Hello, hello...is this thing still on?

I think the last time I blogged Carys was a baby...and she'll be starting kindergarten this fall. I wish I'd been writing about the kids over the last five years, but it's something that fell by the wayside. I realized that writing is something that always makes me feel good, and I want to do more to document our lives in the moment. So, I'm going to try to do this more.

Books of 2011

I think I forgot to do this last year (maybe I'll have to go back and post 2010's list, too), but here's what I read in 2011. My pace slowed considerably after October. A lot of them were audio books this year -- I often found myself consuming three books at once, with one book in my bag, one going in my car, and another on my iPhone or on one of the digital Playaway devices from the library.

1. Raising Boys by Steve Biddulph
2. Fall of Giants by Ken Follett. I tore through this epic, the first part of a 20th century trilogy weaving stories of families in Wales, London, the U.S., Russia and Germany. I can't wait for the second installment.
3. Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. If there's one word for O, it's spirited.
4. Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland. I loved this piece of historical fiction about the stories and craftsmanship behind the gorgeous Tiffany glass lamps.
5. Sick of Shadows by Marion Chesney
6. An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin. This is a neat little book about the art world.
7. Deeper than the Dead by Tami Hoag. Creepy.
8. Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein. I'm requesting this one from the library again.
9. At Home by Bill Bryson. Ever wonder why your home is the way it is? This book traces the genesis of every nook and cranny in a modern home.
10. The Three Weismanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine. This book had traces of Sense & Sensibility as its roots, but didn't come close to matching the original.
11. The Journey that Saved Curious George by Louise Borden. A colorful look at the harrowing journey the Margaret and H.A. Rey took out of WWII France with the ideas for Curious George in their bicycle baskets.
12. I Think I Love You by Alison Pearson. This is a fun read for anyone who ever owned an issue of Teen Beat.
13. The King's Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi
14. The Adults by Alison Espath
15. True Grit by Charles Portis
16. You Know When the Men are Gone by Siobhan Fallon
17. Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal. OK, it's pure fluff, but I couldn't resist. Does it help if I say I breezed through it in a couple of days?
18. The Union Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini
19. Star by Peter Biskind. I have a new appreciation for the career of Warren Beatty after listening to this audiobook. I particularly loved the story about how the perennial bachelor up and decided one day that he was going to marry Anette Bening, and how she agreed.
20. Almost Astronauts by Tonya Lee Stone. This was a piece of juvenile nonfiction about the women who trained for NASA but never got to space.
21. Bossypants by Tina Fey. So funny. She seems like someone who would be a really great friend to have.
22. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. This was my favorite book of the year, a masterful telling of the incredible -- truly unbreakable, as the title says -- spirit of Louis Zamperini.
23. I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman
24. The Wilder Life by Wendy McClurg. This one has prompted me to pick up the Little House on the Prairie series again and plan a trip to the Wilder sites in Wisconsin, Minnesota and DeSmet. I'm even reading some of them to Little C!
25. By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder. See above.
26. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I actually read this one to O in an attempt to help him get to sleep easier. It didn't work, but he still enjoyed it.
27. The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Wow. The Ingalls family rivals Louis Zamperini when it comes to an unbreakable spirit.
28. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon. This piece of nonfiction is a good companion to A Thousand Splendid Suns, as Lemmon tells the story of how women in Afghanistan fought to earn a living and support their families in the unimaginable suppression of women under Taliban.
29. Something Blue by Emily Giffin
30. Silencing Sam by Julie Kramer, whose books are fun escapist reads for anyone looking for a good mystery with Twin Cities angles.
31. Baby Proof by Emily Giffin
32. Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen. None of the knockoffs can compare to the masterpiece.
33. Brain Rules for Baby by John Medina
34. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. This offered an interesting premise - the author tried to live a better life by trying to adopt certain habits -- but it seemed like she was trying too hard. I'm just attempting to live in the moment more myself.
35. The Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin. I don't know what drew me to Giffin's books this year, but I listened to all of them on audio, which was a good way to consume them.
36. Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky.
37. Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario
38. Untold Story by Monica Ali. This book explores the premise of what would have happened if Princess Diana had faked her death and gone off to live as a 40-something single woman in the U.S.
39. State of Wonder by Ann Pachett. This is the runner up as my favorite book of the year. I don't know what it was about this book, but I couldn't put it down. (Maybe it was the fact that part of it takes place in Eden Prairie?)
40. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
41. 56 by Kostya Kennedy. I now believe no one will come close to reaching Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak. This was a great story of the game-by-game pressure DiMaggio faced, along with a season played with war looming, the death of Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams' .400 season.
42. In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
43. Alice Bliss by Laura Harrington. A coming-of-age story of loss and love, and the personal toll of the war in Iraq. Keep some Kleenex handy.
44. What's Eating Your Child? by Kelly Dorfman. A real eye-opener about how food affects a child's mood, development and overall health.
45. If You Were Here by Jen Lancaster. Make sure you have a copy of Sixteen Candles to watch as you read this humorous novel about a couple who buys Jake Ryan's house on Lake Michigan.
46. Miracle Beach by Erin Cellelo. Erin is a good friend, and she's crafted a taut piece of fiction about family. You won't be disappointed.
47. Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
48. City of Thieves by David Benioff. I keep finding my way to WWII fiction, and this was a great adventure story about the siege of Leningrad.
49. Sarah's Key by Tantiana de Rosnay. More WWII-related fiction, but the story was a tough one for the mother of a small child.
50. Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
51. Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
52. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling. Terrifically funny. Like Tina Fey, I'd love to have Mindy Kaling as a friend.
53. Escape by Barbara Delinsky
54. Honeymoon With My Brother by Franz Wisner. My book group -- Based on the Novel, where we read books that will be or have been made in to movies -- chose this one about a groom who's left at the altar and decides to honeymoon with his younger brother. I can see this one making a decent movie -- it's a nice little story about brotherly love and picking yourself up from rock bottom.
55. Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe. This was among my favorites for the year, too, and this is also why my book group is the coolest. Rob Lowe is like the Forrest Gump of Hollywood, having worked or crossed paths with just about every working actor in the business. I could have listened (I had the audio version, read by the author) to another six hours of stories.
56. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
57. The Starter Wife by Gigi Levangie Grazer
58. How the World Makes Love by Franz Wisner. Wisner attempts to compare the approach to love around the world, but I found that part less compelling than his story about finding love himself back home.

Halloween

After much wavering, O decided this year to be the Cat in the Hat. He was lobbying for Colin and me to be Nick and Sally, the two kids who accompany the Cat on his adventures, but he had to settle for his little sister as the Cat's fish friend.

We started the Halloween fun with a party and parade at O's school, then went to Channel 3 for some trick or treating around the office. O loved handing out candy to trick or treaters who rang our doorbell (every night since he's asked if more kids are going to come by) Colin got home from work, the two of them went to a couple of houses in our neighborhood.

(Here's a photo of the originals -- how did I do?)

Future footballer?

It's no surprise that Owen already loves soccer. He gets a healthy dose of it at home. Throughout the winter, we entertained ourselves with many many many games of living room soccer, using the fireplace as on of our goals. As soon as the snow melted, we were at the field at our park, practicing dribbling, shooting and taking corner kicks.
Most "organized" soccer groups start with kids who are 3 years old - O is just shy of that. My friend Polly decided to put together an informal group though, and when I asked O if he wanted to go, his "Yes!" couldn't have been more emphatic. Then he proceeded to have a five-minute discussion with himself about what he should wear. "Maybe I'll wear Liverpool. Or Roma. Or Liverpool. I'll wear Liverpool."
Having all the right gear is very important to him. When we play T-ball, he has to wear a pair of purple gardening gloves for batting gloves. So, knowing this, I took him to get a pair of shin guards and size 3 ball, and we found a bag that would work for his stuff. He was so proud walking out the door with the bag on his back, all ready to play.
After some initial trepidation, by the time his coaches got to a game of "Red Light, Green Light," he was having a ball. He's gotten pretty good at passing and dribbling, so all our home practice must be good for something.
Then again, maybe he'll decide hockey is his game. This morning I got out of the shower and discovered he had emptied all the diapers from his drawer in to a pile in the hallway.
I asked him what he was doing with them.
"Skating."

Leaving for work

As I was heading out the door for work, O stopped me.

"Mom, I want to tell you something!"

I came back to where he was eating breakfast to listen.

"I love you a whole much!"

Good start to the day

It took the little man a long time to settle down last night, and I actually had to rouse him this morning to get him ready.

He got out of bed and crawled in my lap, then hugged me sleepily and said, "I'm so happy you're here."

From the backseat

O: "I don't have a Joe Mauer bobblehead. Let's look for one online."

