Happy Birthday Granny!

Happy Birthday to our dear Granny! This time last year Jaydan and I were in Idaho to help Granny celebrate her "BIG 50". We couldn't make it this year, but we did the next best thing.....got them (and us) webcams so that they can "see" Jaydan while they are talking to him. He's never had much use for the phone.....too many buttons to distract him and not enough visual stimulation. But this....this is FUN! He waves to them and blows kisses and just generally chats them up. Its pretty cute and I think they are enjoying being able to see him too. I know as far as I'm concerned, this shortens the gap between here and home considerably!

Not Totally Terrible Twos

You hear a lot about "terrible twos" and the kids and parents trying to survive them. And yes, at our house we have our fair share (maybe more) of the tantrums, screams of "NO WAY", "MINE", etc. But what you don't hear much about is the FUN side of this age. At 20 months, Jaydan is able to more or less communicate what he wants to do, eat, etc. He will now walk to and from the car, just holding my hand and I don't have to carry him all of the time! He is able to run, dance, climb to his heart's content. He's funny. I think the things with kids this age is that they just FEEL a LOT! Anytime I walk in the door, he runs for me yelling "Mama" (finally just started saying that.....we'll save that for another blog). Whenever you are down on his level picking up toys or building a fire or whatever.....he will bowl you over with a great big hug. He can reciprocate some of the love that we've given him all of this time and he does so spontaneously now......he kisses you because he wants to and not just because you asked him to and he's performing. He tries to imitate everything you say and most everything you do....this can be good and bad.
Of course, some days are better than others. He still does and says a lot that I don't like. One example: he will NOT say "excuse me". Twice now, in public I will try to squeeze by someone and say "excuse me" and he will start yelling "Wove, wove". SO EMBARRASSING! He also now says "wove" when he toots.......apparently "move" means the same thing as "excuse me" in all contexts. But at least I'm TRYING to teach him manners (right Granny?). Anyway, this entire blog is devoted to defending "two". Maybe its just because my kid has always been a challenge and I don't know any better..... but I think two (almost anyway) is wonderful!

HOPE!

Yesterday was such an exciting day in American History! It is such a pleasure to be part of a generation that elected the first African American into the office of President of the United States!! I could go on and on about all of the way in which I'm excited for this new chapter, not the least of which is that we can FINALLY but George Jr. behind us but what I am really most grateful for is that for the first time in a very long time American has cause to be hopeful. That is a gift that President Obama has given us already and one that we so desperately need in these times of turmoil. I will continue to pray for a safe and effective term but already, I want to say thank you for restoring HOPE!! And of course, it never hurts to have a President who can do the Electric Slide ;)

Words to Live By

This is a cute little story sent to me today by a dear family friend, Debbi. Something to help keep things in perspective....... how did you know it was just what I needed today, Deb?

GOD CREATED CHILDREN
(AND IN THE PROCESS GRANDCHILDREN)


To those of us who have children in our lives,
whether they are our own children,
grandchildren,
nieces,
nephews,
or students...
here is something to make you chuckle.

Whenever your children are out of control,
you can take comfort from the thought that
even God's omnipotence did not extend
to His own children.

After creating heaven and earth,
God created Adam and Eve.

And the first thing he said was
'DON'T!'

'Don't what?'
Adam replied.
'Don't eat the forbidden fruit.'
God said.
'Forbidden fruit?
We have forbidden fruit?
Hey Eve.. we have forbidden fruit! '

' No Way! '
'Yes way! '
'Do NOT eat the fruit ! '
said God.

'Why? '

'Because I am your Father and I said so! '
God replied, wondering why He hadn't stopped
creation after making the elephants

A few minutes later,
God saw His children having an apple break
and He was ticked!
'Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?'
God asked.

'Uh huh,'
Adam replied.

'Then why did you?'
said the Father.

'I don't know,'
said Eve.
'She started it! '
Adam said.

'Did not! '
'Did too! '
'DID NOT! '

Having had it with the two of them,
God's punishment was that Adam and Eve
should have children of their own.
Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.

If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give children wisdom
and they haven't taken it, don't be hard on yourself.

If God had trouble raising children

what makes you think it would be
a piece of cake for you?

Go Gators!!!

