Trick or Treat

Halloween started off rough at our house. Wyatt just didn't take a good nap at all. I guess he woke up to a nightmare and just would not go back to sleep. So we did our trick-or-treating on only a 45 minute nap (for a kid who gets at least a 2 hour nap every afternoon, that was a rough place to be).

My mom and dad came over for dinner and by 6 we were rushing to get Wyatt in his costume. As all moms have told me, as soon as you want your kid to wear something they will hate it. This was case with Wyatt. He had been wearing his hat and belt all week but when we were trying to actually put his costume on him, he wanted nothing to do with it! As it turned out he never wore the hat and belt only lasted for 15 minutes! But that is ok because he did enjoy going up to the houses and getting his treat. By about the third house he started telling everyone "trick treat" with a cute little smile on his face. Wyatt got distracted between houses though and tended to run in the opposite direction of the rest of us. But that just added to the fun!

Once we got back to our house Wyatt still had a little energy and sat with me to pass out the candy to some of the kids. He was very good about handing them each a piece of candy and then saying bye when they left. We wrapped up the night by checking out his loot. He enjoyed stacking the Milk Dud boxes as though they were blocks. I am pretty sure he doesn't care about the candy at all, but the experience of going to the neighbors doors was great. Overall the first trick or treat night was a success.

Mirror

I have known for a long time that children love to see themselves, either in pictures or in the mirror. Recently Wyatt has fallen into this pattern of stopping everything to look at himself in the mirror or in a picture. Patrick noticed and said that this must be his "narcissistic" phase.

The phrase stuck with me mostly because I know every child I have ever met is in the phase! So the question in my mind is why. And the best I can get to is that we must have to know ourselves completely physically before we can start to get a hold of our character and values because those two bits are the issues that seem to show a mature person - people who have examined their personality and have tried to improve upon certain traits in order to be better. But at the same time that reflection of our inner selves could be seen as us dropping everything to look at ourselves in the mirror or a picture, just that we have moved past the physical examination. The more I thought about it the more I thought that would make sense because my mom has told me many times that now when she looks in the mirror she feels like she is looking at someone else because she remembers herself as she was when she was my age. It sounded odd because I know she looks in the mirror everyday to get ready in the morning. So at some point do we stop seeing the physical us in the mirror and only see the stress, personality flaws and such that seem to bog us down in high school and college? And does this change mean at some point we will go back to seeing the physical because we have come to terms with our inside beauty?

Anyway, here are some pictures of Wyatt loving on a little hand mirror during a bath the other day!

Chores

I believe I mentioned this before, and if so just bare with me, but Mondays are chore days. Granted I spread out most of the chores thoughout the week, but it just happens that Mondays tend to be more heavy on the chore load. I have been trying to find ways to get Wyatt more and more involved with each chore in hopes that he will be able to do some on his own at some point!

Luckily for me my mom found a great toy vacuum at a garage sale this summer and Wyatt loves it! So on Mondays when I decide it is time to yet again vacuum up all the dog hair in our house, I always ask Wyatt to find his vacuum and help me. While I am plugging the real vacuum in he finds the on switch to his. Then off we go trying in vain to keep up with the dog fur in the house. He usually tires of his half of the chore before I am done and asks for the upholstry attachment to the real vacuum. Once he has his little attachment off he goes to vacuum the couch.

He is getting pretty good really. I should probably start to think about getting a little dirt devil or some handheld vacuum that he could use for these little chore sessions. I am actually starting to enjoy chores for once in my life because Wyatt seems to enjoy it so much. I guess I will have to enjoy it while it lasts because it is only a matter of time before he decides he doesn't like chores at all on the principle of the matter!

Trucks

Wyatt helped make a disappointing moment interesting and fun yesterday. One of the beautiful trees on the devil-strip was cut down just one house down from us. It was disappointing because it helped to block the view of the traffic on the main street nearby, not to mention it still had most of its leaves that were a beautiful shade of red. However, I couldn't be sad about it for very long because Wyatt was so interested with the activity and the large truck that came to clean up the mulched trunk.

