No Pictures

I wasn't feeling well today so I couldn't go see my sister and her new baby. So no pictures to post. I will probably see them after Christmas, so I'll be sure to take some pictures then!

We celebrated Christmas with my family this past Saturday. It was a very relaxing day and fun to be together, although we always miss the Colorado crew. Mr. Mister had fun opening gifts, but I don't think he totally understood it yet. I'll post pictures of Christmas next week.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Another New Arrival!

Now I have a new nephew! It's baby-mania around here. My sister delivered her second son 4 weeks early today. He still weighed in at 7lbs 10 oz! His gender was a surprise, but his early arrival was not. Her first son came 5 weeks early and she actually went into labor with this baby 2 weeks ago but they gave her medicine to stop the labor, trying to make her wait a little longer.

I am so excited for another nephew! I can't wait to go see him tomorrow. I'll make sure to take pictures to post!

The grand total is now 5 grandsons and 1 granddaughter.

Poo Poo

Sorry for all the posts about bodily functions, but I guess that's life with a toddler. Today, Mr. Mister was playing in the family room while I was straightening up. All of a sudden, he walked up to me and said (his version of) "poo poo." I smelled his bottom and sure enough, he had pooped! I can't believe he knew and told me. Maybe it was a fluke. We'll see.

The Great Art of Fort Building

Today was a cold, snowy day. With nowhere to go, Mr. Mister and I were getting a little stir crazy and needed something new and fun to do. Remembering a list my sister recently emailed me about things to do with toddlers, I decided we would build a fort. This brought back vivid memories of my childhood, when building forts with my brother and sisters was a regular and favorite activity. I remember one that covered our entire basement and had different rooms and hallways and everything. So how hard could it be to make a fort out of a sheet and two couches? Harder than I thought.

Apparently, my creative play skills need to be reawakened from years of lying dormant. I could not figure out how to make it work the best and it took me a few minutes to get it right. After some deliberation and readjusting, our fort was acceptable (not excellent by any means, but we'll work on it). Mr. Mister loved crawling under there and we read books for quite a while under this sheet stretched between couch cushions and the coffee table. Amazing what new scenery can do for making a normal activity into something exciting!

I'm sure this winter Mr. Mister will help reawaken my creative playing skills. I may even perfect the art of fort building.

He Peed on Me!

Last night as the bath was almost filled with water, I took Mr. Mister's diaper off. As he stood next to the tub, ready to get in, I reached over to turn the water off. All of a sudden, I felt a warm stream of pee hitting my foot! I yelled in surprise, which scared him, which made the pee stop just long enough for me to move my foot. When he realized everything was okay, he relaxed and kept peeing, this time onto the floor. I haven't been peed on in so long! It was very funny.

Standoff

Mr. Mister and I had a battle of the wills this morning. He would not go up the stairs on his own...he insisted on me carrying him. But I wouldn't carry him up. I realized the other day that I always carry him up and he no longer wants to do it on his own. (Of course, he quickly scrambles up when he's trying to escape us or be michevious.) So this morning, I decided to wait it out and make him do it on his own. Easier said than done.

During our twenty minute standoff, I tried putting toys, books, and even off limit items at the top of the stairs for motivation, I tried sitting at the top encouraging him, and I tried disappearing to put laundry away, hoping that if I ignored him, he'd want to come find me. None of these worked. He just sat at the bottom whining and eventually got bored with that and went into the family room to find something to play with. With nap time coming quickly, I decided to compromise.

I put him on the steps, about 4 stairs up. Then I pretended I was chasing him up the steps. He laughed and crawled one step up. So I chased him again, and he went two steps further. This progressed until we finally reached the top!

Mr. Mister has one strong will! I am proud of myself for not giving in and carrying him up...I came close many times. Hopefully this helps make the next time easier.

A New Arrival!

Mr. Mister is no longer the youngest grandchild. I have a new niece! My brother and his wife welcomed their baby girl on December 12. She is the first girl in that generation of our family and I was very excited to buy a pink sleeper for her. Having Mr. Mister and three nephews, we're not used to buying girl clothes. Sadly, she's in Colorado, so I don't know when I'll see her. Although I suspect that my husband may try to convince me that we need to take a trip out there this winter...to see my niece, of course, not just so he can snowboard in Breckenridge!

