Someone Was Good This Year

Little Guy must have been good this year. Santa remembered to bring a sled for him. We have been having lots of fun in the snow.

First we bundle up to walk to the sledding hill at the end of our block.

Then we have fun in the snow.

And when we start to get cold, we head back to the house and drink hot cocoa.

Did This Happen At Your House?

Some of us had trouble staying away from the presents.

Some of us kept rolling right back there thinking we wouldn't get caught peaking.

Some of us found the shining objects too much and had to taste them ourselves.

All of us had a very Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

As the large, white, fluffy snowflakes fall we wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!!

Another year started out much the same. Happy Mom endured another grueling busy season, so afterwards she and Big Poppy went on another much-deserved vacation to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Why don’t I ever deserve one? I guess my one job responsibility (this letter) doesn’t equate into a needed vacation. Anyway, they used their timeshare for the first time. While they were gone, the house got a bit of a makeover with all the ceilings being redone. Gone is the outdated popcorn texture, forever replaced by knockdown. I stayed out of the worker’s way by spending the week with GrandB and GrandC. I most enjoy going to their home because I am spoiled endlessly.

Alright, enough with the boring stuff about, Happy Mom, Big Poppy, and myself. For the past several years, Happy Mom and Big Poppy have been asking me if I want a little brother or sister to run around with. Well it took them long enough, but they finally heard me say “yes” and wouldn’t you know it a precious little boy was brought into our lives.

It was a beautiful spring day, so Happy Mom rode her bike to Big Poppy’s softball game and because his phone is smaller, they swapped. Big Poppy had Happy Mom’s phone in his bag and never heard it ring. Happy Mom didn’t recognize the phone number that showed up on Big Poppy’s phone, so she didn’t answer. Next thing you know, Charlie gets the call, as he is the first emergency contact, and happens to answer. I believe he answered thinking he was being called to a storm. Adoption Network is on the line that they need to speak with Big Poppy and Happy Mom, but cannot reach them.

Fortunately, GrandC was in the stands and immediately handed his phone over to Happy Mom. Happy Mom got off the phone about the time the game ended. They learned a special angel had picked them and the kicker was the baby was born a week prior and they need to be in Sacramento, CA, ASAP. In a manner of 24 hrs, I was shipped off to GrandB and GrandC’s again and Happy Mom and Big Poppy were on a plane to Sacramento. Exactly two weeks to the day they left, they returned home with a beautiful baby boy they named Little Guy.

Little Guy was born on May 19, 2009, weighing 6lbs 4oz and measured 18-1/2” long. As I write this letter he is 21-3/4 lbs, 29” long, and growing like a weed. I cannot seem to understand why he gets several meals during the day and I get two! I hover around his high chair waiting for him to share, but so far the little turkey eats the whole serving. I really enjoy having Little Guy around, even when he gives my hair a good yank. I get even though by chewing one of his toys. Little Guy is always in a good mood, except when he is teething. He has a few teeth that have broken the surface and a couple others that are getting ready to break the surface. I wonder if Little Guy will share some steak with me in a couple weeks.

Little Guy gets around by rolling everywhere. It’s only a matter of time before he starts crawling, and then the real fun will begin. At this point I’ve been taking it easy on him, but as soon as he can crawl I’m going to teach him the game of “chase.” He’s also talking a lot and I especially get a kick out of it because I’m the only one that can understand him. Happy Mom and Big Poppy can only wish they could understand what we are talking about.

Looks like I am running out of space, so I invite you to check out our blog, http://www.nothinglessthanamiracle.blogspot.com. The names have been changed to protect the guilty. It is also nice to see you. Don’t be a stranger and stop by for a visit. I wish you all a safe, happy, and healthy 2010!

Love,
Jeter

My Same Goals

I am amazed by people who are able to keep family and friends up to date with their daily lives this time of the year. They must have figured out better planning ahead than I have done. Most years I have the same goals - 1) Get better organization, 2) Lose Weight and 3) Spend more time with family and friends.

This past year I have been able to achieve #3. It was great reconnecting and maintaining connections with those we care for. I am not perfect and have had my moments of failing to keep up. Instead of moving on and trying to find the time in the future I have instead made the time. I can still improve so this will be on my list of items again in 2010. You can never get enough time with your family and friends (now if only I could get some younger family members to be on the same page with me - I remember the days of wanting my friends more than my family so I sympathize but I also want them to be smarter than I was).

