Christmas picture blitz 2006

Caleb's first attempt at Mimi's piano: a natural!! (he likes the dark notes best)
I think she likes it:
Playing with the cool red paper. Nevermind all the cool toys strewn about...
This is me after NO sleep:
This is me sicker than a dog but very excited about getting a piano!!

My two EXTREMELY cool but slightly retarded siblings!
Caleb's first hammer- he likey!
And he's also a walking blockhead!! =)

My roaming thought process:

This was my thought process as I figured out my Christmas surprise:

1. Greg is buying me a piano?
2. He said we are going to Frisco area - Stan and Toni's house in McKinney maybe? They just got a piano given to them and maybe Greg bought it from them?
3. Marshall's parents meeting us? Greg bought Heather's piano?
4. He said he's not spending much at all and warned me not to spend much on him - giving it to us? Or maybe he's lying so I won't figure it out...
5. trading the old bedroom furniture for the piano?

Come to find out.... NONE OF THE ABOVE!! Although, trading for Heather's would have been a sweet deal for her! haha

I GOT it!!!

We went ahead and left for Tyler on Friday since Greg was feeling better (stomach bug) and all went well there. We decided to come back Saturday because Caleb did not sleep at all by himself... he slept a little with me on the couch, then he slept between us in the bed... So after a day of dragging butt we decided to come on back home..

And it's a good thing we did, because at 2 am I started the yuckiness. It was coming out both ends and that's all I'll say... I felt AWFUL pretty much all day Christmas Eve. About 4:00pm I was finally able to keep enough down to take some Tylenol and that helped a lot because my back and legs were aching from dehydration. Then about 5:30 I think, I got up from another nap and found that my sister had arrived. I knew she was coming, but I didn't know that my dad and stepmom were coming (we had just seen them at their house 2 hours away 2 days before) Well, Greg summoned me out into the garage where I found my dad and stepmom drying off and polishing my piano!!!! (It had been raining, and they picked it up from Plano) The piano belonged to my stepmom - she got it when she was 12. It was at her sister's house where her kids weren't using it, so they decided to let me have it. She said she wanted to keep it in the family, which I think is cool because I'm not technically her family.

I couldn't believe Greg kept it all a secret from me, and it wasn't even his idea! I was complaining to him all the time that I wanted a piano SO BAD, and out of the blue my dad called him one day and asked if I wanted it and when they could coordinate the dropoff. Turns out my stepmom read my blog from a couple of weeks ago and got the idea... I LOVE HER!!!!! Thanks, Mel! :)

Greg is in bed with a stomach bug. Caleb is in bed because he's a baby and he sleeps a lot. Why am I not in bed? Because I like being up late for no good reason. And it doesn't happen very often. And I'm going to regret it in the morning. Or maybe at midnight when one of my boys wakes up either throwing up or throwing the pacifier out of the crib. We shall see.

Not sure how either of them are sleeping anyway since the neighbors are outside partying. Or whatever they do. Ahhhhhh, this is my life.

I made some gooooood pecan brittle (and I keep saying "PEEE-cahn" in my head which is so un-southern) and some alright cracker candy and now I'm going to have to throw it all away because there are bugs in the air at my house. The nasty invisible kind. I fully expect to be throwing my guts up by this time tomorrow.

Caleb has about 4 days to learn how to walk or he is going to miss his deadline!

I just realized that there is class of blogger that I fit in. I am not a funny blogger. I don't think I'm even a funny person irl. I'm not witty or clever or cute with words.. I like to use sentence fragments. to get my point across. (that was clever wasn't it?) I always thought people didn't get my humor, but the fact is, I'm not humorous! Now there's a realization I'm glad it didn't take my whole life to figure. I have a dark sense of un-humor. And I live in a world that doesn't get it. Yes, I figured it out, and now I can make peace with it.

Well, goodnight then. I'll be bright and shiny in the morning, unless I'm puking my guts up.

I NEED a piano

So if anybody wants to find me one, I'll love you forever!!

