The boys

Well, I received a bonus child at my doorstep this morning! Actually, Dan and Mary needed someone to watch Tristan today so we happily accepted and Christopher has had so much fun with the "big boy." (Frankly, I think he needed a break from all his little girl friends that he plays with!). Tristan is almost three years old and it reminds me of when I used to teach preschool because he can talk to me and he plays in a completely different way than CJ does. In the picture above, he is sitting at a Playskool desk that was mine when I was little. He is drawing letters with chalk and telling me each one he draws. So cool! We had a fun morning and I even got Chris to take a morning nap, although I'm sure he would have preferred to play more with his friend. Tristan and I played downstairs until Chris got up. After snack, we all went over the the cul-de-sac behind our house and ran around like crazy while Miss Kay and I looked on. Then it was back home for lunch and a little bit of "Cars" (the movie). As I write this, I have two peacefully sleeping boys in their respective rooms and all is well. Here are more pictures of Tristan...

Rock Chalk and Christmas Trees

I had to double check the calendar today because I could have sworn it was April 28th, not November 28th. The Wogloms (Kansas and New York) ventured west to Lawrence to walk around a wonderful little town that also happens to be home to the University of Kansas. The weather was so nice, I broke out my sandals one more time. We strolled around town and window shopped a bit before going to the Free State Brewery for lunch. Christopher had so much to look at the whole time and he was very well-behaved. He enjoyed some chicken fingers and a wide variety of fresh fruit. On the way back to the car, we walked past numerous stores carrying Kansas Jayhawk merchandise, none of which we purchased. No Rock Chalk Jayhawk stuff for us. (Oh, for those of you not from Kansas, i.e. everyone reading this, "Rock chalk Jayhawk" is the cheer for the Kansas sports teams. After asking multiple alum here what it means, I still can't get a straight answer. You'll have to google it.). On our way back home, we stopped at a playground in Lawrence where Chris played on the swings and repeatedly went down his first enclosed slide. It was very cool!

While our little man was taking his afternoon nap, it was time to bust out the Christmas decorations. For the third year in a row, we set up our pre-lit tree in the living room. Let me just say how much I love the pre-lit three. It is in three sections and takes all of 5 minutes to put together. Then I hung the ornaments which took another ten minutes. All totaled I think my holiday decorating took me a half an hour. Brian contributed by bringing the tree up from the basement. He was very proud of his manly muscles.
The best, though, was when Chris got up from his nap and got a good look at the Christmas tree.

He inspected the tree very seriously to make sure I put everything in the correct place. And believe it or not, the tree is still standing and all the ornaments are accounted for. We'll see what tomorrow brings! Christopher also played with a fabulous toy we received several years ago that sings and dances (Grammy, you will know which toy I'm talking about).
Kasey was excited (as usual) about the holiday decorating rituals of her owners.
All in all, we had a wonderful day and a wonderful weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Woglom! But fear not, east coasters. The Kansas Wogloms will be home in three weeks! Until then, here is a picture to remind you of how cute we all are.

Tofuky and other yummy things

Yes, this is how exciting Christopher's Thanksgiving was this year. He just couldn't believe how much food he was going to get to eat this year, unlike last year when solids were not in the picture yet. First, Chris is super excited that Grandma and Grandpa Woglom are out here to visit him and he has had a ton of fun playing with them both. Yesterday, he spent much of the day on the couch but, as mentioned in an earlier post, such couch potato-ness wears him out. The boy gets more exercise on the couch than most people get doing an Ironman! Here is is with Daddy and Grandma.
Christopher is not the only one getting exercise these days. Grandpa Woglom has done his share of weightlifting this trip as CJ enjoys being held by someone taller than Mommy and Daddy. But more than that, he loves that Grandpa will stand with him in front of the microwave and press the buttons for hours on end! In fact, Grandpa has moved up in the ranks of "who Chris wants to hold him" as he repeatedly fussed to be picked up last night as we awaited dinner. It was refreshing for me to get a break from being whined to for once!
We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with the Wogloms and our friends, Dan and Mary, came over too with Tristan and the two doggies. It was a wonderful time for everyone and we are just amazed at how much Tristan is growing up every day! Here are the boys playing with Tristan's cars:

We had lots of good food (thanks in much part to Grandma's cooking), and Mommy spent this first Thanksgiving as a vegetarian chowing down on a scrumptious Tofurky roast. (Mmmmm, just like the real thing). And after a good night's sleep, Christopher woke in the morning and realized he had to check his messages on his Blackberry. The boy is totally connected.

A Masterpiece

What you are looking at in the picture above is Christopher's first official work of art. He told me he calls it "Blustery Day." It was, in fact, a blustery, rainy day out this morning so we didn't get to play outside like we usually do. Mommy had to get creative in order to entertain our little growing boy. Yesterday, we picked up these funky toddler crayons at Target...
... and Christopher got to work first thing after breakfast. I know you're probably thinking that these are some crazy looking crayons. Apparently they are supposed to be easier for little hands to grip but if I had to do it all over again, I would just get regular crayons. Well, they are cute anyway. I initially had to show Chris what to do with them but once he saw the squiggly lines, he went to town on the piece of paper! After five minutes, though, he decided it would be much more fun to put in and take out the little crayons from they're plastic holder. He did that about 15 times in a row and then was done. That must just be his "process." Anyway, here is a close up of the artiste's creation.

The CD player

Dear CD player,

Why did you choose to stop working right before Christopher's morning nap? Don't you know that we've been playing music on you before every single morning and afternoon nap for the past 13 months? You couldn't wait until some random other time to break, like when we just play Tom Chapin CDs in the middle of the day so I can run out and get a new one of you? Why? Oh why?

Sincerely,

Mommy



Dear Mommy,

You bought me at Wal-Mart for $19.99. What did you expect?

Sincerely,

The CD player

Hail to the... Victors?

As I mentioned yesterday, we watched the Ohio State-Michigan game from the comfort for our own living room, which was probably good considering the poor showing of our favorite college football team. I have to admit that we weren't surprised by the outcome, but we are forever hopeful. Christopher got to sit on the couch, one of his new favorite places to be, to watch the game. But fear not! This little boy will not be a couch potato in the traditional sense. No, when Chris is on the couch, it is like an all out workout... for everyone involved. First, we move the coffee table so as to avoid head injuries. Then we warn Kasey about what is coming and she usually relocates to another part of the house, far far away. Finally, I position myself on one end and Brian sits on the other end of the couch in order to catch our little man wherever he decides to land. And then little buds goes to work, jumping, bouncing, rolling and crawling all over the place. It's a good thing we got a sectional. Yesterday, he insisted on slowly diving (I emphasize slowly) headfirst over the edge of the couch. Mind you, this is all done with us holding onto him but he was still enjoying it thoroughly. Here are some more pics of Chris watching the game. The first one happened when Michigan fumbled, resulting in an Ohio State touchdown. Notice the look on his face.
Next, we have Christopher in mid-roll... trust me, he loves this.
Michigan must have done something good here to make Chris smile.
And finally, here we are trying to take a picture of ourselves while I am holding a very heavy camera with one hand.

Boy vs. Food

Christopher is gearing up to be the next host of "Man vs. Food" on the Travel Channel. Until then, we'll need to work on him getting the food in his mouth.

Stay tuned

Okay, for anyone up bright and early this morning to check the blog (because I know that's why you get up bright and early on a Saturday) you need to check back later in the day for some video footage of Christopher taking on a big bowl of spaghetti from dinner last night. Wait and see who wins...

In other news, we were supposed to go to Matt and Jaime's today for the annual Michigan-Ohio State game today but Christopher's parents are feeling a bit under the weather. My immune system held out only so long and I am in the initial stages of a cold. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal but Olivia and her family are driving to Chicago for Thanksgiving where they have a cousin who has cystic fibrosis; therefore, if Olivia or her parents get a cold, they can't go so we don't want to expose them to our germs. Oh well. Matt and Brian will have to harass each other over the phone during the game. I, on the other hand, have busted out my usual cold remedies: colloidal silver, an entire grapefruit, OJ, and a 3 mile run. I feel better already!

