Cold Spaghetti

Will spied his hat and mittens hanging on the peg in his room and insisted on wearing them after dinner this evening. In return for our compliance, he put on a little show (I think he’s singing “ee-ei-ee-ei-oo!” here.) Not that he needed them to be warm (it was 75 degrees today) — he just wanted to have some fun! 

It’s a few days old now, but in the event you haven’t read it, please do.

An excerpt:

“
If the rest of the nation has decided it is too expensive to give the people of New Orleans a chance at renewal, we have to tell them so. We must tell them we spent our rainy-day fund on a costly stalemate in Iraq, that we gave it away in tax cuts for wealthy families and shareholders. We must tell them America is too broke and too weak to rebuild one of its great cities.

Our nation would then look like a feeble giant indeed. But whether we admit it or not, this is our choice to make. We decide whether New Orleans lives or dies.

“

Have I mentioned that my 24-month old kid can count to TEN? Will was playing in the living room while I was making dinner and I was shocked to hear him rattle off the numbers to himself, several times over. Although he has yet to repeat the astounding display on command to his anxious parents, we feel assured that he does NOT require these toys in his holiday bounty.

I don’t have a problem with kids and pacifiers. However, we are way past the drooling, teething stage where kids chew on everything (when the pacifier can actually prevent the spread of germs) and into the stage where most kids have outgrown their binkys. With the new baby coming, it is time to think about how to transition Will into the role of “big boy.”

So, we have begun to wean Will from the binky. We had started this over the past few weeks by slowly limiting binky use, i.e.: no binky outside the house. He did great with this to the point where he was willingly turning it over to Paul before walking out the front door. With this success under our belts, we began to daytime weaning this morning. We started by explaining to Will that the binky was for use only in his crib. When he was ready to “Give the binky to his Oso” (oso is spanish for bear) he could get out of the crib. Eventually, the desire to ride his bike and play outside of the crib overcame his want of the binky and he placed it in the lap of his Oso and let it be. We did this both when he woke up in the morning and at naptime. There was one rough moment this evening when he reached into his crib, pulled out the binky, and came out of his room with it. (We explained that this was not the system, plucked the binky from his hand, and dealt with the few seconds of tears that followed.)

So, we are hoping that by the end of the week, he is totally on board and putting the binky aside after he wakes up as part of his routine. We are holding high hopes that tomorrow goes as smoothly as today.

I went into our stash of Mardi Gras beads to find some strands to add to Christmas presents — and Will had a blast “helping” in this fun activity. I kept putting beads around his neck (he kept asking “more please”) and then dancing around with them, happy as can be!

Just a few days into week 19 and the belly has expanded to impressive levels. Some additions:
– Pre-pregnancy blouses that button up the front are stretching, they won’t be possible much longer.
– My belly button, usually an “inn-ee,” is a stretched, open O. A unique thing that I noticed first pregnancy: a flap of skin fills my belly button when I arch my back — it only happens when pregnant and is happening again now. This may sound strange, but it is actually pretty cute.
– I have stretch marks!! Last pregnancy, I got a few on my legs and hips that faded after Will was born. With that pregnancy, I gained a ton of weight everywhere — I expanded like a balloon… fingers, feet, face, legs, everything! This time, the weight is pretty much just on my belly (so far) and the marks are coming my sides, along my waist. They are faint pink lines right now and are sort of pretty.

On the 22nd, we go in for our next prenatal visit and an ultrasound. We are hoping to find out the baby’s sex. As much of a “gender neutral” person I am, I can’t stand the thought of having a baby girl lay down on Will’s “planes, trains, and automobiles” sheet set. Will and the baby are going to share a room and we are excited about getting it all ready before the baby comes.

We decided to go downtown to buy pralines for Christmas presents, walk around (the city is so beautiful and unique!), and get chickory at Cafe du Monde. This is one of the bands we enjoyed as we walked through the French Market — they were playing “Hello Dolly!”

Dad tickles Will with the cord from the compressor. (Will was way interested after Paul let the air out — “big noise!” — and was all over it to check it out!)

Paul puts the finishing touches on the fence. It’s finally done! (And it is so above and beyond the horrible fence — already tipping over — that borders our other side. Yikes!) Notice the backdoor? They used interior doors as exterior doors. Hopefully by this time next year, the back of the house will be completely different! 

Will checks out Dad’s handywork in the backyard.