Christmas Story

Warning: Long Post (oh, not like you've got anything else going on)

I hope everyone had a joyous Christmas! Can't believe it's over and another year is almost at an end. We had a super fabulous Christmas and feel truly blessed that that we were able to spend it w/ our loved ones.

Before xmas I had grand schemes of blogging in detail of our holiday adventure. But, that vision has been replaced by a more practical and realistic plan which is to blog about what I can remember at this moment. We had Christmas w/ Scott's family the weekend b/f and then went to Fort Smith for Christmas w/ my family. Instead of doing individual posts, I thought I share some of our favorite moments and images, in no particular order. We'll see how this goes. I'm sure memories will come pouring forth as I type.

** Crafts made by Nick in school **

Is this not the cutest?

**Pictures of Nick**
Nick had his picture taken a couple of weeks back by our family friend, Abraham. It was his first time photographing a toddler (a very uncooperative one I might add). I thought he did a great job. Here are a couple of our favorites.

** The Gift Game **
Scott's mom started this great tradition a few years back w/ me and Jill (Scott's sister) and expanded it to include Scott and Denis (Jill's husband) since they wanted in on the fun. We usually head out for a day of shopping when they arrive for last minute gifts. She gives us money b/f we hit the stores, but stipulates that it needs to be spent a certain way and/or in a set amount of time or we have to return the money. The first year Jill and I were required to spend all of our money w/in 1 hour on anything as long as it was for ourselves. Trust me, we had no problem with that challenge. This year our game was a bit different. She gave each couple money and told us we had to give the money away how ever we saw fit. Once we did that we would receive our gift. Of course we could have stuffed all of it in a kettle, but we wanted to be more thoughtful about it, as I'm sure that was her intention. It really was a wonderful idea, a great reminder that giving during Christmas is not restricted just to your family and friends.

** Towel Spa **
I got many fantastic gifts this year (but not one ProCaulk tool, does anyone read this blog?!). One of my favorites is from my incredibly thoughtful husband, Scott. It's the Towel Spa. It's a box that heats up your towel (or robe, gloves, etc...). Imagine stepping out of the shower on a frigid morning and wrapping yourself in a nice, warm towel as if right out of the dryer. Well, imagine no more! I actually put my robe in it. Heaven.

** Christmas Eve **
I think it's part family made tradition and part culture, but as long as I can remember, Christmas eve has always been the big night for my family. Way back when, my family would gather on Christmas eve and hang out, get in a good nap, go to midnight mass, come home and have a huge feast and then open presents. Seriously, we'd be up until 3 or 4 in the morning, at least. Fast forward 20 or so years. I can barely keep my eyes open during midnight mass (don't worry, I'm praying in my head) much less come home to a huge turkey dinner and presents. So we adjust, especially since we've got Nick and it's all about Nick according to my mom. This year we had dinner at a normal time, 6pm, at my Aunt Tam and Uncle Peter's house. Then we came home and let Nick open some of his presents. We saved some for the next day, just so he wouldn't overload on presents. Rough life, indeed. After Nick opened his loot, we made the the executive decision to open ours. Watching Nick open his presents whetted our appetite, so we thought what the heck. We wrapped up just in time for midnight mass. We all crashed when we got home and slept in the next morning. A bit nontraditional, but I wouldn't want it any other way.

** Reinforcing Stereotypes **
My parents love karaoke. My brother, Nghia, got them these fancy new wireless microphones to replace their old ones. Guess who else took a liking to it?

Is his hair not ridiculous?

That's it for now. I was expecting a floodgate (that word looks so weird. flood.) of memories, but there must be a bottleneck. I'll be back once I've had some coffee and clear the cobwebs from my head. I'll load a slideshow as soon as I get all the pictures loaded onto phanfare. Love to all.

Merry Christmas!!

No time for blogging. I'm normally finished w/ my xmas shopping by the 15th. Alas, there is still shopping to be done and presents to be wrapped. What was I thinking?!

I just wanted to take a quick moment to send warmest Christmas wishes to everyone. Have a safe and blessed holiday. We look forward to catching up w/ everyone in a few days and sharing our family fun.

