Mr. Staller

Like any two year old, Thomas likes to find ways of delaying the inevitable. I've started calling him Mr. Staller and it makes him laugh every time I say it. He knows that I know what he's up to when I call him that. Today, I was trying to put him down for a nap and as usual he kept trying to find "just one more thing" to do before he could go upstairs to sleep. I was trying to be patient because there really wasn't any rush for bed, but after about 10 minutes of one more thing, I was tired of waiting so I sighed. He looked up at me with this mischevious twinkle in his eye and said, "I just stallin' Mommy!" Needless to say, we both cracked up.

Thanksgiving

We flew to New York for Thanksgiving with my brother and his family. Thomas did great on the flights as usual. Someone asked him if this was his first time to fly and I said "Oh no, he's a seasoned pro." He's probably flown 10 or 12 round trips and knows exactly what's happening each part of the flight. We had a great time on our trip and wanted to share a couple stories. Hope this post won't be too long.

We flew into Newark, NJ since that's what we had to do to fly for free with David's frequent flyer miles. It was well worth it to save 900 bucks. About 2 minutes after we took off, Thomas looked at me and asked, "Almost to New Jerry?" and we were...4 hours later. We decided to stay the night with our friends Bryan and Talia before driving up to Mike and Amy's. Thomas loved Talia's cats (he had to visit them in the basement since Kim was allergic to them...thanks Talia!) and Kim did pretty well in the house after about 6 Benadryl. :-) We were eating dinner when Bryan asked Thomas if he remembered his name. Thomas looked at Bryan, thought for a minute, and then with a twinkle in his eye said, "Your name Bar-be-cue!" and then fell over laughing. He could say Bryan pretty well, but called Talia, Tally. So in our house now, they are now known as Barbecue and Tally. :-)

Once we got to Mike and Amy's, Thomas had a GREAT time playing with his cousins, Mason and Palmer. Mason was very patient letting Thomas tackle him 987 times. :-) Mason called David, Uncle David, for obvious reasons, and Thomas thought that was pretty funny. So fairly regularly on the trip, he'd stop what he was doing and yell, "Uncle David!!" at the top of his lungs.

We don't see Palmer enough to understand everything he was saying, but we sure did recognize when he started singing the "Clean Up Song." Thomas did too. He'd hear Palmer singing that and yell, "No Palmer, not time to clean up YET!"

On Friday night, Thomas got to go to his first hockey game. As soon as we walked in the doors (we weren't even into the arena yet), Thomas said "Oooo, I LIKE the hockey game!" And he did like the game pretty well, but enjoyed the entertainment between periods much better. Of the three boys, the youngest one, Palmer, paid the most attention to the game. Oh yeah, Mom and Palmer are famous now...that is if being up on the Jumbotron for 5 seconds makes you famous. :-)

It snowed several days while we were there and Thomas LOVED playing in the snow. He was out there for as long as we let him, laughing the whole time. It's a good place to visit for a few days in the winter, but we're glad we don't have to deal with the cold for months on end.

Old Zackie Boy

Zack is our dog, and our first baby. He's 14 now and slowing down a little, but he's always been a fascination for Thomas. When Thomas was a baby, he would always laugh deep belly laughs whenever Zack would play fetch with David. It was always great entertainment value...fun for Zack and Thomas and anyone else watching them.

Zack doesn't play fetch anymore but Thomas sure does want him to. He's so patient trying to show Old Zackie Boy (Thomas' nickname for Zack) the ball or toy and trying to get him excited enough to go chase it. He talks to him all the time saying things like "Go get the squeaky toy Old Zackie Boy!" or "You want to play me Old Zackie Boy?" I've tried explaining to him that Zack is deaf but Thomas still keeps trying to get Zack to hear him. That's a hard habit to break. I still talk to him too.

This morning I heard Thomas say "Check out my headphones Old Zackie Boy!" That tickled me because Zack is a DOG and couldn't care less about headphones, except maybe to eat them. Thomas was thrilled though when Zack walked over and smelled the headphones before walking away to go find a spot to nap in the sun.

What A Character

Thomas was in rare form today...and it all happened in just a few hours. First, I was trying to tape up a box to take to the post office this afternoon. Thomas was resting after school and watching a little TV. Apparently I was making too much noise with the tape because Thomas yelled, "Be quiet I trying to watch Diego!" Now the parent in me had to stay firm and discuss with him how we do and do not talk to other people, but inside I was cracking up at my two year old telling me to shut up for the first time.

As we were coming home from the post office, the sun kept getting into Thomas' eyes. He started yelling, "No sun! Don't get in my eyes! Go down sun!!" All of this sounded even funnier because he can't say his "s" sounds yet so what I heard was "No hon!" We came home for a few minutes before heading to my parents' house for dinner. He got both his hat and his sunglasses before he'd step foot in the car. He put them both on and almost as if he were issuing a challenge said, "Come on sun!"

