Turkey Day 2009

Happy Thanksgiving to you all, or y'all, as we say here in Texas. This year we celebrated Thanksgiving at my parents' house. Several things happened while we were there.

Turkey makin'...

Backyard playin'...

Elite modelin'...

Story tellin'...

Dog snarlin' (not really)...

And family photo takin'.

There was also some food eatin', but no one needs to see photos of that. It wasn't pretty.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy birthday, 'D'!

Wow! What a great birthday party! There was a petting zoo, righteous hot dogs, a petting zoo, adorable cupcakes, and... did I mention a petting zoo? There's the birthday boy D on the left. No, not the big one dressed like Johnny Cash (lookin' good though, H!), but the littlest one on his left.
This piglet was so cute I didn't at all mind the pig poop that found its way to the top of my foot. I almost put him under my shirt to smuggle him out, but then they mentioned he'd grow to be 400 pounds.
This goat kept nibbling on my camera strap. I liked him a lot.
Mateo really REALLY likes birds of all kinds. These poor babies didn't know what they were in for. At first he did a really good job of holding them, but then... then wings were being bent back, beaks were being pinched, necks were being choked, etc. He had to be removed from the situation. Thankfully no animal was harmed. He just loves a little too much sometimes.

Happy first birthday, D! Scroll down or click here for more animal antics.

More animal antics...

Here are more of our animal friends.

And here's a human friend that never lets me photograph her. Gotcha!I keep telling the wife of this dad that she needs to rent him out to the rest of us for kid parties!

Boys and girls love to play...
... until someone gets hurt. :(
But after a minute of Mommy love, he was back to the playin'.

Thursday morning conversation.

Mateo: "Mama, I sick. I don't feel good."
Me: "You feel sick? What hurts?"
Mateo: "Ummm, my legs."

"Dancing."

For some reason this specific song that Rafi plays really moves Mateo.

Did you notice that he hit his own head with the drumstick?

Squishy stuff.

It's not any secret that Mateo has issues with textures, specifically things that feel slimy or gooey. Even at a year old he did not want to pick up fruit with his fingers, and now, well, let's just say finger painting is NOT his favorite activity. Some of you may have even witnessed him getting upset at his first birthday party about getting frosting on his fingers. Most kids lick things like that off, but Mateo will ask you for a napkin.

There's actually a term for it - tactile sensory disorder. We haven't taken him for a professional consult, but he definitely does fit the criteria for a mild case (issues with textures, picky eater, walks on toes, likes to be clean, etc.). Thankfully he doesn't display symptoms of a serious case (clothing irritations, sucking on fingers, avoidance of touch, etc.). After conferencing with his teacher about that (and other things - he helps clean the classroom, shares with his friends, plays well with others, etc.), I've decided to embark more seriously on exposing him to various textures; some occupational therapy, if you will.

So today on this rainy Sunday we made some all natural play clay. It's made with flour, salt, oil, hot water, and paprika for color. He enjoyed feeling the dry ingredients, and eventually warmed up to playing with the dough. He made a cat and a dinosaur.

Then we cleaned up our area and used soapy, squishy water. Honestly I think he enjoyed playing with the measuring items most.

And then there was this...

Thank goodness he's cute, 'cause that laugh about did me in after a solid five minutes.

He did it!

He made it through the night! No falling out of bed. No waking up crying. No getting up to play in his room. We're very proud.

And this morning he pointed to his crib and announced it was "for babies." :-)

Sitting on my hands.

My baby is no longer a baby. *sniff sniff* Tonight, right now as I write this, Mateo is upstairs in his big boy bed. He's doing okay so far. We can hear him through the monitor doing the things he used to do in his crib - play his Glo Worm, mess around with some trains, sing, etc.

So as I sit here reminiscing about his former baby years, I am practically sitting on my hands to not go up there and check on him. However, I know in order for him to grow and become self-reliant we must allow him the space to do so. No crutches here, folks. No sippy cups. No pacifiers after the first birthday. No toddler bed even. We went straight to the real deal. Yes, we're that mean!

In preparation of this moment (and to show him how BIG we think he is), we made today an event for big boys only. After a special breakfast of pumpkin eggnog French toast we took Mateo to see his first movie - Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. He barely sat in his chair (would you if yours kept folding up on you?), but he enjoyed it very much. Our usually shy guy was flapping his gums at the start, but he quickly got into the movie and quieted down. (I think the popcorn helped with that.)

Later, after his nap, we moved his furniture around in his room so the bed would be in the same spot as the crib. This REALLY excited him. He kept telling us "good night" and crawling into bed. The room looks a bit odd right now (which will really take some strength from me not to "fix it"), but we think it was a good move (pun intended) in that it'll feel more familiar to him.

To top off the night we went out for a special big boy dinner. What did he want? Pancakes!! He's truly just like his mother. :) We also took him to choose a new pair of big boy pajamas. We really thought he'd choose "Mickey House" (as he calls it) or Thomas the Train, but he ended up choosing none. He said he wanted to wear "the monster right here on my shirt." So that was that. He went to bed in his monster shirt and pj pants.

And then the actual event happened. He panicked a little once he realized he wasn't going in his crib. We let him cry for about 2 or 3 minutes before I went to tuck him back in bed. It's now been about an hour, and he's still hanging in there.

So can I go upstairs and check on him now? Is it wrong to wish your little "big boy" still needs you?

Chuck Norris.

Hello, readers. It's me, Sickly. You know, the sneezing and coughing one who drivels on and on about nothing and then posts photos about said nothingness. Well today, my friends, I've got another nothingness post for you. First, I'll gross you out by telling you I'm carrying with me a box of tissues and a grocery sack. Why the sack? For the used ones, of course. My nose glows so brightly I could guide a sleigh. Rest assured it's just a bad cold and not the flu. I'll get better with time. And Z-pak. I hope. Please pray for me.* I know you will.

And now on to the fun part of my post: Rafi's new t-shirt acquisition. Check it out. I hear it was a hit at the office.
*Footnote: I say this in a joking matter. If you are the praying type, please use your power of prayer for something greater than the easing of my pitiful suffering, like world peace, food for the poor, or my winning lotto ticket.