Time Out

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas???? Nope, it's Uncle Christian and Kate taking a timeout at Lay's. Lay's is the BEST breakfast stop on the way to Kirkwood.

San Francisco Zoo

The whole Hansen clan went to the San Francisco Zoo. We thought it was just going to be us, but then everyone wanted to go too - it was great! We saw all kinds of animals .... lions and tigers and bears, oh my. We dressed as reindeer, we went on the carousel and we hung out with Reese and his family. It was great.

Did he come?

When Reilly woke up he arrived in our room. He was convinced that Santa had not come because he didn't hear him yell HO HO HO from downstairs. (Santa had instructed him earlier in the week to listen for a HO HO HO - and then to run to the window to watch him fly away in his sleigh.) After letting him know that we could go downstairs to check to see that Santa came, ate the cookies that Reilly had left out for him (chocolate chip and one oatmeal), read his note, and left him a present or two -- he was ready to go downstairs to see the proof.

Shad and I had tried for quite some time to build out the wooden train track that we had purchased used from Craigslist. We just put it together in an attempt to use most or all of the pieces. There were also about four wrapped gifts for him by the couch - and one wrapped for Kate. In an improvisational move I "read" the note Santa had left and said "Wow Reilly, Santa wrote you a note back it says HO HO HO Merry Christmas - the train set is for you and your sister Kate." (I had a hunch Kate would go eat the train track and thought it would be a path of least resistance) Kate sure enough crawled right by her toy and over to the train track to pick up a piece and start sucking on it. Gotta love that wood train track, I'm not sure it's truly edible but it's not far off.

After about 30 minutes we asked Reilly if he had any interest in opening something else - he didn't. So, it was actually kind of boring because Reilly had no interest in anything other than the train - we really did not have to buy him anything - he would have been completely satisfied with the train set. Live and learn I suppose. And, Kate was easily as happy sucking on the new toy. After about 40 minutes Reilly began criticizing Santa's train set up. He felt that he could have done a better job setting it up. That darn Santa.

All in all, it was really fun watching him get so excited. I took him to Church with my parents at 11am where he said Merry Christmas to everyone he saw. Then it was off to the airport to head off to California.

Shad and I didn't buy one another anything this year. I gave him a book and a set of coasters from the kids.

It was really a great year for us as a family - just being together and Reilly's first year appreciating who Santa is.

To lie or not to lie...

that is the question.

We're getting on a plane to California on Christmas Day. This is my dilemna. Do I lie and tell Reilly Christmas is actually Christmas Eve? OR Do we celebrate Christmas morning on Christmas morning, go to Church, and head out on a plane leaving all his new toys as a memory? The problem is we head to our cousins on Christmas Eve for a family gathering, Santa will swing by on his way around the world. He will sit down, read a book, pass out presents, have a drink and be on his Merry way. Chances are pretty good that if he came to our house the night before, he shouldn't be at my cousins that night. Hmmmmmmmm, perhaps I'm overthinking this. I have about 12 hours to decide.

Look at my belly....

At dinner I often find myself saying "I'm full" and I have seen that Shad says something similar. "I'm full" or "I'm stuffed". Observing this night after night I think Reilly started to intepret it as he felt it meant, literally. At the dinner table now Reilly will lift up his shirt and say "Can you look at my belly? I think it's full." At first I was responding by a "yes, it looks very full" but then I realized he would stop eating when I did that. So lately, I have said "oh.... I see room for some more chicken, right over there" and I'll point to the side of his belly. He will then continue to eat the rest of the food on his plate.

Literally and figuratively took a long time for me to figure out - I think we have many more years of this type of intepretation to come.

Laundry

Being obsessive about clothes has brought Reilly to the conclusion that clothes can be cleaned instantaneously. This morning Reilly asked if he could wear his new ghetto basketball outfit that Nannie bought him. He has been wearing the shirt for the past few days and he pee'd in the pants. As I lay in bed discussing this with him, I said "no, you can't wear your shirt, you've had it on a couple days in a row, it's dirty". He replied "Can you wash it?" I told him I could and he then said "Could you get up and do it right now, please?" I responded by turning on the tv to distract him. Guess that's the answer.

A thief at 3??? Can't be-

At LL Bean Reilly picked up disposable handwarmers, he said "what are these?" I told him they were the things that Daddy put in your pockets and they made him all warm. "What?" he replied, I repeated "the things that Daddy put in your pockets and they made him all warm". He then came back with "I should put thme in my pockets and give them to Daddy?"

Ahhh, no Reilly, put them back. It's time to go.

JJ Ellemenopee

You figure it out! Here is a hint A B C D E F G H I JJ....

Metro at 3? Can't be...

Everyday Reilly's first priority is picking his clothing for the day. He asks for help, but chooses to pick something that you do not. No matter who the helper is, it's not the right choice for him. If he spills the smallest drop on his clothing, it's reason for a complete makeover. Today it's a blue striped shirt that obviously only goes with the blue sweatpants with the white stripes. I have learned to just go with his choices. This avoids a long drawn out crying fit and the lecture of how I am frustrating him or how I have hurt his feelings. Gotta love him because he loves having a mind of his own. And, it has taught me NOT to shop for anything that is an outfit or a coordinating shirt and pants.

