Ian

Ian

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Let it Snow!

Dear Ian,
Today is the day after Christmas (I will post something about Christmas later on), and we just had a small Christmas Miracle! It snowed in Tallahassee!! Last Christmas you were only two months old, so this year really felt like your first actual Christmas. How neat that it snowed for you today!

Now, please know that "snowing in Tallahassee" translates to some flurries, but hey, it was something. We all got bundled up and went outside to stand and run around in it. Of course I took pictures...

Here's one of you all bundled up..










And here's one of the snow on Daddy's shirt! See, told ya. It's not much, but it was something!!

We positively froze outside; it was 35 degrees and windy, but it was something we HAD to experience. Maybe one of these days we'll have Christmas in Cohocton and REALLY have a white Christmas. Where ever we are, we'll have fun.
I love you
Mommy

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Christmas Memories in the Making

Dear Ian,
As promised, here is this year's family Christmas card.
Also, here is this year's official photo of you with Santa. You did a great job!
Little Man, you are growing up too fast.

I love you,
Mommy

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Toddler Life #2

You know you are the parent of a toddler (or any small child in general):

When too many of your adult conversations include poop.

The Spirit of Christmas

Dear Ian,


This is what Christmas is about; this special holiday is full of magic and hope, and for some reason, this picture really illustrates that feeling for me.

I cant wait to teach you about the meaning of Christmas and share all of the special traditions and memories with you.

I love you,
Mommy

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Cookies, Cookies Everywhere

Dear Ian,

Your family on the Davis side has a pretty tasty tradition: Grandma's Christmas Cookies. I'm not sure how long ago it started, because on the recipe that I got from my Grandma, it says "Grandma Davis' Christmas Cookies," so maybe it started with your Papa Davis' Grandma. I wish I knew exactly. Anyway, yes. We make a special batch of cookies at Christmas time. I remember being small and seeing that familiar tupperware box in my Grandma's hand, and it just solidified the fact that Santa was coming and soon.
My Grandma Davis, your great-grandmother, passed away in November of 2000, and from pretty much then on, I have been making her cookies. I will admit, those dang things are a lot of work, and I wonder if she grumbled about making them as much as I sometimes do. But then, after my couple minutes of requisite grumbling, those old memories start to come back, and it's all worth it.

This year was really neat; you more or less participated in the making of our cookies. You sprinkled four of them and ate two. Not bad for your first year :) And since I just got my camera
back from being repaired, I documented your first cookie experience.

Your Grandma Davis and your Aunt Maggie came to help us decorate this year, and I think we made a total of 12 dozen. Believe it or not, that's not enough. I need to make one more batch of cookies before Christmas is over and gone. You see, when Daddy and I got married, I introduced his family to these cookies, and now they love them, too. We take them every year to Grandma and Grandpa Brooks' house for Christmas Eve. And don't forget Santa! We leave a couple out for him, too.

It seems like such a little thing, but these cookies really tie the holiday together for me and our family. It connects me to my past, and I am thrilled to be adding the tradition to your future. Now we're off to exchange gifts and have fun with family, and of course I have a full tin of cookies to take with us.
Love always,
Mommy

Toddler Life #1

Dear Ian,

I decided that since there are some days when I dont really have time to write a full-on blog post about something funny that you did or said that I would do this. These posts will just be quick, little one sentence blurbs that fullfill my urge to jot something down to remember it. Dont worry; they wont take the place of your real letters.

And so, without further ado:

Only when living with a toddler...
... would you discover a random can of carrots hanging out in your bathtub.

Love,
Mommy

Monday, December 13, 2010

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Dear Ian,

It's the Christmas holiday season already, and things are off to a great start! According to our time stamp on this blog post, today is December 13, so that means that 12 days remain until Christmas.

Like your other blog post about Thanksgiving and all of the fun things and activities that surround the holiday, Christmas is shaping up to be amazing this year because you are getting old enough to participate in and appreciate all of the fun stuff. For example, you actually smiled for this year's Christmas photo. Tee hee! Last year we had a family portrait taken with Santa, and you were sound asleep. This year, you were so smiley for Miss Branch. I can't wait to see the finished photo card, and I promise to scan one and post it so you have it in your blog-baby-book. To the right I have posted the family picture, but our cards have other photos on it too. It's really cute!