Although none of you ever post any comments (ok, Mike did once), I do know at least a few people read this blog and I have received a special request for my trifle recipe mentioned in a previous post. I got the recipe at MOPS the other day and have already made it twice. David can't believe I like it because I don't like gingerbread or pumpkin and yet somehow I can't get enough of them in this recipe. Weird. Anyway, here you go Tina!

AUTUMN TRIFLE WITH WARM CARAMEL CREAM SAUCE

Gingerbread layer: Bake purchased gingerbread mix accoring to box instructions and cool completely. For added flavor, pour sweetened condensed milk over cake while still warm (poke holes in cake for quicker absorption). After cooling, cut into 2 inch cubes.

Pumpkin cheesecake layer: While gingerbread is baking/cooling, mix 1 1/4 cups cold milk with 1 cup canned pumpkin until smooth. Add 2 small packages of Jello Instant Cheesecake pudding, 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, and 4 oz. Cool Whip. Stir and refrigerate until set, 1-2 hours.

Streusel Layer: While pumpkin cheesecake sets, mix 1 cup chopped walnuts (we like 1 1/2 cups walnuts and adjust other ingredients accordingly), 4 Tbsp brown sugar, and 3 Tbsp butter and microwave until bubbly, approx 2 1/2 minutes. Stir once and cool.

In trifle bowl, (or other deep bowl) layer gingerbread, pumpkin cheesecake, and streusel and repeat until bowl is almost full. Cover top layer with remaining Cool Whip and top with a little streusel.

Caramel Cream Sauce: Stir together 1 jar caramel topping and 1 jar butterscotch topping. Heat until warm and spoon over each scoop immediately before serving.

For best results, make trifle one day before serving to allow flavors to meld.

Birthday Parties

This was a weekend filled with two birthday parties. On Saturday, we celebrated my mom's birthday. And if you're wondering, no, he did not tell her what her present was...because he wasn't IN the know this time. :-) We had a great time eating at Kincaid's together and then opening presents and eating birthday trifle together (a new recipe of ours with layers of gingerbread, pumpkin cheesecake, and walnut streusel). I was trying out my new camera phone and asked Thomas to smile for a picture. He looked up at me and said, "No, I already smiled last day." That's his way of saying that since he'd smiled for a picture the previous day he saw no need to smile again.

This morning we went to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's for his friend Olivia from school. We'd talked about it yesterday and practiced singing Happy Birthday about 15 times at his request. When he woke up today, the first thing I heard him say over the baby monitor was "Happy Birthday Livie!" He loves Chuck E. Cheese and had a blast at her party. As one of the little prizes he won with his tickets, he got a roll of Smarties candy. He was eating it in the car on the way home and I overheard him taste one and say "Delicious!" Once he realized how much it made us laugh hearing our two year old describe candy in those terms, he said "Delicious!" about 50 more times.

The Joys of Being a Mom

This morning I went to the grocery store to get a few things before breakfast. When I walked in the door, I heard Thomas crying. I was wondering if he was hurt or mad when David walked around the corner and gave me a little look and immediately knew he was throwing a fit (something that rarely happens these days). I asked him what set him off and he said, "You're not going to believe why he's upset." So I went into the bedroom and saw Thomas on the floor mid-tantrum. He looked up at me and held his arms out so I picked him up. David came in and said, "Ok, Mommy's here now do you want to show her?" Thomas, still crying and hiccupping, said "Yeah!" So David took the diaper out of the trash can and told me that Thomas was upset because he wanted to show me his poopy diaper. Huh? But ok, so I examined the aforementioned excrement and made the appropriate admiring comments and then Thomas said "I ready to go play now." Aaahhh, motherhood.

Buddies

Thomas has two boy buddies, James and Preston. He's known James since they were both babies at Gymboree. And he met Preston at My Gym right after their first birthdays. James and Thomas were born on the same day and Preston is two days older. Over time, the way they play together and their acknowledgment of each other has changed dramatically from parallel play to now actually playing together. Wanted to share a story or two.

Thomas and Preston are in the same class at school. On Thursday as I was picking Thomas up, he yelled "Bye Preston!!" and Preston looked up and hollered back "Bye Thomas!!" It was so sweet how enthusiastic they were about each other. When I ask Thomas who he played with at school that day, Preston is always at the top of the list.

Earlier today we met James and his mom, Lisa, at a place with lots of indoor bounce houses for a play time together. Thomas and James have always gotten along well but today was the first time I saw them really watching out for each other and actually playing together for more than a few minutes at a time. They were so cute sliding down the slides together, jumping together, and acting goofy copying each other and cracking themselves up. We always laugh when we look at them because you'd never guess they were the same age by looking at them. James is small for his age and Thomas is big for his age. Thomas is 4 or 5 inches taller than James and outweighs him by 12 pounds which is a big difference when you're two.

Argument

If you're in one of those relationships where you never disagree on anything, then this post isn't for you. For the other 99% of you, read on.