Love,
The Robinsons

Boys Day Out

So that I could get some rest, Scott and Nick had a boys day out on Saturday. Scott attempted on his own to take Nick to get a haircut. It did not go well. He was probably exaggerating, but he said there were 4 women holding down and distracting Nick. You'd have thought they were poking him w/ scissors instead of cutting his hair the way he howled. After that fiasco they headed over to the mall. Since there wasn't a long line for Santa, I gave Scott my blessing to get his picture taken w/out me there. Scott said he was smiling and all excited until it was time to actually go up to Santa. He dug in his heels. Fortunately, after a bit of coaxing(aka a lollipop), he climbed up on Santa's lap. He actually smiled in this picture, unlike last year's. I'll have to find last year's and post it. It's pretty hilarious how tortured he looked. After a visit to the candy store and the toy store, they had lunch at PF Chang's. Scott said he was just perfect there. They ended their outing by coming home, climbing in bed and happily sharing their adventures (and some of their candy) with me. I love my boys.

So Crafty

Hi, hope everyone is well. Been under the weather and blogging was at the bottom of a list of things to catch up on. And with that, let's get started shall we?

I am by far the least crafty person around, but I'm trying since Nick loves them so much. A few days ago, we made ice cream cone xmas trees. Nick loved it. I suspect anything involving frosting would score pretty high w/ him. I got the idea for this craft here. Beth had it on her blog a few days back. It's a really great site, and one of these days I'll attempt to do 1% of what this woman does.

Scott Thoughts: Introduction

I've decided to start a series called Scott Thoughts. He often emails me pictures, articles and videos, many of which he thinks I should share w/ the world. They run the gamut, from insanely juvenile (the breakdancing Indian video) to thought provoking (editorials from George Will, one of his heroes btw). He's what they'd call a contradiction, his emails are at any rate. I guess I'll keep him though, as he tries his best to make me laugh throughout the day even while he's hard at work.

So, I'll share w/ you the more "funny" pieces as they come along. The thought provokers are usually political in nature, and I'll keep them to myself so as not to offend anyone. I'm sure enough of you will be offended by one of his "funnies" at some point.

I got this video from him the other day. He came home and excitedly asked me if I had seen it. His eyes were glowing, apparently, from the awesomeness of it. He said he laughed for a good half hour over this. I'll let you be the judge...

Scott thought everybody should love their library as much as this guy.

*the views expressed here do not necessarily reflect that of the blogger

The Last Few Days

My family came up for a visit over the weekend. Scott's company xmas party was on Saturday night and my parents were kind enough to come up and babysit. Nick always loves playing w/ my mom, dad and his uncles. Not only that, they watched him for most of the day Saturday so we could get some shopping done. The company party was nice, but it was down in Fayetteville. Of course. Last year when we live in Fayetteville, it was in Rogers. Not that it's that terrible a drive, but still after a long night, it's the last thing you'd want.

Sunday, we to Hanna's party. Afterwards, the three of us settle in for a nice long nap. Thing was shortly after, my brother and his friend, Abraham, stop by to take pictures of Nick. Feeling bad about making him wait, even though he insisted I let Nick sleep, I woke up Mr. Cranky Pants. Seriously, he was about as disagreeable as I've seen him in a while. At one point, Nick just scrunched up his face and yelled, "cheese, cheese, cheese, cheese, Cheeeeeeese!" Abe's working on those pictures right now, but I'm not feeling too hopeful about them. I do appreciate that Abraham went out of his way to take pictures for us. I'll post them when we get them back.

Yesterday, we figured out why Nick was being a poot, he's sick, duh. He's had congestion and coughing b/f, but he's usually pretty active. Not this time. I kept him home from MDO today. He was just pitiful. I'm hoping his fever breaks soon, as well as this weather. Feeling a little cooped up. That is all for now.

Here he is eating breakfast, not wanting to take pictures. Not like him at all.

Sweet As Sugar

Sweet little Hanna turns 3 today. Happy birthday, Hanna!

