++Who are you?++

So I passed the 1,000 visitor mark this week on the blog and I realize that I know that lots of people must come to check out what's happening but no one ever says anything. So, feel free to make comments. It's fully sanctioned and actually appreciated. I'd like to know what you think of what's going on in our lives...and what's going on in yours too! Plus, it will make me feel like I have friends--that's always a good thing.

Our Tuesday no tv night was successful although I pouted a bit about it. I felt like I was being punished as I got stuck cleaning the kitchen...in silence. Mark did the taxes and learned we're getting a really nice refund. Both of us think it is too good to be true and are just waiting for Uncle Sam to come knocking. We did double-check though.

The kitchen project is in progress. The gas people are here today putting in the line (it's weird here since there aren't basements everything has to come down from the attic). The appliances were delivered this morning and the granite guy came last night to finalize stuff. Hopefully everything will be finished within the next two weeks or so. Pictures of before and after will be shown at that time. I shouldn't say this to the northerners but I think spring is right around the corner here. The daffodils are up. Despite my hoping that I would have been left with a surprise treat of some bulbs...no luck. I hope the new owner of our MN house likes everything I left for her!

We're off to Little Rock. I'll post some photos upon our return.

++17 Months++

Are you kidding me? I think I will shed a tear at this time next month. At 18 months you are really no longer a baby. I'm not ready for him not to be a baby anymore (well, at least for the most part). I have been subjected to what I call "attachment parenting" when Wyatt comes home from school. His position of choice for the rest of the day is on my lap. Not next to me, by me, nope, ON me. Seems nice except he doesn't sit still. He just wants to bounce around and play, all from my lap. I try to just remind myself that it's only a matter of time before he won't even get near my lap (or fit for that matter).

So I took a few photos of him today once it hit me that today was his "birthday".

His outfit was intended to be with brown corduroys but out of the blue his belly was far too big for them this week. This was also a smile on demand. Where is this crazy mop of hair coming from?

If you look below his eye you can see the beautiful bruise he has from the edge of his table. Ironically, most of Wyatt's bad falls have all happened while I was inches from him but not anticipating what is about to happen (like the time he made it all the way down the stairs and then missed the very last one...) I got some funny looks at Target when it was really fresh.

Meet Wyatt the crazy puzzling fool. In a matter of days, he has mastered the 9-piece puzzle. We laugh because he puts the pieces in the wrong spot and then shakes his head. He's actually pretty quick. We're proud because the puzzles are for 2-4 years. Notice the subject matter...not sure if he would be remotely interested if it were anything else. We are also treated to the sound each vehicle would make as he puts the pieces in.

That's about it. He's slowly adding words to the vocabulary. It seems I notice more and more each day. He still doesn't say Mommy... We're blessed with great weather about once a week here and we head to the park. He is getting really good at his climbing skills there. Can't wait for him to apply them at home. His eating is only ok. I shouldn't complain as he can't seem to get enough fruits and vegetables. I just wish I could get him to eat some more of the "staple" foods. All in good time.

As for Mark and me. We experienced the corruption you hear about down here firsthand today. We finally decided to get our driver's licenses and license plates. After researching last night and learning that there is no place within 15 miles of here and only three places in all of Memphis to get your license, there is only one place...downtown...to get your plates. We waited in line outside in sub-40 degree and windy weather for about half an hour before we got inside and learned that we needed a passport or birth certificate in addition to our MN licenses and a bunch of other crap. That was our bad...but the half an hour drive and half an hour wait outside?? Makes you want to bend down and kiss the good ol' midwestern ground...even though it is probably REALLY cold.

Tonight we are instituting our first no tv night. Mark wanted to do two days a week but I felt it best to ease into things. We decided that we spend way too much time sitting on our butts doing nothing. It's hard because after a long day at work, with child shown above, or dealing with Memphis inefficiencies sometimes it's nice to play lumps. I guess that is what the other six nights are for. I'll report back on if we actually get anything done.

++The week in review++

I meant to post something earlier this week...honest. I guess it's a good sign that I am too busy with stuff and that the time is flying by here. Here's a quick wrap-up of what we were up to this past week:

Friday night: Wyatt received his Valentine from Busha and in it was a dime!!! He was so excited to take it to his piggy bank. If Mark and I go broke...we know where to go first.

Saturday: We got up bright and early (as we do every day thanks to our two-legged alarm clock) and headed to the Memphis Children's Museum.

Our future pilot (can we just tell you that there about eight million buttons in a cockpit...Wyatt liked touching all of them).

Perhaps the highlight of the day was driving the fire truck. You wouldn't know it by his face here (driving is serious business and requires concentration). But ever since then we ask him if he drove a fire truck and he makes the noise and does the motions with his hands...all with a HUGE grin on his face.

Let's just say...here's a sight I hope I never see. Wyatt was smart in wanting to get out ASAP.

