Monday, December 31, 2012

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve this year was lots of fun, as usual. 

We played hard all day, picked up CB from the airport and took some great naps! We woke the boys up at 4 to bathe them before heading to church for the 5:30 family service.  It isn't our favorite service at church (at all), but it's a nice thing to do on Christmas Eve.  After church, we headed over to mom and dad's house for some food and beverages!

Cal at church, sport coat and bowtie on...


After church we gathered at mom's house.  We were all sitting in the living room, having some family time, when Andy decided to perform somersaults....typical. 


Grandpa tried to read "Night Before Christmas" to the grandkids.....


 Then Nugget was over it...


 Pretty soon it was only CalBoy and Grandpa....


All of the grandkids got new coats so we had to head out on the deck for some shenanigans...


We had Cal, Jackson and Catherine in this truck and the dads took turns spinning them around the deck.  It was terrifying and hilarious at the same time. 

Andy rode the tricycle and was happy as can be...


We all thought we heard some jungle bells while we were outside so we thought we should probably hurry home to go to bed so Santa could come. 

Cal literally ran to the car and once we were all strapped in, he said, "daddy, you are gonna have to drive FAST!" We got home and Cal started stripping off his clothes as soon as he walked in the kitchen.  He was in a rush to get to bed!!! He jumped on the potty and said, "I gotta push this poopoo out fast!" He pooped in record speed and was in his jammies.  He jumped into bed and CB asked him which book he wanted her to read.  He help up his hand and said, "no, CB, no books tonight.  We hafta hurry and go night night right away!!!" Eddie asked him if he wanted to say his prayers, and he stuck out his lip and said, "no thank you, daddy, I jus wanna go night night so Santa can come!!!" And literally within 5 minutes of walking in the door, he was sound asleep...

Once the kids were down, the elves got busy downstairs, assembling, attaching decals, and laughing way too hard...



 

Santa Clause is comin' to town!

This year, on Christmas Eve EVE, we got together over at my parents house for a very special visitor...

My mom's tree was just beautiful, once again...


All of the grandkids love her snow village.  There are little ice skaters on there that move and all kinds of cars-- it's entertainment, that's for sure! It is not easy, however, to remember to not touch the village...especially if you are a little boy ans cars are your "thing"!

While we waited for everyone to arrive, Grandma and her boys played a little piano... Andy loves the piano!

Eddie enjoyed a few adult beverages on the golf course so he had the kids sit down while he told his version of "The Night Before Christmas," "not a creature was stirring, not Hankers or a mouse!"

Cal was the most excited I think I've ever seen him.  He had no idea who was coming, but he was just beside himself with excitement over it all!

 Nug was pretty excited too!

 Guess who is here......!!!

SANTA made a trip down from the North Pole JUST for these reallllly good kids!

Nugget wasn't too sure what to think so he hung back in my lap...

Santa brought each kid a present; wasn't that sweet of him?? Catherine came over to show me hers!

Cal climbed right up in Santa's lap and told him he wanted an airport and a football game-- no fear this year!

 Santa brought Andy a Mickey Mouse airplane-- it was a HUGE hit, until he saw what the other boys got....then he wanted theirs!

The big boys got Hess helicopters-- we love these toys!!! (although I think ours broke already this year...)

You think Cal was excited about Santa??


 Who is ready for Santa????


 

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Andy's 18 month check up

Andy had his 18 month check up this past week. He is already 19 months old, but well, at least we got it done, right?  And, I realize tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and this post has nothing to do with the holidays, but I am trying to hammer out these posts now... if I wait, I know I will never get around to posting them!

So, I made the appointment for Thursday, thinking in my head that Cal would be in school.  Well, duh, his school was already out.  So, I took both boys to the doctor for Andy's check up.   I packed a bag full of toys to keep them entertained.  I had a feeling it would be a long wait since it seems everyone and their cousin are sick. 

Cal had a cough on Wednesday that was pretty bad, so I figured maybe I would see if she could look at him too while we were there.  Have I mentioned I love our pediatrician?  LOVE. 