Becoming more organized was a double edge sword for me this past year. In order to have more time with family and friends I needed to have everything planned out better. I started in the office. I changed the timing schedule for staff to the drop dead dates to me. I thought it worked out nicely...until I looked closer. Because of the drop dead dates, it meant that changes required needed to happen quickly. While they were given more time on the front end, there was less time on the back end and caused them undo stress. Then there were the times the drop dead date was missed because it took longer than planned. While my time was down quite a bit due to this organization, it really caused unknown stress to others in the office. Which leads me to the changes I'll try this year. Drop dead dates are a thing of the past and staff will know when the date projects need to be to the partners. Then we can work together on deciding the timing that will work for both us. No sense causing them undo stress if it can be avoided by having them a bigger part of the process.

Organization at home - this went out the window in May and I am so happy it did. This will need to be addressed with Little Guy too in the coming year. Perhaps he can start doing some laundry or dishes? Oh wait, he's job is to be a cute and happy guy. So far Little Guy does this quite well. See for yourself.

Losing weight - some day I'll be happy with it all the time. It goes back to home organization and making sure I make the time to workout. Planning is key. Follow through is even more important.

And so, I know the priorities and I make sure they are always number 1. Big Poppy, Little Guy and Jeter are always in the fore front of my mind. They are what truely make my life so wonderful.

Naughty is the New Nice

Little Guy likes to cause trouble sometimes (well as much trouble as a 6 month old can cause - you know, making a mess while eating or pulling hair when he get's too excited).

You can't see "Naughty is the New Nice" very well but I thought seeing him smile while sitting was too cute to pass up.

Dear Santa Clause

Dear Santa Clause,

It was so nice to meet you this past Sunday. You are as warm and friendly as the stories imply. I had a nice breakfast with my Daddy, Mommy, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle, Aunt and cousin – though it would have been even better if my other Uncle, Aunt and counsin could have joined us, maybe next year.

It sure was nice of you to let me and my family take a look around The Day in the Life of an Elf. It looks like the elf’s get up really early. I’m thankful I don’t have to get up that early every day but if you ever need help making toys or wrapping the presents give me a call.

I have included a couple pictures we took together on Sunday. I know you are a busy guy and I thought this might help you remember our talk. I also included a picture you took with my cousin and her Mommy and Daddy. She was a little scared of you. Next time I’ll make sure to sit with her and hold her hand, then she won’t be so scared.

Thanks again for taking the time to meet on Sunday. I hope you have a good flight and you get a lot of milk and cookies (I can’t wait until I can eat cookies). I am also putting in my top five gifts we discussed, but go ahead and choose anything you think is best for a little boy like me. My Mommy and Grandma will probably make sure I get everything else.

1. Hockey Skates – Daddy thinks it will be really cool if I skate before I walk.

2. Dog Treats – I really love my puppy Jeter and would like to give him more treats during the day even though Mommy says he should only have one or two treats a day.

3. Colorful Lights – One of my favorite things to do is sit and look at the pretty bright lights. Right now there are all kinds of lights inside and outside. It would be nice to have this year round.

4. Bite Size Toy – It is so fun putting everything in my mouth. If I could have a little bite size toy I would be a happy boy.

5. Sled – You remember my puppy Jeter, right. He loves to play outside and we now have snow. It would be nice if Jeter would be able to pull me in my very own sled.

Love,

Little Guy

6 Month Pictures

A couple weeks ago we took Little Guy for his six month pictures. Here's your warning, he is so darn cute you may have difficulty looking away.

Little Guy is getting ready for Santa Clause and seems very excited about Santa Coming to Town.

As many people have commented, Little Guy does not miss any meals. He also likes to keep an eye on his treats but looks like he is willing to share with Santa Clause - this year.

Do you notice the gray socks? Happy Mom failed to plan the outfit change properly. Good thing Little Guy is so happy go lucky.

Sometime Little Guy gets too excited and will not sit by himself because of how much he is trying to look around. The cropped picture looks like Little Guy is sledding down the hill in his Grumpy Old Men hat.

