He's Got The Groove

I feel like I need to start this post off by making a very direct statement. I do not and cannot dance. It is just that simple. I am so bad at dancing that the thought of it makes my stomach hurt and therefore, I do not do it. Pretty much ever. When Deaner and I got engaged several years ago, my in-laws gave us ballroom dance lessons to take before our weddings. Oh I cannot even tell y'all how much I dreaded those lessons with Julio each week for three whole weeks. Deaner cannot dance at all either but I don't think he feels as self-conscious about it as I do. Which brings me to Evans. I'm not entirely sure where he came from because that kid can break it down. Every time there is music playing in the car, or on the TV, or even, as you will able to see, when I play a xylophone for him, he has to dance. It all started with a shoulder shimmy that I saw him do one day and it has only grown from there. I've added several videos to prove what I am talking about. This first video was taken on Christmas day this year and the music is coming from his new Cars keyboard/drum set.
Our next dancing display is when I show off my musical talent on the xylophone. Evans might be able to dance but his skillz on the musical instruments are a bit lacking.
This push toy is one of Evans favorites now. He really likes to turn the music on here AND on his Cars keyboard at the same time. It doesn't make me feel like I'm going insane at all.

And last but not least here is a video of him dancing with his Aunt Donna. If you are wondering why there is a blank stare on his face it is because it was probably about 11:00pm when I took this and he was still awake. Who can sleep when there is dancing to be done?Now that he can stand up there is no telling what he will be capable of dancing wise next!

It's Official.....

I truly never thought I would live to see the day. I'm not even really sure how it happened because I was not really expecting it. None of these videos are very good because Evans kept getting distracted by my phone or else my stupid video would not open in time. This is still not his preferred method of getting around but it is a start and we are getting there. Plus, it is too cute to watch. The first time he did it he was so proud that it was great. I didn't want to be rude so I didn't remind him of his age.
I can't believe that it has taken me this long to figure out how to post a video on here. I had to ask my friend Meghan over at I Want The Good Chairs how to do it because she seemed like the professional. I have to admit that when I got her step by step instructions I laughed out loud and thought that I would just have to continue in my ignorance because it was so complicated. I sucked it up tonight and tried to figure it and surprisingly, I think I will be able to do it again. Thanks Meghan!

Got to love how he walks away from me but pivots on one foot like a top to come back. I just wish for the video I could have gotten him to go a little farther away.

Here is how we now eat our dinners now. No fork, no eating. He is very civilized. I noticed that he was eating with his left hand but when my mom gave him a spoon as well he just used them both, one in each hand.
This was probably a boring post to most but I had to brag (try and forget Evans is 16.5 months old). Stayed tuned, tomorrow is a school day and I have a pretty outrageous story to tell. It it even better than the Tiffany necklaces. Thank god tomorrow is Friday.

Just Getting Comfy

I think that Evans has been exhausted lately. Or he might be regressing all the way back to the days when he could not crawl. Yesterday this is how I found him watching TV. Yes, his feet are resting flat on the floor. I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure he exceeds the weight limit of the INFANT bouncy seat where he had made himself right at home. It was practically touching the floor and every ten seconds or so he would sit up a little bit and lie back down to give himself a little bounce. I asked him what he was doing in the bouncy seat and he looked at me like I was crazy, "can't you see lady? Can a man not relax a little in his own house"? I found it pretty funny but I was worried about the seat breaking so I had to ask him to vacate his lounging spot. This did not go over well and pretty much was the slippery slope of what became the rest of the afternoon. Temper tantrums over EVERYthing. Fall down on the floor, face in the ground, kick the feet and wail kind of tantrums. Evans is such a happy and laid back child that I have to admit, it sort of makes me laugh when he has a nervous breakdown. I know that is mean but seeing his temper is pretty comical. Especially when yesterday, in the midst of the bouncy seat fiasco, he knocked into something and looked up at me and said "Uh oh" before returning to this theatrics.It probably doesn't help that every time he gets ticked about something, I pull out my camera to try and capture it but I just can't help it. Look how red his face turns! I have really noticed a lot of changes in Evans these past couple weeks. He just seems more grown up to me and is talking so much more. He tells me to "here, hold this" while handing me a binky (which he ONLY gets at night) or "I want that" while he tries to point to something. This can get rather cumbersome as I don't always guess correctly with the first ten things that I present for his approval. Yesterday is took nearly all of dinner for my mom to realize he was requesting his own fork. Once we figured it out he proceeded to eat his dinner using a fork like he had done it his whole life. My child, who will not walk, ate his whole dinner with a fork. If you ask him what you wash your hair with he will respond with "SHAMpoooo". When gets up from a nap or when we go outside he will point upwards and tell me "sky". I mean, who cares if he thinks the ceiling is actually the sky? Brilliant. :)