Can't look away from the cool new truck

He climbed up on the couch to get a better view of the truck from the front window. He kept shouting at it and laughing. It was great. Who knew a simple truck would be so amazing for a little boy? We eventually moved outside to get a better view. You would have thought I brought Wyatt to the best exhibit ever. He was perfect and just sat in the grass and watched. Luckily it ended up being a beautiful day - almost 73 degrees! 

To top the afternoon off we stopped by the Gates' to play with Lincoln. Wyatt had a blast playing with all of Lincoln's toys, especially the big pink ball! I was impressed at well Wyatt did with Lincoln, of course they have played together before but this was the first real "play-date" they ever had.

Boo at the Zoo

My parents went with us to Akron's Boo at the Zoo and I am not sure there are enough words to tell everyone how great it was. I am pretty sure every single one of us had an amazing time.

Wyatt loved his costume, he was a wizard in case the pictures aren't clear. 

Although he didn't really ever figure out the part of taking his trick-or-treat bad to the stations, he did love going from animal exhibit to exhibit. Then we came to the hay maze and I think Wyatt could have spent the rest of the day running through that maze. We had to pull him away after he went through 6 times!

After the zoo was over we all went out to dinner. The whole way to the restaurant I was concerned that Wyatt would be way too tired to make it through a dinner. I figured it would be a big mistake and ruin the whole day - I couldn't have been more wrong. He had a great time, drinking my iced tea, playing with his little truck, watching the other kids at the restaurant and eating a whole hamburger! The evening was as great as the day.

I also need to note that the world was blessed later in the night when a good friend gave birth to her first daughter. I am very happy for them!

Jonah Days

I know that everyone has daily struggles that we all push through and most of the time we let go of them without a second thought and on we go. Then there are days when those should be minor struggles become overwhelming and stack up one after the other. These days become burdensome and hard to get through. I want to be able to teach my children that these days are inevitable for everyone. This is why we need to try to be understanding when someone we meet seems cranky because they could be going through one of these days.

I have adopted the term Jonah Days from my favorite book series Anne of Green Gables because I agree with the term one hundred percent. And like the books we must try to push through without taking everyone around us down in the process. This is one of those challenges that are never easy but over time we can try to be a little better at not bring others down in the process. I think the secret might be to remember that "this too will pass" and have someone in your life that will listen to you as you off load your thoughts.

That person you can talk to is essential. A tip for anyone, myself included, that finds herself in this position as the soundboard, remember you are just that, a sounding board. Don't try to make the poor person feel bad that they are stressed over what could sound like small little things. Let them vent, say something truly heartfelt and encouraging and then let it go. Don't feel like you need to take on their stress or that you need to let them know they are stressed over nothing.

Blessings and Struggles

I want to start this post off by saying today was a challenge, a test if you will on how well I can keep my patience as I have been tired and not wanting to handle anything! Thankfully there were two clear moments when I felt sincerely blessed.

I made a snack for Wyatt late this morning, and as I was about to take it to the table I turned to Wyatt and told him to come with me to the table to eat his snack. Usually I do this and he takes a few minutes with whatever he is doing then finds his way to the table and snack. Today he looked up at me as I talked like he was truly listening and understanding, so I decide to reach out my hand on the off chance he would follow me like he does when we are outside. Amazingly Wyatt grabbed my hand as if he always does (mind you he knew holds my hand on his own freewill!) and held it as we both walked to the table! I was amazed!

Another little blessing for me today was that felt the hand of my grandmother (Mamoo) helping me. I decided to try my hand at making some candy, chocolate almond clusters to be specific. I have made candy in the past with Mamoo but never on my own. But I figured I would just give a shot and if it failed then no big deal - at least it would save me from eating the candy! As it turned out, the candy was great. It tasted great, just the right amount of sweet and salt and crunch and it looked nice and glossy. I was very happy and am sure that Mamoo was smiling down on me and helping to guide this venture.

The only struggle was that Wyatt is in a very stubborn and hard to deal with phase recently. He has been hitting, kicking and even biting just to see if I'll get upset. Then when I do and try to refocus him on something else he just laughs like he is the mastermind and has complete control over me. It's very hard to handle and has been wearing me down. I am hoping that I can make it through this phase without too many horrible moments!

Carving Jack-o-Lanterns

Well we recently went to the pumpkin patch (pumpkin patch) so of course now we had to carve those pumpkins, right?  The plan was to do it over the weekend so we would have plenty of time and energy, yet we ended up putting off until Sunday evening!