Here are some pictures.

I wish my blog wasn't anonymous because she has a beautiful name.

Playing in the Snow

It snowed all day this past Saturday and we were excited to take Mr. Mister out to play. You can see in the pictures that he didn't have quite the fun we thought he would have. I don't know if it was because it was close to his nap time and he was tired or because he kept picking up snow with his bare hands and not letting go (see picture). He wasn't happy, but he sure looked cute all bundled up!

.

Birthday Party Fun

We took Mr. Mister to his friend's 2nd birthday party last week. It was a lot of fun and Mr. Mister loved running around and playing with all the balls and balloons. He even got to eat like a big boy...sitting at a picnic table, eating a hot dog, and drinking a juice box. And he tried to steal another boy's hot dog bun (see picture below)! He was the yongest one there and I think he liked having a whole gym to run around in more than he noticed the kids to play with. He loves being the master of his own domain!

Great Parenting Advice

Check out this blog I read for some excellent advice about how to keep calm when your child makes a mess!

Mr. Mister in Action

Life is non stop action around here these days. Mr. Mister continues to be curious and excited about exploring everything possible. Here are the latest updates:

• We had his 15 month checkup. He's still in the 90th percentile for weight and 50th for height. For the first time, he didn't entertain the doctor. He knew where he was and kept knocking on the door, trying to get out!
• Timeouts are in full effect here. The doctor talked to us about how to best discipline our "strong willed" son. Head butting is the leading cause for timeouts, followed closely by playing with the garbage can and the DVD player.
• He keeps us entertained with his words. He recently learned that a horse says, "neigh" and that Santa says, "Ho, Ho, Ho." He says both with a cute smile, knowing that he's making us laugh.

ENJOY THESE PICTURES!

Playing Rock Band with Daddy over Thanksgiving.

Daddy and Mr. Mister on the first day of Buck Season. We took this picture for Grandpa T who was in the PA woods that day.

Practicing his owl call.

Helping us pick out our Christmas tree. I guess that one was his favorite!

We're Dorks

My husband and I came to the realization tonight that we are dorks. He can't stop reading the book The Foundation of XML, some computer book that has a lot of words I don't even know. I get excited every time I read my Systems in English Grammar text book.

We also realized how different we are (not that this is a necessarily new revelation). He thrives in the face of the chaos and challenge of starting and running his own business while I love learning in the structured classroom environment. Neither of us would last very long in the other's current situation. That is just one of the many ways we complement each other so well.

Books

Mr. Mister must have listened to the lecture I gave him when he was three months old and didn't like looking at books. I told him that his mom, grandma, and aunt are teachers so he has to like books. These days, he has a new found love for reading and it makes me very happy!

When we read before his naps, I usually end up reading the same book three times as he sits in my lap sucking his thumb (although I think this may be more of a stalling tactic.) Yesterday, we read or flipped through every book on his bookshelf. He just kept taking one after another off the shelf for me to read. And every once in a while if I let him play by himself, he'll sit down in a pile of books and flip through them without me. The cutest is when he reads out loud. He'll turn the pages of a book and say a bunch of different sounds, just like he's reading. It's music to my ears!

Nose

On Sunday after church, we were eating lunch with my parents and Uncle N and Aunt K. Towards the end of the meal, Mr. Mister showed us where his nose is. But instead of pointing to it, he put his finger up it, which he thinks is really funny. He kept saying "no" (for nose) and laughing as he put his finger up his nose. I would take his finger out, which made him laugh even harder until we had a cycle of him sticking his finger up his nose, me taking it out, and him laughing so hard it turned into a deep belly laugh. His laugh is, of course, contagious and he was soon leading us all in a good belly-aching laugh. Another entertaining moment brought to you by Mr. Mister.

Snowflakes

You can't see them in these pictures, but the snowflakes were falling yesterday morning. We bundled Mr. Mister up and went outside to play for a little bit before Daddy had to start working. Mr. Mister stayed warm in the new hat and mittens that Grandma and Grandpa T got him while they were here visiting. It was a fun way to start our day!

