Thanksgiving

To celebrate Christmas, here are some photos of me from Thanksgiving. Notice how suave I am in the first photo. so suave.

I have an equally cute outfit to wear for Christmas; I was going to try it on today but I caught Trinity's cold so I am grouchy. My sister used to get sick every Christmas (and cough so much that she would barf) and today she was complaining that she didn't believe in Santa. She was/is too serious and cynical for Santa.

I am mostly ready for Santa. I still need to color a picture for Santa. I have some cookies from Whole Foods to put out on Christmas Eve and some almond milk for him to drink. I need to wash Santa's cup because I used it for my smoothie this morning. Today, I realized I am able to use a regular cup independently.

winter?

Winter arrived today and brought us an 84 degree day. I put on my shorts and t-shirt and we visited Bee Cave Park. In our journey today, the only hint we had that it is almost Christmas was the gingerbread man drawn with sidewalk chalk at the playground.

We came home from the park to find a floor covered in bloody dog vomit. You should see my impression of Remus getting sick! Sad Remus had to go to the emergency clinic tonight but he is home and we will see what happens tomorrow. Wish him well! Remus is my best friend.

Tomorrow is a busy day. My sister is coming over to play with me while my mom tries to clean the house (good luck to her!) and wrap Christmas presents. Speaking of Christmas presents, I helped my dad wrap his today and then I tattled to my mom what was in some of them.

December 16: doctor and Santa

Yesterday, I had my 18 month visit with my doctor.

I like to sit in the waiting room because the doctor has a fun Sesame Street toy with a Cookie Monster that pops up. When my mom says it is time to go to the doctor, I say "cookie." This time in the waiting room, there was a woman who I thought was my great-grandmother so I called her "grandma." They have the same hair and were about the same age.

I am the only patient who cries when my doctor leaves the room; all the other children cry when he enters. My doctor recited some of the words of Goodnight Moon to me and he let me hold his flashlight. I am a healthy healthy boy. I weigh 24 pounds exactly. I might have lost some ounces since my last doctor's appointment but that is because I never stop running or climbing or wiggling or jumping. My doctor says I am all boy (who also happens to have a thing for purses and all things pink and pretty).

After the doctor, we went to Jack Allen's for lunch. I ordered a quesadilla but I have realized that I really only like it when my mom makes them. I ate lots of her spinach gorgonzola ravioli with sundried tomato cream sauce. yum.

And then it was time to see Santa. The drive to Santa was quite exciting because they have the highway all carved up with dozens of tractors working on it. It can be quite alarming how loudly I holler "tractor" when we are driving.

As you can see in the photos above, the visit with Santa didn't go very well. At first, I was brave and rather intrigued when Santa was spending time with the other kids and I almost joined a new family. I hope that family doesn't mind a cute mystery child in the corner of their photos! When my turn came, I cried and cried and cried. It was misery! Santa was very kind and invited me to come back and see him before Christmas so we can bond.

Our Santa has the best reputation in town because he will spend hours with each child and you can bring your own camera.

the library

After the torturous visit with Santa, we went back to the comfort and safety of the library where I sat and worked on puzzles until it was time to go home for dinner. I brought a big pile of books home with me. I love to read.

potty

Since I am smart enough to tell people when I am about to go pee or poop, we went to the store yesterday and bought a potty chair. This is what it looks like. I would say it is the Cadillac of potty chairs but Cadillacs have among the worst of safety ratings, they are poorly made, and they do not maintain their value. My chair is great. When I close the lid, it doubles as a stool (no pun intended).

We found just the right spot to keep my potty chair. While I was sleeping last night, my dad moved it. This morning when I woke up, I went to great effort to drag it back to exactly where it belongs. Then I looked up at my dad and told him "better." I have become rather opinionated and I am not really sure where that trait comes from.

Tonight, I put a big puddle of pee near my potty chair.

There is no hurry for me to get trained on the potty. The chair is just there for whenever I am ready. Potty training is a big commitment. I also have two new pairs of underwear.

happy birthday to my great aunt Shirley

This is a picture of my great aunt Shirley with her son. Today is Shirley's birthday. But she died today. We are all very sad and we sure did not expect this. not now. She was the best aunt who ever lived - and I am not just saying that.

I never did get to meet Shirley but we always talked about planning a visit. She and I would have loved each other. She was a lawyer (a real-life Atticus Finch in her role as a public defender) and people expect me to be one though I probably lean more toward engineering (mechanical, not train) if my career as a ballerina doesn't work out. Since Shirley was the smartest person in the world, she would have been impressed with my advanced intelligence. And I would have been impressed by how funny, nice, generous, and just generally perfect Shirley was.

This photo was taken the last time my parents saw Shirley. That's not true; they saw Shirley at this birthday party (where even the fruit salad had meat in it) and then spent time with her several days later at the casino.