Thanksgiving and other happenings...

We had a very fun Thanksgiving with the family in PA. As always, Mr. Mister had a blast playing at Grandma and Papa's house and loved all the attention he got from everyone there. He still has a special place in his heart for his cousin Beybeth, who he adores.

While we were there, Daddy got to go to see his favorite professional hockey team play and he got to play football with a bunch of guys on Thanksgiving morning. So he was refreshed by those fun events and I was refreshed by sleeping in til 10:00 on Friday morning! What a treat. Thanks, Grandma and Papa, for taking on the Mr. Mister morning duty.

When we left, Mr. Mister cried and said, "No want to go home. Go back to Grandma and Papa's house." Even today as we drove home from the grocery store, he said he didn't want to go home because he wanted to go to their house. So sweet. It reminds me of when I used to cry as we left my grandparents' house in New Jersey.

We got home Saturday at 5:30 and Daddy and I left at 7 to go to my 10 year high school reunion. I had debated going, but am really glad I did. It was fun to see some people I haven't seen in a long time. But what was really amazing is how old everyone has gotten! I thought we'd only stay for a couple hours, but by midnight, Daddy was dragging me out of there.

So, needless to say, we have been exhausted the last couple days and Mr. Mister is adjusting back to a schedule and life without grandparents. Not fun. He woke up at 10pm last night and wouldn't go back to sleep. Today was full of whining, resisting, and not good choices. I'm hoping it's all part of the transition back home. (with a little 2 year old normalness thrown in there as well).

the other half

I wanted to follow up my Saturday struggle story with an example of Mr. Mister's sweetness. Yesterday, he kissed my belly and said, "Hi, baby" in the cute high voice that little kids use when the talk to even littler kids. Then he said to me, "When the baby comes out, Mr. Mister want to rock it." And he picked up his stuffed duckie and rocked it really slowly, gazing at it with a lovey look in his eyes. He'll be a good big brother!

the paradox

The parenting paradox - Mr. Mister can drive me so crazy but I just can't help but love him so much. For example, on Saturday, I was ready to turn in my mommy resignation letter. Today, I couldn't get enough of him and everything he did made me laugh and melted my heart.

Saturday morning started with Mr. Mister spilling nail polish on the carpet and went down hill from there. And while the spill may have begun out of mere curiosity, he continued pouring it out despite me saying no and stop until I could finally grab it out of his hands. Later, he refused to walk home from the pond by our house, despite any attempt I made at getting him home. So I had to carry him. While he was kicking and screaming. Weighing 35 pounds in my 17 week pregnant arms. It hurt my back and made me very unhappy. When we got home, He deliberately stuck his mud (maybe goose poop) covered thumb in his mouth after I told him not to touch anything until we washed his hands.

It's the closest I've come to really losing it with him. Thankfully, for all of our sakes, we had already made plans for him to spend the night at Grandma and Nonno's house that night. Knowing that kept me sane the rest of the day.

After that time away and after enjoying sleeping until 9am, I was ready to re-assume my mommy duties. In fact, my sister noticed the next day how refreshed and happy our entire family seemed. That is why moms (and dads) should feel no guilt about enjoying a little break every once in a while. Sometimes that can be the best way to love your kids!

Remember this?!

This is Mr. Mister's newest phrase. He'll bring me a book or toy or stuffed animal and exclaim with a huge grin and a squeal, "Remember this?" As if it's been decades since we've seen it and his life is complete now that we have rediscovered it. Like if I found an old Debbie Gibson tape or a hypercolor t-shirt. (okay, I probably wouldn't be that excited about the t-shirt. Electric Youth or Out of the Blue, on the other hand, is a different story).

Fun Leaves!

Here are some pictures of the fun we've had playing in the leaves!


Playing in the leaves with his cousins.

Showing me that he's a football player...
with his helmet covering his eyes!

He looks like such a big boy in this picture.
But he's still wearing those green Crocs :)

College

A friend gave Mr. Mister a Westminster College t-shirt for his birthday. Here was our conversation this morning as we were putting on the "college shirt" as we call it:

me: Are you going to leave Mommy and go to college some day?
him (with a worried look on his face): Mommy come? Daddy come?
me: You want Mommy and daddy to go with you to college?
him: Yes. Mr. Mister don't want to go college out (without) Mommy and Daddy.

