Month: December 2012

For several years we have embraced the idea of a kid-friendly New Year’s Eve party. I love the idea. We have food, friends, a good time, and everybody is gone by 9 pm. It’s awesome! Tonight the neighbors all came and the house was full of chaos (as usual). Some of our attempted group pictures are hilarious – numerous kids, hyped on sugar, past bedtime, in low lighting, equalled not great pictures.

Towards the end of the evening, Abram convinced Alex and Riley to put on a production. He narrated/directed and Riley and Alex attempted to follow his directions. It was hilarious and consisted of numerous outfit changes and themes. My favorite was the knight and football player (that picture did not turn out).

Nicki brought sparkling grape juice for the boys and we taught them how to toast. They were a little hesitant but quickly caught on and liked the “soda”.

This post is actually not about Tabit (the subject of the picture) but instead the lens used to take the picture. I have secretly been wanting a second lens for quite a while. (Ever since I had to send my lens in for repair and I realized there are times a second one would be nice.) My Christmas list was rather short this year and I decided to throw it on there more as a joke. Imagine my surprise when I unwrapped the lens during our family Christmas (excellent shopping husband!). I have loved my 50mm 1.2 lens – perfect for low light conditions or for portraits.

How cool is this? Alex got large tinker toys for fort building. We decided to give it a try this morning.

I apologize to anyone who has ever mentioned a sinus infection and I have not shown proper sympathy. I mentioned in an earlier post my tooth pain and trip to the dentist. I took my prescribed antibiotics and within 36 hours my mouth pain was so bad I couldn’t chew food, but we were leaving for KY that afternoon and I decided to worry about it later. (At this point I was pretty sure my dentist was right about the sinus infection but I had doubts that my antibiotic was working.) Aspirin came through for me and I decided to keep taking it for the next few days. My entire life I have had migraine headaches, much worse in the last year, so I didn’t think much of it when I got a headache. I didn’t even give it a thought when I seemed to have numerous headaches over Christmas. It was only when I was feeling better and talked to some other people that I realized I had tooth/mouth pain for 7 days overlapping with a migraine for 10 days – all courtesy of my sinus infection. I hope that was my first and last sinus infection.

Aunt Emmy has a birthday in just a few days so we decided to celebrate a little early. Alex helped Granny make biscuits. Then he helped open all the gifts.

Teague was pretty content throughout the holidays as long as he had a car in his hand. He received a set of cars for the bath and they were some of his favorites (along with a red metal car). He liked it when you put the cars up his pants legs or stacked them in the case as the “garage”. Alex was convinced the stuffed dog he got last night needed a sled (just like the one his cousin got on Christmas Eve – an American Girl accessory) and Pop agreed to make one in his shop.

Both my boys love books and no day (or even an afternoon) is complete without a few.

We spent the day at Granny and Pop’s reading books, decorating a gingerbread man, playing legos and being lazy. Then we went to Uncle Jim and Aunt Jean’s for one last Christmas get-together.

Ho Ho Ho. Alex was so excited to run downstairs to see what Santa left for him. He also couldn’t wait to see what was left for Teague too. (For those observant types – Yes, Teague did need an outfit change pretty soon after getting downstairs.)

Then we packed up the car and headed for Memphis. Teague napped on the way and Alex watched a few episodes of Jake and the Neverland Pirates. That worked out nicely. Alex then napped immediately upon arriving at Granny and Pop’s and Teague got some quality time with all of his Memphis family. When Alex woke up it was time for more Christmas!

My family has always done most of our big Christmas on Christmas Eve. We went back to my Dad’s for breakfast and presents this morning. Alex is into opening presents and Teague is kind of oblivious to the entire thing. It works out nicely in that Alex gets to open more gifts and Teague doesn’t get upset.

Then it was back to my Mom’s house for Christmas with her. Alex’s big want this year was Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Gram gave him the pirate ship. He would have been happy to stop there. My favorite gift of the season was Wade’s. I made fun of him when he put the sweater defuzzer on his list and I made fun of him when he got it. (I also laughed at him later in the day when he went to work on his sweaters and swore it worked as advertised. Wade refuses to wear a sweater if it has a single ball of fuzz.) I’m glad he’s happy.

Then it was time to prepare for our Christmas Eve dinner with my Mom’s side of the family. Alex and Teague have a bunch of cousins that they only see once or twice a year. The older cousins are great with Alex and keep him entertained, follow his whims, and fight over who gets to sit next to him at dinner. He’s pretty much in heaven all evening. Teague was content to take it all in and even scored some new trucks with buttons.

We spent today at my Dad’s house. Normally we are into a variety of activities but looking at my pictures it appears that everything we did was car-related. My dad’s a race car driver so that suits him just fine.

Today was just about hanging out. I actually took very few pictures – most of them group pictures. My high school friends Johnna, Jenny, and Amy came over this morning. Thank goodness for a playroom. Alex, Teague, and Amy’s little girl, Ali, could play while the grown ups visited (kind of).

Then it was an early lunch with the Upshaws. For humor’s sake here is a comparison of a picture from this year (2012) and the Christmas before I started this blog (2004). My sister is missing but everyone else is the present.

We ended the day in the playroom. Alex eventually tires of playing and always wants to read. Teague saw him get a book and immediately got his own and backed up into Gram’s lap. One of my favorite moments.