Baseball according to O

We went to the Brewers game today and I discovered baseball with O requires a translator.

Glover: the pitcher
Masker: the catcher
Every masker must be Joe Mauer
Sometimes a mitt is a "mitten"
Every hit must be a home run, meaning Bernie Brewer has to go down the big slide in left field
Everything that happens must be followed with a question starting with "Why?"

When we got home from the game, he set up
his John Axford bobblehead that we got at the gate and pretended he was the hitter facing Axford's pitches. I remembered we had a Robin Yount bobblehead from a game last year and now the two of them are facing off in the living room.

The best text ever

Not long after I settled in to my desk this morning, I received this text message from Colin:

"O: I have a good mommy. She's cute and I like her."

If that doesn't get me through the roughest days, I don't know what will.

Consumerism

I'm not sure whether to be impressed or frightened by this -- help me decide.

Tonight, when O and I were driving home, we were stopped at a red light next to an office building. O looked at the sign and said, "Mom, is that insurance?" I made him repeat it because I wanted to be sure that's what he was saying, because, in fact, he was looking at an American Family Insurance sign. We're not entirely sure where he picked that up, but we're thinking he saw it on a commercial somewhere and got the logo stuck in his head.

It's not the first time something like this has happened. A month or so ago, he was in the backseat talking to himself and started saying, "Boo hoo! They like customers, I like cash!" He kept repeating it and we had no idea where he'd gotten it. Colin suggested I Google it and sure enough, it was a line from a Southwest Airlines commercial that he had likely seen during the football playoff games.

And around Christmas, he was playing with his phone and pretending to talk to "Peggy" -- a character in a Discover card ad. (I had to Google that one, too.)

So, that gets me back to my first point -- I don't quite know what to do with this. Maybe we're just better at tuning out the ads and he picks up more of the details and the stories being told. Maybe we should offer him up to a researcher on how kids interact with advertising. Maybe we should be impressed with his concentration and recall. Maybe we should stop letting him watch so much television (he really doesn't watch that much -- some Curious George, news and sports on weekends).

Announcer

Overheard in the backseat, says Colin: "This is News 3 weather!"

Maybe he's watching a little too much news.

Tired

The last time I posted, we were getting ready to move O to a toddler bed. He was really excited about it, so we moved the bed in and trashed the crib (long story but acting on advice from the Consumer Product Safety Commission). But it didn't take him long to figure out the bed meant mobility and a way of engaging us after bedtime. Add that to his disposition as a very active boy and you have the recipe for some very long nights...and early mornings. Asleep at 10 p.m., up at 5:45 a.m. So we continue to search for the magic solution that will keep him in bed and help him wind down, but we haven't found it yet. (I came close tonight - a CD of Curious George stories got him to be still in bed, but he didn't drift off until after 10 p.m.) let's just hope this is his 2-and-a-half-year-old phase.

Despite the circles under his eyes - yes, it about makes me cry to see them - he's still delightful. He's really good at matching the pictures in a Memory game we got him for Valentine's Day and his ability to remember lyrics and lines from movies astounds me. He loves to know who everyone is on the news and is still talking about going to the TV station with his dad a few weeks ago.

More soon when we all get some sleep.

Snow holiday

It turned out to be a good day for a holiday -- we got at least six inches of snow and O and I were hunkered down inside for most of the day. But when he got up from his nap, I thought we needed to get some air. I practically had to drag him outside but I eventually sold him on going out when I suggested we bring the snowball maker he got for Christmas. (It's great, by the way -- today's snow wasn't quite wet enough for good snowball making, but we'll have a ton of fun with it when the snow cooperates.)
Once we got outside, he had a really fun time. He made flaky snowballs, helped me shovel, made a snow angel, and then wanted to make a "Frosty." Here's our handiwork, with a corncob pipe and magic hat made out of leftover Christmas tree branches. We also made a Professor Hinkle (the magician in Frosty) and Frosty's friend Karen, also made of tree branches. He then wanted to make an Owen and dad along with a TV. Hmmm. They got Liverpool FC insignias made out of fir fronds.
After spending about an hour outside, we came in for grapes and cocoa. Maybe I can use that as a bargaining chip the next time I'm trying to get him out in the snow.

