Ornaments

Putting the ornaments on the tree was a bit of a challenge this year. All the soft and unbreakables are hanging low and all the fragile and 'ball' looking ornaments are high.

Gerrit tried putting this ornament on his head:

He took a liking to all the bicycle ornaments. He took this one and has been playing with it most of the afternoon.I had to have Adam take Gerrit downstairs so I could continue putting ornaments on because as soon as I put one on, Gerrit took one off! I was ready to leave the tree with just lights this year but knew how much I enjoyed putting on the ornaments I have collected over the years. I think putting the ornaments on is one of my favorite parts of Christmas.

It could look better but with a 19 month old, I think it looks pretty good. He hasn't been near the tree since I finished it so we shall see how it looks after Gerrit checks it out again. (The pointy needles don't seem to bother him - nice idea Omah)

Oh Tannenbaum

Like my use of German? I still have it after all these years. No, actually I cringe at the thought of German class (sorry Joy), but thought it made a good title....

We went on our yearly afternoon excursion to get our Christmas tree on Wed. I didn't post pictures because I was waiting for the final product, here you go:

The hayride out to the trees:

Attempting a family photo:

Debating whether the tree is actually a white spruce (last year we cut a Fraiser Fur thinking it was a 'beautiful spruce' - it was in the spruce section):

One reason I liked this tree was all the pine cones it had! After they shook the tree, most of my pine cones were found here:
The final product:

An Early Homecoming

After a bit of a rocky night with Gerrit - he slept with us which is always a peaceful sleep - NOT!, we headed off to the races. Because Gerrit was up at 5 and didn't want to go back to sleep, he decided the car was a better place to continue his slumber. So he slept the 1st hr of the races which meant I stayed in the warm car and watched out the window. In the meantime Adam woke up to his stomach issues which wasn't fun. He tried to grin an bare it but couldn't. So, after starting his first lap he quit (he's never quit a race so he must've been feeling icky!). No, I didn't get him sick, its just a 'flare up' if you can call it that.

We headed back to the hotel and were on the road by 2 this afternoon instead of 2 tomorrow. Bummer we missed out on swimming and hanging with our friends as well as another day of races but it was for the best. Adam is sleeping peacefully on the coach and Gerrit is sleeping peacefully in his bed. :)

Gerrit did surprisingly well on the way home too seeing he was in his car seat for 7 hrs in a matter of 24 hrs! By the end we were getting desperate - but taking shoes and socks off and putting them back on is still fun for him so it worked. (Omah, thanks for the singing Rudolph - Gerrit knows how to turn him on and it kept him busy quite a long time and now we can sing Rudolph in our sleep, but it was worth it).

As much as we would've loved to have stayed, its always better to be at home when one feels ill. I can use tomorrow to get the rest of my Christmas decorations up - bonus day in my book!

Seeing last year I got sick at Jingle Cross and Adam got 'sick' this year, does that mean its Gerrit's turn next year? (Adam said we aren't going!)

Iowa Here WE Come!

I wasn't planning on joining Adam and Gerrit to Iowa due to my illness yesterday but I seemed to have kept the food that I was eating in long enough to feel it was safe to travel 4 hrs in a car. So, we are in Iowa City, along with 3 other families from Z-town. We had a rat race of a time finding the restaurant, which seemed to be out of business - why didn't either of the guys working at the gas stations I stopped at to ask for directions tell me this? Thank goodness for cell phones, we all made it and had a nice dinner.

I am currently sitting in the dark listening to Gerrit page thru his book as that seems to be a new nightly habit of his. We have limited it to a Curious George book because he tends to trash the pages. I think he finally put the book down and fell asleep. :) I can't complain, he took a 2 hr nap in the car - which was needed seeing he was up at 5 this am. (Snuggling with dad isn't quite the same as mom, I guess).

The weather tomorrow should be decent - in the 40s which will make being outside all day tolerable. We have 4 people racing in 3 different races plus the pros so it will be a long day. Hopefully Gerrit will make it and squeeze a nap in at some point too. Till tomorrow....

