The Week In Review

I've been stockpiling pictures all week due to a lack of time to update.

We finally had decent enough weather to take Ian's tricycle out for a test drive. Unfortunately, it was freezing cold and almost dark, so we only stayed out for about 15 minutes, but he got the hang of the pedals pretty quickly. It will take a bit of time to get the pedals AND steering down, but he loved it and kept saying "Mommy, I was going SO FAST!". One day we'll look back on those pictures and laugh at how small the tricycle is. It's perfect for him now, and will be great to have for some time as it folds in half and is made from 75% recycled materials, which makes me feel good (my "lower carbon footprint" resolution and all). It's currently in the living room and is fun to push around the kitchen. Once it warms up a little, we'll take it out again.

A high majority of the 112 pictures I took this week feature a naked kid, so alas, I can't publish them. I let him run around with no pants on most of the day yesterday in the hopes that we'd have a potty training opportunity, but the stinker held it until his nap diaper went on...and I could see the look of relief on his face before we were done with our first story. He's a little too smart for his own good. We haven't put any additional pressure on him, but a lot of our talk is about what we're about to do, etc. It's quite an exciting household these days. Not much in the way of engaging conversation.

Yesterday, we met a coworker of Shawn's and his wife at an area Chinese restaurant. This was not just an average "Mandarin" restaurant, as is typical for Americanized Chinese food. It was a very authentic Sichwan restaurant in an international neighborhood and was the closest thing we've had to "real" Chinese food since we were in China. When you're the only "white people" in the restaurant, it's a good sign. It means the Chinese community approves of what's being served.

Ian did great, but those reading this who've been to China will know that the restaurants there are complete chaos. This was an almost carbon copy of the restaurants there. It was a bit of sensory overload for him and I think he's rusty on handling that kind of environment. He was well behaved none the less, and we had a great time with great food with a really nice couple. That restaurant made me miss China so much. I didn't want to leave. I was hardly bothered by the family that stood 2 feet from our table and watched us eat until we were done, then took our seats the second we stood up. Just like China.

Ian slept until 10am today and when Shawn went in to wake him up, his bedroom light was on and he was laying with his blanket and his trains in his crib just looking around. I'm amazed constantly at how content he is to spend long periods of time in his own space. Lately, he has been taking long naps at home, ranging anywhere from 3 to 5 hours long. He's still a little congested from his sinus infection, but is basically healthy. I think he might be going through another growth spurt. His teachers are constantly telling me how disruptive he is at naptime at school, and that he doesn't sleep for more than an hour. I just think he wants his own room with his own things...and quiet... for naptime. He lived in organized chaos for the first 20 months of his life. Now he gets his own space and loves it.

Just now, I asked Ian who's his buddy and he said "Daddy Ian's buddy". I asked "Is mommy Ian's buddy?" and he laughed a big belly laugh and said "No! You my mudder!". So goes the life of a mother.

Having fun with his new tricycle

Look Out Orange County Choppers!


Ian helping daddy brush & vice versa

Checking out the goods in the fridge

Stealing off daddy's plate

Getting the hang of chopsticks...but by the way he picks them up, it's obviously in his DNA

Checking out his fortune

Doing his chores: He's responsible for feeding Polli...

...and does a great job!

Ian Drives Mom Crazy

Pretty much all I have to talk about these days is potty training, but I'll do my best to spare all the details. In a nutshell, it's not going well. Just when I think Ian is ready, I'm not... and when I realize he's not entirely ready, I am gung-ho. We have to get on the same page. Unfortunately, it would work best if I was at home or if I could take a bunch of time off work to camp in the house with no pants on (Ian...not me).

My mom convinced me that it will happen very soon and he is interested enough to prove that he is close to being ready. She said that my brother took forever and was almost 4 before he was doing "big business". My sister, who is only a year younger, trained herself by watching my mom spend hours with him on his potty pleading for success. I'm sure that 40-something brother of mine from my last post will be so thrilled when he finds out that the entire adoption community, plus family and friends are all well acquainted now with his potty habits! Sorry, Rex... If only you knew how your immature stubbornness is an inspiration to me in my plight to tackle this mountain!