Tomorrow

When I was first pregnant with O, I searched for a way to relax myself - to take me to a mental place where I was blissful and not worried. The place I found was familiar - I had inhabited it when I was about 10, when I was obsessed with "Annie." So , throughout that first trimester, I listened to the soundtrack...over and over and over. I guess it shouldn't surprise me that he now loves the songs. Tonight, I had to have "Maybe," "Tomorrow" and "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" on repeat as we drove home from Target, and he thought it was funny when I made up new lyrics as I got his dinner. ("oh pizza, pizza, I want to eat some pizza, with pineapple on the cheeeeeese.")

Energizer

This is the scene I walked into when I went to pick O up from school the other day: He dribbled a soccer ball, shot it in to the hole of a cushioned tunnel, then did his post-goal celebration, complete with jumping, fist pumping and yelling "I scored a goal!"

One of the teachers shook her head at him and said, "I don't know where he gets so much energy!" I know just what she's thinking -- I don't know how he does it. Right now, it's almost 10 p.m. and he's still stirring around in his bed, trying to fall asleep. Earlier, when we were supposed to be quietly singing in the rocking chair, he was belting out "People in our Neighborhood" from Sesame Street. (And he was doing it with different voices. That's one of his new things -- when he's pretending, he speaks in a lower register or makes his voice scratchy to be a man, and a little gurgle when he's pretending to be a baby.) Tonight he's quiet in there , but some nights there's singing and talking to his stuffed animals as he tries to settle down. I guess that two-hour nap today did its job for the afternoon, but charged his batteries for the whole evening.

I'll be interested to see how things change when he's out of his crib and in to the new toddler bed we bought for him...


He's been doing this "pretend to be a baby" thing a lot lately, including tonight after his bath, when he was lying on our bed as I toweled him off. But then, as I tried to get his pajama bottoms on, I pulled him to standing. He threw his arms around my neck to give me a big hug, and after I told him I loved him, I got an "I love you, too" back. And so while it's fun to remember what he was like as a baby, having an expressive, loving 2-year-old is pretty incredible.

P.S. He managed to fall asleep while I was writing this.

Reflections

The begging to watch "Curious George" started the minute we got to the car this afternoon. I mentioned that we were going to go home and make dinner and Owen said, "Can I watch something while you make dinner?" Then it was repeated, about two dozen times. I made the decision that we weren't going to watch anything and I'd try to find some alternative entertainment. So, after dinner Owen and I spent about an hour tonight going through the old blog posts looking at his pictures and watching videos -- over and over and over again. I told him stories about what he was doing in them, and he loved it. I think he was most amazed at the things he can do now that he couldn't when he was a baby -- roll over, talk, sing.

After his bath and some stories, he and I were sitting in his rocking chair to quiet down for the evening. I looked down at how big he's getting and realized he's not going to be able to sit in my lap much longer, so we stayed there for a long time tonight -- he was unusually cuddly and still (rocking is typically a squirmy affair), so we sang songs and talked for longer than usual. Aside from the moment he sees me when I arrive at school to pick him up -- he shouts a hearty "Hi Mom!," drops whatever he's holding, runs to me and says, "Let's go home!" - talking with him and remembering the best pieces of our time together is my favorite part of the day.

Little man

After I posted last night's blog, I went back and looked at all the old blog posts I'd written, and as I got to those from when he was a baby, Colin asked me, "Are you going to start crying now?" A few tears were shed, I'll admit, but you can't help it, especially when watching the ones with videos of him giggling (he still belly laughs that way).

And as I read back through the old posts, I found some threads that are still relevant today, and I'll revisit those. But this evening I've been reflecting a lot on my Grandpa Maher, who would have been 94 today. I wish he had gotten to meet our kids -- he would have gotten such a kick out of them. When O senses a new audience and starts to ham it up, I know he got that from his Grandpa Bernie. And every time O is asked who is his favorite baseball player is, and he yells "Joe Mauer!" I can see my grandpa's smile. So, even though he didn't get to meet O, little pieces of him lives on.

As for the little man, he becomes more grown up every day. After I picked him up, we went to Sport Clips for a haircut and despite crying, "I don't want a haircut!" through the whole thing, he was a good sport and did really well. (My coat is covered in hair, but oh well.) It helps that the place is plastered with hockey sticks, soccer balls, and pictures of football, baseball and Bucky Badger. He does great when we have lots of distractions.

Yes, dear, I'm very happy

I know I said last year I was going to blog more, but this year I really mean it. I have a warning, however: If you don't like stories about O, you can stop reading. It's really going to be dedicated to the funny, insightful, sweet things he says every day. Another blogger I read says she writes a blog about her kids and prints out the previous year's entries on their birthdays. So, even though blogs are soooo 2006, my mom doesn't want to join Facebook and misses out on a lot of the stories, and I want to have a better record of O's childhood, because it's speeding by.