David and I were having a little disagreement the other day. I can't even remember what it was about but it was important at the time. I was busy helping get Thomas dressed for bed while David was taking out the trash and we exhanged a few curt words. It wasn't anything too harsh, but it was enough that Thomas picked up on the tension. After David left the room, Thomas asked me, "Daddy mad at you Mommy?" I said that he was but it would be ok and that everyone disagrees from time to time. David came back into the room and Thomas said, "You in a little bit trouble Daddy? That cracked us up so much the mini fight was over then and there.

Weekend

David's parents and sister came to town last weekend for a visit. As usually happens with an audience, Thomas was performing mightily. Of course, he didn't have to try too hard to make them laugh. Wanted to share a few stories from the weekend.

On Friday morning, we were all trying to get ready to go to the Dallas Arboretum. I was drying my hair and Wanda offered to dress Thomas. She got his pajama shirt off just fine, but when she put his t-shirt on, he immediately took it off and said, "No, my Mommy go do it!" She waited a few more minutes and tried again. He whipped his shirt off once more and said, "No, Granny, my MOMMY go do it!" She was pretty tickled by that.

On Saturday night, we were watching the Texas Tech vs. A&M game (Go Tech!). Thomas wasn't into football very much and was just playing with his toys. David got really into one of the plays and started yelling at the player to "Get outside, get outside!!!" Thomas looked up and with a hurt expression on his face said, "No, I NOT go outside Daddy!" :-)

On Sunday morning, Thomas decided to show his grandparents how he could make flatulence sounds by blowing on his arm. David started telling them that we thought that was one of the many things he either has picked up or will pick up from school. He said, "He already got the finger in nose thing from school." And Thomas looked up and yelled, "Yeah, I pick my nose at school!!!" The whole table cracked up.

Cleaning Man

Last night, Thomas was in our bedroom and found the water bottle I keep on my nightstand. David saw him with it and told him to be careful. He realized later that was a mistake. Two year olds have no concept of what that means. You have to be specific. "Don't take the lid off and pour the water all over Mommy's side of the bed."

After the damage was done, he was told to take a towel and clean up the mess he made. David told him to keep cleaning until he told him to stop. Then David left the room but checked on him periodically over the next couple minutes. Every time he peeked into the room, Thomas was working away. David told me that he couldn't let it go on too long because seeing his two year old slaving away was too much for him. Cute and sad at the same time is a tough combination for a soft-hearted parent. :-)

Halloween

Wow, has it been a week since my last post? Time flies. We have been busy and have so many things to share that I'll try to hit the highlights of all the Halloween related things we've done over the last week or so.

Last Wednesday, we went to Boo at the Zoo with our friends D'Ann, Bethany, and Natalie. It was so much fun. Thomas stomped all over that zoo in his cowboy boots and wearing his Woody costume. I know I'm his Mommy and might be a little biased but I thought he was really cute. He was very brave and played every single game and wanted his picture taken with every single animal (people dressed up as different zoo animals). That was a definite improvement because every time we went to Six Flags this summer, he'd look at the characters and might even say hi, but no way was he going near them. He went to every candy station and as soon as he left a station, he'd say, "I want MOOOORRRREEEE candy!"

We flew to Washington, D.C. over the weekend to visit our friends Jennifer, Chris, and Evie. He did great on all the flights. We didn't take his car seat on the plane this time. He got to sit like a big boy and he knew as long as the seat belt light was on, he had to stay buckled up. As soon as the light went off, he'd say "Oh boy, I sit in you lap!" We had a great time in D.C. and Thomas and Evie played really well together. She's a year older than him and he wanted to do everything Evie did. Every time we went out to eat, he ordered the exact same thing Evie did. So he ate a LOT of pasta last weekend. :-) It was funny to us because he rarely wants pasta, but he had to be just like his friend. Is that peer pressure starting already? Hmmm.

While we were in D.C. we went to the best pumpkin patch we've ever been to. They had a great hay ride, hay slides, animals, hot apple cider, and pumpkins of course. Thomas went down every hay slide at least once, laughing the whole time. We also went into the District one evening to see the WWII memorial at night. It hadn't been built yet when we lived there and it's really beautiful. It was cold but we bundled up (with Thomas wearing one of Evie's pink hats and matching pink gloves) and got some great pics. As we were leaving, Thomas said "I really like that lake Mommy."

We flew home on Monday just in time to go trick or treating at my parents' house and go to the carnival at his school. He was tired after flying all day and wouldn't ring the doorbell or say "Trick or Treat" or "Happy Halloween" or anything. Mom wanted to take him to a couple of her neighbors but that didn't work either. We decided to make an appearance at his school carnival and then go home and put him to bed early. He didn't want to go in, but once we found his friend Preston, he played every game and we stayed until it ended an hour and a half later. It was a lot of fun and we plan to go back next year.

Well, I think that gets you mostly caught up. And if it doesn't, oh well, I'm tired of typing. :-)