She had her birthday party yesterday and the theme was Candyland adventure. Hanna looked so adorable in her tutu (which Christina made, fabulous job). Let me tell you, Heidi did a phenomenal job with everything. I've always admired her domestic prowess, but she really outdid herself. Scott even said he could tell she put a lot of work into it. And Scott, like most men I'm sure, notices only the food.

The kids made a Xmas craft and then decorated a cookie "lollipop". I will say she is quite insane for letting the kids have free access to all that colored sugar. I could feel it crunching underneath my shoes. *cringe* Nicholas really enjoyed himself. He loved, loved the cake. I cannot stress this enough. While all the other kids took a few bites and took off running, Nick sat there and finished every last bite. He was methodical in his removal of the frosting and did not leave a crumb behind. As if the kids did not have enough sugar coursing through their veins, she filled up take out boxes w/ candy from her display as party favors. For those of you who know Scott, you'd know that he was in heaven. Check out her blog here.

Heidi, you did a fantastic job. Thanks for inviting us to celebrate Hanna's big day. Are you available in Feb?

One last note, there are several kids celebrating birthdays this month. I want to send warmest birthday wishes to Gabby, Lauren and Zach!

Oh Christmas Tree

Well, we finally got the Christmas tree up. Standard fare, no garland, no topper. Nick helped us out by "showing" us where he wanted to place his ornaments. In reality, we kinda guided him along about where to put it. He really didn't care though, he was more concerned about playing w/ the gift boxes. If Nick had real control of where to place the ornaments, he would have put them all in the exact same spot, which is what he tried to do on the real tree. They would've been stacked on top of one another. We'll give it another go next year, or maybe we will just get him his own tree to decorate. That way Scott can hang his hideous looking Star Wars ornaments.

We dusted off the advent calendar and hid a small treat behind each door. Nick got it after couple of nights. He immediately asks to open the next, but doesn't put up a fight when we tell him he has to wait. He knows exactly which number to open each night. It's pretty cute to watch.

Our mantle is relatively bare, still trying to figure that out. I did hang a little scroll Nick made in his MDO last year, along w/ a paper angel ornament on the tree. So so cute. My parents still hang ornaments and various crafts my brothers and I made when we were kids on their tree. Remember the clothespin reindeer everyone made in 3rd grade? They still have it, just missing an eye and an ear. I always marvel at the time that has past when I look at them. I hope to do the same thing and add all of Nick's stuff to our tree every year. This is one time I don't care if it doesn't match.

Thanksgiving - Final Leg

(Warning: Long Post, but the last one)
I told you it was an extravaganza. This was not so much a leg as it was a detour. Scott's granny Helen(Scott's dad's mom) was celebrating her 88th birthday. She is the one I refer to as the emailing granny. Saturday morning we headed out on a 3 hour trip to Synder, TX. We would be meeting other members of the Robinson family for a celebratory lunch at Mo Malee's steakhouse.

Granny looked quite spiffy in her green sweater and leather jacket. She is just so cute, I'm glad we got to see her! Also in attendance were Connie(seriously, one of the nicest people you will ever meet), her husband Wes and brother, Bo. We missed you, Becky, and hope you're feeling better. Most of the Key family made it, along w/ the Kirkpatrick family. Nick was quite anxious about seeing his cousins Krece and Zaran. To say Nick took a liking to Krece is an understatement. He followed him around everywhere and sometimes would just walk up to Krece and grin like a fool at him. Krece was a bit unsure of how to deal with suddenly being an idol, although I think he handled it quite well. Nick loved the whole thing as there were new people for him to show off his singing skills. He will perform on demand.

Lunch was a typical TX affair with lots of steaks, chicken fried steaks and gravy. My "side" dish was a 4lb sweet potato. It came w/ separate containers of brown sugar and marshmallows. I seriously should have taken a picture. After lunch we went to Granny's house for some cake and ice cream. Nick was front and center for the cake, of course. Connie, you did a fabulous job arranging everything.