We just got home from spending a morning with my Grandma and Grandpa. Greg helped get the Christmas tree out of the attic and I helped fluff and ornamentize it. Then I played the piano while she played the organ, although I was just barely keeping up on the piano... which only reinforces my notion that if I want my ability to stay alive, I NEED a piano to practice on at home... that's really all I want. I have been having that craving for several months now.. really off and on for several years. Now it won't go away. I have been checking sale ads for a while but it's so hard to spend money we don't have... grrrrrrrrrrr. anyway, I'll stop whining!

walkin'

So, Caleb is now walking like a pro behind his push toy. I have a video of it too I'll have to post. Tonight he used me to stand himself up and immediately let go about five times. He stood each time for about ten seconds without freaking out or falling or even rocking too much. I'm not expecting steps by Christmas, but lots of standing... ooooooooh, help us!

Caleb's Christmas wish/need list:
*BIG bibs - the kind that are made from towels and pull on over the head
*brown or black classic Robeez shoes size 6-12 months
*a ride-on toy, preferabley one that grows with him and one that has a long handle for me to push without bending over
*12 month blanket sleepers
*learning toys, preferably ones that DON'T require batteries!!

This one's for Aunt Melody

My babbling cutiepie

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

Santa Baby picture post

The best we could get with such a wiggler:

I will not smile, but will a smirk do?

Alright, close-up time

This is the last one...

That's enough - I'm outtie. Ciao ciao!

Saturday Night

That's what tonight is. And there's lots of excitement to speak of. We did dinner (pureed peaches, vegetable chicken dinner from a jar, and a few cherry puffs), watched a little baby Einstein, we did bathtime, and now we're playing in our pjs before bedtime.

As I type my back is turned to Caleb but I know exactly what he's into by the sound of rustling paper... he's cleaning out the shredder can, piece by shredded piece.

Next week, (December 18th) we are going to see an opthamologist about Caleb's weepy eye. I've read something about his eye condition, and out of 5 symptoms, he has four. I'll repost that right now:

Dacryocystitis is an infection of the tear sac that lies between the inner corner of the eyelids and the nose. It usually results from blockage of the duct that carries tears from the tear sac to the nose. The blocked duct harbors bacteria and becomes infected. Dacryocystitis may be acute (sudden onset) or chronic (frequently recurs). It may be related to a malformation of the tear duct, injury, eye infection, or trauma.
This problem is most common in infants because their tear ducts are often underdeveloped and clog easily. Babies often have recurrent episodes of infection; however, in most cases, the problem resolves as the child grows. In adults, the infection may originate from an injury or inflammation of the nasal passages. In many cases, however, the cause is unknown.

Signs and Symptoms
· Generally affects one eye
· Excessive tearing
· Tenderness, redness, and swelling
· Discharge
· Red, inflamed bump on the inner corner of the lower lid

Detection and Diagnosis
During the exam, the doctor will determine the extent of the blockage. Cultures may be taken of the discharge to identify the type of infection. The doctor will also determine whether the infection has affected the eye.

Treatment
The treatment for dacryocystitis is dependent on the person's age, whether the problem is chronic or acute, and the cause of the infection.
Infants are usually treated first by gently massaging the area between the eye and nose to help open the obstruction along with antibiotic drops or ointments for the infection. Surgery may be necessary to clear the obstruction if medical treatment is not effective and the problem persists over several months.
Before surgery, the doctor may treat the child with antibiotics to make sure the infection is cleared. The operation is performed under general anesthesia. The tear duct is gently probed to open the passage.
For adults, the doctor may clear the obstruction by irrigating the tear duct with saline. Surgery is sometimes necessary for adults if irrigation, or antibiotics fail to resolve the infection or if the infection becomes chronic. In these cases, dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) is performed under general anesthesia to create a new passage for the tear flow.

My poor little man... I'm pretty sure he'll have to have the surgery. But my friend who's husband is an eye doctor says the surgery is a last resort for infants but if he doesn have to have it it's not too bad and he should handle it well.

My Elf Name

Your Elf Name Is...

Happy Twinkle Wink

What's Your Elf Name?

Caleb's First Santa Experience

This weekend was filled with cold. We bundled Caleb up in his cute santa suit that I bought for him last year and went down to the neighborhood amenity center to see Santa. Caleb was so cute and he didn't even cry. He didn't smile either, but that's alright. He was still cute!

Then it was dress rehearsal for Journey to Bethlehem. Three hours of standing around in the "village" making a mental list of what we're going to need for the real thing when we are standing out in 40 degrees for 4 hours, 4 nights in a row. Hmmmm, sheepskin boots, hand warmers, thermos of hot chocolate, something to sit on that looks halfway authentic...

