2008_12_30 Tuesday

Jonathan woke up earlier than usual, but not by a lot. Of course, he yelled out for Opa, Oma, Raj, Shannon, Tino, and daddy, before settling for me. He also had a lovely case of the green boogies, so we had to bail out of our morning playgroup (which ended up inside, so that was ok) and a sing-a-long at the library with Erin and Jake. I tried to keep him really hydrated with juice, clementines, and grapes. He seems to be fine otherwise, and by the afternoon, the green had turned to clear, so I'm hoping that it was a one-day boogie.

We had one plumber come by this afternoon to check out our water issues. Need two more plumbers, and hope this one will give me an estimate by Friday. Tino finished the dining room! It looks amazing. The living room and foyer need one more coat each, which he'll do tomorrow. The den is still a works in progress since the plumber's recommendations will impact Tino's work/progress.

I managed to write nearly all of my (and Jonathan's) thank you notes today. We'll walk those to the mailbox tomorrow.

We're expecting a VA friend and his girlfriend tomorrow. They're coming up to be in Times Square for New Years. More power to 'em; won't catch me there!!! The local area has a First Night, although the plumber said the wx is supposed to be really unpleasant. Better talk to Opa.

2008_12_29 Monday

Gesh, it's been almost a full week since I've updated this, and so much has happened!

Wednesday: we visited Julia and Amanda (and Pio) in the morning. Joe came home early, so we got to see him too. The kiddies played and then we had lunch. We had to motor after that. Shannon and Raj's flight was delayed by a long shot. Oma and Opa actually beat us home since we picked up Dave at the train station. Weather wasn't great, so I didn't want him walking home. We put up and decorated the Christmas tree, finally! We all made and ate dinner; then they finally called from Newark. So, the whole party did make it, just not quite at the times we had expected. We--Jonathan--did open one gift: an incredible rocking chair my uncle made for him. amazing.

Thursday: Christmas day was truly wonderful. Steve/Vicky and gang stopped by on their way south. It was so nice to have the family together. Jonathan really got into opening gifts. It was just so nice to spend time together. We made dinner and hung out. Unfortunately, Dave came back down with the food poisoning problem, making us think that it wasn't actually food poisoning but rather a stomach bug of some sort.

Friday: Dad, Shannon, Raj, and I went to Lowe's to pick up our gift from them and to check out radiators, insulation, etc. a wild and crazy day!

Saturday: What a pleasant surprise that Holly, Kate, and Grandpapa came for the day, to celebrate mom's birthday early. We had a great time mingling with them and telling stories.

Sunday: stinky day: everyone left really early. We had to get S/P back to Newark...and their plane actually took off on time. a miracle. Mom and dad headed out around the same time. That sucked. But, we packed up the car and headed south for the day and got to spend a good amount of time with Grandma Cathy, Grandpa Bob, and Keriann, and Jen/Chad and gang came by in the afternoon. It was really nice to see them; I'm not sure Keri had met Jonathan before! It was a long, but well worth it, day.

Monday: so, here we are again. Dave's back at work again. The house is quiet, although Tino is here working. Jonathan slept until about 11:30, although I definitely heard him a couple of times before he was really up. And, he immediately asked for Opa, Oma, Raj, and Tino. He was disappointed that the first three were unavailable. I've connected with three plumbers to get estimates on some jobs here. My new fridge was delivered!! Poor guys really had to work to get it in the house. Jonathan is napping again. He's pooped, and we need to get him back on track!!

Check out Picasa for the newest pictures and videos!

2008_12_22 Tuesday

Oh Boy! The Hardwick parents were struck by a nasty case of food poisoning. Dave was less affected than I was. I was in baaaad shape: could hardly sit up right, couldn't stomach the smell of food, and was achy and pins/needles everywhere. Poor Jonathan really got screwed yesterday with being confined. We think it must have been the rice and pork that I made, although it could have also been from cold cuts over the weekend. Dave decided against going to wrestling practice last night to give me time to rest.

Jonathan decided to get up around midnight last night. But, by then I was feeling much better. And, today, I'm feeling good. Gesh, I hope it's out of my system by now.

