Pissin' Cousins

After Thanksgiving, Greyson and I had a few more days off together. We went in to my office on Monday, so G could see all of his admirers there. We visited and had lunch and found all kinds of ways to have fun in a big ol' stuffy library. Tuesday we made plans to visit Santa at the mall, and we invited Dyann and Veronica to come with us.

V was having a cranky morning so she arrived after us. Greyson spent a while looking at Santa in his special chair. We visited the enormous Christmas tree in the middle of the mall. Greyson had been talking for days about visiting Santa, sitting in his lap, and having his picture taken. I drilled him on what to say when Santa asked his name and what he wanted for Christmas. He had even perfected saying "I'm two years old" when I asked how old he is. Still, I only gave it about a 70% chance, knowing how he was with Santa last year and how he generally takes some time warming up to people.

I was right. He took a minute to get used to Santa, and he eventually talked to him. He was very bold when Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas. "Thomas the Train, and BULLdozers!" he shouted. But he never sat in the lap. I figure we will have a few chances this year, and maybe he'll become more comfortable around the big man every time he sees him. Next chance, Santa will be at G's school on Wednesday.

We tried once more with Veronica to coax the kids into being friends with Santa, but neither was having it. So we were off to the play place, and lunch. After spilling his own fruit and then Veronica's fruit all over the floor, we headed back down to the play place for a little more fun. Dyann was interviewed by the local paper about how much she's spending on her kids this season, and it was getting late so we decided to go. Both kids were overdue for a nap so we headed to the family bathroom to change their diapers before we left. There was a little potty and a little sink in the family bathroom, which Greyson loved. I asked if he wanted to sit on the little potty and he did. And he peed! I promise not to chronicle all of Grey's potty training, but this was a big deal. He had gone only once before, on the little potty at home the night before. It was a complete surprise, he just asked to sit on the potty after his bath and we didn't really expect anything out of him (oh dear, no pun intended).

So, after a little celebrating, I got Greyson changed and ready to go. Dy asked Veronica if she wanted to use the little potty, and she hopped right on and went too! I warned Dyann that I would be blogging about it, but I promise that's the last of the potty stories for a while... until we tell this one at their wedding in 25 years!

Go Team!

Greyson had a super duper three hour nap on Sunday. He was out late with friends on Saturday and didn't get enough sleep. When he woke from his extended afternoon nap, he was a little cranky and out of sorts.

We spent some time on the couch, getting used to being awake. We watched our neighbor use his chainsaw to cut down a dead tree while Mike watched football. The game was the New England Patriots versus the Miami Dolphins. I don't know if Nana was watching, but as a native New Englander, she would have loved seeing the "Boston Patriots" gear the team wore this week. The bright red jerseys must have caught Grey's eye, because he yelled out "Go Firemen!" to our delight. Mike corrected him "No, Go Dolphins!"

After a few minutes of watching the game, Greyson piped up again. "Go Sharks!" He must have seen the mascot. Then "Go Dolphins!" and finally at the end of the game, "Go Spidermans!"

He's really getting the hang of watching sports.

Thanks Given

On Thanksgiving morning we headed to my Aunt Gail's farm in Williston. This has been a new tradition for the past few years, first with Winston and now with Greyson. The whole family enjoys seeing all the animals, riding around the farm on the golf cart, and visiting with each other in such a nice, shady, quiet, relaxing place. Our other new tradition is stopping at the Waffle House on the way. This year we almost missed it, had to backtrack a little bit to find the restaurant but it was worth it. Greyson enjoyed his waffle, although we had to tell him it was a pancake, and he got a cute hat and had his picture taken for their holiday wall display.

Just like last year, Greyson was excited to see (and feed) the donkey, horses, sheep, cats and dogs. But he got an extra special treat after dinner when Aunt Gail helped him ride a horse! That's right, my tiny little baby sat bareback on a giant horse and rode around the yard. And I watched and photographed and didn't worry a bit. G's dad and grandpops had a good hold on him and the horse was as gentle and calm as can be.

Our meal was wonderful, Aunt Gail and Uncle Ray fried their turkey this year and it was delicious. After much cajoling and singing and pretending to sleep, my mother and I got Greyson to nap in the guest house bed just as dinner was served. So Greyson missed the meal but had his turkey while we had our pie. It was a wonderful day, and we headed home around sunset. Surprisingly, Grey stayed awake the whole ride home. We were thankful for that, since he went to bed as normal once we returned.

The rest of our weekend was fun and mostly uneventful, and Greyson and I had a few more days off together before today... our return to reality. I have about three more weeks of work before our next vacation adventure, and I can't wait!