It's beginning to look somewhat like Christmas...

The original plan was not to decorate at all. The Christmas decorations box had landed itself on the very bottom of a tower of boxes in the garage. However, our smaller Christmas tree was still accessible. Hmmm...

A dollar store trip made for a cheap set of new decorations for this little tree... and if certain little hands got a hold of them, it wouldn't matter so much. This is really for him anyway, right?

Ian did enjoy playing with the lights, balls, and garland and was even a little helpful in the whole decorating process. There was Christmas music playing. Milk and cookies were available. A little train track around the base of the tree adds a nice, playful touch. This is Ian's tree, at which he likes to point and say "lights!" and "pretty!"

First Day of Train Play

Ian inherited a well-loved train set from my second/third cousins who coincidentally live here in town. I think I heard the boy say "Trains!" in his sleep the other night. Yes, it's been love at first sight.

Need some Beano?

The real point of this post is to announce that Ian ate beans tonight. This is a breakthrough in our little picky eater's life. I am thankful to have found another protein source for his diet! The real point of this picture was to capture the footie pjs which we haven't worn in a year, and they make him look, well, like a baby again, well, sort of, ok, not really. But they're cute!

21 Months and Not Quite Two

This is more for my personal reflection than anything else, although I'm sure some people might find it interesting, too. So, today Ian is 21 months old.

Ian, my dear, I must say that your 21st month of life has been a whirlwind! So many new WORDS! You can repeat most of what we say, and you remember a lot of it, too! I am always fascinated by how your little brain works, and the connections and discoveries you make continue to amaze me. I also love your Ian-isms... funny pronunciations and well, some words that you just made up like "sow-shoe" for "motorcycle" and "fouse" for your "pacifier."

Speaking of, beware kiddo... because the days of the pacifier are numbered! I don't know when we'll plan to take it away, but you shouldn't have it past your second birthday for sure! Sadly, as we are nearing this time of paci-weaning, you seem to be growing more attached to it. You threw a ten-minute fit the other day because I wouldn't give it to you in the middle of the afternoon. We only use it during sleeping times and long car rides. We have some road trips coming up with the holidays, so you may get to keep it through then.

Speaking of fits, you like to throw them every once in a while. Most days are better than others, but you do have an independent streak, and you like to get your way. We had a rough patch here lately with the emergence of a new molar. Man, those teeth sure make you cranky! I saw the tooth the other night... coming in on the top left. Only three more to go, baby! Then I think we get a little break from this teething business.

You are still our little social guy, and I love how friendly you are! In a new city where we don't know many people, you charm complete strangers wherever we go, and you're a great little conversation starter. If mom needs her social fix, she knows to just bring you along! You love watching the big kids play, and I can tell you want to be just like them. Well, don't grow up too fast, sweetheart. There will soon be a time for climbing trees and riding bikes, just you wait.

Your favorite toy is still "Doo Da" which is the vacuum cleaner named for the song it sings. You love throwing, kicking, and rolling balls... and you're getting much better at catching them, too. The light saber is a fun one, and you've also developed this little "finger gun" that you shoot us with... not sure where you got that. You do love dirt and rocks, as little boys should. You've got the somersault down pat, and you've gained a little bit of height on your jumps.

You are still a very picky eater. Your protein intake consists of chicken nuggets and turkey bacon. You LOVE fruit, though. Vegetables? Well, do veggie chips count? We are trying our best to give you well-rounded meals, but you're not helping us much. Your daily drinks are "au juice" and "ulk." You don't like to try new foods even though we know you would like many of the things we offer. Every now and then you get a special treat: "ems" which is your word for "M&Ms."

You don't like to be messed with... meaning that tickling and tackling is fun as long as you have the upper hand and can call the shots. You also throw absolute fits at the doctor's office, and just today we attempted another haircut. Disaster. Well, the haircut itself looks fine, but after your fit at the barber shop, mom and dad decided to go buy clippers and try it ourselves. The good news is that no one else could hear you hollering. I sure hope this is a phase.

Lastly, here are a few photos (pre and post haircut) of you at age 21 months.

Big Shoes to Fill

Ian does like wearing our shoes these days.

A Bear in Training

So, we've got some work to do on pronunciation and we haven't gotten the hand motions down, yet, but this is a good start, right? It's a bit different from these videos, huh?