Last Thursday our beloved Gators won their second National Championship in three years! It was an exciting time at our house and in the video above you can see the Littlest Gator cheering his team to Victory!! Last time they won, I was pregnant with Jaydan......Jeff and I think that HE may be the lucky charm!

Granny and Grampa

The rest of Mom and Dad's visit was pretty quiet. I think they were glad to see me return to work for the second week of their visit..... they got lots of quality time alone with Jaydan. They all got to be pretty good buddies. Jaydan was like Grampa's shadow and got into the habit of following both of them around to the point that he would stand outside and pound on the bathroom door, calling their names while they showered!! They played OUTSIDE a lot at Jaydan's insistence and they all enjoyed that!!! Grampa did lots of odd jobs around the house for us and I'm sure the baby was lots of help. Granny cleaned while I was at work and was there for the hugs and kisses side of things. There is something pretty precious about seeing your child interact with your parents and I feel blessed that we got such a long visit this time!! We always miss them when the time comes for us to part ways, but the fact that J got so close to both of them this visit will make it harder for all of us. Up until now, I don't think he was cognitive enough to express that he misses them but I'm sure he'll be looking for them when he wakes from his nap this morning. Granny and Grampa, thank you for coming to see us (and everything you did while you were here). We will miss you lots until May!

Christmas!!

I was so looking forward to Christmas this year.... I thought "Jaydan will have sooo much fun with all of the presents and lights and pretty decorations". YEAH..... let's suffice it to say that the reality was more grim. Jaydan has always been prone to over stimulation, every since he was tiny. So imagine the impact all of the noise, lights, excitement and variance from normal routine on a kid like that...... and that is more like what Christmas was like at our house.
We went to our church's Christmas Eve Candle Light service, which was very nice. We thought it would be nice to keep him with us and have a very family vibe. That lasted about 5 minutes, until the Teddy Grahams ran out, at which point Daddy made a dash with him for the nursery. Before the service we drove around looking at Christmas lights, which once we found some, was great. Jaydan DID seem to enjoy that.....there was lots of oooohing and aaaaahing and he cracked us up by yelling "Bye" (with a VERY southern drawl) at each house as we drove away.
I would go as far as saying that Christmas morning was very nearly a total disaster. He was fussy and ill, and when we could manage to make him interested he would scream "NO" and "MINE" in varying different combinations. At one point, as I was almost in tears I looked at Jeff, who was dripping in sweat and thought, "What went wrong here?" Eventually we all calmed down, had a nice breakfast and coffee (everyone but Jaydan) and got ourselves together. We went over to Nana and Pop's for Christmas dinner and presents with them that afternoon and that went better. The food and company were wonderful as always! The weather was perfect and we spend most of the day on the dock on the lake and I even sunburned my nose!
Next year we will do some things differently. I think we will do Santa gifts ONLY before breakfast..... this will keep us closer to our normal morning routine AND let us sort of "wade into" the excitement. If we have to do part of the gifts in the morning and part later (or another day) then so be it. I guess the lesson is to just go with the flow. You can't force a square peg (i.e. Jaydan) into..... well, anything really. This is one of the MAJOR lessons I've learned as a parent..... you can have an idea in your head of how something is going to go BUT your kiddo may have other ideas completely and all you're really going to do is make everyone miserable if you don't learn to adapt!!
Despite all of this (it probably wasn't as bad as it seemed) it WAS Christmas and it was spent with loved ones and was therefore wonderful. I am grateful that our families have blended so well that we are able to share a holiday with both sides!!! Maybe things will go more smoothly next year!!

Georgia Aquarium

The world's largest aquarium made its home in Atlanta several years ago and brings in visitors from all over the world. I made a point to wait until an age where I though Jaydan would be able to at least take part in the experience....... last time I went, I was about 5 months pregnant with him!! So, I planned a trip while Granny and Grampa are here as sort of a "thank you" for staying longer than they'd planned to help with Jaydan when I had to return to work. It was worth the wait..... Jaydan LOST HIS MIND!!! He would run up to the glass windows and yell "WOW" at the top of his little lungs. It is pretty wondrous and it is so cool to watch your kids experience something like that. And I'm so glad that Granny and Grampa were here to experience it with him. We ate lunch at The Varsity (check out the website @ www.thevarsity.com), a fun, local Atlanta car-hop style burger joint that is sure to give you a tummy ache and made a quick stop at my work to deliver Christmas goody bags. Another fun, fun day!