We managed to get to the recycling center this morning. We've accumulated probably a month and a half's worth of recycling since we've missed the pick-up dates for the last 2+ times. So, that was a good thing to get done. Patrick's  parents just came by to pick up gifts (which I brough up from VA). Now, once Jonathan wakes up, we'll hit Target and the grocery store one last time and be ready for everyone tomorrow!! yipppeee!!

2008_12_21 Sunday

The morning was a bit rushed today. Once we all got up, we jumped into the car, ate on the road, and headed to PA for Izzy's birthday party at Bouncetown. It was about 1 3/4 hr drive, which was longer than I had anticipated, so we got there as the party was well underway. Jonathan and Dave got to climb around on the equipment for a little bit while I mingled with the family at took some photos (up shortly). Then, we had the party part with pizza and cupcakes. We headed back home around 2:15, so we arrived just after 4. I took a short nap while the boys played. Then, it was dinner time, bath time, and bed time (for all of us!). We didn't forget Advent; he saw a small package and kept saying "truck," when it was really a bath frog (he's starting to "ribbit"). We watched some TV and called it a night.

2008_12_20 Saturday

We woke up to about a half-foot of ice-covered snow this morning. All the trees, even those without leaves/needles, are weighed down. It's very peaceful looking.

As I was changing his diaper and getting him dressed, he started singing "The Wheels on the Bus"! Of course, he didn't have the words, but he did have the melody...pretty much. That was pretty cool.

We hiked into town to the diner. Jonathan was bundled up in his snowsuit. He looks pretty silly, but it's warm and comfortable for him. It took awhile to unlayer once we got to our table! The coolest thing happened there too: we sat directly under a clock, so Jonathan pointed it out as a ball. Once he understood that it was a clock, he found two others in the diner and pointed to them, saying "clock"! how cool. 

He's going down for a nap in a few minutes. I swung by Sears to pick up his pictures from almost two weeks ago. The mall was insane, and parking was a disaster. And, we've got a holiday party at one of Dave's high school buddy's homes tonight. They apparently got 10+ inches of snow last night.

The party was really nice. It was all families (Tara/Brian, Debi/Bryan, Joey/Lauren, and Liz/Marc), so the kiddies got to mingle too. If you can believe, Jonathan stayed up until 11pm! He did great, exploring the balls on their Christmas tree and playing with all the toys. I drove us home (arrived around 12:30). We were all pooped. Boy, I think we all could have slept for a day!

2008_12_19 Friday

Guess who woke up with Dave this morning at 6am? not me...well, I did too, but it was Jonathan! So, our day got going sort of early today. We snuggled for about an hour, and then I put him back down and got a couple more minutes of shut-eye. That must have been his morning wakeful time, as he slept until after 11am. We missed our library storytime today! Somehow having breakfast at 11:30 felt strange. I, however, got a ton of freelancing done! 

It started snowing...hard...around 8, and Tino called at 9 to say it was too dangerous for him to come (hmmm). He claims he can be done by Tuesday. I don't believe him. It's stopped now, but we're under about 3-4 inches of dust. It looks pretty out there, so we may go for a walk into town later. 

After 'breakfast,' I cleaned up Tino's tarps, etc, vacuumed the dining room up, and we dumped Jonathan's bin of 'tuuuuuuuck' out to play. Now I really wish I had the basement plan finished since we could leave his toys down there. Oh well. The dining room works well for now.

Have a plumber scheduled for an estimate on Monday to snip the pipes in the den. Because of that, we'll have to postpone finishing the den until 2009. boo hiss. was really hoping to have it done for Christmas. Still need to find two more quotes, but the mom's group has a couple of recs. Also leaned on them (and the utl company) for advice on 'weatherizing/winterizing' this old house. I went around this AM with a candle to see if the outlets are leaky, but didn't see any flame movement (and realized that most of the outlets are on internal walls). Considering sealing windows/doors and insulating the attic (maybe via a blower?).