Today was a school day so we had to take our routine morning picture to capture how cute Evans' outfit was. I have to say, I did think twice about sending him to school wearing anything white.I took my chances and we came home with a huge brown stain on the front from an applesauce incident? Oh well. I can't believe I actually am posting this picture since despite having just showered it looks like my hair is dirty and I clearly haven't wiped E's mouth yet. It also looks like we live in a forest in Transylvania with that fog outside!I think Evans might be getting sick of posing in school morning pictures with me. What do y'all think?I'll give him a break until Friday morning. I was able to actually go inside and pick Evans up in his classroom today instead of just going through the carpool line. His teachers said he had a fantastic day and on two occasions he took three steps. I did not remind them that he is 16 months and this should have happened awhile ago. I could not be happier that he seems to like school now. When he gets home from school he is normally wiped out. He still takes a morning nap and afternoon nap so he misses the morning nap on school days. Typically he will come home and sleep the afternoon away after school. So, you can understand my concern, that at 3:18, approximately one hour after going down for a nap, I can hear him asking politely to get out of his crib. It is now 3:24pm. Can anyone tell me how many minutes that is away from bedtime at 7:00pm? This could potentially be a very long afternoon.

Back In The Swing of Things

Today is our first day back in our "semi-normal" routine. I realize we are a week later than most people but Deaner didn't leave to go back to Germany until Saturday afternoon so Evans pretty much got an extra week of relaxing. I knew this morning that Evans was exhausted since he slept from 7:15 last night until I had to wake him up at 7:45 this morning. He didn't even politely request a snack at 4:00am which I have taken to ignoring anyways. As I was piddling around the kitchen getting breakfast together I glanced over to see this. I suppose that this is how Evans feels about being woken up in the morning instead of being allowed to rise naturally. I have to admit that it made me laugh out loud. I rarely see a moment when he isn't emptying the tupperware cabinet or climbing the stairs without permission but I imagine that most people have had moments where they feel like lying in the middle of the kitchen floor would feel better than any alternative! I know that I feel like this roughly 1-2 times a day!

We had a fairly uneventful weekend and I hate to report that I don't have anything too comical to share. Friday night we took Evans to eat Mexican and he discovered cheese dip.I know that it looks like the cheese dip is actually frightening him here but that did not stop him from devouring it along with some spicy salsa. He also has a little bit of the mad scientist look going on with his hair but that doesn't mean he will be getting a hair cut anytime soon.

Tomorrow is a school day and Mama and Evans are looking forward to it. Deaner got a great report on Friday and the teachers said he didn't cry at all and had a fun day. I wonder if teachers lie sometimes? Also, a funny side note, remember the "missing" white turtleneck that coffee spilled all over? His teacher reported to Deaner that it has been "misplaced" and we should just keep the white turtleneck that he was sent home wearing. Hmmm. I think I'm just going to have to let this one go. I think it is weird that an article of clothing such as the SHIRT you are wearing could be lost but oh well. It's a good thing I bought 5 of the same white turtlenecks. That's all I have today! Hopefully more to report tomorrow!

War Horse.....True Story?