Welllll, Mr. Andy was all smiles in the waiting room.  They took us back to the "triage room" immediately and Andy started crying.  I never let go of him, but he was upset.  I had to undress him to weigh and measure him and he started really yelling then.  When he gets like that, it makes Cal nervous so he clings to my leg-- tightly.  So, just to recap the appointment so far, we are in a room the size of a closet, Andy is screaming so loudly the nurse has to shut the door, and I am trying to hold on to a screaming, back-arching, arm flailing kid while another kid wraps his arms around my legs-- but I stayed calm. :)

Trying to get Andy to lay flat on his back to get his height was not easy.  At all.  The nurse commented that he "sure is a strong one." (That was the first of about 5 comments like that she made about his strength).  After measuring him, we tied to put him on the scale.  That did not go over well.  He was trying to throw himself off of the table into my arms.  We have started to see a little separation anxiety lately, which, I was reassured is totally normal at this age, and I guess he saw a stranger and was worried she was going to take him away from me.  We tried to weigh him on the big kid scale and he did better there.  Once I held him in my arms, she attempted to measure his head.  He was MAD about this.  He was swatting at her hands, throwing his head back and forth-- really acting like a good kid.  Oh, and also, Cal had wrapped his arms and legs around me at this point... pretty positive I had sweat dripping down my back.

We finished up with that fun and moved down to the exam room.  The nurse told us she likes to do the shots before we see the doctor so he can calm down again before she comes in.  I prefer for the shots to be the very last thing we do so we can run out of there screaming instead of standing in a room screaming.  The shot were Andy's last straw.  He started screaming--and I do mean screaming-- and I could not get him to stop.  The nurse said at this point she thought he was the strongest 18 month old she's ever seen... that's my boy. 

so pitiful! just wanted to snuggle up on momma

I held him and read him his favorite books.  He would stop crying and then say "owwww" and point to his leg and the crying would start all over again.  Cal, the worrier, wanted to be close to me too, so I had him trying to climb in my lap which just mad Andy madder.  (seriously, is the heat on HIGH in this office???)

The doctor came in fairly soon after the shots and as always, was super sweet.  Andy wanted nothing to do with her, wouldn't let her touch him or listen to him breathe-- nothing.  I held him down in pretty much a head lock so she could check his ears.  She checked Cal's and saw some signs of a possible infection so she wanted to make sure Andy's looked okay-- they did. 

Cal was coughing up a storm so she had him to a breathing treatment to see if that would help-- it did.  We were given one to take home to continue for the next week or so. 

Cal doing his breathing treatment like a big boy

Other than Andy's craziness towards the nurse and doctor, it was a good visit.  He is healthy, right on track developmentally, and typically a very happy kid!

His stats, which are not entirely accurate due to his inability to let anyone come near him are:
weight: 27 pounds....95%
height: 34.5 inches....85%
head: 50 cm.....97%

One thing we talked about, which I will do another post on later is a bump on Andy's head.  It's been there for a while, and Eddie was really concerned about it at his last check up, which was, I think, 16 months?  Our doctor checked it then and said it wasn't anything to be worried about.  It is still there and both of us were a little concerned about it so I brought it up again at this appointment.  It is sort of up where his soft spot was.  She made a phone call and talked to another colleague.  She said, when she looks at Andy and she looks at me, our heads are similarly shaped, so she doesn't have reason for concern.  HOWEVER, she knows that Eddie and I are worriers, and the only way to rule out it being anything concern-worthy is to do a CT scan to make sure everything is okay in there.  I am sure everything is fine.  But, heaven forbid, if we find out 10 years down the road that something is wrong, and we had the chance to fix it and didn't, we would never forgive ourselves.  One possibility for the bump is that his skull closed up prematurely.  This can be problematic down the road because his brain will not have adequate room to grow.  Another side effect is hearing loss.  Obviously, I am putting the cart wayyyyy before the horse here. We will hopefully get the scan the first week of January and will know more then.  As we were discussing this at the appointment, I felt a knot in my throat building up.  They will have to put him in restraints to perform the procedure...my sweet, sweet baby, who, at this point, was curled up on my chest, holding his lovie and his blankie all cozy on me.  The word surgery was thrown out there and my heart started pounding and aching.  It is scary.  Again, I am sure it is nothing.  But what if it is something? What if my baby has to have surgery on his head? I am trying to not think about this until we have to, but I had to get it on the blog now.  Gotta document it all, right? I will keep you updated on it all...


