Travels and the Potty

The month has flown by! The holidays certainly have a way of speeding up the clock. Mid month, Marshall and I made a trip down south to visit with my grandparents since we wouldn't be seeing them for the holiday. We had a very nice visit. We spent one morning at the beach in Cayucos. Marshall did not pay attention when I told him he was not appropriately attired for going in the water. Go figure.

The weekend before Christmas, Chris and I went to Las Vegas with my dad, Steph and Wynn to celebrate my dad's b-day. We stayed for three nights and had a great time. We saw two shows, Love and Jersey Boys, which were both super. The window shopping and people watching were very entertaining. We took a tour of Hoover dam one day, which was very interesting. Not quite enough sleep, definitely too much wine, and Chris came down with a sinus infection, but a fun trip overall.

While we were away, my mom came to stay with Marshall and the pets. Despite terrible stormy weather, they had an enjoyable weekend. They baked cookies, went out to eat, and played indoors a lot. Apparently Marshall was a gem and did not whine, throw tantrums, or try to injure his grandma. Such a relief, since I get hit, kicked and pinched daily! Unbeknownst to me in advance, my mom came prepared to tackle potty training. She brought up a sticker chart, potty prizes, Cheerios to aim for, etc. Marshall thought it was all great fun and did a wonderful job using the potty. Unfortunately, due to our naturally contentious relationship, I have not enjoyed the same success as grandma. Using the potty and changing soiled clothes has since been a kicking/screaming ordeal. Not once since my mom left has Marshall used the potty for #2. That has been less than fun to attend to, especially when it happens out and about, like in Target! On the plus side, we have had some shining moments when he tells me has to pee and then uses the potty like a champ. It has been a real treat when he has used the potty while out and about or on play dates. Hopefully it won't take too much longer for both us of us to adjust.

Marshall dug the hole and buried his legs.

Wet up to his booty!

Wynn, Steph, Chris, me, and my dad in Las Vegas

'Tis the Season

Week before last, we finally got our Christmas tree. It is a great size/shape but it is pretty dried out already and has hardly any scent. Hopefully it lasts through the holiday! Marshall also helped his Grammy Mary Ann and Poppy John pick out their tree. Lucky Marshall has gotten to make two gingerbread houses this season. Very messy, very cute!

Conversing

For some reason, Marshall has taken to saying, "What'd you say?" in response to EVERYTHING. I am repeating myself all day long. I'm not sure if he is no longer paying attention or has actually lost his ability to hear!

We had a rather comical, albeit frustrating, conversation this morning. An excerpt:

Him: What do I want for a snack?
Me: I don't know. What do you want for a snack?
Him: Ask me.
Me: Um, I just did.
Him (screaming): Ask me what I want!!!!
Me: I'll ask if you stop yelling at me.
Him (politely): Ask me what I want for a snack.
Me: What would you like for a snack today?
Him: What'd you say?

Marshall has taken to talking like he is reading out of a book. He loves to read, so I guess this shouldn't be surprising. Yesterday, as he was playing with his trains he said, "I am a really useful engine, puffed Thomas." This morning, as Chris was getting some blueberries out of the freezer, Marshall yelled, "No, those are my berries, I shouted loudly to daddy."

Silly Boy

I recently tried to take some photos of Marshall to give to the family and to use for our Christmas cards. These days it is impossible to get him to look at the camera AND smile, as evidenced below.

Excessive Cheese

I love cheese. I eat it every day, incorporated into just about every meal. With the upcoming holiday meals, I seem to have amassed an abnormal amount of cheese, even for my standards. My current inventory:

• block of white cheddar
• package of grated Parmesan
• package of shredded mozzarella
• 2 packages of shredded jack/cheddar
• package of cream cheese
• package of sliced provolone
• package of sliced muenster
• container of feta
• 4 packages of Laughing Cow light (love that Costco carries this!)

Big Boy Room

Weekend before last we re-did Marshall's room. He requested blue walls so Chris repainted. We moved the dresser and desk from the guest room to Marshall's room and bought Marshall a twin bed. The transition has gone mostly well. Now that he has the freedom to roam, Marshall has been getting a little less sleep but thankfully he still naps every afternoon. This week he has been waking up exceptionally early (5:30 today), which I'm hoping we can curb before the time change this weekend. YAWN!

Out with the old

In with the new

The guest room during the transition...YIKES

Halloween

As to be expected, October was filled with Halloween related activities. We spent an afternoon at the pumpkin patch during a heat wave (90+ degrees), which felt a little incongruous for autumn. Marshall picked out some decorative little pumpkins and gourds, played in a huge lima bean pit, and ran through the hay bale mazes with his friends. We also went on a train ride and the kids got to milk pretend cows. Marshall's exuberant reaction to that activity was, "mama, that cow is PEEING!" An entertaining outing for us all.

The week before Halloween we went to the city to trick-or-treat at Grammy Mary Ann's office. She and her co-workers all had candy and cars for Marshall at their desks. We didn't carve pumpkins until Halloween day but had a fun time deciding on silly faces with my mom, who came to town for a nice long visit. On Halloween evening, my friend Aundria hosted a chili dinner and then we took the kids trick-or-treating around the block. Marshall fit into his dinosaur costume from last year and had a blast collecting candy. I am now having a guilt-ridden blast eating it all!

At the pumpkin patch with Donovan

Out to lunch with Grammy Mary Ann

Carving pumpkins with Grandma

The dinosaur

Blurry shot of our jack-o-lanterns

Spring Chickens

My friend Anne had a beautiful baby girl, Claire, at the end of July and I passed along some of Marshall's gender neutral clothes. Anne and Claire came to visit last month and Claire was wearing one of Marshall's onsies. Check out these eerily similar photos!

Marshall - June 2007

Claire - September 2010

October

After vowing to blog more regularly, I've slacked off (again). Our October has been fairly eventful. Marshall and I started the month by spending almost a week down south at my dad's and attending his annual Oktoberfest party. Despite the rain, it was a good party. I also got to see my grandparents and Darcy while I was down south. My college roommate, Chris, came down one weekend from Portland for a visit. Nice to see her, as always. We spent another weekend in Tahoe with friends. A relaxing, fun trip. Here are some recent pics:

Ainsley, Sean, Holden and Marshall in Tahoe
Marshall and Donovan

Marshall and his Papa

Alan, Nita, Marshall, Stan, Doreen, Tom and my dad

Evening Out!

We ended up having to leave Tahoe a day earlier than planned to attend a work function for Chris in San Francisco. Mary Ann and John kindly offered to keep Marshall with them in Tahoe so we didn't have to worry about a babysitter.

Chris' boss hosted dinner at The Westerfeld House, a privately owned Victorian mansion (check out the info on Wikipedia...it's a neat/colorful place). There was a cocktail hour with passed hors d'oeuvres, a 6 course meal, and a tour of the house. A very unique evening.

Chris and I really enjoyed our weekend together. The drive home from Tahoe, lunch out at our favorite restaurant in Walnut Creek, a fun evening with his co-workers, an overnight stay in SF, brunch Sunday morning. All without Marshall! We missed him but the parenting break was welcome.

Tahoe

We recently returned from a vacation at Lake Tahoe. We stayed on the south shore with our friends, Mary Ann and John, and had a wonderful, relaxing trip. We hiked, took a steam train ride to Virginia City, did a lake cruise, and drank wine every night. Chris got in lots of mountain bike rides. I don't think we've taken that much time away since our honeymoon! A very nice treat.

Spooner Lake

Grammy Mary Ann and Marshall enjoying s'mores and wine

Marshall and his Mickey Mouse whipped cream pancake

Marshall and Poppy John on the lake

Our fun dinner out

August Adventures

A month without posting and now two posts in as many days! I am so inconsistent. Anyway, yet another month has flown by. August was fairly eventful. My dad came to visit for a weekend. Marshall got the flu and then I caught it. I don't think moms should be allowed to get sick. I really needed to call in sick to work!

We spent a weekend babysitting our friends' 11 month old twins. They are super sweet little boys but we were definitely EXHAUSTED. They crawled everywhere (in different directions, of course), were pulling up/falling, putting things in their mouths. Three naps to contend with, three bums needing diapers. A unique experience for us! In return for watching the boys, our friends took Marshall overnight so we could have a date night to celebrate Chris' b-day. Sadly, we could not remember our last date but we really enjoyed the relaxing night to ourselves.

Last weekend we went camping with some book club families. We went to Memorial Park outside of Pescadero and had a great time. It was chilly and we enjoyed the campfires and s'mores. My friend Julie is the hostess with the mostess and planned/oversaw a really fun trip. The only bummer was that Marshall got sick. The hacking cough and diarrhea (not fun while camping, let me tell you) were rather frightful but he was cheery and energetic the whole trip and never had a fever. I took him to the doctor when we got home to rule out whopping cough and ear infections and it was thankfully just a run of the mill cold.