Pointing at the pulp

Either way, we got around to it. Wyatt truly enjoyed the whole event. I am not sure I can do it justice by describing it but I'll try. As soon as Patrick got the tops off the pumpkins, Wyatt went back and forth between them, pointing to all the gunk inside. He would point and giggle and then run to the other run and do the same. I know I should have gotten the video camera, but I was afraid he would stop and I would miss it. So my apologies.



Helping daddy scoop out the seeds

 Patrick started scooping out the gunk and seeds and Wyatt started to copy. He quickly got interested in the amazing texture of the stringy pulp. After about 10 minutes of squishing in between his fingers he got brave and put some in his mouth. Of course my first reaction was worry that he would swallow a seed, but before I could even react he was spitting it out with a horrible face. I guess he isn't a true fan of uncooked pumpkin!



Trying the pumpkin - ugh!



By the end of the cleaning we had to put Wyatt in the tub to get all the pulp and gunk off him, and he was exhausted. So right after we put him to bed, Patrick and I carved the two pumpkins. Wyatt loves them. He goes up to them every day and pokes his fingers in the holes. It's adorable.



Sitting by mommy's jack-o-lantern



Coloring!

It seems like there are days when I can't think of enough things to do to keep Wyatt busy, well without wearing myself out in the process. 

The other day while we were making a Target run we found this Peanuts Halloween coloring book for just a dollar, so I figured we could add coloring to our list of activities. Of course as soon as I got it home I put it on the shelf and forgot about it! I know, that isn't very useful.

A few days ago, as I was frantically trying to get the daily chores done with a bored Wyatt attached to my leg, I came across that new coloring book. Luckily I had a few crayons in a drawer. Wyatt loved the coloring project. He has colored a few times at Nana's house and at the gym, so he knew what to do with those crayons once I got it all out. Through some miracle, he sat at the table and colored for about 20 minutes on his own, and then 10 more with me. I am thinking that coloring will be a great way to keep us busy as winter slowly creeps into our lives!

End of the season gardening

Today was one of those rare gems for Ohio. It was almost 80 degrees and sunny in the middle of October. As a family we took advantage and did some yard work.

Helping Daddy

Focused on the task at hand

Patrick and Wyatt did a little bit of raking to get things started. Wyatt quickly picked up the skill of raking. He then didn't want to stop and was all business about it. Even after Patrick had finished Wyatt still was focused on moving the leaves around. It was great.

Then we decided to work on cleaning out the garden and getting it turned over for next year. Wyatt has never passed up a chance to play in the dirt, and watching mommy and daddy moving the dirt around was all the inspiration he needed to dive right in. After about 40 minutes of hard work Wyatt looked a little like a mud monster with dirt everywhere, including his mouth! I am hoping that experiences like these will give him a true love for working outside, because mommy doesn't have that interest but is jealous of those people who love spending time in their gardens.

Music Boxes

Wyatt and I tend to spend our Thursday afternoons dusting and vacuuming the living room and dining room. He usually is only focused on the vacuum, mostly because he has his own little vacuum. So he follow around helping me. This past week I tried to expand his cleaning knowledge and we used old socks to wipe down the book shelf and pictures and stuff. Once of the objects I let him wipe down was one of my music/jewelry boxes. It is a nice Italian wood inlay box that I usually don't even let Wyatt look at.

He loved those boxes. I am guessing part of it was because he usually doesn't get to see, let alone touch, mommy's boxes. He kept opening it up and listening to the music play. He ended up spending 20 whole minutes listening to the music play and watching the mechanism work. He loved it.

 

I was amazed that he kept with it for so long. And that he gave me the time to get the cleaning completely done. I will have to remember that those boxes are a great distractor when I need to get something done.

Decorating for Halloween

Putting up window decals

I guess the fact that my life is busier now than ever was proven this month. I have usually been very good about getting my house decorated for a new season as soon as the season arrives. My plan was to get the fall decorations up in August! And to get the Halloween stuff up by October 1st. Well I finally got the decorations up this week! Only umm, let's see, two weeks behind. I guess that isn't so bad.