It's grocery game day!

At this moment Caleb is using the windowsill as a teether and pullup bar. Greeeeeeat.

Nine Month Old Conversationalist

(Yes, I let my son go without pants in November! Especially when it's 80 outside!)

Caleb's newest trick is babbling non-stop. He talks to his toys, the things he sees out the back door, me and daddy, the books on the shelf, Ladybug, EVERYTHING! It is the cutest thing. He has tones of voice and everything. I think it is SO cute. Did I already say that? Here are the stats from his 9 month checkup:

height: 26 7/8 inches
weight: 18 lbs, 2 ounces
Head Circumference: 18 3/8

He also got round one of a flu shot and a Polio booster. He handled those really well, as always.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am hosting the neighborhood Bunko at my house tonight. So far only 5 people have responded to the evite (including me!) that is pretty horrible! You have to have at least 8 people to play a decent game, and 12 - 16 is better. I hope there are just a bunch of slackers out there that didn't respond to the evite and are going to show up anyway.

It's snowing - in a Texas way..

and my hands are freezing!!!

The Parties Story

I need to write this one down before I forget!!
Chapter One: The Anniversary Party
After months of planning on her part, Grandma's party day was finally here on Saturday the 25th. The party was supposed to be from 1pm to 3pm, so naturally we all arrived at 8:00am-ish to get set up. The Botanic Gardens were absolutely beautiful and the weather was just warm enough that I needed a sweater when the breeze blew, but was warm in the sun. We set up tables in the party room, arranged flowers and photo frames on the display tables. When we got to the wedding table, the one where Grandpa made a gorgeous backdrop to hang Grandma's wedding dress, someone discovered that the weedding pictures had been left at home. Only the most important box of photos! Luckily, Uncle Tim had just left and was able to turn around (however stressful it may have been with two boys in the car!) and got the boxes and still arrived on time for pictures. Everyone was freaking (except for me and Melody) for a few minutes until Tim saved the day. Way to go!

Picture time! They hired a professional to take family pictures out in the gardens. BEAUTIFUL!!!! I can't wait to see them, but I did get a glance at my family shot on the photog's digital and it was a great shot with the sun behind us making a kind of halo around our family. I think Caleb was even smiling. Everyone was great for pictures, and it went much quicker than I imagined it would. So we had a few minuutes to stroll around and look for snapshot backgrounds. Melody took a few great ones of us and we got a good Christmas card pic. I took a few of her and Naeole, including one disgustingly cute kissy picture. (Puking at the romanticness)

Family Time before the party! Grandma and Grandpa both wrote out how to have a fifty year marriage. Their tips were not-surprisingly similar to each others! After a few tears, Grandpa presented Grandma with a beautiful diamond necklace, more tears. My favorite part of that was when she read his note out loud and he said "I love you Mrs. Willis." So genuinely sweet!

Party time! People started piling in at 12:30 so about 12:50 we opened the buffet line. You should have seen the line to sign the guestbook and get in the door. It was amazing. Lots of mingling, taking pictures of strangers, showing off my son, the first great-grandson, and a bit of eating! 3 o'clock rolled around rather quickly and we packed up and got out of there by 4:30.

Ran home to clean house for party #2!




Chapter Two: Baby Shower
There was not nearly so much drama this time. Shelley brought a huge vat of yummy chicken spaghetti, of which there was hardly any leftover, Tammy brought the bread and salad, and I brewed about five pitchers of tea. Special thanks to my sweet neighbor for letting me borrow her coffee pot! (Not that she'll ever read this, but still) The food was perfectly organized, and I think everyone enjoyed the menu. The gift opening was also fun, and we didn't play any silly games. Cake was cute and yummy and almost not big enough! I really should have made cookies or something to help the cake go further. I think there was one piece left, and they were small pieces. All in all, a great party. I hope the guests of honor, Angela and Tim, feel the same! thanks to my Aunts and mom for bringing everything. All I did was clean the kitchen and straighten the house. It was the best kind of party to have at your house- the kind you do basically nothing for!

