Christmas!

Pictures are coming soon!

Christmas in our house was a lot of fun. First, we went to our Christmas present dinner at the Melting Pot, and A was so well behaved especially considering the length of our meal. We went early so he would be alright, and as long as I let him walk around a little, he was great!

On Christmas Day, A was beyond well behaved. He interacted with the family so much better than last year. He knew that Grampy was the go to guy for playing, and on several occasions reached out for him. He didn't need any warm up time for Grammi, Grampy, or even Mom Mom. He was a little bit less comfortable with Grandpa and his great-aunt, but did warm up to them pretty quickly.

Since receiving the Hess truck, he has been carrying it around pretty much non stop. A enjoyed all his toys this year, which included an xylophone that comes with balls, a Little People car, Animal Bowlingl, a Little People airplane, and a huge floor puzzle. He loves them all, which is so great to see. He also got some books, clothes, and an ornament.

Grampy and Grammi left for Florida yesterday morning, and arrived at their first stop early this afternoon. We'll miss them but know they'll have a great time, fishing and shrimping and bridge playing and swimming.

Found

A Visit to Mom Mom's...

We made a hasty visit to Mom Mom's house yesterday, and something adorable happened.

Mom has a mantle full of family pictures. So I got one of Grammi's old school pictures and showed it to A. He walked around with it for a little bit then gave it a kiss. So then I got down Mommy's graduation photo, and he showed it to Daddy and then gave it a kiss. As an experiment, I took down a picture of my cousin with his wife and daughter and gave it to Alex. He smiled and pointed at the baby, but no kiss. How cute!

He warmed up very quickly to Mom Mom, who he has not seen since Thanksgiving. A good sign for Christmas!

He also seems to remember some things from her house (we were there about a month ago). He went into a drawer he was playing in the last time we were there and took out these cigar cases in which she keeps crochet hooks and started shaking them, just like he did last time.

We didn't bring A's chair along for the trip, so he sat on a chair on a phone book, just like Mommy used to at her great Grandmother's house!

What's shakin'

A lot has been happenin' in the world of Mr. A.

First, it is clear that this is my child. My mother used to lament that my teachers all thought I was a perfect angel, but that I was a PITA at home. A's teachers say that he only cries when he gets hurt, doesn't thrash for his diaper changes, etc etc etc, and are surprised when they hear that he often cries in the mornings.

Next, the return of the mayor. I'm told that A is a fantastic sharer. He gives toys to the other kids in his class often... pretty impressive for such a little guy. I'm amazed that EVERYONE seems to know this child; we'll be leaving and parents I don't know will say "Goodnight, A!" and so will kids who are much older. They all know him, and by name! So he's clearly Grampy's grandson too.

We visited Santa again yesterday. He was fascinated by the big guy while we waited in line, and I thought that there might be a chance. As we got up to see Santa, however, A became VERY clingy and started crying as we approached. We ultimately took pictures with me sitting next to Santa, but A didn't look great and I didn't look so great at all. So, definitely not worth the $25 (!!) for 2 pictures.

While we were at the mall, we met up with Best Bud and his mom. Despite not having seen each other in what feels like forever, they went right up to each other and started playing. They were so cute, having conversations and feeding each other snacks. A now weighs more, but Best Bud is still a bit taller.

Last night, we went to Grampy and Grammi's house. Grampy took A almost immediately after he got out of the car, and to my surprise, didn't make even the slightest fuss. He was very happy to be with his grandparents and also very happy to see his old toys.

We also went to the annual Christmas party. Last year, M and I had to leave after about half an hour because A was INCONSOLABLE. What a difference a year makes--not only was he a perfect party guest, but he also went to sleep in a bedroom for a several hours. It took a bit longer than normal to get him to sleep, but he did go down eventually! Hooray for sleep training!

The most adorable thing today... we were out at the stores, and couldn't get A to hold our hands as we walked through a parking lot. So, in order to force him to hold our hands, we did the old swing the kid between the hands trick. But we weren't doing it for awhile and so we hear A make a noise just like our "1, 2, 3 swing!" and then he did like a kick thing. It was hilarious!

That's what's shakin for now. Have a great week!

Updates

A has added some new words to his vocabulary. He now says:
Cookie (a favorite in our house)
Cracker
Kitty
Duck
Daddy
Dada
Car
Jimmy
Michael

He can point to his head, ear, eye, nose, and mouth. When I say "Gimme that foot!," he brings his foot up to my mouth for an eating and giggle fest.

He can walk pretty well now.

His room has a new teacher at daycare. I really liked his old teacher, and the new teacher has brought some concerns. The other day, she told me that his diaper rash was fine at the noon changing, but that he had developed a BLISTER by the 3pm changing. My poor baby was in so much pain, but luckily it only seemed to bother him when his diaper was off. I'm concerned because I thought he was supposed to be changed every two hours, but she was clearly changing him every three. So I left a note yesterday (there is only one teacher in the school when A is dropped off) to please change him at least every two hours and to make sure he was slathered with lots of butt cream. As of last night, it looked a lot better and the blister is starting to heal.

I also worry because A begs for the teacher's food, and she gives it to him. It seems as though she gets McDonald's every day, so he has had french fries the past few days. It isn't a big deal--he's had french fries with us before--but I really want him to eat as healthfully as possible for as long as possible; to get him eating the good stuff before he knows any better! I also don't want to be THAT PITA parent... a tough balance.

Finally, we took a holiday visit to Picture People and Santa the other day. The Santa picture didn't come out so hot, so we didn't get it... A didn't scream at all, but Daddy was in the picture and A just had a weird expression on his face. I'm currently debating whether to get photo cards made up or if I should just use the regular cards I already have and add in a small picture of A... At any rate, here are some of the shots from our PP session: