Daddy & Wyatt Playtime

The Christmas season has meant that I have been spending more of the evenings getting some of the Christmas things done - wrapping gifts, getting cards done, etc. - and as a result Wyatt and Patrick have had more evenings to really play without mommy around to get nervous about the style of play.

Wyatt now loves piling the couch cushions up three high, on the floor and climbing on top (with Patrick's help, or by using the bare couch as a stool) and bouncing. Patrick has to help keep him balanced, but the little daredevil is starting to want the chance to do it on his own- see why mommy wouldn't want this kind of play to happen?

The other part that concerns me is that when Wyatt does come close to falling in one of the daredevil games they play, Patrick always catches him and swings him upside down, making the whole game all the more fun for this little guy! I can only hope that the new toys that will come with Christmas will distract him from all this crazy acrobatic play so that I can keep from having a heart attack!

Day after Christmas

Christmas kept on going for us this year. Patrick's family was in town for the holidays, which was a special treat for all of us. So we went to GG(that's short for great grandma) Nancy's for an after Christmas dinner and gift opening (yes there were more gifts to be given and to open!).

Wyatt loved the chance to go to a new place, he didn't even care there were presents when we got there because GG Nancy has fun toys that no one else does (I guess that is to be expected when her toys were the same her boys used when they were younger). Eventually he realized he had presents - more specifically a wonderful new tricycle! It will be a great toy for the spring when it's too wet to play in the grass but warm enough to be outside. I think this was just as great a gift for mommy for that reason!

 

Another big hit was a plastic yellow construction hat! Yes that simple hat was a huge hit. Wyatt wanted it on his head most of the night, the rest of the time he was trying to put it on mommy or daddy's head. He was on full speed with the joy that comes with fun new toys.

A great highlight was the gift Wyatt (through Patrick) gave to GG Nancy this year. She got a blank journal with a request - that she fill it with a many memories and stories and thoughts that she can as a way to spread her wisdom and life onto Wyatt. Part of the instructions was to return the filled journal to Wyatt once she was done. I was very proud of Patrick for this gift idea because now that both of my grandmothers have passed, I wish I had something more from them to share with Wyatt (Nana Louise and Mamoo).

I was truly amazed at the amount of gifts given to us this year. I was not expecting half of the amount simply because it has been a tight year for most people, us included, so it was an amazing blessing to see love poured so freely this year. I know that the spirit of Christmas comes purely because of the fact that Jesus Christ came into this world for each of us, and I pray that I will able to teach my little guy the importance of this fact so that he can feel that indescribable joy every single day.

Christmas Day

We lucked out this year, by a strange twist of fate that Christmas brunch was going to be at my parents' house because we were able to go early and open gifts before the extended family arrived (there ended up being 20 people there).

Wyatt was pretty much over opening gifts at that point, he was too interested in his new toys from Santa. So for awhile the adults had a calm Christmas. We all got great gifts for each other! Wyatt finally got involved with a few gifts but was easily distracted with each new present, wanting to play with them instead of opening the next gift. He did get a great toddler-sized basketball hoop which is now residing in our basement play area, as well as many fun toys and books.

Somehow Patrick got Wyatt calmed down enough to take a nap before everyone got there - granted it was on the queen-sized bed in my parent's extra bedroom- the first time he slept on a real bed, you know, not his crib. And that worked out great. After about 2 hours he just walked into the kitchen with a face that said "I'm ready for the next part of this Christmas celebration."

We ended up having a traditional Christmas celebration with my family - loud and full of great food. We had our traditional secret Santa exchange followed up by our almost, but not quite R-rated gag gift exchange (that part will have to be toned down next year...). Overall it was a great family celebration, even in it's crazy moments. I hope Wyatt continues to have such great Christmas traditions as the years continue.

Christmas Morning

Just as I expected Wyatt woke early, but at least early was only 6:30 ish, and he was ready for Santa. I am guessing that you are thinking I am making this up, but honestly his first words this morning were Santa and Christmas tree! What else do you expect from the "Christmas Queen's" son? (Patrick has given me this nickname after spending many Christmases with me!)


Wyatt was thrilled to run and find out what Santa brought- he wasn't real sure how this whole Santa thing works. He checked out the plate we left on the table first, and seemed to be unsure why only half a carrot and a bite of cookie remained.

Then came the living room with all of it's surprises. Santa got him an Elmo stuffed animal which was the hit of the day. He was also very interested in all the wonderful Pooh Bear coloring supplies that he found in his stocking. After he examined all of the gifts from Santa he spent some quality time opening the presents from mommy and daddy. Again the Elmo toys were the big hit. He spent the whole morning watching the Christmas Mickey movie that was in his stocking and showing Elmo all of his new toys and books. It was nice because it allowed Patrick and I some time to open each others gifts without chasing down a curious toddler.