We just enjoyed a nearly two week break together and we seem to have hit some stretch of the third year where he (temporarily?) dropped the "terrible" part of the terrible twos and has been a ton of fun. Tonight, even though Mr. No Nap was bordering on deliriously tired, he wanted to play a game where he was a baby and thought it was hysterical that we were talking to him and carrying him like a baby. It sure made the bath a lot easier; for the last month, he's pitched a fit and splashed us away when we tried to wash his hair. Instead, he giggled away and cooed like a infant as I lathered him up. (I seem to remember him not liking the bath at some stage of infancy, but I'm not going to remind him of that. I will remind him that last night -- out of the blue -- he declared that I am smart.)

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I have been less stressed out over the holidays, but in our best moments, he keeps turning to ask me, "Are you happy, Mom?" with his big grin. Yes, I tell him, I am terrifically happy.

Books of 2009

Yeah, yeah, I know what's left of my readers are looking for news of Owen. The kid's still cute and funny -- today he's big on having us stand up and play soccer with him, insisting that we "Stand floor!" and waving his hand down to show us what he wants us to do. He also has become particular about what songs I sing to him and if he doesn't like my selection, he says, "More song!" Let's hope he doesn't say that to his music class teacher later this afternoon.

I've been meaning to post the list of books I read last year since I've heard from some people in the past that they enjoy getting book ideas. So, for what it's worth, here it is, with a few thoughts about some of the most thought-provoking ones.

1. Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson – an eye-opener about life in Afghanistan.
2. American Wife, Curtis Sittenfeld – truly entertaining fictional take on the life of Laura Bush.
3. The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’s 'A Christmas Carol' Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits, Les Standiford – "A Christmas Carol" is one of my favorite books of all time, and I never knew the impact it had on shaping the holiday as we know it.
4. The Perfect Wife, Ann Gearhart – This biography of Laura Bush helped clear up what was true and what wasn’t in “American Wife.”
5. Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell – this lays out the reasons why luck and timing are often the reason for success. Sorry about your August birthday, O.
6. The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett – a must read for any fan of historical fiction, architecture, England or truly great writing. One of my favorite books of the year.
7. Marrying Mozart, Stephanie Cowell
8. It’s a Boy, ed. Andrea Buchanan – this is one I’ll have to reread once a year as O grows up.
9. Love the One You’re With, Emily Giffin
10. Bright Side of Disaster, Katherine Center
11. Street Gang, Michael Davis – I loved this history of the creation and impact of “Sesame Street”
12. Operating Instructions, Anne Lamott
13. Frankly, My Dear, Molly Haskell – this history of “Gone With the Wind,” another one of my all-time favorite books, got me to pick up the 1,037 page classic again (see No. 18).
14. How the States Got Their Shapes, Mark Stein – enlightening book about how our country became what it is geographically. (Wisconsin really got lost out on a lot of land in order to share Great Lakes access with some other states, but that was part of the bigger plan for geographic equality.)
15. The Lady Elizabeth, Alison Weir – another take on my favorite period for historical fiction by a skilled historian.
16. A Homemade Life, Molly Wizenberg
17. Sippy Cups are not for Chardonnay, Stefanie Wilder-Taylor
18. Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell – Yes, it’s politically incorrect, and yes, Scarlett is an imperfect character to love. I think I avoided rereading this over the years because I was afraid I wouldn’t like it as much as I did when I was 15. No worries, I still loved and devoured it.
19. Heart & Soul, Maeve Binchy – I usually like her books, but this wasn’t one of my favorites.
20. American Parent, Sam Apple – a new father’s take on parenthood. I loved the experiments he did on himself with tear-free shampoos (they really hurt the eyes) and baby food (not very appetizing).
21. Gossip of the Starlings, Nina de Garamont
22. Swimming, Nicola Keegan – a fictional story about a world-class swimmer is perfect choice for anyone going through Olympics withdrawal.
23. Admission, Jean Horwitz
24. Pollyanna, Eleanor H. Porter – Life would be much better if we all played the “Just Being Glad” game more of the time.
25. Not Becoming My Mother, Ruth Reichl – This isn’t a self-help book – I’d love to be like my mother!
26. Skeletons at the Feast, Chris Bohjalian – Another of my favorite reads of the year. I couldn’t put down this book about the eastern front at the end of WWII, and I found myself thinking about the characters and story constantly when I wasn’t reading it.
27. Olivia Joules & the Overactive Imagination, Helen Fielding – a light and entertaining read – just what you’d expect of the author of “Bridget Jones’ Diary.”
28. My Life in France, Julia Child – you’ll have a new appreciation for high-quality cookbooks once you read how much time and effort Child put into her masterpiece on French cooking.
29. Prospect Park West, Amy Sohn – what my life might have been had I stayed in Brooklyn. I’m much happier to have landed in Madison.
30. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley – Flavia, this book’s 12-year-old budding detective, is one of the best protagonists I’ve ever encountered. I can’t wait for the sequel.
31. Missing Mark, Julie Kramer – a breezy murder mystery pursued by a Twin Cities television reporter. Lots of fun.
32. The Girls From Ames, Jeffrey Zaslow – this one made me really miss my high school friends.
33. The Great Escape, Kati Marton
34. The Wild Things, Dave Eggers
35. When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss – I figured that if I’m living in Wisconsin, I should know more about Vince Lombardi, even if I’m not a Packers fan.
36. Upstarts!, Donna Fenn
37. Where Men Win Glory, Jon Krakauer – also on the favorite of the year list. Run to the bookstore or library to read this one!
38. The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown – another book that delivers what you’d expect from its author – a can’t-put-it-down read that races across Washington, D.C.
39. In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan
40. The White Queen, Philippa Gregory – one of my favorite authors of historical fiction switches eras to the War of the Roses, and I enjoyed it just as much. I’m looking forward to the next two books in the trilogy.
41. The Guy Not Taken, Jennifer Weiner
42. No Time to Wave Goodbye, Jacqueline Mitchard
43. Live from New York, James A. Miller and Tom Shales – this comprehensive oral history of “Saturday Night Live” covers it all and gives me more respect for this paradigm-shifting show.
44. A Single Man, Christopher Isherwood -- a gripping read that takes place over the course of one day. Now I have to see the movie!
45. Stalking Susan, Julie Kramer