The real shoes blues

I forgot to mention the saddest part about our little shoe saga with Ian. We bought size 5 shoes in mid-September, and we were back at the shoe store only TWO months later buying size 6.5. Man, that kid grows fast. (Or maybe it's just his feet?) So, I seem to be a Stride Rite snob, but can I justify the cost when he grows so quickly?

The other sad news is that even though I bought Zumba shoes a few months ago, I can't wear them now. I guess I've got pregnancy foot syndrome or something, but they've started hurting and rubbing blisters. So, I had to buy some interim "dance-fitness" shoes. Why not just wear my cross-trainers? Well, I tried that, and it killed my knees! There is a lot of pivoting in zumba/jam, and the traction of running shoes makes that difficult.

OK, so I will admit that buying new shoes is always fun (for me... obviously not for Ian). But it's not fun to justify the cost when you seemingly have a perfectly good pair sitting at home.

Treehugger

Today's Favorite

We had a fun day today. Here are the pictures... but this one is my favorite.

Shoes Blues Part Two

Have I left you in suspense? You know, the THREE people who check my blog. (At least that's what the comments always tell me.)

I do like your guesses, though. I think you might not have had all the details you needed to really guess the outcome. At the first shopping trip, I bought two pairs of shoes each in a different style and size. Ian has nearly worn out the first pair, not to mention that clearly he has grown out of them, too. And thinking back, he learned the word "shoes" recently, and this is the pair he always retrieves when it's time to "stow" (let's go). So, I shouldn't have been surprised...

It wasn't the SIZE or FIT of the shoe that mattered to Ian, but the STYLE. He wanted HIS shoes. So, when I held up the pair we already had been wearing, he reached out for it. I don't know if he knew it was a new shoe, actually. The clerk brought out his new size in those shoes, and we put them right on without a fuss. I still wonder... does he even know they're different? Surely he can recognize that they fit better.

I was miffed because I really liked the other shoe, the way it looked and all. But these have been great shoes for Ian, so no big deal. Stride Rite does cycle on their styles though, so I hope we don't have too much of a problem buying new shoes in the future when this particular style isn't available anymore.

To seal the deal, I heard an interesting conversation on the way out of the store. Mom and son, maybe age 9 or 10, were talking: "Do you want a shoe like your old one or do you want a new one?" "Um, the old one!" So, we may experience years of this, I don't know. Is that a boy thing? Let's stick with what we know is good, functional, and comfortable. Whereas with girls... bring on the new style, baby!

Shoes Blues

The last time I visited Stride Rite, they were having a buy-one-get-one-half-off sale. So, I got Ian two different pairs... the one he wears now and one in the next size up to grow into. Well, it's about that time. So, a week or so ago, we got out the new shoes, and it seemed like Ian walked kinda funny in them. Still too big, perhaps? I got them out again today, and he threw a royal fit about wearing them. Hmmm... maybe we should go back to the store and check things out.

The sales clerk measured his feet and said he was ready for the NEXT size up from that, even. She also suspected that since that particular shoe had a "tighter construction," that we should try the wide width. I like the new shoe's design, and since it was on sale, we had to do an exchange for that exact shoe (different size) or pay the extra money. At the mere sight of these shoes, Ian started fussing. We put them on his kicking feet, and he wouldn't even get down to stand or walk in them. What gives?

While the sales clerk tended to someone else for a minute, I showed Ian all the different shoes in his size range. "Do you like this one?" "No." "How about this one?" "No." "Oooh, this one is cool!" "Noooooooo!"

Do you want to guess the end of this story? I think you should. Because I was a little amused, and OK, a tiny bit miffed at the outcome. So, what do you think happened?

Almost forgot!

I did end up making Ian a bus shirt. For a refresher of that adventure, click here.

I just found a fun bus graphic and put the Via logo on it. I'm sure they won't mind.

Ian still points out buses when they go by.

I randomly found the photos on Lydia's picasa site... I had almost forgotten about them! Thanks for posting them, Lyd.


And the back of the shirt says, "Viva la via!" Man, I feel a scrapbook spread coming on. Wait, what? Scrapbooking? What's that?

