December fun and a surprise visitor....

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Andrew, Chris and I had prime seats for the Richardson Christmas Parade. It was super cold, so we were all bundled up. Surprisingly, Andrew kept the hat and over sized coat and gloves on the whole time! He got high fives from celebrities like Clifford and Blue! (Chris was pretty excited, too.)

Later that day, we went to Bounce U (the coolest place on earth) to celebrate the birthdays of Macy and Jackson! We all had loads of fun, but I stand by my thoughts from last year: Dads have just as much fun as the children (if not more) . The funniest part of the entire Bounce U process is the safety video they make the children "watch". The sweet teenaged employees get all the children together, "Here you go toddlers. Sit quietly and watch the safety video. Make sure you follow all these rules." The picture below miraculously captured the the 3 milliseconds that all children happened to glance at the screen.

Here are some candid shots from the awesomeness of Bounce U. (Hmmm... Can we have my 30th at Bounce U?)

Lastly, we had a surprise visitor yesterday. I bet you're thinking Santa, right? Wrong... It was Izzar! He/she is alive and well plotting his/her way back into our fireplace. Kristin was lucky enough to get a front row viewing of our lovely lizard! (She was being Santa's helper and delivering some cool presents! Thanks!)

I guess Izzar is officially a Shacklett. Welcome to the family!

:)

Anne

PS: Merry Christmas!

Fun, Yikes, and Double Yikes

Fun: Much to Andrew's chagrin, I decided to set Izzar free (the lizard who lived in our fireplace for the past several weeks). I had no idea what the lizard's long term plans were; however, I feared the following: 1- He was sluggish because he was hibernating and lighting a fire would kill him. 2- He is sluggish because he's dying and trying to find a comfy final last resting place. 3- He is actually a she, and she was sluggish because she was about to lay all kinds of gecko spawn in the fireplace. Either way, he/she had to go.
It was a tearful goodbye, but Andrew seemed to get over it soon enough. If you ask him wear the lizard is now, he simply points out the back door. God speed, Izzar.

Yikes: Last Saturday, we put on our coats and hats to meet Santa at Santa's Village. (Yay, Richardson for having such a fabulous holiday hot spot.) Andrew loved the sights and sounds and didn't even mind waiting in the cold. After over an hour of waiting in line to meet Anta (Santa), Andrew finally got his turn. He walked up to Santa chanting "Anta, Anta, Anta" with a big smile on his face. Then, we put Andrew on Santa's lap. Yikes. Andrew couldn't get down fast enough. To be honest, Santa's expression seems to say, "the feeling's mutual, kid". Double Yikes: Andrew begged and begged to give Lady a treat, but before I made my way to the pantry, he stopped begging. Over the past 22 months, I have learned a quiet baby usually means bad baby. Andrew grew tired of waiting for me to open the pantry, so he did some problem solving.

That's Andrew balancing on a 12 ounce cup to reach the handle of the pantry. You've got to him props for figuring it out. I'm glad it didn't lead to another black eye.

:)
Anne

Natural Consequences

In education, I love when children can experience the natural consequence of their actions because I think it is a better deterrent than me nagging. For example, if a student keeps rocking in his chair and falls, his natural consequence is a bump and the embarrassment of falling in front of the class. Ergo, he won't rock in his chair.

Apparently, natural consequences don't mean much to toddlers. Rule: Don't climb on furniture like it's a jungle gym. Andrew hasn't made the connection... although his face has connected with the floor several times. The picture quality isn't great, so you can't see the red and purple shiner (looks like late eighties eye shadow). You can definitely see the swelling.

Poor baby.

:)

Anne

PS: Still to come... Izzar moves out, Andrew meets Santa (yikes), and Andrew becomes a problem solver (double yikes).

Thanksgiving

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all! This year, Andrew had his second chance at eating the wonderful Thanksgiving spread put before him. The only difference was that this year he could actually say no to show his disgust and not just throw the food on the floor.

I was finally able to convince him that whip cream is delicious and avoiding it would be sinful to turn it down.
After a wonderful feast at my mom's house (with the beast turkey I have ever had), Walt, Chris, Andrew, and I packed into the truck to get Sharon. Once we picked her up, we headed to OKC to visit Aunt E and Uncle Ayne (Lisa and Wayne).

The drive went well, and the trip was lots of fun. The boys spent lots of time splashing in the hot tub.We got to see Wayne's daughter, Krista. The last time Andrew saw her, he was only 3 months old, so he didn't remember her... or how fabulously, gorgeous she is. He fell in love with her instantly.

Last but not least, Andrew decided that they only part of Thanksgiving feast he wanted was the arm that was feeding him. Oh yes, The Biter is back. Check the red mark on my arm i know it doesn't look like much, but I have several others on my belly, back and legs to match. If anyone has a solution, I would be willing to try it.

:)

Anne