The FEAST Must Go On

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner today by having a few friends over. Everyone brought part of the meal so it wasn't totally on my shoulders. I did cook my first turkey ever but unfortunately wasn't able join the group in the feast. I got the flu this morning! I thought it was food poisoning because I felt fine, despite the vomiting so I continued preparing for lunch. I kept saying that the feast must go on and it did. I even did some cleaning once things were in the oven. But around noon (when guests were suppose to arrive) I felt the signs of the flu - tired, and just icky, so I passed the baton off to Adam and went to bed. Luckily all the food I touched, the bacteria was cooked off in the oven! Adam said it was a great meal; the turkey was moist and all the other fixings were yummy too. The only thing he messed up on was making the gravy (I probably would've too seeing I've never made it before either). So my Thanksgiving meal consisted of jello and saltines around 6 pm watching the Spartans lose big time to Maryland (that in itself made me sick again! - just kidding).

I did try a few bites of turkey and must admit it is pretty good. My brother had given me a turkey recipe 10 years ago and I've always wanted to try it but never had the chance. It called for a lot of garlic! I think I used a whole head of garlic - my kind of turkey! And another 1/2 a head in the mashed potatoes.

I felt bad leaving Adam to finishing the meal and deal with the clean up on top of watching Gerrit. He handled it all like a pro. Gerrit knew I was upstairs so while Adam was busy, he'd sneak up stairs and open my door real hard; I wasn't sleeping so it didn't startle me. I felt bad as he wanted me to play with him but I tried to stay away.

Tomorrow we are suppose to head to Iowa for Adam's last bike races of the season. We went last year and had a blast. One other family went last year, and we were able to convince 2 other families to join us this year! But, I think I will be staying behind. The idea of getting others sick or still being sick myself in a hotel doesn't excite us. I give Adam credit, he will be a single dad this weekend and I can lay low and get better. We shall see how I feel in the morning before we make our final decision. I'll keep you posted.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Never a Dull Moment

I don't often write about school but as I sit here an knit, I am reminded of some things that happened this week (note: we only had 2 days of school this week) and felt like sharing them:

A 7th grader, during a volleyball game, said he "lost his mo-jo" when he lost his serve.

A 6th grader taped a sign that read "kick me" to her teacher's back! (I didn't think kids tried that trick anymore - especially on a teacher! bold move - made me laugh too)

A 5th grader tried to tell me (and the class) that you must win by 2 in basketball! Yikes, I've got my work cut out with this one! He did explain himself and say that is true in a basketball video game.

And people think I'm crazy for teaching middle school!

We've Entered A New Era

As much fun as Gerrit is becoming the older he gets, the more difficult he is also becoming. Tonight for example...he was into throwing things - especially items that are not suppose to be thrown like the coaster holder (solid wood). He threw it when his father had told him not to so he got a 'talking to' at least 4 times. He was in a time out of sorts (held tight by dad on dad's lap) and even I had to talk to him after he threw it again.

As Adam was giving Gerrit his 'talk', I looked on from a distance and saw Gerrit's eyes - looking everywhere but at Adam and showing Adam that he could care less about the lecture Adam was giving him in a stern voice. I wanted to laugh but of course didn't but it was very obvious Gerrit knew what he was doing and that he wasn't suppose to be throwing the coaster holder.

At one point, Adam was so frustrated/mad that he said I had to put Gerrit to bed - he was too upset with him! (Adam had agreed to put him to bed so I could continue knitting) Again, I wanted to laugh at how upset Adam was.

We both have come to the conclusion that we are entering the 'terrible twos' a bit early and we've heard from some friends that the threes are worse! Man, its going to be a couple of long years! :)

Spoiled

Living across the street from the movie theater has its perks:

Don't mind the mess in the background. Gerrit was playing with the socks in the laundry basket and became distracted when Dad brought down the tub of popcorn.

Gerrit sat so nicely eating his popcorn and watching football. Too bad the theater is only open 1 weekend a month (not so bad for my diet though) because we have been spoiled with the Sunday evening popcorn 'dinner'.

Milestones

It seems like this weekend Gerrit is able to do a lot of new things:

gives kisses (mouth wide open, so beware!)
waves bye bye
works on puzzles
follows directions (usually)
covers his mouth when he coughs (Julie at daycare must have taught him this one!)

Ok, so it's 5 new things; it seems like a lot to me!

Hangin' with my Aunt

We didn't shop quite as long today as we did yesterday. Adam was willing to take Gerrit for the day so we could go about our business and hit some shops that weren't Gerrit-friendly. Adam took Gerrit to get his haircut (2nd time - he sat like a perfect gentleman!) and they did laundry! Following dinner we were all able to hang out at home and unwind before Omah and Aunt Cara leave tomorrow.

