Christmas 2008

As you can see Joe had a very good time Christmas morning. The last picture is actually from the 24th. He crashed in his little chair before I could put him down for his nap. Very sweet.

Christmas time has been very entertaining with a two year old. I am happy to report that the tree stayed upright for the entire season and no ornaments were broken. Of course this year I invested in shatter proof ornaments and nothing on the tree was breakable. My glass ornaments are going to be on vacation for the next few years so that they'll survive. We worked this year on the one finger theory when touching the tree. This had some very funny stories to go along with it. The first night the tree was being decorated was the hardest. Joe was very excited and kept grabbing everything. Ed finally handed him one of the old bells that we hung on the tree which kept Joe busy for a while. When the tree was almost finished Joe lost interest in his bell and attempted to hang it himself, which required a bit of assistance. He then proceeded to grab a gold ball and try to yank it off the tree. This is when I stepped in and explained the one finger theory to the little man. He was very cooperative and gladly released the ball to touch it with only one finger. Smiling up at me with that angelic face I thought to myself this is going to be easy.

Yeah...right.

He moved to the other side of the tree and grabbed another ornament with both hands and began yanking with all of his two year old might. I exclaimed one finger in what might have been a bit of shrill alarm. Joe stopped yanking, still holding the ornament with both hands I could see the wheels in his brain turning as he mulled over my declaration. The light bulb clicked on and he let go of the ornament walked back to the original victim of his attack and proudly touched it with one finger while smiling up at me. This continued for the rest of the night with either his father or myself stating one finger and Joe returning to the original ball and touching it with just one finger only to grab another ornament a minute later.

After a couple of days he finally started touching everything with one finger when we were watching and when we weren't well the the tree had to fend for itself. All in all he was very good and never really posed any danger to himself or the tree.

Christmas morning Joe helped to open his gifts. We used a little bit of subterfuge by exclaiming that there were balls or cars in each package so he ripped away until he discovered the trick and let daddy finish. He was thrilled with everything he got and it was funny to watch him play with everything after wards. He could'nt decide what to play with so he played with everything at once. Quite the challenge but Joe is pretty talented.

Our new bathroom is almost done. I will be painting soon and then the next project begins.
Must go get lunch ready for my hungry crew.

Love you all and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Nikki

Christmas tree hunt 2008

Enjoy the pictures I have to run get dinner started. Love ya Nikki

Weather and Renovations

So, for those of you who might've heard about our area on the news, we are fine and our power is currently intact. Even if we do lose it, we heat with our woodstove so we will be warm and cozy in the candlelight.

Joe had his first oops that actually involved a little blood last night. He was getting off one of the table chairs and put his leg through the back while the other leg went were he wanted. The unfortunate outcome was the chair turned over and gave him a split lip( very small) and a fat lip(very big). He recovered quickly and was very pleased when mommy decided he could have pudding for dinner since his lip was sore. We have decided to sell the table and chairs and get a more solid set that Joe can get off of with out putting feet were they do not belong. He doesn't even seem to notice it this morning as he is running around the house playing with everything, looking out the window and wondering why it looks so funny outside.

Our contractor started work on the upstairs bathroom/closet/laundry room. Yeah I know, those of you who have seen our upstairs are probably scratching your heads wondering how we are going to fit any thing else upstairs. The contractor, Bruce, removed the closets from both rooms, leaving a temporary hole between the rooms. Then he framed a wall that runs between the front and back dormer, putting doors on the wall for each room. The ends of the room will become closets for each room with a half bath and the washer and dryer units. I can also fit all sorts of shelves in for storage and a dresser or two to conserve space in the soon to be very tiny bedrooms. When the project is finished we will be moving Joe upstairs. After baby #2 is a year old they will share a bedroom since all we do is sleep in our bedrooms and we spend almost all our time down stairs. I think IKEA will probably become my favorite catalog for all their organizational stuff. Toy storage has become my next nesting project. Of course I can't really start anything until we get the kitchen - family room done. So I have to plan everything out and wait. Slightly frustrating.

Other then that we have nothing much going on here. Oh wait, I forgot we are also looking at getting a wind turbine (More to come...)

Alright love you all, Nikki

Two whole years old

I can hardly believe it has been two years since our little man came along. I think back to those first few weeks and can hardly keep from crying. (Of course that may be the whole pregnancy hormonal thing kicking in.) I remember the day I was discharged from the hospital I could barely breathe as I thought of coming home without Joe. Driving up to the hospital twice a day to visit, calling the nurse at midnight to find out if he had lost any weight - they weighed him at the beginning of the night shift. One of the doctors telling me he loved the fact that Joe seemed to defy every nurse in the NICU by ignoring all their dire warnings, they all told us little boys are slower to progress then girls and will lose weight at first and won't eat on their own. Not our boy he started eating the first day. He couldn't finish the whole thing on his own but he made it very clear he would not be needing that NG tube for long. He ripped it out every chance he got, much to his nurses chagrin. That should of been my warning sign for what was to come. Now he pretty much tries to climb everything. We have to run to keep up with him as he flys from one end of the house to the other trying to scale the walls almost everyday. No seriously, he puts the toes of one foot up on my baseboard and reaches up with the opposite hand feeling for anything that will give him a little of a handle. Good thing he doesn't know how thin our walls are and that with a little pressure he could punch his little hand through.

Well I am rambling so I will just say, Joe had a fabulous time on Sunday. We had a small party, just grandparents, Ed and Elsie and Auntie Andrea and Great Grandma Me'Me'. He refused to open a single present. Even when I tore a small piece and tried to interest him in assisting with all sorts of ploys. He stood in front of me signing open and pointing to me. So being the obedient mommy I complied and handed him his present after I finished removing the pesky paper from them. He loved everything but is particularly in love with the monster bowling from Oma, the snake from Auntie Amy and family and the chair Grandma Elsie got him. Of course the mini piano from mom and dad has been well used. Anyhow, hope you all enjoy the pictures and are having a great holiday season so far. We are getting ready for a big storm over the next two days. I hope it is only snow but they are saying we may get the ice instead. Yuck.
Any how Love ya, Nikki