One Short Month to Go

Jimminy Crickets! Is that how you spell Jimminy? It is now. Anyway - I was thinking about posting a blog, mostly with pictures for Grandma to show her some of the cute clothes she got for Dex when she was down here. Then I looked at my watch and saw that - holy shit! It's Dexter's eleven months birthday! ELEVEN!! Which means that in ONE MONTH this child will be a year old. A year! How is that even possible?

I am currently sick and don't have the brain power or energy to give you any more than a "Holy crap my baby is old" post. So, here. Enjoy some pictures.

Baby obstacle course. AKA, what we do when it's 20 degrees with 50 MPH winds.

Check out my cute overalls, Grandma. They should fit for about three more seconds, and then I will be too tall for them.

I have cute shoes! And also a wet sleeve and wet pants from splashing in the dog's water bowl! Yay!

I think I also have some teeth threatening to come in.

Happy eleven month birthday, little man. My lord, you're getting old.

Business as Usual

We've had a week of fun Nonnas, Grandmas, Grandpas, and Aunts filling our house for the holidays. We've been out for two sets of family portraits. We've been out to eat far too many times for Mom's belly. I've napped in the car more in the past week than I have in the past two months. I've played hard. I've giggled hard. I've been a bit grumpy, too - seems like these days Mom is the only person who can make me happy if she's in the room.

But, alas, all holidays must end. This morning Daddy went to work again. I cried when he left - he hasn't left the house without me in over a week. Mom and I got back down to the business of filling our days at home by ourselves. We do a pretty good job of it, as you can see below.

We do lots of playing in the bathtub, both filled with water and empty (Fun! It's a boat! That's tipping over!):

I keep working on shoving entire slices of pears in to my mouth, with no regard for the relative size of the pear compared to the size of my mouth:

I try my hand at eating pumpkin:

I am not a big fan of the pumpkin:

I continue to work on my scrunchy face, as does Mom. Mom looks silly when she does her scrunchy face, but me? I just look cute:

And then I continue to work on climbing everything. Like this box, for example. It was completely my idea, and I needed no help from Mom to get on the box:

My idea ended a bit poorly, though (Mom's note - he was fine. Didn't even shed a tear.):

So - whee! Mom and I are keeping busy. It's not nearly as fun as when everybody is here to play with me, but we'll make do. And we'll catch up on some sleep...

How'd Santa get in this house?

We have no chimney. At least not one big enough for a jolly old elf. So how'd he get in to give Dex some presents on Christmas morning? Must be magic...

Dex goes up to bed on Christmas Eve to dream of sugarplums

Our inaugural offering to Santa - wings and beer. Pay no attention to the partially consumed beer on the left. We were... testing it. Yeah, that's right. Testing it to make sure it was up to Santa's standards.

Santa must have been ok with wings and beer, because he left us some gifts. Also, Santa is a slacker - he didn't wrap.

A tie for the best gift Dex received. Why'd I bother getting him actual gifts?

Cowboy in the making

Yeah, yeah. This book is cool and all. But the wrapping paper? Awesome!

Cute husband, who is not amused at being the test subject of new spiffy flash.

The boys play with trucks while I play with awesome speedlight flash for the camera. I think I had more fun.

HO HO HO!

!OH OH OH
(Get it?)

Hope you all had a great Christmas! We enjoyed our first Christmas morning as a new little family. Looking forward to continuing the tradition in the future!

A Real Hum-Dinger

OK, so I know I make fun of Maryland for being snow sissies. Two inches shuts down the world for at least a day. But I think the storm we had on Saturday would have even shut down upstate New York. For an hour or two. We didn't do an official measurement at our house, but it seems like there's about 20 inches on the ground. It was an impressive display of blizzarding yesterday.

Here's a few shots. Don't you wish you were here? Oh, wait. Maybe some of you are...

The view out the front door this morning. Where's the cars??

John had to shovel a poopy path for CoCo, as the snow is taller than she is.

Community shoveling. Nothing like a good snow storm to meet all the neighbors. EVERYONE was out, and helping everyone. It really was pretty cool. And we appreciated the neighbor with the snow blower, who helped clear out empty parking spots.

Poor John shoveled twice on Saturday in the snow, and then was out for three hours this morning, clearing the sidewalks and the parking lot. He is now very tired.

Dex is an excellent supervisor of shoveling. And he looks bad-ass in his sunglasses.

PS - I'll go back to making fun of Maryland now. School on Monday? ALREADY CANCELED. WTF?

Ten Random Things About Me

My mom wanted to know when I was going to post another blog entry. Dude! I've been busy wrapping presents and making presents and shopping for presents and walking and doing DVD workouts and chasing after a crawling baby and surfing the internets and NOW I have to make a grocery list and go shopping today because the Weather Channel FORECAST OF DOOM says that Baltimore and DC are going to get hammered with snow. And when we get hammered with snow here, the whole world shuts down. Like for days on end. HOWEVER, I am guessing we'll be in better shape than, say, my cute friends in Blacksburg, or my cute friends in Sweet Briar. They, too, are supposed to get hammered with snow, and they are even more woefully unprepared for snow in the state of Virginia than we are here in Maryland.