We ventured out in the snow tonight to pick up Dave from the train station. That was not smart on my part. I knew the temps were fine, but I expected the roads and sidewalks to be prestine (eventhough ours are not). Oh what a fool I was. Pushing the stroller with J2 packed in like a snowman was a stupid move. But, I did mail our Blockbuster movie back. By the time I got to the post office, the freezing rain started! So, I called Dave and told him that he'd probably catch up with us since we needed to head home. His train was late, so we beat him back. I had to have Jonathan walk up our driveway b/c the stroller had no traction at all (and I carried it to the garage). Bottom line: it was nice to be outside, although strollers don't work in snow.

2008_12_18 Thursday

Today we participated in a really neat event through the mom's group. We went to the local old folks' home and played for about an hour. The residents all sat in a circle and the kiddies (and moms) played in the middle. They seemed to really enjoy watching all the little kids play. And, Jonathan was a true ham after he warmed up. He was waving and blowing kisses to all the ladies; they ate it up. He offered up his sippy cup to one of the men. I got so many questions about his red hair, it made me laugh. We were only there for about 45 minutes, but it seemed to fly by. And, gosh, what a feel-good thing to do...especially so close to the holidays. I think I'll try to do this event each month going forward. It seemed to make the residents' day to see all the youngsters and interact with them and the moms.

We met up with Iris and Finn in the afternoon. She's a riot. She forgot her wallet, so I paid for her mail to Europe. The boys played at a local playground, but their ramps were still pretty frozen so Jonathan had a tough time maneuvering. Plus, the equipment is intended for slightly older, so there are parts he can fall out of. It was really nice to see Iris though. And, Finn is so sweet with Jonathan, sharing and watching out for him. love it.

2008_12_17 Wednesday

Somehow I missed Tino this morning, so he called me as we were finishing off breakfast and came back. I sure didn't hear a doorbell or even a knock, so I don't know what happened. Regardless, he's here and I've spoken to him about our deadlines. I sure hope he can make them!

We've got a playdate at 4 today. So, I ran Jonathan around in the 'snow' in the backyard to tire him out so he could take a good, long nap. He basically swept all the snow off his outside toys and two benches out back. He was awfully cute, too, in his snowpants, parka, skull cap that kept falling over his eyes so he looked like that guy in Fat Albert, and mittens that kept falling off when he swept the snow, and boot that may be a size too big. So my grand plan failed miserably; he's been whining in his bed for a good 90 mins (and I've checked on him twice to be sure he's dry). It sounds like he's down now so he should get a good 2 hrs, but he certainly won't get his ueber-nap today. oh well. I tried. Got the house budget done -- oh joy.

2008_12_16 Tuesday

IT'S SNOWING!!

It's our first real snowfall! Funny, since Jonathan and I were outside earlier today and it sure didn't feel cold enough. Wow. it's so pretty; the flakes are really big and coming down at a decent clip. I'll have to get a shot of it b/c I doubt it will stick. It only lasted for about 30 mins and then melted very quickly. I stand corrected; we have a decent dusting of snow accumulation! not sure when that actually happened (it did stop for awhile), but there's definitely white stuff out there, and it's still falling!

Our morning playgroup was canceled due to the weather, plus the equipment would have been wet and the ground soggy. Instead, w ran a bunch of errands: to the post office, to the bank, and bought a gift for Izzie's birthday party this weekend. Tino isn't coming today (and he wasn't here yesterday) b/c he's sick. I feel badly for him, but I really don't want to be under construction when everyone arrives for Christmas. That will really burn me up. The cleaning ladies came today -- I've had it with all the dust -- and the house smells so clean. I love it. They were a hoot flirting with Jonathan. Too bad they only speak Portuguese; would love to know what they say! ;o)

Dave's due home late b/c of a work meeting. Jonathan failed his second attempt at a nap because of a stinky diaper. When I came in and asked him if he was stinky, he plugged his nose! I nearly fell over (laughing, not from the smell! well...). So, I changed him -- he plugged my nose -- and then he went down...finally. It's dinner time for him right now, though, and he's still zzz-ing away. Guess it's ok since he'll get to see Dave now. He had fish sticks, veggie mix, blueberries, and grapes for dinner. He kept asking for and pointing at more "gips" -- too funny. And, for Advent he got 4 holiday stickers and a small candy cane (probably very unsafe). He drooled the sticky, icky drool and got it all over his fingers (see picture); then, he refused to give it up and tried to hide from me against the wall. Sneaky little guy. Dave got home right in time for bath duty.