Haha...I thought I'd write this down so that I can remind him of this conversation in 16 years!

victory

I really should be in bed because we were up way too late last night. But, I had to share a little of the surface level joy that came today in the victory of my football team over my husband's. For the second time this season. Which hasn't happened since 1998.

I want to be a gracious winner and not boast, but after years of misery for my team and years of dominance by his, it just feels really good to have beaten them again. So yes, all you rival fans, say what you will about how many super bowl trophies you have or how many other years you have beaten up on our miserable teams, but at least for today, let us enjoy the rare feeling of being victorious instead of being dominated.

On that note, I do have to praise my husband for being extremely gracious in the loss. He didn't complain or make excuses or bring up the past, he just congratulated us and let us be happy. So thanks, husband, for being such a rare rival fan!

Okay, for all of you who don't care at all about football, sorry for wasting your time. But for anyone who has experienced the years of defeat as a fan of this team, enjoy the victory.

Pregnancy

I thought I'd give a little pregnancy update since I didn't mention much about it earlier.

I am 15 weeks now and feeling well. I had 2 weeks in the very beginning of off and on nausea, but after that I've been feeling fine. I never got sick with Mr. Mister, so I'm thankful for a repeat of that. (Could it mean another boy?)

I'm definitely getting a belly. I like it because it makes it feel more real. We've heard the heartbeat twice, which is always such an amazing feeling. And I guess my ultrasound will be in the next 5 weeks. Hard to believe that will be half way! We're not sure if we're finding out what it is. We didn't with Mr. Mister, but while we're leaning toward that again, we're a little less firm in the decision. I think I want to find out and not tell anyone, but when I suggested that to my mom, she laughed. She knows me too well - I can't keep fun things in!

I've had two specific cravings so far. The first was for licorice. And not Twizzlers, but the Red Vine kind. The second was cheese. I craved it a lot during my 1st pregnancy too. I did end up buying Red Vine at the store and after two pieces, my craving was over. The cheese was a little more extreme. That day at the grocery store (in addition to all my groceries), I bought sliced cheese, string cheese, shredded cheese, and cottage cheese. (I didn't eat it all at once.)

Mr. Mister is going to be such a good big brother. He has baby that he plays with and today he was wrapping it up in a blanket and rocking it. It was so sweet. And thankfully, we've (mostly) made it through the biting, pinching, and hitting stages. Hopefully, we'll be through the current kicking and pushing stage by May and we should be good to go for the arrival of baby brother or sister!

Shopping

Faced with a cold morning and no plans, I made the daring move to take Mr. Mister shopping with me for maternity clothes. It wasn't miserable, but it definitely wasn't fun. Thankfully, with a few bribes for fruit snacks and stickers and the discovery of a random soccer ball in the corner of the store, we made it through without any tantrums. He did discover the fun of hiding in the clothes racks, so I had to quickly address that. After he realized he didn't want me to lose him, he stayed in my sight.

I really don't like the idea of buying maternity clothes. You have to buy a whole new wardrobe for only six or so months. So that's why I'm buying as few as possible and wearing sweatpants every day that I don't have to go anywhere important.

And the beauty of Gap Outlet with a 30% off coupon was a pair of pants, a sweater, and a dress for $14.00. A dress is a very random purchase for me, but I thought maybe I'll go to a wedding or a shower or somewhere fun to wear it before May. And if I don't, I've lost out on $1.40.

Family 5K

Here we are after running and walking the race (minus Aunt K, who was busy working the race and Uncle N who was probably busy being a good husband and helping her out)

Fall Fest

We had the busiest Saturday ever this past weekend. In the morning we all ran a 5K for the non-profit that my sister works for (along with my entire family), then rushed home for outreach at the apartment complex where we go to love and serve people, then I rushed home and drove across town for a baby shower (for Beybeth, my friend who babysat Mr. Mister while I was teaching), then I caught a 25 min. nap at my sister's apartment before meeting Daddy and Mr. Mister at Fall Fest, a small gathering of friends to celebrate Fall. Whew, that made me tired just thinking about it all. Anyway, it was all so much fun.

Here are two cute pictures of Mr. Mister at Fall Fest.


He used this guitar stand as a microphone and sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the ABC's for everyone. Always the entertainer.

Here are the Fall Fest friends. I love Mr. Mister's face!

