Turkey Day 09

Last week we hit the road for Rochester to spend Thanksgiving with Grandma & Grandpa Martin. The ride there and back was, to quote a friend of mine, a hell that Dante couldn't imagine. Genevieve has never been the kind of kid for whom a car ride is an instant sleep agent, and on top of that she is going through a serious "sleep is for the weak" phase. In anticipation of the inevitable freak-fest we broke down and bought a portable DVD player. This is not something that I'm proud of. And frankly I thought it would be a waste since she doesn't watch tv or videos much at home. But after letting it work its magic, I feel like a better mom by plugging my kid in and keeping her happy for 30 minutes (or more, if you choose the "repeat play" button on the Baby Einstein DVDs. Genius.) than by having her scream for literally hours on end. Because when the video was off, this is what the conversation was like:
G: Up peese
Me: Here, how about some milk?
G: Up peese
Me: Goldfish crackers, yummy!
G: UP PEESE
Me: Baby Stella? Books? A Ball?
G: (cue giant tears) WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
Ralphie: Too bad this trunk doesn't have a privacy screen
Matt: Too bad this front seat doesn't have a privacy screen
Me: (after round after round of Itsy Bitsy Spider/Patty Cake/ABC/Old Mac Donald) Ok, let's watch a video!
G: happy

So she watched "Baby Beethoven" a few times and all was right with the world. The Baby Einstein videos are very simple images (sock puppets, basic shapes and colors) and she would announce when things like the "puppy" or a "baby" were on the screen. Lovely. In the middle of the Beethoven video there is a giraffe sock puppet who plays the saxophone for a few seconds. Every single time that saxophone would appear, she would scream in horror. The giraffe would come in and out of other 'scenes' but when that sax came around she would just freak out. So, no Charlie Parker, got it.

Anyway outside of getting there and back, we had a great time in Roch. On Thursday we stuffed ourselves silly with the mandatory feast.

Stuffed


On the 293rd take, we all looked at the camera

We also kept busy opening and closing doors, a favorite new activity. No door or drawer is safe, and I love to hear the evil little giggle when she locks herself in the bathroom. It's like she's saying, "I'm getting into stuff and you can't stop me! Bwahahahaha!"

She's got a great personality

On Friday we did a little shopping (not crazy door buster stuff...I am not interested in standing in line for 45 minutes to save $10 on a pair of pants, hello Kohl's) and on Friday afternoon we headed to Owatonna to meet up with Scott, Anna, Ethan, and Addison. This was our first chance to meet little Addie and it was so fun to finally see this little doll. She was born on 9/26 so she's just about exactly where G was this time last year. It was crazy to think that our little bee was ever that small (or that still) and it was funny to think of Addison being as big and busy as G next year.

I have noticed now that when we take Genevieve out to eat we are usually seated far away from the regular (read: kid-free) customers. At first I was offended by this but then I got over it and realized that it meant I could relax if she was on a rant. Our hostess at the Timber Lodge apparently wasn't aware of this family-seating rule and put all 7 of us smack in the middle of the dining room. Ethan and Genevieve were really good for most of the meal, and totally cute with their little crayons and cups. But as soon as they were done eating we turned into "those people". Mmmhmmm, that's right, we had two hollering kids who were literally running around the restaurant with us chasing after them. They had a grand time and we would sort of hustle them away from other diners with a sheepish "sorry" and try to keep them occupied somewhere else. The night was topped off by Ethan walking by Genevieve and knocking her just a little off balance, and the drama immediately ensued. By this time we were in the empty lobby and practically out the door, but that brat hostess just stood there and gave me the fish eye. I probably would have done the same at 17 but I really wanted to say "just wait!". Ahh, good times. Anyway although dinner out for us now is a little different than it was a few years ago it was still fun to see the Harms' and meet their adorable new addition.

Plotting to take over Timber Lodge


Green bean, my friend?


Pops & tots

We spent Saturday hanging out and taking the dogs to the park for them to romp and burn off some steam. My parents have a new dog - a chocolate standard poodle called Greta - who Ralphie thought was the bee's knees. On Saturday night we stopped by the Kroening's to catch up a bit and let the kids play. G decided to be super shy and was glued to my or Matt's leg for most of the visit. Miles tried to help by offering her "puzzles" to play with and showing off his newest signs. What a clever little man he is! But she was more interested in eating his Chex mix. She did finally let Kyle hold her for about 2 minutes before we were off to meet my parents for dinner. Crazy to think that the next time we see the Kroenings, there will be 4 of them!

We went out to dinner again on Saturday and it was clear that this hostess had been taught the kid rule as we were seated in the 'outer' section of the restaurant with quick access to fun things like escalators, benches, and planters. Plus Grandpa volunteered to chase after Genevieve so Matt and I had a drink and enjoyed the 10 seconds of peace. Ahhhhhhhhhhh, babysitters.