The End

The Car Story

Since we left W'house a day early, we had no real plans for the evening so we decided to stop by Carmax in Arlington. Looking for an Explorer or a Trailblazer with a third row seat (no particular reason except nonspecific future family growth)We saw three that suited our price range, so I emailed the sales dept when we got home. On a whim, the next morning we washed and vacuumed our Highlander (yeah, the one we bought in February of this year) and took off toward Carmax again. Greg drove the pretty maroon trailblazer while I sat in the back with Caleb, then we switched. I nearly wrecked the stupid thing, and Caleb cried the whole time... we took it as a sign that this was not the vehicle for us! ha. So, on another whim, we decided to drop by the Chevy dealer and ask about prices on new Trailblazers. Much to our dismay, the salesguy told us they no longer make EXT trailblazers with third row seats, "but we do have the Tahoe, which is a much better ride anyway." YEAH RIGHT. Well, one red tag clearance price and about four hours later, we drove home in a brand new Tahoe. Yeah, we are ridiculous. But there is that third row seat!!

The Thanksgiving Story

Cousins


Caleb's first Turkey leg! (no, he didn't actually EAT it!)


Grandparents


Caleb's swing on the back porch - and the only thing that made little mr. grumpy smile.



We spent thanksgiving this year in Whitehouse at the Rice's. It was the first time I can remember having Heather, Marchall, Janell and Isaac there too! It was great to have the whole family with all the grandkids at the same place. Heather's dressing was really good, even though I HATE dressing, and the Greenberg smoked turkey and the HoneyBHam were good too. The best part was they were both fully cooked so we didn't have to worry about that. yay.

We went Tuesday afternoon and Greg worked in the car while I drove. Caleb slept the whole way like we planned for him too (it was nap time). We arrived fine, Greg worked some more, and all was good until 4 am when Caleb woke up screaming and wouldn't go back to sleep. Greg and I took turns cuddling him on the reclining sofa until about 6:30 when I tried to put him in bed with us and it just didn't happen. So up for the day we got! (Luckily for them, Heather's family wasn't in town yet) OK, fine another good day, sans naps of course, Heather's family arrived Wednesday evening, the kids had fun together, and bedtime. Caleb went down good and we all justhoped and prayed it would last all night. Like and alarm clock, 4 am he was awake and screaming again. This time he wouldn't even cuddle with us, and the kids were asleep in the living room so we were stuck in a 10x10 bedroom full of antique furniture trying to NOT wake up the whole house. After about 45 minutes of off and on crying, Heather peeked in the door and came in to try to help. 5 minutes later there was Pam, follwed shortly by Marhall, Jerry, and both kids. SO, at 5 am we all decided to give it up and start breakfast. Caleb was ready to play anyway, so he Janell and Isaac played with him while I went back to bed for an hour or so. We decided before 7 am that we would be coming home that day and not staying Thursday night like we planned, all for the sake of sleep! Caleb has slept gradually better since we got home, and right now as I type it is 7:56 am and he is still asleep. I know it sounds like I'm whining but when he sleeps from 9:00 to 8:00 on a regular basis, it's rough getting up four hours early!

OK, whining is over.

To Do

"No pictures please paparazzi!"

I meant to put this in my blog from earlier today:

MY CRRRRRazy schedule for the next, oh, month:
Thursday 23rd- Thanksgiving of course (Whitehouse)
Friday 24th- scramble back home and clean house like a madwoman
Saturday 25th- 50th anniversary celebration ALL DAY
Sunday 26th- baby shower at my house
Monday 27th- ahhhh, take a short break and then start putting up Christmas decor
Wednesday 29th- Happy Birthday Cody!!
Friday 1st- Bunko Party at my house
Saturday 2nd- Journey to Bethlehem Dress Rehearsal
Sunday 3rd - Choir Musical in both AM services
Wednesday 6th - Pick up Tiana from DFW
Thursday 7th - JTB
Friday 8th - JTB
Saturday 9th - JTB
Sunday 10th - JTB
Friday 15th - dinner and drinks with bunko girls
Satuday 16th - Sunday School Christmas party
another lull in the activity until...
Sunday 24th - CHRISTMAS EVE!!!

Money Stressssss

I have to get it out... I just spent $220 on a carseat for Caleb... and I have this awful pit in my stomach now... Like I just spent our life savings away... I always get that when I order things online, I guess I'll feel better when I get the big huge $220 box on my front porch. OHMYGOSH

Who needs a job when you have a boy??

PICS AT BOTTOM!!

This might be the quietest moment I've had in 5 days!! And I'm finally alone. Greg took off Thursday and Friday of last week and it was great having him around. But I'm glad for some me time every now and then!

