Drawing

Alex really has been drawing a lot lately and I am amazed at how quickly he has gone from drawing scribbles to drawing things. Things that actually look like things. Here are some people he drew. They look about as good as most people that I draw. He also draws really good giraffes, goats and snails. I elected not to include a picture of his drawing of an anatomically correct boy goat that had to go potty. You can thank me later.

Speaking of trains

I got out of the shower the other morning and was greeted by this. Alex informed me that Percy told him that all the engines wanted to watch.

I always knew that Percy made me uncomfortable.

Festival of Trains

A local hobbyist group puts on a really great model train show every year from mid-December thru the new year. It was a big hit with Alex last year so we made sure we got to go twice this year.

I'm behind

I know.
I'm working on it.

Alex is getting so grown up. Last night we were watching football and Alex asked who the quarterback playing was (he likes to know the names of all the teams and players). We answered "Eli Manning". He repeated it back - "Eli Manning". And then I realized.....he said the "L" sound properly. He didn't say "Ewi". He realized it too. We spent the next 10 minutes saying all the "L" words he could think of. Llllladder. Llllloud. Llllllightening......... He was very excited.....we were too but it's bittersweet too. That was the last "babyish" thing about his talking really. I mean he uses words like "appreciate" and "disappointed" and "fantastic". And now the "w" sounding "L" is gone.....he sounds very grown up.

Alex takes this big brother gig seriously

I laid Maya in her crib this afternoon with the mobile on while I carried clean laundry up from downstairs. When I came back this is what I found:

Alex didn't want her to be "all a-lonely" in there. She loved it. They played in there together while I put all the laundry away!

The best idea ever.

Thanks to our friends at "Team Schmitty" for this idea: Your child's bicycle + a pair of running shoes = fabulous energy burning device all winter long.

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!

We have snow.

We have a tree.

It's a big tree!

Adventures in parenting

Sunday afternoon we had one of those parenting adventures. You know, the kind where you drive to the big grocery store that is 25 minutes from your house only to have one child (Alex) throw up in the carseat just as you are entering the parking lot. Your other child (Maya) doesn't like the car so you can't exactely drive all the way home and then go back to do the shopping.
You know, THAT kind of adventure.
So I took Maya and ran into the store to get Alex some sort of clean clothes and get Ben some papertowel and more wipes. Ran that back out to the car where they tried their best to clean up while Maya and I went back into the store to grocery shop really fast.
It all worked out all right and Alex just threw up because of the drainage from his cold so he wasn't sick anymore after that.

The rest of the weekend

Maya started getting a little fussy monday into tuesday but nothing major.....by wednesday we had a few longer crying spells and I began to wonder if her dose of Zantac was enough anymore. By thursday I was sure that it wasn't. She had all the symptoms back again from before she was on the medicine. And of course the doctor's office was closed friday. So she had a bit of a rough Thanksgiving holiday :(

Ben and Alex had colds. I think Ben has been sick in some way or another for the last 4 out of 5 Thanksgivings! It's just not a good holiday for him!

Other than that we had lots of fun.

Thursday we watched the Packer game in the morning and ate our big dinner in the evening. Friday Ben and my dad took Alex to storytime at the library. They were the only ones there! Alex got to make a fun turkey craft with an apple and marshmallows.

Mom and I and Maya went shopping friday. NO, not THAT kind of Black Friday shopping! We went to a local quilt/fabric shop and then to our downtown shopping area. No big stores, only small local shops. It was really, really nice. There were a lot of people downtown but the stores weren't really crowded. And it was nice, fun shopping not the big frenzy. And we got some fresh air and walking in between. We both got a lot of Christmas shopping done.

Saturday and sunday morning were pretty mellow days. Some playing outside for Alex, some Christmas decorating started and lots of relaxing.

Exciting times....

Last tuesday Grandma and Papa left Green Bay after work and arrived in Traverse City around 1:30am. Uncle Paul left his work in Appleton around midnight and arrived in Traverse City around 8am. All for the Detroit Red Wings.

Ben, Alex, Papa (my dad), and Paul left after lunch and headed for Detroit so they'd have plenty of time to stop and eat and explore the arena before the 7:30 puck drop.

The motto for the Red Wings this season is "Fire on Ice". Unfortunately that means that before the start of the game they have flames on all the the big screens and projected all over the arena. Coupled with the loud, loud music....Alex was less than impressed. A little walk out of the stands for a few minutes and some time on Daddy's lap seemed to help and he really enjoyed the rest of the game. His favorite part was the zambonis.

They got home around 3am after driving home through some yucky weather in spots. Alex slept most of the way home and transferred right to his bed w/out waking so he was just a little tired the next day, not too bad.

Misc. November stuff

Can you even believe that Thanksgiving is next week already? We are having Thanksgiving here, my parents are coming over the day before. Ben scored some tickets to the Detroit Red Wings vs. St. Louis Blues hockey game wednesday night through work so my dad, Ben, Alex and possibly Ben's brother Paul are heading to Detroit wednesday afternoon for the game. I'm disappointed I can't go but Maya's current car ride limit w/out screaming is 20 minutes. We are really hoping that works itself out a bit before the Christmas holidays and our 8+ hour drive :(

Nothing else too exciting here.....I fell down the stairs last friday (ouch), I had food poisoning last night (yuck), Alex fell flat on his face on the kitchen floor this morning and has a nice bruise on his cheek (ouch)...Ben is fine, Maya is fine!

Maya wants to sit up and roll over NOW. She has never been overly fond of the cradle hold position anyway but now as soon as you recline her back she sits herself up. She loves to just sit up on someone's lap and look around. She has discovered how fun it is to kick her legs like crazy and flap her arms around while she sits in her chair and watches us eat dinner. As soon as I lay her on the floor now she cranks her head back, arches her back and starts swinging her legs trying to figure out how to roll over. She is one squirmy girl!

In light of all the recent toy recalls

I have been looking for not made in China gift ideas to give people for Alex for Christmas and I stumbled across this blog
Chinafreechristmas
They have it separated nicely along the right hand side w/ brands that are totally made outside China and then brands that you have to be more careful of. There is also a pretty comprehensive list of recalls.
So I thought I would share!

Things you should know about Maya

Her favorite word is "goo"

She loves her big brother and always has smiles for him when he comes close

She absolutely loves to have her diaper or clothes changed.....she smiles and coos the whole time

She likes baths too

She loves to be danced around the living room but doesn't have a favorite song yet

Things you should know about Alex

He loves Mac and cheese.

He calls Ben's satchel "Daddy's work purse"

He is obsessed with the Backyardigans "movie" - Super Secret Super Spy

He is a wonderful, very gentle big brother to Maya

He can play playdough for hours at a time

He loves to dance

His favorite song is still "Gone Daddy Gone" by Gnarles Barkley, with Bob Marely taking a close second

His current favorite book is Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

Instead of saying "yesterday" or "last week" anytime before today is referred to as "last day".

Cousins!

We're so glad that Paul, Karrie and family came to meet Maya this weekend! Alex had a blast with his cousins as usual.