OK. Enough of that. Now to talk about how my perfect, well behaved, easy to manage son surprised me yesterday. After picking him up from school, I decided to take him to the play area at the mall. He loves pretending we're going to the mall... he reenacts going to the mall all the time and thinks we go to the mall to play at the kid's cove play area (or boat tunnel as he calls it). He pretends in the car, in the tub, etc. He was great all the way there and into the play area. He played well and was easy to pull away when it was time to leave. Unfortunately, the easy ended there.

We went from there to the coffee shop for a "spicy milk" (chai). While the girl behind the counter dilly dallied with my credit card, he was running out of the store and into the mall. He thought it was hilarious that I was running after him and I had to carry him like a football back into the store, which was hilarious to him, too...as he kicked and had giggle/wiggle fits. From there, he knocked over a coffee display and then threw himself in the middle of the floor and proceeded to pretend that his legs didn't work. No fussing or anything, just overstimulated fits of giggles at how "bad" he was being. He loved that I couldn't control him. I could see the onlookers thinking "that nanny has no control over her boss's kid".

I was then carrying my purse, his jacket, two drinks, and trying to control him. He walked calmly for a minute, but then tore off into a clothing store squealing with glee. I tried the whole "bye! See you later!" trick, but he just turned and said "bye bye mommy!" and ran. OMG! I also tried telling him that his drink was going in the garbage, but he calmly replied "go away drink!". There was no winning. I ultimately threw both of our drinks in the garbage and picked him up like a football...carrying him like a 32 pound sack of potatoes to the car. By the time we were in the garage, he was calm and fixed on a yellow jeep next to our car. I was sweating and out of breath. What a great trip to the mall. Not at all what I think of as an enjoyable trip.

He was fine until about 5 minutes to go and then wanted to get out of his car seat and stand up. He was pretending that the crotch strap hurt and that the shoulder harness was choking him. Literally, he was making choking noises and pretending to gag... and there was nothing anywhere near his throat and nothing was tight. Uggh.

I might have raised my voice once and I think I said "pissed". I can't quite remember all the details. God forgive me if I swore. I didn't mean it. Really, I didn't.

He was an angel as soon as we got in the door and in his chair for dinner. Great bath, great bedtime. He even let me brush his teeth, which is a feat on a good night, so I think he just wanted to be at home. I know now that an outing is not always fun for him and sometimes he just wants his "stuff" and his routine and to heck with the adventure.

Below are a few pics of his time at the "boat tunnel" play area. Not much since most of the time I was at a sprint after him. Who needs cardio when I have a 2 year old?

Taking the steps from the mall floor to the dedicated floor that is the kid's area. He did every step without my help!

He loves the boats...along with every other 5 year old and under in our area

He especially likes the Ferry Tunnel

He badly wanted to scale this wall. Do I need to worry about his crib security? That will need to be my next big battle. I have no strength for it right now.

Fun with Family

Friday was a great day for Ian and Grandma Trish. I think it was nice for both of them to get back to their normal schedule. Before I left for work, I had Ian show her his "run and jump" circuit, which is essentially Ian Follow the Leader. We have to follow him as he takes us around the house (usually at a run) and tells us what to do (hop, jump, skip, freeze, sideways, backward, etc.) He had Trish huffing and puffing in no time. It was funny to see her running and jumping around the house, completely at the mercy of a two year old. I decided that everyone who comes over should have to do "run/jumps".

When I got home from work at 3:30, he had been down for nap since 12:30. Grandma left for home and I expected Ian to be waking up any second. Two hours later, at almost 5:30, I decided to make sure he was still breathing. There was no emergency and he wasn't sick. He was happily sitting up in his crib playing with a toy listening to his music player. He stood up with a quiet "hi, mommy!". It still amazes me that he is so good at entertaining himself in his crib.

So yesterday, we headed out for a final trip to the optical store to get his glasses ordered. We're doing the square-ish rubber frames shown 2 posts ago in yellow, but in dark gray and dark blue. With his dark hair and skin, darker glasses will look better on his face. It takes about 2 weeks for the frames to come in and then another week for the lenses... so we'll have to wait for 3 more weeks to see how he does with them.

We were very late for naptime at that point, so we rushed home. Ian took another very long nap (almost 4 hours) and we went in and dragged him from his crib a few minutes before my brother was expected to show up for dinner and belated Christmas gifts.