Pure sweetness is all I can say.

Same Day Procedure

As you can tell, I have not been around here much lately. Big Poppy, Little Guy and I were preparing for a minor, same day procedure on Thursday. The time had come for Little Guy to have his circumcision. For a couple reasons, Little Guy missed his window of opportunity right after birth. If you do not have this done right away you will need to wait six months for the use of anethetics.

Even though this was a same day procedure, Big Poppy and I both wanted to be there and then have a couple days at home with Little Guy. Big Poppy took Little Guy to the pre-op appointment by himself. As a precation our pedtrician recommended a nebulizer to ensure Little Guy's lungs were clear.

This is what I came home to that day. Little Guy has quite the mask. Trust me, it looks worse than it is. Little Guy is normally laughing while this runs for 10 minutes (about every four hours).

With the all clear, on Thursday we woke and prepared for the procedure. I thought the hardest part would be Little Guy's eating restrictions. After going to bed around 9 pm on Wednesday, Little Guy did not wake up at all during the night (which is normally a good thing) but this meant Little Guy could not have anything for breakfast. Big Poppy and I decided to wait on breakfast too. If Little Guy must suffer, then so would we.

When we arrived at the children's clinic/hospital, Little Guy was once again a happy little boy. Perhaps a little confused on the sweats in public (which is wearing a lot of right now). So far there were no signs of a hunger fit coming.

We met with the nurse, found the hospital pjs and then waited. In a play room with other families waiting for their turn to have their little one taken back to the doctors for a couple hours. Our doctors were great. These are people I would recommend to others or use again. A great feeling when you precious little one is going to be put under.

The procedure went fine and about one and half hours after losing Little Guy to nurses and doctors we were invited into his recovering room. Then the hunger fit began and who could blame him!

Now I must admit I was not prepared for how Little Guy would look. The nurse went over how to do everything for the next few weeks and I was visible taken aback on how Little Guy looked. The nurse noticed and reminded me he would not remember this, it would be harder on us.

Oh, but the first time I changed his diaper once we were home. Tears came from Little Guy because it was so tender. Tears came from me because of the discomfort (OK, PAIN) I was causing with the ointment. For the next couple days Little Guy was on a steady dose of pain treatments and baths (the soaking in water helps little boys). Big Poppy and I determined it would be better for him to change the diapers for a couple days - not that he liked how it caused Little Guy pain but then there would only be one of us in tears, one of us able to hold the tears back and one of us doing the diapering.

This morning, I changed my first diaper in just about two days. There were no tears but there was plenty of anxiety in its place. We are currently double diapering for added padding/protection since Little Guy is on the move, even now.

Today is the start of the Christmas festivities for our family. A Saturday brunch today and Sunday breakfast followed by Santa Clause tomorrow. I sure hope Little Guy does not cry for Santa.

Brandy Slush

Sometimes in the summer I will whip up a brandy slush to keep in the freezer and drink on a hot Saturday night. Right now I am weighing my options of purchasing brandy in the "off" season. Then I am considering my options: 1) drink it myself to sleep thru the night or 2) have Little Guy rub some on his gums to help him sleep thru the night or 3) stare at the bottle at 2 am wishing I had the mentality to follow thru on option 1 or 2. For those that do not know me, I will be staying the course with option 3 but instead of staring at a brandy bottle, I am likely staring out the window wishing there was something I could do for Little Guy.

In the course of seven days, three, YES THREE, teeth have popped up. The first two are in the back of his mouth, which is unusual I hear, and the last one poked through Saturday night right on his bottom front. Little Guy has really handled it pretty well, except for at night when he needs constant reminder Big Poppy and I are here.

Night one of this I was game. I love snuggling with Little Guy. Night seven I was very thankful that around 12:30 Big Poppy decided to take Little Guy into the spare bedroom so one of could sleep. I checked in on them around 4:30 and by 6 am Big Poppy, Little Guy and Jeter were all back in our bedroom.

I really do love each milestone. Watching Little Guy grow and become his own person is wonderful. Big Poppy and I have the best seats to watch this growth. However, it might be nice if Little Guy slept thru the night tonight which is why I weigh my brandy slush options before I head off to zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Having One of Those Weeks

You know those day's you wish you could just restart. I think the last seven days could be dramatically improved. After I gripe, I will share the wonderful things that have happened over the past week, but today, I gripe.