We left shortly afterwards since we were heading home the next day. We made good time on Sunday and made it up here in the nick of time. I'm positive had we been 15mins later, we would've been stuck in traffic for at least a couple of hours. The bridges from Alma to Fayetteville were pretty slick and there were a ton of accidents.

That wraps it up. Whew!! It was a fantastic Thanksgiving and it really was wonderful seeing everyone. Just wanted to say to my family that we missed you, but can't wait to see you this weekend.

Thanksgiving - Second Leg

(Warning: Long Post)
After our stay with Granny Charlotte, we made our way to Scott's parents in Hereford, TX. This is usually an 8 hour drive (pre-Nick) from Fayetteville. It was around 3 hours from Glazier. Nick was ready to see his Magi and Grandad. As if he needs any more spoiling. The Key family was on hand to spend Thanksgiving with us. Nick had great fun w/ his cousins Emma and Zoie. Thanksgiving dinner this year was not only delicious, but stress free. Scott's mom did much of the cooking ahead of time and all we had to do was reheat. We had a really nice time catching up, eating and watching football with everyone. Here are a few highlights from our trip.

* Nick got to go out to the farm and ride his Grandad's tractor more than once. Scott said he shrieked with excitement when he saw the tractor rolling towards them and immediately started running towards it.

* Scott, his mom, and Darby braved the frigid temp and crush of people to get black Friday deals at Walmart. Crazy, I know! This was Scott's first time, and I imagine it will be his last. His mom wanted to get a Wii and he went for moral support. He's such a good son. I was slumbering away, nice and toasty in bed. They all got what they wanted and then some.

* All the ladies headed out shopping on Friday. Our annual trek is usually to Muleshoe and Clovis, NM. We don't hit any of the large retailers, just mom and pop shops, so they're not too crazy. I do okay w/ the shopping, but what I'm really there for is lunch at Leal's. It is the best Mexican food. We eat there every year, I request it anyway. I'll stop talking about it as it's making me hungry.

*Scott's mom actually had the nerve to tell Nick to stop doing something. You should have seen the look on his face. It was as if he smelled something bad. He came over to her and laid his head on her lap and announced how sad he was. How could she be so heartless? After this big production, his Magi spent the next several days trying to get back into his good graces w/ M&M and ice cream.

Thanksgiving - First Leg

We kicked off the first leg of the Robinson Thanksgiving Extravaganza with a stay in Glazier, TX on Tuesday. We stayed with Granny Charlotte (Scott's mom's mom). It's normally a 6 hour trip, but you have to tack on an hour or so when you've got a kid. We got off to a little later start than we wanted. We let Nick sleep in, thinking he might sleep until 7:30, maybe 8. He chose, of all days, to sleep until 9. He would never do this on the weekend. The extra sleep did pay off, as he was relatively pleasant during the trip. You know, if I was strapped in a comfy car seat, forced to watch all my fave dvds, and stuffed my face with sugary snacks, I wouldn't have much to complain about. Back in the day, I (one of 7 passengers) rode in the middle console of the '78 Oldsmobile, listening to an 8 track tape (there was only one, it came w/the car), on a ten hour car ride.

We were enthusiastically met by Granny, Aunt Kay and Jett, Kay's grandson. Jett, who is 7 and in the first grade, was just wonderful with Nicholas. We love that Nick got a chance to hang out with his cousin. It was very obvious Nick loved being around Jett, as he followed him around and copied all his actions.

We had a wonderful time catching up and watching Nick and Jett play. Much thanks to Granny Charlotte for putting us up for the night. We were happy we could be there to wish her a happy 90th birthday. I'm posting a few pictures here, but you can check out the rest of the our Thanksgiving pictures here.

Nick with his great aunt Kay
Can you tell he loves his cousin Jett?

