The 3 Little Bears

Just wanted to check in w.some goings on this week...

I'll start w.the "not-so-cute" stuff. Things like no one being able to sleep past 5:15 all week. I don't know where all these hours of missed sleep are being "banked" but I am anxious to cash in. When we're all bears in the morning (you know the story ~ Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Baby Bear) and everyone's walking around grumbling, just not the most pleasant start to the day. Aaaaaarrrrrgggghhhhh - that's my Mama Bear growl :)

Poopie Pants has a bunch of stuff going on this week. Starting w.the sock puppet he's been wearing on his hand since Monday. There was an incident Saturday night - something 'bout some pizzas being unloaded from the oven, oven door being left open, lil' hands being curious, no one noticing the lil' person till it was almost too late, Nana swooping in w.cat-like stealth to save from serious injury - yeah, I think that's about how I heard it. At any rate, said incident left Poopie Pants w.some serious blistering & just a busted up lil' right hand :(. There's been a lot of neosporin & bandaging going on at home & daycare. Bless Ms. Jackie's (daycare director) heart - she finally mastered the wrapping & came up w.the sock covering...I think everyone lost count as to how many band-aids & wrappings he'd pulled off. Update is that the blisters have all either popped or drained & today is hopefully the final performance of the sock puppet!

I've already covered the not sleeping enough - and he starts that domino for the whole family. I think between aggravation w.his hand, possible teething (constant drooling leads me to believe) and a nasty cold coming on - he's just not having the best week.

I finally made it to Target yesterday for some potty seats. Since he's been sitting on it at daycare for a while & is now tugging at his diaper & can say a clear "Peeee Peeee" - I didn't want the bottle-neck of potty training to be on the homefront. The other night, I jokingly asked if he needed to potty - he confirmed w.a head nod, "yes." So we got down to bare bottom, I hoisted him up & tried to keep him from falling in. He was amused, I was not - it was definitely time for a proper set-up. Here's Poopie Pants on his throne last night before bath - he loved it!

We were all anxiously waiting on the "peeee peeeee" - he kept taking a peak to see if he was making any progress. He wasn't, but he was all too happy to sit and tell us where the wall was and be a lil' ham. When Seth finally pried him off, he was none to happy about it.

Sleep-wise, last night was the roughest by far. We were all up off & on between 1 & 2 - then we played "musical beds" from 4 on. John was kinda whiny from the moment his feet hit the floor this morning. He enjoyed his peaches & cream oatmeal by the fire, but it was a grumbly morning overall (for everyone). He did give me my goodbye hug & kiss after he was all bundled up & ready to head out the door. That definitely lessens the pain of missed sleep :) Holding that lil' boy in my arms is the best, hands down.

Seth called on his way to work this morning - Ms. Karen was there w.some updates on John Fisher :). They all call him by his full name - it's hilarious. She was talking about trying to get him to say more - he echoed we're trying that at home, too. His comprehension is great - he just doesn't say a lot. She said they will start to work on animals & colors in January. We're thinking he may surprise everyone - he might not say everything, but we think he'll be pretty smart at knowing which is which. We'll see!

She did have a couple of John Fisher funnies to offer as well. She said yesterday she was in the room with all the kids and she said, "Shewww, somebody's gotta stinky." At this point, John stood up & pointed at his bottom, identifying himself as the stinky culprit. Sure enough, she checked him & the confession was validated :)

Showing his lil' temperament, when he woke up from his nap yesterday, he was offered a book. To help them wake up slowly, post-naptime is usually a reading time. In order to get their books, they have to forfeit the paci's. Ms. Karen said when John had his book, she said "John Fisher, give me your paci." Ever the decision-maker now, he vehemently shook his head, nope. Again, "John Fisher, give me your paci" - again, with the head shaking. I don't how many times she made this request, but at some point his lil' spiteful, I mean full of personality self, took the paci out & threw it across the room. The tune was then changed to, "John Fisher, go get your paci" and round and round they go :) Oh, it was not hard at all to envision this whole scenario (insert halo for John Fisher)!

Seth had another funny for me. He said as he & Ms. Karen were talking he noticed some 3-4 yr olds building something. He noticed John noticing them too. He said he saw the gleam in his eyes. The gleam that means, "I will knock that down - just keep building!" Those kids saw the gleam too. He said the lil' boy said, "John, NO!" The lil' girl in an effort to deter the demolisher, came over, took John's hand & led him in a different direction. All too happy to be led away (he likes the hand-holding thing), Seth said he looked a little confused when she abruptly dropped his hand and went back to the building. His confusion was quickly washed w.determination, so back to the building site he headed. Some more, "No, JOHN!" this time from the boy & the girl - again, she takes his hand & leads him astray. I think it only happened a couple of times, but Seth said John found his way over to his buddy Devin. I've talked about Devin before - he's not quite the lil' boogery monster he was up in the "Wee-Ones" and I think he & John are good buddies. I told Seth that Devin probably told John in babytalk to "sit & chill" - he'd probably been lead away a few times too this morning. It's hard being the lil' guys :)

So, TGIF - seriously! I will not say how I'm looking forward to a weekend at home to relax. I will not say that out of fear that 30 people could be waiting in my kitchen (w.their shoes on) to bust up my relaxing day - haha. Still so surreal to think of how awesome my SURPRISE was :). In all seriousness though - I'm looking forward to a weekend at home to kinda just be. December is rolling on by & it's important to find those moments to be still and remember why this time of year is so special. Taking in the sounds, the warmth, the embraces, the smells - all that keeps the joy of the season ever-present, both heart & mind.

Hope everyone has a blessed weekend. Stay warm, take some time to be still and enjoy those around you. Here's a sweet lil' pic to help kickstart your weekend...

Tradition: sit with husband in a room lit only by tree lights and remember that our blessings outnumber the lights.
Happy Christmas to all.
~Betsy Cañas Garmon