Froehliche Weinachten!

Hello, hello -- is anyone still out there reading this? I know it's been a while since we've posted, but we've had a lot of changes this fall. The biggest was Stacy taking a new job in the University of Wisconsin's communications department. That meant a return to full-time work, and the start of full-time day care for O. The good thing is that he still has a ball with the kids there and is awfully happy when we drop him off. That being said, we're enjoying two weeks off together for the holidays. Last week we were in Minneapolis and Stevens Point for Christmas and are relaxing -- and getting the house in order -- this week.

We're also making time for our annual international holiday celebration. This year, we picked Germany because we have the perfect costume for O -- a pair of lederhosen his Benedict grandparents brought back from him when he was a toddler. Legend has it they were too small for him, so they were never worn. I got them on O about a month ago, but as you can see from this picture, he wasn't too happy about it. To honor the German traditions, O had a visit from St. Nicholas in early December and found chocolate, an orange and some Cheerios in his shoes when he woke up from his nap. I'm also preparing some sauerbraten for our meal...pictures to come.

When I looked back at what I wrote during O's early days, I loved having that record of how he was growing and changing, so I'm going to do more posting in 2010, if for no one else but me. It's amazing what can happen over a couple of days. Since we've been off with him, we've noticed his comprehension is now really advanced, and he knows exactly what we're saying or asking him to do. He's learning new words by the handful every day; just this week, he's saying reindeer, scone, basketball, nurse, shot (he got his flu shot today), bike, wrist and knock. He also has a great way of saying "Moommmmeeeeey!" that makes my heart melt every time he says it, even at 6:30 a.m. When we were at my parents', my mom told him he needed to be gentle with a wooden loon on their hearth and to pat it on the head. He saw a loon in a book today and said, "Pat pat." He sings along to "Frosty the Snowman" with me and dances whenever he hears a few bars of music. At Grandma Kathy's, he marveled at people's prowess on the Wii with a hearty "Woooow!" and when Molly asked him to get T's shoes from under the dining room table at my parents' and bring them back to her, he crawled under to retrieve them and clapped for himself when we cheered him. He loves everything Elmo, snowmen and Santa, except for the idea of getting anywhere close to the guy in the red and white suit.

That's the latest from us. I'll post again soon on the German Christmas meal.