++So as not to neglect the baby++

We haven't said much about the little one on the blog recently...but we're hard at work getting ready for her arrival. I'll be 36 weeks tomorrow (gasp!). To put it in perspective, I was born just shy of 36 weeks. Now that's a little scary. Here's proof that she (and her mother) are growing just fine:
I've been feeling pretty good. Just this week I have started to feel like I am slowing down a bit. My hips are sore. Mark reminded me I complained about this last time. I think it's all about making room for the baby. It's also a little more challenging this time around because I have a little guy who wants to play active stuff, and has all sorts of little toys that require lots of bending to pick up, etc. I swear I will never take bending for granted again!

We think Wyatt is ready for what is to come. We know there is no preparing for it. He talks about baby sister a lot. He tells me my belly is "REALLY BIG" (spoken with lots of inflection). He also shows me his belly and his baby sister in there too. Today while at Old Navy he brought me a pink baby shirt and said "look mom, for baby sister!" I was impressed he had picked a pink shirt that was clearly for a baby. Then the kicker: "isn't it cute?" What? This kid does not miss a beat. He must hear me saying this kind of stuff to Mark when I show off her clothes (which by-the-way we have a closet full of).

We also have her room all set. When it all came together, I am actually glad I kept the blue. It works well with all our stuff and prevents Mark from hyper-ventilating when entering the room. As I have said before, I'm not much for princessy frilliness. I think her room is girly and happy. It makes me smile just to go in it. We're just waiting for a few more things for the walls.

Someone is always very eager to try out the crib. He informed us last week that he wants to sleep in there with baby sister. He even showed us where each one of them would lay.This lamp was in Mark's room, and then Wyatt's room. I added just the right amount of pink to make it girly!
These were a great find at the Pottery Barn outlet, along with the bird hanging above the changing table.

I am most proud that I made these drapes myself. My mom told me what to do, but I didn't even call her once for help during the project (partly because she is on a cruise ship so it wasn't really an option.) Final cost was less than $10 but the main reason I made them was to get exactly what I wanted (no one ever said I wasn't particular).

This is on it's way to grace one of the walls:

So now we play the waiting game. It would be nice if babies gave you a heads-up on when they are planning to arrive. It would certainly help with planning for Wyatt's care! And for those of you wondering...yes she has a name. I'm so superstitious about things that we don't even use it in the privacy of our home. I was tempted to order something for the walls with her name on it but just couldn't do it either. It will just have to wait until after she is born. Wyatt has some ideas for us though. The front-runners are "Toria" and "Baby Gabby" after his two friends at school.

++Our fireman++

I remember in August when I decided to make Wyatt's birthday party have a fire truck theme I really hoped his interest stuck long enough for the big day, as I have learned with toddlers preferences change almost daily. Well, here we are six months later and I would have to say he is more into fire trucks than ever. The best part is that now that he talks so much his interest has evolved into imaginative play, sometimes all by himself, which keeps us laughing all the time. Here he is in his firetruck pajamas...wearing his fire boots and hat, with his hose. The funniest part is that he takes all his gear off, puts it "away" and pretends to sleep before "fire fire fire!!!" and he starts the process all over again. He narrates the entire process from putting on the boots, coat and hat, sliding down the pole and spraying out the fires.

While Mark's parents were in town we visited the Memphis Fire Museum...believe it or not, also a hit! He could have played all day on the two firetrucks they had there.

The bad news...the fascination has also crept into garbage men. Somehow that pretend play isn't quite as glamorous. It is helpful on Sunday nights, though, when he takes great joy in helping Dad collect all the trash and bring it out to the curb.

++Is there anything better...++

...than sharing one of the simple pleasures in life with your child for the first time?

++Pumping it up++

Wyatt was invited to his very first destination birthday party last week. His neighbor friends Olly and Sydney are born just a couple of weeks apart so they shared a party at Pump It Up. Wyatt talked about it for the week leading up to it. Most excited that there would be "no big boys" on the bouncers. Wyatt had a blast. I think he was nervous at first that his time would be limited so he ran around to everything really fast stopping back to tell me, "one more time" every few minutes. Daddy arrived a little late to join in on the fun (believe it or not, participating while 8 months pregnant is not encouraged).

Not a great photo but I needed to get a shot of how sweaty the little guy got.

Wyatt was so impressed with the birthday party that ever since I told him that his dad's birthday is coming soon, he has been asking to go to daddy's party. Today I had to get out a calendar to show him how many days until then. He's also full of ideas for the party. It is going to be a train party. We are going to have cake and eat chips (according to Wyatt that is what daddy likes best---funny that's he's not far off). To keep it a surprise for daddy I won't give away Wyatt's ideas for a gift, but let's just say I think Wyatt is hoping daddy will share...

++Christmas...the finale...finally++

Our Christmas extravaganza continued well into the week that followed. First Wyatt got to open his present that arrived in the mail from his cousins. The diggers and lunchbox were a hit!

