The end

As we gathered for lunch on Friday, JHP found this hat of PawPaw's. But he wouldn't put it on. So Daddy did and tried to convince John to try it too. He wouldn't.

But when he got distracted by something else, Daddy plopped it on his head anyway. And then John immediately took it off.

We all went to a local pizza place for a buffet lunch for our last meal together. Then we said good-bye to the Florida bunch while we went to rest before our flight home that evening. Our flight was uneventful and we were home by 830p, safe and sound.

Before we had lunch, we took the requisite family photo that we'd missed the day before. All present except Bryant.

-EBP-

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Giving Thanks!

The last of the family arrived Thursday morning, the Mortensens.  And it wasn't long before JHP commandeered Abby's camera.  It appears we still have a ways to go with technique.

John and Susan were playing some kind of little game while the finishing touches were being put on lunch.

Tom was waiting patiently as well, Bible in hand.

After a shorter than normal nap, John was quite content to curl up in my arms, much like he'd done the last several days when faced with a room full of people right after waking up.  But, Daddy, knowing how much John likes funny (read: farting) sounds, demonstrated the whoopee cushion that had been brought out during his nap.  This pulled him out of his shell and soon he had everyone laughing and was asking Daddy to blow it up again so he could sit on it to make a noise.

Lots more goofing around went on with Aunt Karen and Uncle Andy.  Those photos are on the WebAlbums (see the link at right).  I thought this one was cute.  I think I asked John to give Karen a kiss.  But I love the expression I caught on Grandma's face in the background.

-EBP-

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The day before

Wednesday was spent mostly inside because it rained. More of the family gathered slowly throughout the day. John and John did go up to the big house so Great Grandpa could show JHP off to all his friends. John lapped up the attention. He found some quiet time for reading with Amanda. He entertained the crowd at the house by emptying Aunt Susan's purse to find her chapstick which he tested on Great Grandpa (to see if he had enough on). He shared her credit cards, giving one to each family member. And he found her mirror compact, which once opened he immediately slapped up over his eyes. I'm not sure what sprouted that idea. A recurring theme for our visit was the use of cell phones. Since the girls (Laura and Amanda) had their phones constantly at their side, it caught John's attention. He wanted to play, too. So he learned that some phones take photos and videos, most phones make calls, and some phones have cool drawing apps. Of course, I don't know how to lock mine, so he was stuck playing with Daddy's at one point that only makes calls. I guess I better learn how to lock it because soon enough he'll learn how to slide it open. It's scary how quickly he got the concept of the phones and how to use them.

-EBP-

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Enjoying the sun

John found an empty bed he’d yet to jump on today out in the sunroom.  He insisted on spending time out there before nap today.  I don’t blame him.  It was bright and cozy warm.

I managed a bunch of photos, but these two were the best of the bunch.  Sitting still was not on his agenda.  This came back to bite him later as he slid off a chair and hit the desk, resulting in a raised line across one cheek.  I applied ice immediately, but the line remains, although much fainter.  I was so scared he’d hit his nose and would bleed all over the new carpet in the house.  We’ll see in the next few days if the eye develops a bruise, too.

He recovered quickly and had time before nap to enjoy a book with Grandma.

John woke from his nap to the sound of Susan, Celia, and Amanda.  Then he spent the next half hour in my arms hiding from the guests.  So untypical, but then he doesn’t like to be woke from his nap before he’s ready.  He did finally warm to everyone and found a “new” friend in Amanda.  She was such a good sport to keep him company.  More family shows up tomorrow and even more on Thursday.

I had forgotten about this painting until we walked in and saw it Sunday night.  Someone in Grandpa’s last church stole a photo of John from his office door and painted this lovely rendition of the photo, giving it to them at his retirement.  So cool to see it in person.

-EBP-

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Great Grandpa’s 92nd Birthday

When John woke from his nap Monday, Great Grandpa John was here to greet him.  He’d come over earlier from the big house to eat dinner and celebrate his birthday with family and a meal.  It was nice to visit while JHP was asleep (and therefore, quiet).  John came running to meet him when he woke and then decided he’d be a bit shy.

Grandpa is looking pretty good for 92!  I love it when he laughs.

After dinner we had cake to celebrate.  Ten candles – one for each decade and one to grow on.

I’d commented earlier in the day that I was surprised that John hadn’t decided to use our bed.  Well, either he heard me or he decided it was time.  This is what we found when we decided to head to bed last night.  He was laid out on Daddy’s half of the bed with his pillow, Mr. Bear and the blue blankie among others.  The table lamp was on all the way.  He’d dug out the “game” they gave him at school last week and he appeared to be missing a sock.  He was so zonked that when I moved him, he never said a word, just rolled over.  It was this morning when we took his slippers off, that we discovered that he wore both socks last night, just on one foot!

-EBP-

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Going to Indy

Our lovely friends Rick and Renee offered to take us to the airport on Sunday for our trip to Indy to see the Pitchers.  Surprisingly, we were early arriving at their house.  We had some time to visit and check out the changes they have made since we were up there last.  One that attracted John’s attention was Rick’s new tractor.  It’s much bigger than the riding lawnmowers he usually sits on at Lowe’s.  And it even has a bucket on the front that Rick let him lower.  John thought it was so cool!

And while we were exploring more of the property, we discovered Renee’s garden.  When she joined us, John had to show Renee the peppers we’d discovered.  She knew they were there and played along with John.