Monkey Man

Quick Vac Report

Ian had his H1N1 immunization today. The pedi office where he got it offered to give me one, too, if I had written permission from my OB. I go to see him on Monday, so hopefully he will do that or at least give me info about where to get one. Ian also has an appointment on Monday for his seasonal flu vac. John and I had our seasonal flu shots already. So, now we just hope John doesn't get H1N1, and we should be good!

Season's End

It might be safe to say that fall is finally here, and summer is surely behind us. I can also say that the time for some of Ian's cutest clothing is also coming to a close because of both season and size. And babyhood is definitely fleeting as we are catching more glimpses of boyhood each day. So these photos were an attempt to catch the end of this "season."

Little boy, where are you going? Why must you walk away?

I'm going to explore, Mom. I hope that it's okay.

Sure thing, sweetie, I'll be right here, just remember that...

Thanks, Mom. And by the way, can you hold on to my hat?

Swing and slide, run and climb, I love to watch you play...

It's hard to believe that these baby days have so quickly gone away!

Whole Foods Assessment

First of all, there will be no political commentary here about the recent story with the CEO's health care reform opinions or the "buycott" and all that. This post is simply about my shopping experiences there which are completely unrelated and quite un-newsworthy, I assure you.

John and I shopped at Whole Foods for the first time in downtown Austin two years ago. I remember being completely fascinated by it. Maybe we had settled into the Austin-ish way of things during that particular trip. Or perhaps the sheer novelty of it made it so memorable. I say this because our recent experience in SA was a little anticlimactic.

I don't think this one is as big... which is good because our son had a meltdown about halfway through the store, so we had to expedite things a bit.

And I'm just not that impressed. It was more expensive for sure and certainly not close to home. (I can count five HEBs within a 15-mile radius of our house.) And to be perfectly honest, HEB has an adequate selection of organic foods which nullifies that reason for shopping Whole Foods. So, I guess it has lost its appeal to me. Here are a few reasons why:

I bought applesauce and yogurt for Ian, both of which were incredibly runny. This is not good for a toddler learning to use a spoon by himself. His fruit bars (Nutrigrain equivalent) were very crumbly, also not good for my messy eater. John bought a ready-made lunch to take to work, something that looked like chicken stir fry, only to find out that it was probably tofu. (Mind you, it was not labeled.) His other lunch option of black beans and rice was also disappointing, he said.

There were some things that I just ended up buying the brand I normally do at HEB. There were a few things they didn't have which necessitated a follow-up trip to HEB. And several things went bad within a few days before we had the chance to eat them!

I would say the best thing about the trip was the purchase of "ambrosia" apples. Man, those things are GOOD! But I'm a sucker for my HEB pre-sliced apples, anyway. Clearly you can see where this is all headed... I'm sticking with HEB, and I think we'll do just fine!

Speaking of pre-sliced apples and how that makes me feel a little lazy, did you know they make cracker-sized slices of prepackaged cheese? Come on now, people... get out a knife and cut the cheese! Wanna know what else is crazy... I actually bought them!

Not at home

Because of the network and backup setup my husband has established for our home, I have two "locations" to choose from whenever I'm using said network or when I'm out and about. They are so aptly named "home" and "not at home." I was very thankful to click "home" tonight when we got back from a busy, but very fun weekend. So, here is a recap of "not at home."

Our pre-trip prep involved a trip to Target with two items on the list: cold meds and baby wipes. Somehow I came home with $60 worth of merchandise. Ian and I both went in our pjs since our clothes for the day were still churning in the dryer as part of the pre-trip laundry load that was forgotten the day before.


The main purpose of the trip was for Sophie girl's first birthday party. Her mama and our friend, Jill, has always thrown a mean Halloween party. We missed out last year because, well, she was in the hospital with a one-day-old baby! Here is my favorite pic of our sweet little birthday girl. Jill, I'll try to get the rest of the photos to you soon.


Our little giraffe grazing after a long day on the road...


Our "themed" costumes this year were the giraffe boy, of course, Kanga, little Roo (the sibling's "costume") and our zookeeper who keeps track of the wild animals running around the house. This is the best pic we got of the three of us. My pouch has a tail attached to the other side... clever, Oriental Trading, you are... now stop sending me junk mail!


We stuck around through Monday so I could arrange a few work meetings one of which was at Baylor. So, we wandered around campus a little.


And then it was time to go home.

No, not for Halloween, but...

I did wear makeup recently.