Nick's great granny Charlotte, still a spitfire at 90

One of my favorite pictures

Whew! We've been gone almost a whole week! We finally made it in earlier this evening. I will blog about the Robinson Thanksgiving Extravaganza over the next couple of days, but just wanted to post a quick update. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Can you believe it's that time of year again? A time for jubilation, rejoicing and stuffing your face. We all know I'm talking about... my birthday. I'd also like to take a moment to give a shout out to Kim, who shares the same birthday. May you get the turkey neck (if you like that sort of stuff) on your special day. I've always been thankful that my birthday occurs around a holiday that's all about being with people you love and eating. I'm thankful it's not around Christmas, those people get the shaft when it comes to presents.

In all seriousness, I want to take a quick moment to let all my friends and family know how truly blessed I feel having you in my life and how grateful I am for each and every one of you. Have a safe trip to those traveling this week. I leave everyone with a picture that needs no explanation. Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all a good night.

Nutcrackers

I'm normally not a collector... with one exception. Nutcrackers. Scott's mom bought me my first one several years back and it has become a tradition to receive at least one from her every year. Scott has even bought me a couple. My collection is not huge, yet. But I love it, as each one was selected specifically for me. Not that there's anything wrong with buying some yourself, but there's just something special about it to me because of the tradition. I look forward to it every year.

Well, we dragged out our Xmas decorations from storage over the weekend. The nutcrackers are usually the first things to get unpacked, and this year was no exception. I get so excited unwrapping each one and looking at details I had forgotten. I love them all, and thought I'd share a few of them with you.

First Art Show

We took Nicholas to see the Very Hungry Caterpillar at the Walton Art center on Saturday. This was his first show, so naturally we were a bit nervous. Actually, we envisioned him throwing a F5 tantrum the moment the lights went out, and we would have to carry him out screaming, thankful for the dark theater so that the other parents couldn't see our faces. Fortunately, for everyone around us, he did really well and had a great time.

He danced, clapped and cheered, and pointed out characters and objects on stage. He was feeling so good at one point, he even tried to snatch a barrette off of a woman in front of us. Thanks to reflexes like a mongoose, Scott was able to intervene just in time. His favorite part, of course, was the Hungry Caterpillar. Although I think he enjoyed the Little Cloud just as much. The length of the show was perfect at just under an hour. We concluded our outing with lunch at Pesto Cafe (yum!), where he flirted shamelessly with the waitress and announced to everyone he had a booger. That just goes to show you, always expect the absolute worse, and things have a way of working out.

MDO - A Typical Day

One of my favorite things about MDO is picking Nick up. Lately he's been really talkative and hamming it up for his teachers. Today I was greeted with, "what's shaking mama?" When that elicited a laugh from me and the moms around us, he just threw his head back and howled with laughter and said it again. I'm gonna assume he learned this from his daddy.

Since it was cold this morning, I put a knit cap on Nick before we left the house. He was still wearing it when I arrived to pick him up. The teachers said he refused to remove it. He finally did when we got home, and his hair was sticking up everywhere. I think it's a good look for him.

Fragile (Frah gee lay)

Due to some serious insomnia the last few nights, I came across this really cool website called SpringWidgets and they have all sorts of , you guessed it, widgets. I've attached my favorite. I just need a Red Ryder BB Gun...

Be sure to click on the chain.

Cookie Cookie

Nicholas has been pestering me about decorating cookies all week. I should have known that decorating cookies wasn't really what he was after. It's all about the frosting. And he doesn't just pick up the cookie and bite into it, he scrapes the frosting with his finger. A little bit at a time. I believe he picked up this technique from Hanna. It's an art form b/c he sure takes his time with it. Needless to say, I ended up decorating most of the cookies while he liberally smeared frosting everywhere.

Some of my best work!

And So It Begins

Scott usually sits with Nick at bedtime. They read books, sing songs and say prayers (in no particular order.) The other night I heard Nick just laughing hysterically and thought maybe Scott was tickling him in there. Turns out they were looking at a book and Scott pointed to a swimming pool and asked him what that was. He responded by saying, "swimming poots" and just howled. He could barely repeat it before collapsing into laughter. Great. Potty humor has officially arrived.

Sick And Tired

My little monkey is sick. He's got the worst sounding cough and congestion. And even so he has been quite a trooper this weekend while Scott and I ran errands. Especially yesterday with the cold, cold weather. He even got up enough energy to help me do a little laundry.

