Recap of the Remarkable life of late

I know, you think I fell off the face of the Earth. Not quite, but it kind of feels that way. To start, I don't know what happened to my iPad blogging app, Blogsy, so I hadn't done it from my iPad until tonight when I realized "Duh, just blog from Safari!" it's not too bad, but it means no pictures in is one. Sorry! So, let's back track...

Last week was Thanksgiving, my now favorite holiday. Leading up to it, we got a feverish baby call from daycare Monday afternoon. Boo!! Since I am out of town most of this week and our office move is coming at the end of next week, I really needed to be in the office as much as possible. How is it that baby's get sick at the exact moment you really need to be at work? It's not like I often have days of nothing to do (ok, I have NEVER had that day), but sometimes I am more prepared to take a day or two off to stay home and snuggle with fever baby. Kidd and I split the next two days, went to SA Wednesday night, and she awoke on the morn of her first Thanksgiving fever free!! We had a wonderful time, right up until the A&M v. t.u. Football game that night. In the interest of preserving friendships (both with my Aggie and t-sip friends), I will reserve comment on both the game and the status of the relationship of the teams. Suffice it to say, I was not happy with our performance that evening. I had big plans to take all kinds of pics on Thanksgiving Day. It would help if I had a camera... I did have my phone, so I have some, but will post them later. Of note, I did have a little chat with Justus Thanksgiving morning. I told him I was thankful for an amazing kid like him. He told me he was thankful for turkey. Ok, then. Note to self: have the chat after the kiddo eats! We came home Friday and had Thanksgiving with Kidd's family Saturday.

This week, I'm traveling for work, but we have a lot coming up that I will be sure to blog about. Really, I WILL! We have birthday and Christmas card photos this weekend, the BIG 1st birthday next week and the party next weekend, and of course all the Christmas preparations. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime--I have learned that my feverish baby was just teething, but evidently runs a really high fever when doing so. Bleh!! But, we have top teeth coming in finally.

I'm sure there's been more, but for now, that will do. If you see my kids before I do, tell them hi and I'll see them Thursday!

Off for now, more later this week. Promise!

Wednesday's (or Friday's) Winning Words

Time has gotten away from me this week, so it is not until today that I get to bring you this week's nugget o' fun, courtesy of Justus.  As an aside, Delaney is really starting to find her voice, so she may soon be competing for some Wednesday attention on the ol' blog. 
Stay tuned, there may be video involved.

I'm not sure how it all got started (older siblings, no doubt), but Justus and some of the other kids (read: GIRLS) in his class have started talking a lot about marriage and babies.  I don't see it on the weekly lesson plans we get, so I'm pretty sure it's just the topic of conversation during center time, primarily in the home center.  Note to self: encourage Justus to play more in the block center.  Anyway, the other night on the way home from work and school, he started:

J: Mommy, are you and Daddy going to get married?
Me:  We already are, Justus.  We got married a loooong time before you were born.
J:  Oh.  

I can just about hear the wheels turning in that little mind of his, so I inquire further...

Me:  Do you think Daddy and I should get married again?  ( I figured the kid wanted a good party)
J:  Yes, because we need a baby boy.

um, what?  No. 

But, I am glad you think marriage is necessary before babies. 

Me:  Well, Austin has one, can't you just borrow his?

I really ought to learn to just sit silently sometimes, instead of verbally reacting because I can see how it might confuse him to think that borrowing Mason from Austin could be a viable solution (and my apologies to Austin's family for suggesting that, I promise not to steal your sweet baby), but I was a bit taken aback by the direction of the conversation.  I went on to tell him how even if we were getting another baby (which we are not), we couldn't be sure it would be a boy.  What if we got another girl?  He assured me that wouldn't happen because he NEEDS a boy.  Really.  Pretty sure he'll be asking Santa for that one.

11 months! The last of the month-days

I can't believe it.  Delaney is 11 months old.  Although I am sure I will do some more-frequent-than-yearly updates on the child, this feels like the end of the official month-day timeline.  It's funny how we go from measuring childrens' ages in weeks, to months, to years.  For example, the fact that Justus is four AND A HALF is very, very important to him.  I think, by his age, most people measure only by year, so that half makes him that much closer to five, which is huge to a kid that age.  But, it's not like he's going to say "I'm four and ten months" in a couple of weeks.  The months no longer seem as significant.  Yet, at Delaney's stage of life, each month produces fairly siginificant changes.  So, let's do the rundown:

Weight:  Not entirely certain, but I'm predicting 18ish pounds.