My brother Rex hasn't seen Ian since his birthday party back in April, so I was excited to see if Ian remembered him and how different Ian would be to Rex. I'm not sure Ian remembered him completely and he was a little shy at first, but he quickly came around and they were giggling and wrestling before long. We had a great dinner of homemade chicken cordon bleu and scalloped potatoes, and Ian behaved wonderfully.

Because Rex was in Arizona and California over the holidays, we did our Christmas gifts a little late. Ian got some great CD's, DVD's, and workbooks. Best of all, he got a game called Animal Scramble, which is a cross between tag and hide-and-seek with little animals. Hard to explain, but Ian really enjoyed it and I think it was as much a gift for Shawn as for Ian.

Having Rex here meant Ian was jacked up late into the evening and I finally put him down at 10:30pm. I didn't get to sleep until well after 1am, and I was hoping such a late lights-out time would mean Ian would sleep late...Thankfully I was able to be lazy until 9, which included a sneak out trip to Starbucks before anyone knew I was up.

I've avoided talking about it, but yesterday was also day 1 of potty training and I have to say it was a miserable failure. Ian tried every 30 minutes in the morning but didn't do anything... and then I put him in a diaper for the outing to the optical store. I was petrified to take him out "in the raw". After nap, uncle Rex had arrived but we put him back in undies... and had 2 accidents. He couldn't have cared less that he was wet. He was more than happy to keep playing while soaking wet. Well, there goes my theory that he won't like being wet and will ask to go. Sigh. As much as I thought he was ready, either he isn't or I'm still not. I don't know.

He's in a diaper now and I don't know if I'll be putting him in underpants today. I might just let his teachers get him started tomorrow and see what success they have before I decide whether or not we should wait. I might also get him a taller step stool so he can stand like daddy. Then, he can practice sinking cheerios or something... sitting is no fun for boys.

I also cancelled his trial class at Little Gym. After doing the math, it comes out to over $100 a month for an hour a week, which seems steep and not all together practical right now. Instead, I think we'll scope out more area Children's Museums and go to the pool at our gym more. After his birthday, I hope to start enrolling him in Mandarin classes, so I'll save for that vs. paying through the nose for organized play. We already pay for 8 hours a day of that!

Putting Grandma through her paces

He has amazing balance... His feet are almost as wide as they are long and he can usually balance on just about anything. I think he comes from Chinese Acrobat stock.

Unwrapping presents

Playing with Uncle Rex

Ian with Uncle Rex then and now.

Wrapping Up the Week

Not much to say about this week. We're all back to our normal schedules. Our entire region has been impacted by flooding the past few days, after a long hard battle with snow, and it's the basis of almost every conversational topic these days. We live on a hill, but just a half mile away, people are being evacuated and/or are landlocked with no way in or out. I can see the emergency staging area from my house and just yesterday saw an emergency helicopter use our soccer field as a landing pad. It's all been a good reminder to me that no matter how safe you feel, anything can happen, even in suburbia.

I'm sitting here enjoying the quiet of the morning with my Polli-wog lap dog and a cup of coffee before Grandma Trish shows up for her Friday with Ian. It's been a few weeks since she's been on this normal schedule, so hopefully they have a good day.

Ian is still asleep and lately has been more than happy to do so as long as we let him. I'm sure having been sick is a big part of it, but just yesterday, I woke him and asked if he wanted to go to school and play with his friends, to which he replied "Crib & blanket are Ian's friends. Ian go naptime, please!" I know it was 5:30am and at that time of day my best friends are my bed and pillow...so I understand his motivation.

We played "run & jump", which essentially is Ian playing follow the leader and we run, jump, skip, etc. around the house for as long as he wants to. It includes many "mommy, sit here in the bathroom", "mommy, stand on one foot on Ian's stool", "mommy, turn around in circles", and many other commands. It is actually a decent workout and I think it zaps him, too.

Tomorrow is the busiest of our weekend days. We are going in the morning to the eyeglass place again so Shawn can help make a final decision on frame shape and color for Ian's specs. We've got to get those things ordered since they take 3 weeks. From there, we'll probably do lunch at Panera before zipping home for naptime. In the evening, my brother Rex is coming out to do our Christmas with him since he was out of town during the holidays. He hasn't seen Ian since his birthday party in April, so I'm excited to see what he thinks of his practically grown nephew and his night and day speech since their last meeting.