He thinks laundry involves moving clothes in and out of the washer over and over.

He's watching a dvd at his fave hangout spot, the kitchen table.

Change It Up

Many of you are probably wondering what's up with all the new backgrounds. Or maybe you're not, but thought I'd share at any rate. There are so many pretty backgrounds for fall and Christmas, I'm not gonna be able to stick with just one. I'm changing it every week. I know how to spice things up, huh? This latest one is from Scrap-e-blog, which Christina found. Lots of cute free backgrounds. You can even get a matching header made specifically for you.

Read This

We've all heard people ask the question, "what's on your i-pod?" They say it can be quite revealing. In my case, it would reveal that I don't have an i-pod. I'm telling you, sports radio.

(warning: Digression) I'm not without music in my life, however. My little buddy loves to sing... songs that will drive you nuts. Let's see... highly annoying song that will stay in your head for days? Check. Singing this highly annoying song incessantly? Check. Replacing highly annoying song with another equally annoying song the moment you become numb and tune first one out (purely survival instincts.) Check. Like London Bridges? Come hang out w/ us for an afternoon.

Anyway, since I can't really relate to the whole i-pod thing, I like asking people what they're reading. I found this neat website called Shelfari that allows you to display what's on your "bookshelf." I'm not reading anything currently, but thought I could share some of our favorite books. I put our "bookshelf" on the sidebar. The top shelf is Scott's, middle is mine and bottom is Nick's. I'll change it from time to time. So check out ours and hopefully, you'll share what's on your bookshelf.

Here Kitty Kitty

So I went to pick up Nick from MDO today and this is what he looked like.


Apparently, they were kitty cats today. He did not want me cleaning his face all afternoon. His teacher said she turned away for a second and he had started coloring his shirt, which explains the bright red stains.

Birthday Dinner

My little brother, Huy, and his fiance, Shannon, came over for dinner last night. It was his birthday, so I prepared a special meal for him. Actually, his birthday was Monday, but he was out doing cool stuff with his friends and not his family (sniff.) Anyway, dinner was wonderful if I say so myself. Well, I guess I just did. We had a lovely time. Nick loves seeing his Uncle Huy and Aunt Shannon. Happy birthday, Huy, and don't forget your kind sister on her birthday which is coming very shortly, in two weeks to be exact.

Is Nothing Sacred?

I read an article last night that caused extreme incredulity, disgust and outrage. Are you sitting down? Apparently, they are going to remake the Karate Kid (wait, it gets better) with Will Smith's son, Jaden. What the?!?! The kid (who's really very smug looking in his pic btw) is only 10. What is wrong with these people? While I may not be the biggest fan of Karate Kid (actually, I make fun of Scott every time he watches it on TV), I can admit it has a certain charm. Scott would argue that it transcends time. And the soundtrack can best be described as... inspirational. I fear once Scott hears about this, he will curl into the fetal position.

Read the rest of the article here , then post your outrage!

On Like Donkey Kong

I love board and electronic games, especially the ones that require you to think. And I'm not talking about Sorry! or Trouble. I read an article in Real Simple magazine the other day about hosting game night. It listed several great games. They all sound like so much fun, I thought I'd share. Put your game faces on!

Board Games
Apples to Apples: Make split-second matches between nouns and adjectives—for example, “hair transplants” and “unnatural.” For 4 to 10 players.

Wits and Wagers: A trivia game in which you don’t have to be a know-it-all. Just bet on the right answer. For 4 to 20 players.

Say Anything: Answer questions like “Which movie should never have been made?” A judge picks the best. Combines the best element of Apples to Apples and Wits and Wagers. For 3 to 8 players.

The Chain Game: Use your creativity to link common idioms. A player draws a card with a phrase. He or she must use one of the words on the card to come up with a new phrase. The next player does the same with the first player’s phrase, and so on. The group tries to go through as many phrases as possible before the timer goes off. An example of a common-phrase chain: “final exam,” “that’s final,” “that’s life,” “wildlife,” “wild and crazy,” “stir-crazy.” For 3 to 10 players.


