Pics from Yule

A few photos of Wilder from Christmas Eve and Christmas. I have some great video, but probably won't be able to post it until after the move on Saturday, depending on when we can get our internet connection back up and running again.



Enjoy and Happy 2008!!!!

A new addition to the toddler lexicon

I think I've mentioned before that Wilder calls Jerry and I "papa" and "mama." A lot of times he'll babble to both of us at the same time ... "blah blah blah papa and yadda yadda yadda mama." A couple weeks ago he made up a new word for when he wants to address us both at the same time: MaPa (pronounced "moppa"). He uses it pretty often these days and it cracks us up every time. Kids' minds work in interesting ways, no?

Our Xmas present: a new house

Well, it's done.

Jerry and I signed one house over to new buyers yesterday and then signed a LOT more papers that made us the proud new owners of a new, bigger, shinier one that will become home to us and Wilder on Dec. 29 and home to The Newb (baby-to-be's nickname for now) in another few weeks.

And, can I just say: halle-frickin'-lujah! What an interesting last three months it's been — and when I say interesting, I mean it's been filled with the kinds of demands, back-breaking labor, check writing and non-stop decision-making that can make a sane person crazy. Luckily, neither of us is too sane to begin with. Jerry probably made no fewer than 60 trips from house to POD in packing up half our house before putting on the market. We toured countless potential new homes with a 2-year-old in tow who found other people's stuff MUCH more interesting than his own and his parents. I mopped so much I got carpal tunnel. We've talked to housecleaning services, electricians, handymen, pool guys, inspectors, tree-service people, etc. etc. — all of whom were happy to offer us wildly differing opinions with their wildly differing estimates for repair work.

Good times, good times ... yeah. Not really.

Anyway, it's not as if it's exactly over. We've not packed a box if you don't count the half the house we already packed up and stored away. That early bit of work will help. Hopefully packing the other half will go smoothly and quickly. Hopefully my delusion will carry me through even if that's not the case.

The new house is great. It's got three bedrooms and a study. A living room, family room and wonderful sun room that looks out onto the pool, hot tub and gazebo. We have a kitchen we can cook in and a fireplace that makes Jerry's heart sing with happiness. It's got four toilets, a factor that seems to overwhelm me more than any of the rest of it. Since Jerry and I have known each other — almost 10 years now — we've never had more than one bathroom. It's a corner lot, which means we have a gigantic front yard for Wilder to run around in and The Newb to loll in.

Anyway, we'll be very happy there, I'm sure. Not because it's bigger and better, but because we'll be there together — me and my beautiful, fun and amazing three guys. What a lucky girl am I ... now THAT'S the real gift.

Yule 2008: Full steam ahead

Well, we've finally swung into the holiday season this week. It started with a lights-viewing carriage ride on Wednesday night, during which the family photo below was taken (Jerry and Wilder looking like their usual handsome selves and me looking like I just pounded a six pack ... I didn't, for clarification).

Then Friday afternoon Wilder and I accompanied Carmen and Owen to the NorthPark Trains, this really incredible holiday deal the local mall does every year. 2,800 square feet, 2,500 feet of tracks, more than 40 trains cruising simultaneously around ... I tried to get some photos there, too, but catching the joy and astonishment of two 2-year-olds surrounded by an uncountable number of their favorite things in the world turned out to be quite a challenge. Mostly I got blur and the backs of heads.

Today we headed to Walls Family Farm for our tree, and I'll let the slide show embedded below speak for itself. Suffice to say we had a blast and it really lit up our holiday spirit, despite the 80-degree temperatures.

Now, if I could just get a few gifts bought and some sugary treats made. Next weekend maybe ...

Cheers, k.

Photo blitz!

Sorry for the mega-post ... life has gotten a little out of control for us recently and it's made it difficult to get on here and write, much less write anything creative. We're in the process of selling our current home, buying another, moving before the end of the year and all during the holidays. Add to this that work has been nut-so for us both and you get an idea of things.

What follows are a few photos from the last few weeks. We had Thanksgiving, went to the Dallas World Aquarium, the Neiman Marcus Christmas Parade. All good fun. Tonight we're being driven around one of Dallas' more affluent neighborhoods in a horse-drawn carriage to look at holiday lights. I'll take the camera.

