Merry Christmas

Whew. I'm at work for just two days this week, but it's almost a relief to sit still for a while. I was off for 9 days with Greyson and while it was a joy, it was also tiring!

A few thoughts on Santa - yes, we got a Bad Santa photo, although it could have been much worse if I had actually handed Greyson over to the man in the red suit. As we approached him, Grey's grip on my arm got tighter and tighter. And the tears came when I threatened to let Santa hold him. I guess this is a bad age for strangers, then you add a big fake beard and hat to the mix for some real toddler fireworks. Mom and I were chatting with a very approachable Santa at the mall in Sarasota and he said he has better luck than most, but babies from 9 to 20 months or so are almost never excited to see him. Greyson enjoyed watching him whittle some little reindeer at his workbench, but that was sans big coat, gloves, and hat. The one year old who did sit with him for a photo was not happy once he donned all that gear. Good thing we got to find out for free at Grey's school and saved ourselves a tearful trip to the mall.

We had a really lovely visit to Greyson's grandparents house for Christmas. It was our longest visit, a whole four days. Greyson slept good for the most part - his first night was rough but I attribute that to his lingering cold. He enjoyed his clip-on high chair that let him sit right up at the big table with the adults, and he ate like a little piglet (the moo shu porker that he is!). He spent a lot of time in his Pops' arms, giving me time to help frost cookies, wrap gifts, help with dinner, etc. He enjoyed the giant Sandhill Cranes (BIG birdies!), picking fruit with Grandpops, his new rocking horse (clip clop, clip clop, neigh!!!), attention from grandparents, aunts and uncles, and the countless treats that he got to enjoy on his mini vacation. Today he's back at school, and he's probably relieved to be back in a routine.

Yesterday we braved a family trip to IKEA. Our last trip was not exactly a happy occasion, although little sleepy baby Grey was oblivious. I made a solo trip a few weeks back which was divine... 10am on a Tuesday is a great time to shop, even in December. This time it was noon on a Sunday, and it was crowded. Not crazy crowded, but regular weekend crowded. We made it through the maze of the top floor and even through the lunch line without incident. Greyson enjoyed his swedish meatballs, and Mike was back in line for the yummy looking chocolate cake. That's when G got fussy and I pulled him out of his high chair to discover he was soaking wet. Soaking. Through the onesie, through the denim shorts (really like your jorts!) and almost through my shirt. How he got that way so quickly I don't know, but it threatened to ruin our shopping excursion. Mike to the rescue, held the sticky little Goose while we picked out his table and chairs, hightailed it through the marketplace downstairs, checked out and got to the car for a quick change. Little guy rode home in just a diaper but I think he enjoyed it. We all got a change of clothes at home and Greyson napped while we assembled his new furniture (photos to come). Now he's got his own table in the dining room so he can snack while I cook dinner. He loves it and feels like a big boy! We always carried a change of clothes in his diaper bag but lately we've been making do with the little backpack - I suppose we ought to throw an emergency outfit in for good measure.

This week will be a fairly normal week, except of course Thursday we're all off for New Years. Sheesh, 2009!

Slackbloggity

Oh goodness, it's been too long. You know how it is - with a sick kid and the holidays looming, I've been soooo busy. Greyson is finally well (knock wood) after a bout with roseola. Childhood illnesses are so fun! I think I've got my holiday baking done, and I've mailed the prezzies that have to get to New York for the holidays. Now just a little more shopping, wrapping, and merriment before we head to Grandma's for the holidays.

I had big big plans to get a nice family photo for our Christmas cards. One weekend Greyson was sick and clingy and cousin Chris was visiting so it didn't happen. The next weekend we decided to go for it, despite Greyson's rash and grumpiness. We took a trip to a local park and were surprised to see so many other families with the same idea. Our picture taking spot was busy the whole time and Mike is still figuring out our camera (RTFM!!!) so it didn't work out there. We headed home and did a few test shots but nothing materialized. Thankfully our kid is adorable and photogenic so we did have some pics to choose from... you'll have to wait to see the final pic when you open your card! Next year perhaps we can all sit still long enough to have another family photo but this year it's just the Goose.

I had big plans for lots of holiday stuff, but this is going to end up our low-key Christmas before we start having to go all out in future years. No lights, no tree for fear of what Greyson would do to it, just a few gifts because we're broke. We'll have all that fun stuff at Grandma & Grandpop's house. And next year we can start our own holiday traditions.

Today I'm leaving work a little early to spend a little time at Grey's school. Santa and his elves are visiting so I'll go see his reaction to the man in the red suit and take a few pictures. We've been debating when to take him to see Santa at the mall. Given his distrust for strangers (as evidenced by his glares and stares at Chris during dinner last weekend), we figured we're pretty much guaranteed a "bad santa" photo. I'll be sure to post it.

Since Greyson is feeling better, he's been pigging out. We now buy him kids meals at some restaurants (Panera has a nice healthy sandwich and yogurt) or just get him his own taco at Moe's. He adores chicken, ground beef, grapes, string cheese, breads and lately broccoli (just like his mama!) and he tentatively eats a lot of other stuff now. I can already tell that he'll be doubling our grocery bill by age 11.

Dear Mike

This morning, when I got out of the shower, I thought you were playing a game with Greyson. I left you two in the warm dark bed while I got up to get ready, and I thought maybe you woke up and were making monster noises together.

Nope, not monsters. I listened closely and realized it was you snoring. SNORING. Truly deeply asleep crazy snoring. But there was more... more noises. Was Greyson woken up by your snoring and jabbering to himself? No, he was snoring too. snoring. Tiny little baby snores.

So I got my camera, and my video camera. Because you two were the cutest things in the world.

Love, Rachel

Thanks given

I don't want this to turn into a chronicle of Greyson's illnesses, so we'll just start by saying that he's doing ok. Not completely healthy right now, but muchbetter after a series of antibiotic injections (!) last week. Some of the doctors put our minds at ease, some scare us with the thoughts of recurring infections and specialists and ear tubes - but for now we're feeling ok.

Greyson had a wonderful visit to Aunt Gail's farm on Thanksgiving. He got up early, had a nap in the car, had breakfast at Waffle House, and got to the farm by about 11am. That left 8 hours for exploring and playing with the animals. Oisin the horse was by far his favorite. He was very gentle but had fun with Grey by nibbling at his hands all day. Grey thought this was hilarious! I took some photos, although I'm not sure any of them capture Greyson's joy with the creatures great and small. Besides the five horses, there are sheep, a donkey, dogs, and cats. One of the cats has three black kittens, and Greyson tried to hold and squeeze them lovingly (er, tightly!)

We had our meal at a local historic restaurant and Greyson was well behaved. He enjoyed a few bites of turkey, yams, green beans, pumpkin pie and whipped cream. Then it was back to the farm for golf cart rides, indoor saddle rides, and fun with the grandparents, great aunt and uncle, and great grandparents! After a long day and not enough napping, cranky Grey was put to bed in his car seat for the ride home. He slept like a champ until 5am Friday... maybe he wanted to do some early bird shopping?!

Greyson has recently expanded his repertoire of foods, eating not just meat and bread but now fruits and vegetables on his own. His favorites so far are grapes (which he adores), green beans, and broccoli (just like his mama). He says bye bye and maybe ball. He signs more, food, and ball. He might have called me mama on Saturday at his Uncle Jimmy's house, it sure seemed like it!

The rest of our weekend was full of visits with family and friends, unusual sleep patterns, and good food. We tried to ease back to normal on Sunday, and now we're in the swing of things. A full week of work and school, then the madness of the holidays. We can't wait!