Just His Socks

We had dinner tonight at my parents' house. Mr. Mister kept us entertained the whole night with his usual funny antics. The funniest part, though, came at the end of the night when we were changing him into his pajamas before we left.

Before we put his sleeper on, he started walking around with just his diaper and socks on. Then, he started playing with the tab of his diaper and figured out how to make it unstick from the diaper. He found the other tab and did the same thing until he had completely removed his diaper! Leaving the diaper on the floor, he started walking around completely naked except for his socks! He marched around the house like nothing was different...exploring, playing with the washing machine, looking in the closets...all while the four of us just watched, unable to do anything because we were laughing so hard. I don't know which was funnier - Mr. Mister in just socks or the fact that he kept on going like nothing was wrong!

Future CEO

Mr. Mister is following in his daddy's footsteps already.

One of Mr. Mister's new favorite words is no. Thankfully, he doesn't say it that often in resistance. It's actually really cute most times he says it...I don't know if it's his voice or just him being able to communicate that he doesn't want to get out of the bath yet or be all done eating, but I can't help but laugh when he says no and shakes his head.

The funniest times that he says no are when he points to the garbage can, the outlets, the lamp, the DVD player, and other things he's not allowed to play with and says, "no. no. no." He knows that we have said no when pointing to those things, so he'll walk up to them and say no also. Sometimes he even makes a very stern looking face, similar to what mine probably looks like when I tell him not to play with them. He even said no to the garbage can at the babysitter's house the other day! He never stops entertaining us. I love him so much!

Fall Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

We had a fun visit with Grandma and Grandpa T who were in town for the weekend. Mr. Mister loved playing outside with them. One of his favorite things was throwing leaves...you can see the progression in the pictures below. Their visits always go too fast, but are always lots of fun!

PS...I know it looks like Mr. Mister is poking his eye out with the stick in this first picture, but it's not as close as it looks.

Boys and Girls

There was a moment at the park yesterday when I realized the difference between little boys and girls. After Mr. Mister had spent some time playing in the dirt and eating some, two little girls came over. One said with a disgusted look on her face, "Why is his mouth so dirty?" The other, holding her baby doll dressed in pink, said, "He wants to hold my baby but he can't because his hands are dirty." Oh man. If I ever have a girl who is really girly, I'm not going to know what to do! I loved looking at Mr. Mister covered in dirt, saying "Hi!" like nothing was wrong.

Indian Summer

We had four beautiful days this week with temperatures in the mid-seventies. It was a wonderful treat - our Indian Summer before the cold comes for good. We started the week with a trip to the zoo and spent the last of the great weather at the park yesterday. It was Mr. Mister's dream afternoon at the park - going down the slides, playing in the crunchy leaves, eating dirt, and petting a cute, white dog just about his size.

In defiance of the dreary weather that rolled in today, we spent some time walking around the Village Green that is outside our library. We found a statue of a dog, which Mr. Mister was really excited to pet. It wasn't soft and furry like the one he got to pet yesterday, but that didn't seem to bother him. He kept saying, "woof, woof" and "hi" to the dog. It was pretty cute.

Grandma and Grandpa T come to visit tomorrow. Even though it will be a quick visit, we're excited to see them and for them to see Mr. Mister in full action!

Reflecting on this Historic Moment

This will probably be my last post having to do with politics and then I'll get back to cute stories and pictures of Mr. Mister.

Yesterday morning, I saw part of the Today show as they reflected on Obama's victory and the momentous occasion that it is for our country. As they showed footage of the crowd at his victory speech in Grant Park in Chicago, I saw an elderly black man with tears in his eyes. All of a sudden, I found myself in tears as I thought about what that man has seen and what this day must mean to him. And what it means to our country as a whole. Political parties and voting preferences aside, the significance of the first African American president is astounding when considering the history of our country and the events that occurred not that long ago.

As I thought about it, I realized that someone's race, either black or white or anything else, is not the reason to vote or not vote for that person. But now that Obama is our president, the significance cannot be overlooked. Multiple African American people have said in interviews, "I can now tell my child honestly that he can be anything he wants to be."