I can't believe I've left out the biggest event of all: We're starting potty training this weekend! Like actually putting him in undies and letting him figure out that big boy pants mean he has to use the toy-la-let. We put him in matching underwear to Shawn last night and he loved running around practically naked (he would be nude 24/7 if we let him). I got him some that match Shawn, and then several different character patterns so he can pick which he wants to wear each day. I think some days he'll want to look like daddy and others Lightening McQueen will be his big motivator. Next week, I'll bring about a dozen pair of underwear and a dozen changes of pants to school and hopefully they can get the ball rolling and I can reinforce at night. That's my hope... We'll see. I won't comment much on my reward strategy since I got an anonymous comment a few days ago saying that I buy him too much "stuff" and give him too much sugar...both couldn't be further from the truth... so I'll just say that I have it worked out so he has motivation to go. I'll update on our progress next week.

Below are a few pics from our week. Not much, unfortunately.

Shawn took some bath pictures on my "night off". This was my favorite.

He absolutely loves looking through Shawn's aquatic wildlife books. He knows some very long names of fish... but his favorites are Puffer fish and Sea Anenomes, or "sea enemys". I liked this shot. Reminds me of him at the aquarium over the summer.

Trying on his big boy undies for the first time. He loved them. We'll see what happens when they get wet. He might not love them so much then. Check out that after dinner belly!

Getting Ready for Glasses

When I picked Ian up from school today, he was SUPER happy and had had a great first day back. With the exception of a few shadows of his sores, he looked back to normal. I had a good day too, although my throat is still on fire and I had to talk to new hires for 3 hours straight.

After school, we went straight to the eyeglass place. The opthamologist suggested a place in Redmond, which isn't far from us. Supposedly, they specialize in fitting kids and are familiar with fitting kids with Microtia.

I told Ian we were going to try on glasses and he could wear glasses just like: Grama, Paga, Grandpa Tom, Uncle Rex...and most importantly Leo from Little Einsteins. That did the trick. For the whole ride there, he said "Mommy, try on glasses like Leo!" It was already going better than expected.

Upon arriving, he was thrilled with the play area. It was quite a challenge just to get him to the very adult like, sterile side of the room where the optical department resided. He did pretty well as long as he could look in the mirror. He was so excited at how he looked in glasses and was willing to keep them on for several seconds. It was very exciting. What was NOT exciting? The prices. It's a little fancy schmancy and in an area where most people can afford to drop large bills with a yawn, so I guess they can charge what they want if people are willing to pay it. Unfortunately, the first 4 or 5 pairs she showed us were from $200-$325 just for the frames. Ummm. He's 2. I think not! Of course his lenses need to be strong, so alone, they'll be anywhere from $115 to $150, depending on how shatterproof, light, and scratch resistant we want them to be. Sigh.

Finally, after Ian had already retreated back to the play area, she pulled out what she called her "last resort". They were light, rubber, and cartoonish. Totally silly....and UNBREAKABLE! They're often chosen for infants and "training" glasses. Yeah, that's us! I took several pair over to Ian and tried them. Not only did they fit snugly on his head with the headband, they actually balance OK on his ear nubby. He didn't seem at all bothered by them and if in a different color, they might actually be cute. The best part of all is that they were only $79 for the frames with a warranty. Seems like a no brainer.

I took several pictures to show Shawn and he agreed with me that something like that might be the best choice for "training" until he learns to be responsible, wear them correctly, and take care of them. Once we've mastered wearing them and actually getting them home in one piece, we can move to fancy metal mini-GQ frames. I'm going back with Shawn this weekend to make a final decision. My goal is to have 2 pair for, after insurance, $300. Lofty goal, I know...But he needs them, and if it makes his world bigger and brighter and easier, I'm all for it.

Afterward, I told him we were going to Target for a toy for being so good. He was thrilled about getting a "special toy". Once there, I made the mistake of going down the Thomas Train aisle and it was all over. Highway robbery is all I can say, but he was thrilled with his choice. Henry with a "coal car". All he could say throughout the store was "Mommy, go 'have to pay first", OK? We got Polli a "special toy" since that's only fair... and we headed home.

