ALMOST Christmas!!

In the interest of time (as in I DON'T HAVE ANY), I'm going to provide you a quick rundown of some recent happenings. Then, I have a few cute videos to share.

The Great Escape! Nolan surprised us a few weeks ago by climbing out of his bed. He wasn't feeling well, although we didn't know what was wrong with him at the time. The doctor said his throat and ears looked good, but we knew something was up because our usually happy boy was screaming and crying and wouldn't sleep. One night, after hours of trying to console him and even letting him come into our bed (something we NEVER do....but it was midnight on a work night and we were just ready for sleep!), I decided to just let him cry it out in his bed. But, 2 minutes after I got back into my bed after tucking him in, I heard his cries get louder, and louder, and louder....then there he was running right into our bedroom. We were really surprised, as he had to do some major climbing (and likely fell onto the floor) to complete his stunt. So, needless to say, a very bleary-eyed Jason and Kendy spent the next 30 minutes lowering his crib mattress to the last available and lowest setting. Oh, and his 4th tooth popped through a few days later so we're pretty sure that was the reason for his "sickness." Poor kid has had a hard time with his little teeth.

Bailey Goes 'Baaaa' Bailey got to play a little lamb in our church Christmas play. It was a dinner theatre, where the audience was incorporated into the story as guests at the Inn in Bethlehem. Pretty cool. Anyway, as you can see, she is a budding actress. Smile.

Bailey the Heartbreaker

At the tender age of four, our little girl has already loved and lost. She had been telling us that she had a boyfriend in her preschool class. His name is Jack. But, even before we could wrap our minds around what this means in her little 4-year-old world, they had broken up. Now, they call each other names like, "freak" and "weirdo" and he doesn't play with her anymore. While this made me a little sad at first, she finally divulged what had prompted the big breakup. She told me last week that SHE broke up with HIM because, "His breath was always stinky. He never brushed his teeth." Jason and I laughed so hard when she said this (with such a serious look on her face). When I asked if she had told him so, she said, "I told him he needed to brush his teeth and he said, 'I do brush my teeth, Bailey!' and then he ran off to play." Such is the life of a child. But, I don't know about you, but I kind of thought kids were oblivious to things like smells. Perhaps Bailey is developing some refined senses. Keep it up, girlfriend, as there is no excuse for poor hygiene!!!

Nolan and Santa are NOT on Good Terms

We took the kids to take a picture with Santa. We decided to go to Bass Pro, as we'd heard they had a nice setup. Now, I've only gone to this store to buy gift cards - definitely not my cup of tea. But, the kids had fun sitting on the ATVs and climbing into the boats. Plus, there were NO LINES which is the big winner for me. Well, I know these pictures don't give any clues as to Nolan's response to sitting on Santa's knee, but let's just say he was not interested. I literally had to peel him off me and throw him at the poor guy just to get a quick picture of him crying. Maybe next year....We took one of Bailey separately which is really cute.

Nolan Learns a New Trick

Nolan has always been agile and is very tactile in how he learns. He has been kicking and throwing balls for awhile now, and can very skillfully stack blocks. I joke that this is all good since he can't say a single word yet!! Anyway, he discovered this week that he can lift his leg and he thinks this is funny. Watch the video of him trying out his new skill (and both Jason and Bailey doing it as well to encourage him...since you know kids don't like to do things when the camera is on!).

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

Bailey's new "skill," unfortunately, is telling fibs. I don't know why or when kids figure out that they can get more of what they want if they bend the truth. She keeps getting into trouble for lying - sometimes about ridiculous things. She will knock Nolan over and then emphatically plead the case that she was nowhere near him and he "just fell over from the wind." She told a friend who was keeping her/Nolan while grandma had an appt. that she hadn't had lunch just so she could eat the macaroni and cheese that was offered her. And, of course, the icing on the cake, she toots and blames it on me. Seriously......this kid has spent more time in timeout in her room and probably has a raw butt by now from the many, many spankings she has received over the past 2 years. Someone please tell me it gets better at 5.

And, since I've raked Bailey over the coals, here is my precious little girl singing "Away in the Manger."

Finally, here is a funny video of Nolan getting tickled at Bailey.

What's Up Doc?

I hope you enjoyed the pictures of Nolan's birthday party. I am pleased to report that he is enjoying all of his toys now that Bailey has grown tired of them. I will never understand a 4-year-old's fascination with baby toys. Oh well, such is life!!

I somehow ended up with both kids' well care appointments on the same day. Bailey's birthday was in August, but I didn't get around to scheduling hers until recently and it seemed (at the time) that one appointment for both would be very efficient. When push came to shove, however, I knew I couldn't handle this alone so I recruited my MIL to go with me. It was a very long appointment and, altogether, we endured 8 shots and a finger prick, and won the battle with one pee cup and one eye chart. Here's a pic of the kids waiting for the doctor to come in. Bailey selected this very lovely gown. I guess at 4, they like to nurture modesty.

Bailey stressed out about her shots throughout the whole appointment and asked no less than 25 times, "Do I have to get a shot now?" She asked so many times that the doctor said, "Girlfriend, I don't give shots so you don't even have to think about it until I leave." That calmed her down a bit....and initiated a lifelong fear of nurses, I'm sure. We laughed after she got her shots, though because she collected herself very quickly. Then, as I was dressing Nolan, she began to wail again. I asked her why, as she had been doing just fine. She said, "I just keep remembering it." So cute.

Here are their stats:


Nolan - 19 lbs. 5%

27 1/2 inches 10%


Bailey - 47 lbs. 95%

42 1/2 inches 95%

Yes, you are correct. I have one at the top of the growth chart and one at the bottom. One pretty much eats anything we put in front of her (including beets and all kinds of things kids don't usually like) and the other we have to force feed (except for sweets, he'd eat ice cream all day long). Funny!