Electronic Games
Catch Phrase: Classic Password enters the digital age with this handheld version. For 4 to 20 players.

Scene-It TV Edition: Test your pop-culture prowess with this DVD trivia game. For 2 players or 2 teams. (we have this on the Xbox and love it)

Wii Carnival Games: Try your luck at the ring toss and 25 other attractions that you can re-create with the Wii remote. For 1 to 4 players.

Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree: Test your smarts and see how you measure up in five categories of brain-teasers: Identify, Memorize, Analyze, Compute, and Visualize. Participants play mini-games in a random sequence. At the end, they are awarded scores in the form of brain weights (the heavier, the better) and career paths (hello, improv actor), based on their accuracy and speed. For example, in one visualizing game, the player is presented with an incomplete painting and must use the Wii remote to finish it. For 1 to 8 players.

Dry Spell

We're experiencing a dry spell... from pleasant behavior, courtesy of you know who. He's been so good lately, but Scott and I always anticipate the other shoe to drop. It did. With a loud thud. It all started Friday. Naturally, it was picture day. He normally doesn't give two licks what clothes he wears, but today he wanted to wear his bright blue crocs with his dress clothes. Threw a fit when I put on the nice brown shoes I (lovingly) selected. Howled like I was abusing him (trust me, I was close) when I combed his hair. He declined, very loudly, to walk into the photography studio. And he stubbornly refused to smile for the photographer, clamping his eyes and mouth shut. It was a miracle, but we did manage to get some decent pictures. There was plenty of coaxing, bribing and threatening on my part. All this before 11am on Friday. I hope everyone's weekend started off as well as ours.

I think his expression here pretty much says it all.

How Sweet The Sound

State Your Full Name

I've always heard that you're suppose to teach you toddler your full name. That way if they get lost or need help, they don't tell someone that mommy's name is "Mommy". So we've been teaching Nick our full names along with his. I think it's sticking. Just the other day we heard him yell out, "Scott, come here!"

Say My Name

I love my 2 year old, but he is weird (must get it from his daddy). You've heard it before, parents telling others of something profound their tots have spouted off. Something that makes you think, "dude, that's profound".

Well, Nick was playing with his Magnadoodle yesterday, and all of the sudden he asked me to spell the word belly. I did and a few minutes later he came back and told me...

Nick: My name is "Bellwee".
Me: What? Silly, your name is Nicholas.
Nick: No, Bellwee.
Me: Belly or Barry?
Nick: Bellwee (pointing to his tummy)
Me: Is your name Nicholas?
Nick: Bellwee.

Scott told me later that evening while changing Nick's clothes they had the same conversation, except this time his name was "Wee Wee". How's that for profound?

Hectic, but Happy Haunting

I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween. Friday was hectic to say the least. I started off by putting the finishing touches on Nick's costume. Then, coaxing him into said costume when we arrived at his MDO for a Halloween party. He was resistant at first, but the moment he got a compliment, he just grinned and really worked the crowd. Compliments from Mommy apparently don't count. Next up was putting him down for a nap since he would be up later than usual. This is always a challenge as he doesn't really take naps anymore (it certainly isn't from lack of trying on my part). He did manage an hour nap after much squawking in his room. After his nap, we went "trick a treaking" at a few houses in our neighborhood. We've been trying to explain to Nick the whole month how this trick or treating thing works, but I don't think he really understood. But after the 2nd house, you could see the moment it clicked in his head. It a wonderful thing to witness.

We went over to the Kaisers afterwards for some delicious chili dogs and more trick or treating. Nick loves going over there. He and Hanna get along really well, they're both pretty laid back when they play. You'd think the candy would stand out most to Nick from that night. Instead, he is still asking about Jason's truck (we took that around the neighborhood.) Thanks to the Kaisers for having us over. They are always such gracious hosts, and we always enjoy hanging out with them. Check out Heidi's post here and click here to see more from our photo gallery.

Some serious posing going on