Below are a few cute pictures from the fitting:

He did great with these... but they were the most expensive of all the frames we tried. How long would they last? I was afraid to ask. At this price he would get one pair...and insurance or not, it would be a major headache bringing them in every week for repair.

I can see him sitting and doing his homework in these. They'll make great "big boy" glasses once he understands the purpose behind them and can take some responsibility for them (does that actually happen ever?).

These are the rubber unbreakable "training" glasses. Although I don't like the yellow, I think they're actually really cute. This is the only time in his life he'll be able to get away with "cartoon" glasses, so why not?

Side profile... I'm thinking in dark blue or gray.

I didn't like this shape or color. He looked like he was trying on an adult's glasses.

Back to the Grind

Well, one more day until we're all back to the grind. Ian is at 100% and ready to head back to school. I'm at about 50%, but need to get back to a work focus. Shawn starts back after 2 weeks off.

This time last year, I was preparing to go back to work from my leave with Ian. It was a bittersweet time. I wanted to see my coworkers and have some adult interaction, but knew I would miss Ian horribly. Now, a whole year later, I can see how good daycare has been for him. He has grown in a million ways I never would have thought possible. I can't even begin to imagine what change another year will bring.

On to the important topic of the day: Ian's eye appointment. We had noticed since day one that he gets up really close to toys, inspects everything with an engineer's detail, and puts his nose right down in books. He also sits right up at the screen of the TV, which reminded me of how my brother used to watch TV, and he badly needed glasses.

How glad am I that we got him in. I only wish we would have done it earlier. He is -8 Myopic or near-sighted in both eyes. The doctor suggested that he get him started in glasses ASAP. He said without knowing Ian's family history and if his birth parents had vision issues, he wagers a guess that Ian might have been a preemie. We'll never know, but I'll always wonder.

Anyway, I started imagining what he would look like with glasses. I've always thought he'd look a little like the Gosselin boy with glasses (Jon & Kate Plus Eight son Aedan). Maybe he'll be a dark haired version of the Jerry McGuire boy or the boy from Meet the Robinsons. We'll see. I know Ian would look cute with a sack on his head, so I'm not worried.

So next, we need to deal with the complexity of fitting a toddler with glasses... and not only that, but a toddler with one full sized ear and an almost non existent nose bridge. This should be fun!

From all the advice I've received from other parents, it seems like this will be a little like potty training, in that we'll have to take it really slow and reward like crazy. I'm beginning to realize why we're motivated by "stuff" as adults... we're bribed to do things from birth practically! I'm all for bribing if it gets the job done though. If an M&M or gummy bear gets him to keep his glasses on or to go in the big potty, I'm fine with it.

Speaking of potty, I'm sure this is too much information, but he's gone #2 on his potty 3 ***THREE*** days in a row! No pee yet, which I thought would have been first, but I'll take what I can get. Ice cream was his treat the first time, the second time he got a pack of gummy snacks, and the third time was a Matchbox car. I know I'll have to come up with some kind of system now that I have a multiple reward thing going on. Geez. I have a full time job and now this complicated project? Gimme a break!

We also finally got Ian in for a haircut. His last full haircut was in July, and just a trim of the sides in August... after which, we decided we wanted to let it grow out "just because". It was cute for a couple of months and then just got shaggy and stringy. Shawn and I had both taken the scissors to him at one point or another, and it was getting to the point that he looked silly. He's never fun at the hair place and they can never seem to figure out what to do with the hair around his little ear, so I was dreading it. He did really well. I was prouder than proud. He sat still the whole time and the lady handled his ear with tact and did a great job of keeping it even despite his asymmetry. I was more than happy to pay their ridiculous price of $18 for a toddler cut.

Below are a few pics from our weekend. Again, not a lot since we're just coming out of our housebound-ness. Hopefully, I'll have pics of Ian getting fitted with glasses in a few days. Yikes!

Yet another adorable picture of Ian and Polli at the window. I could never have too many of these.

Ian wanted to take a picture of of his feet next to daddy's. Too cute.

His face is almost completely clear! Thank God for antibiotics

Meet our little noodle addict


So excited about his potty reward. I never knew a 99 cent metal car could bring such joy.

