Christmas

We officially completed Christmas Marathon 2008! It was full of family, fabulous food and a very full car. Mehandis's gifts got larger this year, including a BMW (child-sized) and complete play camp cookware set. In the photo below Mehandis is enjoying playing the drum we brought back for him from Ethiopia. He calls it "boom-boom-boom". Also, "baby" got outfitted with a stroller this Christmas.

Love for cousin "Ren" is proudly displayed below.

Mehandis loved Christmas Eve at my aunt and uncle-in-law's since they had all of the good stuff kid-level. The good stuff includes glass bulb ornaments, M&M's, crackers and remote controls.

Both Dad and son took full enjoyment of the desserts that evening.

As well as enjoying watching Bampa's train under the Christmas Tree.

We bid a sad farewell to my Grandpa Doughty the night of Christmas, as he passed away that night. He loved his only great-grandchild and asked about him frequently. We had a nice visit with him in January of this year and will miss his many stories and frequent laughter.

The picture above includes the 4 generations taken in Tuscon last January.

Let it snow, let it snow... and then stop!

Okay, I admit I selfishly had been hoping for a snow day last Friday. I am not the one who snowblows or shovels... so snow days mean spending the day home from school with Mehandis and having Michael come home for lunch (cuz he has to clear the snow). And though Michael had to clear the driveway and walk 2 to 3 times that day, we were all in good spirits and enjoyed the beautiful landscape.

Mehandis was in awe of the "now" as he calls it and kept looking for "choo choos" which I later figured out were snow blowers. Below he looking out at Michael's car - the side mirror is the only part that identifies it under the snowy pile.

We had fun reading "Frosty the Snowman" and enjoyed cozying up on the couch.

I even got all of the gifts wrapped/bagged while Mehandis played. He really enjoyed climbing the crock pot and banging the walls with the empty gift wrap tubes. Between the two of us we created quite the mess.

This weekend Michael and I went to our local coffee shop to see Santa. Mehandis enjoyed his doughnut quite a bit more than his visit with Santa this year. No tears at least!

Oh yeah, back to the snow. I think the winter wonderland outside is picturesque enough for now. So I hope we can hold off on snow until traveling is complete... and school is back in session!

Dress Up

While my mom and I did play dress up with Mehandis, using various scarves, hats and glasses... I swear that I only followed his requests in the wardrobe pictured below. Mehandis kept bringing me different "accessories" out of his Diego backpack (where we keep those odds and ends) and telling me "on". So after two watches, one bandanna/cape, my old sunglasses and a fishing hat - you get the outfit above. Plus a lot of giggles from his parents :)

Mehandis is loving wearing his Santa hat this year, as compared to last. He even wears it to school some days accompanied with a cued "ho ho ho". Looks like Mr. Potato Head is also getting in on the dress up fun.

Birthday Parties

We had lots of fun celebrating Mehandis's birthday last week. Michael and kicked off the festivities with a night out at Stone Fire Pizza. Mehandis had a great time pretending he was making pizza in the play kitchen, splashing at the water table, pushing/dropping trains at the train table and watching Shrek while gobbling pizza. Of course we had to end the night with the most decadent of ice cream sundaes.

Grandparents joined us for an Irish themed "linner" at our home. And Mehandis sported a festive hat that he had made in daycare (he tore it apart an hour before the party, fortunately I am used to re-crafting kids art).
With Nonni's encouragement he blew out both candles!

Mehandis enjoyed his applesauce cake... and really loved the icing as you can see.

Michael and son opening up some of the fun gifts.

We got a kick out of watching Mehandis "put away" his new shovel by hanging it on the cabinet knobs. He is quite observant as Michael hangs up the snow shovels in the garage on hooks as well.

Me and Mehandis playing with his new basketball hoop. We all had a good time attempting our best shot!

Tis the 12 Days Before Christmas (Break)

Officially 12 Days until Christmas Eve, which is the first day of our Winter Break. We have basically all of the present shopping done. Are onto hosting our 3rd of 4 holiday parties tonight. And finally finished putting all of decorations up. So I am now having visions of holiday cheer and time off with family!!!!

Here is a funny song that was shared with me. It is geared towards those who work in schools, but I think many can appreciate its sentiments.

Twas the days before Christmas
And all through the school
The teachers were trying to just keep their cool.

The hallways were hung
With Christmas art
(Some made in November
to get a head start!)

The children were bouncing
Off ceilings and walls
And seemed to forget
How to walk in the halls.

