He's TWO already?!?!

Where's the time gone??? It feels like just yesterday when I was at the hospital preparing for his birth!!!

Today started out like most any other Saturday: we slept until about 7:45 when Christopher woke us up...this time by kicking his wall. I brought him to bed with us where he proceeded to turn on the tv to watch the end of Arthur and then Big Comfy Couch. After getting up, I had to finish getting things ready for the party. I ended up making a last minute trip to Party City (not fun on a Saturday 10 days off from Christmas!) to get some balloons (with Elmo), only to find that Richard ALSO got some balloons (with Elmo)! LOL! Christopher has plenty of balloons!

The party started at 12:00. Guests included: Richard (Grandaddy), Mom (Grandma), Cheryl, Mindy, Alanna and Journie, Jen and Lilly and DH and myself. Sebrina and John Ryan were supposed to come, but they found out this morning that John Ryan has strep throat.

We didn't do anything special for the party; just ate Slick Pig bbq, had cake and attempted to open gifts. Christopher mainly liked spending time and playing with one opened toy at a time. I think it was a bit overwhelming to him to have so much pressure to open so many gifts. Somewhere in the middle, he threw a tantrum, so we took a break for a while.

Gifts included:

- Bath toy set from Alanna and Journie
- TJ Berrytales and a Cookie Monster book from Mom and Cheryl
- A VeggieTales DVD (which we already had), a Rudolph snowglobe and a Grow with Me basketball goal from Richard
- Elmo storybook and doll from Jen and Lilly
- TMX Elmo, Simon Says sit 'n spin and Thomas the Train flashlight from DH and myself

Pretty good, if I do say so myself! He had so many things that he LOVED, that he had a hard time deciding what to play with! It was too funny to watch him go from one toy to another!

I didn't order a cake in time (wanted to get one from Wal-Mart), so I ended up making one myself...and I am NOT a baker!!! However, I think it turned out pretty good. Here's a pic:
















Here's a link to my Photobucket page with the rest of the party pictures (53 total): http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v644/tholloman/2nd%20birthday%20party/

After everyone left, he threw yet ANOTHER tantrum, so went to his room to pout. We noticed he got quiet, so went to check on him and found him ASLEEP on the floor behind the glider! LOL! He's NEVER done that before! DH and I have both even tried to get him to take a nap while laying on the floor and watching a video! I guess it'll only happen on HIS terms!

I gave him about an hour to sleep and then got him up so we could go to dinner atCracker Barrel. He wouldn't eat a bit of his dinner (chicken tenderloin and mac 'n cheese); probably since he'd filled up on tea and milk. Instead, he decided to be a defiant little 2-year old and INSISTED on LICKING the highchair seat belt, the highchair itself and the table!!! I just KNOW in about 2 days, he's going to have some horrible illness (he's already getting over a cold, so hopefully won't get that again)! With my luck, it'll be a stomach bug. After finishing dinner...before leaving...we decided to lounge in the rocking chairs at the entrance. Of course, they had the UT orange rockers (regular AND child-sized), which Christopher LOVED. He went back and forth between the two kiddie chairs there. When it was time to head home, he pitched yet ANOTHER tantrum. Yep, the Terrible 2's have been here for quite a while now. :p

We debated about going by the house in town with the Christmas lights syncronized to music, but since it was getting late and because of Christopher's mood, we decided just to head home. After getting home, Richard left and I gave Christopher a bath with his new bath toys.

He took a while to fall asleep and insisted on taking his new Elmo book with him. He's still dealing with a lingering cough, so I hope that doesn't bother him overnight. I forgot to give him any medicine or honey. :-/

Tomorrow is our normal morning church routine. There's a *small* chance of snow overnight tonight, but I highly doubt we'll get anything worth mentioning. They say the ground's too warm. :-( I can hope, though!

Monday is Christopher's 2-year check-up at 10:00 am. I can't wait to see how much he weighs now. My guess is right around 25 lbs.

Picture Outtakes

I thought I'd post a few outtakes of our Christmas card photo session before we got our "perfect" shot:

Shot #1



Shot #2



Shot #3



Shot #4



Shot #5



AND OUR "PERFECT" SHOT - Shot #6:

Terrible 2's Are Upon Us!

Well, we've actually been dealing with it for quite some time, but it's really be at full blast lately! He's been cutting his 2-year molars for quite some time now and that hasn't helped any. He's been working on #3 for a week and it's STILL NOT IN!!! I'll be SO glad when they're all through!

I think he's starting his own bedtime ritual. For the most part up until recently, he's been GREAT at going to bed easily! His routine would go as follows: changing his diaper & clothes, giving him a small amount of milk, brushing his teeth, saying "night night" to Daddy, reading a couple of books, saying his bedtime prayer and then going down in his crib while awake. For the past 1-2 weeks now, though, he INSISTS on getting his milk in his room while reading and then me rocking him in the dark until he falls asleep. I deliberately put him down awake all his life so we WOULDN'T start a habit of needing me to rock him to sleep. I don't mind doing that occasionally. I just don't want him to become dependent on it.

He spent Saturday night at Richard's in Nashville and went to church up there this morning. I figured he'd either get a nap on the car ride home after church or after getting home. Unfortunately, he wouldn't have any part of taking a nap AT ALL! As a result, I believe the devil was making an appearance in our household this evening!!! I tried to get him to bed early, but once again, he wanted me to rock him to sleep. However, even though we were sitting in the dark with the radio on and me rocking him and not saying anything, he was still trying to carry on a conversation with me. So, I got fed up and just laid him in his crib. For about 5 minutes, I thought he was going to be fine. Then, he started WAILING. I tried not to go into his room, but since he's now climbing the railing (and getting stuck on top), I was worried, so had to go check. From there, it just all went downhill. I started the bedtime routine around 8:00 tonight and he didn't go to sleep until about 9:15!!! He finally gave it up when I stood up and swayed him while he was holding Big Teddy (the HUGE teddy bear that's now his best buddy thanks to Granddaddy! ). That probably took less than 2 minutes! I sure wish it had worked the first time I tried it!

I really hope the cause of him boycotting his naps and not wanting to go to bed is just a phase or a result of his new teeth coming in! I really don't want this to be a new trend!!!