The Small Family   

Well, I feel like a bum mom! On the fifth of every month, I wish Theo a happy birthday…however many months he is. Last night, Chris and I were out at his company’s holiday party, and Chris remarked to someone that Theo was “20 months old today!” And I had totally forgotten, and my boy would be asleep by the time we got home, so I couldn’t wish him a happy 20-month birthday. And thus I’m doing it here, on a public forum, to make up for my memory lapse. (Yes, I know this is trivial, but still…I hadn’t forgotten a month-birthday before now, so I feel like a turd!)

Perhaps we should chalk this up to the fact that the three of us have spent the past week trying to get over that lousy cold we got on Thanksgiving. That stuff just hangs on. I think Chris is better now. I was better, but now I’m all congested again. And poor Theo is still hacking a bit and has a rash. (The eczema breakout I mentioned in last week’s blog actually turned out to be a viral rash related to his cold…and he still has it. You’ll see a bright-red patch on his cheek in a few of this week’s pictures…that’s part of the rash.) Ugh, the winter cold season is NOT fun. But at least it wasn’t the stomach flu, which hit our friends Jason, Janeane, and Emma badly while they were at Disneyland--what a drag! I shan’t complain anymore about our piddly little colds….

 Anyway, because this week was mostly spent recovering from colds and working (and getting a filling replaced--FUN!), I didn’t take many pictures. Sorry about that! I promise there will be more next week, especially if we get the forecasted SNOW tomorrow! It has snowed once in the 10 years I’ve lived in the Sacramento area--and it was just flurries that melted when they hit the ground. But tomorrow, we are forecast to possibly get 1 to 3 inches of snow on the valley floor. WHOA! This is gonna be fun!! :-) Brrrr...

We actually had an eventful weekend, though not a picture-worthy one until Sunday, really. Thursday afternoon we trekked to the mall to get Chris’s new iPhone, so he can now play online Scrabble with me! (That’s not why we got it, but it’s an added bonus. I’m a Scrabble fanatic.) Theo was a patient boy while waiting through the process at Apple, so he was rewarded with a trip to the play area, which he much enjoyed.

Friday night is usually “Date Night” (though whether we do anything other than hang out at home is questionable!), but this past Friday was a “date” for Theo and Chris and a photography class for me. I think Chris had grand ambitions of taking Theo over to Burger Hut for dinner, but then he decided to stay home and eat leftover enchiladas, since putting Theo in the car seat is often no fun lately. (He’s in that “I’m going to be ornery and thrash and fight this” stage, so sometimes we get lazy and decide it’s really much easier to just stay home!) But they had a good time anyway…Theo enjoyed a bit of Baby Einstein viewing while Chris whipped up a batch of his grandmother’s pasta sauce recipe. I will vouch for the fact that it turned out excellent! (I’m sure Theo’s supervision was key in the process, of course…he likes to “help” in the kitchen, so I’m sure he wandered out a few times in between exciting parts of his Baby Einstein video.)

My photography class was just the post-shooting workshop for the Sikh Festival, which we photographed in early November. We all had to show our images, and we had a potluck while we critiqued each other’s pictures. I was really pleased with the critiques of my images…I think the class I took last spring really has helped me improve my work. I got a lot of positive feedback, which was a great way to kick off the weekend. Can’t wait for my Photojournalism class to start in January!

I had an appointment on Saturday afternoon, so that didn’t leave us time for any real outings during the day, but Theo and I did venture to a small nearby playground. I nearly froze my tail off, but Theo seemed quite happy to toddle around in the freezing afternoon! And he was even happier to get home and realize that Grandma Diane was coming to play with him for the evening! Chris’s company held their aforementioned holiday party on Saturday night, so Chris and I got dressed up (well, sort of…I wore a dress and Chris wore slacks and a button-up shirt) and headed downtown while Grandma Diane and Theo played and read books. The party was held in a Masonic Hall downtown, and it was a nice event…good food, open bar, good DJ, nice people... We did have some amusing moments with an inebriated party-goer, so that was good for a laugh…and a night out for grown-ups is always a fun treat.

Sunday morning Chris made his excellent French toast--yum! And then we awaited the arrival of Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Tom--Theo got to see all three living grandparents in a 12-hour time period, which was quite a treat! Grandma and Grandpa hung out with us all day, chatting and eating prosciutto (mmmm!) and cheese. It was a nice, relaxing visit, and Theo thoroughly enjoyed himself. They brought ravioli from La Villa (an Italian deli in San Jose that Kathy’s family has been going to for generations) for dinner, and Grandpa Tom made some delicious Brussels sprouts, while Grandma Kathy made the ravioli, which we served with Chris’s sauce from Friday night. Mmmm! I must report that Theo seems as devoted to Brussels sprouts as he does to his beloved broccoli. Go figure…a kid that nags for green vegetables. Hey, we’re not complaining!

Speaking of amusing Theo things, he had a few funny antics this week. (Apologies if the bathroom stories are a bit too much information for anyone, but I did think they were rather amusing.) First is his great desire to “help” with everything…including bathroom duties. He’s always in the bathroom with me while I get ready in the morning. At some point this will get a little odd and I’ll want my privacy, but for the time being, Theo’s still pretty oblivious to the fact that Mama has some different parts than he does, so I don’t mind the company. (Besides, I’ve heard potty training is easier if you let your kiddo see what you do in the bathroom, since little tykes like to imitate their parents.) Anyway, he’s obsessed with toilet paper, and usually while I go to the bathroom, he tears little pieces of TP off the roll and throws them in the garbage one by one. Harmless enough pastime… That is, until this week, when he decided that what he ought to do with the TP is help Mama wipe herself when she finishes her business! I learned very quickly the art of distracting him with something else while I unclench my knees to quickly clean myself up…without help!

The second amusing bit was when I was showering one day this week. I stepped out of the shower, and I heard Theo open the dresser drawer. He rummaged around for a moment, then came toddling around the corner happily holding a pair of Chris’s boxer shorts, which he very helpfully gave to me to put on! Thanks Theo, but that’s the wrong underwear for Mama…

Last but not least, a quick story that just cracked Chris and me up. Theo was a bit of an ornery tyrant several days this week. We think he’s just not feeling quite up to par, and rather than slowing down at all, he just gets ornery. So one morning, he smacked Chris, which earned him a timeout. So Chris carried him upstairs, put him in the timeout playpen, and said, “NO hit, Theo. Timeout!” He started to walk away, and Theo proclaimed in his very sweetest, happiest voice: “All done!” Ha ha, nice try buddy…not even close! The timeout had only just begun…

Anyway, I hope you all have a good week, and I promise more pictures on next week’s blog. I was a slacker this week!