When out of the teacher's lounge
With "holiday shirts"
And "jingle bell jewels"
The teachers looking festive
Enforcing the rules

Suddenly, from down the hallway
There came such a chatter
The principal went in
To see what was the matter

The teachers were hiding
And trying to refuel
On coffee and cookies
And treats from the Yule

When what to their wondering
Ears do they hear
But the ringing of school bells
--It's the children they fear

More rapid than reindeer
The little ones came
And the teachers all shouted
And called them by name

Walk, Vincent!, Walk Tanner!
Walk, Tyler and Sammy!
Sit Jamie!, Sit, Laura!
Sit Tara and Tammy

To your desks in the room
To your spots in the line
Now walk to them! Walk to them!
No running this time!

So straight to their places
The children all went
with fear of detention
Where they could be sent

With manuals of lessons
Cradled in arms
The teachers began
To use all their charms

But the lessons presented
All fell on deaf ears
The children were thinking
Of Santa's reindeer!

With a toss of their hands
They put manuals aside
Went straight to the cupboards
Where videos hide

And laying their finger
On the TV remote
They sat back to write
Their last Christmas note

But you could hear them exclaim
At the end of the day
Have a wonderful, happy, and
L-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ong holiday!

The 80's

I wanted to do a quick update on our status waiting for the newest addition to our family. When our dossier was accepted, on September 2nd, we were number 106 on the unofficial "list". The referrals were few and far between for a while... but now things are moving again. As of today we are number 85.

To commemorate being in the mid-80's I thought it would be fun to quote the popular forwarded email "You know you grew up in the 80's if you..". So tell-tale signs include:

1. Know Deborah Gibson as Debbie.

2. Ever ended a sentence with the word "Psych".

3. Wore biker shorts under your skirt and thought they were cool.

4. Had or have gone to a birthday party at McDonald's.

5. Know the profound meaning of "Wax on. Wax off."

6. Ever watched Fraggle Rock.

7. Went to a roller rink before there were in-line skates.

8. Read the Tale of a 4th Grade Nothing and all of the Ramona books.

Mehandis is 2 today!!!

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Mehandis,

Happy Birthday to you!

A Full Thanksgiving

The morning of Thanksgiving, the 3 M's traveled by train to Chicago. Mehandis loved having his own set of seats. He kept climbing up and down, looking out the windows and asking when we would see Grandpa (Grampa? Grampa?). We had a great time together with my parents. They made all of the traditional fare that I remember... plus some new recipes that we picked out. Michael's "Ultimate Double Baked Potatoes" were the standout new entry though. Mehandis wanted to get in on the cooking too, as you can see below with his little stove.

Saturday morning we headed for the circus! Wow... what a show. Complete with tigers, elephants, acrobats and it's own sound track.

Mehandis was very engrossed in the clown acts and animals. He kept pointing and saying "Wow!". He did take a little catnap during intermission which worked out great as well.

Our little guy definitely thinks Chicago is "his kind of town". He has now added the name of this city to his vocabulary! Kind of sounds like "Caillou" though.

We had a great pre-Thanksgiving celebration with many of our college friends. Michael and I got the chance to host Lite House Thanksgiving and the number of people attending seems pretty inflated, given that one third of them are now children. Our babysitter from across the street was extremely helpful with serving the second generation diners upstairs!!!

Here is Mehandis in our emptied out living room after we took out the tables from the previous night's dinner. I think he was hoping that the couches would soon return. Below are photos of friends who were unable to attend... we likely would have had to put an addition on our house if they did RSVP yes though.

Our Drama King

When I worked in birth-to-three and gave a speech-language evaluation, I would always ask the parents if their children engaged in dramatic play (playing house, rocking a doll to sleep, etc.) this would tell what level their language should be at and what exactly they are gleaning from their environment. I am now realizing that dramatic play is one of Mehandis's favorite things to do!

He loves to pretend that he sweeping with brooms and dust pans (please excuse the marks on the walls now from the broom handles), putting lotion on his baby doll and giving him good morning kisses, and putting on the oven mitt while carrying a hot pad in the other hand as he prepares his "meal". Check out his re-enactment of how Chewy eats. At least Mehandis is no longer eating the cat food!

"Fall"-ing behind

So while my scrapbooks (and Facebook) are now getting more attention I see that I have written very few blogs this fall. I re-commit to using the blog to connect with family and friends once again... in addition to helping me remember what we have been doing as the time flies by!!!

I don't have a way to upload any photos on this blog entry, but I will try to give some cute updates.

Mehandis has some new favorite words/sayings lately, including-

"picture" He says this along with a sign of snapping a picture on a camera (totally self taught). Mehandis does this when ever he is by the stereo since we took so many picture of him dancing I guess!

"apple sauce" A newly found fave food

"bib" He knows good stuff will come soon once his bib is on. Once he gets the bib, he is content for a long while just to wander around wearing it. Not the most fashion forward look though.

"a book too" It is never just "book", not sure why.

"ABC..." Mehandis and dad say the alphabet together everyday. I have to say he is pretty good at pronouncing all of the letters... except for W.

"cheers" Yep, exactly what you think.

"ah-choo" following his sneezes or when we sneeze.