Putting out the pumpkins

Making sure all the pumpkins are in the right spot

Wyatt loved helping me get the decorations out of their box and unwrapping them from the plastic. The surprise of what each piece was held his attention for much longer than I would have guessed. Then he followed me around holding a Halloween sign as I put the decorations in their places. Once Patrick got home Wyatt ran around and pointed to each one to make sure Patrick realized they were new. It was quite adorable.

I think his favorites are these two little ghosts I have up on the book shelf because he, still today, points at them and then just laughs and laughs! I am hoping this is a good sign of his interest in the holidays, because if he is my son he will have to love the holidays!

Current Favorite Book

Wyatt officially has a favorite book right now. Curious George! He has two large Curious George books that each have 8 stories in them and he treasures them both. Granted he won't actually sit still long enough for me or Patrick to read even one of the stories. He is too preoccupied with finding "George" on each page!


There's Curious George!



So far these wonderful books have stopped cold 3 tantrums! I know that is one powerful book. It does help greatly that Curious George is on PBS in the morning when Patrick and I are trying to frantically get ready - one of the very few times that knowing Wyatt will sit in the living room without needing too much of our attention is essential to starting off the day.



Reading his book



On a related note - At the library every week Wyatt goes through this ritual in the kids section of saying hello to all the character stuffed animals that are displayed on the racks. Curious George is one of these animals (which is why this is a related note), as well as Pooh Bear and the Cat in the Hat. All of them Wyatt has to greet before he will even consider going over to the books and puzzles. It is endearing to see how important this routine is to him.



Pumpkin Patch

I remember going to a farm quite a few times when I was young to get a pumpkin. There was usually a horrible hayride to get there where kids in masks would right 4-wheelers and try to scare us. Of course I was scared, really scared all the time. I would usually hold onto my dad and hide wishing it would stop. Even with that part of the memory, I did like the pumpkin patch once we got there. Finding my own pumpkin was so much fun.  So I wanted to make sure I got Wyatt to a farm this year to get some pumpkins.



Loving all the pumpkins



We went to Dussel Farm in Kent with my parents this past Saturday. Wyatt had the typical cold weather cold and wanted to be napping, but for the most part enjoyed it!  He has really been into pumpkins since Krieger's put out all their pumpkins about two weeks ago. So as soon as he realized he could go up and touch these pumpkins, he was in heaven. He must have touched 20 before he even looked back to see where we were.

Once we got him away from the actual pumpkins, we went through this children's maze that was there. The farm has a large corn field maze, so this smaller children's maze allowed younger kids the chance to experience a maze. Wyatt loved the maze. He wanted to go through it over and over. We had to stop when he got so into it that he fell into a coughing fit (I felt pretty bad having brought him out in the cold weather).

He picked his own pumpkin out

Running out of his hiding spot

There was also a small tepee up on the other side of the maze and Wyatt found it very cool. He kept going inside it so we couldn't really see him and then he would laugh and laugh like it was the best game ever.

Tried for a  family picture but Wyatt was too tired

Overall I think that the trip to the pumpkin farm was a success and we will have to try to go again next year. Hopefully Wyatt will be healthy that time!  Oh and we ended up getting a nice selection of pumpkins, and I'll try to put up a post after we carve them, so stay tuned!

Night with Grandparents

One of the greatest benefits of still living in the same general area I grew up in, is that my family lives very close. This has been a great blessing. Whenever we need to get out of the house and spend a little time somewhere, my parent's house is always first on the list for Wyatt and me. Another great bonus, is that my parents have offered to watch Wyatt over night once a month. I cannot say how great this is. Every parent loves their children but to have the chance at a night where you don't have to be concerned as much with the well-being of your kid is priceless (and when you know that he is with his grandparents, that worry level is extremely low!).

So this past Friday was our night in October. I was told Wyatt was spoiled that evening, which is great because he has a fall/winter cold and hasn't been feeling wonderful. A little extra spoiling I am sure has been great medicine for him. I heard he also ate a great dinner (practically a whole hamburger!) and enjoyed playing with Nana's toys and read every book that Chief Papa could get his hands on.

Next day at the pumpkin patch

After all that he slept pretty good, considering he is a stuffy mess with a horrible sounding cough (you know the kind that sound way worse than they are). And that good night's sleep was great because we all went to a pumpkin patch the next day (see the pumpkin patch story here.).