We're all well. Wilder and I are still getting over coughs and, for those I haven't already told, I was recently diagnosed with a pregnancy complication, complete placenta previa, which makes this one high risk. The baby is fine, I'm fine ... it's just good we know about it, how to proceed from here and how to prepare for what will more than likely involve hospitalization, bed rest and a whole lot of boredom for me and juggling for Jerry in my third trimester. Also, the baby -- who, by the way, is another BOY!!! -- will likely come early, hopefully in early March and not sooner. By then we'll be settled in our new house.

Gotta run and get pizza ordered. Enjoy the photos. Love, k.



Wilder enjoys the Thanksgiving spread. He's going through a bizarro toddler phase where he eats all his vegetables first. Weird and most certainly won't last.

At the aquarium, checking out the wildlife.

Wilder digs fishies.

Sleeping soundly in the big boy bed.

Pointing out otters to mom.

What a cutie at the Xmas parade.

Frosty and George float down the road.

A cute pick of the boys.

Wilder zones out while his friend Owen and Owen's pop Michael enjoy the parade.

Sunday Night

Quick update here. Wilder had his 2-year doc appt. a couple weeks ago. He's 33 lbs. and 35 inches tall. Ninetieth percentile in both weight and height. A big boy! And speaking of big boy, he's still doing well with the new bed. Can't believe we dodged the bullet there. Whew.

Another first yesterday ... Wilder told me I was "pretty." Since I've been sick for a week, hadn't showered since the day before, didn't have a lick of make-up on, hadn't combed my hair and was experiencing another pregnancy-related breakout (I have a pimple ON MY EYELID), I have to assume he was highly influenced in his remarks by the blue bucket I was wearing as a hat. "Wilder, do you like my hat?" Sly smile. "Pretty." Perhaps his sense of sarcasm is more finely tuned that I've given him credit for.

We went to a nearby park with Betty late this afternoon while our Realtor did an open house. We had a ton of fun. Betty chased the ball and proved she's a great off-leash dog (finally ... my dog karma kicking in again); Wilder climbed the playground's rock wall and walked and wobbled his way across the balance beam. It was a beautiful night and tons of people/families were out grilling, playing volleyball, etc.

So now we're home and, as I mentioned, I've been sick a week. What started as a bit of chest congestion minus any sore throat or stuffy nose has turned into full-blown something. I can't speak above a whisper, cough constantly and feel generally like crapola. Going to the doc tomorrow ... thinking this is either bronchitis or maybe even a touch of pneumonia. Hope to be back in fighting form in time for slaving over a hot stove all day Thursday : )

Gonna go drink some tea and try to get a bit of voice back so Wilder and Jerry quit acting like it's vacation around here. Kidding ... ; )

Cheers, k.

Look who's outta the crib!

We finally got Wilder his big-boy bed today. Went to IKEA, which I always think is going to be really fun but always ends up being overwhelming and a pain the butt. There are people wandering around lost, paying no attention to what's going on around them (yeah, yeah, me included ...) and then you get to the self-service area to pick up gigantic boxes of stuff and encounter a new round of lost, exasperated people. Only these ones have big carts and are blocking your way. But, all in all, we got in and out of there pretty fast once we figured out which bed we were getting (which was not the bed we intended to get when we left, but was the bed I'd initially wanted to get about five months ago. Go figure.) and what accessories we were getting with it and where they were. Man, did I mention IKEA is a total pain?

OK, but worth it. At least for now. The bed itself is nothing spectacular. Cute, cute bedding, colorful. But on night No. 1, as of right this very second (and I type that soooo hesitantly because I expect him to wake up and go, "What the ...?" any second), but our boy is seriously sacked out in his new bed. Jerry and I both just tip-toed in with a flashlight to see if he'd crawled to the foot of his crib and curled up on the floor yet, but he's comfortably passed out in the new bed.

I'm not sure this will last, but it's just wonderful to get a free pass on a night you sensed would involve a struggle. But I probably should have expected this -- Wilder's got a strange sense of exuberance toward new stuff in life coupled with a laid-back sense of going with the flow of things.

Anyway, a couple of pics from earlier today when we'd assembled the bed and put it into his room. He climbed right up and started playing on it. I'd love to get a picture of him sleeping in it now, but I fear waking him up and destroying the whole house's reverie. I'll save those for another time then. Cheers all ... k.

 
 

Couple o' cuties

Just a pair of quick pics of Wilder playing with his friend Lea last night. We let them play alone for awhile in his room, and when we checked on them they'd made themselves quite comfy inside the train table, just chattering away and playing cars.
 
 

We're on the market baby!