"hug" :)

We are looking forward to this upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Tonight Michael and I will be very busy prepping the house for our total of 28 coming for "college friend" Thanksgiving. We have 2 turkeys defrosting in the fridge... fortunately we have 2 ovens! Then we head to Chicago for Thanksgiving dinner with my parents. We will also join my parents for the circus. I am having a hard time envisioning where this will be held downtown, but am very excited for the adventure. Hopefully Mehandis won't develop a clown phobia... I know so many adults that are scared of them to this day!!!

Trick or Treat!

We need a bigger candy dish... our family has been celebrating Halloween for a week! It started a week ago today with Maira, Peter & Stefan neighborhood association trick-or-treat. In their neck of the woods the streets are closed off and the crowds come! They were right in saying that it feels like Disney World.

The following photo shows our Mr. Potato Head and friendly monkey Stefan sharing a ride.
Michael and Peter dressed in their old & tattered cow costumes and got lots of comments as well. Including... are you drinking a Spotted Cow, are you a Gurnsee or Holstein, where is the rest of the herd. I think we have enough material for stand up at next year's State Fair.

Mehandis also had a Halloween Parade at daycare. One of his best buds, Adam, is pictured below in the Mickey Mouse costume. Adam's expression is priceless.

And finally... our neighborhood celebrated Halloween last night, actually on the 31st for a change. Mehandis now has the "trick or treat" down, or at least the approximation "ti or tee", and knows to run up to the houses with the people outside. Whenever he needed a little boost of energy Michael or I would say "go, go, go" and he would chime in and run!!! He and his costume were a hit.

Some of the ladies got into the dress up fun last night as well. I nominated myself (and won) as Prom Queen... Dara then declared herself 1st Runner Up. Dominique also joined Prom Court... while Chris was the Gym Teacher chaperon.

Although the weather was great... Michael's letterman jacket helped keep me toasty warm. Our fire and friends lasted most of the night. We had a great time!!!

Fall Fun!!!!

It is once again the time of year for sweaters and socks! Fall has always been my personal favorite season (perhaps related to an upcoming birthday?). About a week ago my girl friends and I gathered back up to Jenn M.'s family cottage in Egg Harbor. We all so look forward to this annual Door County get away. This year we had "peak color" and fantastic weather. We took the opportunity to take a hike, along with a wine/chocolate/cheese picnic, at Peninsula State Park. We couldn't pass on the trail pictured below... the name says it all.

Good photo work Dominique! This was taken from the top of the infamous tower climb.
Maira and I enjoying the corn maze.

Michael and I were happy to have my parents come to visit this past weekend. Here Mehandis and Michael prepare for their arrival!

All of us then went to a petting farm that had tons of animals, hay rides, cider and other fall fun!

Mehandis REALLY liked the animals. Here he is by a miniature horse.
We gave him corn to feed the goats, which made him giggle when the goats licked it off his hands. Eventually he started offering the corn to different goats but then "psyching them out" by pulling his hand back. At least he never ate the dried corn himself!!!
This was the best of the pumpkins we could find... since we opted out of the hayride to the "official" patch.
Happy Fall to Everyone!!!!

Clipping along

Last weekend, amongst a lot of other fun events, the three of us took a trip to the zoo. Michael and I were looking for something somewhat relaxing to do together as a family. This was the first time that Mehandis was out of his stroller for 95% of our zoo visit. He is now staying more "on path" versus running to puddles and trying to enter Employees Only doors. Below you can see Mehandis at his usual pace - a walk/run.

I praised Mehandis for offering this statue a little gift, until Michael noticed it was a cigarette butt.

Oh another fun story, every time Mehandis walked by a bench he pretended to sit down. Sometimes he just plopped himself down to squat on the ground. Here we are enjoying actually sitting on one of the benches.

Notice anything different in the pictures that follow?

Yep, Mehandis got his first barbershop haircut. Michael took him in yesterday and Mehandis did great sitting on his lap and taking it in. Yesterday, whenever he saw a reflection of himself he would smile and touch his head. He is so handsome!

Run & Roll

One of Mehandis's recent favorite "toys" is a Diego rolling backpack, which my friend Jen gave him. I decided to fill it with some accessories, such as a hat, sunglasses and scarf. Mehandis rolls around his bag while I throw a hat or random item on him. He typically pushes the bag in front of him like a shopping cart... as seen below. This was taken yesterday morning, before we left for Al's Run (an 8K we try to do every year). Mehandis got his own t-shirt this year and his own number! Since he was classified as a "walker" he did not get an official time, but he did the 5 miles in less than 50 minutes as Michael ran pushing him in the Burley. One of the best in Mehandis's age group I am sure!
Here is the "ch" of "cheese". Guess the "ee" is a better posing sound.
Michael & Mehandis cheered me on as a I ran across the finish line!