We had the holidays, and then we had Till's birthday, and in the middle. . .we've been having one of the worst toddler 'stages' EVER. Ev. Er.
But let's start with the nice stuff.
Christmas 2010.
It was strange, being in a new place that isn't ours, but it was also really fun to do Christmas morning with my folks. Not only did Cole really start to understand the concept of Santa Claus this year, but our fabulous families understood that we didn't have much room for more stuff. . .and they were very thoughtful with their [small] gifts.
Santa brought Cole a workbench. A real workbench. After about a half hour listening to Cole bang at the nails and screws. . .I started to question my gift choice. This is definitely one of those things you should remind me about next Christmas. . .and the one after that. . .and the one after that. . .
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| "Cole, smile for mom with your present. No, no, don't open it yet. Just point. Sure, that'll do. That doesn't look forced or crazy at all." Also, please note what rat dog did to the blinds. Too bad she was able to get her head free.  |
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| This girl is always happy. Even when we stick her in the jumpy thing on Christmas morning to play workbench whammy on the wooden nails until Mommy ears are bleeding, with Cole. |
We also spent Christmas night at my in laws. That was so great and the kids really enjoyed themselves. They always want more time with them. We kept hearing about the "one memere and one pepere" for about a week. Still unsure why he counts them. . .
And then there was Matilda's first birthday. We had a small, family party in the middle of the blizzard. At least there's always a broke kid who works at a pizza joint, willing to bring you pizza in the middle of a blizzard. And if there's pizza, there's a party. And party we did.
I made a vegan carrot cake. We're not vegans. But I like saying vegan. . .and when you remember that all vegan carrot cake really is. . .is replacing eggs with applesauce. . .vegan becomes easy, too!
A vegan carrot cake with cream cheese and agave nectar frosting. . .YUMMMMM.
(yes, sarcastic.) However, this is about seven floors down from the crazy first-time-mom penthouse I used to live in when I made Cole an all natural, sugar free, trifle for his first birthday. . . and insisted travelling with it just in case someone wanted to sneak him some real birthday cake.
I wasn't that crazy this time around.
In fact, my vegan carrot cake had food-colored, store bought, candy crunchies on top. You know. . .for color.
And the Tills? Not impressed. . . .
These are three faces I caught on camera during the evening. The first, is with said cake. Please note the "this is the worst, mom" face. The second. . .is the devious first born trying to lure my attention away from the sweet birthday girl. (Note: it worked.) The third picture is the sweet birthday girl finally getting in the mood (Note: when she gets excited, her birthmark shows up on her eyelid. . .seems fitting on her birthday).
But overall. . .please notice that the vegan carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and colored crunchy candies is untouched in all pictures. . .
. . .and so it stayed until Bill threw it away the next morning. C'est la vie. Now that I think about it. . .Cole didn't really eat his trifle, either. I think someone gave him a whoopie pie instead. Sigh.
I think I might have cared about the cake if it was any other week than this one we've had. Cole has refused to sleep in his room alone in almost two weeks. Out of the blue. Screams his head off whenever it's nap or bedtime.
This has never happened before. This is the kid who would put himself to bed if it got too late. The sweet boy that naps for an average of 2.8 hours each day. EACH DAY, people.
And now. . .I'm going on about 6 nights where his pudgy little feet have been in my mouth in the morning. Because I've given up and let him sleep with me. Because one of us has to look human in the morning. . .and it hasn't been me.
Actually, Bill's the one that is most zombie-ish right now. As I type, he's actually upstairs with Cole (and has been for about an hour and a half) just sitting in his room in the dark while he tries to fall asleep. Talk about dad of the year.
I let Cole scream for about 45 seconds, give up, and take him to bed. Clearly not the strong one.
Although I've solicited ideas, advice, and general support from everyone I know and even people I don't. . .I'm still open to more. Please send them my way. Twice. I'd get into more detail for you now, but I need to go get the bed ready for three.
Wish us luck. I'll keep you posted.
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