Welcome 2009!

Happy New Year, everyone!

I'm a little late, mostly because I'm super sick. Again! 2008 Began and ended with illness for me. I had about 9 separate respiratory-ish sicknesses throughout the year, yet Ian has gotten sick a total of 3 times since coming home. He brings every little germ home from daycare and shrugs them off like nothing, but they hit me like a ton of bricks... healthy lifestyle or not. So goes the life of a mom with a 2 year old, I guess!

As for Ian, his rash from Christmas worsened and turned into sores all over his face. He also continued to have sinus issues, so I decided it was time to take him in. We went to the doctor on Monday and learned that he does indeed have an upper respiratory infection and dreaded impetigo. There had been a reported case of impetigo at his school 2 weeks ago, so he must have been carrying it around for a while and it became active when he broke out in the rash or sinus thing...or both. Anyway, he started antibiotics on Monday and by Wednesday was down to only a few sores. Today he woke with one remaining spot and a clear nose, which we haven't seen for weeks.

Despite it all, he hasn't lost his zest for life and all the energy that goes with it. I wish I could say as much for myself, but I'm glad to see that he's a highly functioning sick child. Without the physical symptoms, you'd never know he was sick.

The impetigo meant that he couldn't go to school for a few days, which combined with the holiday, kept him home all week. We still have to pay for daycare though. That stinks.

He'll be ready and raring to go on Monday though, and hopefully I will too. I have a very busy work week that can't be put off.

As you can imagine, we slept through the New Year's celebrations. My drink of choice to ring in the New Year was Nyquil. Hopefully 2009 will be a bit more optimistic for all of us than 2008 was. In retrospect, it was a bittersweet year. It wasn't great from an economic perspective, but it was historic in many ways, too. Most of all, it was Ian's first full calendar year as our son... Making it a good year no matter what.

Today, Ian has an eye appointment, which will hopefully be less dramatic than his pediatrician's office (where it seems like they're always wanting a blood draw).

Below are a few pictures from this week. Not much as I haven't really had the strength to lift the camera.

Helping daddy hang his new race track decals

He really enjoys these... and luckily, they peel right off (as long as he doesn't figure that out).

When you're sick, there's nothing better than snuggling up with your best buddy.

A traumatic trip to the doctor means 2 things: Ice Cream and new Cars.

On the mend. This was Thursday. Only a few sores left!

Everyone has their own laptop but Polli!

Here Comes Santa (and more snow)

We went to Grandma Trish & Grandpa Tom's house on Christmas Eve so Ian could wake up Christmas morning to a delivery of presents from Santa.

When we left for their house at 1pm on Wednesday, it had been snowing all day and we'd picked up another 5 inches on top of what we had dug out from 3 times. By the time we were 5 miles from home, it was a slushy rain mix and it felt warm... a balmy 35 degrees.

Ian opened one of his Christmas Eve presents, two Christmas books, but we lost his second Christmas Eve gift (meant to be his Christmas morning jammies). We looked at every gift at least 5 times, and I realized we'd either left it at home or I forgot to label the tag. It meant Ian had to wear non-Christmas jammies to bed. Gasp.

We set out milk and cookies for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer. Ian didn't completely get the point, but he did a good job of playing along.

We watched Bee Movie, then Mama Mia after Ian went to bed...and broke out the chocolate martinis, yum!

The next morning, Ian woke with a horrible rash on his cheek. He's had a cold, but this was a bad raised rash...worse than any eczema flair up he's ever had. We decided it must be the blanket in his crib there. It got worse as the day went on and eventually spread to his other cheek, so we quarantined all of his bedding and washed it all. He had a good day despite it, and we even got him to open a couple of presents. When he opened his stocking, and he found 3 Hot Wheels cars and some gummy snacks, then couldn't have cared less about anything else. Next year, Christmas budget for Ian: $2.50.

We did get him to actually tear paper on a couple of presents, but for the most part, it was me opening presents and showing him what he received. We took 2 breaks in the morning and then again at naptime. At the end of the day, Ian still had about 6 presents still unopened.

We had made an earlier decision to let Ian spend the night and although he had this mystery rash and a lingering cold, he wasn't running a fever, was in good spirits, and eating normally. So, we left him fast asleep, and headed home at about 10pm.