We took a direct flight, which was uneventful.  John actually behaved well all day.  He was just very anxious to see his grandparents.  When we had to turn off the DVD player on the plane for landing, I wasn’t sure he was going to make it.  He was fine as long as he was distracted, but with nothing to distract him he was ready to go.

As we got closer to the edge of security, it was obvious that everyone was happy to see one another.

-EBP-

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Gobble, Gobble

Today was the last day of school before Thanksgiving. They had their party and discussed all things turkey. When I picked him up, he saw me and melted down for some reason that we could not determine. And so as a distraction I asked him to put on his turkey headband for me. He did, but was still not a happy camper, as you can tell from the tear on his cheek. The turkey feathers are made from his little handprints and they were decorated by painting with marbles. Pretty cool!

I guess he'd had a hard time most of the day at school, something beyond his usual not-listening and bonking people. One of the kids was routinely getting in his space and I guess he'd had enough and pushed and yelled at the kid repeatedly trying to get his point across, getting quite upset in the process. Lately I've noticed he doesn't like people too close in certain circumstances. Earlier in the week, we'd stopped to talk to some folks after class and another little girl that we know came running up to John most excited to see him. He stuck out his hand in an effort to demonstrate a stop sign and said quite assertively (bordering on being rude), "Don't get in my space!" Of course the little girl was taken aback as she just wanted to see her friend. I explained her excitement and that he could have been nicer in his delivery. He apologized and life was just fine in the 2 yo world.

-EBP-

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Tight-lipped Tuesday

-EBP-

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Wildlife

On Friday we went to a local place called Bayou Wildlife Park. They are home to over 500 animals and birds, some of which are endangered. It was an adventure from the time we entered the gates. Getting to the parking area required navigation of roads where cars were not the only inhabitants. Up close and personal was the phrase for the day.

They have a petting area and picnic tables in the area where you wait for your tram ride. Much to my surprise, John was not timid at all. Of course the petting animals weren't forward and mostly ignored the kids.

The tram ride was quite different. Most of the animals came right up and ate out of the buckets of food. Some of the llamas and alpacas even chased the tram. The camels with their long necks stretched quite far into the tram. And John just took it all in. I purposely sat in the middle and he was quite content to throw food over the rails or watch others feed the animals. The animals were up-close enough, at least for me.

One other thing of note from the weekend: we took the CD player out of John's room. Up until now, we'd played music (the same music all this time!) for him (as white noise) everyday since he started sleeping in his room (I think). Anyway, he kept playing with the player as it also had cassette tape controls. And kept playing. So I finally told him if he touched it again, I'd take it out. He did and I did. And he hasn't really complained about it. I really thought he'd miss it. And maybe he does, but it hasn't been a big deal. One thing I have realized is that the things I expect to be big deals when we take them away usually aren't. Makes it hard to use those things as tools in discipline. Most stuff just isn't of importance to him to be used that way.

-EBP-

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Play

We had another park adventure after school today. It was nice out. Still in the seventies with a light breeze. Then we had a nap, thankfully. There was no nap yesterday and that made for a long day. And lately, listening has not been a skill practiced much by the young one, at home or at school. Can't wait for this phase to pass...
-EBP-

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Bubbles

It's not often that JHP takes a bubble bath. On a whim tonight, I tossed some bubbles in the water. And he had tons of fun! He often uses the plate that covers the overflow as a mirror. Tonight it served to show him exactly what he looked like with bubbles on his chin. And then when the camera appeared, after each one I took, he had to see what it looked like.

The time change wasn't too painful this morning. I don't think we fished him out of bed until after 630a or so. I imagine I won't be so lucky tomorrow. He napped well at the normal clock time and he went to bed at the normal clock time. We'll see how that treats him.

He continues to try new food, although it's become a rather interactive event when he does. Often, someone else needs to eat a bite of a particular something with him. Tonight we had shrimp stir fry. So he tried shrimp, baby corn, snow peas, and bamboo shoots. Earlier in the week he tried beef ravioli sans sauce, cole slaw, green beans, and roast beef. Our approach: He eats what we eat, plus a fruit usually. And he gets that he's eating what we are. One night he asked about dessert and I told him we'd see after dinner. "What's for dinner?" he asked. When I told him, he wasn't so excited about it. That might have been one of the nights he didn't eat so well. And there's little consistency. If he eats it once, there's no guarantee that it's a slam dunk for the next meal we have it at. But I'll take what I can get.

We had a pretty good week and weekend, but just the last couple of days, JHP's really gotten under both my and John's skin. And there's not much you can do about it, except separate the parties and cool off. But it seems that sometimes that doesn't even help!

-EBP-

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One little monkey

It started out as jumping on the bed. And while that's fun, it evidently is not as fun as making the bed, by JHP's definition.

His definition involves hiding and playing peek-a-boo from between the foot of the bed and the covers.

And since I had the camera out, I made him stop periodically, which was mighty difficult when you find yourself on a king size bed with no covers.

Momma's thinking this is a nice uncluttered background. John's thinking how fast can I stop and then go, not bothering to wait a millisecond for me to take the shot even though I asked nicely.

It was directly after this cute shot that he fell off the bed directly on the top of his noggin. He was fine. Didn't cry. I launched into lecture mode, thinking about just how easily he could've hurt his neck. The fall just looked like that to me. And I'm not an overly cautious person. It just looked bad.

Then we actually made the bed and sat on the bed to read some books before naptime.
-EBP-

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