In our local paper this morning, I found the following excerpt from a Nov. 5th Washington Post article. This segment really reflects what I've been thinking about. The message transcends political views and celebrates the milestone that this is for our country.

"When we endorsed Mr. Obama for president, we did not mention race, for the simple reason that race played no role in our decision; Mr. Obama was just the better of two good nominees. But race is hugely relevant to this moment. The stain of slavery and discrimination can never be obliterated, and no single day can mark a nation's progress into some mythical "post-racial" era. Yet how could Americans not be moved by the reality of an African American president? Mr. Obama was born at a time when numerous states would have prohibited the marriage of his white Kansan mother and black Kenyan father, before the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act had outlawed the worst of Jim Crow, when the Supreme Court's order to desegregate schools was being fought at every turn. Hardly anyone then - in truth, hardly anyone even a few years ago - would have predicted this day..."

Voting

I know this is my third post tonight, but I just have to say that this morning as I walked out of my polling place after voting, I felt excited, empowered, pumped up, a little giddy, and even kind of teary-eyed. I'm not huge into politics. I like to know what's going on, but I can't tell you all of the details and I tend to lose interest about half way through presidential debates, but today I had a new sense of thankfulness for our right to vote. Maybe it's the high level of anticipation surrounding this election or the four years of maturity I've gained since the last election. But I now see what a real privilege it is to live in a place where we have a voice and where everyone's opinion is considered significant and equal (at least for this day), no matter their gender, race, socioeconomic status, social position, occupation, or political views. That's pretty amazing.

On the voting note, I am also thankful that God's agenda is not political. While our country's president and politics are important, and God does care about the details of our lives, the president of the United States is not God. It brings me a great deal of peace to know that whoever gets elected, God is still God and His agenda is not Republican or Democrat. His agenda is His kingdom. He appoints kings, rulers, and authorities. Nothing surprises Him or catches Him off guard. Nothing thwarts His plans and purposes. He is the ultimate King and His kingdom is everlasting.

tortas..mmmm

Last night, we went out to eat at a new Mexican restaurant near us. We had tortas, which are a delicious Mexican sandwich that we ate a lot when we taught English in Mexico City. We asked the waiter if we could practice our Spanish. He was relieved and said we could speak Spanish as much as we wanted to. It was so fun to talk with him and we surprisingly remembered a lot. It made us miss Mexico and the people...there's something familiar about anyone from Mexico, even though he was from a city far from where we worked. The food was delicious, too, even though Mr. Mister didn't think so. He mostly played with his rice and beans, which made for a very messy meal. But it was well worth it.

Small World

Today, I participated in a market research study in a different part of town with a group of six other women. We were assigned a partner and had to introduce ourselves. As I talked with the woman next to me, I found out that she:

• lives in the neighborhood across from me
• works in the school I taught at and in the field I worked in.
• has a 17 year old son who happened to be the one who handed me my "I Voted" sticker at the poll this morning.

Crazy, huh?

Halloween

Here are pictures of our little chicken on Halloween. We didn't have any trick-or-treaters come to our house last year, so we went to our friends' house this year. (These are the friends whose house I bring Mr. Mister to on Tuesdays and whose son I watch on Wednesdays, so the boys are good friends. Or at least as good of friends as a 14 month and a 8 month old can be.)

We sat on the driveway with a fire in the fire pit and handed out candy. Then we took the boys to about 5 houses (to get candy that Mr. Mister isn't allowed to eat...is that bad?) It was a lot of fun and Mr. Mister looked very cute in his costume. He didn't seem to notice that he was dressed like a chicken or that everyone else had funny costumes on. It was a very fun evening, topped off by free burritos from Chipotle for dressing up like a burrito.

This is Mr. Mister telling the big ballerina that there is a dog over there. He was so focused on the dog that he wasn't at all interested in her costume!

Still Growing...

Last Saturday morning we woke up to a Mr. Mister who seemed to have grown up overnight. We couldn't really put our fingers on what exactly was different about him, but he seemed like such a big boy. Here are the newest happenings:

• He's 100% walking now and walks around like he's the king.
• He learns new words every day. His new favorite is no. We knew it had to come sometime. The cutest one is when you ask him what a doggie says, he says woof in the cutest voice possible.
• He is starting to climb. He loves to get up on chairs, he tries to climb in the bathtub even when it's not bath time, and he climbs into the drawer under the stove with the pots and pans (and then cries because it's not comfortable and he can't get out.)
• He's getting 3 molars. Maybe now he'll actually chew his food instead of just swallowing it.