Finally. The house goes on the market tomorrow. Jerry and I did the final push on Friday and Saturday and worked our tails off. Every muscle in my body hurt last night, and I think I reactivated my pregnancy-related carpal tunnel (when I was pregnant with Wilder it got really painful). The house is clean -- not clean enough to eat off the floors or anything ... I don't even think that's possible in a nearly 60-year-old house. But clean enough. It should show well, particularly if we can keep the maintenance up. Nowadays, when I have a free moment, instead of stealing a few pages from a book or sitting on my butt dreaming about having a glass of wine (or five or six) come April, I clean. I wipe, sweep, pick up, groan, gather dog poop, grunt, fold clothes, do more laundry, rant, and chase a goop-covered toddler around raving my head off. "No no NO DON'T wipe your mouth on the couch .... ohhhh, crap."

Yep, good times ...

Still, it's nice to have a nice house again. Nice to live more deliberately and think more about our surroundings. I might even keep some of this up when we move. Then again, I'll have a newborn, a 2-year-old (who's becoming more "quintessential" in his twoness everday) and I'll still have a job. So, sometimes, I will still just sit on my butt and drink wine. I will have to -- cleaning does not save a person's sanity. Wine, on the other hand ...

So here are some pictures of the house. Say a little prayer or perform a little blessing that we sell quickly and don't get horribly insulted by low offers. After we've worked so hard, it would be WONDERFUL to sell quickly, find a nice cozy new home and be in the new place by Christmas. Not counting on it, but a girl can hope. Even when she's too tired to cross her fingers ...

And one more quick thing ... I was reading through year-old blog entries the other night. I don't know when it happened, but I've gotten horribly boring in my writing. I might as well tell you all about the weather. "Wilder is happy. We are good. Nothing's changed blah blah yadda yadda ... zzzzzzzzzzz." Sorry. I am nothing without my sarcasm and ascerbic wit, right? So I'm bringing it back. It's already been broughten.

Cheers friends ... k.
 
 
 
 

Report: Halloween 2007 is a success!

Well, we just returned from trick or treating with our friends and neighbors Carmen, Michael and their son, Owen. Wilder and Owen have become great friends and always have a rollicking good time together. Tonight was no exception, and they had the added bonus of ... SUGAR!

We went to a nearby street called Swiss Avenue where many of the homes go all out. The houses, by the way, are gorgeous and also gigantic and people with a lot more money than us live there. This apparently translates into good candy -- no crappy candy corn in sight. Woohoo! We're an anti-candy corn household.

Anyway, it was fun until it wasn't (for Wilder because he was tired and for us because it was uber-crowded) and when that happened we walked back to the car and came home. Jerry and Wilder are admiring Jerry's jack-o-lantern handiwork as I type (no hand stabbings this year, hallelujah, and yes, that did happen one year, meaning every Halloween since I sit quietly and pray while Jerry wields a knife). I'm going to go join them for the remainder of this, the greatest of holidays.

I leave you with photos. Wilder, if I do say so myself, was the cutest little pillager and plunderer I've ever seen.

Happy Halloween everyone!


Wilder and his best bud, Owen, all geared up for candycandycandy!


Arrgggggghhh


Trick or treating, Swiss Avenue style


Getting ready to go home, sticky faced and happy


Wee Wilder and Black Betty, the pregnant pirate (actually, I claimed I had scurvy)


Home with mug crammed with yums. Ahhhh what a good day.

Last night as a 1-year-old

 
 
 
 



It's a lot of pictures, I know, but it was our boy's last night of being 1. And I wanted to remember how much fun we had. Turns out 2 ... just as fun. ; )

A very busy weekend

Wilder at the State Fair of Texas ...

We had a very busy weekend, but finally in a good way. We didn't do anything to the house. We hung out with friends, had a visit from Jerry's sister Leigh and brother-in-law Trent, held a 2nd birthday party for Wilder and went to the State Fair. And all this on the end of our two-day trip to San Antonio. I took a bunch of pictures and some video I've posted below.

Our S.A. trip was great. Wilder and I had one exhausting but wonderful morning at the zoo. We swam in the hotel pool, staked out claim on a nearby playground and the three of us ate dinner at what has to be one of the best family joints in the country: Scenic Loop Cafe (and thanks to our neighbor and friend, Carmen, for the recommendation). The food is good, the live music was great and the enclosed playground was awesome, especially for Wilder, who ran wild, discovered he could climb a small rock wall and went down the slide probably no less than 50 times, all while his parents watched him from a safe distance. If you ever get to San Antonio, or near it, and you have a kid under the age of 10, this place is wonderful. Oh, and the service and atmosphere are great, too.