Alex’s Point of View:

Teague’s Point of View:

Wade decided this year we should try driving at night. We left around 4 pm and had high hopes that the boys would sleep the majority of the drive. The first few hours were fine. Teague held his car like a stuffed animal and Alex “read” books and watched TV. We stopped for an early dinner and put the boys in their pajamas. Teague went to sleep immediately and Alex was allowed one last episode of Jake and Neverland Pirates (his new favorite thing). About the time it was finishing, Teague woke up screaming. Nothing would console him (this happens occasionally even at home) so we gave Alex some headphones and drove a little further. After about 20 minutes we decided to stop and give everyone a break. At this point we decided it was Christmas and gave up on anyone sleeping. We put Cars in and Teague for the first time ever was interested in a movie. He looked at the screen and kept saying, “Cars. Go. Go. Cars.” After about 30 minutes he fell asleep. Alex was content to stay awake until we reached Gram’s house at midnight.

Wade and I decided a few years ago that it makes no sense to take our gifts with us to KY just to haul them back again. We always pick a night before we travel and have our Christmas. Tonight was our Christmas and the snow added the perfect touch! First we always do stockings:

Then it was on to the gifts. Alex was super excited. Teague would have been content to hold the toothbrushes he got in his stocking. Wade and I had fun watching the boys!

We had Teague’s eye doctor appointment today. Thankfully they didn’t try to repeat the entire eye exam they did last time, but they did answer lots of questions. My first question was what does the “congenital fibrosis of extra ocular muscles” mean in regards to Teague’s day-to-day life in the future. The doctor looks at me and in all seriousness says, “Well, he will never fly a commercial airline jet.” I’m okay with that. His actual vision is fine. At this age they can’t really determine 20/20, but they don’t see any farsightedness or nearsightedness. Teague should be able to read, drive a car, and go through life like anyone else. With this exam he was able to determine that Teague can move his eyes a little inwards and a little downwards. He can not move his eyes up and very little outwards.
I had some questions about the surgery and the doctor had all the answers. There will be no scars. They actually go in through/around the eye. The surgery is a day surgery and only tylenol is needed afterwards. I knew the purpose of the first surgery was to align the eyes, but I thought he was only trying to move the eyes from pointing inward. I hadn’t realized he was also going to raise them up. This will make a huge difference in how Teague appears to others – especially after his eyelid surgery is done in a few years.
After Teague’s appointment I had a dentist appointment. On Sunday I suddenly developed a constant, low-grade throb in my one of my upper molars. I called on Monday and the earliest the dentist could see me was Wednesday. Thankfully my Mom had told me that aspirin really works on tooth pain – she was right! The dentist looked at my x-rays and told me there was nothing there. He asked me a bunch of questions, hesitated a while, and then wrote me a prescription for an antibiotic. Evidently my mouth pain plus the congestion I have had for a few weeks most likely means a sinus infection – my first one. I had no idea.

It’s my favorite day of winter – the first snowfall! We weren’t supposed to get much, but we got enough that the boys could play.

Alex had his first “Christmas” today. We got the neighborhood kids together for their party. We normally do brunch, but this year Abram is in school so we moved that to lunch. It’s crazy to think next year all three will be in school.

Last year we decorated giant gingerbread men. This year I took an idea from pinterest and the boys decorated upside down sugar cones as Christmas Trees.

Today was Abram’s 5th Birthday! Both boys took super long naps and I had to wake them up to rush to Swiss Turner Gymnastics. What a great party! Teague continues to surprise me at this type of place. He loves to get on the trampoline and almost fully understands jumping. He knows he needs to bend his knees, but hasn’t quite got the bounce part down.

One of the few things on my list that didn’t get done before Teague’s arrival was organizing the closet in my office. It is a closet under the stairs so it is deep but has a sloped ceiling. The back has always held pictures,mirrors etc, and an old filing cabinet. I had wanted to remove those things and utilize the space for toys. Today I was cleaning and decided to tackle the organizing. Of course I couldn’t find any kind of pre-made shelves to buy so Wade just “whipped” some up for me. Now the closet and toys are organized (at least until Christmas).

Here is an update on Teague:
Sleeping – Teague had been sleeping through the night until we traveled to KY for Thanksgiving. There he woke up several times a night and continued to do so back at home for several weeks. He has just now returned to sleeping through the night – just in time for another trip.
Eating – A few weeks ago we noticed that Teague was eating less – still more than Alex – but much less than we were used to. We thought maybe he had been “adjusting” and the new level would be normal. It turns out he was just feeling a little under the weather. He is now back to eating his large amounts of anything you put in front of him. He will drink from almost any type of cup and easily drinks his two cups of milk a day (preferably while being held). Cheese is definitely his favorite food. Corn is his favorite vegetable.
Bathing – Teague loves the tub and the shower. He knows the words and definitely lets you know he wants to join in the fun.
Attachment – We have no concerns about this. Teague is an affectionate little guy. He will walk up and give hugs and kisses. He gives huge grins when I pick him up from childcare. We have a well adjusted little guy.
Talking – Teague has about 10 words. The list is “Woof woof”, “good girl”, “bye bye”, “car”, “bubble”, “ball”, “shoe”, “neigh”, “meow”, “go”, and “cheese”. Shoe is more of a “sh” sound, but I’ll give it to him.