Enjoy these pictures of our growing boy!

Showing off his untensil skills!

He knows where the cereal is at Grandma and Nonno's house and helps himself when no one is looking!

Enjoying the Cocoa Puffs that Grandma and Grandpa T sent. Isn't chocolate cereal what grandparents are for?

Sitting in the rocking chair and reading himself a book before bedtime.

Fun Surprises

Yesterday, we got a surprise call from Grandma T who happened to be stuck in the airport just 45 minutes from our house. She was flying through here on her way from Pittsburgh to a business meeting in Texas and missed her connecting flight. So with 5 hours to spend in the airport, she called to see if we were available to visit. I was babysitting my friend's son, but Daddy took Mr. Mister to see her. They went to a park on the river not far from there and enjoyed the fall afternoon. It was such a fun and unexpected treat for them to spend a couple hours with her!

Ironically, a couple hours after they got home, UPS delivered a box to us from Grandma and Grandpa T. It was a Halloween package and was so fun to open. It had some clothes for Mr. Mister (including a Steeler's outfit...the battle continues), an old fashioned Jack-in-the-Box (a great find...musical but not requiring batteries!), small gifts for Daddy and me, and a Jack-O-Lantern bucket with Halloween treats for Mr. Mister. But Grandpa resisted buying candy, knowing I wouldn't want to give Mr. Mister candy yet. Instead, the bucket had boxes of Cocoa Puffs, Teddy Grahams, Animal Crackers, and Goldfish....all perfect treats for him.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Football, Take 2

My mom read my blog post from a couple weeks ago about football and knew that it wasn't right for Mr. Mister to only have a Steeler's jersey. She fixed this undesirable situation by finding a pint size Carson Palmer jersey for him. In my opinion, he looks much better in orange and black.

I will admit, however, that if he chooses to be a Bengals fan, he may be in for a life time of disappointment. This past Sunday was a day that is usually much anticipated around here...the Bengals-Steelers game. With the Bengals still winless this season and feeling very unthreatened, Daddy allowed Mr. Mister to wear his Palmer jersey for the game. Despite our support (as you can see below) they still lost, now 0-7 for the season.

You may notice the difference in Mr. Mister's hair from the first two pictures to the last. He got a much needed haircut in between the time he first got the jersey and this past Sunday when we watched the game. It was starting to hang over his shirt in the back...much too close to a mullet for me!

We Did It!

My sister and I successfully ran the Columbus Half Marathon yesterday on a cold morning with beautiful blue skies. It was a great race and we had a lot of fun. The course is flat, a big difference from the hills we run around here, which made for a faster time than we had anticipated. We finished in 2 hours and 4 minutes, an average of a 9:30 pace (although our mile splits were far from consistent, ranging from 9:05 to 9:56). Our goal was to enjoy the race, soak up the fun marathon atmosphere, and have a good time running together. All were accomplished. A huge part of our fun came from the many friends and family we saw cheering along the way. Our husbands and Mr. Mister, our parents, and a bunch of friends provided great encouragement, as their cheering gave us the extra energy we needed to keep up our pace.

I especially want to say a huge THANK YOU to my wonderful husband who worked hard to make this happen for me. He watched Mr. Mister every Saturday morning for the last three months so I could meet my sister for long runs, and he endured a very crazy Saturday before the marathon which included packing, traveling, working out the details in a different city, and a somewhat sleepless night in a not so great hotel. And he cheerfully woke up early on a cold Sunday morning, carrying Mr. Mister along the course so he could see his mommy run!

Enjoy the pictures.

Still smiling, about halfway through the race.

Happy to be almost to the finish line.

Getting warm at the finish line.

At the finish without the goofy (but very warm) aluminum blankets.

Three of our cheerleaders....that's uncle N in back of Mr. Mister.

Mr. Mister proudly displaying mommy's medal!