A touch of snow

Well, winter is finally here in Kansas as we received a very small dusting of snow overnight and awoke to the white stuff this morning. It was slightly shocking as we were all wearing sandals and tee-shirts last week, but I suppose this is what November is really supposed to look like. Christopher wore his winter garb for the first time today and I apologize for this picture above being the only one in his coat and snow pants. As I was trying to take pictures, Kasey was going insane and running around so of course CJ was laughing his mittens off! We went for a walk around the block, but returned quickly before any of us turned to icicles... It has been raining for the past four days straight so on Sunday, we took a family trip to the (yes, you guessed it) mall! Daddy took some pictures of Chris and I on the carousel.

Our little man seems to enjoy the carousel but occasionally forgets to hold on with both hands. Good thing I am also holding onto him for the duration of the ride... And one other quick story. Christopher loves this book called "Baby 1, 2, 3" (yes, there was a three there; Kasey also finds this book delectable).
On each page, there is a baby or babies doing something. For example, the first page reads "One baby clapping" and shows a picture of, well, one baby clapping. Christopher has perfected nearly all of the actions in the book but his new favorite comes at number 8. That page reads "Eight babies munching snacks." This page is especially fun for us because when we get to it, Christopher pretends to feed us snacks; first me, then Daddy, and even Kasey! And he gets the biggest kick out of doing this! It is really a delight to see.

A Little Rhyme

My months will number, soon, sixteen
My plate no longer will I clean.
Mommy makes sure I am fed,
Though lately all I'll eat is bread.
Don't give me spinach, beans, or peas--
All I want is mac and cheese
And pancakes topped with chocolate chips,
I swear it won't go to my hips!
I do still love my Cheeri-O's
And placing hummus on my nose.
My milk looks better on the tray--
I pour it there most every day.
My veggies I won't touch of late,
It makes my mom and dad irate!
They let it slide because I'm cute.
They say, "Alright, just give him fruit."

Pink pom poms and orange hair

No, we didn't suddenly end up with a daughter. I attended a race this morning where I set up a table to talk about GOTRIbal, the women's triathlon group of which I am the Kansas City representative. I did not actually race, although it would have been beneficial since it ended up being freezing and damp. I manned our table with Robyn, another local member of our group and we handed out fliers about the organization. The race itself benefited Girls on the Run, a fantastic group that involves girls ages 8 through 12ish in running and community service. One of GOTR's sponsors is Goodie who makes all kinds of fun hair products so I got to benefit from their sponsorship and ended up with pom poms and multicolored hair. It was a cold but fun morning!

Bonus pics

Here are just a couple of adorable Maddie pictures from when she was playing with CJ's house. She is so stinkin' cute! Chris was a little whiny today when Maddie was over. I tried to tell him that girls don't like it when boys complain, but he didn't get the hint.

Extra! Extra!

Hey guys! Guess what! The Yankees won the World Series! That's right, they are the champs. They defeated the... what? What do you mean that happened last week? What do you mean "it's old news"? Man, I'm tellin' you, things sure do move slow out here in Kansas. I mean we only got electricity a few days ago. How was I supposed to watch the game on a, what do you call it, "television"? Good thing Grammy sent word via that pony express thing. I can't stop reading that special section from the Bergen Record about how my favorite baseball team finally won a World Series title. What took them so long? Don't they know I've been waiting my whole life for this? Fifteen months is a long time to make a little man wait for the highlight of his life. I am decked out today in my team apparel, and I plan to represent out here in the heartland. Maddie's coming over later to play with me; do you think she'll be impressed with my stylin' new sweatshirt?