Little did we realize that it had been snowing non stop at our house since we left the day before. There was possibly another 10 inches on the ground and my car was buried yet again. Poor Polli couldn't even walk from the garage to the house, it was so deep.

Today, Shawn and I slept in... I got up at 9am and set up my new XBOX. He slept until 11. It was pretty awesome. We were worried about Ian's rash, but the phone didn't ring, so we knew he must be doing OK. I was fully prepared to call the doctor if it wasn't better when we picked him up.

I met Trish and Tom halfway for Ian later in the day, and thankfully, he looked much better. Within a few hours of being home, we have seen a gigantic difference.

We set up 3 of the 32 pieces of Ian's tunnel system in his room and between that and his "Rocket" from Little Einsteins, he was in heaven.

Once the snow is gone, we'll be able to break out his new tricycle, and he has about 20 new books to read. Ian will be a busy guy for a while!

Below are a few pictures of the holiday and some of our snow. I didn't take nearly as many as I should have, but Ian's rash was pretty bad and I didn't want to focus on that.

Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope Santa was good to you! Wishing you all a wonderful 2009!

Checking out an angel on Grandma's table

Wishing he could touch the ornaments...but after his last experience with them, they're off limits

Opening his Christmas Eve present... even if the jammies were missing in action

Setting out cookies, carrots, and milk for Santa and the reindeer. By next year, we'll have to be a bit more accurate about where we put the reindeer food, but he didn't ask questions this time.

Opening his stocking... you can see the start of his rash here.

Opening a present. This only happened a few times before it was just me opening his presents for him.

Checking out his new tunnel

I mixed civilized martinis for the teenagers...who promptly drank them with tuna fish sandwiches.

Ian's Aunt Shannon had a few "less civilized" martinis. I think they were worth it... She may or may not agree.

When we arrived home, it was apparent that we'd gotten a lot more snow.

I'm so glad Shawn had already carved us parking spots. Look how tall the snow is compared to me and the garage door. We've never had anything quite like this happen before.

This is one of the deeper spots of our yard... and this isn't a snow drift! I took this picture on Friday morning... We'll see how long it takes this to melt.

Digging Out

We're still digging out from our storms and got more snow last night, adding to the snow drifts and laying a fresh layer of snow on what we already had. We have about 10 inches on the ground and 3-4 foot drifts throughout the yard and driveway. Without that wind the other night, who knows how much we would have on the ground.

I braved the roads and went to work today, mostly to get out from under a toddler for a little while...but ironically, I was the only person who showed up (eventually a few others filed in). I had even come armed with cookies for the road warriors, but wound up eating my own cookies with my morning coffee... and running around the office for people out of the office who needed this or that.

Ian went to school too, although they opened late and closed early. So few kids showed up today that they had everyone in one big room. Ian loved it and Shawn said he was off and playing before he even had his coat off. He did have another bloody nose today, this time in the other nostril, but again, it didn't slow him down and hasn't progressed into anything worse than the bleeding. Once we warm up later this week, I'll be interested to see how he does.

We're forecasted to have cold temps through Christmas and another round of snow for Christmas Eve, so no matter what, Ian will have a White Christmas this year, even if there are no flakes on Thursday.

He has taken to the snow great over the past few days, but I can't keep those mittens on for the life of me. He thinks it's absolutely hilarious to throw them off and stomp them into the snow. I plan to sew a cord so I can keep them from falling in the snow, but the keeping them on part or getting his thumbs to go in the right place... Well, I imagine it's as hard as potty training or transitioning to a big boy bed. Ugg.

Below are some pictures of our time out in the snow today. Ian would have stayed outside, but again, his hands were cold and his nose was still having issues. We tried to make a snowman, but the snow was too dry, so we stuck to bricks and snowballs, which turned out to be just fine with Ian.

Having a good time throwing his mittens in the snow

Helping dad dig out the driveway... for the 3rd time in 2 days!

Making snow bricks

Brick and snowball makers... Ian's early Christmas gifts.

Checking out his first snowball

He liked the snowballs...but was quick to point out that they were cold. Just like a boy, these didn't last long...He was doing "Hi Yah" kicks and smashing them as quickly as I could make them.