Anyway - I digress. There's not much going on here baby-wise, unless you count Dexter figuring out how to slide down the stairs on his belly, and how to push the sound button on his soft book that makes sounds, that Aunt Jeanne gave him, oh, way back in August. So. You get a list of things you maybe never knew about me. And maybe you don't care. Too bad. And I suppose, somewhere, I'd better toss in a picture of a baby. That's really the only reason Mom reads, anyway - she wants to see cute baby pictures.

Cute baby picture for Grandma. What? Not cute enough? Guess you'll just have to keep reading...

1) My favorite drink is Bailey's on the rocks. In fact, Bailey's is currently on the "oh, shit, we'd better get this before it snows and we can't go anywhere for a week" list. It's important stuff. The only thing better is the rum cream that John got me for Christmas last year, shipped in from Jamaica. No, really. From Jamaica. Should have seen the package. It had about 76 trillion stamps on it. It was wild.

2) The best thing that's ever happened to me, before I met John and had a baby and all that, was this little brown fuzzy dog. She was given to me by a woman in Blacksburg who could no longer keep her. My boss decided I needed her. And then, a year later, the woman who gave her to me wanted her back. No, thanks. I think I'll keep the best thing that ever happened to me, thankyouverymuch.

The best dog in the world, participating in the best wedding in the world.

3) I have a ridiculously black thumb. Not because I don't love pretty flowers, or plants. But really because I always forget to water the damn things. And feed them. And thus they end up looking like this (this, by the way, is a plant I grew from scratch in my "Indoor Plants" class at Tech. Yep, it was actually a class! For credit, even!):

4) The most terrified I remember being in the recent past? Not right before going to the hospital to be induced. Not deciding to have a child. No, no. It was sitting on my horse, outside a horse show ring at the Cecil County Fair a couple years ago. Looking at the fences that I was supposed to go in and jump. And thinking "Christ Almighty, those fences are HUGE!" I told John, multiple times, that I was going to puke. The knot in my stomach lasted til after the first jump. And then Fraz was in a rhythm, and I was in a zone, and I forgot all about how huge the jumps were. And, hey - don't you laugh at this photo and say "that chick is CRAZY. Those jumps are tiny." Have YOU ever jumped a three foot course on the back of a horse before?

How I miss my Frazier boy. He took such good care of me.

5) I love driving my truck. I love being able to see over people. And the best thing? I LOVE the damn side mirrors on the truck. You can see FOREVER in them! Do they make kick-ass big side mirrors for Altimas?

My truck after a weekend of endurance ride managing at Fair Hill. Where it always rains.

6) I am a planner. I don't do "fly by the seat of your pants" very well. I like to know what's coming. And when. The baby is on a schedule - I know when he eats, and I know when he sleeps. I like it that way, and I don't like to mess with it. My friends with kids Dexter's age think I am a bit crazy, or inflexible, or both. ;-) It does make things a bit interesting in this house, though, as I usually get to plan any vacations, date nights, holiday gatherings, etc. Which is all fine and good. But, sometimes a girl just wants to be whisked away and not have to worry about planning anything, you know? (Hint, hint, cute husband...)

7) Along those same lines, I am prompt. I hate late. I hate being late. I hate waiting for late people. This whole baby thing is challenging my ability to be prompt. But I think I'm actually doing a pretty damn good job. The secret? PLANNING.

8) I love photos. I love taking good ones. I love looking at good ones. I get jealous looking at good ones because I want to be able to do the same. For me, a perfect photo doesn't need cropping or light editing. It just stands on its own. John has put a ban on picture frames in this house, because I have a zillion, all filled with photos. No worries now, though, that I have a digital picture frame!

One of my favorite photos I've taken. Grand Teton National Park.

9) I have a very limited comfort zone, as far as heat and cold go. My perfect temperature is about what our house is at now - 70. Warm enough that you're ok in a tee shirt. Chilly enough that when you sleep on the couch you want a blanket. Warm enough to not be freezing in bed. Chilly enough to not have to take your socks off during the middle of the night. So I'm good all winter in this house. But in the summer? I die. It was better this past summer - I could talk John in to 75 degrees. You know, for the sake of the baby...

Hmmm. I'm out of ideas. Maybe this will only be nine things about me. Hold on. I'll think of something. I hate cats? I'm hoping Santa will bring me a pony for Christmas? My hands are constantly dry, because I do dishes about 17 times a day? Oh, I've got one. Here you go:

10) When I make a fist, my thumb is inside my fist. It means two things. A) If I ever punch someone I am sure to break my thumb and B) John laughs at me every time I make a fist.

Note the thumb...

OK! So that's way more than you ever needed to know about me, right? Next post will, I'm sure, be back to our regularly scheduled Dexter news. Or maybe it'll actually snow, and I'll toss the baby in it and see how he does. Oooh, and the dog, too. She hates snow.