I slow cooked a chicken (not one of Oma's!) so we'll be having leftovers tonight! yummy.

2008_12_15 Monday

If you can believe, that kid slept past 10am today! I nearly stormed in to make sure he was breathing. Once we got going, I picked up a Freecycler's toys (a la Christmas) and we passed a grocery store, so I thought we'd better try it out. I really liked it, but it's a bit far for multi-week visits. When we got home, Jonathan napped until after 5, so we didn't get to mail our first Ebay sale. That's first on our to-do's tomorrow. I started up the slow-cooker with a whole chicken (should be ready around 8:30pm). And I got to work on some of my freelance gigs.

We picked up Dave at the train tonight. The wx was gorgeous. Hardly needed a coat! So, we (importantly, Jonathan) walked the entire way there. We only waited a couple of minutes before Dave arrived. Then, it started to drizzle so one of us carried Jonathan home. He was making the funniest, cutest expressions all the way home. He ate dinner and opened his 7th truck for Advent. This time, when he saw the wrapping, he said "tuuuck;" I wonder if he thinks that all gifts are trucks. And, as I got him ready for bed, he was bee-bopping and trying to count (using his thumb as 'one'). It made me laugh out loud. He's such a cool kid.

Dave's off to wrestling practice. Jonathan's in bed. House is quiet. aaaah.

2008_12_14 Sunday

Since we went to the diner yesterday, we had breakfast at home today: McHardwicks and Aunt Jemima blueberry waffles. yummmy. Then we packed up the car and got a Christmas tree. If you can believe, it's the first one we've ever had!! I hope the cats are ok with it. It has very soft needles and pinecones still attached! who needs to decorate it now??! I also got lights for outside for Dave to hang, but that will probably have to wait until next weekend (after we get gutter clips).

2008_12_13 Saturday

We got up late today (given that Jonathan and I hung out around 3am -- ugh) at 10. Once we finally got ourselves together, we went down to the diner for some breakfast. We shared blueberry pancakes, choco chip pancakes, sausages, and fruit salad between us.

Then, we had an adventure. We went into the Bronx to Steve's fire house for their holiday party and to see Santa. I have to say that it still gives me chills to be among these heros who are willing to sacrifice their lives for strangers a la 9-11 (In fact, they got called out during the party.). The guys are such wonderful, generous men. We met up with Steve and Catherine. Bobby is sick so he and Vicky stayed home. They had tons of homemade (or firehouse-made) food, Jonathan chased Catherine around and she watched him like a hawk, and we got to sit in a real fire truck (see photo album)! Then, Santa and an elf arrived. Jonathan, who was second behind Catherine to be called up, freaked out when he and Dave went up to get his gift.

We were invited to our backyard neighbors' Hanukkah party tonight, but we're all a bit beat (Jonathan's nap was in the car on the way home), so we may opt for whatever's on the DVR instead.

2008_12_12 Friday

We're baaaaaaaaack. The trip to VA was nice. We stayed at Chez Brogan and rate it very highly. I saw Willy and Brent (and randomly bumped into a college friend (Jared) from CT!) during the day, Laura/Holly for dinner, and Liz to pick up baby stuff. Missed Marcy, Mo, Megan -- hmmm, seems like I missed the Ms this trip. That was a bummer.
Jonathan did a great job; he slept for 3.5 hrs on the way home. I was shocked. And, he slept in the pack-n-play as well as can be expected. Both nights were tough (15 mins of crying) to get him down, likely b/c everything was unfamiliar. He's pretty funny in the car these days, pointing out every airplane, biiig truck, truck, bus, train, and car he sees and repeating it until I acknowledge him.
He didn't seem to love Pugsley Porter; I think his licking and excitement scared J2. He did get a kick out of the Brogan black cats, who slept for hours after Jonathan chased them around with cat wands.
I saw the old house. It doesn't look like anything has changed, although they seem to park out front, so I wonder what they're doing with the garage. Otherwise, it sure doesn't look like the town has changed all that much. It was a bummer, too, that the weather wasn't very nice. Otherwise, we would have gone to the park during the day. The rain put a damper on things, though.