Day 1: Made it to Grandpa's. All is well. Big Poppy watched Little Guy while I met up with a dear old friend. All is still well. Little Guy decides sleeping through the night is a thing of the past while we are at Grandpa's. Did I forget to mention there were eight of sleeping in Grandpa's living room. I was amazed how soundly most of them slept but still felt bad for the ones that were awoken by Little Guy.

Day 2: Happy Thanksgiving! My darling goddaughter wanted to spend the day with the other side of the family and I am so blue. I make the trip mostly because of her and her family. I try to remind myself she is young but fail miserably and act a bit childish myself. Not a becoming attribute in your teens let alone in your thirties.

Day 3: After lunch with Grandpa, Big Poppy, Little Guy and I head off to Syd & SoyBoy's house. With a quick stop along the way to pick up SoyBoy, we arrive with no troubles. The day is moving along rather nicely and then night time falls. Big Poppy is ill. I mean, he is ILL. We were forewarned by an uncle that he and his kids had fallen ill and it turns out Grandpa and another uncle were sick earlier in the week.

Day 4: I eat lunch with Syd, SoyBoy and my aunt. Syd did a good job cooking. With the help of my family, we load up the car and put Big Poppy and Little Guy in the back for the trek home. When you are under the weather the best place to be is your bed. We make it home without incidence but shortly after we arrive, Big Poppy is ill again. I sleep on the couch.

Day 5: Happy Birthday! Well, really I forgot it was my birthday because I was trying to get everything cleaned up from our shortened trip. Little Guy was given banana's for the first time and LOVES them. Seems like a good day right? Then I get a call from the insurance adjuster reminding me I was rear ended on the previous Tuesday. Boo. Thankfully, no one was hurt and my rear bumber can easily be fixed.

Day 6: Back to work, or maybe not. By now most of my family has been knocked out and if I thought I was immune, I was wrong. I spend the day in bed and on the couch.

Day 7: Back to work. Really, I tried to go back to work. After getting grief for being back so soon and a few clarifications that food poisoning is not contagious I feel it is safe to get to work. Oh wait, my computer is not allowing me to access any files. Have I been fired but blocked the memory? Several co-workers assure me that is not the case. Around 3 o'clock I declare the computer the winner and go pick up Little Guy early.

And now I am here. Ready for my new week to begin in the middle of the week.

It's going to be a great week! I can feel it.

Stay tuned for the great things that happened during the same seven days.

Off to Grandpa's

We are taking off for the trip to Grandpa's today. My Grandpa's house. Most of the day will be spent in the car, listening to books on tape, curious how long Little Guy lasts before he says "Enough! Let me out!". It brings back memories of road trips to family from my younger days.

"Are we there yet?"

"How long are we staying?"

"All my friends are at home."

OK, Little Guy may not be ready to say these items. He still thinks it great to hang out with your family.

However there are other young adults in the my family. Like me when I was younger they are looking for more friend time and less family time.

I look at the sweet little beings they once were and wonder, at what age does it become uncool to be off to Grandpa's. And then I wonder, at what age does it become cool once again to be off to Grandpa's.

And then I wonder, how will I handle it when Little Guy says he does not want to spend as much time with Big Poppy and I.

Finally, when I start to sound like a grown-up. Yikes!

I Got One

Do you have a little hero?

My Inner Teenager

Big Poppy indulged my inner brat teenager this weekend. After my obsession with the Twilight books and my concern over who would win in a duel between Mitch and Edward, Big Poppy played chaperone and suffered sat through New Moon.

Per the norm, the books outshine the movie. As long as you are ok with that going into the show there is no problem.

However, my inner teenage would not allow me to forget my true age. At what point did it start to feel slimy when a young man does not have his shirt on? When did it become wrong to look? I am thinking the next time I want to enjoy a movie with young men in it, I will need to retrain my mind instead of just my heart of my inner age.

Or, maybe a vodka gimlet before the movie will help me forget how much younger the actors are in the show.

Half Birthday

Little Guy celebrated his half birthday on Thursday. We decided to keep the occassion on the DL but somehow the peditrician found out about it anyways and invited Little Guy in for a small party.

