for myself

I've been buying myself flowers. Every week. A very therapeutic $5 if you ask me.

voodoo magic?

Parker has never been a good sleeper. We've come to accept it. It's not part of who he is. When he's an adult, he'll be one of those night owls who does their best work at 3am and can still wake up in the morning. We've never been able to just lay him down in his bed, say a few comforting words, give him a pat on the back and walk away (I don't know why, but this was my pre-child parenting scenario). And I'm now ok with this...don't get me wrong - I used to grumble at those parents of newborns who boasted that their two-week-old baby slept through the night from the beginning. Now, I can smile and genuinely be happy for them.

Something happened four nights ago. Jeremy took a turn putting Parker to bed. Stories were read (as usual). Water was sipped (as ususal). Rocking commenced (as usual). After the light was switched off, though, Jeremy looked at Park and asked him if he wanted to go into his bed. Park simply nodded and that was that. The first two nights of this he woke up many times...a sign of an unfamiliar routine I think, but last night my mom came over to spend the evening with Park. She's never had trouble putting him to bed (she says that he's out after one verse of "Three Little Kittens Have Lost Their Mittens"), but last night as soon as the light was switched off he pointed to his bed. And slept through the night. For maybe the tenth time in his life. Fabulous. Welcome. Sleep. mmmmm.....

restless dinner syndrome

We decided to go with the flow and regularly move dinner into the dining room (might as well use it, right?). Parker is a restless eater - his dinner is pretty much: run around the table...climb into chair and pick at food...look to see what's on my plate to see if it looks better...comment on the fact that I have "I-e" (ice) in my glass...get a crumb on hands and jesture that they need to be cleaned...jump down and run around some more...go play with a toy...come back to snack on a bite (probably fruit)...eat a lot when fed by spoon by one of us...say "no" in a cute whine when done and go play. All of this together is why it's just more fun to stay at home and avoid eating out whenever possible.

(note: the above smile is new...it comes right after Park spies the camera and says "chee".)

chomp

Park enjoyed the traditional Christmas gingerbread man that my step-mom makes every year....I don't think he gave the sock monkey any of it, but you can't be sure....

comfort in the old

so many new toys for Christmas and he went right back to playing with what was familiar!

family

It was really fun to watch Parker interact with his cousin this Christmas...he asked where "E-I" was for three days after they went back home.

a little OCD?

Parker definitely gets his OCD tendencies from his father. No question about it. It's pretty funny - Parker makes us wipe off his hands a minimum of 3 times during a meal if any food gets on them...he lets us know if there is a miniscule crumb on the floor to pick up...he loves to wash his hands in the sink, pick up his toys (the daycare staff call him their little "helper")...and now - he's been arranging his new Christmas-gift animals neatly and spaced evenly apart on the bench. Just orderly? Something to watch out for? Right now it's just cute.