A Little Monkey Business

Another Halloween has come and gone and yet again we've dressed our kid as an animal. Maybe if I dressed him like a saint it would affect his attitude - do you think? Yeah, probably not. Anyway, this year we had a little monkey in the house and he actually trick-or-treated with his own mini-bucket for collecting the goodies.

We started across the street where our whole cul-de-sac pools its candy and hangs out, then ventured to the next cul-de-sac over for some more authentic candy-begging. Wyatt dutifully said his trick-or-treat's and thank you's at every house, but then would look at us and say, "go home now." So after three houses that's what we did. Lucky for him he scored four lollipops and was, therefore, set for the night. We hauled the Elmo chair over to the neighborhood gathering and hung out for awhile until Isaac and his family came over. Then we all hightailed it inside for playing and hanging out. Hope your Halloween was happy, too!

Recent Faves

Wyatt is getting just so witty - must take after his mom.

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Yesterday, when Tara and Jack were visiting, we put the boys down for their naps. Jack went to sleep without protest, but Wyatt was yelling, "mommmmmmeeeee" repeatedly. So I went up and asked, "were you calling me?" and he said, "well, Tara and Jack are here. I go downstairs now." Ummm, no kiddo. You cannot. But nice try.

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Last night Jeff was doing bedtime and Wyatt was all cleaned up, in his jammies and wearing his sunglasses so Jeff was telling him to find me and say, "Mommy, I'm kind of a big deal." (It's a quote off a shirt, and it's just to be funny). Usually Wyatt is such a willing repeater but last night he wouldn't say it. Jeff repeated it again and again then finally Wyatt looked at me and said, "Mommy, I'm cute!" We pretty much lost it.

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Our friend Retro is staying with us for a few days until he closes on his house. Wyatt is very excited about this and repeated yesterday afternoon's comment at bedtime, only this time told me when I went to his room that he needed to come downstairs to see Retro. Nope again, but another A+ effort.

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Sweet boy woke up at 6:30 this morning (and normally that wouldn't be a massive issue except that he'd also been awake at 10:30, 1:50 and 3:00). I went to his room and pointed out that it was really early - still amazingly dark outside - and suggested perhaps he could go back to sleep. He said, "no Mommy. I go Trader Joe's now and get lellow boon. I go now. I want up. I go downstairs and we go Joe's." Nope again, kiddo, but I like that you woke up with an agenda.

I'm Pretty Lucky...

Or I have some amazingly powerful thoughts.

As I left Kansas, I told my parents that they could come visit anytime they felt bored since I would, most likely, be feeling the same way upon Jeff's departure for his 45 day TDY in January. I told Jeff yesterday afternoon that it sure would be fun if they followed through with it.

Then my mom called just a few hours later to tell me she'd booked a ticket. YAY!

And then last night I was thinking it would be fun if my sister could come, too. You know, a little girl time (plus a toddler boy, because he's always here, but I'd take what I could get.) And guess what? That wish is coming true, too! I'm on cloud nine just anticipating some fun with my mom and my sister and also so excited to know that I'll have something to look forward to during those long days of waddling and toddler-chasing. Ahhh, have I mentioned that my life rocks every once in a while?

My TWO Favorite Quote(s) of the Day (updated)

After a few rainy, cold days and an ill-tempered visit to Old Navy this morning, it became apparent that my sweet Wyatt needed a little gross motor activity. You know, since he's like a Jack Russell and all and needs to be run lest he self-destruct.

So when we got home from our screechy, whiny morning outing, I called the local gymnastics academy to inquire about their open play for today. They were open for another 25 minutes so we hustled into the car and my mom took the backroads to deliver us there within five minutes (ahh, the love of a grandma). We got there late enough that they didn't charge us (yay! free makes me so happy) and Wyatt got about 15 minutes of craziness out of his system. He mostly played in the bouncy house (p.s. when did we stop calling those moonwalks?) and the foam pit. Incidentally, foam pits might be a cousin to quicksand since it seemed, briefly, as though we might lose Wyatt into its depths.

Needless to say, 15 minutes wasn't quite enough time for my wound-up kiddo, so a little crying ensued upon departure. As I carried him out of the building, we made out the following between sobs: "I want more free play!"