Did any of you think that I was actually being serious about the true story? Now that would have been pretty funny. If you want to see the movie I am warning you now, there WILL be spoilers. Last night Deaner and I went to see this movie and my mother-in-law watched Evans. I love my son to pieces but it is nice to sit down and watch a movie without worrying about what he is destroying. I am not a huge movie fan but every so often I like to go to a theatre and see something new. Last week we saw The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (I read the books so I knew when to close my eyes and plug my ears) and I really enjoyed it so we thought we might give another movie a try. First off, let me preface this post by saying that I really do NOT like horses. I like to go watch them race sometimes but you will never catch me in a barn nuzzling one of them. In fact, I think there is a very good chance I am actually afraid of horses. So, while I knew that this was a movie involving a horse, I somehow thought it was more about the Civil War. When the movie started it was quite clear that it was definitely NOT about the Civil War, as it was taking place in England. It's just so easy to confuse the Civil War with World War II, right? Ha. I might do better to make a list of the things in the movie that I found weird/funny/outrageous/insane.

1. Why was Albie so obsessed with this horse from the second his father brought him home? I'm not an animal person so perhaps I just don't understand but I never see an animal and think "I cannot live without this creature and I would lay down my life for his/hers".

2. Who names a horse "Joey"?

3. Who promises a horse that they will one day be reunited when the war is over?

4. Who promises a horse that they will one day be reunited when the war is over AND THEN DOES IT?

5. It is just not possible that Joey volunteered to pull the big heavy cannon so that the black horse didn't have to. No way.

6. It is not possible for Joey to live through all those bombings, machine guns and grenades. Everyone else died but don't worry, Joey lives.

7. What kind of man who has been mustard gassed, gone blind and ended up in a field hospital can identify his long lost horse by hearing it shake it's head in the distance? The kind that doesn't exist.

The end. I'm really glad that ole Albie got his horse back in the end. Joey sure did go through some precarious situations and still they were reunited, countries from where they started. I know I am being cynical and I really did enjoy seeing the movie there were just many times when I thought to myself, "seriously"? That Joey was really something else! I'd also like to warn you not to see the movie if you are in any way shape or form feeling emotional about anything at all. You will cry. Even if you hate horses.

Good Riddance 2011

Last year at Christmas time Evans was a 4 month old baby who couldn't do anything more than lie on his pallet in front of the fireplace and coo. I can vividly remember it being said multiple times during that Christmas that "at this time next year, he is going to be running around everywhere and be into everything". Hmmmm. I guess that half of this prediction came true! Evans is certainly into everything but the running around part? Not so much. As we opened all our gifts on Christmas morning I was once again struck with the same thought...."next year at this time, Evans will be running around and into everything". Maybe I shouldn't have had such high ambitions for him? I continue to see Facebook status updates on a daily basis about whose child has started walking that day. And I'm talking about kids who are like six months younger than Evans. While we were all extremely impressed and wowed by Evans actually standing up and pushing his push toy this past week, I can hardly brag on Facebook that my 16 month old child is just learning to push a toy around! For goodness sake Evans! Deaner has been in town for the past couple weeks and he CLAIMS that Evans took three steps by himself yesterday. Of course this was when I was not there and did not actually witness it happening. I'm going to chose to believe it didn't happen and hope to actually be there next time (no, I was NOT at Target).

Anyways. Christmas this year was it's usual chaotic event and a great time to see family and friends. Everyone should know by now what a freak I am about Evans' clothes. I plan, I iron and I execute. Imagine my surprise when Deaner produced a "special" outfit that he insisted on Evans wearing.Y'all can rest assured that Evans' German liederhosen were not apart of the holiday wardrobe I had planned.Since I was feeling A LOT of goodwill and Christmas cheer I let him keep them on to please his father. I didn't really understand why Deaner insisted upon wearing these to Christmas since it is the attire that is typically worn to Oktoberfest........in October.I suppose he did look pretty cute even if it was a bit ridiculous. I did absolutely have to put my foot down and refuse to let Deaner give Evans ketchup with his chicken nuggets while in Liederhosen. I was not going to deal with ketchup on suede.