Hangin' with the big kids

Today Christopher and I spent some time over at Liam and Lahna's house (oh yeah, and Miss Danna's house!) and let me tell you, they have some real trees with some real leaves that create real leaf piles. As you can see, our little man was very serious about his leaf playing! He concentrates very hard when running through a pile of leaves such as the one in our friends' backyard. It is fun to see Chris playing with children who are older than him (Lahna is 5 and Liam is almost 3) because he really watches what they are doing and wants to get involved. They are both so good with him too! He got to play with their musical instruments, art supplies, and walkie talkies and just loved their backyard. There was even a sweet big dog who lives next door that Chris got to say hi to. Here are some more pics of Christopher's afternoon of fun:

Top Ten

Top Ten Things Christopher Finds Funny These Days:

10. Sneezing
9. School buses
8. Spinning in circles
7. Daddy
6. When someone says the phrase "My Stars"
5. Airplanes
4. Milk in his sippy cup
3. Ceiling fans
2. The "Kookaberra" song
1. Crazy Kasey time!

(P.S.- As I was writing this list down, Christopher was finishing his breakfast and as I said each item on the list, he laughed out loud.)

Dancin' Machine(s)

Alright, I'm hijacking the blog for a moment to let you know that Mommy is absolutely crazy! She mentioned in a previous post that the new Kindermusik CD is awesome, and I will definitely admit she is right. Now, I don't know if she added a shot or two of espresso to her coffee this morning but when we returned from our walk with Kasey, I requested one dance... one... to this song called "Maple Leaf Rag." Well, Mommy decided that it was time for her morning workout because we were jumping and bouncing and twirling all over the living room. And it didn't stop with that one dance; we must have been waltzing and jigging for like twenty minutes. Of course, I enjoyed every minute of it and Mommy burned her share of calories so everyone was happy... Later on, my friend Olivia came over for a playdate. Here is a picture of her; she is getting so big!
Olivia is venturing out and taking steps all over the place! Pretty soon we'll be racing each other all over the house. We had a fun time together and of course our mommies just kept yapping away to each other so we had to entertain ourselves. (Our moms sure do talk a lot). Anyway, it was a fun morning and now I have to go take a man-size nap to recover!

High Five!

It seems as though every time we have visitors, Christopher shows us a new skill. When Ally was here over the summer, our little man became a proficient walker as he followed her all over the house. It was also during her visit that he busted out his first dance moves. Then, when Mary Ann came out to pick up Ally, Christopher gave her his first "hello" wave. Well, when Lauren was out with us the past few days, Chris came out with a brand new move: the high five! We've never tried this with him before but the second Lauren got here, she said, "Hey buddy, give me a high five!" and he reached his little hand up to meet hers. He then continued practicing the high five for the next few days and now he will actually do it with us, even though Lauren is no longer here. I wonder what new skill will emerge when Grandma and Grandpa Woglom visit for Thanksgiving... perhaps he will recite some Shakespeare??? We can only hope... Everyone had a great time during Lauren's visit, especially Mommy since I had 3 days in a row with babysitters for CJ. Lauren got to see how cool Kansas really is by visiting the Power and Light District, the Plaza, and of course, the fields of bundled hay. (Curious about that last one? You'll just have to come see it for yourselves before it's too late!). Good times were had by all and Christopher was especially impressed by Lauren's guitar playing and proved it by busting out his best dancing of recent weeks!

Fun with Lauren

My friend Lauren, from high school, arrived last night here in Kansas. Of course, when she told people back in New Jersey that she was going to Kansas for Teacher's Convention weekend, they gave her the standard east coast responses such as, "What's in Kansas?" and "Say hi to Dorothy for me!" and "Are you going to see Auntie Em's house?" However, Lauren will be able to tell them what a fabulous state we have out here, especially because it is the home of Lil' Buds of the Wild Wild West! Christopher was playing it cool last night and being shy when Lauren first got here, but after giving him some snack this morning and playing with him on the playground, she is in like Flynn with him. We tried to go to Deanna Rose (the children's farmstead) this morning, but it is now closed for the season. Fortunately they had a great little playground next to it that was busy with kids so we checked it out. Christopher had a blast playing with Lauren and crunching in the leaves, which of course we tend to lack at home due to our wussy little trees. Anyway, here are some more pictures of our afternoon of fun.