lovely girls' night thanks to the efforts of my dear friend, who also flew up to Chicago for the baby shower), and I'm certainly satisfied I didn't. But I must say I loved my baby shower. I know the same fuss will not be made for subsequent children (should we be blessed with them), and I reveled in being made feel so special by women I know and care for. My sister collected pictures, snippets of the baby blog, and words of advice from our friends' to the baby (for having us as parents -- lots of grammar and cleanliness suggestions) in a scrapbook for us to keep, and that perhaps was the most wonderful.

It's strange to have that event over and done with because now the next marker on this journey is to actually have the baby. We're excited for it and ready for it -- mostly. It's just amazing to look at my calendar and realize the next big event is not a trip or visitors from out of town or an event -- but a birth. How amazing is that?

Baby Shower!

On Thursday, the seniors at school threw a baby shower for me and the other senior teacher who is pregnant (and due 4 weeks after me). The girls were very generous and terribly cute in their endeavors. They guessed our weight, our girth. We made baby words out of the letters of our names. The girls got us started on all we would need for baby -- some onesies (all blue, of course), newborn diapers (never hurt to have some disposable around), wipes, and even a bottle brush (which, and it worries me, both Wes and the other new mom first thought was used to clean the actual child).

And a very special thanks to Helen's mom (who is also expecting her first boy, but second baby), who was kind enough to send along a gently used crib sheet that we had both eyed. Evidently Helen likes to sit up at night and talk to the creatures on the sheet, hence her willingness to part with it. It is very much appreciated, as is the advice you've shared!