What she's wearing:  Size 3 diaper. 6-12 month clothes and size 3 shoes when I can get her to keep them on.

Food:  3 bottles a day, and 3 solid meals, plus a snack each day.  Favorites: avodacos and potatoes take the cake right now (no pun intended, she's never actually had cake).  She also likes green beans, peas, carrots, meat, pasta, mandarin oranges, peaches, and bread.  Okay, basically, she's not turned down anything I've given her lately.  Still rockin' the two bottom teeth and that's it.

How she's eating:  She's doing a great job with self-feeding.  I do find that when I pull the high chair tray away, I often wonder whether she actually ate, or decided to save most of it for later.  :-/  She loves her straw sippy cup, still having no use for a regular one

Mobility:  Man, this girl can cruise!  She will pull up on anything around her and use it to get from one place to another.  I've even watched her use a wall to cruise.  Her favorite thing, however, to pull up on, is a person wearing pants.  She's about pulled down everyone's pants just using the pantlegs to get to a standing position.  I actually ran from her this morning because she was trying to get to me to pull up, but I couldn't be immobilized since we were trying to get out the door.  Don't worry, I went back and picked her up.   Sheesh!  She can and will crawl, but you can tell that she'd much rather have a grown up finger to guide her while she practices walking around.  Better yet, she'll guide you around.

Other developments:  Just in the past week, she has really started finding her voice.  Her "talking" has increased significantly and she loves screaming/squealing, obviously just to hear what is sounds like.  Her laughter is still one of the best sounds to my ears, especially when coupled with her brother's as they play together.  She still loves Peek-a-boo best of all.  She waves hi, but not usually on demand; in fact, often after the person has since left the room.  She has started blowing kisses in her own way (i.e--we're probably the only ones who know that's what it is, but we do!).  While she will be temporarily entertained by toys, she still prefers human interaction.  This is a huge change for us from Justus because he was content to sit and play with whatever toys you put in front of him.  Not sufficient for Delaney.  She wants people to play with, mostly her big brother.

A few people have given me a hard time (laughing and smiling as they do, of course) about putting her in pigtails at this young age. 

But yesterday, as I was trying to capture her 11-month picture, I also seized on the evidence justifying why you often see her in pigtails or a pony tail or some other attempt at hair control.

Just look at that madness!

So, happy 11-months to my little angel!  I'm fairly certain I will positively be a mess in less than 30 days when you hit the one year mark (although, I am pretty excited about the party we have in store for you).  How could that have happened so quickly??  I swear I was not this bad about Justus growing up.  It must be because you are my last baby.  I am so thankful for every moment I have been able to share with you.  You are my sunshine!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year. For real, this time.

You may recall that one of my earlier posts was about September and the kickoff of the college football season being (almost) the most wonderful time of the year.  And it is a close second.  But now, this time, we are here for real!  And, I am giddy with the holiday spirit!  Because, as most people, I like to stretch out the things that I love and savor every possible bit of them, I count the beginning of November as the beginning of the best season.  Truthfully, I think I have come to like Thanksgiving even a bit more than Christmas (please don't tell my kids).   The weather starts to feel a bit more crisp, everyone is in a good mood because the holiday shopping stress hasn't yet set in, and you get to enjoy time with loved ones, without all the added pressure of gift giving or receiving.  Yes, receiving gifts can be stressful.  If you disagree, you have not received some of the gifts I have.  Besides, November is really a blend of awesomeness in that it's the height of the college football season, when we can really see how the season is shaping up and the big games are just ahead AND the enjoyment of comfort food, family togetherness, and comfortable cool weather.  Note that the football part may not be good news for everyone, including a particular team close to my heart! (ahem, Love you Ags, but you gotta get it together this month or it's going to be UGLY!!)

This morning I got to thinking, what is it that I notice every year that really makes me think "Yay!!  It's here! My favorite time of year."  I'm sure it's different for everyone.  So, I've put together a little list, in no particular order, of "You know it's the holiday season when..."

1.  Halloween is over, and the candy hangover has set in.

2.  Christmas music is ever so subtly mixed in to the mall shopping soundtrack.  Seriously.  I heard this in our mall on November 2!  Not every song, but at least every third one.

3.   I get the reminder from our lighting guy that his crew will come put up our Christmas lights, and if I want them up around Thanksgiving I better call soon.