We played around a bit today until it was time to get Dave. Poor Jonathan was bundled up as though we were going to face a blizzard. Then again, the kid was warm. We continued with our Advent tradition, and it really seems like Jonathan is starting to pick up counting. He loves "twooo" and "teeeeee" if we give him a "one". And, of course, if he gets a truck as a gift, he goes bizerk!

2008_12_09 Tuesday

Well, again, Jonathan was up earlier than usual, but this time it was closer to 9, so I was pleased. We shared blueberry waffles for breakfast. He also had some fruit, while I had coffee. We missed the first half of our weekly playgroup, but there were still some folks there when we showed up at 10:30. I thought it was going to be as cold as it was yesterday, so Jonathan was in a snow suit. A bit overkill once we actually got outside. This was the very first park I went to as an M&M member. Tiffany/Christopher and Erin/Jake stayed with us for awhile. I think we stayed until close to noon. On the way home, we stopped to get some groceries. Then, it was home home home to get someone into bed. Jonathan slept for 4.5 hours!! no joke. He must have been absolutely exhausted from the playground.

That freed me up to do some freelance work. Then, when he finally got up (I was getting a wee bit nervous), we had a linner of toasted raviolis w/ dipping tomato sauce. And, we had to rush out to pick up the cats' food before the vet closed. Then, we came back into town to deposit a check, mail two things, and pick up Dave's drycleaning. And, we met Dave at the trainstation with a few minutes to spare!

Since little one slept so long, we pushed back bedtime until 8:30. The boys played for a bit, then J2 ate, we did the Adventskalendar, and Dave gave him a bath. We'll eat soon and then get back to the freelancing!

Might have radio silence from me for a few days; we're off to VA!!!

p.s. tomorrow is Jonathan's 17 month birthday! huurrraaahhh!

2008_12_08 Monday

Jonathan woke up much earlier than usual today: close to 8am. So, I let him play alone in his room for a bit. I really don't want to encourage an early wake-up like that.

After breakfast, we visited one of the local kiddy boutiques for a singalong with my friend Erin. The place was packed, and they did a really nice job, singing for about 30 mins. It was so cold walking over and back, though. The bank said 29 degrees, but the light wind must have made it much colder.

My friend Iris brought her newborn over around noon. Jonathan was up for a little bit, but luckily it was his naptime. So, he went down, and I focused on Henry. Soon enough, he fell asleep on my chest. Other than Tino pounding away, the house was silent for a good hour. Iris picked up Henry around 2. And Jonathan woke up to say goodbye!

Then I realized that we had a make-up photo shoot at 3, so we boogied over to Sears. Jonathan did a fantastic job this time. There were so many great shots, but I could only have one pose. Then, I treated us to Burger King for a very late lunch. And, on the way back to the car, we passed Gap, which was having a sale and for which we have a gift card burning a hole in my wallet. I got three tops and a pair of pants and still didn't use up the card! By then, though, Jonathan was done. So, we rushed home so he could get his second nap in.

It's unlikely that we'll get to pick up Dave today (due to the cold AND that J2 will likely still be asleep). Oh, and Tino got the drywall up on the ceilings in the living room and dining room, and he's working on the den right now. I think they'll get it done today! yippee!!!

2008_12_07 Sunday

We woke up to a light dusting of snow today! I guess the winter is here. The local bank said it was 39 degrees, so it wasn't all that cold. We walked into town for breakfast, Dave's treat, at the local bagel shop. The town was deserted, but the bagel shop was hopping. The sucky thing about that place is that they don't have highchairs or booster seats, so Jonathan sat on a normal seat and on our laps. It's a little more stressful than necessary. But, the food is good.

Yipeee!! I'm done with Christmas shopping!!! everyone has been accounted for!! yeah!