And then, magically, our sad looking tree with a few presents under it was transformed while I was at the doctor and Wyatt napped...

Wyatt couldn't wait to see what was in all those boxes from Grandma and Grandpa (who, by the way, arrived on New Year's day for a long weekend).

Grandma got him started.

We were almost derailed by the airport as he lost interest in presents and just wanted to play with it. No worries...we were able to distract and get him back on track. (note: he hasn't stopped playing with it since then though)

In true toddler form, it was almost as much fun to climb into the box as it was to open all the boxes.

Evidence that I was there too. Here we are checking out his new Curious George puzzle...in our matching shirts.

Dad got a new hat from Uncle Matt but it appears Wyatt may have other plans for it.

And now everything is put away and we wait patiently to celebrate the arrival of another little baby...no mangers for this one though.

++Our tropical Christmas++

Here's a quick recap of our trip to Florida. It was a nice mini-vacation for us. We were originally going to celebrate in Tennessee but when it ended up just being my parents and us, we decided to go to them instead. A beach for Wyatt, golf for Mark, shopping for me...who could ask for more?

Making pancakes with Nana (like the new "cheese" we get sometimes?)

"Ta daahhh" Wyatt shows off his sandcastle

Playing at this fun tree house playground in Downtown Naples (just prior to going out to dinner on the water...not knowing in was Nutcracker night and Wyatt was going to be traumatized by the costumed waitstaff.)

Checking out the birds at the Naples Zoo. If I look afraid, it's because I am. (also...here's your 30 week shot)

Looking at monkeys from the boat. No fences here---the water does the job.

Not sure who had more fun...I'm guessing the big boy in white.

Does this look like your Christmas Eve?

The little beach bum.

An attempt at a nice photo with Nana and Bompa. He's not too into having his picture taken these days. Good thing I'm getting a new subject soon.

Helping Nana unwrap her gifts. Again---this cracks me up with the view of the pool and golf course in the background. It just doesn't quite add up for me!

++Wyatt and Santa...the saga+++

Our Christmas has been a little disjointed this year so I decided to group some of the photos into themes rather than chronologically. This was the first year that Wyatt sort of got what was going on at Christmas. He definitely recognized the character of Santa and pointed him out wherever he saw him. I decided I would tell him how Santa brought gifts and ask what he wanted Santa to bring him. He wasn't sure so I thought I would manage his expectations by having him anticipate some of the things that Santa might actually bring. So I asked---"Would you like it if Santa brought you some blocks?" he said that sounded good. That is where the conversation ended. Two weeks later I get this cute little interview recap from school:

My name is: Wyatt

Christmas is about: blocks

I want Santa to know that: I want a firetruck

The gift that I will GIVE mommy this year is: a tree and a train

I really hope I get a: block for Christmas

I know that Santa is watching me because: Mommy said he was

So I'm not sure how much the led him on some of those answers but the block answer was all his...too funny!

Round two was preparing him for sitting on Santa's lap. It just didn't seem the same not having our little group of friends go downtown Minneapolis to the same place I always went as a child for my Santa photo. So, we took advantage of the free Santa meet and greet at the clubhouse in our neighborhood. Wyatt had no interest in going but we told him over and over that this was his chance to tell Santa he wanted blocks. When we got there he wouldn't get near Santa. Finally I just told Mark that we should just plop him on his lap and quickly photograph whatever happens (hmmm...you'd think I would have learned something from Halloween!).

See the fear in that face? He sits down, doesn't even look at Santa and just keeps saying "blocks....blocks....blocks..." Then, he got used to the idea, and was enjoying his candy cane, and didn't want to get off.
Well, believe it or not, Santa followed Wyatt all the way down to Florida and delivered a stocking full of goodies on Christmas morning (along with a note telling him that he left the big stuff at his house back home...where we were headed later that day).
The biggest hit: the flashlight!
And...just to prove that I held true to my word of simplifying this year...this was the complete Christmas take from Florida. Everything we took home with us fit into the trike basket Wyatt got from my parents. Mainly because Mark and I didn't really get gifts for each other, instead we got "licenses to buy". Me: a new camera (yippee!!! stay tuned---and if you don't see any noticeable difference in the photos, just humor me and lie) Mark: a new driver (unfortunately there won't be any lying about the performance there as his scores will tell the true story).

And Santa didn't disappoint. When Wyatt got home from the airport waiting in the living room were three big gifts (which included the BLOCKS---which dad seems to be having more fun with these days).
Christmas has continued to trickle in for us. There were a few more presents under the tree that didn't go to Florida. We received a few gifts in the mail and Grandma and Grandpa are arriving on Thursday for a quick weekend (and two big boxes from them arrived yesterday that undoubtedly hold more Christmas fun for Wyatt).

Finally...I forgot to post this back when it happened. Here is Wyatt at his school's Christmas program. I went in with zero expectations. He did go up on stage willingly...and stood there...with his finger in his mouth while all the little girls around him sang. The best part is that the whole way home he told us all about how he sang on the stage and saw us waving to him in the audience.