Sure our morning was early, but it was a blast for everyone involved. The best part was that it was fairly calm and relaxing, I am sure the next few Christmas mornings won't be so calm!

Christmas Eve

We jam-packed our Christmas Eve - mostly because Wyatt's Oma and Opa came up for Christmas!

We started our evening off right, by attending Christmas Eve service at 4:30, so we could have dinner afterward. I must admit the whole Christmas Eve service thing made me nervous. We attend church regularly but Wyatt spends that time in the wonderful church nursery and plays and gets snacks, so he hasn't really experienced a real church service with music and then a sermon. So needless to say I was picturing an hour of fighting with him to keep him quiet and still, and that was the best scenario I came up with! I am proud to say that, with the help of Opa, Wyatt actually stayed quiet and even appeared interested throughout the entire service - yes maybe a small Christmas miracle.

We came home to a nice roast dinner - I think I did alright with dinner if I do say so myself. We all seemed to enjoy it and there wasn't really any left by the end of the meal. According to Patrick we had a more European roast, he says that because there was dried fruit in it as well as vegetables.

The real fun came after dinner. We made sugar cookies for Santa! Wyatt was in a great mood for it. With the help of Oma and GG Nancy, he rolled out the dough many times and always helped spread out the flour - on the cutting board, the dough, his hands, the rolling pin and any other surface that was near him. He did a great job of picking out the cookie cutters. Overall I think he enjoyed it as much as the rest of us. I was thinking he would be very interested in decorating the cookies, but by that point he was getting sleepy and didn't really care.

He got a special bedtime story session from Opa who read a few stories out of his large Curious George Book. Then it was bath time while mommy got a plate ready for Santa and a pad of paper for Wyatt's Christmas letter to Santa. He pulled together just enough energy to color on the letter and question the need for carrots on the plate for the reindeer.

Overall I think our Christmas Eve was full of fun, family and love - there is nothing more a mommy could want for a family tradition.

Early Football Practice

I will be the first to admit that I am not the biggest football fan in the world. I mean I guess I get the basic rules and ideas of the game, but it doesn't draw me in like it does for say Patrick. That being said, I have no problem with the fact that football seems to be Wyatt's favorite sport! Most people who meet us know that Wyatt loves football and has been able to talk about it for a while now. He will watch games with Patrick and recognizes the Browns colors and helmet even when there is no actual football present. It is very cute.

Patrick has taken advantage of this interest and spends a good deal of their time together playing football. Wyatt is getting very good at throwing the smaller football he has, and he has almost figured out how to catch it. Most impressively is Wyatt's ability to hold on to the ball even when he runs into Patrick to be "tackled". It was fun to watch and great at using up the last bit of energy that little guy has at the end of the day.

Playing in the Snow

The snow storms all passed by in the past two weeks have given us plenty of playtime opportunities, they just don't last very long, mostly because it is crazy cold outside for anyone, but also because Wyatt doesn't understand the importance of wearing his gloves yet.

Then there is always the issue of fighting with him to get dressed for going outside, you know - sweater, heavy coat, hat and gloves are a struggle and the boots are still a challenge for walking. So most of the time we just take a five minute break after shopping or running errands and play a little in the snow.

Wyatt's favorite is to kick at the piles of shovelled snow. He is always amazed that the snow can be packed into a small area or give way completely. This discovery has been made every single time we are outside. Wyatt will walk right up to a tall pile of snow and proceed to fall in it, free fall style. Of course his body weight means he disappears into the snow for a second before he scrambles out of the cold. Then he starts crying because he doesn't understand why he is now cold! I am wondering how many times he will try this experiment since the outcome will always be the same!

Even with the dislike of being cold, Wyatt still is an outside boy and loves the chance to play outside, at least once we are out there and before he tests the temperature of snow. With some luck by the end of winter he will understand the need for all the layers and truly enjoy playing in the snow.

Stickers

As I have mentioned before, Wyatt really enjoys coloring. So much so that we have a little coloring table set up for him in the kitchen (of course it's the desk in the kitchen). Yesterday I decided to add a little variety to his artistic education - I dug out some stickers! I was doing some pre-Christmas cleaning and came across a ton of stickers that we had received in the mail (you know the free gift stickers you get with different crazy offers...)

Now stickers are not a new thing for him, but this is the first time we have used them at home during his art play. Anyway, most of these stickers were Disney characters, which he is starting to love, and of course some Sesame Street characters as well. The best part was that he was more than content to point to the character he wanted - trying to say the characters name- and then wait for me to actually pull the sticker off. He also spent a good amount of time with each picture trying to find the perfect place on his paper to place it. 