From our last big storm a few years ago. The dog? NOT PLEASED.

Cute baby picture for Grandma. Who needs Christmas presents when you can play with dog collars and paper towel rolls?

Snuffle. Snort. Cough.

Being sick sucks. I know that. You feel like crap, you can't breathe, stuff doesn't taste right, you can't sleep because you can't breathe, etc etc. Pretty much just sucky.

But then add in the "I'm ten months old, breathe almost exclusively through my nose, and also I can't communicate to tell you what's wrong" aspect to it, and MAN. Being sick SUCKS.

So the baby is sick. Since Tuesday. My sister says it's Santa's fault - he had cooties. She may well be right.

He's not super sick. Just the run-of-the-mill can't breathe through his nose, running a little fever, coughing up the snot running down the back of his throat, grumpy, not sleeping well kind of sick. It's great fun.

We're doing all we can for the poor boy. Vaporizer. Heater in his room (it gets COLD in there). Sitting in hot steamy bathroom after Mom showers. Saline up the nose (hates this). Nose sucky thingy (HATES HATES HATES this). Baby Vicks on the chest. Lots of cuddles and opportunities to take naps. Early bed. Feeding a bottle in the evening because it's easier than nursing when you can't breathe through the nose.

And he's still sick. No improvement in his condition at all. Still in the "not sick enough to go to the doctor, but too sick to go to the store so Mom can get out of the house and not go crazy" stage. John asked if I got the mail today. That'd be a no. I don't think I put shoes on today. I certainly didn't set foot outside. Also - it's FREAKING COLD OUT. So, no. I didn't get the mail today.

Poor tyke. I feel bad for him. I wish there was more I could do for him. But I think we just have to ride this one out. He has, at least, been fairly chipper when he's awake. Walking all over with his car. Chasing CoCo. Climbing the stairs. And, about 30% of the time, figuring out how to start back DOWN the stairs. Hey - 30% is pretty good. It's up from 0%.

Here's hoping the boy wakes up Saturday morning with a nice clear nose, and without a cough. Oh, and while we're at it, let's kick that fever, too, shall we?

We were going with the "if you go outside your nose gets runny, and then when you come back inside Mom can suck the snot out" theory here. Went for a walk.

It was COLD. Somewhere under all those layers there is a baby.

Too many layers!! HALP! HALP! I've fallen, and I can't get up!

HALP! I've fallen AGAIN and I can't get up!

Hey, check it out, Grandpa! I finally figured out how to play with the bed bugs. Til they don't push down like they're supposed to (maybe because my hand is on the other bug) and then I get mad and throw it. :-)

Catching the Spirit

We're working on catching the holiday spirit here in the Norman household. It's a slow process. Dex doesn't give a damn about Christmas, so it's hard to be excited about it for him. John's super busy at work, so it's hard for him to focus on anything else. And he came home from his shopping adventure yesterday all grumpy and bah-humbug-y. All "I hate Christmas shopping, why do I have to do Christmas shopping." Ah, the holiday spirit. We'll find it, eventually.

Here, Daddy. I'll cheer you up. Eat my fingers!

Here's some things that are helping us find the spirit:

1) It SNOWED! Woo-hoo! We had a couple inches on Saturday. The car is now COVERED in salt, because Maryland believes there's never too much of a good thing.

Apparently December 5 is a good day for snow in Maryland, as seen in this article.

Ha-ha, CoCo. You're out in the cold cold snow, and I am in here in the warm kitchen!

Sorry, Gerber Daisies. You probably don't like the snow.

Sorry, Baby Dexter. You probably don't like the snow. (Really? What gives? He cried and cried when I put him on the snow. Of course, he had bare hands. Perhaps the snow was cold? Or something?)

2) It's FREAKING COLD out. I guess that kind of goes along with the snow. But still. BRRR! Nothing like hats and mittens and hot chocolate and Baileys on the rocks to get one in the holiday spirit.

A little cold won't stop us from going for a walk. We just add more layers.

Cold + hat = ridiculous hat hair

3) We're working on decorating the house. That's really the work in progress. How much can you really put out in the baby's play area, if you don't want him to eat it? I have no idea what we're going to do with the gifts. For now they are stashed in the bedroom. All wrapped, by the way. Because I kick ass. I haven't, however, wrapped any of Dexter's gifts. I think I might be too lazy to do so. Besides, how the hell am I supposed to wrap a fire truck? So, sorry, Dex. Santa's not wrapping this year.

Gifts ready for Christmas opening. Or for baby ripping.

Decorations and a tree are not up yet. But we have at least fetched stuff from storage.

4) WE SAW SANTA!!

Obligatory Crying on Santa's Lap Photo. Pretty much par for the course for holiday photos for us this year.

HO-HO-HO!! Santa, by the way, rocked. Not only was he a perfect, natural looking Santa, but he also had an awesome smile and kept right on smiling, through all the baby crying. Thanks, Santa!

Gratuitious cute baby photo that has nothing to do with the holidays, but somehow gets one in the holiday spirit just the same.