I just got finished cleaning up a broken jar of prunes from the kitchen floor. Talk about nasty. It HAD to be the one type of jarred food I buy that stains, too. Not the pears or the applesauce, or even the peas. The good thing was I got to get out my nifty Hoover Floormate and do some serious floor cleaning! woohoo

We knocked the crap out of the Christmas shopping last week, and even wrapped a few! Then Friday we spent doing house chores, and I painted a chair-rail border in the bathroom with a neat stamp... then decided it needed a little more, so Saturday I taped a pattern on the wall and Sunday I painted black stripes!! It sounds horrendous, but it turned out cute. I think the pic does it justice. I do need to do some touch ups before the baby party though.

Saturday we went out to my grandparents to help them pull their potted plants into the greenhouse, and knew that they were having their septic tank pumped that morning. When we got there discovered that their toilets were still all clogged up and no plumbers were answering (it is hunting season and football too!) So Greg got to dig a hole and find the clog in their septic system line. YUCK! So now he's a plumber.. without the whole buttcrack thing.. hehe. When we (I say "we", although I did almost nothing.. I held Caleb the whole time because I couldn't put him down on the floor after it had been stepped on after sloshing around in a bathroom with an overflowing toilet. GROSS) got that situated we made it back home in time to have Thanksgiving dinner with our neighbors out in their driveway. It was a potluck street gathering thing and it was pretty fun, although and little chilly for my liking. I got to see my neighbor's new used piano, and I almost cried out of sheer jealousy. That is THE ONLY THING ON MY CHRISTMAS WISH LIST THIS YEAR!!

Sunday was church. We had to pick Caleb up early from the nursery because they said he was acting "not like himself" which means he whined a little, which is not normal at all for him. Greg said, "That's the bad thing with having such a perfect baby - if he so much as fusses they call us since it's so rare." He WAS acting funny, but he didn't have a fever and I couldn't think of anything I ate or he ate that would be bothering his tummy, and he wasn't snotty or overtired, so it was a mystery. I think we figured out it was the fact that he hates overalls. Seriously, we had to pick our child up early from the nursery because he was cranky about having to crawl around in overalls. His legs kept getting caught and then they would pull down on his shoulders and generally annoy him. I guess the crying part was he wanted everyone to know about it!!

This morning I ordered a cake for the baby party, and did my grocery game thing. Then there was that shattered prune jar.

Still left to do before noon tomorrow:
Finish washing and folding laundry
pack my stuff
pack Caleb's stuff
try to fit it all in one suitcase
Journey to Bethlehem practice tonight
touch up the bathroom paint
eat all the leftovers in the house and finish drinking the milk (hard to do when you can't actually physically drink it)

Today is Husband Day

I am declaring today "Husband Appreciation Day" at 3436 Beekman. I just think we need to have one of those every now and then. He does such great things every day that no one even notices (including me) and it's time to say thank you! Today is also "try to take a family picture using the timer setting on the camera" day. We'll try that one a little later!

Movin

Here's a great video of Caleb crawling at light speed. He has started doing this lately. He sees something across the house and focuses in and then crawls a warpath to it. It's pretty funny to watch because his little legs are just going and going.

Weekend Funness

We Christmas shopped till we dropped this weekend, and visited old friends and made new friends. I'd call that productive.

Yay for IKEA, and Pier 1 moving sales!!!

Mine is the bestest

Caleb and I went over to a friend's house last night for a girls and kids dinner. There were four of us and my husband was the only one that wasn't out of town. I'm so lucky he doesn't travel with his job much! The babies there were 8 months(Caleb), 11 months, 13 months and 18 months. And I have to say, mine was the best behaved baby of all of them! He loved playing with his friend's toys and he sat at the table like a big boy and ate his peas and pears and peach puffs and never fussed once. When I got home I told Greg how great Caleb is and how I feel so proud to have such a well behaved, laid back baby. Those situations make me proud to be a mom and reassure me that we are doing a great job as parents!!

Video

Sweet! I figured out how to post my videos! yahoo.

Alrighty then. Here I go with the first barrage of pictures of the cutest baby you've ever seen!! please, if you don't mind, I'm trying to play here!

He likes it upside down in his mouth... go figure!
Udderly the cutest cow you've even seen!!