I have gotten the mommy hear Patrick has told me because I can clearly tell the difference between MiMo (Mickey Mouse) and Melmo (Elmo). Of course there is Wyatt's version of Donald Duck (DonDuc) and dog covers both Pluto and Goofy!

New Boots & Christmas Shopping

With all the snow we got I was super glad that we made the decision that we had to get Wyatt some boots that he could wear outside. The issue has been that they are so expensive! I mean here is a piece of clothing that will be worn for maybe one season and then be tossed because they are always made poorly. But we had to do it. So while were Christmas shopping we made a stop for boots.

I had been looking at outlets and second-hand stores for a few months so when the snow as in the forecast I just said we had to do it. So we went to Payless and they had one pair of water-proof boots left in his size. They are nice because they will go with everything and he can wear them to church without it looking like we just found something and put them on him.

There is one major problem, they need to be worn in- badly. The first weekend he wore them twice and got a huge blister/cut on his little calf from the extra stiff sides. I have since been trying my best to bend them and work them soft while we are at home and limit his time in them as much as possible. But this boy loves to be outside and snow just adds all the more to his desire to be outside.

On the flip side, the shopping trip was a great one because we got a large portion of our list done. Granted we didn't have a crazy long list, but Black Friday was not as profitable this year as years past. So now we just have to wrap them all up. Which Wyatt has been a great fan in doing - adding pieces of crumbled up tape randomly to the presents.

On a side note - Wyatt has started to copy how I guess I looked during our shopping trip because he now has his own shopping bags to play with at home. He carries these bag through the house and then grabs a couple of toys and puts them in and continues on - very adorable.

Santa Picture...

I was never a fan of Santa. Every year I would dread the family christmas party because I would have to sit on Santa's lap - yuck! So I don't know why I have fallen into the idea that Wyatt should have pictures with Santa. Last year we stood in that horrible mall line just to have a crappy picture taken, and I promised myself I wouldn't do that again.

Then this year a photographer (Jennifer Jension) we have used off and on with Wyatt offered a special mini-season for Santa photos. I figured it would be a great opportunity to have a great picture for the christmas card and jumped on it. Well Wyatt had different plans.

It started off well. When we got there he waved and said hi from across the room to Santa and I got my hopes up. They were dashed as soon as I walked over to Santa with Wyatt. He suddenly found the grip of life and held on to me. I finally just peeled him off and plopped him on Santa's lap (this Santa was clean and nice compared to the mall Santa from last year). Of course Wyatt just screamed like I had thrown him into a prison cell or something. Thankfully this photographer snapped away through the whole thing.

The downside is that there isn't really a great picture at all to be had in such an event. She did send us three extremely well shots, of course they mostly had me in them, and Wyatt was never looking happy. Yet I believe I will go ahead a use the one shot on the cards, I mean it's a great conversation starter at least. And I'll try to find a nice little family shot to help show that he really is a happy kid and we don't always torture him with crazy pictures!

Mickey's Christmas

Much to my dismay Wyatt has turned into a cartoon fiend. He wants cartoons on all the time - granted I only cave in around mealtimes so I can have a safe kitchen environment. This past week he has been addicted to Elmo's World Holiday something-or-other and Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas.

Personally I have had enough of Elmo anything; I have not reached that point with Mickey cartoons. So the other night while dinner finished up I snuggled up on the couch and enjoyed Mickey, Minnie and all their friends for a nice holiday special.

Library Visit

Surprisingly enough Patrick and I have still kept time in our crazy busy schedules to read for fun. I am sure there will come a time when this isn't true, but for now it is. As a result we are faithful about going to the library at least every other weekend if not every Saturday and Wyatt has come to really enjoy each trip.

This past weekend we went as usual and Wyatt had a great time. He looks at the movies first - usually hunting for an Elmo movie, and most of the time succeeding. Then he goes through the stacks and says hi to all the stuffed animals on the top of the stacks, and not in an indoor voice but I'm sure the librarians are okay with it since we are in the children's section). Finally he makes a stop at the little toy corner and plays with the blocks. Eventually he moves away from the toys and checks out the computers, although they don't hold his attention for long since the screens are locked.

                On this particular trip Wyatt was very interested in the puppet theater that is set up. So we put on a little play for Patrick with the giraffe and zebra. Wyatt enjoyed it so much that we are talking about how this would a great birthday gift that Patrick could make. There was an extra bonus display up in the corner - an igloo made of milk cartoons. Wyatt was the perfect height to walk in to it. Overall the trip was fun for reading and playing. I can't wait for him to be a little older so we can go to movie nights at the library - they show fairly new movies for free at least once a week, and I have heard that it is nice for kids movies especially since you don't want to pay for a movie and then have to leave 20 minutes in because they won't sit still.

