Diaper Houdini

My son is become more mischevious by the day. I received a call yesterday from my Mom who shared, "I have a story to tell you about your son...". I cringed hoping it didn't involve anything broken...be they household items, glassware, bones, etc.

The story goes....

"I walked into the bedroom to get Max up from his nap because I could hear him talking to himself. He had a really good nap from 10:30 until noon. Anyway, I walk in there and the first thing I see is bare buns. Your son had taken off his socks and pants, unbuttoned his onesie and then removed his diaper. I picked him up and discovered that the onesie flaps were wet and he had peed all over himself."

That's my boy! I'm only hoping he doesn't make a regular practice out of this. I'm not sure of a solution other than putting him down for a nap in footed jammies where the zipper top is buttoned off. Not that he couldn't figure that out. He's my Houdini!

An early Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you enjoy a wonderful, safe holiday with family and friends!

Snow....and lots of it

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....okay we get it, it's snowing! Do you sense my frustration? We've been dumped on over the past week with over a foot of snow and a layer of frozen ice. I've only had to miss 2 days of work (last Monday and today) but my, oh my am I longing for life to get back to normal. The snow is beautiful and I love spending time with Alex and Max. However, I'm tired of anxiously watching the forecast throughout the day, hoping that I can make it to work so that I don't have to use up precious leave that we badly need for my maternity leave. That said, there's nothing I can do to control the weather. Enjoy these recent pictures. It will likely be a long time before we see this kind snow again.

Here is our sweet house a few days ago. I don't have to look at the date, I can tell by the snow level.

The view up our street from out living room window as of this morning.

Alex tossing sheets of snow and ice off his truck so that we can get out of the house. If you look between the tree top and the peak of the neighbors garage, you'll see my neighbor David's head (red hat). He was up on the roof, removing snow.

A cross -country skier speeds by as Alex finishes up. This has become the preferred method of transportation around our neighborhood.

Fortunately we returned safely from our outing. We weren't able to go to Albertson's as planned to due a jacknifed semi but Fred Meyer's was all the better. I have never been so grateful for one-stop-shopping.

Hope you're all warm and safe at home! Hot cocoa anyone?

1/2 Way

Today I am officially halfway through my second pregnancy. Can you believe it? I'm starting to. Just in the past week my belly has taken on a more round, pregnant shape vs. the "is-she-pregnant-or-just-a-thicky-thick" look. My midsection is taking on a life of its own.

We also made it through hail and snow to our ultrasound yesterday (photo above). Baby looked beautiful! The size was 2 days ahead, all the parts were accounted for and in the right place. One of the more memorable moments was when the tech zeroed in on his/her face to check the nose/mouth area for palate concerns. Baby had his/her arms criss-crossed over his/her face and just below that you could see a perfect tiny nose and upper lip. So sweet!

Alex and I stood by our decision to wait and find out gender at birth. The tech warned us when she had to view that area to make sure all was well. Other than a flash of temptation, I was happy to turn my head. Let's face it, I probably wouldn't get it right even if I had peeked. It's amazing to me how they can tell what any of the anatomy is on the screen. "See, these 2 grayish areas? Those are the kidneys. This black circle? That's the stomach." Ummm, sure!

20 more weeks to go and Baby 2 will be here. My, oh my, how life will change!

Say Cheese...or not!

Our other family activity on this snow day was to take a family photo for our Christmas card. We did come up with a winner but here are a few out takes that tell the real story...

Snow Day!

Max enjoyed his first snow of the year. He thought it was pretty interesting stuff!

Ah Who Needs a Scholarship?!

Max's latest and greatest escapade includes tabletop dancing. Break out the ones, ladies. This is how we're paying for college!

In a follow up to his dinnertime hijinks, he now likes to climb onto my chair at the dining room table once he's cleaned up and let down from his booster seat. Last night he decided that wasn't quite bold enough and managed to make it onto the table. Quickly enough he was assisted down.

I wandered off to the kitchen and made the astute observation to Alex that, "We need to keep a closer eye on him since he's climbing onto the table.". Then I had a mommy's intuition moment of, "What kind of idiot am I? I'll bet he's sitting on the table right now." I walk back into the dining room and sure enough he's sitting on the center of the dining room table playing with his pack of wipes. Sigh. Please, God, let my son make it through life without a serious head injury!

Standoff at the Dinner Table

Max must have been watching too many westerns recently. Last night he was finishing up his dinner at the table with Alex and I. He was becoming a bit restless and proceeded to smack his slimy hand on the table. Alex corrected him and told him "no". Max paused for thought then smacked his hand again and looked cautiously between the 2 of us. His look seemed to say, "What do you think about that? Whatcha gonna do now you big talking parents? Don't you dare laugh or I'll think it's a game!"

I think he was also testing his comprehension as in, "Oh this? This is what you don't want me to do? I better double check to make sure." Whack!

Fortunately he caught on after the second "no" and that was that but I've definitely been warned by the glint of challenge in his eye. He's not one to take no at face value. Oh, won't the terible 2's be fun? I'm sure this is just a hint of what's to come. Max is developing a mind of his own.