Friday, December 26, 2008

Had a Holly Jolly Christmas

Although Super doesn't understand Christmas, we still had a wonderful holiday. I felt a little bad for him when everyone asked if Santa brought him something and he just looked back with a blank stare. No, I don't really mention Santa and we totally forgot stockings this year, I don't read Christmas books and I don't know the words to most of the carols (which doesn't stop me from belting them out as loud as I can while assembling my Nativity scene). It's not that I'm not in the Christmas spirit, I honestly don't care about Santa and his little fictional elves and flying reindeer. I think the red suit and long beard are creepy and the "ho, ho, ho" has really been lost on me my entire life (we tried to get pictures of Super with Santa and he was NOT having it, even though "Santa" was a familiar person). As a second child, my Santa belief was crushed very early on and since my parents didn't really care about keeping the illusion up either, I guess it is something that just stays in family. However, he does know that we give gifts to each other to celebrate Christ and he really knows that grandmas spoil with lots and lots of paper covered presents. In my family, we traditionally eat a huge dinner and open our gifts on Christmas Eve and open our stockings the next morning from "Santa" (we even used those quote marks as kids). Stockings include things like shampoo, candy and other random small items that can be useful with some fun stuff mixed in. We get our stockings, rummage through it, eat a bunch of candy and play with the toys we got the night before. None of us had to get up early, no one needed to cook (candy was the usual breakfast) and we loved it. The reason it is done like this is my mother and father didn't want to get up at 6am for presents and then spend all Christmas day cooking a big meal and listening to us complain that we were bored. After we all got old enough it was family trips to the movies. However, my husbands family does the more traditional Christmas morning openings which, to be perfectly honest, I hate. I LIKE to sleep in (which I can't do with a toddler ) and so does my husband. Waiting until noon or 1pm to open gifts sucks! Especially since we let Super open the gifts from my parents on Christmas Eve, what did he want to do the next day? Open the rest of them. How do you get a 2 year old to wait patiently? You don't. He opened all the rest of his gifts before his father peaked through his eyelids. I don't like yelling at my husband to get up, nor do I enjoy the feelings of frustration and anger I have toward him because I'm in the one dealing with the small child and he is sleeping ever so peacefully. Next year, I'm sticking to my traditions and Danny can either come along with the fun or do his thing alone while I'm off having a Christmas morning Starbucks and playing with the kids toys. Maybe next year Hunter will be old enough to take to the movies! Hunter loved the little computer he got and this little refrigerator magnet set that has a little fridge and food magnets that sing at you (I'm totally going to get my sister back for that one). The computer is still used all the time, either for a step stool or just play time and we hid most of the other stuff so we didn't have to listen to it even though he does find it and someone keeps putting all the pieces back in one spot. Over all, I do love Christmas and I hope to pass that love onto my son.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Time to Exercise!

Due to the cold and rain and my ability to easily forget to give Danny the car seat, Super Destroyer spent most of his day at home. So I thought I'd take him to the mall to get some energy out... And possibly buy some new shoes with a gift card of mine. After chasing him around the shoe store, unable to look at anything, I decided to be good natured about it and I let Hunter follow his nose with me following behind him. Up and down the mall we went, sometimes side by side, sometimes counting to let Hunter know to slow down. Of course, he sees the Starbucks booth and go gets himself a chocolate milk while I struggle behind him trying to pay for it. We proceed around the wall to find the Reactrix board with a few kids playing on it. Super jumped right into the action still holding his milk. He spent the next 45 minutes running and jumping in the same 6x5 ft area. But look how cute!