Sunday: We finally found a church and went on Sunday. It's not easy to find a Lutheran church around here. If you want a mega-church that looks more like a shopping mall than a place of worship...you are in luck. Lutherans are a bit more sparse in these parts. We spent the rest of the day trying not to blow away as another strange batch of weather came through.

Monday: Mondays are our only day off. Wyatt and I went to the grocery store. He has discovered the germ-infested "truck" cart. It's nearly impossible for me to maneuver but it keeps him occupied. Then we went to the club where I took my class that kicks my butt every week.

Tuesday: I was sore from the above-mentioned class. Wyatt went to school. I busted it and cleaned the house. On cleaning days I really miss 1600 square feet. I could vacuum the whole first floor without having to unplug the vacuum. Mark assembled a new toy box that is big enough to fit about five Wyatts. We now can almost pretend we don't have kids after Wyatt goes to bed at night.

Wednesday: We hosted the neighborhood play group at our house. I had to work hard to distract Wyatt who kept going to the door and saying "bye-bye" all morning. Kind of makes me wonder if life at home with mom is that bad? Three kiddos and two hours later...we survived. All the kids are older than Wyatt and he just does his best to keep up. We attempted to go to the park in the afternoon but even though the thermometer said 50s it was chilly. We went to the library instead and read books about trucks and trains.

Thursday: Wyatt is at school. I visited my new favorite place this morning...Hobby Lobby. Got to love the name. It's sort of a JoAnns and Michaels with a lot more home decor stuff. Now I'm working on the blog and will straighten up before I go get the little one. Mark is out of town until tomorrow. We're edging up on two months here. I will have to say the second month has gone much faster than the first.

On tap for the weekend: We're finalizing stuff for our kitchen mini-remodel. We picked granite this week and need to finalize appliances and stuff. Saturday night we are invited over to a neighbor friend's house for dinner. Olly is in the playgroup with Wyatt. Mark needs to do a long run in preparation for next weekend's big adventure: Little Rock half marathon.

More on that and house photos too...I promise.

++My little valentine++

We feel lucky every day to have such a special boy in our lives. Valentine's Day was no exception. It's amazing your capacity to love these little ones. Wyatt was treated to all sorts of fun Valentine treats from his family. He got a Thomas video from Grandma and Grandpa (but really loved the fire truck card that came with it the best...we read it like a book.) He got a personalized travel bag with TRUCKS on it from Nana and Bompa. He quite enjoyed this one and likes to point at the trucks. He is also starting to like to see his name on things. He gets really excited when I write his name when we are coloring. He is working on saying Wyatt but for now we get "yay-yay". We got him some new markers and a tub toy. And did I mention that he came home from school with two bags of treats? The teacher greeted the kids in the morning let them know they were going to "sugar them up today". Needless to say, I signed up Wyatt for a new school next year. I feel fine with the place he is at but I feel really good about the place where he is going. Plus, they have really cute brochures and logo and this former ad girl is a sucker for stuff like that. Hey, a little branding goes a long way!
Here are a few shots of the little one in action:

I thought I should capture this one on film. Here he is putting his guys in and out of the lego doors. As I said before...25% of his day is probably spent doing this.

Coloring the Valentine cards that many of you received. This was a lot of fun at first...but got old for him very fast. Once there were a few lines on a card...he was ready to move on.

Wyatt discovered on his own that there is a great hiding spot in his bathroom. Yes, believe it or not, we have entire bathroom cabinets with nothing in them in this house (but could stand to have more in our kitchen...I thought it would be weird to store the blender in the bathroom though).

Here is the little one admiring his new bag. With a sneak peak of the new rug...more on that to come soon, I promise.

++Model Behavior??++

So we took the little guy to get his picture taken yesterday. We were worried his life would go by and there would be no record of what he looked like...ha ha. Despite the fact that I put a camera in his face all the time at home, for some reason I feel like I am a bad mom if I don't take him somewhere to get his photo taken "for real". The entire process is painful. He is much more interested in the lego table in the lobby than being in the room to get his picture taken. There are lots of tears and resistance and it takes four grown-ups to get him to even crack a smile. The funny part is that he does crack a sort-of smile but it really doesn't look like the genuine grins we see all day at home. So, it's all over and they take you out to look at the pictures and start to sell you on the "packages". Basically the $9.95 deal they get you in the door with is great but if you want any more pictures than one pose it all starts to add up. It actually cost less for us to buy three poses than two...so we now have about ten thousand pictures of our child all in the same outfit on the same day. Place your orders here. I'm happy to share. I am really torn about the whole "prop" thing. I used to be totally against it but it was the only way to get him to cooperate at all. Plus, the old car thing kind of suits him...
The money hemorrhaging continues. Saturday our garage door broke. Two new springs and a set of rollers and $500 later we were all set. In the past twelve months we have had garage door problems fixed three times. We should be set now for a while. Mark also came home on Saturday with a flat tire. His wonderfully fabulous "performance" vehicle gets and "F" in my book. We have now replaced three tires earlier than needed because they have been damaged. Sometimes I think he would have been better off keeping the ever-so-sexy Camry.
Back to our regularly-scheduled Monday, already in progress...