2008_12_06 Saturday

Oh boy were we good this year! St. Nickolas came and left a lot of loot! Jonathan got a big boy plate, sippy cup, table covers, and a security lock (for cabinets)! Dave got local honey, two types of tea, and some blueberry sticks to share. And, I got a 2009 day calendar! how did he know!?

We rushed over to our diner for a quick breakfast of blueberry pancakes, sausages, applesauce, french toast, and french fries between the three of us. Then, we picked up a trunk-load of flagstones through Freecycle. What a funny experience: the 80+yo wife peered out of her window and yelled at her 80+ yo husband for giving away stuff she wanted. So she came outside to supervise us lugging around these stones. Hubby said something like: "Gesh, you haven't cared about these stones for 15 years! what's the big deal!?" Dave and I could barely contain ourselves. But, we got a bunch of really big, heavy ones. I followed up with hubby to say that if wife changes her mind, we'd love to get the rest of them. We're planning on replacing the front steps (currently wooden) with these (more stable) flagstones.

Oh no! While Dave was putting the flagstones away, Jonathan and I were walking around the back yard. He took a tumble into an azalea bush and literally ate some dirt. Now, he's got a couple of scratches on his face, esp a noticable one down his little nose. Ugh! and we have an appt at Sears for Christmas photos on Monday afternoon!

Maplewood has a tree lighting ceremony at 1:30 today, and the fat man arrives at 4:30. I think we'll miss the tree lighting due to a nap, but we should make it to see Santa's arrival. Jonathan got up in time for us to have a quick slice of pizza (along with 1/2 of the town) and get to the town square. We saw him!! He came in by trolley limo. See pix: http://picasaweb.google.com/hardwicks03/2008_12_06Santa The rest are at home, goofing around. You should be able to see the nose scrape from this morning. :o( Oh, and you'll be able to see a little bit of the new paint job too!

2008_12_05 Friday

I slept horribly last night. I laid there for nearly four hours, wide awake. Was about to pick up my book to read, but my eyes were tired (luckily). Then, my alarm clock didn't go off for some reason; I woke up though. And, Jonathan got up about 20 mins earlier than usual. We had fake blueberry waffles this morning, but he didn't seem to like them very much. I even gave him a dallop of maple syrup. no dice.

Tino hadn't arrived by the time we left for storytime at the library. It was a lot of fun, but it was chaos too. There were easily 50 kids there, and it seemed like no one was watching half of them. Cheryl and Gavin showed up, so that was fun. And, a little girl Jonathan's age seemed infatuated with him. She'd lean over my shoulder and fall into my lap with a huge smile so she could get a closer look at him, and he wasn't having any of it. She was really cute, though.

ugh, and I bumped into Jerry, the first contractor I talked with when we first moved in, at the bank as I was depositing a check. what timing. Oh, and on the walk home, I swear I saw snow flakes!!!

Tino came by around 2 and worked on the purple ceiling in the foyer. It looks so much better in white!! Already the room looks 10xs brighter.

With Jonathan down for a nap, I laid down too. I was so pooped from last night's lack of sleep. Once he was up and fed (circa 3:30/4), we headed out for some quick errands. Then, a carpet guy came by at 6 for the den. Yeah! Install is 12/22 or sooner if Tino can finish off that room faster.

Don't forget to put your shoes out tonight. St. Nickolas comes by to all the good kids.

2008_12_04 Thursday

We started off the day a bit earlier than usual: 8:15! That actually worked out really nicely, since we went to coop-sit Gavin at 9:30. So, J2 was fed and ready to play. We were there until about noon (Cheryl and I gabbed for awhile after she got home).

Then, I had to swing by a Freecycler's home to pick up 3 bags of clothes for J2. It's all stuff that is way too big for him right now, but I can file it away for later. I rushed home to get him into bed. He was exhausted from all the fun of the morning.

After a very short nap, he had lunch. And, we played inside for a long time. At 4, he went back down for a second nap, which lasted until after 6:30. I had to call Dave to beg off from picking him up (besides it was raining too!). We high-fived as I ran out the door to the grocery store to restock on dairy goods while the boys had dinner.