Wilder and I had exactly what I anticipated: a weekend to reconnect. Between the pregnancy and the stress of selling our house, I've not been what you'd exactly call a model mom lately. I've been tired and cranky and he was clearly enjoying and preferring the company of his Papa more. Not that I can blame him. But we needed a couple days away from it all to spend some time together rediscovering how much fun we could have -- just the two of us. And we did, I think. For that, especially before baby No. 2, I'm incredibly grateful.

Anyway, w/o further ado, some pics (I'm posting a lot because I've been so remiss in putting photos up recently). And look for videos here soon, too.



Wilder goes through his birthday loot (this truck puzzle is from his Grandma Teri and Teri, he LOVES it. Pulls it out countless times a day to yell. "Truck! Truck, mama, TRUCK!!"


Riding the tractor at the fair with a little help from Papa


Let me at it! Let me at it!


He ate WAY more frosting than cake


On the swing in San Antonio


Wilder and Mama playing in S.A.


Checking out the elephants at the S.A. Zoo (GREAT zoo, btw)


At the Scenic Loop Cafe with Pop


Chillin' in his hotel room

Home selling, separation sadness and San Antonio: an update

We're now 16 weeks pregnant with baby No. 2. Middle of next month, we'll be having a sonogram and have decided to find out the kiddo's gender this time around. With the onset of second trimesterness, exhaustion and nausea have waned. Heartburn and extraordinary tailbone pain, however, have set in. Not fun, but still preferable to any first-trimester maladies. Of course, not sure I'll say that in three months when my butt's still hurting every time I shift an ounce of weight. Ahh pregnancy, what a blessing!

Jerry and I have been continuing to get our house ready to put on the market ... and we're finally thisclose — in fact, our Realtor thinks we'll have it on the market Monday. It seems, however, that the changes in how our house looks along with his burgeoning brain development have been rocking Wilder's world. He's a kid who's barely had a smidgen of separation anxiety since birth, but now every morning that we take him to daycare results in full-blown freakouts. Huge, wet tears. Full mama- and papa-body wraps (arms AND legs), and then collapsing on the floor in a puddle of flailing and wailing sadness when we leave.

It. Sucks.

We try to remember he's fine no more than five minutes after we leave, but it still sticks with us for hours throughout the day. Jerry mostly takes Wilder to daycare, so I don't see much of it. This morning I took him and have been dying to hug him all day.

Luckily, tomorrow we leave for San Antonio, returning on Friday night. Jerry has a conference and invited Wilder along. We'll be staying on the Riverwalk and have had many excellent restaurants suggested to us. I'm really looking forward to some quiet alone time with Wilder (and Jerry when he's not in meetings) just relaxing, swimming, walking and exploring. This will probably be one of the few times remaining to do this before the second baby comes along.

Anyway, I best get back to work. Just thought I'd leave a quick update and hopefully later have some time to post a couple recent photos.

Love to all, k.

Wilder in Taos

 

This photo of Wilder was taken right after our friends Chris and Bree's wedding. We were on the rooftop of the La Dona Luz B&B, and the boy was enjoying trying new foods (caviar??), but mostly he ate about 30 olives that came back to haunt him later.

Anyway, Taos was beautiful, and Wilder really enjoyed the Kit Carson playground, where he went down all the big kid slides by himself. Brave, eh? And thanks to his Phoenix grandma and grandpa (Pop and Sharon) for the stylin' duds. Nothing like a little pearl-snap action!

Let me explain ...

We have not suddenly decided to dress Wilder in pink. There is an explanation, of course. Jerry and I spent part of the afternoon looking at houses and so our dear friend Judy watched our boy for a few hours. They watered her garden, and Wilder got soaking wet right before she was going to bring him back to us. So she put him in the only dry clothes she had close to his size: those of her grand-daughter Dylan, who's a couple years older than Wilder. She called to warn me ahead of time, so I -- being the kind of mom who relishes taking photos of her kids that can later be used against them -- waited outside with the camera. I couldn't pick just one of these; he looks too darn cute in all of them.

In this first one, he literally ran from Judy's car to where I was sitting on the sidewalk yelling "MOMMY!!!!" Geez kid ... melt my heart already!
 

What a face!
 

This one I included just because I had to show the shoes he was sporting.
 

Sorry Wilder. Mommy couldn't help herself. xoxo.