One, two, threeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!


Found you, daddy!

On Sunday we packed back up and hit the road. We finally got home around 5:30 and collapsed as soon as G went to bed. So, things I am thankful for this year: babysitters (live and electronic), working part time (guess who hasn't showered today?), and knowing that one day we will look back on this and laugh at our crazy family memories.

Welcome to the Family!

Matt and I were thrilled to death to hear the big news the other week, that his little bro Steve popped the question to his girlfriend, Erin. So we had to go out to celebrate and finally were able to schedule a date last Friday night. We went to Maxie's Southern Comfort, home of the Maxirita (which incidentally I highly recommend), as well as their famous sweet potato fries. Matt & Genevieve had been looking forward to dinner all day.

Thinking of sweet potato fries makes them both drool a little

The happy couple!

The wedding is planned for next October - exact date TBD - and all three of us have been asked to stand up. Matt as best man, me as brides' maid, and Genevieve as likely the cutest flower girl in the history of weddings. Cannot wait to see her in that poufy little dress!! Oh yeah, and see Steve & Erin get married too. We are so happy to add Erin to the family - congrats you crazy kids!!

Meanwhile it's been life as usual here in Tosa. The warm front that graced us for a few days has definitely moved on and on Monday in came the typical November weather: gray, cloudy, and windy with a bite in the air. Since I try to take Ralphie for a walk at least 5 days a week that meant we were getting bundled up on Monday. I realize a snowsuit seems excessive without any actual snow, but it was really cold! It must have done the job...after our walk we went to go swing at the park and when I went to take her out of the swing (because I was starting to get chilled) she threw a fit.

Who has to pee?

Ha ha! Not even the constricting nature of this get up can stop me from playing with electronics!


Wearing mama's hat


Dahhhhhhhling, don't I look mahhhhhhhhhvelous?

Which brings me to the topic of temper. As in, Genevieve has found hers. On the one hand her second molar is breaking through which looks incredibly painful and must drive her absolutely insane. On the other hand she is clearly a drama queen and the big crocodile tears are flowing about every 10 minutes here at casa del Maio (yeah yeah, can't imagine where she gets it, ha ha very funny). If you take away something she wants, she rolls out the crocs and combines them with jelly legs and arches herself backwards. Completely typical but a little wearing. On the up-side her vocabulary is growing every day: when she's in the mood her lexicon includes dada, ball, hi, bye, hat, cup (bop), baby, mommy (joy!), up, puppy, and best of all, please. When she sees something she wants she points and says "peese" but the other day she saw that I was getting her some goldfish crackers to snack on and pointed at them screaming, "PEESE! PEESE! PEESE!". Yeah, message received. She can also identify her foot, her belly button, her nose, ears, and eyes. Will the genius ever end??

This weekend we're going to hang out with the Bansemar family and get some snuggle time with baby Alana, then it's off to Rochester for Thanksgiving. Turkey, gravy, potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce and pie? Might be even better than sweet potato fries...

Double Double Toil & Trouble

Well, there was no eye of newt or toe of frog this Halloween but there was a darn cute giraffe. Grandma Heidi was in town to help G officially celebrate Halloween, and we decided to go out right after G woke up from her nap. Although she is definitely a walker now, it's still slow going so we decided to hit the neighbors who we knew and call it a night. However one of our neighbors told us about a huge trick or treat just a few blocks up in our neighborhood that would start at 6:30. She said it was as much fun for the parents as for the kids, so we went to dinner (once again to La Reve which was, indeed, a dream) and headed back out afterwards.

All we could say was, wow! We've lived here for five years and I have never known that this huge event was going on just a few blocks from our house. Essentially the 2400 and 2500 blocks of our neighborhood (we're on the 2300 block which is my excuse for never having known about this giant party) all agree to go nuts each Halloween. People must have spent hours putting up the lights and decorations in their yards. Homeowners weren't just handing out candy, but they were out in their yards with their fire pits and their grills, and the sidewalks were packed with kids and families. It was awesome! There were even crossing guards at the busier intersections to make sure the little ghosts and goblins were safe. So we toddled our way up and down a few blocks before our little critter got cranky and told us it was time to head home. All in all she did great, looked adorable, and brought home some delicious treats for mom & dad.

Suiting up


Um, I am not amused by this thing on my head


Trick or treat (notice the little giraffe tail, adorable)


She caught on pretty quick that when you hold out the bucket, good stuff goes in.


Mama's little creature


Later that night - nose to nose with daddy


Snoozy time


Love that little giraffe head popping over daddy's shoulder