When I got home, we goofed with Jonathan for a little. He actually said something very close to "Par-dough-ne" (which was first taught by Opa months ago) after he burped. We cried laughing. He's really getting the hang of twisting water bottle caps too. Before retiring, we moved PopPop's Adventskalendar and opened yet another truck from the stocking-adventskalendar. He was so excited to see a new truck (his expressions are priceless), and really worked on ripping open the wrapping.

We think he's starting to say two-word phrases, like 'bath time.' We probably wouldn't recognize the phrases out of context, but it was clear as day as he walked into the bathroom. The boys are bathing (well, one is) and then it's off to beddy-by for one.

2008_12_03 Wednesday

Oh boy. not a good start to the day. As I was changing Jonathan out of his PJs, I reached up to get a new diaper, and he flipped off the changing table and landed on the floor. He seemed more shaken than hurt, but I was far more upset. He seemed fine after some hugs and kisses. Me too.

Tino's here. He got the first coat of the living room done yesterday. It looks awesome. I'm not sure what he's planned for today (I try to stay out of his way), but I can't wait to see it. It's looking awesome. He's done the first coat for both the dining room and the living room and touch-ups for both. He's also primed the foyer for tomorrow. Yeah!

When Jonathan gets up from his nap, we're off to buy a 42" plasma tv! yippeee! Got it! it barely fit in my car with the carseat!

I've got a new freelance gig!! I'm writing laymen's explanations of various cancers. They have a detailed template for me to follow; so I just fill in the form with the ones they've assigned me.

2008_12_02 Tuesday

Jonathan is still not feeling well. His nose is quite the faucet, but I suppose that's a good thing. He's just getting tired of me wiping his nose. He had yogurt for breakfast (his appetite is still not 100%), and he kept trying to reach for the Advent calendar from PopPop and Grandma Pat. I think he really likes the movable tree.

Since it's pretty cold outside, we skipped our weekly playgroup. Instead, we rearranged his room back to how we had it. And, we played with some blocks. He's really starting to recognize objects; he showed me many of the words he knows that were images on his blocks. It's so cool to see him learning that sort of thing. Then, we read a 'new' book -- Richard Scary's big trucks book -- that I got at my shower. It's a normal paper page book, so I had to put it away for awhile. He was very gentle with it, and pointed out all the trucks, buses, cars, trains, and other vehicles. Now he's down for a nap.

2008_12_01 Monday

We've had a rough couple of days. Jonathan has a goobie nose, which makes it hard for him to breathe, especially at night. So, he was up 4+ times last night with the last one around 2am. I felt horrible for him. I've tried to give him lots of OJ and fruit, but it sure doesn't seem to be doing much.

Tino started this morning. He's preparing the walls now and will fill in dents and nicks later today; then I guess the painting starts tomorrow. We headed out to Sears to get some holiday pictures taken, and Jonathan was a disaster. He cried and clung to me, as though I was going to leave him there. We tried for about 30 mins, and then I rescheduled for next week.

Yesterday, we spent the day in southern Jersey with Jen and family. Steve/Vicky were there, as was Cathy/Bob. Donna gave us a ton of leftovers, so we had that -- along with a lazagna -- for an early dinner. Worked out well. The kids played around, and we hit the road around 6. I think we got home around 8, which is about normal. I was in bed pretty early, which was probably wise, given that I was up so many times with snotty boy.

So, two funny things just happened...
1. most of the living room is cleaned out for the painting, but my family photo collage is there, and he kept saying "Bob-E" at GG, so I showed him a picture of Bobby and he identified him. Then we went back to GG, and he said something close to "GG." I'm afraid it was more like Ditty, but we'll go with it.
2. Then, as I was sitting on the couch, he came over with his box of graham cracker things, thrust the box at me, and said "peeeeeeaaass". I could barely contain myself.

Since it is the first of December, we are starting an Adventskalendar. Luckily, we actually have two! PopPop and Grandma Pat sent us one, and I had one ready to go. So, take a look at our new pix of Jonathan figuring them out: http://picasaweb.google.com/hardwicks03/2008_12_01Advent#