After wowing Little Guy with her charm, the doc got down to business.

Here are the vitals at Six Months:
Height: 28 1/2" (97 percentile)
Weight: 20 lbs 10 oz (90-95 percentile)
Head: 43.5 cm (50 percentile)
(Here is a refresher of the vitals at four months - there are links to earlier months too.)

Little Guy is tracking perfectly. He is reaching all milestones right on target or slightly ahead. However, we did get a reminder not to carry Little Guy so much anymore. This will help him achieve crawling. I can not say I am a big fan of letting Little Guy become frustrated on the floor but I will do it.

As you can see, Little Guy has no clue of what is about to happen next. It is a good think the memory is short when it comes to shots otherwise I am sure he would not be so happy right now.

And then the dreaded shots happened. Little Guy was confused on what just happened.

But within minutes he was ready to roll again.

However, last night he was a bit tuckered out and fell asleep early (and on the couch).

3,650 Days

If you ignore leap years, it has been 3,650 days since I traded in my Miss status to become a Mrs.

3,650 days ago we looked like this.

365 days ago we looked like this.

The simple joys and sometimes the not so simple joys make all the difference in the world.

3,650 days ago we said "I Do".

365 days ago we said "I Do" again.

Today and everyday - I Do Love You!

Over the Top

One of the great things about me is I have great friends. They keep me in the loop of what's cool and what's not. In the eye's of one pretty happy mama, my blog is cool (or at least she let's me think it is!). If you did not guess from the picture, despite sporadic postings I was honored with the Over the Top! award on Sunday.

Happy Mama was given this award by fellow Yankee fan, The Treat Girl.

Now is the time to pay it forward.

The nut's and bolt's of this is:

1.) Thank and post URL to the blog that gave the award.

2.) Pass the award along to 6 brilliantly over the top blogs (blogs you love!) Alert them so they know to receive the award.

I'm nominating these 6 blogs:

1. Liz over at Mom-101 - she's got something and I like it!

2. Who can argue with Vodka Logic? I can't, in fact I might agree with Vodka Logic, or is it vodka logic?

3. There is a new mommy of a little girl - you should really stop to read the discussions she has with her husband.

4. A guilty pleasure is reading other people's secrets at Post Secret (though some make me sad I love the ones that make me smile)

5. In need of a smile, check out Kel at A Hesitant Housewife

6. Catherine at Evolving Mommy


3.) Copy and paste this quiz… Change the answers, ONE word only!!

1-Your cell phone? silent
2- Your hair? dark
3-Your mother? gone
4-Your father? gone
5-Your favorite food? Mexican
6-Your favorite drink? water
7-Your dream last night? forgotten
8-Your dream/goal? love
9-What room are you in? pool-table
10-Your hobby? exercise
11-Your fear? loss
12-Where do you want to be in 6 years? home
13-Where were you last night? couch
14-Something that you are not? irrational
15-Muffin? sure
16-Wish list item? bathroom
17-Where did you grow up? Midwest
18-Last thing you did? ran
19-What are you wearing? pj's
20-Your TV? off
21-Your pets? dog
22-Friends? Excellent
23- Your life? Awesome!
24-Your mood? joyful
25-Missing someone? sure
26-Vehicle? Audi
27-Something you are not wearing? socks
28-Your favorite store? Cosco
29-Favorite color? red
30-When was the last time you laughed? minutes
31-Last time you cried? days
32-Your best friend? fun
33-One place you go to over and over? Target
34-One person who emails you regularly? RCJ
35-Favorite place to eat? home

Did you learn anything about me?

Supervisor

Little Guy has many talents. After his painting debut, Little Guy indicated he was ready to work on a bigger project. For a few hours this weekend, Little Guy was our painting supervisor for a volunteer project.

Here is Little Guy yelling instructing us to get back to work.

Sistine Chapel Worthy

With a puppy named Jeter and a Mom and Dad who are interested in sports, I assumed Little Guy would become interested in

or

or maybe even

but after seeing Little Guy's first art project

I wonder if he is destined for

Now I Might Be Bragging

Start spreading the news,

I'm leaving today.

I want to be a part of it -

New York, New York.

These vagabond shoes

Are longing to stray

And step around the heart of it

New York, New York.