Who's that daredevil?

That's right, it's my mom. On a quad. This type of risk taking action doesn't happen very often, so it was fun to see her take a ride!


Receiving good instructions before the ride.

She looks like a pro!

Park Pics

On Monday evenings when I run with a group of girls, Daddy and Mr. Mister usually take a trip to the park. Thankfully, the weather has stayed pretty mild so they've still been able to go. Here are two cute pictures from their trip to the park last Monday. The second one is Mr. Mister drinking out of the dog water fountain. Why not? It's just his size!

Sweet Boy

Tonight as I left to go to my friend's visitation, Mr. Mister asked where I was going. I told him that I was going to see my friend who went to be with Jesus. When I came home, he said, "Mommy, go see Jesus your friend?" It was so sweet and innocent and brought a smile to my sad heart.

On a happier and funnier note, here are other cute things he's been saying:

• Tonight about 5 minutes after we put him to bed, he yelled "Mommy! Hug! Hug! Hug!" I went up there and he was standing up with his arms wide open. I gave him a hug and he said, "Love you, Mommy" and laid down. Then 5 minutes late I heard him again. "Mommy! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" I went up and gave him a kiss. He laid down and went to bed. So sweet. And a very effective stalling tactic. He knows Mommy can't turn down calls for hugs and kisses.

• He has started singing in a really cute, high voice. His favorite is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. He also sings Rock a Bye Baby. It's fun to hear him really sing, not just say the words.

• He now knows when he's sad. He'll say, "Mommy, Mr. Mister sad." If I ask him why, his answer is usually, "Because Mr. Mister want Mommy." (If you haven't noticed, he always talks in the third person.) I'm not sure why that's always his answer, since I'm always with him. But it is cute.

• He's learning some Spanish words. He used to hate when I tried to talk to him in Spanish, probably because it was harder to understand. He'd say, "Mommy, no talk in panish." But we got a couple fun books and he's learned a few words. We get really excited when he says them, which makes him proud of himself and willing to keep trying.

• He also talks in his sleep, loudly enough that it wakes me up! One night he yelled, "Mr. Mister want yogurt. No, Mommy's yogurt." Another night he said, "Mr. Mister want apple. No, big apple." It was really clear and loud. I laughed out loud that he was saying those things at 3am. I guess he has some good dreams :)

In case you haven't heard...

Mr. Mister is going to be a...


We are expecting his little brother or sister May 4. We are all very excited, even Mr. Mister who likes to give my belly hugs and kisses!

Loss

I found out today that an old friend and colleague of mine passed away on Monday. She was my aide when I was a special ed. teacher at the middle school, so we worked very closely on a daily basis. Despite the fact that she was much older than me, we were good friends and I appreciated her so much. She was diagnosed with Leukemia five years ago, but was doing well when I last ran into her at the grocery store this summer. So I was shocked to see her obituary in the newspaper this morning. She was only 56. S.B., you'll be missed.

A Close Call

Last night we met some fun friends for dinner at Olive Garden. Half way through the meal, a wooden coat rack that was behind our table fell and one of the wooden pegs hit Mr. Mister right in the back of the head. It could have been a lot worse than it was. He screamed a little bit but was fine after a little trip outside. At the end of our meal, the waitress brought him an ice cream sundae to make up for it. Of course, he was very excited about having a whole bowl of ice cream for himself. You can tell from the pictures that he really enjoyed it!

When we got home he was on a definite sugar high, running around, wanting to play, and being really goofy. Right at bed time. But at least his head was okay!

Halloween

Here are some pictures of Mr. Mister as a fireman on Halloween. We went over to Pey Pey's house for trick-or-treating. One of the highlights of the night was when a real fire truck pulled up and the firemen got out to give candy to the kids. Mr. Mister was pretty excited and the whole thing went perfectly with his costume! The real highlight for Mr. Mister, of course, was knocking on doors and getting candy. After the person gave him some, he'd either reach in their bowl to help himself to one more or he'd linger a little longer until they'd say, "Oh, you want more?" And give him another piece. Needless to say, he came back with a lot more candy than I had anticipated!

I thought that by the morning he'd forget about his candy, but as soon as he woke up, he said, "Mr. Mister got CANDY!" Thankfully, after that he never really asked for any and I think he's now forgotten. So anyway, enjoy the pics.