Gerrit is 'hiding' from Aunt Cara - little does he know...we can still see him:

SAY CHEESE!

(Ya, we know the Spartans got killed - guess Gerrit wearing the colors didn't help today! But not killed as bad as the Gophs!)

A Day in the Life of an Elf

Here are some pictures of the Macy's display. My sister Cara has never been to a Macy's (Daytons/Marshall Fields) display before. My mom has as she has made many trips for Christmas shopping. I love going and Adam doesn't so it was great to go with others who wanted to see the display too. It was a chilly night be we only had to walk 3 blocks from the train station. There was not a line to wait in either (thanks to no Holidazzle parade!). It was a quick trip but well worth it. Gerrit did stay awake long enough to enjoy it which was my hope.

Shop Til You Drop

My mom and sister came to visit this weekend. They arrived on Thurs. night and our goal was to get some Christmas shopping done. I took Friday off because daycare was closed which also meant Gerrit came with us.

One of our earlier stops was REI and I think Gerrit thought that if shopping would allow him to play with this:

that he was going to have a GREAT day!

Well, we then headed to Ikea followed by the Mall of America and the first store we went to was where this picture was taken:

Gerrit asked to hold all the boxes, honestly! (We had to stop at the American Girl Doll store)

Gerrit enjoyed running around the stores and against my wishes, decided the mall was not the place to take a nap.

Taking a break with Omah while Aunt Cara shopped for her dog:

Gerrit sat on the bench until he saw the stuffed dog in the window at the pet store. He went in to check it out and saw something better - a football! He had fun taking it out of the store and throwing it. I let him until it was time to go (kept him busy). He had a meltdown when I put it back. I took a peak at the price - 18.95! (for a dog toy?)

Mom and Gerrit's first light rail ride:

Chillin' with Aunt Cara on the ride to downtown Minneapolis:

Chillin' with Aunt Cara on the ride to downtown Minneapolis:

Following the Macy's display, Gerrit had had enough: (he shopped til he dropped)

I Want to be like Mike - I mean DAD!

Remember those Nike ads with Michael Jordan? These pictures reminded me of that jingle:

Gerrit is very interested in putting shoes on and thinks he can tie them like we do - he really just moves the laces around. I finally caught him in the act and got a picture of it.

Here Gerrit is trying to put on Adam's cycling jacket. I think I'll still be assisting him on getting dressed for a while!

Next Best Thing

Lately Gerrit has had his John Deere riding tractor taken away because he uses it to stand on! Why he chooses to use his little John Deere tractor to ride on is something I don't think I'll ever understand!

I give the kid credit - he's creative!

Not Quite Ready

Gerrit and I were hanging out in the living room after lunch. He found a piece of gum (cheap stuff) left from Halloween on the floor (he threw many of them out of his bucket and we are slowly finding them) and the next thing I knew, he had unwrapped it and put it in his mouth. He use to just carry them around; guess he's grown up since Halloween! He smiled and laughed as his mouth was full of pink bubble gum. I asked him to give it to me but he just smiled, so I watched him as he had it in his mouth. He started to drool more than normal down his face and on his chest, and he seemed to be chewing it like one should chew gum. I was impressed and continued reading "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear" for the 20th time. I looked up to check on the status of the gum and realized it was gone! Gerrit was next to me the whole time so I know he didn't take it out of his mouth and leave it somewhere - he ate it! Oh well, guess his diaper will be colorful! Note to self: Gerrit is not ready to chew gum.

Finally Finished

I mentioned in a previous post that I was knitting something fun for Gerrit. Well, I finally finished it after some tweeking. Here are a few pictures (Gerrit didn't want to cooperate long enough to get a decent photo):



Yep, I knitted him jeans! How fun is that? There are no pockets or a zipper, I stitched them on to look like there are pockets and a zipper. The tweeking I had to do was lengthen them; I don't know what I was thinking when I was measuring them as I went! So I took out the cuff (which is the lighter color that is suppose to look like the inside of the jeans) and added a few inches to each leg. I also realized I had done the waistband wrong too so I fixed that and a week after I had hoped to have them done, they are done! I think Gerrit will show them off tomorrow at church. Normally I wouldn't dress Gerrit in jeans for church (something I took from my childhood), but these are 'dressy' jeans! :)

End of the Season

Today was Adam's last race (in MN) for the season; he still has 2 races over Thanksgiving in Iowa. It was snowing when we left Z-town and the temps continued to drop as the day went on. Even though Gerrit was battling a cold, we braved the weather and wanted to cheer Adam on today.