I want to wake up in a city,

That doesn't sleep,

To find I'm king of the hill- ah-

Top of the heap.

My little town blues

Are melting away

I'm gonna make a brand new start of it

In old New York.

If I can make it there,

I'd make it anywhere

It's up to you,

New York, New York.

New York, New York!

I want to wake up in a city,

That doesn't sleep,

To find I'm king of the hill,

Head of the list,

Cream of the crop

At top of the heap.

My little town blues

Are melting away

I'm gonna make a brand new start of it

In old New York.

If I can make it there,

I'd make it anywhere

Come on, come through,

New York, New York.

This was for you SoyBoy.

I'm Not Bragging, I'm Just Saying

27 is better than 26.

www.don'tlikepeas.com

As a baby gift, we received a Beaba Babycook along with a Cooking for Baby cookbook. I cannot describe how excited I was with this gift for a couple reasons. 1) It had been my idea to make Little Guy’s baby food and 2) I never knew there were actual products out there to make the mashing easier. These can easily happen without a Beaba Babycook or a baby cookbook but I like knowing there are three lovely ladies who knew me well enough to think I would be interested in making Little Guy’s baby food (I had not shared this with anyone).

Recently I was able to try out the Beaba Babycook. The amount of time, effort and money involved in making your own baby food is nothing. If you are lucky like me, someone will help you with the “start-up” costs. If you are smart like some of my friends, it will dawn on you all the tools you need are probably in your kitchen already. After a few uses, I already love my Beaba Babycook but you can get the same results with a blender or magic bullet.

I love peas. I mean I LOVE peas. I could probably eat them every day and not tire of the taste. I do not eat them every day because Big Poppy says, “I eat them.” Little Guy is going to fall into “I love peas” side of the coin if I have anything to say about it.

The debate began with Big Poppy getting Little Guy. Do you notice what the bib says?

After Little Guy's first bite it appears he is enjoying his first taste of peas.

I might even say Little Guy loves peas.

Though I will be the first to admit he is not ready to feed himself yet.

Making the pea puree was super easy.

Steam the peas to retain more nutrients. Then blend/puree with nothing or a little water or formula, depending on the consistency desired. You can freeze in an ice cube tray and then transfer to a bag for up to three months or enjoy it all now. See how easy it is.

Puppy Love: Halloween Style

There once was a little puppy, a happy little puppy he was.

I mean, he was a really, happy, smiley little puppy.

The happy little puppy was getting bigger and bigger every day. The happy little puppy wanted to crawl like the happy big puppy.

The happy big puppy told the happy little puppy he would need to eat a lot of bones to become big enough to crawl around.

The happy little puppy wished for more breadstick bones to eat and eat in hopes he would grow up strong and learn to crawl like the happy big puppy. In swooped bat girl to save the day.

Carrot fingers and putrid punch were made, along with pizza mummies and breadstick bones and hotdog zombies.

The little happy puppy ate his breadstick bones and tried to crawl but it did not happen tonight. By the end of the evening the little happy puppy was dog tired.

Little Guy is not eating breadstick bones or drinking putrid punch yet. If you would like to give this a try check out Family Fun. Here a couple quick recipes in case you have difficulty finding the recipes.

Putrid Punch

1 13-oz. package lemon-lime Kool-Aid

1 cup sugar
8 cups water
1 can frozen orange juice concentrate
4 cups ginger ale
Worm cubes (ice cubes with gummy worms frozen inside)
3 scoops orange sherbert

Empty the Kool-Aid package into a punch bowl. Add the sugar, then the water and stir until dissolved. Stir in the orange juice. Just before serving, add the ginger ale and worm cubes and float the scoops of sherbert on top. Before long, the punch will be green and infested with worms.

Pizza Mummies
English muffins
Pepperoni
Pizza Sauce
Sliced Black Olives
Cheese Slices

Heat the oven to 350 F. Spread pizza sauce on each English muffin half. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, if desired. Place one or two pepperoni's on the bottom half of the English muffin. Set two sliced olives 1/3 of the way up on the English muffin (these are your eyes). Rip the cheese slices and lay the strips accross the muffing for the mummy wrappings. Bake for about 10 minutes (until the cheese melts).