Potty training has become even more of a problem. Marshall isn't being allowed to start his pre-school program b/c he's still in a diaper. I talked with the preschool director and they are completely inflexible. As irritated as I am with his continued reluctance, I am very mad at myself for not forcing the issue sooner. Very frustrating.

We had an interesting conversation yesterday. Marshall pooped, came to tell me and said, "mom, I telling you the truth." I thought it an odd statement, as I can't remember discussing "truth" with him. As if reading my mind he then asked, "mom, what is truth?" I fumbled through an explanation and then he said, "mom, God's word is true and the Bible is true." That had me speechless and he concluded with, "mom, I liked bible camp with Ainsley and learning songs." OBVIOUSLY.

S'mores...YUM!

Stream gazing
Marshall , Sean & Holden

New Toys

After pining for years (literally), Chris finally got a new TV. We have finally entered the age of the flat screen, HD television. I wasn't exactly in favor of the purchase but have to admit, it is very nice. Mary Ann and John kindly passed along some media furniture which works perfectly. Our living room looks entirely different!

I also got something fun. I am huge fan of the slow cooker and mine died in dramatic fashion last week (sparking, smoking, scorching the counter). I ordered a new one and love it. It has three inserts (2, 4 & 6 quart) that all fit in one base and nest to store. Three cheers for the lazy cook!

The Terrible Threes

Swimming at Grammy Mary Ann and Poppy John's

Cayucos beach
Playing cars with Gram Gram

Carolyn, Marshall and Haley in Tahoe

Marshall and Ainsley at VBS

I'm pretty sure I do not have convenient amnesia when I recall that Marshall at age 2 was nowhere near as rotten as he is now. His tantrums are more frequent, more physical, and his size makes him harder to handle. He is much more likely to try and hurt people when he is mad these days. He hits and kicks me and has taken to throwing items at people. He threw his milk cup at his grandma and a water bottle at a friend.

Since Marshall is still reluctant to potty train and I am reluctant to move him from his crib, I feel like we are making very little progress in the growing up department. I suppose this could be some sort of mental road block on my part (i.e. since he is likely going to be my one and only, I am having a hard time letting go of some baby stuff). The crib thing is easy enough to resolve but I don't know yet how to proceed with the potty training. I have gotten a ton of advice and have tried multiple strategies but have yet to find Marshall's motivator.

On the plus side of things, Marshall continues to be healthy and happy (more often than not). He eats well (for a toddler) and surprises everyone around him with his effective communication skills. He is attending vacation bible school this week with his friend Ainsley, which is a lot of fun for us both. Marshall seems to like the singing, crafts, and time with Ains and I sure appreciate the time apart!

Marshall occasionally has some word confusion, which has been so funny! He calls his park ranger car "hydrangea car," he calls oleander bushes "ravioli bushes," and he referred to a scenic drive as a "citrus drive."

July has zoomed by but it still doesn't seem like summer around here. We're having one of the colder seasons on record. Aside from a few super hot days scattered over the last couple months, it is has been unseasonably cool (in the 70's) and we've been getting the marine layer and sea breeze all the way inland most days. I'm sure hotter days will come in August and September and then we'll wish for July's chill.

Last weekend Marshall and I went down to Cayucos to see my mom and Bob while they were home briefly from Idaho. We didn't do much other than sit around and chat. A very nice visit. Chris stayed home to study for a work test and re-stain our deck. I don't think his weekend was as relaxing as ours! Weekend before last, we went to Tahoe with a couple other families. Three days in a row at the beach. Great weather. A fun and exhausting trip.

4th of July

We had a super trip down south for the 4th of July! My aunt, uncle, cousin, cousin's husband, and their 3 boys (ages 7, 5 and 18 mos) all were out from Tennessee and Steph and Wynn came too. It was so great to catch up and hang out together. We spent a lot of time with our grandparents and celebrated my grandma's b-day with a big dinner out. We spent a lot of time at the beach, did some wine tasting, watched the parade, enjoyed the fireworks, and ate way too much food.

Tyson and Marshall "oooh-ing and ahhh-ing" over the fireworks

Watching the parade
Chris, Uncle Mike, Aunt Nathy, Steph & Wynn wine tasting

The grandparents with their great-grand-boys