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After a questionably-mannered dinner tonight, Wyatt was doing his best to entertain Great Grandma and the grandparents. Dad was trying to get his attention about something and Wyatt was doing his best to ignore his grandpa. So, when Grandpa didn't take the non-verbal I'm -turning-my-back-on-you hint, Wyatt turned and said, "I busy doing this" before turning away once again.

Well. I guess he knows his own mind.

A Few Highlights

Wyatt has developed a few charming* new habits.

1. The only bib he will wear from my mom's stash is the one that says Stephy across the bottom. You guessed it, this bib was mine and I made the mistake of telling him that. Nevermind that the embroidery and the binding are pink, he asks for it by name. And no, no one ever called me Stephy or ever should...

2. Wyatt now calls me Stephy. Usually only in stores or when he wants my attention, but it's a little disconcerting nonetheless. And it's really hard to keep a straight face when your kid is hollering out, "Hey Seph! Hey Sephy!" and your mom is standing nearby cracking up. And for good measure, sometimes he'll holler out my first, middle AND last name. I'm so glad we thought to teach him all that.

3. The other night, my grandma was here for dinner and she looked across the table at Andrew and said, "I brought something tonight that you really like! What do you think it is?" And he, in all earnestness, looked at her with delight in his eyes and said, "Is it money?" Yeah, we all lost it.

4. Tonight the cousins were here and they spent a lot of time playing in the playhouse next door. Andrew was, of course, in charge (p.s. it gave me flashbacks to my sister ordering me around) and was telling the little boys what to do. At one point, Andrew was the dad and was telling Wyatt he had to go to bed in the playhouse. Wyatt actually complied for quite a while. Then tonight, while I was bathing him, I said something about him being so tired because he hadn't napped today. Wyatt looked at me and said, "I had nap in little house today!" So maybe he really caught a little shuteye! I guess I'll never know.

5. During the same outdoor play session, Andrew announced it was time for dinner and that he'd made grilled chicken. Wyatt came streaking out of the playhouse yelling that he needed to fix some edamame. He ran over to a window, pretended to do something, then ran back yelling, "edamame! yay!"

6. Wyatt wanted a "sack" (which to me and you is a snack) after dinner and chose a frosted cookie. He proceeded to eat the frosting off the top and then ask for another cookie. I saved him the hassle and gave him a little frosting off a spoon - this kid is definitely mine!

7. His new phrase is, "I'm good" He got it from me, I'm sure, but it's pretty funny to ask him if he wants more of something and have him think about it a minute before saying, "I good, Mommy."

*yeah, it's not all charming but it is entertaining. And I'm probably forgetting the best ones, so as I think of more I'll be sure to update!

Still Having a Big Time

We continue to make the most of every day here and are filling most of our "down" time with cousins. Wyatt now asks for them every morning as soon as he wakes, then when he finds out they're actually sleeping at their own house he asks for the lights to be on in the toy closet. A couple days ago he told me, "Mommy, no coffee. Play toy closet." Yeah, right. I got the coffee and then played with him. It's important to prioritize, right?

Yesterday was a very big day - first we went to Andrew's soccer game (his team of 4-5 year olds is the Soccer Hobbits. Hilarious!), then to lunch where Shannon and her girls met us and then we all headed out to the pumpkin patch. I was prepared for Wyatt's head to explode since he's been pointing out every pumpkin in sight for the last couple of weeks. Luckily, no explosions. Just lots of excitement at all the tractors and cousins and slides and hay and cows and oh yeah, acres upon acres of pumpkins.

He had a good time and didn't really even grasp that he could actually take a pumpkin home. I got off easy since he decided he wanted a little pumpkin (okay, I encouraged him to choose a small one) and interestingly he decided his pumpkin should be green. Who knew? So now we're owners of one small green pumpkin and he's still talking about the tractor ride. I think we might take the little boys back later in the week. I mean, why not? They had such a big time despite us being there during naptime. I think Wyatt would've laid himself down in the vines for the duration if I'd let him!

Shannon and her girls

Wyatt resting on a pumpkin. I have a lot of these pictures.

Wyatt examining a pumpkin while Thomas keeps watch, or something.

Thomas and his prized pumpkin.

So many pumpkins, so little energy...