Also, you more or less appreciate the tree. Last year, because you were so young and slept most of the day away, I don't know if you would have noticed the tree even if it was on fire. Now you love to walk up and look at all of the ornaments. I am especially thankful this year that we have an artificial tree, because the branches are bendy. I have folded over the ends of the branches with ornaments so that you cant pull them off. Pretty smart of me, I think. But you love to see it all lit up. And speaking of lit up, you actually look out the car windows and smile and laugh and squeal at houses all decorated with lights. It's so fun to drive around with you and point them out.

You and Daddy have a special activity that you do together every morning, too. We walked down to Fresh Market around the end of November and bought him an Advent calendar. Complete with little chocolate pieces. Every morning before he goes to work, the two of you find the day on the calendar, open the little door and share the chocolate. It's so sweet. And you now anticipate it and look forward to it. Actually, if anyone picks you up in the kitchen, you gesture towards it. Then you get really mad when we don't go open another door and get another chocolate. Oh well.

Our stockings are hung by the fireplace, and in a few days we will begin the baking marathon. (I guess I will need to make another blog post about the cookies that we bake. They have a special story in themselves.) We've made one visit to Santa already. The other day there was a big holiday fest in Market Square, so we took a picture with Santa there. You did ok for a minute or two, but you did start to cry while with the Big Guy. But, as a toddler, we sorta expected you to do that. We start watching our nightly holiday movies this weekend, and then comes the meatball subs, Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa Brooks', and then Christmas morning. Last year you sat propped up in your bouncy seat surrounded by gifts. This year I am anticipating a storm of flying wrapping paper, and I cannot wait.

Love and Ho Ho Ho,
Mommy

God Gives First-time Mommies a "Free One..."

... and I just used mine.
Dear Ian,

Sigh. First, let me start off this story by mentioning that it's one of the coldest mornings in Tallahassee this winter season. At the time our story takes place, it was 33 degrees outside with the wind chill making it feel like 22. And now the story...

You and I had quite a few errands to run today, and one of them was our weekly and ritualistic trip to Publix. Instead of waiting until after your morning nap and trying to cram that trip among the others into a 3 hour window (not counting time for lunch and snack), I decided that since we were both awake and "with it" that we should do Publix this morning BEFORE nap. And up until the end, it was working great. We coasted through the aisles, checking out the BOGO sales and gathering our tasty yummies for the week while singing Christmas carols and munching (you, not me. I am on the diet from H**L) on a cookie from the bakery. We checked out, below budget I might add, and headed back out into the cold to load up.

I want it known here and now that I was trying to be a good mom. I put you in the car first, so that way you could sit, strapped in, in the relative warmth of the car while I loaded the groceries in the trunk. I should also mention that our car is currently in the shop for an oil change et cetera, so we are driving a Nissan Versa. With a keyless remote. With noticeable buttons to push. Unlike our car key where you have to hunt for the key lock button. Yup. Somehow, you, my sticky fingered little son, managed to get the keys without my noticing. I strapped you in, closed the door and went to open the trunk (there's a magic button on the door that when the doors are unlocked opens the trunk without keys) only to feel it not budge. OHMYLORD! I tried again. I felt like my stomach had dropped into my cheap, Walmart sneakers. You were locked in the car.

Now, I am amazed that God can hear himself think when about a zillion mommies across the world are praying for their babies non-stop throughout the day about all sorts of things. Prayers to please stop whining, please go to sleep, please stop harassing the siblings... But he managed to answer mine: "God, please help us get out of this situation. Without a locksmith. Or DCF. Amen"

(again, I mention here that it is FREEZING outside) You looked up at me, keys in hand, and waved. Then you went back to happily mashing the buttons on that danged remote. The lock button. Sigh. So, we made a game out of it. Thankfully you could hear me through the window, so I started encouraging you. "Push another button, Buggie-man!" I was trying to keep the sound of hysteria out of my voice, so you wouldn't recognize our predicament. You did manage to push another button, but the button you pushed was the dang panic button. Now the horn is blaring, I am standing outside the car telling you to keep pushing buttons while you are cracking up in the car at the sound of the horn beeping. (I got Daddy on the phone about now, in case I needed him to quickly call a locksmith). People were starting to stare...