On Christmas Eve Deaner and I took Evans to see Santa Claus. We did this last year too and found that there are practically no lines the day before Christmas and it is a great time to visit. I have to admit that this year the visit was completely anti climatic. I had all these visions of a smiling delighted happy child on Santa's lap and a picture I would treasure for years. I would have even been happy with a picture of him screaming and crying because shouldn't every kid have a picture like that with Santa Claus? I got neither of these. Evans didn't smile and he didn't cry. It was like someone turned him to stone and he was unable to express any sort of emotion at all. My goon of a child. So, I am now the proud owner of 39487 pictures of Evans looking like a deer caught in the headlights because of course, they make you choose which picture package you want BEFORE they show you the picture. Annoyed. You might think my story ends there but unfortunately it does not. Last year I made Deaner stand outside of Santa's little house area so he could take pictures with my own camera. This year I gave him the option of bringing Evans up to Santa's lap and have me take the pictures or vice versa. He chose taking the pictures. I have to add in here that I had to make a special trip back to my parent's house to pick up the camera. After I saw how much I hated the picture of Evans with Santa the conversation went like this......

Me: "That was a terrible picture of Evans and it looks awful"
Deaner: "It's not that bad! I think he looks really cute"!
Me: "How can you think that? He looks like he just witnessed a murder".
Deaner: "I think that the picture is great and it is the only one that we need"!
Me: "At least I will have the pictures you took. Let me see my camera".
Deaner: silence
Me: "The camera please"?
Deaner: 'Uhhh, don't get mad".
Me: Death stare
Deaner: "That old lady over there would not stop talking to me and I couldn't get any pictures taken at all"!
Me: Silence. For a much longer time.

I will have to scan the picture to post on here but trust me, it is nothing special to look at. He was wearing this outfit but didn't look nearly as cute.I'm sure I have a ton left to tell but this is way too long already. Evans is back at school today and I can't wait to hear how the day goes when Deaner picks him up. When we pulled in this morning Evans looked at me like "Seriously lady, haven't we discussed this place scares me"? Hoping for a good report!Welcome 2012! We've been waiting for you!

Merry Christmas Week!

I am starting to think that blogging about the Christmas Pageant last week really took it out of me since I haven't actually been able to sit down and write about anything that has happened since then. And it's not that nothing has been going on either. Though it doesn't feel quite like the holidays I suppose I can blame that on the 60 degree rainy dreary awful weather that Atlanta is experiencing right now. I know that Christmas is coming because I have been wrapping gifts (exquisitely) and actively avoiding any place that is within a five mile radius of any mall in Buckhead (this is actually much harder to do than one would think normal). My parents live in an area of Atlanta where I could be at Lenox/Phipps mall in about 3 miles or at Perimeter Mall in about 4 miles. This does not make for the best holiday traffic. Atlanta finds it helpful to turn off all the traffic lights on main roads like Roswell and Peachtree and replace them with humans. Humans in the form of City of Atlanta Police Officers. The DOT clearly does not understand the concept of "human error", especially with Atlanta cops (please call to mind my ticketing incident back in September). SO, in summary, if you feel like going anywhere in Atlanta, inside the perimeter, at any time of day, I would urge you to think about just how badly you want to go there or just how badly you NEED to go there. It might not be worth it.

Deaner got into Atlanta on Sunday evening for the Christmas holidays. Evans was so excited to see him and has had no problem at all adjusting to Daddy being here. We have done a couple of things together including taking Evans to the aquarium yesterday. Evans has always loved the aquarium but I have to say that it might have lost it's magic for him this time. For some reason the child was way more interested in crawling around on the floor than looking at the fish. You won't be able to tell by the pictures but it just didn't hold his attention like it used to.My favorite pictures from the day are below. Evans looked at this gigantic ugly fish and said "HI" while waving at it. The fish did not return his enthusiasm.I am pretty sure it could have eaten Evans for breakfast. Of course there are no pictures of me because if it weren't for me, there would be no pictures AT ALL. I guess that is the way it goes being the Mom. Santa Claus was scuba diving in the tank while were watching the whale sharks, which was cool, but I think perhaps E will understand all of this a bit more next year.I believe we are going to take Evans to see Santa Claus on Christmas Eve and that ought to be interesting. I got nervous last year waiting until the last second but it wasn't crowded on Christmas Eve and we got right in. Something tells me that Evans will not be as happy to see him this year but it should make for a good story and picture! I hope that everyone is having a very merry Christmas week and that y'all are eating as much junk as I am. Seriously, stop bringing the toffee to my parent's house. I have very little will power at 10:00pm!! Happy Wednesday!