Santa!

E went and saw Santa today. We decided to head up to the Scottsdale mall because we needed to purchase something at Crate & Barrel. When we pulled into the parking structure I kept commenting that there were no cars there! That mall is ALWAYS crowded.

At around 9:45, I told Paul that I wanted to take E to see Santa first. Once we arrived at the photo area, we saw that NO ONE was in line! Instead of waiting around, we went to C&B, then came back around 9:55. We were the third ones in line!

E did well up to sitting in Santa's lap. When Paul put him in, he just had the saddest face and kept reaching towards Paul. The three photos they took all came out the same!

18 months

E had his eighteen month appointment today. He is 23 lbs., 12 oz (23%), 33 1/4" (77%), and has a head circumference of 47 cm (28%).

We were given a questionnaire about any concerns that we might have with his development. Of course, I made Paul write down his speech. We also wrote that he's quite shy in social settings.

To both concerns, our doctor said that everything was ok. He said that if by two he's still not speaking or that we don't see much improvement in the next three months, he will refer him for speech therapy. The shyness probably has to do with the fact that he is by himself (without other children) everyday.

My mom now takes E to the park where they meet up with another grandmother who watches her grandson, Owen. He happens to be about a month older than E, and E loves following him around and playing with him. Owen has taught E to jump (although he doesn't leave the ground, he just bobs up and down) and how to throw a ball from his chest.

At 18 months, E now --

- still nurses
- loves to climb everything and has become quite adventurous

We stayed here longer than we should have at the zoo because E was having a blast climbing up and down.

- he loves to sit in his denim chair and push it backwards, making him fall back too
- goes down slides alone, sitting up tall (but he doesn't want the little slides, he wants the big ones!)
- loves to swing
- helps with Layne around the house (feeds him, helps put water in his bowl, and can now open the back door to let him out!)
- can change the cd, turn on, push play, and stop the stereos
- fully understands what we say
- follows simple commands
- decided to eat a chunk of dirt today (it looked as though he had eaten an Oreo cookie)
- wants things put in their places and will order to you do it if he can't

I'm trying to get this boy to eat pancakes or waffles, but he wants nothing to do with them which is probably good except for the syrup part

- does hand gestures to Itsy Bitsy Spider and Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
- still nurses
- has begun to spin in circles
- loves to read and sit in his denim chair

- hugs you and pats your back while doing so
- says "tss" for yes and please, "pah" for up, "da" for dad, "bah" for a lot of other things
- has become quite vain (will look at himself in the mirror or anything else with a reflection)
- kisses himself in the mirror/reflection

- runs to the kitchen if you mention food/milk
- points to himself when you say "where's Evan?"
- would eat an entire container of blueberries if you let him
- can identify images in his Mickey Christmas book to the corresponding button that will play a song
- today I was singing Christmas songs and E would press the button that matched in his Mickey Christmas book, I was impressed!
- still nurses
- has a blast playing with Mom and/or Dad

- still hates being changed on the changing tables in public restrooms, so I now just stand him up to change his diaper
- smiles at certain people in public, flirts with them, and gives them huge cheesy smiles
- still loves to clean the house with a broom and Swiffer

- will stomp and walk backwards (into anything and away from you) when he gets upset
- bangs his head against his high chair when he gets upset during meals
- eats raisins
- continues to vomit after eating eggs
- still believes he the strongest person ever

- has figured out how to open our wine fridge (dangerous!!)

- makes some pretty silly faces!
- is really into animal sounds and playing outside
- continues to play with Layne, but has now decided to open his mouth, and let Layne - lick (or try to lick) his tongue, GROSS
- loves to push things around

Happy 18 Months!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

How lovely are your branches!

We FINALLY purchased our Christmas tree yesterday! The one bad thing about buying a real tree is knowing that it's going to die on you before Christmas day arrives. We took E to the lot to help us pick one. He wasn't all that impressed or excited, but he really didn't like when they turned on the chainsaw to cut the trunk.

This morning we decorated the tree and put out the train set. E enjoyed playing with the train and was actually really careful with the ornaments. He kept telling me to put them in the same place on the tree. Until...I asked him to give one to Paul, and Paul was just a second too late in reaching for it. The next thing we know - CRASH - the ornament had shattered. I'm not too concerned seeing as how it was an inexpensive one from Target.

Graduation

Why is it that nothing ever really goes according to plan, whether it's good or bad? In my mind, I planned that we would leave at 10, Evan would fall asleep in the car, sleep most of the ride, and we would arrive in Flagstaff by 2, just in time for me to "report" to the Skydome. We'd stay the night and in the morning, we would get to play in some snow with E.

Well...

We started off Friday morning, by finishing our packing of clothes and food. My mom had taken E to their house the night before since Paul and I would both be home late. (He was at his sisters master degree commencement at ASU and I had a summative for my students.) Anyway, we were fortunate enough to have E gone so we could pack quite quickly.