4.  It's the hardest part of the Aggie football schedule.

5.  Hobby Lobby and other craft stores have all their spring stuff out.  Yes, I said spring because they start putting their Christmas stuff out in August!  I guess when you are crafty, you need to start way ahead of time so you don't have a shortage of supplies when it's time to display your project, as happened to me.   (by the way, the project remains in pieces in my garage because there was NO more black glitter spray paint in this entire town.  I checked everywhere!) 

6.  ALL the catalogs that come to the house are holiday themed and have holiday items for sale.  I want them all and will never buy most of them.

7.  The OGC staff starts having meetings of the Thanksgiving committee.  Whoo hoo--hands down, BEST potluck ever!  Bring out the big girl pants.

8.  Gingerbread and gingerbread flavored things start to appear in vast quantities, everywhere you turn.

9.  Facebook statuses everywhere are overtaken by the 30 days of Thanksgiving updates.  I think this is a wonderful idea and I love reading what people are giving thanks for.  Keep it up!  And if you don't participate, I encourage you to.  It's a nice exercise in self-analysis.

10.  Here's what does it for me--the ultimate show that it is the most wonderful time of the year.

Behold--the Red Starbucks Holiday cup!!  Oh, how I love thee, and the comfort of the holidays you bring to me on a chilly winter morn (so what if it's going to be 78 this afternoon.  It was 41 when I got this earlier this morning).  I will be sad again in January when you are gone, but for now, hello and welcome back.

So, what is it that gets you in the holiday mood?

Wednesday's Winning Words: Halloween Edition

I continue to be bombarded with the "Why?" quesitons, and they are eternally interesting.  The 4-year-old's imagination is a truly magnificent thing.  How do we lose so much of that as we grow up?

Nonetheless, this week's conversation is the true reflection of Halloween.  Justus said a lot of crazy stuff that night, and it was all remarkable, but this episode with his father (which I am relaying second hand) was my favorite.  We had returned home from trick-or-treating and I was getting Delaney ready for bed while Justus had been asked to start getting his costume off and get in his pjs, after he ate his one piece of candy he was allowed that night.   I walk by the kids' bathroom and Justus informs me that he is flossing.  I tell him that's a good idea, and keep on with my Delaney process.  After everyone is in bed, Kidd tells me about his encounter with Justus in the same bathroom a few minutes later. He said Justus had a flosser in one hand and the big Tootsie Roll (chosen piece of said candy) in the other.

He had developed a pattern: Bite of the candy, then floss.  Repeat.

  

 Finally, he said to his father "Daddy, I really wanted to like the Tootsie Roll, but it keeps sticking to my teeth.  Can I throw the rest of it away?" 

 Aah, if only he made the same effort to like broccoli!

From the Royal Pirate Ship:  Happy Halloween!!

Sad day at work

My secretary and legal assistant are amazing!  The three of us work well together, and get along beautifully. Sadly, that work relationship came to an end yesterday. Danielle went on to an exciting new opportunity.  Ok, I wasn't going to say that our old boss poached, and snagged her right out from under us, but I'm still a little bitter because he totally did!  Came in here with his new exciting job with more money.  Uugh!  While I am devastated to lose her, I could not be more excited for her.  I believe strongly in encouraging your people to fulfill every bit of their worth.  I have no doubt that her new position will offer her a chance that I could not (given my limited resources as a state employee) to do just that.  So, I should be happy, right?  I am.  Really.  For her.

This is my team.  Rather, this WAS my team.

Tish, Danielle, and me.

  We knew for a couple of weeks that Dani would be leaving us, but I don't think it really sank in until yesterday, the first day she wasn't here.  See how sad Tish, Sheila, Glenda, and Knesha are, now that we can see Dani's work place empty!

Fortunately, we had a stand-in for our office Halloween skit yesterday.  Word is, she has some legal experience.  She had no purpose after the skit, so we gave her Dani's desk and workload.  She looks familiar, but I just can't place her.

So, this is my NEW team!  Flat Karen and Tish.

 The new girl gets up and plays guitar on the desk.  I guess if I had those legs, I would too.  But really, how very unprofessional!  Good thing the boss wasn't around.  She's going to have to get better focus on the job.

She's great and all, but I still miss my Danielle!!!

Thankfully, she's right down the road (at least, will be once we move offices in a few weeks) and we can still get together for lunch.  That is, if she's not too busy being important.

Danielle--you are the best!  I miss you so much, already, but I hope you are enjoying your new adventure.  Tell the bossman to take care of you or I will have to have a talk with him.  And he knows I will, too!