Jump Jump Jump

Kate's playmate, Baby Bennett came over this morning for some "chillin in the crib". Kate is not sure what to make of someone hanging out in her toy so she tried to tip him over, using all her weight - to no avail. You gotta give her an "A" for trying though, right?

The end of the world as he knows it...

Kate has begun to crawl. Reilly is learning how to covet the toys he is playing with.

The house rule is if she takes something from him, he can take it back, but he has to replace it with something else. Inevitably she wants what he has. He doesn't like this new way of life. And she appreciates it with a smirk on her face.

What's inside

your tv???

Elmo is inside ours, and did you know if you talk to him, he can't hear you? Reilly told me this. I told Elmo we were going to "shut him off" and Reilly said to me "Mommy, he can't hear you, he's inside the tv."

Going to see the Big Guy

Today we headed to cousin Stephen and Alison's house for the annual Christmas party and to see Santa. Santa was a trooper, he hung out as all the children simply stared at him. They would walk close, say something, and run back to their parents. Reilly was the same. He was curious but not enough to take the plunge. By the end of the afternoon he had stood about a foot away and quietly said he would like a blue tractor with a backhoe and that Kate would like her own toy to play with.

I guess that's some progress, right?

Holiday Traditions

We don't really have any family projects aside from the tree and some decorating, so we started down the path of decorating cookies.

I guess half the fun is eating the frosting and the decorations... but, Reilly is going to be wound up for a while after his decorating endeavor today.

Given that I am a procrastinator, Shad, Reilly and Grandma picked up ingredients last night. I figured we would bake the cookies as a night project and frost the following day. Well, given the impending snowstorm, and all the school and business closings before the storm was even here, I think many people had the same idea. Needless to say, we were confined by pastel stars, tubes of frosting without the tops, and red and green sparkles. We had limitations for sure.

24 Cookies later, actually 23, we gave the soggy one Reilly kept licking all the decorations off of to Nandi for a snack - we have almost 2 dozen over overdecorated, frosting heavy cookies for consumption. There are about 5 that I would not really eat b/c the frosting is much thicker than the cookie and it has blurred decorations from Reilly licking his fingers in between sticking stuff on each one.

All in all the project was fun. Nicole is dealing with the sugar high. I am upstairs looking out at all the snow wondering if it really will stop today.

Oh no, my nose

The last few mornings that Kate has gotten up, I have picked her up and she has very gently just started sucking on the tip of my nose. It's the cutest thing. Then, she just leans her head back, looks at me, and smiles. She is so cool!

(S)He knows our number...

So... mysteriously Santa called Reilly from the closet in the master bedroom. (S)he told Reilly in her deepest disguised voice that he needed to listen, share and be a good boy. Reilly responded with an "okay" and a "yes" and an "okay" in a soft submissive voice. Santa replied that he really wanted Reilly to be good b/c he wanted to see him on Christmas Day and ended with a HO HO HO!

On the way downstairs I asked Shad who had called - he turned to Reilly who replied "oh it was Santa". When asked what they discussed he said "oh, it was nothing". Then he followed with a "But... Santa is a girl".

Anyone have a number for Santa?

I swore I would never do it, I never wanted to participate in the commercialization of Christmas or manipulate our children with old Saint Nick. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. Today it was about pants.

It was a busy weekend, holiday parties, purchasing a small tree and wreath, a U2 concert, etc etc. Needless to say, laundry wasn't on my list hence the lack of clean "jeans" in Reilly's draw. He prides himself in choosing his outfit each day. And today, he asked me to get out of bed at 6:50am and wash him some jeans. (he had asked Meredith to wash them in the dryer the night before) I told him it takes time and he would have to wear something else for the day. He's got about 4 other pairs of pants - but they are not denim so they don't fit the bill.

I began with the less fortunate approach. I am my mother and I tried to guilt him into wearing what he had in his draw. Only, for me, it was the starving people in "Beafra". To no avail. And then... it happened, with Kate in my arms, I looked down at her and said "hang on Kate, I have to call Santa because Reilly isn't cooperating" and I proceeded to begin dialing the phone (really my voicemail). Reilly jumped off the bed and yelled "NO NO NO NO, I'll wear them, I'll wear these ones, see? Don't call, don't call" and within seconds he was wearing a cute pair of khaki cords. Phew.

I must admit, since the effect was so prompt and got me my desired outcome, I'm sure it will be in my bag of tricks moving forward. I really am doing all those things I thought I would never do prior to being a parent. Oh well.

Nice and Tight

Reilly has come to appreciate the art of sneezing and the responses from those around him following a sneeze. Today, as he quasi-sneezed for Nicole he repeatedly said "nice and tight". When queried, he said "Nice and Tight", Nicole asked do you mean "gesundheit"? He said "yah, that's what I mean."