Bailey had her school Christmas concert this week. We used our regular video recorder so I don't have video to post (yes, I recall that it was my vow to learn how to upload videos almost a year ago) but here are a few pictures. Bailey was sweaty before the show even began because she and a few buddies were running around the room, jumping up and down the steps and, as you can see, posing for silly pictures.

She did really well. She was quite a ham and I heard her voice loud and clear over the group. Now, she doesn't really have many vocal skills (at least yet), but she is definitely a performer.

This past week, we had "Family Night" in the Cox household. We all got in our pajamas, made a gingerbread house and then watched "Elf" with a big bowl of popcorn. Bailey had so much fun staying up late and then slept until 10 a.m. the next morning. Here is Bailey's gingerbread masterpiece. Note: The candy only made it a few days, as Bailey has been snatching a few pieces here and there. The house looks pretty pathetic now with just the frosting and a few peppermints hanging off the roof!

Finally, I leave you with quotes of the week.

Bailey

• In response to grandma telling her she's becoming too much of a smart alec, (in the best talk back voice you can imagine, "Well, it's good to be smart, right?"

• "Momma, I need to get on your computer and go to pbs.com and order a game for my email. Is my email address 9903?" Random....and, no, she doesn't have an email address!!


• To a telemarketer, after she answered the phone (which is her new favorite thing to do...she just picks it up and says "Hi!"), "I can't help you, I'm just a kid." Click.

And, in all fairness....

Nolan

• "Uhh" - when I kept trying to get him to say "on" while we were doing our usual "light goes off and on" routine with the light switch


• "Ma?" - pretty much any inquiry about anything.

I think he said bye-bye once but I can't get him to say it again. Every once in awhile he says "daddy" but most days he just calls everyone around him "ma ma." He did begin both waving and clapping this week, which is great. I've been waiting on those things for awhile since many kids master those "tricks" around 10 months. He finally decided he wanted to try them out and he looks so cute!!!

Peace...

Our Little Birthday Buddy

The rumors are true. Nolan has turned one. (Pause for effect). I'll get to the party details in one minute. First, however, you're going to have to indulge me in a little sentimental reflection.


I'm continually amazed by the differences in my children. Perhaps it's the girl vs. boy thing. Perhaps it's the first child vs. second child thing. Perhaps it's just the BAILEY vs. NOLAN thing. Whatever it is, I feel lucky to have children who bring different personalities to the table. Nolan, in many ways, still seems like a baby to me whereas Bailey seemed "grown up" by the time she turned one. With her, because she was my first child, I wanted her to walk and talk and say her ABC's as quickly as possible because I was so eager to experience the new and different stages of childhood. While I am certainly not the kind of mother who wants to baby her baby a little too long (you know the kind I'm talking about), and I've never been a hovering kind of caretaker, I do feel that internal pull to just hold Nolan in that tell-tale cradle hold of infancy as long as he'll let me. And, I won't lie, this week's transition from the bottle to the sippy cup might even be accompanied by a few tears.....mine. But, the reality is that my sweet baby is going to become a sweet little boy, and his first birthday was a defining moment in that progression.


Okay, now I can get to the fun stuff!

We held Nolan's birthday party on Saturday after Thanksgiving, which also happened to be the OU/OSU game day. I didn't know that in advance, but I probably would have still had the party that day because the next Saturday would have been too far AFTER his actual birthday for my taste. But, the timing just meant that some of the standard partygoers of the family and circle of friends couldn't attend. We had a smaller-than-usual group, but I think this was kind of nice in terms of having some room to spread out in my house.


Bailey and I decorated the table and house - we had a Monkey theme. This theme was really just dictated by the invitation I chose, but turned out cute with the cake, plates and napkins I found. I didn't go overboard because, well, he's one and doesn't know the difference. HOWEVER, he was pretty darn interested in the balloons. He wouldn't wear one around his wrist as Bailey did at her first party...he was much happier to just grab one when he wanted to.


Here are some pics of Nolan greeting his cousin Joseph (they are about 4 weeks apart in age). It's funny how little people recognize other little people!

And Bailey and cousin Anna getting into the festive mood.

And my ONE YEAR OLD playing soccer in the backyard with Bailey, Anna and my friend's little boy, Brody. If we can just get rid of the bottle, he'll be able to concentrate on his form.

Present time!! He didn't seem all that interested in opening his presents. But, he really didn't get a chance to develop his taste for it because his sister and cousin stepped into the role of present openers pretty darn quickly and enthusiastically! Oh well, at least he gets to actually play with his gifts......oh wait, maybe not. His sister thinks those are hers, too. Well, maybe next year. Smile.

This is my friend who was trying to get Nolan to wear a party hat.....he made it clear that this was not on his list of things to do. He liked looking at her wearing it, though!

If he's not a soccer star, perhaps we can turn him into a b-baller. Is that even the right terminology....perhaps I shouldn't try to use any hip lingo. LOL.

As for the cake-eating portion of the party, Nolan was a little tentative at first. He actually needed a fork to really get into the action. How very civilized of him.

I told folks at my office that it never occurred to me that the cute monkey cake with brown frosting would yield pictures that look like he's eaten mud (or worse, but I won't be gross)!! It's frosting, people, frosting.

While he did pretty well on his cake at the party, the real good stuff came on his actual birthday when we let him get into the cake again.

I think that's called cleaning your plate. No wonder he needed a bath!

Finally, I leave you with a couple of family pics we took at the conclusion of the party.

Peace...