"In your belly..."

We have been having troubles with dinner again. Wyatt just does not want to eat dinner most nights, and other nights he wants nothing to do with sitting in his own chair to eat. Many evenings Patrick ends up being his booster chair (he has decided that my lap is not big enough anymore - which for dinner that is fine with me!).

So the other night I made lasagna (I made a dinner for a family from church who recently had a baby and made extra), which is a splurge for us since it is a big recipe and hard for the three of us to eat it all. This just proves how much Wyatt enjoys Italian, because not only did he want to eat dinner, but he wanted to sit at his own place. The funny part was that he tried to eat faster than normal, but realized he couldn't really fit it in his mouth so he tried to just put it straight into his belly! So he would put a bite in his mouth and while he chewed that he would get another bite and smash it on his belly button. It was great. One of those moments that made all the stress of dealing with his dinner habits melt away for an evening.

Nativity

Last year Wyatt got a great Christmas gift from his Nana - a plush Nativity set. Granted he wasn't all that interested in it when he got it.

This year he has been very interested in it though. I got it out while I was decorating the house hoping it would distract him a little while I put out my nativity set. And it worked like a charm. He wanted to play with it for the rest of the day.

The cutest part was that he kept going around the house saying, "Shhh, baby, shhh." He was telling his toys that baby Jesus was sleeping. We worked on saying baby Jesus, and only got as far as baby J, but that is a big step as far as I am concerned. He also started to get that Mary is Jesus' mom. He called her Baby mommy. All that being said I think he was more interested in the star and the sheep. He has recently gotten into to looking at the stars on his ceiling at night (he has the turtle start light) so he was greating interesting in holding a star. And of course he knows that the sheep says baa, so it was another hit with him.

One more little tradition for Christmas, and Wyatt was very into it. This all makes me very excited - being able to share my favorite time of year with my son is the best gift ever.

Lighting up the House

This post is a little late, but I  have been waiting for the perfect time to get a picture of the house all lit-up!




Our house at night - in the snow!



So Patrick and I have usually tried to get up our outside decorations up a little early while it isn't crazy cold out. And in previous years we have been pretty good about that, this year somehow, we missed the nice weather! Instead we spend an afternoon while Wyatt napped, in the cold (granted there was no snow), putting up lights. And of course this year we had bought extra lights so we could do a little more than just the fence. So we were trying to figure out how to get them up on the house while freezing outside! It was a great time actually.

bonus picture - Patrick clearing the driveway

I am hoping that this is a stepping stone for us because I love this time of year and decorating the house is a huge plus to the season. Now I don't want to be one of those homes that are so overdone and tacky, but I do really enjoy nicely done displays.

Now in the midst of a snow storm our house looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. Maybe next year we can do more!

Christmas Tree

I know I'm a lucky girl when I get up in the morning to find that my loving husband put the Christmas tree up the night before! I love decorating for Christmas but actually putting the tree up isn't really my favorite part. So now I can just focus on the fun part - yay!

Wyatt helped me get a few of the ornaments on the tree again this year. I put out a bunch of our plastic and wooden ornments on the coffee table so that Wyatt could help me. While he looked a some of those I put some of more fragile ones high up on the tree. Many of the fragile ones have sentimental value for me, so I had to put some of them up. But I was a semi-responsible parent and didn't put up most of them. So our chirstmas tree is a little more bare than previous years, but it was a fun time for me and Wyatt.

Putting up the Mickey Mouse ornament

oohh - Wyatt loves the lights on the tree

Taking a drink break and telling the bear how fun decorating for christmas is.

Homemade instruments

I am always saying how grateful I am that I spent years as a nanny to toddlers because it has helped me to have a wealth of knowledge on ways to keep Wyatt entertained throughout the day. Of course many of my ideas are from my wonderful mom who taugh preschool for many, many years.

Anyway I try to find different objects that Wyatt can play with and recently we made a great discovery - papertowel rolls! Yes I know this isn't a new concept, but it is new for Wyatt. We have been using these empty rolls as musical instruments and microphones. Wyatt loves it.

He marches around the house and acts like his is tooting a horn. He also enjoys giving it to me for a turn. I of course try to make the roll vibrate while he is still holding it. And that makes him giggle uncontrolably.

I love watching him enjoy something like that. This new toy has given him hours of entertainment - I guess it is just a reminder that I don't need to spend any money on fancy toys when I have cardboard tubes around for him.