Tomorrow is Christmas Eve! We are leaving the day after Christmas, so I am not sure I will have time to update again before we leave for Arizona! GO FROGS~

Merry, merry Christmas to you and your families.  Thank you for taking the time to read the ramblings I post. xoxo



 

Saturday, December 22, 2012

"Young" Girls Party

For the past 6 years, my mom and her friends have done a Girls' Christmas Party. They have 5 hostesses and invite a huge group of girls to a party that is just a ton of fun. 

Last year, at her party, the idea was sprouted that we should do a "younger" version of the girls' party.  We ran with the idea and had the party this past week.  It was soooo much fun! We also had 5 hostesses and we all have a variety of friends, so there was a fun mix of people there. 

We took a few pictures before the party started so I thought I would post them here...




 (I am a giant)

The party was a big success-- I think we had almost 70 people there.  The best part of the party was we asked people to bring a donation to the Family House (similar to the Ronald McDonald House, but for adults).  The amount of goods we were able to take to them was heart-warming and mind-blowing. 

We are already thinking about next year's party!


 

American Tobacco District

In Durham, there is the most fantastic area called the American Tobacco District. This is where the Durham Bulls play and where the DPAC is and it is just awesome there.  It is all open and there are lots of restaurants and bars and outside things to do. 

Eddie heard they rally decorated for Christmas so we took the kids there Wednesday night for dinner at Mellow Mushroom and some outside fun. 

It really was beautiful.  The kids had a lot of fun running around and it wasn't the least bit crowded so we all really enjoyed it!

I tried to take some pictures, but they didn't turn out very good...


Andy wanted to hold my hand and point at everything.

They had a little mat you could dance on and Christmas music would play.  I caught Cal mid-jump.
 Who me?
 The Lucky Strike tower
 Andy let go of my hand to ride on daddy's shoulders for a bit...

But he soon returned to his momma...
 Snuggled up...

Apparently, we failed at cleaning his face after dinner....ignore the pizza sauce, please. 

This little guy had a ball running around seeing it all!
It was such a fun night! I love doing things like this with just the four of us.  It makes me happy.  If you are local, you should definitely go out there to see all of the lights and take it all in.  It was awesome!!

 

Andy's Christmas Performance

On Wednesday, we had Andy's Christmas performance at his school. It was pretty stinkin' cute.  My mom and Cal came with me (Eddie thought it was Thursday so he missed it--whoops!!!). 

The older kids come out first and tell the story of Baby Jesus's birth.  As they wrap up, we could hear some noise in the back of the room so we knew they were bring out the little guys.  I love this fist few picture.  Andy is just kinda walking along... woah, there are people in here. 

 Then he sort of froze, so Ms. Stephena took his hand to lead him to a spot...
 I wish I could cut this teacher out of this (sorry, Mr. Mike), because Andy's face is hilarious in it.  If you can, click on it to see it larger.  It's like he's thinking, "okay. soooo....now what are we gonna do?"

Love his hands in this one...

The little guy next to Andy, Charlie had a big brother taking pictures (walking in front in black).   Andy was just kind of looking around.  Not singing, not really smiling... just taking it all in....

 And then, he spotted me. 
 It was like he wasn't sure if it was really me, or just someone who looked like me.  So he just stared and got a little grin.

And then he came running.  In the middle of the song.  See all the other kids still sitting nicely?

He was SO excited to see us! I mean, I don't think I've ever gotten a picture like this before with both of us looking at the camera and smiling!

After hugging for a minute, he ran back to the class.  Then, as I started taking pictures again, he stood up, held up his hand like a stop sign and started saying "no. no. no. no." But he waves his hand as he does it.  Again, wish I could make this one bigger too... it cracks me up!

He would walk back and then peek back at us to make sure we were still there.  How cute is this little nugget??

After the "performance" (and I will use that word loosely), the class had a little lunch back in the room.  I love seeing them sit at the little table.

Andy has such a sweet little class.  I am friends with most of the moms outside of school, so it is always fun to have something like this where we all get together.  It's also great knowing he's around such great kids. 

Even though Andy didn't really "perform" I thought it was pretty spectacular.  But, hey, I am slightly bias.

 
 
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