My mom arrived with him around 8:30 and he had fallen asleep in the car. Grr. So now he was awake, but very grumpy from not getting a full nap. I made some chorizo and eggs for breakfast and while we ate, E decided to take two tiny nibbles of the eggs and ham. (Big mistake as you will read.) We had scheduled to leave around 10, but just before 9, we decided to head up to Flagstaff sooner. Good thing, because by the time we packed the car, changed a diaper, spilled water all over E's nice clothes, blow dried it, changed him into other clothes, and went to the bathroom, we were backing out of the driveway a few minutes after 9:30.

The ride started off well. Evan was enjoying watching The Jungle Book in the car and my mom and I were there to entertain him. About an hour into the ride, sweet little boy was getting crabbier - rubbing his eyes and yawning. An hour after that, he was whining and pulling his ears. Then all of a sudden I hear hacking. Hacking from vomiting. Little man was vomiting up all over him self and his car seat. I can guarantee it was the eggs. It happens every time. I should have known better. Good thing he wasn't wearing his nice clothes.

We stopped on the side of the highway to clean him off, change him, and try to wipe down his car seat. The tears, oh the tears! And the smell....oh the smell! (That lingered in the car until we came home and washed his seat.) We stopped in Munds Park to use the bathroom and dispose of the vomit clean up. When I got back into the car from using the bathroom, I see a red eyed, tear filled little boy. So tired and not feeling well. Poor baby.

We finally arrive to our hotel between 12-12:30. Paul tries to check in, but it's not until three. Great. They said there was a nonsmoking room available, but it was on a smoking floor. No thank you. The hotel receptionist tells him that there might be another room available around 1:30 or 2. While waiting in the lobby, we hear from one of the receptionists that there is an armed burglar on the loose on the NAU campus. Awesome. The news was telling people to stay away from the north and central campus and to stay indoors. Fabulous.

We head to the Denny's next to the hotel to have some lunch while we wait. Everything went smoothly there, but they brought us the wrong bill. Doh. Back the hotel, there still aren't any rooms available, so we take a handicapped room on the bottom floor. We throw out things in the room, do a quick diaper change, and are off to the Skydome.

In our parking lot, we quickly catch a van to the Skydome. Once we exited the van, I notice that I have on my casual flats, not my "nice" shoes. Those are in the hotel. Oh well. We enter the Skydome and walk around to the other side where I am supposed to be. As we start walking my mom starts crying. What a sap she is! I looked up at one point and saw Evan napping. I was told he only slept for about 20 minutes.

The graduation went well, I didn't trip or anything. I was so very fortunate to have my husband, son, parents, sister, best friend, sister-in-law, and her boyfriend in attendance. We took some photos outside and everyone else came back down to the Valley.

Paul, E, and I went to dinner at a yummy pizzeria. We headed back to the hotel to rest for the night. E had a ball playing with the air conditioning/heating unit! He fell asleep around 7:30. As it turns out, I slept at the foot of the bed, Paul was on the floor, and E had 80% of the bed to himself.

Giving himself kisses in the mirror...

The next morning, we had breakfast and packed up. I imagined watching Evan play in the snow, but after buying snow boots at Target that morning for Paul and myself, it started to snow. The snow quickly turned into just rain. Instead of heading to the snow play area, we just headed home.

Now, even though nothing went quite how I had planned for it to be, I wouldn't change the memories that I have from this trip. Well, maybe the vomiting part.

done

Well, it's official. Today was my final class in the coursework for earning my master of education!

On Friday, Paul, Evan, my mom, sister, brother-in-law, and best friend will be heading to Flagstaff for graduation.

I told my math students that they had to turn in their work for week on Thursday because I would be gone on Friday for graduation. They all cheered and congratulated me. It's was actually very sweet and exciting. Some students asked if I would bring in my gown and "hat". How could I say no?

It's amazing to me that the past two and a half years have flown by so quickly. I'm so glad that I stuck with the program and completed the work. Honestly, it didn't seem too tough.

Here's looking towards a fun Friday!

friend's blog

Not too long ago, I was reading through my friend's blog. She is an amazing photographer and actually took my maternity and Evan's newborn photos. Well, as I was reading, I came across a Father's Day post. Did I mention it had been a long time since I read her blog? Anyway, see if you can see who she used as one of the images.

fun stuff

For the past couple months, Evan has been doing a few gestures when we sing Head, Shoulder, Knees, and Toes. Lately, he is into Itsy Bitsy Spider and Ring Around The Rosie. Its quite precious! I will try to catch it on video and post it.

Yester I showed Evan my forward and backward sommersault skills. Soon after, he cam over to the carpet, sat down, and rolled on his side. Such a cute moment!! Yay for rolling with Momma, Evan!!