Gerrit was all decked out in hand-me-downs today, as some family members might recognize:

Yep, hat, mittens (which are too big), boots, coat and pants were all worn by Max nearly 10 years ago! Thank goodness Uncle Jeff and Aunt Erika have style and taste! Gerrit was so toasty warm he could hardly move! Every time he fell down, I had to help him up.

Here is Adam warming up and Gerrit going along for the 'ride' (Adam was on his trainer so he wasn't going anywhere):


Gerrit decided to pitch a fit just as Adam's race was beginning so we didn't really see him race! We saw him come around the course once and heard him yell 'hi Gerrit' but that was about it. We headed back to the car and Gerrit was very happy to have all the layers removed and just hang out in the warm car (and have his dirty diaper changed - no wonder the kid was upset!).

Following the race we headed to a nearby mall for "lupper" and a few errands. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory which was a much better choice than last nights dinner - and I just finished my cheesecake I ordered to go! Yum.

Easy to Forget

Tonight we had 'date' night. Anne has asked to watch Gerrit again so we could go out. She didn't have to twist our arms very hard to take her up on her offer. We headed to dinner and saw the latest 007. We almost ended up at Pannekoeken but didn't dare so we tried this pizza place near it. It was ok just like the movie. My point is that it has been a while since we have gone out w/o Gerrit. Gerrit is usually pretty good so we don't mind, but tonight it was nice to not even worry about him and keeping him busy! I had forgotten how relaxing dinner can be without a child.

It Could Be Worse

Gerrit's favorite toy (as of late) is this $4 football I picked up for him the other day after his dr. apt. Little did we know just how attached he'd become:

He takes it to bed - this am, instead of crying to let me know he was up, he played with his ball and was talking. When I went to get him, he was smiling and couldn't have been happier!

He couldn't decide if a shower was worth setting the football down. I wouldn't let him shower and have the football at the same time - it is 'pleather' so I doubt it should get soaked!

He wanted to take it to daycare which he has done in the past. I don't like him taking his own toys as it can cause an issue with the other kids. Today I left it in the car and dealt with him upset as we walked into Julie's house.

He wouldn't eat dinner without holding it. We tried setting it on the table for him to look at and have after dinner but he whined and refused to eat. As soon as we let him have it, he smiled and ate willingly. He did struggle to hold his milk and the football, but he managed!

He knows how to properly hold it and run (I think its just a coincidence) - our little running back! He either throws it and runs after it or will just run back and forth in the basement with it.

And now its bedtime again...

Like Adam said, it could be worse - he could be attached to a blanket, a doll or his thumb!

Hearts at Home

Last night I helped sell cds for Go Fish at the Hearts at Home conference down in Rochester. (Adam didn't want to help once he heard it was a conference for women!) I was able to visit with my friend Julie whom I don't see a ton since we moved south. The guys did a short set (they were added to the evening program late) so after the program we were swamped! Adam wouldn't even notice he was selling to a bunch of women he'd be so busy! Anyways, each woman registered received this free gift:


The 3 of us ladies selling merch also received a lovely bag. Julie and I had to laugh b/c its not quite our style. Anyways, I saw a few other friends from the cities too which was nice.

With Adam at his bike race today without us (too cold), we headed back to Roch. to give something back to one of the friends I saw last night. It was easier to drive there then to figure out how to get it to her in the cities. As I was talking to my friend, a woman approaches me and asks if I'm with Go Fish. I said I was last night but I'm off duty today due to having Gerrit with me. She then gave me a backpack with a book in it for helping out! A little later as we were talking another woman approaches me and hands me a gift bag with a few greetings cards in it and a coupon for 4 free cards at the booth!

I couldn't understand why I was getting all this free stuff, especially because I didn't even pay to be there! I was asked a few times if I was just hanging out and going to take in a few sessions today too. I thought maybe if Gerrit and I stayed long enough we'd get free lunch and more free stuff! Too bad Gerrit wanted to run around the arena and I figured these women were here to get away from kids so I should take mine away and let them enjoy their weekend.

I'm glad the guys are singing here again next year because I'm definitely going to offer to help out! Who wouldn't when you are treated as well as I was!