Did I mention the cows?

The cousins. It's apparently going to be a few more years before we can reliably take a picture of all of them together and after witnessing what it took to get this, I'm amazed we got so close!

I'm Just So Busy

Wyatt and I ventured to Kansas last weekend and are now happily ensconced at my parents' house (which we are calling Wyatt's Kansas house because he seems to be a little homesick). There have been plenty of funny things to write about but I'm just so very occupied with all the cousin playtime and napping that I can't quite get to the computer. Please forgive me.

A few highlights from the travel portion of our trip:
My least favorite part was losing Wyatt at the security checkpoint in Richmond. One second he's there, not following my directions of "both hands on mommy", then they made me fold the stroller, flip the stroller over (p.s. what difference does it make if the wheels are down or up on the conveyor belt?), take of my fleece, etc. and then boom. No Wyatt. I panicked, briefly, and marveled at his ability to disappear in such a controlled space before realizing he was happily playing under the metal table where fellow passengers were busy lining up their trays of stuff. Whew!

My favorite part? Easy. He fell asleep practically mid-sentence as we taxied from the gate at O'Hare and proceeded to sleep until we stopped at the gate in KC. And as some sort of karmic bonus, the nice gate agent in Chicago had moved us to economy plus seating and we had three seats to ourselves. Nice and oh, yeah, simple pleasures!

The first night here was wracked with wake-ups resulting in tired mommy and tired kiddo, but subsequent nights have been better. He's getting used to the set-up and couldn't muster even a "hi Mommy" this morning before asking me to turn on the light in the toy closet so he could start playing. He also asks constantly for "more cousins", "more Aunt Susan's house" and cookies. Grandpa and Grandma have a nice stash of cookies and he seems to sense that maybe the rules are relaxed on vacation.

We took him to the KU bookstore on Monday morning with the promise we'd see some Jayhawks. Holy cow - he spied every Jayhawk in the four mile trip to campus and yelled delightedly at each. I think we're doing okay with the whole "raise him to love the crimson and blue despite the fact he's never lived in Kansas" thing. And we acquired a new Jayhawk t-shirt and pompom (he insisted), so he's ready for basketball season to start.

Other than that, it's been lots of eating - uh, yeah, maybe more for me than him - hanging out and having fun. One of these afternoons when I'm feeling ultra-energetic I might even put some pictures on here to prove it. If you're really lucky, that photo album will include some evidence of tonight's planned spaghetti dinner, complete with two 2-year olds and a five-year old who may or may not still have an aversion to pasta. Let's just say the grandparents have a plan for towels and plastic to cover important surfaces and great grandma's been cautioned to wear something that she can get stains out of. I can't wait to see how this one turns out!

Ahh, Good Times

Jeff's sister and her family have been here this weekend and we've had such a great time hanging out. We had anticipated doing lots of sightseeing, but they spent an entire week in Washington D.C. before coming to see us, so the boys (ages 8 and 11) had seen enough sights for one vacation. As a result, we've had plenty of time to just enjoy each other's company.

Our nephews are great kids and are a preview of what it might be like to have two boys in nine years. Wow. Lots of energy, lots of play that's entirely different than what my sister and I grew up doing. I mean, Suse? Do you remember ever wrestling? Like, a lot? Because I don't. But it's all good. It has been intriguing to watch them - especially Kyle, the eight-year old - and think, "we're going to have one of these in six years." I look forward to it, especially after some of the conversations we've had that make me smile. For instance, this morning at breakfast with just me, Kyle and Wyatt:

K: Hey Wyatt, did you know that numbers never stop?
W: Numbers never stop.
K: Yeah, they just go forever. Did you know that Aunt Stephanie?
Me: That's right! They go to infinity.
K: No, they don't even stop there! They just go forever.
W: Numbers never stop.
K: Yeah Wyatt! You should tell your pre-school teacher that and see what they say! And when they ask, tell them your big cousin told you. I could count to a thousand, but I'd get bored.
W: one, two, thee, fo...

And then tonight, a conversation in the family room:

K: Hey Uncle Jeff, did you know I'm learning geometry in math?
J: That's really cool.
Me: So what kind of things are you learning?
K: Well, you know, stuff like right angles, left angles...