She's Got Game

I have a sinking feeling that Natalie might be my challenging child. Those of you that know me well know that's not the best news. It's becoming clear to me that for all of Wyatt's willfulness, he's never been one to get into things he shouldn't. Natalie? Well, she really, really likes to get into things. Like Wyatt, she crawls as fast as she can toward an open dishwasher, but unlike Wyatt she also insists on pulling up rugs, yanking shoes out of my closet and playing in the pantry while emptying its shelves.

Today she started a new 'game' and I know she thinks of it that way by her little laugh upon getting caught. Over and over. It starts like this: we're both in the kitchen when she glances at me to see if I'm really paying attention. If she deems herself to have a headstart and/or a slightly distracted mom, she bolts toward the steps as fast as her little bottom will swagger. When she arrives at the large flight of stairs, she begins to climb. As I round the corner and see her she starts breathing in and out really fast, kind of snorting and smiling all at once, while simultaneously attempting to go faster. And then I grab her (usually before she's gotten anywhere) and she cracks up. Then we both head back to the kitchen where she waits for her next big break.

So I'm realizing that we might actually have to childproof this house. I'm thinking that cabinet locks, toilet locks and extra gates are probably in our future. But the upside to all of this? She's got a great laugh.

He Makes Me Laugh

Me: I have to go to Costco. Wyatt, do you want to go to Costco with me?

W: No.

Me: Really?

W: Nope.

Me: Okay. I'll go by myself.

W: Yeah. But will you bring me some samples?

Nine

Oh Natalie, sweet Natalie. You're good stuff, baby girl.

You cruise
you crawl with speed
you love an open dishwasher
you squirm with delight when you see your dad, your brother or even anticipate that you might see one of them.
you love feeding Millie from the table (that's a no-no, yet you do it then look at me and smile)
you have serious separation anxiety
you love Cheerios and puffs
you grunt until you get what you want
you babble now - all of a sudden - and I'm hearing a lot of dada, ada, baba, etc. but nothing that sounds like mama. Just like your brother.
you do not like avocados but I will not stop trying
you love bath and the anticipation of getting a bath
your laugh is a fantastic sound
you have survived your first visible injury, courtesy of your brother removing your hands from the table while pulling up
you still have only four teeth
you are a chunk
you are too tall for your 6-9 month sleepers
you refuse to hold your own bottle
you think sippy cups are for hitting the tray and not much else
you are not the best sleeper in the world
we love you anyway.

Who Needs a Sleigh?

Funny thing: all fighter pilots' kids will grow up wondering why Santa needs a magic sleigh when he can just hop in a jet. He chose the backseat of an F-15 today, arriving in time to visit our kids' Christmas party at the squadron. I wasn't sure how 'into' Santa Wyatt was until I watched him, awestruck, watching the big man in action.

Santa's jet delivered him right to the squadron's door, so all the kids watched from the DO's office, plastered up against the big window waving their little hearts out. Daddy made sure Wyatt was getting a good look at St. Nick.

Then all the kids piled out of the office, heading for the stairs so they could be the first to greet Santa when he came up. Wyatt was leading the charge until he came face to face with Santa, at which point he morphed from WYATT! to Wyatt, shy-boy-in-awe-of-greatness.

(Please note the hands behind the back posture.)

So then all the kids sat and waited for Santa to call their name. And for Wyatt, the wait just went on and on and on.

He finally looked over at me and said, "I don't think Santa has a present for me!" Right after I put my heart back together, I assured him Santa absolutely had a present for him but that he'd just have to be patient. After a couple more kids were called up, I watched my little boy fight back tears, trying so hard to believe. So that's when my friend went and found Wyatt's gift and handed it to Santa's elf, assuring that Wyatt would be next.

That's when WYATT! returned, bolted up for his gift and his candycane and then sat down again.

No, he couldn't be troubled with sitting on Santa's lap. Perhaps we should've explained it all a little better, since he brought his wrapped gift (a book, like all the other kids' gifts) to me and said in a slightly sad voice, "but I wanted a football." I told him this was just a really lucky pre-Christmas visit with Santa, and that this was a chance for him to tell Santa directly what he's really hoping for. He seemed pleased with that and promptly ditched the book in favor of his uber-cool blue candycane.

Meanwhile, Natalie held down the fort at the ops desk.

And did I mention that Grandpa and Grandma arrived last night?

So we're just really glad that Wyatt's head didn't explode with all the excitement (and sugar. so. much. frosting. and sprinkles. and cupcakes. and cookies. ) and that he's getting into the holiday spirit. I love this time of year!

Tagline

Wyatt's eating store-brand Crispy Rice for breakfast. Since it's not the real thing it sings a different tune. According to Wyatt, it says, "snickle, pepper, pop."

Now you know.

Natalie Says,

I LOVE CHRISTMAS TIME!

Carols by Wyatt

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse broken sleigh. HEY!"

and

"Rudolph the red deer nose...huh?"

And to anyone wondering, he is not really that worried about what our Elf on a Shelf has to say to Santa, or at least he's not acting as though he is. He does, however, repeatedly ask Froo (that's our elf's name, per Wyatt) to tell Santa that he'd like a real helmet and a real football. I have a sneaking suspicion that Santa will come through. And that there's some real tackling and real getting hurt to come in 2010.

Delight

1. LAAAAAZZZZY day for me. I can't remember the last time I stayed in my pajamas that long!

2. Espresso and Jeff's famous egg sandwich for breakfast, Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch and Three Amigos for dinner.

3. NOT fighting the crowds today. I'm very happy for you if you found a deal, but I'm quite pleased I did my minimal shopping online.

4. Christmas decorations in progress: two trees up, one half-decorated; mantel done.

5. A little boy who is loving Christmas thus far. He is single-handedly responsible for the half-decorated tree and greatly looking forward to tomorrow so we can finish.

6. Elf on a Shelf courtesy of Grandma Rock. Really cute book, very cute elf, really hoping it creates some magic.

7. Three-year old logic on how an elf might get in and out of our house. His last theory involved the elf "shooting out the window."

8. Watching an eight-month old cruise in her quest to get ahold of the remote.

9. Feeding the baby from the table...at the Mexican restaurant. Love starting them young.

10. Saying prayers with Wyatt. Funny what he deems worthy.

11. Blackout curtains. Funny what I deem prayer-worthy.

12. A baby who is sleeping through the night.

13. Hearing a little voice sing along to Call My Name  as he falls asleep. Even better hearing him during the night when he's turned his music back on to soothe himself back to sleep.

14. Watching my husband finally just. relax. already. and fall asleep on the couch nice and early.

15. DVR'd tv shows.