And then I heard it. The tiniest little click. God bless Nissan for putting the unlock button right above the panic button. You managed to unlock the doors for us, and the crisis was over. Needless to say, I got the keys away from you (by offering you a can of tomato paste to play with), and we loaded up and left. Holy Moly.

I am so glad that is over. You are happily napping in your crib, completely oblivious to my moment of panic. And all I can keep thinking is, "thank goodness it wasn't hot" and "thank goodness my child has a thing for pushing buttons."

Now I need to go call Miss Laurie. It's time to have the grey colored again.

I love you,
Mommy.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Argh! Tupperware!!

Dear Ian,
When you are a little older, I think I will add "organizing the Tupperware cabinet" to your list of weekly chores, just for the payback.

Argh! I cant cook or even go into the kitchen without tripping over a piece of Tupperware.
Here is a photo of a day in the life of the Tupperware cabinet. And this is mild...
I love you anyway,
Mommy

Book Worm

Dear Ian,

One of my favorite things to do is to curl up with a good book and let it "take me someplace" for a while. You and I have been reading together since before you were born, and I hope that some day you will have a love and appreciation for books like I do.
"Wait a minute, Mom" you might say. "Since before I was born?" Yes, indeed little man. Since before you were born. I would read my mommy-to-be books aloud to you every now and again, and when picking books out for your nursery, I would read a few pages out loud, and you would kick and wiggle. I liked to think that you were telling me that you liked that particular book.

Now you and I read together, and it's one of my favorite things we do. You'll walk over to your book shelf and pick out a story, and you will sit on my lap and we will read. I also read to you while you are in the bathtub. We even read the whole Harry Potter series this way. Yup. All seven books. While you splashed and played, I would read to you a few pages each night. Now, I did read more pages after you were in bed, but then the next night I would give you a brief synopsis of what I had read alone and we would carry on with the next few pages. Right now we are reading the Junie B. Jones series, and it cracks me up. I wonder if you will think about things the way June B. does, and it makes me smile. During this bathtub reading time, the books do have a tendency to get a little wet, but that's ok. Dog-eared pages, text with water droplets... They all add up to a book well loved.

You have a couple of favorite books at the moment, but your all time favorite is Blankie by Leslie Patricelli. You love the "super blankie" page, and you will sit and listen to that story over and over. I hope that it holds up so I can put it in your hope chest.
I have a hard time passing up the opportunity to buy you a new book. And nowadays they have Kindles and the like, but to me, there's nothing like the feeling of opening a new book. They even smell good. One day I hope, that if given the choice between Toys R Us and Books-a-Million, you will choose the book store over the toy store. Because while it's fun to do something with a toy, a book can do something to you.
Love,
Mommy

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Old Laundry

Dear Ian,

I just wanted to share this photo and story with you.

To the left is a photo of you in a very special outfit. Those over-alls and that shirt that you are wearing in the photo are 31 years old. Yup. (Insert old-person comment that "things just aren't made today like they used to make 'em" here). Your Grandma Davis bought this outfit for me to wear on my first birthday. It's so neat to see you in it now. Your uncles Brian and Gary were also photographed in it, and I took pictures of your cousin Payton in it for her first birthday. It's a fun piece of family history for us, and I am so glad that you got to be part of it. Grandma Davis has an 8 by 10 portrait of each of us in these clothes, and now you get to join us on that "wall of fame," so to speak. Sorta brought tears to my eyes to see my baby in an outfit that I once wore as a baby. But enough of that. To the right is a picture of me in our family duds, taken 31 years ago, and I see a bit of resemblance. Too bad a photo cant capture temperament, because you definitely got that from me.
I love you,
Mommy