The funny thing is I had never heard of the organization before. I did learn that it is like Promise Keepers for women.

It Was Gonna Happen Someday

Today we woke up to snow! I knew it was going to snow, but didn't realize it would stick! By afternoon it had melted so my fears of not having Christmas lights on the bushes was a bit premature.

Our morning started out as normal; although I knew I need a bit more time to clean the car off of snow before we left. We took our shower as usual - Gerrit needs to take one with me these days which doesn't bother me. He had filled his pants which I thought was good timing seeing he'd get a new diaper following the shower. The only bummer was that it smelled in the shower and I had to make sure he was 'clean' before getting out. Following the shower I usually turn on sports center to keep Gerrit occupied while I dry him off and put the new diaper on etc. Today was no different. As I tried to entice Gerrit to come and get his diaper on, he decided to finish his "business". He pooped in 3 places b/c he was trying to get away from me, once I realized what he was doing,. I followed him around the couch back to the bathroom where he noticed poop on his leg and when he reached down to touch it, he fell on his butt - another spot on the carpet! I quickly got him back into the shower which he willing went for and scrubbed him down. I left him there to play while I cleaned up the blobs and grabbed the carpet cleaner. As I was cleaning the spots, Gerrit got himself out of the shower and slipped causing him to cry. Again I went running and was able to comfort him and put a diaper on him before more damage was done. Once Gerrit was set, I finished dealing with the carpet and we continued on our normal routine.

Because Gerrit doesn't like to get dressed I decided I'd put his clothes on while he was playing. I didn't think he'd need a clean diaper seeing he just did his business and had a clean on one after his shower. Well think again, he filled his pants after breakfast (when he normally does his business) so I had to change him after all! Ugg.

We made it to daycare on time - surprisingly. Once I dropped him off and started down the street toward the highway, I took a deep breath and was thankful that I was headed to work!

I figured Gerrit would do his business w/o a diaper on at some point, I was just hoping I wouldn't be alone or it would happen when I wasn't home. Think again!

PS - Based on his reaction to this mornings events, I don't think he's ready for potty training yet!

Dancing With the Stars

Not much was on TV tonight so we watched Dancing With the Stars. Gerrit is often caught 'dancing' or moving to the beat whenever he hears music (he will stop when he sees you are watching). He seemed to take interest in the show tonight. He sat on his John Deere tractor, bopping to the music and clapping appropriately. I thought it was funny and so did Adam. However, Adam did remind Gerrit that he wasn't to get too attached to the idea of dancing! It was at this point that Gerrit started to get a big lip and begin to cry. Now the boys are wrestling and all is well.

Who Needs a Gym Membership...

when you have friends who have a treadmill that you can use any time

these friends will watch your child while you work out

and put on a movie projected on the wall so you feel like you are at the movie theater (other than the fact that you are sweating)

it can't get much better than that!

(I ended up running 5 miles instead of 3 b/c Gerrit went to the grocery store withe them so I felt I should keep running while they were gone!)

If Only...

it would stay warm enough for me to continue to wear shorts and a t-shirt when I go for a run - like tonight!

it would stay light longer and the sunset NOT be before 5 pm!

Red Wing

With the weather so warm (for Nov.) the guys dusted off their road bikes and headed for a point to point ride. Nikki and I left at the same time as the guys and met at a park in Red Wing where the kids played and we waited for the guys.

Gerrit loved the big slide but it was too big for him to go down by himself...you know what that means.... I had to go down with him:

Gotta love the static from slides:

Once the guys met up with us, they had a few beverages in the parking lot. Luckily we were the only ones left at the park because Gerrit and Abby enjoyed running in the parking lot! Abby isn't spanking Gerrit; she's 'helping' him up. Another great picture for graduation! :)


Following the beverages we headed to Fiesta Mex for another great meal. With the time change and playing at the park, Gerrit was exhausted. Even though it was officially 7:30, to Gerrit it felt like 8:30 so off to bed he went! Maybe we are back to his old bed time??

Bigger Bed Needed

When I go to bed I often check on Gerrit. I guess I want to make sure he's still breathing and not suffocating himself with his blankets. Peace of mind, I think. This was last night:

As tired as I was, I ran down 2 flights of stairs to get the camera to capture this great shot. Adam wondered why I was laughing and checked it out for himself. Is Gerrit telling us he wants a bigger bed?