++Practice++

Mark is out of town until Saturday night so I spent the evening practicing with my photoshop. I got it for Christmas and haven't had much of a chance to play with it. I learned quickly that I think I need some sort of book. What I would love is a mentor but at this point I would just like friends in general so expect to find someone who could teach me new skills is a lot to ask. I need to get outside or open the blinds and get some natural light and start taking a few more photos of the little one so I can practice the photography part too. I played with this shot from the zoo as well as some others from our trip to Florida (I figured I better order and display some of those family shots before our family no longer looks like that!!). I played with a few and then shipped them off to Ritz to see what they look like printed. I'll report back on the results.

Not much new to report here other than that. I am enjoying Wyatt's pre-school but working on adapting to the different nutritional philiosophies. I like to think I am somewhat middle-of-the-road when it comes to what goes into Wyatt's mouth. I'm not going to live in la la land and think that he should never have sugar or cookies or anything non-organic (case in point, Wyatt LOVES french fries). I do try to stay healthy, especially for as long as he doesn't really know any better. Well, I had to finally put my foot down after day two of having Wyatt come home with a sippy cup half full of what appeared to be full-strength Hawaiian punch (no wonder he was coming home WIRED). So today I picked him up and got a memo about valentines for the class. They suggested options of what to bring to share and Wyatt has never had any of the stuff on the list (fruit roll-ups, little debbie cakes, heart candies, lollypops, etc.) These kids are all under the age of two...why do they need to go home with 14 treats on Valentines Day? I think I may go to the dollar store and get everyone balloons...if I think I can wrangle 14 in my car. Maybe I'll just do animal crackers. I am sure when I have baby #2 (who is not even a glimmer in our eyes yet, mind you) that kid will be drinking coke by six months...but until then I want to keep my precious baby free of red #2 for as long as possible...

++Safe and Sound++

In case you were concerned, none of us were shopping at Sears last night and we are just fine. The storms went through a few miles West of us. Wyatt and I rode them out in my closet (another perk of having a huge closet). I felt a little alarmist going in there but since we don't have a basement and they warn you stay away from windows I thought that was the best option. The TV people were acting like the world was coming to an end so I thought it was best to be a little cautious. Wyatt got really tired of being in there despite my attempts to entertain him with games like "dress up" and bribing him with snacks. Luckily we didn't get much of anything but rain here. Last week was worse. We lost power for a couple of hours and many of our neighbors had damage to their roofs or fences. What's this all about...I thought it was February?

++Wyatt's Review++

Based on his request for us to re-play the ads over and over again (are we grooming a DVR-addicted child or what?) Wyatt's favorite Superbowl Ads were:

--Budweiser Clydesdale being trained by a dog (this one had it all, dogs, horses and trains! We were even treated to a little dance move as Wyatt heard the Rocky music.) Consecutive times watched: 8.

--Bridgestone Tires squirrel (he loved seeing all the different animals and we even got him to imitate the scream for us) Times watched: 7.

And you thought our Superbowl party was going to be lame...

++Revolving Door++

Mark's parents came down for a quick visit last weekend. As usual, Wyatt had lots of fun with his grandparents.

Wyatt"flash" Pacyna hanging out post-bath with Grandma

We celebrated two birthdays over the weekend. They were big ones too...3-0 and 6-0. Like my half and half cake?
We were one of about five groups crazy enough to venture out to the Memphis zoo. The forecast was for 60. It was more like 30. Lots of the animals weren't even out because it was too cold. We still had a good time at the private zoo. We saw the Pandas!!
Petting the horse (or is that a donkey?)
Out front with Mom and Dad.

I will have to say that the zoo is one thing (along with the winter weather) that makes Memphis better than Minneapolis. I guess you can add housing prices to that too. That makes three. They have giraffes and zebras and elephants and all the stuff that a zoo is supposed to have. It's really nice. I know I shouldn't dog the MN Zoo (they used to be my client and all...) but there is a lot of room for improvement there.

We're enjoying our first weekend in a while with just the three of us. As much as it was so fun to have the families come (it helped to keep us in denial that we are living in this strange place) it's nice to keep it low-key. Yesterday we went to Mississippi just so we could say we have been there. For those of you who haven't pulled your map out, it's really only about 10 miles south of us to the border. We went to a furniture store...seems we spend lots of time at them these days. We need RUGS. I think we found one for the family room. When you have to buy TWO 8 x10 rugs, it adds up fast! We also hung more pictures in attempt to make this house feel like home. We're getting there. I'll take some photos for a virtual tour one of these days.

The best part about yesterday? It was 60-some degrees here so we played outside for a while and went for a walk around the neighborhood. Toinight we will have our own Superbowl [pity]party. Partly because we're sad that the Packers aren't there and partly because, well, we just don't have anyone to party with yet. All in good time...