(Sorry about bad pic, there is only so much you can do with a phone camera)

Ok well, it isn't that cute since all you see are a bunch of kids looking down but they were all so adorable and although Super kept getting his straw stolen away by a child smaller than him, he did start to stand up for himself after a few battles. The parents of this little boy were great and helped my son several times. He did do his best to get it back without being aggressive to the probably 13 month old that was all over his stuff. We had a nice relaxing evening after leaving, Super seemed to have spent a good amount of his energy. Now I just need a new pair of tennis shoes, that kid is getting fast!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Like Father, Like Son

I hate cold. I hate rain. I hate not being able to go outside and I HATE having a toddler that feels the same way and shows it. In trying to find Super activities that include playing indoors, I've succumbed to fast food play grounds. It's not so bad sharing some fries and getting a chocolate milk and letting the boy play for an hour or two, I just hate getting in there with him. Of course he wants me to play along and I do but my knees are killing me from those plastic tubes. So I always love it when he finds a playmate and I have to laugh when as soon as a pretty girl comes in the room, he is the first one at her side trying to engage her... or in this case, trying to color with her crayons. This little girl was 5 but that didn't stop Super from going after the older woman. It took her a little while but eventually she came around and even gave him a hug goodbye when she left. What can I say? They love the "older" ladies.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Run, Run, Run and Jump!

As the mother of a child that will sooner throw himself on his stomach in the middle of a busy street than give me a hug when asked, I've had to figure out some creative ways to get my way without sparking the rebel inside him (I don't know where he gets THAT from). While Christmas shopping, we went to Burlington Coat Factory to see what we could find. It was rather cold outside and after not figuring where I wanted to go for a while, I stopped mostly for the reason that I needed to go to the bathroom really bad. When Hunter hears a sense of urgency in my voice, it appears to be his cue to make my life as hard as possible. So I learned how to make a game of it. He has never been much of a hand holder but I can get him to when it's time to run. We run, run, run and jump! I'll swing him as high as my little body and short arms will allow.

We get to the store and inside and he immediately wanders off in his own direction. At this point, I'm about to embarrass myself if I can't get to a bathroom. So I take off in jest that I want to be chased. Oh my goodness, it actually worked and he got a big grin on his face and started after me. We must have looked like weirdos playing in the store but I got to where I needed to be without having to lug the large child in my arms. Let me just mention that I hate BCF now. Every store has a system for getting into the bathrooms and it requires pushing a button and someone allowing you in. Where was the sign posted that read that? On a 5x7 post card in tiny writing. We must have waited 3-4 minutes (an eternity when nature calls) before I remembered the drill and even then I didn't see the card until my way out.

Ever since then, we've made a good game of "run, run, run, jump" as Super calls it. Any kind of slope or hill makes him run down at full speed so he can have a big jump at the end. Speaking of slopes, physics hasn't become known to my son yet. Right after we moved into our new place, we were taking a walk and Hunter took off towards the street. I was hot on his heels until he reached the top of the slope before it went down to the actual pavement and he leaped onto his tush. He thought he could slide down it like something at the park. Poor kid.

He likes to get other people into the game as well. There was a man across the street doing some work on a roof, my little man practically egged him on to commit suicide. All he would say is "wun, wun, jump!" "JUMP!"

Monday, December 15, 2008

Foiled Again!

I, like many other parents, will underestimate the intelligence of my kid once in a while. In my attempts for a healthy life style, I try lots of different foods and we enjoy almost all of it. I love that a great meal for Super is hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, hummus and pita bread and I can get him to eat just about anything. What I can't get him to eat, I'll try to be stealthy and hide certain foods within other foods. Hunter can recognize green beans so I would throw them in a big pot of chili and he would chomp them right down. Well, the other day I made the chili and was so excited until I looked down at Supers bowl and next to it was a little pile of green beans that he picked out and licked clean.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

My New Job

Bragging time! I have a new job and I absolutely love it. I nanny for a sweet little boy who I will probably refer to as Smiley Pants. He smiles all the time (tough break for me, right?) and I can't tell you how much I enjoy it. Since my first day the poor little trooper and his mommy have been sick but handling it like champs.

This job is perfect for our situation. I work early, Danny works late and we only have to hire a sitter for when he needs to do a grout job. I'm sad I don't get to see Danny often but I love how we take care of each other for the few minutes we have a chance to see one another. Super is handling it pretty well and adjusting like he needs to. I love having him run to me when I get home so I get a big hug and a "Yea!"

Smiley Pants is a sweet baby. He rarely cries and loves to listen to me sing (sweet!). Making him laugh is a constant goal of mine, as is keeping my hair and glasses out of his vice like grip. I'm so glad I get to work with this family.